These are a few of my favorite things!

These are a few of my favorite things!

*The Bradley Theater, only about a mile or so away from my home, offering great local theater. And I mean GREAT local theater.

*Music, musicals, singing, dancing.... including such great flicks as The Sound of Music.

 
*Having season tickets to The Bradley Theater and a seat to see The Sound of Music next Friday night.

*Seeing something as very simple as a flashmob appearing out of nowhere and shocking a bunch of complacent/bored/harried people into genuinely smiling folks, really enjoying the moment. 

Check out this fabulous flash mob set to the Do-Re-Mi Song from The Sound of Music.... made me cry!

Life should be full of more surprising joys like this. 

I am a Putnamaniac that has quite a few favorite things - and one of the best is seeing people surprised and with joy written all over their faces!

Ice cream dates never get old!

There is a place on Rt 6 in Brooklyn, CT, called The Ice Box.

It serves up delicious ice cream, and due to its convenient location, it is quite easy to pop in and treat yourself to a scoop...and more.

It is as much fun to enjoy a cone yourself as it is to watch others enjoy!

The other night I spotted an older couple - both of the gray haired variety - sitting on the steps outside of The Ice Box, chatting, smiling, laughing, and enjoying their ice cream! How awesome is that???

If you live in or plan to visit Northeast, CT, or even if you plan to try as many ice cream places as you can before summer ends, be sure to use the interactive map on The Last Green Valley's website (now also available as an app for your phone)!  Click on "Cool Scoops" under the map and see all the places you can enjoy ice cream in The Quiet Corner, including The Ice Box!

Please invite me, since I love ice cream, and will never be too old for an ice cream date (or a million ice cream dates)!!!!!

I am a Putnamaniac because ice cream dates never get old!

My lifetime love affair with cookie dough!

I am baking more of the Putnamania Mega 50 cookies right now...

(Read the Mega 50 cookie blog if you have not already).

So, okay, I admit it. I am a bit like Homer Simpson when I bake cookies.
"One for the sheet, one for me...."

This has been going on my entire life.

When my mom was pregnant with either my sister (8 years younger than me) or my brother (10 years younger than me), she was whipping up a batch of cookie dough, when she went into labor.  Thsat enticing, delicious, irresistible cookie dough went in the freezer for later baking.

When she arrived home a couple days later, there was about a half teaspoon full of dough remaining in the freezer.

Yup, I picked and picked until it was almost all gone. Who did I think I was kidding by leaving that miniscule amount in the bowl???? It was delicious!!! I would do the same thing again!!!

So now, I will continue to bake my Mega 50 cookies.... and sample the dough along the way!

I am a Putnamaniac with a life long love affair with cookie dough!

A man and his boat....

Bright and early this morning as I was hoofing it up Riverside Dr (Rt 12) towards Thompson, I saw a great scene.

An older gentleman was in his boat on the Quinebaug River, casting his fishing line.

That was all.

He looked quite content.

It makes me so happy when people get out and do what they love to do, even if it is by themselves.

If you like the out of doors; things like fishing, hiking, boating, biking, then check out The Last Green Valley's interactive map. You simply click on the activity you are interested in at the bottom of the map, and all the available locations pop up! Cool! (The map has other activities to choose from as well, such as camping, farmers markets, etc).

Whatever it is you like to do, get out and do it!

I am a Putnamaniac that enjoys when people get out and enjoy themselves, and there is plenty to enjoy in Northeast CT!

Rainbow Roadshow & Colorful Canvases of CT Counties...

WOW is the best description of my ride home from work tonight.

My head was on a swivel, trying to drink in every ounce of spectacular scenery...
Hoping to see all I could see, I wished I were an owl, or that little girl in the Exorcist whose head spun all the way around.

 (Note: I did not take this picture, because I was driving at the time, 

breathing in the canvas, 

making mental pictures to reflect upon for the rest of my days)

From Tolland county to Windham County I spotted five different rainbows...some big and wide, some thin and pale... but they were all over the place!

The oaks and maples on the hills near and far glistened in shades of green that looked almost mural-like. Were the real or were they some of the happy trees, just like that Painter guy Bob Ross on the old PBS show used to paint (check out this clip from his show).

Clouds ranged from high to low, puffy to wispy, white to grey to black. There was every type of cloud a meteorologist has ever spoken to us about.

The background sky was as varied as the clouds. Black, grey, blue, orange... hazy, foggy, clean, clear.

