Well, the biggest news of our week is the fact that Ian has started work Yes, that's right, after weeks of having nothing to do he's got himself a job. We passed a local hardware store a couple of weeks ago and it had a "Help wanted" sign outside so Ian went in and got himself an application form.
It didn't take much to persuade the manager to employ Ian so on Tuesday this week, off he went, lunch box in hand!! Annalie thinks its just an excuse for him to play with power tools, after all, he gets to cut keys and everything! But he's really pleased to be doing something constructive and earning some pennies.
This week he went in on Tuesday and Thursday to get some training, but he's now got another two weeks off while his parents are in town. We go to pick them up from JFK tomorrow - they're getting very excited already. We're going to spend the day in New York as they don't arrive until tea time, so it gives us plenty of opporutnity to see some more sights that we haven't had chance to see yet.
Ian also did some "unofficial" work as well this week through his "hubby for hire" ad in the Rolls-Royce secondees' newsletter. One of the guys Annalie works with had the brainwave of hiring Ian to do an airport pick-up earlier in the month when he had a clash of two family groups arriving on the same night - only one turned up in Boston and the other in New York. So Ian was dispatched to New York to pick up Bruce's parents. This week, he got called up for the return run, with Nana on board too. Unusually it was a pretty straightforward run, despite the fact that the US Open tennis is on right now and, from here, we drive right past Flushing Meadows to get to JFK. Ian also has another booking late in September, this time from Boston, so it is proving quite lucrative.
Also this week, one of Annalie's friends from Rolls was over on his pre-assignment visit with his wife. Annalie and Fi have been in contact on email a lot since Dan knew they were coming out here so it was nice to meet properly (they'd met briefly in Paris three years ago). So we went out with them on a couple of evenings to have something to eat and help them out with any questions they had about the move. We had some good fun nights so we're looking forward to them moving out at the end of next month.
On Thursday, Annalie went to the gym after work but told Ian she'd go and referee the IAE soccer game, even though it's just a bit of fun. It was 4-a-side so although Ian tried to persuade Annalie to take part, she went to the gym instead. As it happened, after the game had been going about 20 minutes, one of the girls from IAE and the co-ed team we played with last week turned up. She suggested joining in so Annalie went out for her second exrecise session of the night. Not that she's a glutton for punishment. She was pitched on the opposing team to Ian, who was determined she would not score against him. She did score, but not while he was in nets. She enjoyed herself again and will probably end up joining in a bit more when she has time.
This weekend is a bank holiday weekend in the US, Labor Day. We're not entirely sure what it's for! But hey, it's another free day off so who's complaining?! We went out to buy some new clothes using a bunch of vouchers we had for Bob's Stores, which is a bit like Matalan, only better! The vouchers all specified they couldn't be used in conjunction with other offers or vouchers, but they didn't care about that and we used them all! Saving ourselves $30 in the process. Ian bought some trousers for work and a Yankees polo shirt, while Annalie bought some trousers for travelling in, rather than resorting to jeans all the time. It might give her a better chance of an upgrade.
We also found a new restaurant that we quite like, Uno's Chicago Grill. The food was good and plentiful, and the receipt gave us the opportunity to get a $5 voucher for next time. I think we'll be going back there it always helps when there's something for nothing!
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Sunday, August 24, 2008
A busy week
We've had a bit of an action-packed week so there's plenty to tell you in this post. One thing we forgot to mention last week was our first trip to the Dodge Music Center in Hartford. It's an outdoor concert venue that's a man-made bowl but also has some seats that are under cover. We went to see Maroon 5, supported by Counting Crows and bought our tickets months ago - when we were still in the temporary house. A bunch of our friends were also going, but where we'd bought seats, they'd gone for lawn tickets, which are basically pick your spot on the grass at the back.
Well, it turned out that our decision to buy seats was an inspired one. Despite being the middle of August, the heavens opened for the entire afternoon, soaking the town. Apparently the lawn area wasn't too bad, but it was still a little muddy, and it did rain lightly at one point during the show. But we were protected from it all by the roof
The concert itself was mixed. Counting Crows weren't great performers and we couldn't make out anything the singer was saying. Plus we didn't know any of their material (Big Yellow Taxi didn't feature at all). Maroon 5, however, were very good and rocked the place. The gig didn't finish until midnight though so we got home at 1am. Annalie was a real trooper though as she had a gym appointment at 8am on Saturday morning and still got up to go to it! That's dedication for you.
