Don't keep me hanging on the telephone....

I'm a music fan, and also a rule follower.

Proof positive:

As a junior high school girl, I called my mother at work one day.

We were not supposed to call our parents at work.

Period.

Ever.

Unless the house was on fire, and we could not put it out by ourselves.

But, I must have had a dire issue, so I called my mom at work, at that time she was the Wickford Baptist Church secretary. Since we lived in the Davisville end of town, it was approximately 10 minutes away.

My momma answered, but got another call or something, and asked me to hold.

I held... for 1 minute, for a few more minutes, for even more minutes... until after about 15 minutes of hanging on the telephone line, she pulled into the driveway!

Promptly, I hung up the phone to meet said momma at the door, where she sweetly replied.... "Oh, I forgot I put you on hold."

All I can say is laugh out loud!!!!

Which leads me to the music portion of this blog, Blondie's "Don't leave me hanging on the telephone"..   Enjoy!

I am a Putnamaniac that does not like to be kept hanging on the telephone, although it sure can be funny at times!

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Carefree highways...let me slip away on you!

On another great day to awaken and be alive, I put on my shorts, t-shirt and shoes, and hit the road.

As I jogged up Rt 12 in Putnam, amidst the trees and birds and butterflies, I kept thinking about the song by Gordon Lightfoot, Carefree Highways..

It will not leave my mind, because it is so nice to slip away... and there are so many carefree highways here in Northeastern CT.

I am certain you can find your own carefree highways where you live. If you can't, you are welcome to come and be my neighbor.

Carefree highways... let me slip away on you...

I hope you can slip away once in a while if you need to....

I am a Putnamaniac that loves the carefree highways of life!

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The most beautiful eggplant flowers and other thoughts on growth...

True fact:

I have never seen an eggplant flower before... today.

Sure, I know that fruit and veggies come after the flowers go, but this is my first time growing the most delicious purple eggplant. That means this is the first time I have experienced the wonder and purpleness of the pre-veggie flower.

WOW!

Nature can give and take, so it is thrilling to be able to grow stuff... flowers, herbs, veggies, trees.

Here is a sugar pumpkin going like mad!

 

Imagine your livelihood depends on a good season. After a good season you are happy and successful! But what if you have a bad season? Time spent, money spent, land used, and no crop. Yikes.

There is no guarantee in farming, which makes farmers all the more brave risk takers.

Why do they do it? It is in their blood in many cases, and they just can't help themselves... the rewards are endless, and the challenge is compelling.

I am a Putnamaniac that loves the flowers of eggplant as well as all growing things!

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Aspinock Historical Society hits a home run with their St. Mary's Church publication!

As we go about our day to day business.... work, family, fun.... we are creating history.

Some day in the future all the businesses, events, and people we interact with (including each one of us!!) will no longer be around. That is a fact of  the circle of life. We all can and will live forever if the records, facts and stories are carried forward, as we become history ourselves.

History is a compelling subject - from the big events of the world to the little events and people of our own towns and in our own families.

Local historical societies play invaluable rolls in digging up local histories - of events, people, and places.

In Putnam, we are lucky to have the Aspinock Historical Society on the case for us. They act as detectives as they research and dig deep to find the roots of our community.

Most recently the Aspinock Historical Society wrote and published a book on the History of St. Mary's Church of the Visitation, located on Providence Street in Putnam. 

It was a lot of work, and now you can sit back and enjoy the facts presented neatly before you in this book.

To learn more about the Aspinock Historical Society, click here.

You can interact and enjoy facts and remembrances of Putnam by "liking" the You are Probably from Putnam CT if you... facebook page here.

I am a Putnamaniac that is a fan of history and the Aspinock Historical Society!

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Laughing your goofy arse off is good - the NEW ENGLAND COMEDY ALL STARS give you the chance this weekend!

Laughter is the best medicine - it has been studied and is a true and proven fact if you have not been aware or alert enough to figure this out for yourself. You can certainly learn more here on webmd about the studies and results.... 

If smiles, giggles, chuckles and out right belly laughs have been absent from your life recently, you have a chance to reengage with them this Saturday night, June 28, 2014.

