Bfth's Boring Blog

  Because: It was sunny and warm, but not too hot.  The stars and the moon shone bright at night. Our friend played his monthly gig at our local bar and grill, where there were more people than usual who requested unusual songs and as a result the music just went on and on. A friend was ordained a Deacon in the Episcopal Church.  The church was full of family and friends.  Multiple languages were spoken.  A funny, but sadly relevant sermon was given.  There was singing.  There was music.  There were leis.  There were a few tears.  There was food and wine.  (Wine which amused me since the label was Sh!tshow and I feel that I must get some for my house.) I got my car washed by a local Boy Scout troop; even though it was the troop leader who did most of the work. I made a new "friend" when I went to church, someone I thought I recognized and it turns out he and ...

So it seems like my social media pages have been filled with all sorts of crazy stuff lately.  (Or more so than usual.) I try not to read political stuff (aka BS) because I'd rather just look at cute animal videos. (I'm partial to otters holding hands). It seems to me that in 2025 there is too much angry rhetoric and I just don't want to deal with that. Maybe that's right; maybe that's wrong. But I try to avoid the angry crap and focus on the good stuff. You know the stories about people who are kind, people who are doing their best to make the world a better place. That's what I want to read about. However, that's not what I've been seeing on my social media. So I thought I'd share some thoughts here.  Thoughts that are mine and don't count for much because who am I? I'm just this older lady who doesn't know much and I fully admit it. So, to me it seems that all the news is talking about the death of Charles Kirk. Before the news of hi...

I received an email the other day which was rather negative and upsetting to me.  I got upset.  I got slightly angry.  I got ready to draft a nastygram in response, but I didn't.  For the first time (maybe the first time ever), I used some common sense and did what I've been told by friends to do.  I took time and I didn't lash out.  Instead I tried to use grace and to my surprise the grace came back threefold (maybe more) although not necessarily from the person that sent the email.   Let me explain.   Several months ago, there was an opportunity to take ownership of a monthly newsletter.   To be clear, this is/was a volunteer opportunity.   The person who had been handling it for years was no longer able to do it.   I was ready to step up, but I was relatively new to the organization and I knew I didn't have the same talent that the previous person had.   I also knew that she was beloved and that people had come to expect the...

 I don't need to explain the title of today's post.  It should be obvious, and if it's not, maybe you should stop reading because this post isn't for you. I was a babe of the late 60s and a child of the 70s.  I grew up listening to my mother's copy of the soundtrack of "Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid."  I still have the lp.  The music of Burt Bacharach shouldn't work with this "western," but it does and I have been in love with it since I was a little girl.  Even as a little one I fell immediately in love with this movie and its two leading men.  You can't go wrong with Newman and Redford.  (Katherine Ross is perfect too.)  That was proven to me by their other great film,  The Sting . (Which I very clearly recall watching on tv the morning I came home from the hospital in June 2008.)  These two films, two of my favorites, are in rotation on the Bfthie channel; a digital line up created by my husband of some of my favorite film...

 Yes, I bitch about the postal service.  I seem to bitch about it a lot.  But I don't think I'm a bitch.  Or at least I TRY not to be.  Or try not to be most of the time?  I TRY to act with grace.  (As a matter of fact I think I did that just this morning when I got a rather negative email from someone I hardly know about something that I didn't consider that important, but clearly he did.   It upset me.  On the other hand, I COULD see his point...sort of.  So I responded with grace.  I acknowledged his concern and said I would do my best to do as he asked IF he would be able to provide me with what I needed in order to do so.  Ball's in his court now...I hope I was as "graceful" as I should have been.) Having said that...here I am bitching again...but it's not necessarily about the post office.  It sort of is, but...   Let me backtrack...I recently ordered some sweaters from BloomChic .  I had ordered ...

    What does one do to celebrate a 29th anniversary?  It's not a "big number" and yet after years of non-celebrating, I felt like something should be done.  We had spent many years not doing anything once we had our son.  September is the perfect time for a wedding and subsequent honeymoon and anniversary treks, but not so much so once you have a child, especially once they are in school. But with our son off to college, we've tried to do a little something.  Last year our anniversary fell on a Friday (just as it had 28 years prior) and we went out for a lovely Friday night dinner at  Skytop's Windsor Dining Room .  But this year our anniversary fell on a Saturday and I know how busy the dining room can get on a Saturday night.  Plus, the night before I had friends over (ostensively for a "meeting", but it was more of ladies wine meet...all meeting should be like that) and tomorrow I plan on going to an early church service, so I didn't wa...

