Good news! I received an email reply from Aunt Sadie, who had talked to Aunt Irene at the Mercat yesterday. They have no plans or vacations scheduled for the end of July, so I can go back to Scotland to visit. I had suggested that I "hire" a car from Glasgow Airport and rent a room at the Mercat for my stay, but they had none of that. In her words, "We will pick you up at the airport. There is no need to hire a car for your stay, unless you feel the need to. I talked to Irene, and you have the choice of staying with her and uncle Stewart like you did last time, or if you feel you need more privacy, you can stay at the Mercat for free, as it's not allowed for family to pay. If the rooms are booked, you can just stay with Irene." I'm in shock. These people have met me twice in my life, once when I was a child and again when I went over in 2007, yet they treat me like I've spent my life, growing up with them. How do you pay them back, and better yet, how do you put a price on that?! All because of my Grandma. Without a doubt, Scots are the most friendly people I've ever dealt with. So the "Scotland Homecoming 2009" countdown has officially begun. July 20th to be exact...

On another note, this weekend will be interesting, as I have Hayleigh this Valentine's Day weekend for an extended duration. She has no school next week, and the ex-wife can't get the time off from work, so my newly retired mom offered to watch her on Monday and Tuesday while I'm off at work. Needless to say I don't think I'll be getting much sleep till Tuesday night, which I have off, because Wednesday I have to go to Middletown for an AT&T 911 admin class. This evening I was awake and figured it was pretty nice out, and should go take some pictures at Rotary Park, testing out my night-time photography skills. Unfortunately my camera skills with my relatively cheap Fuji digital camera, is not that good as I couldn't get the settings right, but here's some shots. Some of them I "doctored", while a couple I left alone. I still want a better quality camera so I can get clearer, more attractive shots. Hopefully, someday, I will be like Linda!!


The Riverwalk, just south of Bridge Street.


A not-so-clear shot of Gilman's Funeral Home from across the Quinebaug River. I've always loved the way it's lit up at night, as it looks absolutely stunning to the naked eye. I just can't get a clear shot of it yet with my p.o.s. camera...


The Grandstand in the forefront, with Gilman Funeral Home, located across the river on lower Church Street in the background(to the left).


The Grandstand, which I added a blue hue for an effect. The lights in the original shot made the photo way too blurry...


This one is my favorite. It's a shot of an old tree in Rotary Park, back lighted by all the lights from the falls, mill, and street lights...


Taken from the top of "Cargill Falls"


The rapids, which are to the side of the falls, closest to Kennedy Drive...


This is a funky picture of the American Flag at the State Courthouse on Church Street. I wanted to get the State Flag there also, as it was lighted beautifully, but all the pics came out like a blue blob...LOL


A shot from the courthouse looking up Church St. The flag pole on the left is in front of the PD, the one on the right is in front of the FD, and the one barely noticeable in the middle, is in front of Putnam EMS.

I also tried many shots, with many different settings, trying to get a great shot of geese floating in the river. The lights from the "Riverfront Landing" shopping center were reflecting in the water, and the geese and/or ducks looked like shadows floating in the water. None of the pictures came out well, but I took video, and it came out decent...

Some oldies, but goodies.....(okay, not that old)

Having a tough time thinking about something to write tonight. Had two shifts with the newbie this week, and to be considerate I'll keep my mouth shut(or should I say stop typing) in order not to cause grief...LOL

Anyways, for some reason tonight, I'm in the mood for some classic "oldies". Here's just a few I could think of...







and one of my favorite artists....


I'd love to see him in concert....

Nice end to the weekend...

Hayleigh with her "Hannah Montana" prescription glasses and three loose teeth! LOL


So this weekend was spent doing the usual with Hayleigh. Friday we hit the Bates' and hung out. We snagged take out, Burger King for the kids, Golden Greek for Rene and Jess, and I took in some J.D. Coopers take out. Saturday, Hayleigh and myself did the usual trip back down to Norwich for her ballet class. We then came back home for a bit, and then headed back over to the Bates'. I promised them I would cook dinner for the group that evening, so Rene tagged along as I went shopping. Funny thing is we were heading back into town to go shopping, and I needed to get some fuel for the truck when our pagers went off for the gas station we were headed to. It came in as an "injured person" as result of an assault. We showed up just after the ambulance, and stood around as the State trooper took statements and photos. I actually went over to the pump and filled my truck up while we waited for him to get out of the cruiser. He walked right over to the ambulance and gave the "my neck hurts, and they threw me to the ground twice." Come to find out the guy filled up on gas, and his credit cards were denied, so the clerks called the CSP. He tried to leave and they clerks tackled the guy. The girls from the ambulance collared and back boarded the "fine, outstanding citizen" while I brought out the stretcher, and away they went.

We continued on our merry way, grocery shopping for my special Shepards Pie, which ended up including a spare Wii remote, steering wheel, and game purchase for Rene's. We spent the night playing Nintendo Wii and had a blast. Sunday we slept in, and then headed over to Rene's so I could help him get a spare ATV that he sold, into the back of his truck before we headed over to a friend's house tonight for a Super Bowl party. In order to get the spare ATV out of his shed, he had to start and bring out his new ATV. Well who could resist with the untouched snow in his backyard?!! We could help it and took a turn a piece, then ran in to get the kids. They each had two rides until we put it back in the shed.

The kids lining up for a ride...


Rene taking Megan for a ride...


The Peanut and yours truely...



Hayleigh and I left around 4:30 to bring her home, and on the highway heading down, we passed a farm in Griswold just north of Exit 86 where the sun was shining brightly over the horizon, and it made the sky a vibrant orange/red. I wasn't about to slam on the brakes in the middle of the highway, so I tried to find a nice spot, but the sun was setting fast. I took a quick shot while getting off Exit 85, and pulled over at a golf course, but the pictures obviously didn't do the color justice. I think I'll just have to save up some money and get a new toy like Linda has... ;0D

Getting off the highway in Griswold


Looking out over the golf course on Route 164