My Life Tidbits

Addiction... that is what the song is. I have listened to it at least ten times in a row and seem to not be able to get enough.



My roofed leaked again when we had another wild wind storm.
Thunderstorms raced through last night again but this time, no leaks. We had a LOT of rain but no leak. I am thinking the direction of the storm may have something to do with it. Who knows?

4 weeks until school is back in session. Wow.

I've picked a few cucumbers and today I picked another yellow squash. Except I gave it to my sitter. Why keep it when we won't be around to eat it?

Going civilized spelunking. That means the caves are made safe and tourist friendly.
The bad thing? One of them, they keep out the bats. What is a cave without bats?
So we'll go to another one where we know bats are. They are so cute!

It was so humid today! I mean, the windows in my car fogged constantly. When you walked outside, it truly was like a sauna...heavy, oppressive and sticky. Darned shame we all have to wear clothes during weather like this. Guys at least can go with only short shorts on and be comfortable. Gals can't- unless we want to be arrested.

Ever See the movie Ghost Rider with Nicholas Cage? Would you say it was OK for an 8yr old to see? They LOVE the trailer with the flames, the motorcycle and the chains. But what about the theme? The plot? Is it too violent? Worse than Lord of the Rings??? Just wondering.

Hey, Great news!! Possibly great news.
My eldest's EEG showed "normal" brain activity. Once school starts we are going to wean him off meds and see if he will be seizure free. He will always have epilepsy as part of his medical history, but to have a calm brain scan? He's not had that since he's been four years old..Seven years ago. We are Very Very hopeful!

I adore the books by Kresley Cole. How many are there anyway? I've lost count.

I am yawning so it must be time to hit the hay. Have a good weekend and I hope where ever it's hot out, that it cools down WITHOUT the aid of thunderstorms or wild weather.

TTYL

More Videos of my Scottish Day

Video Hodge Podge.. tee hee and a bit of humor

What I've been up to

The story in this song is filled with dark eroticism and romance to it. Is he bound to her even when he doesn't want to be? What binds him to her? What magic did she really do to him? The beat really gets my toes tapping too.

Oh, did I tell you I went to the Scottish Games last weekend? I got my first tattoo...temporary. I loved it. But I"m glad it's washing off. LOL. So I can get another one next year.

The lightening storms we've been having have been amazing. And yet, I was never afraid. Not good. But on the way home last Thursday, I saw the coolest thing. I have to wait for my turn at the rotary. It was thundering out and I was pretty happy about that. I was staring at the car in front of me, sort of zoning out while I waited for the light to turn green before I could head into the rotary, when a jagged slash of white lightening reflected off of the car's rear window. That means the bolt had appeared right above my car! How amazing is that! And then the thunder hit and the air in my van actually shuddered. I felt it through my body. I love thundestorms. Although to be fair, I know that they are to be respected.

Wednesday night we had a bolt that hit so close, the light, the crash/boom and the cutting of power all happened simaltaneously. That was a bit too close for comfort. We ended up with a leaky roof. Heck, we built the house 14 years ago, so it should not have leaked. But the wind and rain were so powerful, we suspect it pushed the rain down the vents at the peak OR, rain simply poured down the PVC vent on the point of the roof. The rain was so dense, it was akin to pouring buckets of water directly down the spout that should have nothing coming in or out except for air.

I've been left with stripes on my ceiling so now I say I have a Tiger Ceiling. LOL

I picked my first cucumber and yellow squash from my garden. Major High!

I've discovered Facebook. I mean...I've found myself addicted. The word games there are great. I have always loved Scrabble but my DH doesn't ever play board games. It's like I found people to play with! When I was growing up? My Aunts, Grandma and my Mom and I would play. Well, my Grandma and Aunt are dead, I've moved away and no one plays. So Facebook is like a trip to my past when I could play all the words games and have people to play with. It's really sweet.

So, I went to the Scottish games and tried Haggis for the first time. I have no idea if it made that big of a difference in taste when served on a Triscut as it was, you know, if it made the flavor change? or if the Haggis they served is authentic but I liked it. Well, I didn't love it but I could eat it if I had to and I would not make a face.

