February 2014 #1

Where in the world is Jeff Berthiaume?

Jeff made it home from the sand pit and has been providing daycare for Mia this last week. Mia will be heading off to Frenchglen, OR.  Her Grandmother Kathryn & Great Grandmother Mary Agnes will accompany her on the way to Oregon by way of Delta through Salt Lake City, UT and Boise, ID. She will spend the next few weeks with Stacy and Elaine Davies at the Roaring Springs Ranch which lies in the shadow of Steen's mountain. Stacy and Elaine are the Paternal grandparents of Mia.

The State Department recently reassigned some countries for Jeff's Alarm System group. Below is a list of the countries Jeff is responsible for now: Jeff specifically works for OBO in the Department of State. Next week Jeff returns to D.C. for work.

Lebanon  , Jorda, Syria & Israel
Pakistan  , Afghanistan &Bangladesh
Gambia , Nigeria, Togo, Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, Niger & Senegal
Barbados  , Grenada, Dominican Republic, Jamaica & NetherlandsAntilles 
Samoa  , New Zealand, Tonga, Tuvalu, Kirabati, Nauru, Marshall Islands & Fiji
United Kingdom  , Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg & Reepublic of Ireland.

Some of the countries have multiple diplomatic posts. The United Kingdom for instance has a Post in London, Edinburgh and Belfast, Northern Ireland. I've inserted a link in each group of countries should you wish to get geographically educated. For the future I'll try and create more links for those of you who are not that computer savvy.

There are times when Jeff or his co-workers have an assignment that needs more than one individual to complete an assignment. In instances like this Jeff and his cohorts could wind up in countries they are not personally assigned to.

In Jeff's case, “The world is his Oyster” literally.

The Dog, Cat and Chickens

Just so you all know the players, the Dog is Maggie, the cat is Simon and the chickens are 14 hens and one rooster.

The chickens have been fortunate that there were a lot of cuttings and leftovers this past week for added nourishment. Kale has really gone over big. We also experimented with Yogurt, which they were quite messy eating and enjoyed very much. Last night we had Sir Fry and the pepper cuttings were thoroughly devoured this AM.

Our cat, Simon will be a year old on March 2nd. We're not sure the exact date but picked the 2'nd in memory of Mary Agnes' best friend, Linda Lataille who passed away last year.

Until now Simon has been a house and screened porch cat. Last weekend we introduced him to the fenced in back yard. Of course we know the fence will not deter him should he decide to defect. It has been interesting watching him traverse the almost 3/4 acre yard with multiple out buildings and the ever interesting fenced in Chicken run, a separate 60 x 28 foot space within the yard.

I wonder now on the ethical considerations regarding bird feeding, a daily mixture of Scratch Grain and Sunflower seeds and allowing Simon to roam this space. So far the birds are all intact. Simon however has an interesting day trying to apprehend the flighty prey.

When Simon exits the porch in the morning he first attempts to disrupt the sitting Morning Doves in the Princess tree.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paulownia_tomentosa The tree is 30-40 feet high and Simon has gotten about half way to his prey on any occasion, only to watch the Doves fly away to the rear of the property.

As I write this piece on Simon he is in hour three of a long nap after 6 hours in the yard chasing anything that moves

This, That & Other Things

On January 21, 2014 Allen, MD lost an incredible person who resided in Allen for close to a century.
On May 16, 1988 we closed on our house here in Allen, MD after 20 years in Connecticut and upon my retirement from the Connecticut State Police. Knowing we were going to close on the house we went to the Post Office adjacent to the general store to open a P.O. Box. The person we met that day was Mary Lee Kolb.

For so many years we were fortunate to come in contact with Mrs. Kolb daily. She was the Postmaster and with her son Butch ran the General Store in Allen. We even got to see and wave to Mrs. Kolb on Sundays as she went for her weekly ride with her son Butch through the countryside of the Eastern Shore.

