Jog with Judy 5k was today in Woodstock, CT

Today was the 6th annual Jog with Judy 5k race in Woodstock, CT. The number of participants grows like mad every year. Last year there were just over 700 who made the trek.

The death of Judy Nilan was a tragic news story that happened shortly after I moved to the Quiet Corner. She was murdered while out on a jog.

Judy Nilan was a social worker at the Woodstock Middle School who had a tremendous impact on the lives of the people around her. Her positive energy influenced the students and staff in the middle school.  She was dedicated to her many worthwhile causes.  All money collected from this annual road race will be put into a fund that will support these causes and future endeavors that will help students in the Woodstock Middle School.

Thank goodness residents in our area are able to make something good out of something tragically sad.

I am a Putnamaniac because my neighbors always try to make something good out of even the worst.

Expecting company? This lady in Putnam is!

Driving home from work tonight, I saw this expectant "lady", looking out her door as though she were expecting company. She expects and receives a lot of "pop-ins",since everyone loves to visit Putnam!

Check out this fine lady, and many others like her, at the fine antique boutiques in downtown Putnam!

I am a Putnamaniac because I am always expecting company in Putnam, too!

The fire pots are in the River!!!

The fire pots.....They were put away all winter, and now they have reappeared!
That means River Fires are approaching.

Click on this video to see the fire pots in the river! Woooohoooooo!

May 1st. First River Fire of the year. Be there or be square!


I am a Putnamaniac because the fire pots are now in the river!

The Renegade Gardener sends a BIG thank you to Mother Nature!

After much anticipation, and about 1000 mosquito bites this evening, the Renegade Gardener is thanking Mother Nature kindly for breathing some life (in the form of recent spring rain, sunshine, and quite warm temps today) back into the Renegade Garden. Signs of life have finally arisen!

Take a tour of the Renegade Garden (click on this video for your Renegade Tour) as she resurrects from slumber and shows promise of lots of growth this growing season. Yippeeeeee! Do not report this incident to the "Condo Police"...

I am a Putnamaniac because I also am a Renegade Gardener!

All varieties of blooms, including fun-now in Putnam!

Blooming now in Putnam, CT:
PJM Rhodys, Forsythias, Magnolias, Daffodils, Tulips, Dogwoods, Young baseball players, Young soccer players, and lots of upcoming fun!

Fun includes this coming weekend, Sunday, May 1st:
*85 Main's 3rd annual shuck off contest (oyster shucking contest and shellfish celebration), 12-6pm
*1st River Fire of the season, starting at dusk
Both events will be held in Rotary Park, downtown Putnam on Kennedy Drive.

Let your smile blossom while you enjoy these 2 great events!

I am a Putnamaniac because I love everything that blossoms here, including the fun events!

I'm razzle dazzled, and all that jazz by Chicago at the Bradley!

And Razzle Dazzle it was at the Bradley Theater!

If you like musicals with some comedy thrown in, set in an exciting/romantic/tumultuous time and place in our country's history, Chicago is just the ticket.

I had seen the movie. Loved it. I never knew it was based on a real historical events... until I heard an interview with the Bradley's director on WINY radio.

Apparently they did not call them the "roaring 20's" for nothing! Prohibition, gambling, drinking...

The musical is based on a play, written by a newspaper reporter who covered the trial of murderesses in Chicago in the mid 1920's. These women all had committed murder, "crimes of passion", under the influence of alcohol. Most reporters and the jury were all men, who couldn't resist these "darlings", showered them with attention & celebrity, then set them free by acquittal.

How could this story lose? And it gets better as the years go by.

So get your ticket for Chicago at the Bradley Theater now! There is still another weekend left! (...and I am going back one more time with friends. Can't wait for my second helping of Razzle Dazzle)!

I am a Putnamaniac because I love all the Razzle Dazzle at the Bradley Theater!

See Putnam "in your eyes", through my eyes

Ahhhh.  Putnam...every morning...

"I drive off in my car, but whichever way I go, I come back to the place you are"...

Today, try to see picturesque Putnam through my eyes....

...as I approach town, the Quinebaug River runs high and is moving swiftly. A tiny lady is walking her very large and fluffy white dog on the River Trail.  I'm pretty sure they are both smiling.

The forsythia and daffodils are spurting yellow splendor everywhere. Color and beauty so bright, you wonder if you are really seeing it.

As I get closer to our quaint downtown, I see the Cargill Falls framed under the arched bridge on Pomfret Street.  A life sized picture I never get tired of seeing.

The falls themselves are bubbling and frothing, and falling swiftly. The roar is steady and tranquilizing. The spray and mist attempt to soften the roaring falls.

The Little River runs along my road. Although it is "littler" than the Quinebaug, it is still high and moving fast this time of year. A pair of mallard ducks land in the corner of my eye. Such sparkling water.


I pull in the driveway, and WINY radio is playing Peter Gabriel's "In Your Eyes"...I'm not sure this song was ever used to capture a person's feeling about their home, but it really struck me that way today.

"in your eyes, the light the heat, in your eyes, I am complete, in your eyes, I see the doorway to a thousand churches, in your eyes, the resolution of all the fruitless searches, in your eyes, I see the light and the heat,
in your eyes"

I am a Putnamaniac because I love to see Putnam through my eyes!