A dream realized...

The day I met Jon (back in January of 96) he confided to me his goal of one day working at Kennedy Space Center. Fast forward to October 2008...God has answered our prayers and Jon's dream has come true. Tomorrow Jon badges in for his new job with Boeing at KSC!
After a 3 night and 4 day, 2 car caravan we made it to Cape Canaveral in one piece. There were some highlights though...Saturday night was spent with Beth, Clairia, Damian and Jacob, unfortunately no pictures but those kids were sweet!
Sunday we made a pit stop in Washington D.C. and checked out the National Archives and saw the original Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Bill of Rights.

Monday we made it over the Florida state line and spent the most lovely evening in Jacksonville with my brother Austin, his wife Rosario and their daughter Dorany.
Today, our last day traveling we did the tourist thing and stopped in St Augustine for some Ripley's "Believe It Or Not" action and then headed over to Castillo De San Marcos, the oldest masonry fort in the US.

And so here I sit, 1200 miles south of where I sat 4 days ago, really nothing much has changed, same computer and all...I am just warmer now!

So long 21 Sunset Drive...

Yes, I am going to miss this house but not those leaves!

Signing out for a spell...

as we leave for a more southern exposure; and not a moment too soon, there was frost on my car this morning!
Goodbye Connecticut, I really enjoyed living here spring, summer and fall, the winters confounded me though. But thanks to all my friends and family I made it through 10 of them!

Pumpkintown

And now see the Marvelous Mason the Magician make this candy disappear!

Goodbye for now my friends...

Goodbye Molly...

We knew that we would be saying goodbye to our family and friends as we prepare to leave CT but never did we think that would include Molly who is our furry kid.
Over the past couple of weeks Molly seemed to have lost her appetite for the commercial stuff we were putting in her dish that she normally loved.
Since it happened right after taking her to the vet for a well kitty check up & shots in preparation for the move I contributed the loss of appetite to the stress of that office visit & shots.
Other than the loss of appetite you would never have known anything was wrong with her until Monday when Molly had obviously taken a downward turn. She went to the vet today where they told us she was in renal failure.
Goodbye our sweet Molly Kitty, we love you.

OK, I admit it...

in the state of Connecticut I am a registered Republican. But I deserve the opportunity to defend myself. The only reason why, is so I can vote in the primaries.

Why the confession? Well it's closing in on Election Day and I am finding myself every day in discussion with friends and family over the candidates.

So while loathe to bring politics into my innocent little blog I am here to declare my REAL affiliation. The Libertarian Party; GO BOB BARR!

For more information on the Libertarian Party go here:
http://www.lp.org/platform

Is the Libertarian Party perfect? Of course not, no political party is. But I do believe in and share the viewpoint of the majority of their platforms.

And now for a couple of my broad and shallow personal views on politics in general…

Smaller Government and Lower Taxes. Our government under both Democratic & Republican leadership has grown into a disgusting, bloated conglomerate of entitlement services and excessive spending.

I believe in a market driven economy, not an over regulated one where taxpayers bail out every failed institution. The taxpayers should not reward failure, and we should not punish success.

Abortion. Personally, I believe every child is a gift from God. Even so, this is a private matter between a woman and her physician, NOT a matter for the Federal Government to legislate OR for the tax payers to fund.

Gay marriage is purely a personal and religious question; this is NOT a matter for the Federal Government to legislate.

HEALTH CARE. As a moral and prosperous society, we do have an obligation to care for the indigent. However, if I choose risky behaviors, then the tax payers should NOT have to burden the financial responsibility of my health care costs. And think about it, do you really want the government to be in charge of your health care?

Personal Choices & Freedom. Really, I don’t need a NANNY STATE telling me how to live my life as in what to eat, drink or smoke, who or how I will educate my child, who I have to associate with or hire, seat belts, helmets, right to bear arms, blue laws, etc…
We have been turned into a nation of children looking to the Government to not only provide for but also to monitor our every move.
Happily, the Government is obliging, catering to the lowest common denominator.
The current entitlement mentality does not encourage self sufficiency but breeds dependency which is only good news for the dumb ass!

Do I have more views? Of course, but no time to write a book now, a few paragraphs will have to do.

And so I close with this appropriate and timely quote from a Founding Father;

"I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them." Thomas Jefferson

non-Newtonian fluid

Which means the more pressure you put on, the thicker it becomes. Creamsicle manicure anyone?

Old Newgate Prison & Coppermine

Mason and I enjoyed a lovely afternoon with about 70 other homeschoolers at Old Newgate Prison and Coppermine. The mine maintains a year round temperature of 52 degrees, a temperature considered to be optimal for human health. The source of this informational nugget is based on records that Old Newgate Prison had a less than 10% mortality rate for prisoners who died from natural causes. Hmm, who knew?

Clawed Monet

Have an hour to spare? 'Scarecrows Along Main Street' in Old Wethersfield is a fun way to spend it. One of our favorites was this pun on Claude Monet's Waterlily Pond!