First Week of December

Where in the world is Jeff Berthiaume? 

Jeff is at this posting, in Georgetown,  Barbados       The weather in Barbados

Jeff will be working at the The U.S. Embassy

Kathryn will be joining Jeff in the sun during this trip for several days. I'm sure while Jeff is working, either the pool at the hotel or the beach will be calling Kathryn.

This trip kind of makes up for the last one to Iraq. After this trip Jeff will be pretty much home through the holidays.

 The airport in Barbados.

Mary Agnes Update

November saw Mary Agnes (Ree) take on a Plank Challenge Planking Exercize

She initially started this with her daughters Kathryn and Sarah. At the end of the month Mary Agnes was the only one left. She was a real Trooper throughout the month. She started the month at 20 seconds per day for several days and ended the month at  240 seconds. Towards the end there was some quivering and shaking going on, but she persevered right to the end. We were all quite proud of her accomplishment. I must add, she still made her 3 x a week trip to the gym for her Total Body workout, Spinning and Weight Training. She is quite the active senior citizen.

Mary Agnes as usual has been quilting. She's made quilts for two weddings, one for two Doctors in Temple, TX and one for a County Sheriff and 911 Dispatcher. Her third most recent was for her best friend Linda Lataille who died March 12, 2013. Mary Agnes was with Linda a lot during the last few months of life. Linda was a seamstress and several weeks prior to her death asked Mary Agnes to make a quilt for her. Linda had purchased all the materials and due to her illness had never gotten around to making the quilt. Mary Agnes asked Linda many times who was she to give the quilt to? Linda died before she could ever say who was to get the quilt.

After Linda's death her husband Bob brought the quilt material and other sewing supplies down to us. The material was a Christmas pattern and Mary Agnes began the process of putting the quilt together. Once the quilt was finished she decided what would happen with the quilt. Since she had been left "Holding the Needle" so to speak she made the following decision.

The quilt would be given to all the Lataille family, and by Mary Agnes' decree, become a family Holiday Season Quilt for that family member hosting Christmas each year. On her way from NC to CT, Deanna Lataille, Lindas daughter,  was given the wrapped up quilt to take back to CT. The quilt was opened with the entire family present and renewed joyous memories of Linda in each persons eyes and Heart.

Lee Update

Back during the summer my Afib returned with a vengeance. After numerous tests, a Cryoablation was scheduled and I underwent the procedure in mid-September. At this point I have had no Afib for the past two months. The procedure did cause a bit of Lung and Esophagus irritation from the extreme cold, but I am now just about back to normal. But then again, what is normal to me.

For the past month I've been house sitting for a couple who I've worked for the past five years. They have a second home in Sedona, AZ .  They usually go out there twice a year and leave the care of their home and two cats to me. Buffy and Jane are the two cats. From this job I get to earn a few dollars for my toys, usually electronic. It's a great piece of property with 13 acres on the Wicomico river.

My summer job, purely a volunteer position, is as the Chairman of the Pool Committee for The Wicomico Yacht Club (WYC) This task keeps me busy from May through September. Me and three other members are Certified Pool Operators, licensed by the county Health Department to maintain the safety and water quality of  the pool. The pool is open Tuesdays through Sundays and must be checked for safety and water quality three times a day. We have a dozen or so other volunteers who help out with the inspections. Only the CPO can make changes to the water quality should a test not be within normal limits. This task keeps me quite busy through the summer months.

This past weekend The WYC had its annual Christmas Boat Parade. 

Click for more pictures. The parade of boats leaves the WYC on Wicomico Creek and travels up the Wicomico River for the two hour trip to the Port of Salisbury and a meeting with Santa Clause. Each year the membership of the yacht club collect toys for Santa to distribute to needy children.

The Pets, Maggie & Simon

Maggie, our Standard Poodle and Simon our yellow rescue cat are both fine. Will add some pictures in a later blog.

Thanksgiving

This Thanksgiving saw us feed 24 for dinner, Turkey, Ham and all the fixings. This year saw our daughter Sarah working with her mother to help in the baking. Special emphasis this year was in learning the passed down recipe for Mary Haganey-Romspert's Shoo-fly pie recipe.

So

I've had nothing but problems with my Wordpress site, so here I am back to Google's Blogger.

Still a work in progress, be patient please. I'm OLD!

October 18, 2013

Back to the Blog

 Sitting here mid-October, windows open, fan turning lightly and little to no heat use yet this year. We're still awaiting tropical activity, nothing has ventured up the Eastern seaboard as yet. All those affected by Sandy are most grateful I'm sure.

Angel wisps over Allen, MD on 10/20/13

Speaking of Jeff, Where in the World is Jeff Berthiaume?

