Odd Enthusiasm

     Several years ago, I suddenly decided that I liked cemeteries.During a high school photography class, I had to come up with a subject on which I could do a series of prints. I don't recall how or why I chose cemeteries, but my project was a smashing success. I took a lot of beautiful photos that I am still really proud of.
   
     Cemeteries have a lot of emotions hiding behind the stones & monuments. There is, of course, a massive sense of loss when confronted with so many graves. Upon seeing the mausoleums, there is a sense of respect for the lineage of the family it contains. There is anger when coming upon a stone that has been defaced or knocked over, and a deep sadness when the realization strikes that you are standing in front of the grave of a child. 
    
My favorite emotion, however, is wonder. There are so many beautiful angels in cemeteries, with the majority pointing up towards heaven. I am no longer shocked by stories of weeping & bleeding Virgin Mary statues, because so many of these angel statues seem to have tear stains running down their faces. I've often wondered how this can be faked on statues so high off the ground that I can't even take a good picture.

     
     Over the years, I've spent a lot of time searching for cemeteries, especially old ones. My favorite headstones are the ones so ancient, that their faces are unreadable. I guess I'm intrigued by their mystery.

     There is also a peaceful element that comes into play, when you realize that you're standing in a cemetery so old that no one has been there for a long time.

      When my grandparents passed away, I initially refused to visit their graves. I felt that my grandparents were always with me, and not in some hole in the ground. At one exceptionally desperate time in my life, I found that their cemetery was the only place I could go to get some peace. I began spending more time there, and my love of cemeteries was reignited.

     

The past helped me resolve the present, and paved my future.

How To Wrap A Christmas Gift

In the spirit of the season, I thought I would try something new: a gift-wrapping tutorial! At work last week, I was asked to wrap up some empty boxes to make a display of presents. My co-workers all complimented me on how nice they looked, and so I figured I was better at it than I thought I was! So here we go: a step-by-step list of instructions, complete with photos!

Step One: The Gift

The Gift

This is an ornament that I bought for my Mom from Pottery Barn. In keeping with tradition, every year I buy my parents a new one for their tree.

Step Two: Gather Your Supplies

Supplies

 

This year, I bought my wrapping paper and ribbon at IKEA. Gift cards are optional- I just happened to find these at the grocery store where I work. And don't forget the scissors like I did!

Step Three: Package Your Gift

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Here I used a small box left over from another purchase at Crate & Barrel. I wrapped it in tissue paper, and folded it gently into the box.

Step Four: Cut Your Wrapping Paper

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Try not to cut too much paper off the roll! By putting the present on the unrolled portion of paper, you can estimate how much it will take to completely wrap around the box and eliminate wasting the paper.

Step Five: Commence Wrapping

I like to use lots of tape! Every time I make a fold in the paper, I tape it down to avoid having it come undone. This also helps keep the paper tight and crisp-looking.

Tape down each side as you go!

Fold

Tape

and Repeat!

Almost There...

and Done!

Step Six: Add Embellishment

 I like to use LOTS of ribbon. Once you've cut the length, find the middle and place it across the top of the gift. Then wrap it around and bring the ends together to intersect on the bottom side of the gift. Then wrap the ribbon around the other two sides of the box, bringing it back up to the top to be knotted.

Step Seven: The Card

Like I said, the card is optional. Last year, I used different patterns of wrapping paper to differentiate one person's gifts from another. But this year, I decided to keep the paper simple- I only bought this silver roll, a red roll with the same pattern, and a plain red roll. So I picked up these cards at the grocery store, and I just slipped them under the ribbon.

And you're done! A gift anyone would be pleased to receive.

Merry Christmas to you all!

East Haddam, Connecticut

Take Exit 7, off of Route 9, and you will be in East Haddam, Connecticut. Nestled in quiet scenery, the town is a hideaway for many.

Being from New York, my parents' house is in the suburbs. Although they live across the street from one school, around the corner from another and down the street from a hospital, it is by no means a neighborhood where you don't have to lock your doors, even in the middle of the day. My first car was vandalized several times, and both my father and boyfriend had IPods and cell phones stolen out of theirs. 

Moving to the middle of the woods has been an adjustment, to say the least. The nearest gas station is approximately 10 miles from our house. Thank God I quit smoking! In New York, I could walk to the nearest gas station in less than 10 minutes.


Additionally, the attractions in East Haddam leave something to be desired.