What a show of rainbows, clouds, and sky... Mother Nature couldn't make up her mind what she wanted, so she spread a little bit of everything all around.


I leave you in parting with this great Hawaiianish version of Somewhere Over the Rainbow. Enjoy!

I am a Putnamaniac that enjoyed a Rainbow Roadshow & the most Colorful Canvases of Nature in Tolland and Windham Counties!

Phantom Scissorhands

Does it drive you crazy to see wild looking bushes and shrubbery in people's yards?

It is pretty easy to keep things clipped to perfection if you keep up with it.

Remember this movie and the great scene topiary scene from Edward Scissorhands?

I want to keep my clippers in my trunk, and late at night, swoop into these disheveled yards and trim away....

The occupants will awake to a neat and tidy yard!

What do you think???

Is there a need for a Phantom Scissorhands in your neighborhood?

 I am a Putnamaniac because I might just become a Phantom Putnamaniac Scissorhands!

Follow the Fifty! Inspiration is everywhere in Northeast CT

There is a great move occurring in Northeast CT.

It is the Follow the Fifty Models of Heart Health.

Check out their website. 

"Like" them on facebook. 

They are inspiring because you see them everywhere, fighting the fight towards a healthy and balanced lifestyle, where they actually take a minute for themselves.

Today I saw a slew of them headed towards the Farmer's Marketplace Pavilion on Kennedy Drive for an exercise group of some sort.

There were red shirted and fabulous ladies converging on the place, and it inspired me!!!! They are all working to have a healthier and longer live for themselves, their families, their friends.

I am lucky enough to know some of the models and their coaches -  boy am I lucky.

Their efforts are inspiring, and it sure does me work harder at taking time to take care of myself.

Hopefully you have some such program where you live if you are not a neighbor of mine in The Quiet Corner of CT.

I am a Putnamaniac because we work together as a community to help each other stay positive and working towards healthy lifestyles!

Hold on tight...what a difference a song or two can make in your attitude!

What a great ride I had coming home from work tonight - in spite of the 40+ miles and 23 stop lights!

Playing the radio scan song... I stumbled upon this most perfect song for the moment -

Hold on tight to your dream
Hold on tight to your dream
When you see your ship go sailing
When you feel your heart is breaking
Hold tight to your dream

Hold on Tight, by ELO (watch on youtube)

The next song up was Elvis' Hunka Burnin' Love! (watch Elvis the Pelvis on youtube).

That Faithful Ford Focus was rocking, I was seat dancing and singing at the top of my lungs!

All hopes and dreams instantly renewed! Attitude lifted to the rafters!

So, always hold on tight to your dreams, and hit that scan button when you are stuck in your car. The radio scan game will always present a long lost song that provides instant attitude adjustments like nothing else can!

I am a Putnamaniac that will hold on tight to her dreams, and enjoy the songs that can change my attitude!

Davisville Dawleyville garden memories of my Poppa!

Summertime always makes me think back to my really young days growing up next door to my Poppa Moone, who was the best gardener in the whole wide world.

He was also the best grandfather a kid could ask for.

I was at his side for every moment I could be, most of those moments out in the garden.

I was happy to plant with him, weed with him, happy to run and get him anything he might need, happy just to be with him and learn from him. I was his "Sweetie Pie". Imagine that?

I didn't mind having to snap all those green beans for canning, since my Poppa grew them. Plus I loved to eat them all winter long! Do you remember snapping so many of them that once in a while you'd throw the ends in the bowl with the good pieces, and throw the bad pieces away???

I could eat a dozen ears of corn for supper when I was a kid. It was melt in your mouth from Poppa's garden. 

When we were young teenagers, we'd have a rip roaring tomato fight in the fall with the tomatoes that were not prime candidates for canning or eating. What a mess. (That was when my dad had the garden.... my grandfather wouldn't have let any veggies go to waste)!

So, as I get older and older, I still remember those great times with my Poppa Moone in his garden, and I still miss them!

I surely hope you had such a great person in your life when you were young. Someone that made you feel very special just for being you. If you didn't, there is still time to connect with a great person.

I will have those great memories and great feelings forever.

I am a Putnamaniac remembering great garden memories and times spent with my Poppa Moone!

Fireflies at my night's window

One of the many splendored things of living in The Last Green Valley is laying in your bed at night...

pitch dark...

unless there is a big moon....

listening to the Little River rambling past your property...

and watching the fireflies ignite just outside your window....

