Bfth's Boring Blog

  For the third (or is it the fourth?) Sunday in a row, we had rain.  And make no mistake, this Sunday's rain wasn't just rain...it was RAIN. While I am tired of Sunday rainstorms, this week I was particularly upset because our son was coming up to visit us for his 4 day fall "break."  He wasn't coming on Saturday (as I had hoped which was actually a gorgeous day), but Sunday morning.  This was the first time he was driving to our house in the Poconos and being the overly nervous mother, I said several prayers in church that morning and then watched (via app) as he made his way.  (Thankfully with no issues) However because of the rain we/he couldn't do some of the things we had hoped.  (Like enjoy our backyard.)  We did, as a family, go to several antique stores where I find a couple of books that I was looking for.  (I'm a collector of the original Nancy Drew series, but also have Dana Girls, Cherry Ames, Connie Blair and Judy Bolton.  The l...

Does anyone have the most favorite chore? Chores are not supposed to be fun, they're meant to be done. I suppose if I was going to say what my most favorite chore was it would be laundry. I don't mind throwing stuff into the washing machine, hanging it up to dry or throwing it in the dryer, and then folding it up and putting it away. Although I confess that my folding skills sometimes turn more into throw it in the drawer skill.   I'm pretty sure that my least favorite chore is also my husband's least favorite. It is cleaning the toilet. It's gross. It's disgusting. It's not fun.    I often think that the two of us try to wait each other out. We noticed that the bowl is getting a little dirty but neither one of us wants to deal with it. So who will go in and do it? Who will hold out the longest? Usually it's me that gives in first. And it's something I really hate to do.    Several years ago for Christmas I requested a gift that seems a little ...

 And my electric bill is about to go up!  (Actually it already went up prior to the heat going on...) I was in NJ for more days this week than I anticipated.  (That MAY be another blog post...if I dare write it.  Do I?)  In NJ we only have a heating system (a boiler that fueled by oil), no A/C.  (Unless you count the window units...which stay in all year around because with the wacky weather you never know when you are going to need them.  And to go off topic a bit here, when my grandmother was alive she didn't have any a/c.  There were portable fans and that's what you used.  For her last 3-4 years, she was bedridden [which makes me sadder now than it did then...I was an self-centered 20 something and I look back now and feel sorrow and shame] and only had fans in the bedroom.  [Which was not her bedroom.  It had been my mother’s/her daughter's and the caregiver stayed in the room that had been hers.  Now it's my son's and h...

  I recently wrote an article for a church newsletter about scams.   They are all around us and I know we all try to be vigilant, but… I wrote the article because I had recently gotten an email from church rector.   The note was brief:   “Do you have some time.   I have a request I need you to handle discreetly.   I am currently busy, no calls so just reply to my email.” Seems reasonable…or does it? Now of course I’m willing to help (anyone in the congregation would be because like most religious organizations [at least the ones that I’ve been involved with], members are supportive, caring and always willing to help) but a few things caught my eye.   It was signed using his full name.   That’s not typical.   Under that was the title “Pastor”.   He is indeed a pastor, but in the couple of years that I’ve known him, he’s never signed email that way.   Nor does he usually include the church’s name and address at the bottom of his...

  It's banned books week again.  So I thought I'd talk about 7 of my favorite banned books.  They are not my favorites because they are banned.  They are my favorites because I really enjoyed them.  Some of them have appeared on my annual "Best Books I Have Read This Year" list.  In my opinion, they are good books.  They tell a good story.  They have stuck with me.  They mean something to me and I think they mean something to others as well.  So here they are in no particular order (because that's just too hard to do): 1.        To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee: Okay, this is one of my all-time favorite books. It may very well be my favorite book.  I read it as a freshman in high school.  (Again I say thank you to Mrs. Y for having it as part of the curriculum.)It might have been the first book we read during the school year.  And nothing else I would read that year could even come close. (To t...

 I haven't written in a week, which is unusual for me, but then we are living in unusual times.  (At least I hope these times are unusual...if our current "climate" [and I'm not just talking weather here, although that's what I'm going to be mostly talking about] then we are in deep trouble.  Really deep trouble) It's another overcast Sunday, although nor'easter to content with.  There's going to be rain again and it's colder than I'd like.  (You know me, I'm NOT a cold weather person, so I was hoping we could stretch out the warmer and sunnier todays for a bit longer.)  I'm hoping that I might be able to get outside for at least a quick walk, but you never know.   In the meantime, I am sitting here typing this blog post and blowing my nose because suddenly my allergies seem to be kicking into high gear. (You've heard of Rudolph the red nosed reindeer; let me present to you Bfthie the red eyed/red honking nose semi-human.) N...