On my way to the entrance ramp to Route 9 (the way I take to both work in West Hartford and home to NY), I pass two gas stations, a yarn store, a Dunkin' Donuts, a market and Package Store (what us New Yorkers call a good old-fashioned liquor store), and little else except trees. In New York, my town has everything you could want within a 10-15 minute journey, from Wal-Mart to the mall to every fast food restaurant imaginable, and almost everything is open 24/7. 

In East Haddam, the Wal-Mart is 30 minutes away and the gas station closes at 10 pm. Sigh.

On the other hand, the scenery is quite spectacular.

East Haddam is home to the Goodspeed Opera House, where many talented people relocate to from surrounding areas to put on such productions as How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying, and Annie Get Your Gun. 

We also live near the breathtaking Gillette Castle. 

The house my boyfriend and I live in is in the middle of nowhere. Our closest neighbor is a guy who is never short on beer, drunken ramblings, or bullets for his rifles. We can't see anyone else's house from our own. And the summer showed me more bugs than I've ever desired to see.

Yet I try to enjoy it. We won't live here forever; we are renting this house from friends who are temporarily away on military duty, and we often discuss trying to make it in the Big Apple. So, for now, we make the most of our solitude.

The Do's & Don'ts of Grocery Shopping: Part II

OK, so I had another idea in mind for this week's post, but I haven't had the opportunity to fully research it yet. Although I'm aware of the fact that very few people are reading this blog, I don't want to seem misinformed or put false information out into cyberspace. So, working under the assumption that my last post was at least mildly amusing, I decided to continue the theme.

DO ask all questions BEFORE getting to the register.

          There isn't much I can do for you while stuck behind the register. Alas, there are plenty of other people that work in the store. So while I don't know everything there is to know about Havarti cheese, I'm pretty sure that someone else, working in an area even remotely near the cheese, could better answer your question than I. Why would you wait until you reach me, to ask if we have Hollondaise sauce? You're holding up the line! I couldn't leave my register to get it for you, even if I knew where it was. So now everyone waiting behind you has to wait some more while I A) page someone to come to my register, B) explain to them what it is that you want, and then C) ask them to go fetch it for you like a dog with a newspaper. Not to mention that the odds are stacked pretty high that all of this is happening... wait for it... in the Express Lane.

 

Do NOT abuse the Express Lane.

          This has to stop, my friends. Dictionary.com lists the definitions of the word express, one of them being "direct or fast, esp. making few or no intermediate stops: an express train; an express elevator." Direct or fast. Get it? Hurry up! Just because you used a basket instead of a cart does not make you automatically eligible for the Express Lane, especially when you've got 30 cans of baby food in there. 30 cans of baby food is 30 items, not one. Even if they're all mashed peas.

           Speaking of baby food, please do not take your giant stroller through the Express Lane. It doesn't fit! The Express Lane is three registers crammed into the space normally occupied by one normal-sized register with a belt. Additionally, do not push shopping carts through the Express Lane, either. If you truly belonged there, you wouldn't need a cart! Why are you using a cart to carry around one container of soup? Stop it! And please, PLEASE, do not claim not to have known this was, in fact, the Express Lane. There's no belt! Where do you think all the groceries are supposed to go?! Not to mention the fact that there are signs clearly posted in order to guide you into or away from the Express Lane as needed. Every grocery store has them, Ma'am, so please spare me the nonsense because I will only think you are an idiot, as opposed to being a rude idiot, had you said nothing and just allowed me to assume that you did indeed know, but just didn't care.

          And last, but certainly not least,

 

 

 

Do NOT write checks in the Express Lane.

           Checks take a long time. This is the opposite of express, is it not? Did you not come to the Express Lane to get out quickly? Do you think you are so intelligent, that you are the only one who has discovered the Express Lane? Surely the people behind you would like to get out quickly as well, no? Checks are annoying. First, you have to write out the check, which you have hopefully but most likely not begun before I give you your total. Then you must fill in the amount, sign it, and then I must write your Driver's License number on it. THEN I have to enter the routing number, account number, and check number into the computer. If you've never written a check at the store before, or if the computer asks me to, I have to also enter your Driver's License state and number. Then I have to feed the check into the printer for verification before the drawer will pop open and the register will generate a receipt. Don't think for one moment that while all of this is going on, the people behind you are not becoming thirsty for your blood.
         Phew! Good thing I'm a fast typer.