Anyone who stops learning is old,

whether at twenty or eighty.

  ~Henry Ford

My husband often comes home from work and asks me what I have accomplished that day.  I have to admit it is sometimes difficult to see when you enter the house.  Being a stay-at-home mom with 2 children in college and one remaining at home, I am sure people think I have tons of free time to accomplish so many household chores and yard work.  Well, then why is there dirty laundry overflowing the clothes hampers?  Why is dinner not made? Why isn't the house neat as a pin? Why?

 

When I exited the "working" world 15 years ago this month, I made a vow to myself that I would not let my brain go to mush.  I have always loved to be challenged.  I love to figure things out. My prior job as a computer programmer suited me well.  But would my mind be challenged staying at home changing diapers?  

I faced life as a stay-at-home mom with the same determination that I faced computer programming crash.  If something was broken, I could fix it.  If I didn't know how, I would learn.

I became a teacher.  I surprised even myself with the patience needed to raise 3 young children.  I was fascinated as I watched their minds and bodies grow, and knew that what I did everyday mattered more than any job outside the home.  I challenged my kids every day in fun, creative, and new ways.  Creativity, books, puzzles, imagination - we did it all.  And I learned so much from my kids - they changed me so much.

So now that the house is empty much of the time, I still feel the need to remain challenged.  Henry Ford's quote is so true.  I just can't stop learning.  What am I learning now?  

 I feel like there are not enough

  hours in the day to learn all that I want to know!

 

I want to continue to learn about my camera and photography.  This involves reading books, but also lots and lots of practice and doing.

 

III  

I want to learn HTML.  I need this in order to design web pages. No, I have no real plans to do this, but I would just like to know how!

 I love learning Photoshop!  There are so many things you can do with it.  It is so creative and I don't know if it's possible to ever learn it all.  But I spend lots of time taking online classes, taking notes like I am at school so I can remember it all at a later time.  I am a member of Lynda.com which has classes in just about anything you would ever want to know about computers and photography and photoshop!

 

 And at this time of my life, I strive for balance.  Life, learning, love.

We are all forever changing and becoming.

Isn't it wonderful?

Treat - or Trick?

Halloween around our neighborhood is usually pretty uneventful.  The street that we live on is not very well lit and most of the children are grown, so we do not get very many trick-or-treaters.  A few years ago, I decided to make my own fun.  I put on a costume and went to my neighbor's doors for candy.  My goal was to go unrecognized.  

This was pretty easy for the first few years until my neighbors began to expect my visit and were looking for me.  It was even more difficult this year because Halloween fell on the same night as Annie's weekly music rehearsal.  We didn't get home until almost 8:30 PM.  Due to the late hour, there were no groups of trick-or-treaters out anymore to tag along with, so Annie offered to put together a quick costume and come with me. Annie found a banana costume in Kerry's room for me to wear.


We set out together.  At the first house (Cheesmans), it didn't take Linda long to recognize Annie and then she knew it was me.


Debi Thompson had no clue until I started laughing.  Phil Cardone didn't say anything, but went back inside and told his wife there was a banana that for some strange reason looked like Gayle. 

Karen Fader was a little irritated because she had turned off her light and it was late, but she graciously gave each of us a candy.  I stayed where I was, and without saying a word, continued to hold out my bag.  She said, "Oh, you want more?" and gave me another candy.  When I still didn't move, she got angry and said "That's enough" and started closing the door.  We just had to blow our cover and let her know. 

 

Annie and I had a lot of fun together and it make the holiday a little more festive!

Bloodshot Eyes

My daughter looked at my eyes the other day and said, "Mom, you look like a crack addict!"  I already knew that my eyes looked weary and had way too many blood vessels showing.  It was not a surprise.  But I knew at that moment that I needed to make some changes in my life!

After googling "bloodshot eyes" I came up with a list of things that would supposedly help me with my problem:

More sleep.  OK, I can do that.  It will probably be good for my overall well-being.  I guess those late night online classes will have to stop.  I swear I never get tired when I am on the computer!  Maybe I should go back to reading plain old books!

Less time staring at the computer screen.  If I get more sleep, my time on the computer will be cut significantly!  But what about email, facebook, photoshop, online classes, my BLOG! I need to be on the computer to look at my photographs! OH, NO!  I guess I can TRY to limit myself!