LOL OH, I have to say, the 1970s had very strange fashions for clothes. Whose bright idea was it for bell bottoms that were so much like bells they looked like sweepers cleaning the floor? LOL. I didn't mind the bat-wing collars but those pants were atrocious. *grin*

One of my All Time Favorite Shows

If you've ever watched any of Weird Al's MTV Video spoofs, you know just how clever and talented this man is. However, a little known film he made awhile ago is my absolute favorite for lifting me up when I feel down.

UHF.

There are so many movie puns/spoofs and references, even as of today, I've not identified them all. The only thing I DO know is, they make me laugh. The man has a gift.

Al could not have started off his movie with a more perfect scene and parody. Too dang funny and so much fun. Even the music makes me smile, which you can listen to at the link at the bottom of this post.. ....


I know entrepreneurialship is alive in well, but this sure took it a bit too far. **snort** LOVE the expressions on their faces. I go into fits of giggles every time....

That's one part of the scene I like...Turtles...who knew? ROTFL

This next one had me chortling and LOL'ing so hard when I first saw it. Thank goodness Conan isn't for real because I do NOT remember anything about the Dewey Decimal System.
**snicker**


And this place? I'm serious, when I pick up a spatula? I have this commercial in my head. When one of my spatula's break, I wish for just such a place to run to.


I'm pretty sure Al put this video together -- it's a capsule of the high energy Al's best known for.
BUT WHO IS THE GUY HE'S DOING A PARADY OF WITH THE FLASH CARDS???? I cannot figure that out. Any ideas??? And Billy Idol never looked so good. **tee hee**

I think this is going to be one of my most favorite posts on M's Favorite Things...just because putting it together made me smile all the way through.

Can you remember the last post you did that had you feeling so good as you hit Publish????
WOOT!

Click here and SMILE!!!!!!

I laughed so I snapped it up

I was perusing a blog buddy's blog that I visit once a week or two and today I found this and I couldn't stop chuckling. Not totally from what it says but
where my mind went...











After Reading this? I thought to myself....

In what local-yokel town and in what state was this taking place in?

And I totally can imagine the renowned Mr. Jeff Foxworthy taking a gander at this and thinking to himself... "Hmmm, she just Might might be a Redneck!"

ROTFL.
I crack me up.

Fireworks of July 4th

Even though the fireworks were cancelled on Thursday night because of thunderstorms, the rain held off on July 4th to celebrate with loud and colorful style the night of the holiday.

This is the first time I've ever had a camera that could take night pictures and believe you me, I had a BLAST. **grin**

Want to see my favorites? I'll even upload the video of the finale for those who didn't get to see any fireworks. Remind me for next year, PUT COTTON IN MY EARS.

What a loud sound! But aren't these shots pretty?

I call this my Butterfly

This is my Dandelion

This is my Feather Duster

And this is my video that I felt sure would not come out and voila!, it captured the colors, the sounds and the ooh's and aaah's. Parden the bouncing though because when I heard the "Whomp!" of the ....cannon? launcher?, I could never be sure of exactly where the explosion would be...high in the sky? left, right or on the horizon. I felt like I was chasing fire flies. Really BIG and LOUD fireflies. LOL

I hope you and your loved ones had a wonderful holiday!

Library update

Still no word on why the ceiling fell.
They are now working from a tiny room in the basement and they can only provide books and movies, etc. that were checked out before the collapse of the ceiling. The inter-library loans via the internet are saving me.

No one has been upstairs since the collapse. I also heard that 121 years of dust and who knows what else, rained down all over the place and the air quality is suspect.