The New England Comedy All-Stars offer this chance to you (thanks to WINY Radio for the facts):

AN EVENING WITH THE NEW ENGLAND COMEDY ALL STARS

Date: June, 28th 2014 7:30 pm - 10:00 pm

ALL TICKETS $15 ~ GENERAL ADMISSION
SUGGESTED AUDIENCE IS 18 AND OLDER
TICKETS: 860-928-7887
BRADLEYPLAYHOUSE.ORG
BRADLEY BOX OFFICE – AN HOUR AND A HALF BEFORE SHOWTIME.
Location: BRADLEY PLAYHOUSE ~ PUTNAM

If you need to laugh your goofy arse off, come on down to see this great show!

 I am a Putnamaniac that will be seeing this show this Saturday night and enjoying some laughs!

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A helpful box on the street - thanks to the USPS!

Do you ever stop and think about the phenomenon of these blue boxes that appear on our streets across the U.S. of A.?

How is it possible that you can throw in an envelope, with a forever stamp (at this time .48 worth of your hard earned money), and expect that said envelope to arrive at its destination?

The USPS is still getting it done! That is how.

Many of my friends, and probably your friends, have worked for or still work for the USPS.

They make me proud!

I am a Putnamaniac that loves mail boxes!

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Downtown Putnam is truly a TEAM! Including a peddling team! Check this out!

I've had a bee in my bonnet for some time to do this blog, and wanted to just take my time to enjoy downtown Putnam and breath in all the pedals and petals.

My busy, busy, busy as a bee schedule has not allowed me to take that stroll as of late, but I am still able to report this fabulous downtown Putnam phenomenon thanks to the Peddlin' for Putnam facebook page!

If you have been downtown recently, you know what I am talking about when I mention Peddlin' for Putnam. 

If you have not, you might think I am a bit off my wheels!

Consider this evidence: At each of the local downtown merchants there is a fabulous 2 (or more) wheeled piece of artwork - filled with flowers! Pedals and petals.

Witness: 

Victoria Station has had their signature pink peddler out in front in every season for years, but now the peddling craze has spread. Be sure to "like" and take a look at all the pedals and petals on their facebook page, and most definitely come on down to downtown Putnam to see them all in person.

How special to live in a town where the businesses join in together and embrace the community spirit, and most of all, they make it a great place to live, work and visit!

I am a Putnamaniac that loves all the pedals and petals downtown!

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Good guys I know, named George!

George.

It is a good name.

One of substance.

Think of all the George's you know or have heard of.

George Washington.

George Harrison.

Well, I know a few other great Georges.

Most of all in the forefront today is my pal George Achorn.

Your average everyday good guy. Husband, father, son, brother, coworker, friend.

I saw him at his best today, just being a good guy.

Who could ask for anything more?

People can be outstanding, and I choose to stand with them!  Boy, am I lucky!

I am a Putnamaniac that loves my Georges!

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Starry, starry night....

Starry, starry night.

 
There are so many of them here in The Last Green Valley and Northeast CT.

Driving home tonight, along the back and dark country roads all I could see was the starry, starry night.

Perhaps it is because this area is still predominantly farms and forests ~ approximately 78%.

That is absolutely why I love it. It is why I never want to stop breathing... just for a chance to view another sky full of stars. It should never end.

I am a Putnamaniac that hopes you can enjoy starry, starry nights where you live!

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I will rock the vote - finally - thanks to all around good guy, Scott Pempek

Hi, I'm Marcy, and although I am 54 years old, I have only ever voted once..

... when I was 18.

Yup - I know what you are all thinking, and I have thought it a gazillion times over the years.

Irresponsible adult.

BUT... I have opinions.

I have made my choices during every election period as to who I would vote for - candidates and issues.

Somehow, I never took the time to register to vote.

So many stupid and repeatedly heard excuses:
*I'm too busy
*I work a lot
*One vote does not make a difference...

I've heard the lectures, not really directed at me, but my guilty conscience makes it seem so (just like in church on the rare occasions I attend).

My sister, my mother, Kerensa, Shaina, Dave Henry, Chris Divona, etc, etc, etc talk of the importance of voting.... they don't talk directly to me about the importance of a vote, yet I feel under the microscope for not stepping up and doing the civic duty that is mine, especially to support a country, state and town where I love to live.

