Bfth's Boring Blog

  Disney World is gearing up to celebrate its 50th anniversary...  I am sad that I will not be there...I'm sad that we (my family) haven't been there since 2016.  I used to be a true fanatic of WDW and I am still a fan, life and finances (as well as some changes to the resort) have kept me/my family away. My friend Ken has been doing a great job of chronicling Disney attractions   https://www.clickorlando.com/team/CZXRUT4W3VDXBHASKA4QUZ4JS4/ .  He is a treasured and talented friend and as a result of the series he's been working on, I've been thinking about MY history with WDW.  Specifically, my FOOD history. If you've followed my blog, you know that I have severe and somewhat odd food allergies which keep me from dining out.  It makes travel difficult too...finding a safe place to eat isn't easy.  (And to be frank, it's often embarrassing, though I don't know why.)  For the most part, at WDW my allergies have been understood and I've be...

  For most of my life as the parent of a student, I attended the ever popular Back to School Night.  I wanted to get to know my son's teachers and I wanted them to know me.   There were parts that were (sorry to say this) kind of boring (the PTA meetings beforehand).  There were parts that were exhausting (running from classroom to classroom once he reached middle and high school).  But I always went because my son and his education/educational experience are important to me. The last time I experienced a traditional back to school night was when my son was a freshman.  The high school was so much easier to navigate than the middle school.  Who would have thought that it might be my last back to school night where we were physically present along with other parents and teachers? Obviously last year back to school night HAD to be virtual.  No one was actually IN the building (at least for educational purposes as far as I know) until...

  When we last left our vacation  it was a rainy Sunday night.  It kept raining into early Monday morning...loudly.  I was kind of disappointed. However we had another lovely breakfast took our time eating and sipping our coffee.  (All the servers know that they need to leave the pot on the table)  Again there was a big birthday bash.  This time a woman turning 90.  One of her family took her to the buffet (which was in another room) and while she was gone, everyone (including an infant) changed into birthday t-shirts and hats.  It was really kind of cute and I asked my son to do something like that for my 90th.  (He refused...rotten kid) After we were done with breakfast my son James decided he was going to hike up to Indian Ladder Falls as the rain was starting to let us.  I decided to go out on Dutch Hill Road in the opposite direction in which I had gone the day before (toward route 390). I past the new wildflower ar...

 Autumn is arriving today and I realized that I never got around posting my semi-written "trip report."  Since I've written about my various vacations to  Skytop  previously (and yes, I've got another trip planned for the fall, which unfortunately will be past peak foliage season), I'm going to try to keep this short and concise.  (You know that's not going to happen, but I will give it a try.) We usually try to visit for my son's birthday because that's where he wants to be, but this year he had a summer job (hurrah!) and it didn't wrap up until the 20th of August.  Hence our trip started on Saturday, August 21st. We started our journey a little later than I wanted to. Drive out was good, until we got the Delaware water Gap. Traffic came to a standstill as two of the toll lanes were down. Then when we got off of Route 80 and onto 447 (which is not a major highway) we got stuck behind a Winnebago pulling a power boat.  We were stuck ...

No, it's not some euphemism for a bizarre sex act; I'm really talking about hiding Mallomars. If for some crazy reason you don't not know what Mallomars are...well shame on you.  They have their own Facebook page (although it hasn't been updated since the cookie's 100th anniversary back in 2014).  In a nutshell (and according to Google): "A Mallomar is a graham-style cookie base topped with marshmallow and coated in chocolate.”  More importantly, they are incredibly delicious and are a "seasonal" item; they are only available from September to March. Two complaints from me:  there aren't that many in a box and they are a bit pricey (at least when comparing them to other commercially boxed cookies.) However, when Mallomar season starts (which means NOW), grocery stores tend to have a sale on them.  (At least the stores that I frequent.)  So during the first week of the season, I'm out there buying more than my share of Mallomars because while I...

 Today was the first day I drove my son to school at the "regular" time.  What do I mean by that?  Well, not surprisingly it's complicated. School started last Thursday.  However, the first day at high school isn't a "regular" day.  Only freshmen come in at 8 and they get a 2 hour "orientation."  Makes sense to me and I thought it was very helpful when my son was a freshman two years ago.  (This was pre-pandemic; a time I can barely remember.)  All other students go in at 10 and that's officially when school starts.  Which means they have abbreviated classes (with the exception of lunch) and they have all eight classes. Except that my son has 9 classes, but I'll get to that in a minute (or two). Though there are 8 classes/subjects, students only have 6 a day (and lunch).  The schedule rotates daily with A day being period 1-3, lunch and periods 5-7.  Kind of makes sense.  Day D goes periods 2-4, lunch and periods 6-8. ...

  Five years before it became a day of national tragedy and then one of remembrance, September 11, specifically September 11, 1996, was the last day that I would work as an unmarried woman.   If I recall correctly (and before 2001 there was no real reason to recall this day), I was working for Blue Cross Blue Shield of NJ as a sales coordinator.  That day I was assisting a sales representative with two meetings that were held very locally for Medicare recipients at the Pilgrim Diner.  It was one of my favorite places to have these informational meetings (which I would set up and assist with throughout most of the state) as it was only about half mile from my house.  We could do our morning meeting, I could go home for  a break (and so could the salesperson who lived probably about 3 miles away, which would make me think that maybe it was one of her favorite meeting places too) and then come back for our afternoon meeting.  Many times I would ...

  ...actually I'm not feeling much at all.  The final lyric of the song "Nothing" from  A Chorus Line  captures me right now:  "And I dug right down to the bottom of my soul.  And cried ’cause I felt nothing." Today is World Suicide Prevention Day.  I am and have been a supporter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention for years.  This fall my family and I will be walking in support of this organization and should you care to donate to our cause:   https://supporting.afsp.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=donorDrive.participant&participantID=2421617 .   Sadly, I've lost several friends and relatives to suicide.  The loss has always brought on a host of emotions.  Which is why what I'm about to say is unsettling to me.  A friend of my husband's, who was also a guest at our wedding (25 years ago this coming Monday) committed suicide on Wednesday. I’m not proud of the way I feel because I feel nothing... D...

..Which means that school starts tomorrow.  School.  REAL school.  Or as real as it can be 18 months into the pandemic.  (Yes, the pandemic is still on...thanks anti-vaxxers.  I really thought we could have cancelled the show this fall, but you have proven me wrong.)  Students are physically going back to school for a full day.  Of course they are wearing masks which is why it is not completely "normal" in my book...The way things are going I wonder if they will ever be "normal" again.  (Don't get me started on what is normal; because to be honest I've got absolutely no clue.) Summer has flown by quickly (as it always does).  We did take one break as a family to  Skytop  ( https://bfthsboringblog.blogspot.com/2021/08/the-downside-of-vacation.html)  which was lovely.  (And I will put together a short report on it sometime...while we were there I "dictated" into the app and when I see what actually came out...maybe I shoul...