Bfth's Boring Blog

It only comes around every four years (for the most part), so I feel that I must write SOMETHING...even if it is boring or banal.  So some random thoughts for this very special day:   IF today had been March 1st (as it usually would be), I would say that March has DEFINITELY come in like a lion.  The last several days had been relatively warm, but that changed last night.  The winds picked up and this morning was brutal.  It wasn't the temperature so much as it was the wind.  Trust me, those 10 minutes that I waited for the bus this morning were some of the longest.  The wind kept bearing down and I was so glad to see the bus pull up without me blowing over.  It's going to take a while and lots of coffee to warm up completely!  It's my friend's 13th birthday.  Think about it.  Since her birth in 1972 (the same year my brother was born), she's only really had thirteen actual birthdays.  That wouldn't have worked in her favor whe...

  It's a Monday, maybe that's all the explanation I need or the answer I will get, but... This morning I woke up a bit before 4 in the morning.  Since I did not have to physically go into the office today, I decided to sleep in a bit and dismiss my alarm that was to go off in about an hour.  Then I turned over and went back to sleep. Slightly less than an hour later my husband wakes me up.  He does it in a nice way, but I can't figure out why.  My phone is silent (since I turned off the alarm).  In the distance I hear a noise, but I can't quite figure it out. My husband tells me to turn off my alarm.  I tell him that it's not on. What is that sound? It's not coming from anywhere in the bedroom.  Could it perhaps be a car alarm going off in the distance (which is why it doesn't sound like a car alarm)? I reluctantly get up.  (So much for sleeping in a bit).  The noise is slightly louder when I go out into the hall.  I can h...

  Is there anything truer than that statement?  Change is CONSTANT.  Change is non-stop.  Change is stress.  Change is joy.  Change is change? I embrace change...when it is positive.  Meaning when it benefits me.  "Good" changes:  marriage, having a son,  better employment.  I embraced them all.   "Bad" changes:  unemployment (it has happened more than once to me and once is more than enough),  illness and death.  I didn't embrace those.  I pushed through them with sorrow, fear, frustration and anger. I want, even long for, good change.  I am ready for a change of scenery.  I long for the "perfect" (ha!) home where we have more bedrooms, bathrooms and storage.  Where there is space between our home and the next.  Where I wake up to a view of mountains, trees, a lake...(Ocean would be nice, but that would NOT be a wise change.)  Where my life has less stress.  (I'd love to s...

It's been a 3-day weekend for me.  (Hoorah!  No getting up early this morning and waiting for a bus in the cold; that will have to wait till tomorrow through Thursday.)  Being down at the shore means that I WILL walk.  (I've promised myself as much...even if it's just a couple of blocks up to the beach and back.  I've tried to hold myself to this promise.)  This morning the sky was blue as can be with the sun shining bright.  So mid-morning, I decided to go out for a "real" walk.  I grabbed a scarf from the bureau in the guest bedroom which once belonged to my brother and I had brought down last year for my father to use.  I saw the sweater that I bought for my father for Christmas 2022 with the tags still on it.  As much as I love the shore, there are constant reminders of those that I have loved and lost; my brother, my mother and my father.  I try not to be maudlin, but...as peaceful as this place may be it also can be painful. A...

 I had originally planned to spend this 3 day weekend at the shore.  I had even thought that perhaps I should invite friends down to spend Sunday with us, as I know they have been under a lot of stress.  (Okay, who hasn't?)  But as it often does, fate stepped in.  My friend's mother passed away and instead of going to the shore, I thought I might need to go be with her and her husband to mourn her mother. But then in another twist of fate, her husband felt ill and tested positive for Covid.  Back to plan A; heading for the NJ shore. However, last night the weather forecast said we would be getting 3-5 inches of snow; both up in North NJ as well at the shore.  So plans were up in the air. When I woke up this morning there was maybe an inch of snow.  Cameras at the shore showed that there was MAYBE a half an inch down there.  So I went out to shovel (since the snow had stopped) and to get the paper.  Watched CBS Saturday Morning and waite...

  It's been a bizarre week.  (When are they not?)  Last Friday was warm (so warm that I rolled down the window in my car when trying to find the  "correct" parking lot for the TWA Hotel ) and then on Tuesday we got 6 (or more) inches of snow.  So I thought I'd share a few thoughts and observations because...why not?  It's Friday! So I said all I got from the fest was a cold sore.  That's not true (and I even said that), I also got a cold.  The good news is that's all I got because no matter what you may think, Covid is still a thing and apparently having a field day.  At least 5 people/friends have tested positive.  I know that's not a lot when you consider all the people there, but that's just the people I KNOW about.  Who knows how many others got it.  My cold is mild and I had a good night's sleep (thanks  Nyquil ) I am also grateful that we "smuggled" in food and beverages...