Monday brought a return to work for Annalie, which was a shock to the system after two weeks off. And it's straight into budget planning for next year, which is an interesting activity, especially whilst trying to manage the budget for the remainder of this year at the same time.
Tuesday brought about the IAE golf league night again and we just about managed to squeeze the whole nine holes in. Annalie was in the last group and finished as the sun was on its way down.
There was more sport on Thursday as Annalie got to play football, sorry, soccer, for the first time in over four years. Shannon, one of the girls at IAE, asked Annalie to play for her co-ed (mixed) team to make up the numbers. Ian has played for them before and we were both invited to play - the first time we've teamed up on the football pitch! In fact it was the first time Annalie had seen Ian in action in the nets. She was very impressed with his performance, which is more that can be said for Annalie's! But then she's been on the sideline for so long It was an enjoyable game and we won 13-6 and we're sure Annalie will be taking to the field again at some point.
On Friday we invited some of our friends over for a BBQ and had intended to do a fun casino night but we couldn't be bothered with that part of it in the end! We sat around with a few beers, some nice food and good conversation. Plus a bit of Wii and Uno Extreme! It was a relaxed and fun night to get everyone together.
The night had started off with us going to the Irish American Society in Glastonbury as Munster rugby team were in town for a match against the USA. The Heineken Cup was travelling with them and was "on show" at the club. We actually got to take the Cup for a photo ourselves. There was also a youth 7s tournament going on but the quality wasn't that great so we headed off to ours to get the party started.
Saturday saw the aforementioned rugby match taking place at our local stadium, Rentschler Field. It's actually an American Football stadium for UConn (University of Connecticut) and was chosen because Hartford is almost dead centre between New York and Boston. There are such huge Irish communities in both of these cities, so Hartford is ideally-located for both. About 20 of us descended on the car park at about 12 to get the tailgating started (when in Rome, you know!). Hot dogs and burgers aplenty, and a lot of fun and games, and that was all before the game kicked off! The weather was glorious, almost too hot, so we were all slathered in plenty of sun cream, but still got a lot of colour from being sat in the direct sun for the entire game.
Ian decided to have a wager on the score with one of the young American guys from IAE. The bet was that Munster would beat USA by at least 20 points. For about 75 minutes, the score did not reach this gap, and with five minutes to go, the USA broke away to score a runaway try to reduce the gap to 12, leaving Ian with very little chance of winning the bet... or so we thought. As it happened, USA were pulled back for a knock on, giving Ian's bet another chance.
With two mintues to go, Munster finally sealed their dominance with another try and conversion to win 46-22 and win Ian's bet for him (phew!). The prize was a free night of beer that evening at the Irish pub in Hartford, Vaughans. So we duly headed off for a night on the town. Our friends, Mhairi and Steve, had offered to put us up for the night and the pub is just two minutes' walk from their place, so we didn't have to worry about driving home or taxis.
It's been a packed week but a lot of fun. We just hope there aren't too many more of them!
Well, it turned out that our decision to buy seats was an inspired one. Despite being the middle of August, the heavens opened for the entire afternoon, soaking the town. Apparently the lawn area wasn't too bad, but it was still a little muddy, and it did rain lightly at one point during the show. But we were protected from it all by the roof
The concert itself was mixed. Counting Crows weren't great performers and we couldn't make out anything the singer was saying. Plus we didn't know any of their material (Big Yellow Taxi didn't feature at all). Maroon 5, however, were very good and rocked the place. The gig didn't finish until midnight though so we got home at 1am. Annalie was a real trooper though as she had a gym appointment at 8am on Saturday morning and still got up to go to it! That's dedication for you.
Monday brought a return to work for Annalie, which was a shock to the system after two weeks off. And it's straight into budget planning for next year, which is an interesting activity, especially whilst trying to manage the budget for the remainder of this year at the same time.
Tuesday brought about the IAE golf league night again and we just about managed to squeeze the whole nine holes in. Annalie was in the last group and finished as the sun was on its way down.
There was more sport on Thursday as Annalie got to play football, sorry, soccer, for the first time in over four years. Shannon, one of the girls at IAE, asked Annalie to play for her co-ed (mixed) team to make up the numbers. Ian has played for them before and we were both invited to play - the first time we've teamed up on the football pitch! In fact it was the first time Annalie had seen Ian in action in the nets. She was very impressed with his performance, which is more that can be said for Annalie's! But then she's been on the sideline for so long It was an enjoyable game and we won 13-6 and we're sure Annalie will be taking to the field again at some point.