Mrs Kolb attended both of our daughters weddings and graced the keys of our Steinway piano in Allendale Cottage on many occasions. To us she was as much family as one could be without the blood test. Just to have known her for over 25 years, makes us a better person.

Mary Kolb (1918 - 2014)                         

Allen-Mary Lee P. Kolb of Allen died Tuesday, January 21, 2014 , at her home. Born in Allen May 14, 1918, in the same house in which she subsequently raised her own family, she was the daughter of the late Sheriff Jesse M. Pollitt and his wife Agnes Malone Pollitt.

Known by many names (Honey, the Boss, Mamie, Miss Irene - but most of all Tutu, which is Hawaiian for Grandmother) she is survived by her daughter Agnes Culp and her husband John, of Allen; grandchildren David and Kiwako Culp of Tokyo; Andrew and Brandy Culp of Warwick, R.I., their sons Chase and Caleb; Lea and Aaron Knarr and their daughter Marielle of Thorndale, PA; and many beloved nieces, nephews, and cousins. She was predeceased by her husband David W. Kolb, Sr. in 1988 and her son David W. "Butch" Kolb, Jr. in 2001.

Tutu was totally devoted to her family and to the people of the Village of Allen. She was the church organist for over 70 years - almost her entire adult life. She was the Allen Postmaster for 35 years, appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson, and served until she was 84 years old. She and her husband ran the Peninsula Farm Market in Allen for 50 years, supporting the residents of Allen in good times and bad. Likewise, she was a lifetime member of the Allen Fire Co. Auxiliary and, late in life, insisted on purchasing Allen's first fire truck when the Fire Co. retired it and put it up for sale.
After high school she attended St. Mary's Female Seminary (now St. Mary's College) in St. Mary's, MD for two years on scholarship, of which she was proud. She was a Past President of the Elks Auxiliary in Salisbury, a member of the Allen Historical Society, the Somerset County Historical Society, and the Allen Asbury United Methodist Women.

Loved and respected by all, she was a dignified, peaceable, gentle, and generous woman of indomitable will who leaves a vast legacy and example.

A funeral service will be held Saturday at 2 PM at the Allen Asbury United Methodist Church, where friends may call from 12:30 to 2 PM. Reverend Lisa Jordan will officiate. Interment will follow in the Church cemetery. Arrangements are being made by Bounds Funeral Home.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in memory of Tutu to the Allen Volunteer Fire Company, P.O. Box 128, Allen, MD 21810 or the Allen Asbury United Methodist Church Outdoor Paint Fund, P.O. Box 123, Allen, MD 21810.

The family is also deeply grateful to Coastal Hospice and Tutu's various caregivers whose genuine love and support so greatly eased her passage.

Sam & Zed Davies

Congratulations to Zed who found out he got Heavies, them's be big planes.

Zed will now be starting his next phase of training http://www.baseops.net/militarypilot/tone_phase3.html in the T1 Jayhawk aircraft. http://http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:T-1A_Jayhawk.jpg

Sam is in school at Keesler, AFB, Biloxi, MS attending a Personnel Officers school. By the time of this edition hitting the air, she will be half way through her educational deployment.

Have a great day and be safe!!

January 2014

End of January

So, it's been awhile since I've written in the blog. Its been a busy month with much going on and I'll hopefully capture the mood of the month.
I'm much like my father in law Willis Romspert, he was a gadget person and so am I. As a matter of fact, so is my son a gadget collector. I've just purchased a Zagg keyboard for my Ipad and I'm using it for the first time here in this Blog. Kathryn has one and I used it last week for a few minutes and really liked it. Last year while n Germany with Jeff I used his ipad and the keyboard he has. I dont know the name of it, it was cumbersom and the feel was not something I enjoyed. The Zagg is a great fit for me. Thanks for the introduction Kathryn.

Where in the World is Jeff Berthiaume?

Jeff at this moment is in a Connex box sleeping on top of the sand in the Middle East. Either Jordan or Iraq is where I suspect he is.