  It's Valentine's Day!  It's Ash Wednesday!  It's two, two, two great holidays in one.  (Does anyone remember that or am I dating myself.)   It's also Wednesday which means I need to be in the office.  (Wednesday has always been a given.  The other two "required" days are of my choice, sort of,)  Since no one was in yesterday (snowstorm...something we haven't had around here in a long time), I knew I had to be here today.  Even though I didn't want to. Though it was warm over the weekend (when I was stuck inside at the  TWA Hotel. ..) it got cold Monday night and then the snow started to fall early Tuesday morning.  It's hard to say how much we got because it was (and is) windy, which means drifts.  I also knew that despite clearing up at midday, that getting to the bus was going to be a challenge.  And I was right. While most of my neighbors cleared their walks (thank you!),  I chose to walk in the street...

 A lousy cold sore! Okay, not true...I did get more than a cold sore.  Although I've lived over 50 years without one so why I "needed" to get one now...just par for the course as the friends that I spent time with over the weekend will attest. So what else did I get this weekend?  Here's a fun list: An enraged husband when the directions to where to park the car were completely wrong.  We ended up in multiple parking lots, none of which were correct and NONE of which had a shuttle service (which was promised by the hotel that we were staying at.)  I think we both came close to nervous breakdowns as we figured out what to do, which leads me to... A large parking charge from the valet station.  Of course, I shouldn't complain (seeing the prices that parking establishments charge these days), the valet company did not lose my car (as they did for one of my friends, leading her to believe that it had been stolen, only to have it found over an hour later), makin...

 Who doesn't love frosting?  It's sweet.  It's sugary.  It's pretty.  But on it's own (when it's not covering yummy, delicious cake) it lacks something.  You could eat it all on it's own, but it wouldn't be satisfying.  Frosting may complete the cake, but alone...it's just sugar. It's not fulfilling. And so it is (in my opinion) with the  TWA Hotel   at JFK airport.  There's no denying it's cool, but is lacks substance. I recently spent a weekend at the hotel, attending a convention.  (That in of itself deserves it's own post and maybe that will be coming your way shortly...if I can manage it.)  I was BLOWN away by the look.  There are so many cool things displayed.  You are whisked back to the 1960s; or at least the way you might imagined the 60s SHOULD be.  To clarify further, the  TWA Hotel  attempts to take you back to the early 1960s; it provides the icing on the beginning of the decade. The h...

  From the end of 2021 till my father's death in July of 2023, I was the child who was taking care of her parents.  They say the roles reverse when you and your parents get to a certain age, but that's not completely true.  While you may be "parenting" your parents, they are still adults with specific thoughts and opinions.  It's difficult to honor that while also trying to get and give the best care possible.  It just very well may be IMPOSSIBLE, even though we dare not even think that.  And parenting parents is MUCH more difficult than being a parent to a child.  Trust me, I've done both now and the latter is more emotional and draining with much more complexities involved.  If you are looking after a parent (even if you have round-the-clock care), it is EXHAUSTING.  It is frustrating.  There seems no end in sight to the madness; until the end comes.  (And then there is more madness, but that's a whole other story.) Having been ...

  I do complain about having to come into the office in Newark. (Which was not the office I was hired to work in back in the day; least you think that I just don't want to work in an office... Okay, I DON'T want to work in an office, but...Okay, there's no buts about it.  Since working remotely took over my life nearly 4 years ago, I've come to actually like it a lot more than I thought I would.)  I am "required" to be here 3 days a week. (Recommended days are Tuesday-Thursday and based on the number of riders on the bus and the traffic flow, I'm guessing this is standard across most corporate boards.)  Since I have off this Friday, I felt that working from home on Thursday would be more productive.  (As well as allow me to take my car in for an oil change.)  So I hauled my butt out of bed this morning, did the morning exercises (still doing the Leslie Sansone Walk Aerobics...Wish I still had the worn out video from the late 1980s that I started out with, ...

 When I think of pollution, I don't usually think of light.  I think of smog.  I think of smoke.  I think of breathing issues.  But light pollution IS a thing.  It's invasive.  It's irritating.  And it can negatively impact your life. I didn't think about it much, or I don't think it impacted me (and my mindset) until relatively recently. When my grandparents purchased the home that I currently live in (100 years ago!), the long, sloping backyard looked out on green and trees.  As the town grew (as towns must), the property behind (on which the yard looks out on) became commercial.  But there were also lots of trees.  When my parents sold their house (which was next door to where I reside), the new owner took down over a dozen trees on his property.  With less greenery, when I sat outside I had more of a view of the road/highway in the distance.  And with a new condominium complex, from my new patio (installed in 2021), I ...