On Friday we invited some of our friends over for a BBQ and had intended to do a fun casino night but we couldn't be bothered with that part of it in the end! We sat around with a few beers, some nice food and good conversation. Plus a bit of Wii and Uno Extreme! It was a relaxed and fun night to get everyone together.
The night had started off with us going to the Irish American Society in Glastonbury as Munster rugby team were in town for a match against the USA. The Heineken Cup was travelling with them and was "on show" at the club. We actually got to take the Cup for a photo ourselves. There was also a youth 7s tournament going on but the quality wasn't that great so we headed off to ours to get the party started.
Saturday saw the aforementioned rugby match taking place at our local stadium, Rentschler Field. It's actually an American Football stadium for UConn (University of Connecticut) and was chosen because Hartford is almost dead centre between New York and Boston. There are such huge Irish communities in both of these cities, so Hartford is ideally-located for both. About 20 of us descended on the car park at about 12 to get the tailgating started (when in Rome, you know!). Hot dogs and burgers aplenty, and a lot of fun and games, and that was all before the game kicked off! The weather was glorious, almost too hot, so we were all slathered in plenty of sun cream, but still got a lot of colour from being sat in the direct sun for the entire game.
Ian decided to have a wager on the score with one of the young American guys from IAE. The bet was that Munster would beat USA by at least 20 points. For about 75 minutes, the score did not reach this gap, and with five minutes to go, the USA broke away to score a runaway try to reduce the gap to 12, leaving Ian with very little chance of winning the bet... or so we thought. As it happened, USA were pulled back for a knock on, giving Ian's bet another chance.
With two mintues to go, Munster finally sealed their dominance with another try and conversion to win 46-22 and win Ian's bet for him (phew!). The prize was a free night of beer that evening at the Irish pub in Hartford, Vaughans. So we duly headed off for a night on the town. Our friends, Mhairi and Steve, had offered to put us up for the night and the pub is just two minutes' walk from their place, so we didn't have to worry about driving home or taxis.
It's been a packed week but a lot of fun. We just hope there aren't too many more of them!
Sunday, August 17, 2008
So long, farewell, au wiedersen...
Well, last week we promised you an update of the rafting trip so here goes.
Ian and Colin had a fairly straightforward journey up to Jackman in Maine, although it was still a 7 hour journey. No major hazards to report along the way and they were safely there for beer o'clock!
The weekend was a roaring success, both on and off the water. During the day there were plenty of decent rapids and the river level was pretty high, what with the combination of rain and the dam release. It made for an interesting journey at some points. The first day was good because nobody went in the water, but on the Sunday, the guides were doing everything in their power to get people in Needless to say there were plenty of swims for people.
On dry land there was plenty of booze and good food to keep people full. One of the guys got up at 2.30am to set up a smoker to cook a pork joint. The pulled pork that was then ready at dinner time was superb, extremely succulent and well worth the wait.
On the way back, the pair decided to venture into Canada as Jackman is only 15 miles from the border as it is. They decided to make it worthwhile by going via Quebec, which added a few hours to the journey but was well worth it. A very traditional town with plenty to see and do, it was a shame they just had half an hour or so. They didn't want to park up as they didn't have any Canadian $s to pay for it. Still, it didn't stop Colin from purchasing a new guitar! Apparently it's about half the price than the UK so I guess you can't blame him. Not sure what the Girls will make of it though!
Once Ian and Colin were back in CT, there was just one more day and then we headed back to New York to get them on their return flight. We decided to head into Manhattan for a couple of hours just to show them some of the key sites and maybe get up one of the towers. Or at least that was the plan! Unfortunately we got held up in traffic on the way down there and ended up arriving about an hour late. On the way, however, we did see a van that was advertising a taste of home (only those with a knowledge of Middleton will know what we mean!).
Still, we were parked right around the corner from Times Square so we took them to the Hard Rock Cafe there for lunch. Colin was in his element looking at all the famous guitars there. The most stunning thing about the menu was the calorie count! Each of the dishes stated its calories and there were even salads that topped 1,400 The most calorific was fajitas which weighed in at a wopping 1,900. To ensure our bodies didn't overload we all went for reasonable sensible options, but even these were 700+.
To walk off some of those calories, we took a stroll down Broadway where we were given dessert, some free smoothies and non-fat yogurts. As we reached the intersection with 6th Avenue, the Empire State Building came into good view for us, it was just a shame we didn't have time to go up it and we also passed the original Macys store.