Ahhhhhhhh, this is perfection for me.

I am a Putnamaniac that loves to lay in bed and see the light show executed by the fireflies at night!

Dedicated to M.O.M. (my other mother) and it was my pleasure to have known her)

I have this buddy.

I have been best buds with him for a good 25-30 years now.

When we first started pal-ing around all those years ago, I thought it was pretty cool how well we got along. Although I enjoy people in general, and especially in groups, I am not very comfortable one on one. Yet with my best bud, I am always pretty comfortable.

As the years of friendship progressed, we learned more about each other, and our childhoods, our upbringing, and about each of our families.

Come to find out, I was born on 5-27-1960 in Kent County Hospital in RI, the same day as my best bud's younger brother, Kenny, was born.

I put the facts together and figured out that as babies in that hospital (not always known for stellar performances in the health care field), Kenny & I were surely switched at birth. That clearly explained why me and my best bud get along so well. We are really siblings!

More years passed, as they do, and my best bud's mother got involved in this joke. I called her M.O.M. (My Other Mother). She sent birthday cards and holiday cards to me, signed by M.O.M. I came to love her dearly, for the great woman and mother she was.


Tonight I am sitting with tears running down my cheeks as I learn that M.O.M. has left us here on earth to go to an even better place.

Selfishly, I will miss our stupid jokes, rare visits, and our silly cards exchanged.

She raised very fine children, and they then raised the grandchildren.

I am so lucky to know them, and luckier still that her son is my best bud.

Here is a great picture of M.O.M. with my best bud, at his daughter's (and her granddaughter's) wedding! Beautiful!

I am a Putnamaniac that was very lucky to have M.O.M. in my life!

Rumors in the Quiet Corner...this is how they get started!

Did a teacher ever play the "rumor" game with a class you were in?

This is where the teacher whispers something to one student. That student is to whisper to the next student, and that student to the next, and on it goes. By the time it gets to the last student, the original story has changed dramatically.

Today there was some "weather" in Northeast CT as well as in RI & MA.

Out in Andover, where I work, there were just some thunder boomers & rain. By the time I hit the road to come home to Putnamania, everything had passed.

However, on my ride home, I stopped at a Mobil-Mart for a power ball ticket (feeling lucky) in Brooklyn, just a couple of miles from Rt 395, which is my final leg home. The cashier warned me emphatically that I might not be able to get home because the highway had been shut down so the snowplows could free the roadways of the immense amounts of hail that had fallen.

I looked out the window as she spoke (just 2 short miles from the highway...) and everything was clear and already dry....How could the highway so close by be closed and full of so many inches of hail???

I drove off, and got on the highway, which was now also completely dry.

Hmmmmmm, I know I can be gullible, but...I think that cashier had fallen for the hype.

This is how rumors get started, and how they grow! It is kind of fun & silly in a case like this. Otherwise I don't like to listen to or repeat gossip, because it can get blown out of proportion and be inaccurate & hurtful.

I am a Putnamaniac that saw rumors get started and grow today!

The Beatles HELP + Humungous Sunset = Inspiration!

Just as I was loping along my last lap, trying to get to 10 miles, The Beatles "Help" came on my ipod....(check it out on youtube here).

When I was younger, so much younger than today I never needed anybody's help in any way 

But now these days are gone I'm not so self-assured  

Now I find I've changed my mind, I've opened up the doors
Help me if you can, I'm feeling down And I do appreciate you being 'round  

Help me get my feet back on the ground  

Won't you please, please help me? Help me, help me, ooo

What inspiration! I got my feet back on the ground, moving, and finished up just fine.

As I turned around, I was served up a most gorgeous, humungous, glowing, red/orange/yellow setting sun.

The Windham Airport is the place to see some great sunsets. If you have never been at that time of day, treat yourself to quite a sight. (Rt 6 in Willimantic). They don't call it "Romantic Willimantic" for nothin'.

I am a Putnamaniac that was helped by the Beatles and treated to a great sunset!

Renegade Resurrection and The Boys of Summer!

Plants resurrected for two (fushia) and three seasons (geraniums) delight me tonight.  I've cut them back in the fall and bring them in the basement for the winter, and voila, they experience resurrection every summer.

As I admire my Renegade Garden after a long day at work, on a hot summer evening, I hear hearty & rowdy cheers from what must be the most edge of your seat exciting little league game going on across the river in Recreation Park. The real boys of summer are playing there.