At the moment, home telecommuting and working in DC. Most recently it was almost three weeks in the sand. He will return to the SAND again in the near future. Perhaps he could send a picture to us of an Hour Glass.

In February I got to spend a week with Jeff in Munich, Germany. While there, it was Fasching, New Orleans has Mardi Gras, Germany has Fasching.

Fasching 2013 is the German version of Mardi Gras or Carnival/Carnaval. This is the festive season before Lent originally celebrated by Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox cultures around the world—from Rio de Janeiro and New Orleans to the famous Carnavale in Venice, Italy that dates to the thirteenth century. Carnival in Germany (as well as in Austria and Switzerland and the southern part of the Netherlands) has many similarities to those celebrations around the world, including parades with floats, elaborate costumes and masquerades, street parties, elegant and gala balls, copious amounts of drinking, and general merrymaking in the streets. There often is even a king/queen or prince/princess crowning.

Fasching Carnival Facts and History

Called different names (Karneval, Fasnet, Fosnat, Fastnacht) around the Germanic-speaking world, it is called Fasching primarily in the region around Munich. The word refers to the fasting period known as Lent, and the city of Munich really gets into the spirit of partying prior to the pious season of fasting. The season actually begins on the eleventh day of the eleventh month at 11:11 a.m. when the prince and princess are crowned. There is then a break to suitably observe the Christmas season and celebrate New Year (this is the time of year when the famous European Christmas Markets come to life). What is known as the "crazy" or "silly" season of Fasching begins in earnest on the seventh of January.

Fasching Events

The first January events of Carnival in Germany are elegant black tie and gala fancy dress balls held by companies, trade guilds, societies of all descriptions, schools, and sports clubs. After all the more sedate office parties and elegant balls, the crazy part of the season begins. This is the wild Mardi Gras period that culminates in a huge celebration on the Sunday before Shrove Tuesday (known as Fat Tuesday in New Orleans or Pancake Day in England). In New Orleans there is king cake or gumbo. In Italy there are carnival fritters, ribbons of fried sweet pasta covered with sugar and honey. Fasching is famous for its doughnuts (krapfen). This signature delicacy will be found everywhere. It is a deep fried potato pastry often filled with custard, chocolate, or jelly and sprinkled with sugar or honey. Yeast makes it puffy, and it is most delicious fresh out of the hot oil. The tradition of consuming all this salty, yeasty, sweet, fatty food at the end of Carnival time is in order to use up all the food that will be sworn off during Lent.

This part of Carnival in Germany marks the beginning of the Strong Beer Festival Season. Yes, it's another festival dedicated to Germany's favorite beverage—beer. This festival begins with the tapping of the first kegs of strong beer or "bock," a strong, medium to dark brown lager. This celebration occurs for two weeks during March, and rivals the famed Munich Oktoberfest held during the autumn. Other large Fasching 2013 celebrations occur in Cologne and Vienna. Many of the ski resorts in the Alps of Switzerland, Germany, and Austria also host carnivals.

     Bands, Beer, Brats and costumes to celebrate the coming of forty days of fast.

My meal on fasching eve.

                                                                                                                 

Jeff and I got to visit our longtime friend Andy Linz and his home town of Weilheim in Bavaria. Below are Christina, me, Andy and Benjamin all cuddled up and sleeping. Pic #2 is Jeff and I downtown Munich.

 

So, the blog is up and running, I’ll add more later and am glad to be back. C Ya!

Tuesday May 3, 2011

WHERE IN THE WORLD IS JEFF BERTHIAUME?

By the time you read this Jeff should be back in DC filling out the never ending Government paperwork required for a lengthy three country trip.

I did receive the below note in an email from Jeff the other day.

Sitting in Abuja Nigeria watching TV last night and they were showing a documentary on the Christmas Day Bomber, the flight from the Netherlands to Detroit. Anyway, the way they caught the guy was because his father is/was a well respected banker in Abuja who became concerned about his son's behavior, contacted the US Embassy in Abuja and reported it.

It put him on a watch list, plus the bomb did not fully work, but anyway, kind of neat to see the story while sitting here.

1953 hours 05-01-11 Just heard from Kathryn, Jeffrey is on the ground at Dulles. Welcome home Jeff.

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CONGRATULATIONS

Our niece Sue Brodin of Connecticut, completed her 1'st marathon this weekend in Nashville, TN.

dsc_6865.jpg"> Congratulations Sue. Are you coming down to run the Marine Corps Marathon in October with a few of the Rooster readers who will be running? Plenty of time between now and then to recover. Also, we wish you the best on your shoulder surgery on Tuesday.