I wonder how long inspections and cleaning will take? Meanwhile, I am reading the books I got.
*****************

My kids called me outside today. Guess what? Another snake. A pretty garter snake all coiled up and looking at me when I walked up; its pretty red tongue flicking and sensing if I'm a good thing or a bad thing. My kids know not to bother snakes - we just gather round and admire a wonderful example of nature.
No, I'm not squeamish around snakes. Moms can't be. *grin*
*****************************

Nothing in my garden has yet to die or be eaten. Knock on wood I didn't just jinx myself. LOL

**********************
I"m on Facebook. I"m addicted to some of the games on there. Im addicted to the application Friends For Sale. For the longest time, I'd been owned by one guy and he is pretty cool. Out of the blue this past week I was bought be a stranger. Oh dear! This person even changed my NAME. I used to be **Snort**

Gee, why would I have THAT name? **giggle**
Now I have a new, new owner and I am pretty happy. I even got a present! oooh.
Yeah, I know, lame.
But fun!
****************
And I'm still mad that Moonlight got cancelled. Can't they ever have an ENDING made for that? Sheesh...get us all involved and leave us hanging like the cliff hanger than never ends.
Anyway want a vote? Does Beth hook up with Mick or not?

************************
OK, that's my rambling and nonsensical update.
Sure beats seeing the same-o same-o, right?

Happy week to you!

A Diss on Demon Romance

What is it with paranormal books lately? I didn't mind the influx of vampire and werewolf/shifter romances. I liked most of the themes and the conflicts they presented. However, lately I've been reading more and more about demons. Demons with heart, demons that buck the systems of hell and demons living and romancing within the rules of hell. I've read five books/novellas set in this new direction and I'm not loving it. I'm finding they are trying to write romance within worlds where backstabbing, moral perversion, ethics corruption, hedonistic pursuits with soul stealing strings and torture/mayhem/ and various forms of disrespect are, well, respected. Those negative human traits are sought after and held in high esteem. Heck, even murder is ho-hum. Echoes of Dexter? What the heck is happening? Desensitizing? I'm not talking about redeeming them, having them save their souls or the power of true love saves all. There is no saving or changing. They remain as they are, demons. They remain in that world and their loving seems to embrace promiscuity, infidelity, mind/body/soul rape, and a twisted view of what love and the pursuit of romance is all about. I am not entertained. I am not accepting of this new line of writing and it makes me very uncomfortable in thinking new readers just getting into the racier levels of romance find themselves cavorting with demon lore as though it's normal, acceptable and desirable. I tolerate a LOT with vampires and werewolves. There's a decent thread among those stories that have much in common with what you'd expect from romance. I also find the marketing ploy of putting two established authors who write very well and are much loved by me with two newer writers who focus on this new demon line, tacky. Probably profitable, ( which is the bottom line, isn't it?) but I'm not happy. Are they trying to seduce me into reading these? Are they trying to entice me into accepting them by virtue of the other authors? Not working. OK, so I read them to give them a fair shake. I have been thinking about this for awhile but after reading these, I think I've read enough to cultivate a personal view. I give kudos for trying to find an untapped niche. I find some of the writing styles and capabilities are to be admired and acknowledged, but the topic, of making me sympathetic to life and love ( I use that word loosely) in the world of demons, is not creating a fan out of me. The closest I've come to is reading books with demons are books by Kim Harrison or L.A. Banks. There is a line I won't cross and their books straddle it. I have no idea what others think about this. I don't know if anyone has noticed this new trend or even if they have an opinion. I do. And I have shared it here. No. No. I do not like this latest fad/trend/story arc. Anyone have a different opinion?

OK so I almost did it and yet, ...

I almost reclaimed my garden.
Except, I didn't.
I made it somewhere else using something else.

Anyone have any luck planting INSIDE cinder blocks?
I am giving it a whirl. Mostly because every time I dig, even in places
that have been dug before, there are rocks.

It's an unconventional raised garden but at this point, I'm going to try anything.
Ferns, those pretty frothy green things, in conjunction with some strange vigorous perennial green leafy fragrant plant which can grow four feet tall, have taken over my old place of gardening.

So, I bought lots of new MooDoo and humus and soil and other planter's helper type stuff and some time release fertilizer and off I went.

I have petunias and marigolds and cosmos and portulaca.
I have yellow squash and some type of sweet pepper, and six Roma tomatoes and six Big Boy tomatoes and six muskmelon a/k/a cantaloupe, and oregano, and six cucumbers.
I planted seeds of zucchini, dill, fennel and okra and sunflowers.