Before I head inside to watch the Sox and listen to my boy of summer for ever and always, Jerry Remy, I will enjoy a last look at the bluey/purpley lobelia.... I simply love it....life should be this bluey and purpley every day.

I am a Putnamaniac because I love my Renegade Resurrection and all of The Boys of Summer!

I'm on the top of the world, looking down on creation!

This was the view I enjoyed on this afternoon's hayride at Fort Hill Farms, 260 Quaddick Rd, Thompson, CT.

For the rest of the day, all I kept thinking was:

 "Such a feeling's coming over me, there is wonder in almost everything I see...

I'm on the top of the world, looking down on creation, and the only explanation I can find... is the love that I've found ever since you've been around....Your loves put me at the top of the world".

(Of course you recognize these great lyrics from the Carpenters song).

I feel like I am on the top of the world, with all the beauty and love I have found in the Quiet Corner of Northeast, CT. 

Beauty and love were abundantly with me today as I enjoyed Fort Hill Farm's annual Blueberries & Bluegrass bash, including entertainment by the Blackstone Valley Bluegrass, with some great friends. 

I am a lucky gal!

I am a Putnamaniac that is on the top of the world and looked down on creation today at Fort Hill Farms!

Butterfly bushes - how can you miss them!!!??

There are butterfly bushes in bloom everywhere in New England!!!

Take a look around and enjoy them while they are here.

We will not be experiencing this in January!

But these are flowers that fly and all but sing:
And now from having ridden out desire
They lie closed over in the wind and cling
Where wheels have freshly sliced the April mire.
~Robert Frost, "Blue-Butterfly Day"

I am a Putnamaniac because I love the blooming butterfly bushes and the butterflies among the blossoms!

Sunday fun! Fort Hill Farms features Blueberries and Bluegrass with Blackstone Valley Bluegrass (my fav)!!!!

Do you love fun?

Do you love blueberries?

Do you love Bluegrass music?

Do you love hayrides?

Do you love ice cream?

Do you love green fields and blue sky as far as the eye can see?

If you said yes to any of the above., there is a don't miss event on Sunday, July 15th, from 1-4pm, at Fort Hill Farms, 260 Quaddick Rd, Thompson, CT (just off Rt 44 coming in from RI to CT).

I went last year and will hope to never miss it again while I am on this earth.

I was introduced to:

• Fort Hill Farms and the energetic family/team that makes it tick.
• Blackstone Valley Bluegrass and their amazing musical talent - you just wait for their strings to catch fire, they are so fast! All you other pickers can step aside, because these guys are top shelf. (And they are also pretty darned cute)!

 I am very lucky to live so close to this peaceful, beautiful place, and such amazing musicians as well. Imagine that this all fun and entertainment will be offered to YOU on Sunday.

Take a moment to get to know the joy I experience in Northeast CT. It is close by and at your fingertips!

I am a Putnamaniac that is counting down the minutes till Blueberries and letting my Soul Shine with Blackstone Valley Bluegrass at Fort Hill Farms on Sunday!

Saturday night will be spectacular in Putnam, with Cirquetacular AND River Fire!

I am itching for the weekend!!!!

That is usually the case for most of us, no matter if our "weekends" are Saturday and Sunday, or Tuesday and Wednesday.

Loverboy even did a song about it.

This Saturday is sure to please anyone who shows up in Rotary Park on Kennedy Drive in downtown Putnam.


Seven Hills Symphony Orchestra will be the musical support for acrobats flying above the crowds in Cirque-tacular Al-Fresco. It is sure to be quite the spectacularly entertaining show.

And that is not all! Once the stage (and air) show is complete, WINY Radio will supply the most perfect music to enjoy our first River Fire of the season.

WOW!!! I am so excited!!!!!!

If you are free Saturday night, head to Putnamania. You will love it. I already know of some folks with great taste heading in from RI to enjoy this awesome time with me! Won't you join us?

I am a Putnamaniac because I am looking forward to another spectacular weekend!

Relay Raffle Revelling!

Relay for Life is a well known organization.

Recently a Relay was held in Plainfield, CT, with tons of participants.

I am always disapppointed when I can't attend or particpate in such inspirational events, but there are only so many hours each day.

My way of joining in and supporting was to buy some raffle tickets for a variety of gift baskets from my friend, an employee of Jewett City Savings Bank.