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The beach at Cadez, Spain.

I had a nice email back from my niece Lindsay Fiddler who was surprised to see her picture in the last issue. She sent along a little Bio to share with you all. Also, she's on Facebook and I'm sure she wouldn't mind a little more USA contact should you wish to befriend her. She posts some great pictures on her Facebook page also.

In September 2010, I moved from our wonderful country of America to Cadiz, Spain, to take on a new and challenging adventure, learn a new language, learn a new culture, and work with children and teach which is something I absolutely love.

I have currently been here for 8 months, and I could not be happier with the experience I have had. I teach in a primary school for children ages 3-12 and every day I am excited to go into work to see their smiling faces. I also teach private English lessons all around my city for some extra money. I always knew that I had an interest in teaching, but after this year, I have thought a lot about going back to school to get a Master's Degree in Education. Apart from my job here, I have had the opportunity to do a lot of traveling in the past few months. Since September I have been all around the region of Andalucia (the southern portion of Spain), Portugal, England, Austria, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Belgium and I even made it to Morocco, Africa (which is actually visible across the ocean from the town I work in, it is very close). I have learned to speak Spanish, and live the more laid back life of a Spainard. Last week I actually got to experience a Spanish tradition of "running of the bulls" and it was exactly what you would expect! All in all, this has been one of the most wonderful and eye opening experiences of my life and I am thankful that I was given the opportunity to be here.

There is a lot more that goes along with this, but for the paper's sake I thought I would keep it short and sweet. You can put me in the paper whenever you would like and now I will be continuing to keep you updated on what I have going on.

SPORTING NEWS

Well the NFL has the Lock Out back in place, What a screwed up affair this is. They did get the Draft completed for those of us who care. For those that don't care just skip this section, sorry.

I know my grandson Tommy Palmer and my nephew Ari Ford are interested in what our Eagles are doing. There may even be a few more Eagle fans out there. There's no sense posting the pics, they're out there for all to see.

I hope you Lion and Titan fans are happy also. The Lions look to be a defense to reckon with, now if only Matt Stafford comes back healthy.

For you Freeland, PA people. I have no idea where your allegiance lies. You guys seem to lean to NYC.

This from the Philly News created some interest.

After the unceremonious end to his season in January, David Akers spoke as if he had played his last game for the Eagles.

Guess he was right.

TOM PENNINGTON / Getty Images

Nebraska's Alex Henery is the most accurate field-goal kicker in NCAA history.

The team took the first step toward ending Akers' 12-year run as the franchise's greatest kicker when they selected Nebraska's Alex Henery in the fourth round of the NFL draft on Saturday.

In most cases, there's room for only one kicker on a roster. And with Akers a free agent and the league in a work stoppage, the Eagles used this opportunity to add a record-holding kicker even though teams don't normally expend picks on specialists.

"It's more about this kid being a good kicker," Reid said when asked if Akers' days were numbered. "I really haven't gone there. It's a little different right now with where we stand with this football today as we talk. Right now, David's with us."

Technically, Akers is. But he, in essence, became an unrestricted free agent when he declined to sign the Eagles' transition tender in March just before the start of the lockout. If he had signed it, the Eagles would have had the right of first refusal had another team tried to sign him.

"I think we're going to probably skip Akers right now and just kind of move on with it," Reid said when pressed on Akers' future. "I want to concentrate on this and I'm not going to get too much into David Akers right now."

Akers found out about the Henery draft pick almost immediately after it occurred, according to his agent Jerrold Colton.

"He's taking it in stride," Colton said.

A message left with Akers was not returned.

In February, after the Eagles tendered the kicker, Colton said Akers was disappointed by the designation. Two months earlier, both sides tried to negotiate a contract extension, but talks broke off.

Akers, though, had one of his finest seasons - connecting on 32 of 38 field goals and scoring 143 points - and was voted to his fifth Pro Bowl. But he was wide right on 41- and 34-yard field goals in the Eagles' 21-16 playoff loss to Green Bay, two misses that did not escape Reid's notice.

"We can all count," the coach said after the game. "Those points would have helped."

Akers was despondent after the game and spoke as if it was his final appearance in an Eagles uniform. Later it was learned that Akers played a few days before his daughter was to undergo cancer surgery.

"The Eagles may just be taking precautions," Colton said after Henery was drafted. "With the labor situation, they don't know when free agency will begin. And David is a free agent and he's not under contract."

When the Eagles brought Akers aboard in 1999 he mostly handled kickoff duties as Norm Johnson kicked field goals and extra points. As accurate as Akers is - he made 81.9 percent of his field goal-attempts in his career - Henery will likely handle both jobs for the Eagles next season.