Then it was back into the car to drive down towards "Ground Zero" to show where the twin towers once stood. The building project is moving along rapidly, even since our last visit in April. But there isn't much to see as the site is surrounded.
Finally it was time to get across to Long Island and down to JFK. Although our satnav said it was a 20 minute journey, the typical New York traffic meant that it turned into an hour. It wasn't a problem as we'd already checked them in online so it was just a case of dropping the bags off and picking up the boarding cards. That was a relatively painless exercise, although Colin had to say goodbye to his new toy and hope it arrived safely at the other end. Then it was a tearful goodbye as we left them to go through to the departure lounge.
With the parents back home, Annalie decided to continue her vacation for the remainder of the week. It's been relatively quiet, just getting some bits done. We both had personal training sessions with a gym trainer to get ourselves a bit of motivation to get down there more often, and at least do the right stuff while we're there.
We also decided to go for a quick round of golf back at Minnechaug, seeing as we hadn't been there in a while. It wasn't the best round for either of us, and although we got caught in a very light shower, the round was generally dry and even very sunny towards the end. Annalie managed to lose about 6 balls on the last hole and we couldn't really understand why! We think that another visit to the golf coach is in order.
Finally we went shopping to West Farms Mall again so Annalie could buy a new wheelie case for her travels. She wanted one she could put her laptop in and take on board as carrying it on her shoulder gets quite sore. Anyway, she found one on sale at Macys that suits her needs well. Thank you Mum
Ian and Colin had a fairly straightforward journey up to Jackman in Maine, although it was still a 7 hour journey. No major hazards to report along the way and they were safely there for beer o'clock!
The weekend was a roaring success, both on and off the water. During the day there were plenty of decent rapids and the river level was pretty high, what with the combination of rain and the dam release. It made for an interesting journey at some points. The first day was good because nobody went in the water, but on the Sunday, the guides were doing everything in their power to get people in Needless to say there were plenty of swims for people.
On dry land there was plenty of booze and good food to keep people full. One of the guys got up at 2.30am to set up a smoker to cook a pork joint. The pulled pork that was then ready at dinner time was superb, extremely succulent and well worth the wait.
On the way back, the pair decided to venture into Canada as Jackman is only 15 miles from the border as it is. They decided to make it worthwhile by going via Quebec, which added a few hours to the journey but was well worth it. A very traditional town with plenty to see and do, it was a shame they just had half an hour or so. They didn't want to park up as they didn't have any Canadian $s to pay for it. Still, it didn't stop Colin from purchasing a new guitar! Apparently it's about half the price than the UK so I guess you can't blame him. Not sure what the Girls will make of it though!
Once Ian and Colin were back in CT, there was just one more day and then we headed back to New York to get them on their return flight. We decided to head into Manhattan for a couple of hours just to show them some of the key sites and maybe get up one of the towers. Or at least that was the plan! Unfortunately we got held up in traffic on the way down there and ended up arriving about an hour late. On the way, however, we did see a van that was advertising a taste of home (only those with a knowledge of Middleton will know what we mean!).
Still, we were parked right around the corner from Times Square so we took them to the Hard Rock Cafe there for lunch. Colin was in his element looking at all the famous guitars there. The most stunning thing about the menu was the calorie count! Each of the dishes stated its calories and there were even salads that topped 1,400 The most calorific was fajitas which weighed in at a wopping 1,900. To ensure our bodies didn't overload we all went for reasonable sensible options, but even these were 700+.
To walk off some of those calories, we took a stroll down Broadway where we were given dessert, some free smoothies and non-fat yogurts. As we reached the intersection with 6th Avenue, the Empire State Building came into good view for us, it was just a shame we didn't have time to go up it and we also passed the original Macys store.
Then it was back into the car to drive down towards "Ground Zero" to show where the twin towers once stood. The building project is moving along rapidly, even since our last visit in April. But there isn't much to see as the site is surrounded.
Finally it was time to get across to Long Island and down to JFK. Although our satnav said it was a 20 minute journey, the typical New York traffic meant that it turned into an hour. It wasn't a problem as we'd already checked them in online so it was just a case of dropping the bags off and picking up the boarding cards. That was a relatively painless exercise, although Colin had to say goodbye to his new toy and hope it arrived safely at the other end. Then it was a tearful goodbye as we left them to go through to the departure lounge.
With the parents back home, Annalie decided to continue her vacation for the remainder of the week. It's been relatively quiet, just getting some bits done. We both had personal training sessions with a gym trainer to get ourselves a bit of motivation to get down there more often, and at least do the right stuff while we're there.