This ends up being the most gardening I've done in three years. I can't believe it's been that long and once I got my hands in the dirt, I'd realized how much I actually missed it.

Another thing I recently miss is my library.
They are closed until further notice.
Seems Friday afternoon, the ceiling in the main lobby gave way and crashed.
No one was hurt and here's the kicker, or the oddity.
In years past, until this year, they've adopted their summer hours the first full week after schools let out. This year, they opted to change their hours the SAME day the schools closed for the summer.

Here is the wierd part. If they had not done that, if they remained on winter hours, they would have been open until 6 PM. On Friday nights they were always busy and usually had people inside all the way up until closing. There would have been injuries. But for some reason, unknown to me, they changed this year.
And that change, that decision saved patrons from injury; and for the children in the kids section so close to the main lobby, saved them from a frightful sight.

They have no idea why the ceiling 'failed' as they termed it. They now have to check the whole building for structural integrity.

The thing that gets me about our little 127 yr old library, give or take a year, is that we've been struggling to save, generate and raise funds for an expansion for years. The library has been applying for grants and have gone before the town asking for the town's support. For all the valuable services this little building provides to all of us...why is it SO hard to support them when they support US so unfailingly?

And yet, the process has been dragged out so much and so long, this almost tragedy has come to pass. It remains a tragedy because the library is so much a part of my life in the summer. It enriches my family in books, videos and music. Now there is nothing. The other libraries in our local vacinity either have dragons for librarians or are even smaller than us with hours shorter than a blink.

What can I do? What will happen to our little town library that no one seems to want to give money to, to support and yet demands so much from?

It just doens't seem right.
I love my library,
I miss it,
and I want it reopened.

Thanks Bailey for letting me know!

In the middle of the article about Danielle Steele, there is a poll ... do we read romance books?

OK, so they labeled them 'bodice rippers'..but the thing is...the NO's! are winning!

Romance books ARE literary art! They DO count. They DO matter!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25191970/

If you have 30 seconds... click for romance books!!!!

Picture Smorg

Male Double Standard of Youth

I was reading Daisy's blog post and although I think it has many extremely funny elements, I was prompted to share this:
First read her Male Bashing post.

Then, this is what I wrote in response:


I can't believe they would SAY That!
And yet, you know, I do.
****
Here's something in the recent news. I'm going from memory here from this week.

A mother allowed her teenage son to invite some buddies over for a sleep over.

She had another mother, a friend of hers, come over too...to help out I guess.

According to the radio station I listened to...the 15 - 16 yr olds were treated to two very horny mothers who got it on with ALL of the teenagers at the sleepover as soon as they walked in the door. Five I think.

The ONLY reason anyone found out is after the debauchery was over, one young man 'felt guilty' and confessed to his dad or parent.

The thing is, the DJ invited comments on air. A 23 yr old male said
WOW, that rocks!
I'd have never left!
I'd have thought that was GREAT.

The DJ said..you're too young to understand about being a parent, but think about yourself in 20 years ... how would you react if YOUR son came and told you?

The 23yr old said:
I'd give him a Hi Five!
I'd get the woman's number.
I'd Celebrate and tell him he was so lucky.

That caller was totally accepting of the situation and indeed endorsed it.

Then the DJ asked ..well, what if it were your DAUGHTER and she had sex with the father at the party.

"Oh, well, I'd shoot him.

"HUH? Double STANDARD!

And then the DJ said...."But think about this...If the mothers in question looked like... (don't remember who was used as example.) Angelina Jolie or Cindy Crawford, you probably feel good BUT if the woman looked like Rosanne or Rosie, I'm guessing you wouldn't be so happy about it."

I don't remember the guy answering one way or the other on that one....

The thing is, Me, as a mom... WOULD be upset.

First, They were..helloooo! MINORS.
Hellooo! Don't you think it's gross that the SON of one of the women was there for all of this? Who got it on with HIM? The mother's Best FRIEND???
GROSS!
What did it do to this young man's psyche seeing his MOM have sex with his buddies?
And women who abuse their position of trust - especially the position of MOM, are totally trash.
And if they get off on young boys... what is the age cut off for pedophiles ...and why do they have to be only MEN? ((and how come female teachers who have sex with young students aren't ever labeled Pedophiles????)