There were great choices, and I got tickets with certain people in mind if I actually won....
(I don't usually win anything, so I didn't tell these friends about the raffles)...
Some of the choices were:
*A golf outing basket - that ticket was for my golf loving coworker and his girlfriend in mind!
*A kids' bike basket - I know a little boy that was going to get that one!
*A weekend at a cabin at a local campground - that prize would be perfect for a family I just love!

Guess what????

I WON!!!

The weekend at the cabin will be enjoyed by a fantastic family, and I was so thrilled to win it!

Lesson learned (even though I already knew it) - it is easy to win when you are thinking of others.

Pass it on!

I am a Putnamanic revelling in my raffle ticket win!

Seabee connection ~ from Davisville, RI to Putnam, CT

Have you ever heard about or saw the Seabees? They are the construction group of the Navy.

Everyone I grew up with knows about them, since they were located right in our town of North Kingstown, specifically in my own village of Davisville, about a mile away.

We drove by the Seabee so much, it became a part of the scenery.

The Quonset Point and Davisville military bases were hopping with activity for many years.

My mom and her brothers & sisters were raised right next door to where I grew up, and they all have memories as kids of hearing the loud and imposing military cargo planes flying in and out of the base during WW2.

When I was a kid, it was never a good idea to get too attached to a best friend for long, since so many kids were military kids, and moved away as soon as you got to know them.

The area where the Seabee sat as entrance to the base has changed a lot over the recent years...supermarkets, other big box stores reside where our tough Seabee used to buzz.

This Memorial Day I found a great connection to the Seabees in my now home of Putnam, CT ~ some Quiet Corner locals were Seabees, and the Seabee itself even appeared in our parade!

This morning the connection intensified as some former Seabees were interviewed on local WINY Radio!

The Seabees are having a pig roast ~ a fund raiser on August 18 in Davisville for $30 ~ with the funds going towards the Seabee Museum also located right in Davisville, RI.

Although I don't have any Seabees in my family, I feel like they are a part of my family's history. I couldn't resist and ordered 2 tickets for the event. I think my mom & uncle would enjoy checking out the place!

If you would like to go, you can call fellow Putnamania and former Seabee Bob Lassin at 860-564-1644 for tickets.

I am a Putnamaniac because I found my Seabee connection once again ~ from my youth home town to my grown up home town!

Best trade in town today - purple road heart for a bottle of water!

Whew! I did not plan out my water/drink stops this afternoon before venturing out for my 11.5 mile jog.

Dumb - yup, I know it.

I felt like Clark Griswold running through the desert to find help when they crashed the family truckster on the way to Wally World in Vacaction (watch clip).

However I was able to make amends...and found something to trade for some water!

My eyes spotted a little purple heart on the side of the road.

Something a kid would just love - I mean it looks like a big valuable jewel!

Luckily a very amusing kid lives along my path home... at mile 9.5... I stopped in and the fantastic family offered me a cold refreshing bottle of water! I traded my purple heart shaped jewel.

Done deal - best trade in town all day!

I am a Putnamaniac because I can make some great trades with great people in my town!

Oh Tidings of Comfort and Joy!

One of the most pleasant surprises I have found in Putnam is that I have become a bit more comfortable with people.

I can work and talk work the pants off anyone, but on a social level, I am very awkward in "one-to-one" situations.

People have told me this a lot over the years, and as Pats Coach Bill Belichek would say "it is what it is". I stuck to myself and accepted the fact that I am not a "people person".

Yet something in Putnamania - perhaps the great, friendly, accepting people - puts me at ease.

Today I invited myself on over for a "pop-in" to visit some friends...just like that! I would NEVER do that much in the past...

Wow - imagine that I am singing great tidings of comfort and joy of visiting with people after all these years!

I am a Putnamaniac because I am surrounded by outstanding, top-notch people here!

QVCC ~ A Great Community College in a Great Community!

Lots of days I know just what I would like to blog about since there are so many positive things to focus on where I live in Northeast CT.

Other times the abundance of choices overwhelms me and I just don't know which to choose.

Today I am thrilled that QVCC (Quinebaug Valley Community College) is in Northeast CT and available to one and all, including this Putnamaniac!

Why does a 52 year old Putnamaniac get excited about QVCC?

1) The CT Real Estate Practice and Principles course was my first experience there a couple of years ago, and that connected me to some fantastic folks in the Quiet Corner.

2) I have an amazing friend that sacrificed her earlier years and college at that time to raise her 4 young & rambunctious cousins. Although she is now a very dedicated mother and holds down a more than full-time job, she is taking courses at QVCC to complete that degree that she deserves.