Today I filled out a voter registration after ALLLLL these years. I will thank Putnam's town selectman, Scott Pempek, who somehow finally kickstarted me into gear. Perhaps it is because after all these years of moving around, I have finally settled. In any case, I will thank Scott, as well as all the others that understand the importance of one vote, and continue to point it out to deaf ears that may once again hear.

If you are a Putnam resident and are not registered, you can do so by clicking here to get the information .

I am a Putnamaniac that will finally rock the vote!

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Interesting tan lines prove the condition of your gardening and jogging attire!

Tonight I hopped out of the shower, and in the mirror across from the shower noticed what looked like a dirty spot on my upper back.

It would not be unheard of for me to have dirt on my back, but today I spent minimal time in the yard after work, and didn't get dirty at all (for the most part).

Upon closer inspection, it was a tan spot - a tan circle on my back. It nicely matched my tanned arms, shoulders and back of my neck (the usual t-shirt tan lines).

 It is tough to take a picture of your own back!

I have been teased in the past for my garden and jogging attire. Here is the long loved t-shirt and its guilty hole...

It is also hard to hold up a holey shirt and take a picture of it!

We've been through thick and thin, this t-shirt and me. 

I will not forsake it now! We will be united until there is no more t-shirt! 

I am a Putnamaniac that has interesting tan lines, which prove I am loyal to my clothing!

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Snakes in the siding!!! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

In yet another chapter of becoming a home ~ and yard owner once again after years in a condo...

I have discovered snakes ~ and that they still make me scream SNAKEEEEEEEEEE every time I see one, no matter what size.

Although I have seen at least a snake or two or three or more every day for weeks, I still scream!

Yesterday I got the surprise of my life as I was bent over weeding, and a snake was on the step to our exterior garage... we met eye to eye. I screamed "SNAKEEEEEEE", and it slithered.... right up the side of the garage and under the vinyl siding!!!!! YIKES!!!

 The snake went right up into the siding by the door... this is a picture of earlier this spring... who knows if he's been there before we moved in....YIKES

Today the same thing happened again! YIKES!

Luckily my hubby caught him and pointed him to the woods. Then we fixed the siding so it was tight, and hopefully not a welcoming home to that snake or any of his reptilian relatives any more!

I am a Putnamaniac that does not like snakes in the siding!

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And today I saved a Lion... I named him Gilligan. True stuff!

You never know what you are going to find, in any place, at any time.

That is why I keep my four eyes open, all the time!

(I have walked into doors and come almost eye to eye with snakes due to my eyes focusing on something else quite interesting at the time).

Today as I was tossing some weeds and yard waste over the edge of the hill and into the gulley next to our yard, I spotted a ..... lion!

Wow!!! What a find!

It was a wee, little, plastic toy variety lion, but he was clearly in need of rescue!

As I scampered down the slippery hillside, filled with years of composting material, I hoped I would not encounter a snake at this time.

Luck was with me! No snakes crossed my path, and I rescued the little lion.

I named him Gilligan and he is now keeping watch and on guard duty in one of our raised garden beds. His location will vary each day, since we have 6 raised beds, and some perennial gardens as well. 

 I am a Putnamaniac that was pretty excited to rescue a lion today, even though it was someone else's piece of trash!

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I have a heart, but still broke a little! Danged woodchucks!

Experiencing my first spring season as a yard owner again after some years of being cooped up in a condo, and it ..... is ...... GREAT!!!!!

I was able to bring many plants with me from the Renegade Garden at the condo, and the are all happy to be in their new home with me and my hubby. The iris are outstanding this year!

A veggie garden is also in place. Raised beds were our choice and method, and the plants are cranking.

Of course since we live next to a big patch of woods, animals are our neighbors, along with all of our human neighbors.

Woodchucks appeared immediately.

The have a heart trap came out quickly.

We caught a large woodchuck almost immediately and my husband took him/her for a ride in the truck and relocated him/her to the woods out in West Thompson, so he/she could live with all his/her long lost relatives.

Then we caught another woodchuck... a little one.
Then we caught an oppossum. Ugly bugger!
Again, my hubby relocated them out to the boonies.

Then we caught yet another little woodchuck. Since my hubs was working late that night, I thought I should be the one to take the little critter on the truck ride to the woods.

Oddly enough I felt really bad dropping him off in the middle of the woods, far from his home. I told him to go find his long lost brother, father, cousins.... he looked so little sitting in those big woods all by himself. 