****
Some of Daisy's male commenters sounded like that 23 yr old. Not having lived enough, not having the benefit of a mature understanding of LOVE, which is NOT the same as lust, they have grandiose illusions of their place in the world and a woman's place in it.

Life, the ultimate teacher, will give them a smack down one of these days.

Yes, Daisy's blog post was funny. I also think it's funny that someday, they are going to eat crow, humble pie and will jump through hoops to appease their woman.

At that point, they won't be seeing with their eyes, but with their heart.

So when their woman is hefty because of a debilitating disease, side effects from meds, thyroid problems or whatever, the LAST thing they'll be thinking of is weight. The men who wrote in to Daisy? Have NO clue! We can laugh, but I pity them too.

Just my two cents.

Frogs and Fodder

So, how are things?

Survive the heat?

A lot of towns closed all their schools this past Tuesday because of the intense heat. That caused a lot of parents a dilemma because it was a scramble to find child care.

Me? I have to work different days and arrive at 8AM instead of 9AM. Have to make up the hours since I have to leave work early on Friday. I really dislike having my plans thwarted.

So, did you visit LASR? Have you entered Daisy's contest? I still hope you do so was can talk about her book. It rocks!

BTW - a thought came into my head.

If a Pirate says, "Blow me down!"

Who says, "Blow me up?"

Are you doing anything to celebrate Father's Day for the dad-men in your life?

Mine is going deep sea fishing. Only his second time and I hope THIS time, we get some fish! LOL

As it is, I'm glad he's going to do manly fun things instead of mowing the lawn or cleaning the gutters.

OH, this groaner just in:

What do Skunks use to make telephone calls?

A Smell-phone.

Have you even seen a bridge with such Odd Guardians? Thought I'd share them with you. I forget the city but it is in Connecticut. Enjoy the oddity!

Win this book so we can GAB

You have GOT to win Daisy Dexter Dobbs' latest book, Samantha and Her Genie!

WHO is Daisy? Check her out, HERE

Why? Why should you try to get her latest book?

You should if you like to laugh and roll on the floor from seriously funny antics by the hero. You should if you enjoy some really hot erotic moments as the Hero and Heroine explore the growth of their love. ( Yep there is a great HEA)

You should if you would enjoy seeing a novel twist when the villain of of the piece gets her just desserts. Revenge is sweet and this one has a suprise ending that tricked me. Just when you think you know what is going to happen, because it starts out sounding like a stereotypical situation, WHAM! a whole new and unique scene had me appreciating Daisy's talent all over again. I adore an author who keeps me on my toes. Don't you?

Actually, by entering her contest, you could win ANY of her books, even Finding Cupid. I love them all and if I hadn't bought them already I'd be jumping at the opportunity to get a free book.

WHERE is this contest?

Oh, have I got news for you.
My baby review site is being incorporated into the official LASR website today! Today is the big day! I am so excited and nervous and thrilled and astounded and amazed.

Want the link to check out Whipped Cream's new home?
LASR
But if you want to zip right in to where the contest is?
Click HERE

Please, make me happy. Go, enter and WIN her book so we can gab about it later!
There's so much fun going on in the book, I can't pick just one scene!

More about the Birds

Back to the Robins.

I hope this last time might BE the last time. The nest was half way built when I drove off.
And they've not re-built in the past two days. Think they FINALLY got the hint?
I hope so.

I also have a little journal on OKCupid and I posted a plea there about my birds.
What a great place!
I got responses.

The first were two young men who made me chuckle. Their advice? gasoline and bb guns.
Totally impractical. **grin**

However, there were two MEN, one from New Jersey and one from England. They actually conversed via my journal there, about the birds and my actual
plight.
It was SO cool!