Today 01/30/14, Jeff escaped the fridgid temps here on Delmarva. At his house in Allen, Kathy, Abby and Mia got to awake to 47 deg. temp inside the house. It seems their propane company forgot to do their automatic scheduled delivery. They even had some pipes freeze up on the north side of the house. Happily I can report the tanks are full, the house is warm and the pipes are flowing with H2O. All is well! See you next week Jeff.

U.S. Embassy, Amman Jorden

                  

On January 14 I headed west via Soutwest to Las Vegas to meet meet for two days at the Shot Show. The flights out and back and the weather were the best. The show and people were something to behold. http://shotshow.org

                   

As you entered the show there was a fitting tribute to the man behind the AK-46 who died recently.

             

Our first night there was a meet and greet with http://www.itstactical.com
A few months back Matt spent a week out in the woods with this crew down in Texas. It was quite a neat gathering and I got to meet the entire staff of ITS.  By the time the night ended, 0400 EST and we got back to our hotel . http://treasureisland.com

Wednesday saw us head to the floor of the Sands Conference center and start walking the 12.5 mles necessary to view all the booths in attendance. We started at 1000 hrs, I was done in by 1300 hrs and returned to the hotel for nap time. I was still trying to make up for that 0400 to bed time the night prior.
Matt remained on the floor, walking and conducting some business here and there. By 1700 he was back in the hotel and took a long ninety minute nap prior to dinner.

We did dinner with a close friend of Matt's from Georgia http://hardcasesurvival and called it a night by 2200 hrs.

On Thursday we were up and out by 0830 and off to breakfast. After breakfast we were on the floor of the convention center by 1000 and spent the entire day on the floor going booth to booth. Matt had a meeting with the Bonowi group from Mainz, Germany http://bonowi.com Matt has been doing some consulting work with the company. I got to be a fly on the wall at the meeting. It was great learning a little bit of Matt''s other world.

Guns, Gear, Sights, Ammo and vehicles of every description imaginable were available. Truly an awe inspiring event.

            
The remainder of the afternoon was spent wandering the miles of booths and seeing more and more toys that I know I'd never be able to afford. For some reason I just could not justify a 50 Cal. to Mary Agnes.

We ended the day around 1700, went do dinner and called it a night around 2200.
It was up early on Friday, off to the airport and South West it back to MD & CT respectively.
I can only say how great it was to spend four days with my son in his world. Not many fathers in this day, at my age get such an opportunity. It was an adventure I'll cherish for ever.

Oh, did I mention I lost $59.85 on the slots.

The Month of January (Reportedly the coldest January in 100 years)

New Years Day saw the Fiddlers, Berthiumes & Palmers dine with our good friends on the Wicomico River, the Wojciehowskis. Their new neighbors, Sid & Judith were there also. Pork roast was the main dish with more sides than man needs. A great dessert of Lemon Squares finished off the meal.

We also learned that Sam, Zed and Mia had arrived safely back in Columbus, MS after a great visit here with us over Christmas.

January 2 brought some snow in and the temperature started off at 40 deg. early and quickly plummeted to 13f. M.A. & I settled down in the evening and watched the old movie, “The Thomas Crown Affair.
We wound up with 1-3” of the white stuff. The chickens stayed in, we dined at the Berthiume's for Beef Stew and played Mexican Train Domino's.

On January 4 we awoke to frozen water pipes, our first experience in 25 years of living in MD. After a visit from the Plumber we had our water back @ 1530 and it was time to watch the NFL. My Eagles proved to be one and done but it was a promising year for the future.

On 01/07, another bitter cold day for the Eastern Shore, we saw a high of 18 deg. In Salisbury at Sara's condo they saw a waterfall. One condo, unoccupied, had it's sprinkler system freeze and break and the water cascaded down through the other condos for five floors down to the ground. Fortunately the break was on the opposite side of the building from Sarah and she sustained no damage. They did have to evacuate for several hours and had no water for the night.