Isn't it odd that you know it is the right thing to do, but you still feel bad about doing it? I know I would not be happy with the damage woodchucks can do when they are in your yard and gardens, so I will imagine all the woodchucks hopping around together in the woods of West Thompson!

I am a Putnamaniac that had my heart break a little by a danged woodchuck!

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I stopped and smelled the roses today - literally!

The phrase "you need to stop and smell the roses" is a common one.

There was even a song about this thought, named aptly Stop and Smell the Roses, an oldie by Mac Davis. 

Today I literally stopped and smelled the roses - these roses on my way to work.

Lovely, lovely!

Certainly some passers by gave me an odd look as they sped by in their cars, headed to their destinations. But if just one of them noted that I stopped and smelled the roses, then maybe they will take 15 seconds to do just the same thing themselves today!

I am a Putnamaniac that stopped and smelled the roses today!

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These are the good old days ~ that phrase is stuck in my head! I'm ok with that...

Song lyrics really are poetry.

Most often they are a wonderful sounding earful of poetry.

I have a friend who loves to notice if people are "deep" listeners or "surface" listeners.

By that he meant that some folks hum and sing along with a song, but don't really listen to the music and certainly not to the words and their meaning.

Sometimes song lyrics get in my thoughts, for numbers of different reasons, and they nest there.

As I sing these embedded lyrics over and over again, it starts me wondering why these lyrics are present and speaking loudly.  They are settled in my mind for a reason ~  Do I have something occurring in life that needs an answer/solution? Am I remembering old memories? Am I forgetting something? Are the lyrics just meant to re-open my eyes and/or heart to something? What is it????

Eventually I get to the heart of the lyrics, and why they linger, and then they pass on.

These last few days I keep thinking of Carly Simon's song Anticipation. The lyrics in particular that keep replaying in RadioMarcy are "These are the good old days". This is a theme that I must remind myself of over the years. It is easy to look forward to when "something" will happen (hence the anticipation), and it is easy to look back and perhaps enhance the memories of the good old days....

However, and this is a big however, I need to remember to enjoy every minute as it is happening, because these are indeed the good old days. It is vital to enjoy every stinking moment.

Listen up friends ~ you will hear many great lyrics in life, from many sources!

I am a Putnamaniac that loves that these are the good old days! 

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Another First Friday! YAY!!!!

Another First Friday - tomorrow night - June 6th, 2014 in the streets of downtown Putnam!!!

How can there be more than one first Friday??

There are so many reasons and answers to that question.

Each first Friday of each month, May through October, we celebrate arts & culture in downtown Putnam by shutting down the streets and welcoming guests, visitors, vendors, artists, musicians, dancers..... all diverse and all spectacular.

No month is EVER THE SAME!!!! Each month you will experience something new!! Each month is like a first!

Come on down!

For more information on Putnam's First Fridays, you can:
*"like" the facebook page
*go to either of these websites - Discover Putnam or Putnam Business Association, which offer tons of information, as well as our local radio station WINY's website.

See you around!

I am a Putnamaniac that loves First Fridays in Putnam!

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46 years ago I received a wonderful lifelong gift ~ my little sister!

Just over 46 six years ago, if my math is correct (I did not use an excel spreadsheet to calculate these facts....), I was awaiting my 8th birthday.

My mother was super pregnant.

That new little Dawley baby was due any moment....

All I wished for as a birthday gift was a little something (I didn't care if it was a little brother or little sister, and back then, you found out what you got when it appeared kicking and screaming).

My birthday came... and went.... and in true form, my little sister arrived after she was expected.

Although she arrived just 8 days after my birthday, I still consider her the best birthday gift ever.

Suzanne Joy has brought us much JOY, as she has always been her own person, fiercely independent, brilliantly smart, professional and kind, artistic, a humanitarian, the sense of reason, generous, fun, an animal lover, a great enjoyer of music/sports/comedy, and of life in general... I can not say enough about my little seesta. I admire her immensely, and I love her till the ends of the earth.

Here is a picture of her sitting in the suitcase that our Mom came home with from the hospital, after she had Si, our youngest brother ~ he is equally as awesome, and a story for yet another day:

I am a Putnamaniac that has received some great gifts in my day, including my little seesta, Sue!

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