3)  We got a flyer at work for a Quickbooks seminar... very expensive.... I took a look at QVCC and discovered they have online Quickbooks classes for MUCH LESS than the big seminar type situations.  I have complete faith that I will learn more with my QVCC courses than with that other alternative.

4) QVCC has a great Learning in Retirement program, so I have something to look forward to....IF I ever decide to retire, that is!

I am a Putnamaniac happy to have a great community college, Quinebaug Valley Community College, right in my own back yard!

First Friday time ~ Come down for July's First Friday Art Attack!

On the first Friday of every month from May through December, we celebrate artistically in Downtown Putnam. These events are orchestrated by the Putnam Business Association, who also have a First Friday facebook page if you'd like to "like" them.

There are "Art Attacks" of all varieties ~ bands, theatrical performances, dancers, singers, artists of all mediums...

There are street vendors showing their wares, as well.

Mostly, there is a lot of community spirit, fun, and enjoyment.

Putnam is a tremendously low key and friendly place with something going on all the time, and lots of it is for free, just like our First Fridays!

I will be at The Last Green Valley's table, spreading the good word with my fellow Ranger Janet. Stop by for a visit and become a member of The Last Green Valley! It is where we live.

I am a Putnamaniac because there are always so many community fun things to do, like First Fridays!

Restrategize of the 50 miler coming up!

People can do amazing things.

You simply need to push yourself if you want to do something, and isn't it amazing when you do it!

I've been training to do the DKH Deary Road Race on Saturday, August 11th.

The race is 5 miles.

My friend Scott Deslongchamps (aka Scott the Long Distant Champ)
runs the course all night long ~ 9 times (9 x 5 miles = 45 miles) before the real race starts.
Then he runs the race along with the other runners, for a total of 50 miles!

He does this to raise money for this great cause, the Deary Cancer Fund, in which all the funds stay locally to help our friends and neighbors here in Northeast, CT.

I want to help him raise as much money as possible, so I am training to do this same thing, and although I'm training as a jogger, my goal is to walk the 50 miles.

Working 7 days a week, plus volunteering, plus living life limits training time, as you can imagine.
I've gone out at 4am ~ I've jogged after work & not gotten home til 10pm ~ I'm covering a lot of miles! What an adventure!

I feel and look like this quite often:

My biggest stumbling block to doing the entire 50 miles, most of it during the middle of the night, is darkness.

I'm not gonna lie to you ~ I am afraid of the dark.

Bigfoot, skunks, falling down, bats, cars....

So, I think I may have to restrategize and run/walk 25 miles on Friday, August 10th after work, and then get up early and do the last 25 miles on Saturday, August 11th.

I will be satisfied with completing that goal.

I will be more satisfied with raising some money for this good cause ~ the Deary Memorial Cancer Fund.

Donations of any amount will be accepted by me and added to Scott's donations to go directly to the Deary Memorial Cancer Fund. I even have a freezer full of home made cookies to trade you for your donations!

I am up to $101 in donations so far!

I am a Putnamaniac because I am working towards a goal to help the Deary Memorial Cancer Fund!

What a great name ~ Barr-Nunn!

My faithful little Putnam Ford Focus sees a lot of miles.

The drive to work Monday through Friday from Putnamania to Columbia, CT is 40 miles.

Although I grew up in RI, I'm still not a Rhodes Scholar, but can clearly calculate the drive home is another 40 miles.

Sometimes there are meetings in New Haven, Newington, Stratford....more miles....

So, I entertain myself by seeing what I can see.

There was a great truck ahead of me the other day. Barr-Nunn.

I would love to have that last name! Imagine Marcy B Putnamaniac Barr-Nunn!

What fun!

I am a Putnamaniac that entertains myself the best ~ Barr-Nunn ~ while driving the many miles to and from work!

Mailbox Baseball - my dad actually had a good solution!

Smashed mailboxes are not an uncommon sight in Everytown, USA.

Kids can't seem to resist playing mailbox baseball.

Snowplows hit them in the winter.

Cars crash into them by accident.

My dad actually had a great solution to this problem.

He would take his mailbox out every morning and bungee cord it to the base on the post.

He would come home every afternoon, and not only bring in his mail, but the whole mail box.

I'm not sure I can credit my dad with a lot of great ideas (other than marrying an outstanding lady), but he gets kudos for this idea!

I am a Putnamaniac because my dad had a great solution for extending his mail box's life!