Through all the cold weather this month it's been a bit of a challenge taking care of the chickens. Even with the heat lamp above their water, freezing has still occurred. I've been rotating waters almost daily to keep it fresh and unfrozen. The girls are still blessing us with eggs and yesterday they got to get out of the Hutch and roam the pen for the first time since Monday.

On the 01/18 Kathy & Abby headed to Baltimore to Meet Sam & Mia. Sam was bringing Mia up for an extended stay while Sam was being deployed to an Air Force school for ten weeks. Sam handed over Mia and reluctantly made a u-turn back to Montgomery, AL and the drive home alone to Columbus, MS. A separation of family is a sacrifice made for the defense of us all. God bless you Sam, Zed & all our uniformed men and women past and present for all you do.

So Jeff, Kathy, Abby, Mary Agnes & I are surrogate parents until 02/15 when Kathy and Mary Agnes will fly to Boise, ID and hand Mia off to Zed's parents for the second half of Sams deployment. This effort does not just take a village, it takes a cross country venture.

On Thursday 01/30, Kathy, Abby and Mia showed up on our doorstep around 0630, seems there was no heat at their house. Upon checking, kathy found there was no Propane in the tank. After a phone call Kathy learned that their usual automatic delivery had not taken place. The propane company just forgot them. By early afternoon propane had been delivered and the house was warm again. The recorded low in Salisbury for that day was unheard of -6 deg.
                                
The month of January has certainly been an interesting one. With the coming of Mia, the cold, and my trip to Las Vegas, the month has flown by.
I can not begin to think what February shall bring. Tomorrow it's Groundhog Day, I shall pray for spring and hope winter, at least January, is a thing of the past.

Lastly, Kathy has done an update on Mia from her perspective and I'll include it here.

Hello all lovers of everything Mia!

It was quite the week for Ms. Davies of Columbus, Mississippi.  As she dove into week two visiting her grandparents, the Berthiaume’s, so did the ice cold weather.  Week two of her cross country journey brought temperatures at -9 with wind chills much below that.  Across the state pipes froze, the Chesapeake Bay needed ice cutters, and Mia got more comfortable with her new bedroom.  Week two also brought 2 new teeth up top.  There was drool, drool drool as she tried to eat on everything around, books, plasticware, even the dog’s bone!  She was restless at night from all that teething, but alas…. this too shall pass.

Tuesday brought a winter storm that dumped 6 inches of snow for the Eastern Shore!  Mia got to touch snow for the first time… She was a little afraid, and not until we put it in a cup for her would she touch it!

Her Great Granny Fiddler watched her in the daytime while her Grandmother worked.  They played patty cake, went to Walmart, visited Miss Jan, a neighbor down the street and had a wonderful time.  Mia’s new BFF is Libby, her grandparents dog.  Libby follows Mia everywhere in hopes of a scrap, a morsel, anything that might drop from her clothes or hands.  It does make for easy clean up around the house!

With the frigid temperatures the need for propane was great.  Apparently the propane company didn’t realize this, for Wednesday morning we woke up at 0400 to a house temperature of 42 degrees and the pipes downstairs were frozen solid!  Grand mom whisked Mia and Aunt Abby over to her grandparents for some heat while Grand mom returned home to wait for the propane delivery.  God Bless Great Grandparents!  With many apologies the propane truck deliver 300 gallons of propane and slowly the heat returned and pipes reopened…. 

One of the struggles with icy cold weather is the dry weather in the house.  The change in weather really bothered Mia.  She came to Maryland with a minor case of eczema which, with teething and excessively cold temperatures outside and the dry heat inside turned into a terrible case of eczema.  Luckily, Pop Pop Fiddler called a pediatric dermatologist who saw her Wednesday, prescribed a special cream for morning and night, recommended daily bathing with lots and lots of Aquaphor throughout the day….  Mia gets to visit her again in 2 weeks so she is all set to travel out to Oregon.  Within 24 hours of getting some nice cream all over her and a bit of anti itch medicine at night, Mia Davies was a new woman…. Sleeping well, eating better and beautifully clear skin!