We also decided to go for a quick round of golf back at Minnechaug, seeing as we hadn't been there in a while. It wasn't the best round for either of us, and although we got caught in a very light shower, the round was generally dry and even very sunny towards the end. Annalie managed to lose about 6 balls on the last hole and we couldn't really understand why! We think that another visit to the golf coach is in order.
Finally we went shopping to West Farms Mall again so Annalie could buy a new wheelie case for her travels. She wanted one she could put her laptop in and take on board as carrying it on her shoulder gets quite sore. Anyway, she found one on sale at Macys that suits her needs well. Thank you Mum
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Another while
OK, we admit it, we've been lax again. But this time with good reason as Mum and Dad Annalie have been out. But while this has kept us busy it also means we've got some new stories to tell.
The trip to/from New York JFK airport was relatively hassle free and apparently the flight and immigration went very well for them. When we checked the flight time it was scheduled to land about 45 minutes' early, so we made a mad rush for the door to make sure we were there on time. Annalie surprised her parents because she had been due to be in meetings in Rhode Island at the time but these had been called off so she accompanied Ian on the trip to JFK to pick them up
Ian has been training to qualify for his PADI diving certificate and on the Friday, a quick change of plan meant that he was doing his open water dives in the waters off Newport in Rhode Island (exactly where Annalie was supposed to be just two days earlier) so we all trooped down there for an afternoon off. So while Ian got down to the business of diving, Annalie and her parents headed off into Newport. Although we all forgot our cameras It is a very nice place, if a little touristy. They had planned a drive around the peninsula to see some of the amazing houses that line the coast down there, but they had been told to get back to pick Ian up at a certain time so decided to forego this drive. As it happened, Ian had barely started his diving when they turned up for him so they ended up waiting at the dive site anyway.
Ian went to see Coldplay in concert in Hartford with some guys from work, which was a good gig by all accounts. Not quite as good as the last time he'd seen them at the Reebock Stadium a few years ago, but good all the same.
On Sunday we went to Rose's Berry Farm to partake in a magnificent breakfast as had been thoroughly recommended to us. Seems like we weren't the only ones with this idea on a hot and sunny Sunday morning. We had to queue up for about an hour before being seated, but it was pretty much worth the wait. Fresh waffles, pancakes and French Toast topped with freshly-picked blueberries was just the job and filled us all right up. Yum!
We then headed off to Manchester (Connecticut!) for a classic car gathering that covered about a mile of Main Street. It was really interesting to see all these wonderful old beauties in fantastic condition and ready to rock and roll. Some stunning paint jobs too. Ian has some piccies and we'll get them uploaded at some point.
We all visited downtown Hartford on Monday night to partake in some free jazz in the park, Bushnell Park that is. It was a very civilised evening, but I think we were all focused on the Greek restaurant that we'd agreed to visit afterwards
Annalie took the parents on another day out to the coast to visit "historic Mystic" and Stonington village. It was nice to see some new areas of Connecticut, especially some coastal areas. A bit too cold for the beach though. On the way back, we stopped at a vineyard/winery for the Mum and Dad Annalie to try some wines. The tasting session wasn't very successful as the wines were too dry to take anyone's fancy. Annalie also stopped off at the Foxwoods resort, just because it has to be seen to be believed!
Ian and Colin have since gone off on a rafting weekend in Maine with some of Annalie's workmates. A full report will follow next week.
While the boys are away, Annalie and her Mum will play The first trip out was to see Carrie Fisher, yes, Princess Leia to most of us! in a one-woman show based on her whacked out life, Wishful Drinking. It was a sordid but hilarious review of possibly the most unorthodox childhood in Hollywood. Well, if you discount Wacko Jacko's kids that is!! The woman's wit and honesty has inspired both Annalie and her Mum to seek out Fisher's novels as they promise to be a good read.
The two of them have also been to the cinema to see Mamma Mia the film. Annalie has seen the musical and thought it would be something her Mum would like, especially with their mutual appreciation of Abba The film follows the musical fairly religiously so is a feel-good happy type of film that gets your feet tapping. Throughout the film, Annalie could just think of her friend Mel and how they'd be singing and dancing in the aisles if they'd seen it together!!