"He's a very good kicker," Henery said of Akers. "It's not coming into replace him, it's coming in to do my job this upcoming year is really how I look at it."

A $450,000 roster bonus the Eagles would have to pay if they cut Henery is one reason the 23-year-old will probably be the lone kicker on the roster. Akers' contract demands are another. And Henery's undeniable talent is a third.

He finished his collegiate career as the most accurate kicker in NCAA history, connecting on 68 of 76 field goals (.895) and became the first kicker taken as high as the fourth round since the Patriots selected Stephen Gostkowski in 2006.

Henery is the first kicker the Eagles have drafted since they grabbed both Manny Matsakis and Paul McFadden in 1984 and the highest they took since Tony Franklin was taken in the third round in 1979.

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THE WEDDING/MILITARY NEWS

So many people were up early on Friday to view the goings on in London. Mary Agnes was one of them. I on the other hand joined it in progress around 0615, my normal waking hour. As a piece of interest to you military buffs, William is a member of the Irish Guards. I enjoyed seeing the Shamrock on his collar.

I heard quite a few comments about how nice it was to have something positive on the news. I guess a lot of us are tiring of all the negativity.

The Trident To the men who wear the Trident, Thank you. Another job well done.

The gold SEAL Trident, worn by both officers and enlisted men, was adopted in 1970 and replaced an earlier version worn by the UDT Teams.

The anchor, the central part of the insignia, denotes the Navy as the branch of service. Be hind and above the anchor is an eagle with outspread wings representing strength, courage and the ability to operate from the air. The eagle's right talon is holding a trident which represents the sea and is symbolic of Neptune, the Roman God who Rules the world's oceans using a trident as his scepter. The eagle's left talon holds a coked flintlock pistol representing land warfare. The cocked pistol demonstrates the SEALs' constant state of readiness for action.

HEALTH & WELFARE

Dee Lataille was in town for an over nighter on her way back to NC. Dee was up visiting her mother Linda, who as some of you know has been going through Chemo & Radiation treatment for Cancer. Well she has completed her treatment session, starting to feel a bit stronger, and now has no place for her and Bob to go every day. We are all thinking of you and send our prayers along also Linda.

I got a text from Dee, she's safely back in NC. She dined well last night as we had fried chicken, baked beans and home made crab cakes. This morning I got Mary Agnes, Sarah & Kathryn Egg White, Veggie flat bread sandwiches which were consumed on Sarah's balcony overlooking the Port of Salisbury. Dee took a few pictures of baby Geese & Ducks following their mothers around. (Send them in Dee & I'll post them.)

Ground level view at Sara's Condo.

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EDITOR'S CORNER

Here it is Tuesday and I'm actually about twelve hours ahead of this edition's time to hit the street.

Belated Birthday Wishes to my sister Donna up in Connecticut, she was 39 yesterday. Ree was supposed to pass me the phone when talking to you Donna, and said she didn't hear me , and I have a hearing problem.

Welcome back to the USA Jeffrey.

Abby and I had our usual Monday routine yesterday. I go to Arby's, get the biggest Bacon Chedder Roastburger. Build on your good mood by ordering a new flavor combination made in Roastburger® heaven. Arby's signature thinly sliced, oven roasted beef is piled high and topped with pepper bacon, a slice of cheddar cheese, fresh lettuce, ripe tomato, and onions on a split top roll. The burger has been one upped! Yep, that's what she gets along with fries and a sweet tea.

I pick Abby up from softball practice and we're off yo Kumon. The sandwich is usually consumed by the second traffic light, maybe a mile.

Busy pet day yesterday. I'm house sitting for a family with 4 cats, one of which is Diabetic and gets 3 units in Insulin twice a day. The family is at their vacation retreat in Sedona, AZ for a month. Two visits a day there.

No one home Sunday afternoon or overnight at the World Traveler's. Soooo, I had Lady Liberty, (120 lb. Yellow Lab). Multiple visits to Allen including 2130 good night and 0608 good morning.

Additionally, our next door neighbor was in the hospital yesterday having surgery and their Bichon Frise, Peppermint was home alone. (Grace is the neighbor and she is doing fine.

As I close out this edition, I'm listening to a Bi-plane swooping over a local field spraying the Winter Wheat. A warm morning today, the last for the next five days. If we're lucky we will see 80, then it's all down hill from there.

This continues to be a work in progress that I'm enjoying doing. To all of you Good Health, Good Time. Good Beer!

Mary Agnes has 87 days left in Jail. In case you don't know she has been the Nurse at Poplar Hill Pre-relase facility for 21 years.

Semper Fi