  Photo taken atop of the Wilderness Lodge, 9/11/01 There are days that will not (and should not) be forgotten.  December 7th, November 22nd, January 6th and of course today, September 11th. If you were alive when these tragic events occurred, most likely you remember where you were and what you were doing on that day.  You probably have strong memories of the day.  I know I have written much about where I was on September 11, 2001 (Walt Disney World), what I was doing that morning (raising the flags on the top of the Wilderness Lodge and then having breakfast at the Whispering Canyon Cafe before heading to the Magic Kingdom) and what happened afterwards (being evacuated from the parks and spending the rest of the day trying to understand what was happening in our world.) As I often do, I went for a walk this morning.  I specifically went "downtown" to pass the civic center where I knew the green would be filled with little flags; each one denoting a person who ...

I am writing you this public letter thought this is not a fan letter. I am not a fan. Let me take that back it's not that I'm not a fan it's just that I'm not not a fan either. Does that make sense? I mean you and I are both women of a certain age (oh how I hate that phrase) and there are some similarities between us. Our age, we both grew up in the mid-Atlantic of the United States, you in NY and me and NJ.We both have been married, you to a woman and now divorced and me to a man and still married. You’ve had a very successful career. You had your own TV show, which I did not watch regularly but caught from time to time. You were on the view, again which I didn't watch regularly but still catch from time to time. You've been in several movies, most of which I haven't seen. (Don’t tell anyone but I've never seen a league of their own and I'm sure in certain states that's a crime.)  I’m “just” a mother and wife whose had several jobs throughout my...

 Kids have questions.  It seems as though they are natural curious.  (And sometimes annoying.)  That's a great thing.  They want to know why.  They want to know more.  It seems like they are craving education.  Excellent! As we get older, it seems to me that we ask less questions.  Maybe we are embarrassed.  Maybe we are ashamed about the things we don't know.  Confession:  I have been reluctant to ask questions as I'm afraid they will make me look "stupid."  Or that I will be subject to ridicule.  I shouldn't be.  Seeking answers, education or clarification should never be looked down on.  Even if you think the person should know the answer.  Or perhaps they did know the answer, but have forgotten.  It is the brave person who asks.  It is the courageous person who wants to be education, who wants knowledge. So I've got questions and I'm putting them out here, not for ridicule, but because I w...

Yes I realize it's not officially autumn yet. However the kids are back at school (don't forget when the school bus stops, you stop, no matter what side of the road you are on), the mornings call for a sweater or jacket, and pumpkin spice is all around us. (I'm rejoicing in that...nothing like Wawa pumpkin spice coffee on a cool morning.)  So we are in the depths of what I like to call  Sumtumn  which is my own made up in between season. It's when the leaves are starting to turn, yet there are still plenty of plants blooming.  The night is full of crickets chirping and in the day the butterflies and hummingbirds happily flit around.   (I have yet to be able to get a photo of any one of the three hummingbirds that inhabit our yard.  I have taken down the feeders [actually one fell to the ground after a windy day] because they seem to prefer flowers to sugar water.  Smart birds.)    Since my posting earlier this week some things, which w...

  Ever since we've move to the Poconos, I have regularly driven by  Red Barn Village .  The sign outside always said coming soon. It intrigued me because it wasn't just one thing; it was a "village" There was a main building that honestly at one point was a barn. Then there were several smaller buildings one of which seemed to house a veteran’s outreach center. How would this all tie together? I couldn't figure it out. But I wanted to know more.  Today the Red Barn Village opened. I was off work so I had to check it out.  But first I had to stop to pick up a tomato at the farm stand that was set up outside by the parking lot. The stand is not part of the business, but owners and staff are obviously supporting other local small businesses. Isn't that the way it should be?  Shouldn't we all champion one another? Seeing local businesses supporting one another is always uplifting in my book The woman in charge of the farm stand said she had not yet b...

It's a world full of insanity and (sorry to say it) stupidity.  But let's look at the "lighter" side of it. Below I list several actual and personal events.  You tell me which is the most ridiculous! I sent a care package to my son on Wednesday afternoon.  I sent it ground because it was the most economical. (Not that USPS ground is that economical.)  Just to be clear it was mailed at 12:23 PM on August 27th from the Poconos with a final destination of Staten Island.  Here's where it went: It left the Poconos on the morning of the 28th and went to the Lehigh Valley USPS distribution center.  That makes sense...it's south of us and so is Staten Island, so definitely a good start That evening it went to the USPS distribution center in Harrisburg, PA.  That's over 100 miles WEST of where it was.  (Staten Island is EAST.) The next day (29th)  it left Harrisburg at 2:34 in the morning and ended up in Brooklyn at 8:01 in the morning.  We're ge...