She has enjoyed a plethora of foods, Cheerios are a great staple snack that she always has at the ready.  She loves peaches, pears, applesauce, pork, turnkey, mashed potatoes, peas and carrots.  Yesterday she has macaroni and cheese, home made by Great Granny.  She is starting to walk everywhere (preferably holding someone’s hand) but gets better and better each day.

Mia growing by leaps and bounds.  She fits well in 12 months clothes, weight 9 KG at the doctors (19.8 pounds) and will surely be up to 20 pounds by her birthday.  She loves to climb on everything! She has learned Patty Cake and Itsy-Bitsy spider.  She loves to dance.  Yesterday she and Aunt Sarah spent some quality time dancing to the music of Queen!  She is also very excited to learn she will have a new sister this summer.  She cannot wait to share her food, her raisins, cheerios and drool!

Today we got up at 6:30, took a long walk up the street, ate a great country breakfast, and it is now kitchen playtime.  Libby is standing by to pick up, lest Mia drop a crumb.  Mia misses you all and cannot wait to see everyone.  FaceTime us when you can. She loves to see everyone!

December 30, 2013

We have celebrated Christmas here on the Eastern Shore with varied events which included many friends and family. It has been a wonderful week!

Our first anticipated event was for the arrival of the Davies. Samantha Davies would be Kathryn & Jeff's eldest daughter and her husband Zed and their daughter Mia, 10 months old. Sam and Zed are both USAF officers stationed in Columbus, MS. To see them for real and not on Face Time would be a great treat. They arrived late in the afternoon on Sunday the 22'nd of December. To celebrate their arrival we all, Berthiaumes, Palmers & Fiddlers went to the Yacht Club for dinner. It was like old times for Sam. Samantha worked at the yacht club all through high school. Kathryn went up to one couple who knew Sam well to introduce them to Mia. They thought Kathryn was Sam. It was a nice feeling for Kathryn to have 23 years chopped off her age.

L-R, Pappy Jeff, Mia, Aunt Abby, G (Kathryn), Samantha and Zed.

Numerous family meals were consumed at different locations during the week. At no time were calories counted as we all just enjoyed ourselves during this festive time of year.

Christmas eve saw the family head off to church to give thanks and celebrate the birth of Christ. After church it was off to the Fiddler/Berthiaume house in Allen for a festive gathering of friends around a bountiful table of specially prepared foods. The center piece was of meats, that were superbly marinated Lamb Chops and Petite Tenderloins prepared by our world traveler, Chef Jeff. Our friends the Wojciehowski's, formally of Cleveland, Ohio brought their world famous Brussels Sprouts. We had Meat Balls, Salad, Mac & Cheese, too many condiments to name and a desert table that would rival any Jewish Bar Mitzvah you have ever attended.

Abby had the usual United Nations female beauties from high school. Beside friends and neighbors we were constantly being entertained by our great friend from Ireland, Edmond O'Leary. Edmond had just returned from a trip to Kilkenny to visit his " Ma". If ever your worried that your gathering could be dull, invite Edmond to add some spice to the gathering. It was a "you had to be there" moment over and over again .Its a pity his lovely wife and daughter's have to reside under the same roof with the likes of him. Just a foot note, Mary Agnes loves the man like a second son. Due to a family rating of "G" for this edition of the Crow, we shall not delve into the substance of entertainment.

In the background, about 11:00 PM we heard an announcement on the TV that Saint Nick himself had been observed by NORAD in Cuba and was heading north. Not wanting to be away when he arrived, the Mrs. and I departed for home after saying our goodbyes. After a brief respite outside for Maggie we opened our Christmas Socks from Matt, Beth and kids who were in CT. Matt was down a few weeks ago and we waited in anticipation for just this occasion to open our gifts. After experiencing an evening with many conversations going at the same time, it was nice to be alone with our thoughts and in the warmth of our own home. It was not long before we were both asleep.