Annalie has bought the "Birds of Connecticut" book recommended by Gary. This weekend she's been busy identifying exactly who or what is visiting the deck. As well as the bog standard house sparrows, there is a mixture of Chipping Sparrows and American Tree Sparrows. We all know about "Red", the Northern Cardinal (just for Annie!) but his mate has also been around. We've also identified a White-breasted Nuthatch, a Brown-headed Cowbird, a House Finch or Purple Finch (it didn't stick around long enough for IDing, some Mourning Doves, some Hummingbirds (although they're not strictly coming to the deck as we haven't got the right food for them, we can just see them from the deck sometimes) and some yellow thing flitted past the window before we could ID it.
The trip to/from New York JFK airport was relatively hassle free and apparently the flight and immigration went very well for them. When we checked the flight time it was scheduled to land about 45 minutes' early, so we made a mad rush for the door to make sure we were there on time. Annalie surprised her parents because she had been due to be in meetings in Rhode Island at the time but these had been called off so she accompanied Ian on the trip to JFK to pick them up
Ian has been training to qualify for his PADI diving certificate and on the Friday, a quick change of plan meant that he was doing his open water dives in the waters off Newport in Rhode Island (exactly where Annalie was supposed to be just two days earlier) so we all trooped down there for an afternoon off. So while Ian got down to the business of diving, Annalie and her parents headed off into Newport. Although we all forgot our cameras It is a very nice place, if a little touristy. They had planned a drive around the peninsula to see some of the amazing houses that line the coast down there, but they had been told to get back to pick Ian up at a certain time so decided to forego this drive. As it happened, Ian had barely started his diving when they turned up for him so they ended up waiting at the dive site anyway.
Ian went to see Coldplay in concert in Hartford with some guys from work, which was a good gig by all accounts. Not quite as good as the last time he'd seen them at the Reebock Stadium a few years ago, but good all the same.
On Sunday we went to Rose's Berry Farm to partake in a magnificent breakfast as had been thoroughly recommended to us. Seems like we weren't the only ones with this idea on a hot and sunny Sunday morning. We had to queue up for about an hour before being seated, but it was pretty much worth the wait. Fresh waffles, pancakes and French Toast topped with freshly-picked blueberries was just the job and filled us all right up. Yum!
We then headed off to Manchester (Connecticut!) for a classic car gathering that covered about a mile of Main Street. It was really interesting to see all these wonderful old beauties in fantastic condition and ready to rock and roll. Some stunning paint jobs too. Ian has some piccies and we'll get them uploaded at some point.
We all visited downtown Hartford on Monday night to partake in some free jazz in the park, Bushnell Park that is. It was a very civilised evening, but I think we were all focused on the Greek restaurant that we'd agreed to visit afterwards
Annalie took the parents on another day out to the coast to visit "historic Mystic" and Stonington village. It was nice to see some new areas of Connecticut, especially some coastal areas. A bit too cold for the beach though. On the way back, we stopped at a vineyard/winery for the Mum and Dad Annalie to try some wines. The tasting session wasn't very successful as the wines were too dry to take anyone's fancy. Annalie also stopped off at the Foxwoods resort, just because it has to be seen to be believed!
Ian and Colin have since gone off on a rafting weekend in Maine with some of Annalie's workmates. A full report will follow next week.
While the boys are away, Annalie and her Mum will play The first trip out was to see Carrie Fisher, yes, Princess Leia to most of us! in a one-woman show based on her whacked out life, Wishful Drinking. It was a sordid but hilarious review of possibly the most unorthodox childhood in Hollywood. Well, if you discount Wacko Jacko's kids that is!! The woman's wit and honesty has inspired both Annalie and her Mum to seek out Fisher's novels as they promise to be a good read.
The two of them have also been to the cinema to see Mamma Mia the film. Annalie has seen the musical and thought it would be something her Mum would like, especially with their mutual appreciation of Abba The film follows the musical fairly religiously so is a feel-good happy type of film that gets your feet tapping. Throughout the film, Annalie could just think of her friend Mel and how they'd be singing and dancing in the aisles if they'd seen it together!!
Annalie has bought the "Birds of Connecticut" book recommended by Gary. This weekend she's been busy identifying exactly who or what is visiting the deck. As well as the bog standard house sparrows, there is a mixture of Chipping Sparrows and American Tree Sparrows. We all know about "Red", the Northern Cardinal (just for Annie!) but his mate has also been around. We've also identified a White-breasted Nuthatch, a Brown-headed Cowbird, a House Finch or Purple Finch (it didn't stick around long enough for IDing, some Mourning Doves, some Hummingbirds (although they're not strictly coming to the deck as we haven't got the right food for them, we can just see them from the deck sometimes) and some yellow thing flitted past the window before we could ID it.
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