Bfth's Boring Blog

October 29, 2017...it's pouring rain outside.  My backyard is becoming a swampy lake.  How appropos that today is the day that we mark the 5th anniversary of Superstorm Sandy. Jersey Strong.  Stronger than the Storm.  Slogans that we chanted and songs that were sung.  We believed.  We proved our strength.  Now five years have passed. We are still Jersey strong.  We will ALWAYS be Jersey Strong; stronger than any storm or ANYTHING that life might throw at us.  (That includes the lousy "jokes" and cracks that outsiders like to throw.) Have we "restored" the shore?  Yes and no. Things have been "rebuilt."  Houses are BIGGER and higher up than ever.   It seems every small patch of land that has been beaten down, a larger, "stronger" structure has been put in its place. It's necessary, I suppose, but to see the small little cottages that dotted the shore line in my youth disappear is sad.  Camp Osborne is...

Almost 30 years ago, I graduated from college.  During my 4 years on campus I was pretty active in the theatre department.  Upon reflection, I had my hand in every mail stay production during my time there, whether it was on stage or behind the scenes.  After graduation, I still had plenty of friends on campus and I would go back and see productions and friends.  But as time went on, and my life took twists and turns that I didn't anticipate, I haven't been back in 20 or so years. That all changed one recent weekend.  The theatre department was performing the musical, "Runaways."  The last time it had been done was 30 years ago and I had been the stage manager.  A very wise woman who heads the department took to social media to get as many people who had been involved in the original production to come back on Saturday night to see the new one.  How could I resist? I couldn't.   I initially thought I would drive up and st...

It was an exceptionally warm October day on Sunday.  Feeling more like early September than late October.  A beautiful day with sunshine coupled with leaves changing color.  My family (3 of us; my son, my husband and I) went for a walk in the park. We were not alone.  Hundreds (perhaps even close to a thousand) people were gathered there.  None of us were there because it was such a lovely autumn day.  (Although that certainly helped.)  We were there for the first (to our town) Out of the Darkness Community Walk to support the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.  ( https://afsp.donordrive.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=cms.page&id=1196&eventID=4896 ) If you didn't know better you'd think it was a huge party of some sort.  There were so many people!  There was so much love...hugs and conversation. A few tears fell too. Some great music was playing (and I wasn't afraid to shake my booty).  There was a celebratory air...

Twenty some odd years ago, I bought a sofa and love seat set.  It was shortly after I was married because as wedding gifts we received quite a few gift certificates to a favorite furniture store.  It wasn't a chain and it was down at the shore not far from where my parents lived  (which is why I went there with my mother in the first place.)  New living room furniture was definitely something we needed, but getting something that fitted both our styles wasn't going to be easy.  My husband liked modern whereas I liked more tradition. He was not adverse to leather; I was!  We both believed in functional.  The living room walls were a nondescript cream color, the woodwork/trim was a black wood.  The house had (and has) a certain "feel" to it and I think both my husband and I wanted something that would fit that...I think the best term that we could come up with was "library;" although I don't mean like a public library, but more like a private librar...

Surely you've seen it on social media?  Or even the nightly news?  #MeToo.   If you don't know what it's about (and you SHOULD, it's EVERYWHERE), here's the really brief nutshell version of the story:  women, who have been sexually assaulted or harassed are sharing their voice on social media by simply posting #MeToo.   Scarily, everywhere I look friends, business associates and acquaintances have been posting #MeToo.  And not unlike a hurricane gathering up more strength and power, this declaration has evolved.  It's not about pretty want-to-be actresses wearing low cut blouses and thigh high skirts; it's about women  (and MEN) of all shapes, sizes, ages, races etc. that have felt the razor sharp sting of harassment or assault.  (Surely, you didn't think the "problem" was exclusive to young shapely blondes with big boobs and long legs.  Surely, you didn't assume that it was something that only happened to "them" be...

It was a busy weekend in my house.  Lots of things to do and running around.  Like many families even when I think we have a "quiet" weekend, it turns out to be busy. As it tends to, Sunday night arrived faster than I expected or was ready for.  Seems like one minute it's Friday night and the next thing I know I'm telling my son to take a shower before "Bob's Burgers" so that we can watch it and "The Simpsons" together. It's kind of a Sunday night ritual that all of us (or at least two of us) sit down and watch together to wrap up the weekend. My son made it downstairs just before the start of the show and flopped down on the sofa.  I was sitting on the love seat burning off some calories with my stand alone pedal exerciser.  I'm not the biggest "Bob's Burger" fan, but this weekend's episode with the reading contest and the mystery of the "attacked" therapy dolls drew in my dark sense of humor and ...

Fall is not just back to school time; it's back to sell time.  For the past month and a half I've been either putting my hand out for donations (middle school music program, walk to raise awareness for suicide prevention) or doling out money (Boy Scouts, annual church stewardship drive, school beautification).  I swear people are starting to run away from me when they see me! Yesterday we wrapped up the school music program fundraiser.  I've been raising money for the school music program since I was a kid.  "Back in the day" I toted candy bars (always popular at school) and sold/made hoagies (also known as subs or heroes).  Now a days (at least in the middle school program...in my day it was only the high school that did fundraising, but back then the middle school music program was not as strong), there is the annual "Cheesecake" sale.  Now we don't just peddle cheesecake, there are a variety of cakes, piece and cookie doughs, but it is the fo...

(NOTE:  Just realized that I never published this...that's what happens when...well, when LIFE takes over.  Is there anyone out there who ISN'T running in 5 different directions at once?  [I think there's a blog post in there as well!]  If you missed it, here is part 1:   https://bfthsboringblog.blogspot.com/2017/09/the-north-jersey-girl-goes-south-part-1.html ) Saturday rolled in with heavy fog.  So heavy that when I first got up I could not see the ocean.  I crawled back into bed.  What good is a vacation if you can't sleep in a little? But I'm a get up and go girl.  After a half an hour or so I put on some clothes and went for a walk to see what I could find for breakfast.  Hubby had said that there was a place that offered vegan alternatives, which is usually good for allergies.  I wandered around for under an hour, but didn't see the place he mentioned.  But it was getting clearer out. The boy was still sleeping...

Since the spring it's been nearly impossible to get from one end of my town to the other without encountering a road block.  Today road x is closed; tomorrow avenue Y is only one lane.  Now my town is small; less than 3 square miles.  (Which is why I was able to walk every street in town over the summer:  https://bfthsboringblog.blogspot.com/2017/08/walking-my-town.html)  With traffic and construction getting from my end of town (and I do live on the far east side) to the other, which is less than two miles, can take 10 minutes! It's mostly the result of PSE&G digging up and replacing gas lines.  And while I am grateful that they are doing this important work (Believe me I am!  No more exploding manholes!), the process is driving me crazy.  (And I'm pretty sure that I'm not the only one.)   Of course my town is not the only town that PSE&G is doing their work.  They've been diligently working in towns all around me. ...