Around 6:00 AM I heard what I knew was a "kids are awake" text  to be opened. Almost simultaneously a second text buzzed from my phone, both the Berthiaume and Palmer house were up and awaiting the Seniors, "us",  to get up and get going. By prearranged plans we were soon off to Salisbury and the Condo on the River to see, Sarah, Rachael and Tommy open their gifts. I'm sure you'll all be amazed that a celebratory Mimosa would be concocted for those who desired one, prior to the unwrapping of gifts. It was not long before a Drone Helicopter, a gift to Tommy, was flying about the room taking covert pictures from the Dron'es two cameras.

Once the gifts were unwrapped it was back to Allen for the next stop on the gift trail. This time the Mrs. Clause of the Berthiaume homestead in Allen was the Presiding Distributor of gifts. But prior to opening the gifts it was necessary to sample leftovers from the Christmas Eve Feast. Ah, now we can open gifts. How Santa ever got down that chimney with his satchel full of gifts makes one wonder. It was close to noon before the the unwrapping of gifts was complete.

Saturday, at least I think it was Saturday. With Christmas falling on Wednesday this year I,m not sure what day is what. At any rat,e Christmas was once again celebrated on Saturday, this time at my home. The celebration would begin in late afternoon with a Chicken and Dumpling (Slicks) dinner. In true Southern Style the were served over mashed potatoes and peas. The potatoes were Ree Drummond's.

Ree is an interesting wife of an Oklahoma Cattle Rancher and has a great Blog and TV show.

After dinner we opened Socks and gifts once again, drew names for next year's gifts and said good night to all. Granny and I settled down to the TV, a Hallmark movie of course and put our feet up and relaxed. It had been a busy week for all.

While at the house Mia got to meet the chickens, The boys got their picture taken in similar hats. And Dee Lataille took a snapshot of all of us together. Yes. Dee is on her way back to NC after spending a week with her family in CT. Love ya Dee!

Jeff sent me an email today which I'll share. Jeff of course was at work in DC, obviously on his lunch break when he sent this. He thought it was cute and told me I should share it with the readership. So, here goes.

Researchers for the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority found over 200 dead crows near greater Boston recently, and there was concern that they may have died from Avian Flu.  A Bird Pathologist examined the remains of all the crows, and, to everyone's relief, confirmed the problem was definitely NOT Avian Flu. The cause of death appeared to be vehicular impacts.

However, during the detailed analysis it was noted that varying colors of paints appeared on the bird's beaks and claws. By analyzing these paint residues it was determined that 98% of the crows had been killed by impact with trucks, while only 2% were killed by an impact with a car.

MTA then hired an Ornithological Behaviorist to determine if there was a cause for the disproportionate percentages of truck kills versus car kills.

The Ornithological Behaviorist very quickly concluded the cause:   When crows eat road kill, they always have a look-out crow in a nearby tree to warn of impending danger.

They discovered that while all the lookout crows could shout "Cah!" Not a single one could shout "Truck!"

So, here it is Monday, one more day left to 2013 and we start a New Year. Today I spent 44 minutes speaking with an old friend, Dan McGarigle.

My phone just happens to time phone calls.  Dan and I go back a long ways, 19 fifty and 9 I believe is when we first crossed paths. A long time ago back in Willingboro, NJ we went to school together. Dan went into the Navy after High School, I in the USMC, The Few, The Proud. Mary Agnes went to Nursing School with Dan's girlfriend at the time and in 19 sixty and five the four of us went off to Fall River, MA and got married. Dan had two children, eventually separated and divorced and Dan moved around the country working in modern day Computer Technology. Fifty four years later we still keep up a dialog. Happy New year out there in California Dan. Now there's a state where they march to a beat of a different drummer. The Left Coast, yep, that's what they call it!

So, to all of the readership, a very Happy New Year.