Wednesday Wanderings ...

With a beautiful November day to enjoy yesterday (on my day off no less!) I thought I'd take some time to see if I could get some photographs of a train or two but alas, I may as well have stayed home and cleaned the dining room which desperately needs it! 

I've been trying to catch a train crossing over the railroad trestle pictured above but have had absolutely no luck so far. The trestle crosses the Yantic River in between the Upper and Lower Falls not too far from my house and even though it's quite photogenic in its own right, I keep thinking how great the trestle would look with an actual train going over it. Unfortunately though the New England Central Railway, which operates on those tracks, apparently has pretty erratic schedules so there's no telling when a train might go by.  After waiting there for well over an hour yesterday the only thing I was catching was cold so I finally decided to head south and see what I could find closer to the Groton/Mystic area.

After driving around some I found a railroad crossing in the Noank section of Groton that looked like it had some potential so I took up a position near the tracks and waited for a train or two to come by.  Amtrak is the primary operator on the tracks at that crossing and several Acelas blew by while I was there.  Obviously I was not having a good camera day as the best shot I got out of all of the ones I took was this one -

and even that one isn't all that great. Granted, the train was zooming past me at a pretty good rate of speed so getting a good picture was tricky but I'm sure a better photographer would have gotten a nice picture. At least I got a wave from the engineer and a cheery blast from the horn as they sped by so I guess the day wasn't a total loss.  I'm thinking of trying my luck at the trestle again today but we'll see as there really are other things I could be doing before going into work other than hanging out by the railroad tracks!

Speaking of things to do, I have a couple of suggestions for you today!  First off, you could pop over to Everything and Nothing and wish Akelamalu a very happy birthday as she's celebrating hers today over in jolly old England.  Akelamalu is a bloody brilliant writer who always likes to add an unexpected twist to her stories and she also goes on some of the most amazing journies through England that has me wanting to go over there even more than I did before - as if that were possible!

After you stop in and wish Akelamalu a happy birthday click on over to PEA's Corner and enter her Christmas Giveway 2009 by simply leaving her a comment saying "Hey!  Count me in!" - or something along those lines!   PEA, a real sweetheart from Canada, has put together a wonderful collection of snowmen including a soap/lotion dispenser, toothpick holder, candle, and other assorted snowman goodies that are sure to put a smile on your face and holiday happiness in your home.  "The more - the merrier!" for the contest PEA says and you don't even have to tell her that I sent you if you don't want to!

When you're done with those two things you're free to have a wonderful Wednesday!

A Belated Birthday Wish & One That's On Time!

Despite the fact that I am a little bit late on this, I wanted to take the time to wish a very happy birthday to another of my blogging faves - Akelamalu from Everything and Nothing who celebrated the anniversary of her birth this past Sunday the 18th.

Belated happy birthday wishes my friend and best wishes for a fabulous year!

If you're wondering who this handsome gentleman is in the picture with her, he's Akelamalu's very own Dad who is celebrating his 83rd birthday today! A very happy birthday to him and best wishes for many more!

Catching Up ... Or At Least Trying To!

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Went to get my blood work done at the lab this morning and got the initial results back from the doctor which all check out okay. Apparently the Lyme Disease test takes a little longer but for the most part everything, including my blood glucose levels which can be tricky, are within normal limits. Like Kat, one of my doctor's nurses, always tells me "you can't have anything simple or normal, can you?" She is so right! So, I guess I'll wait a little longer and see what's what. I haven't had as much of the numbness and tingling today as I did the past few days so maybe whatever it is will be just some passing mystery malady that clears up on its own after clearing out my bank account with those outrageous co-pays we have! I'll let you know once I know something more.

In the meantime, I am horribly remiss in posting this next tidbit ... way back on October 3rd, I received the following award from Zubli and Shinade -

- and I am quite honored at having received it. Thank you so much to Zubli and Shinade!

Now if you thought I was late in posting that award, this next one is even later! Sandee from Comedy+ gave me this award on September 25th and it's quite the special award as I really do love Christmas and all that it stands for (aside from all the commercialization that is!).


This award originated at Santa's Community Blog and can be passed on to as many other bloggers as I'd like. According to Santa, the Spirit of Christmas Award:

"Quite simply it is those that have a generous and giving nature. Those who care about others. Those who have a kind word to say or a broad shoulder to lean on in the times that others need that. Those who display the "Spirit of Christmas".

To that end, I am passing this lovely little award on to Mimi for obvious reasons, Akelamalu because she's just the sweetest ever, Mighty Mom from Texas who has a wonderful blog that shows off her giving nature, and two of the nicest Connecticut bloggers I know - Patti and Ralph who are also husband and wife. Awardees can pick up the award code here and then pass it on to whomever they also feel displays the "Spirit of Christmas". A very belated thank you to Sandee for this very nice award!