Cold/Warm compresses on the eyes.  Sounds heavenly.  Laying around on the couch a few times a day with tea bags on my eyes!  Which is better? Cold or warm?  I'll try both!  But wait, now I have mascara all over my face.  I guess I'll have to go without make-up for a while.  Maybe this one can wait until bedtime!

Exercise.  I have been meaning to head back to the gym, but first I have to get rid of this nasty cough lingering from a cold I had last week.


Vitamins.  Got some.  This one is easy!


So it has been a week.....

 

I have been getting more sleep. I went to the gym.  I took my vitamins.  I only lasted a day without my computer! 

But at least I know Photoshop! 

Going Solo - Day 2

Kerry stayed in the hotel room with me.  I woke up early on Saturday and drove to Milton to have breakfast with my brother, Paul. I let Kerry sleep in.

Then I picked up Kerry and we headed to the Skirack to buy her equipment for snowboarding.  She tried it a few times last year in CT, but now she is looking forward to the winter here in Vermont.  I know it won't take her long to become really good at it!

Kerry and I headed to Middlebury after lunch and we walked around campus with Adam.  It was a beautiful day.  The picture above is really neat and symbolic.  Adam and Kerry are in the foreground with their backs to me, while I am only seen as a smaller figure watching over them in the background.  Adam is farther away from me than Kerry.  As a mother, I am watching my children as they leave home and start their lives without me.  I am still in their lives, but in a smaller role.

The Middlebury campus is really beautiful.  It is adorned with interesting art and sculpture in addition to the magnificent architecture.

We wandered around campus then went into town to look around the shops.

Before heading to dinner, we went to listen to a talk by Adam's psychology professor about a book that she co-wrote about how modern technology has changed parent-child relationships in college years.
It was very interesting and was very well attended.

I had a wonderful day!

Going Solo - Day 1

Last weekend was Family Weekend at UVM and we all went to Burlington to spend time with Kerry.  This weekend is Family Weekend at Middlebury College.  Since Annie needs to stay home this weekend,  I volunteered to come back to Vermont by myself. 

If anyone is feeling bad for me, don't.  I have been looking forward to it all week.  This morning I woke up early to take the dogs for a walk before I left. Then I packed up my things and headed out for a great day!  The journey would be just as nice as the destination because today, instead of trying to beat the destination time on the GPS, I intended to stop whenever and wherever I wanted to stop.  I would pull over to take pictures and I would explore every little shop along the way that sparked my curiosity! I would MEANDER!  I love that word!

When I got off I91 onto Rt. 103 in Vermont, I saw a kitchen store that was never there before and just had to go inside. 

I loved the side of this building!

Another stop for a picture of this colorful water wheel.

Meet my new friend, Harry.  Or maybe it's Hairy.  He was very cute!

Not all Vermonters graduate from college, or even high school!

     

I arrived in Middlebury at about 1:15 PM, just in time to meet Adam before his next class - Italian! I took 2 semesters of Italian when I was in college 30 years ago.  I was surprised at how much I could understand!

The Italian class sings "Volare" in the beginning of  class!

The sky to the east was dark and made such a nice contrast to the beautifully lit stone buildings on campus!

In back of Adam's dorm, a band played, pumpkins were carved, apple cider and cider donuts were served!

The basement of Adam's dorm was filled with very interesting graffiti.

Notice the bullet wound to the head!

The town of Middlebury

This picture was taken while I was driving - one handed out my window.  I wasn't even looking in the viewfinder!

Some scarecrows in front of the Shelburne Country  Store.


After spending the afternoon with Adam,  we headed to Burlington to have dinner with Kerry.  We went to a cute coffee shop called the Muddy Waters after dinner for some hot chocolate.  Then Kerry and I went to the hotel and Adam went back to Middlebury.  It was such a nice, relaxing day!

Funny Girl

Skype is an amazing thing!  If you have ever chatted online with a loved one away from home, I'm sure you would agree.  It's the next best thing to being there.  

Tonight, Annie and I and Kerry's friend, Jojo, had dinner together.  After dinner, we skyped with Kerry for over an hour.  It was just like she was sitting at the table with us.


From the time Kerry was an infant, she has always had a very expressive face. As we were chatting, I was taking pictures of my funny girl.

It's soooo much better than just talking on the phone, isn't it?