Seems the Brits have their own robin. He's a cute little fellow and just as dumb if not worse. Theirs is NOT afraid of humans and has been known to be right next to a gardener tilling the soil with their shovel, or as they refer to it, a spade. Their robin will dart to and fro to get the bugs the 'spade' will turn up and they have a feast.
American robins give us a WIDE berth and want nothing to do with us.
British robins will nest in a house { if they get in there without your notice}, have nested in a WWII fighter plane and in coat pockets (while unworn).

So I guess the British robin has loads of anecdotal evidence of nesting in inappropriate and strange places. It's in the genes and I guess our American bird shares that same odd gene. Strange building sites are not uncommon, but our birds show a bit more "stiff upper beak" then their cousins. And I find that hilarious.

I guess my robins have a bit more British in them than normal.
Aren't I lucky?
**snort**

I needed to find out if I could beat the birds, so I took this test...

Obviously, from these results, the Robins are going to beat me. I didn't even rate a BETA??? Good Gravy!

Your Score: Omega male/female

You scored

You're not an alpha (yes it's a good thing), congratulations! You're well liked, and your friends can count on you for almost anything... usually. Every once and awhile you have to step up and take control, but most of the time you go with the flow and don't mind doing what other people say. Sometimes that makes you mad, but hey, they need you! It's a shame nice guys/gals finish last - and hey, isn't this froggy cute?

Link: The Are You an Alpha Male/Female Test written by nepath on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test View My Profile(nepath)

I'm BORING!!!! Guess so, since hardly anyone visits anymore..so I'll just post these things just for my own fun...

Your Score: Crop Circles

You scored 73% boring, 24% enigmatic, 62% skill and 16% eerie!

Link: The Mystery Test written by standardchuck on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test View My Profile(standardchuck)

WELL HOT DANG, I KNEW IF I KEPT TAKING TESTS, THERE WOULD BE AN AWESOME PRIZE FOR ME AT THE END, BUT I NEVER THOUGHT I COULD LOOK this GOOD!!! ROTFL!!!!

Your Score: PERFECTION!!!!!!!!!

You scored 74 looks, 84 personality, 85 politics, and 72 sex drive!

You are beautiful, have a great personality, know your politics, and have a high sex drive. You are the girl of any man's dreams. You know what you are doing in bed, you're fairly conservative, and you know how to treat your loved one. Men have been waiting for a girl like you all their lives. You probably know how to make sure that the ones you love are happy. You will make someone a great wife or girlfriend someday, if you haven't already. You're the kind of girl that everyone wants. You're probably fun in a conversation and I'm sure that you are as loveable as you are beautiful. You have a wonderful life ahead of you, make sure you live it to the fullest, and keep being the person that you seem to be.

Don't Forget to Take My Other 2 Tests,

The Music (Rock That Is) Test

http://www.okcupid.com/tests/take?testid=8460139144648302003

The One Question Test

http://www.okcupid.com/tests/take?testid=10194224782000446693

Link: The What Kind of Girl are You Test written by ramonaaronperez on OkCupid, home of the The Dating Persona Test View My Profile(ramonaaronperez)

STUPID BIRDS

Robins.
For the last half of April and first half of May, stupid birds insisted on making nests on mine AND my DH's car TIRES.
Then, for the last half of May and up until yesterday, they stopped. We thought we were SAFE. That the nest buiding season was done and over with. **WHEW!**

Play the JAWS music theme here.

This morning, when my kids went to catch the school bus?
The STUPID ROBINS ARE BACK AND THEY WERE BUILDING NESTS ON TWO OF MY TIRES AND AND ONE OF MY DH'S !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HOW do you STOP the stupid things?
I drive off with all the hay and twigs and stuff every day, and every next morning, they rebuild! Day after day after day after day...
Stupid! Stupid!
How. Do. I. Get.Them.To.Stop????????????

ARGH!!!!

Does anyone Know? Can anyone HELP??

I love my Quiz Results

Your Score: King

You scored 28% leadership, 13% spirituality, 22% violence and 37% intelligence!

LEADER - IMPIOUS - VIOLENT - EDUCATED Hail to the king (or queen, I suppose)! You rule in splendour over whatever country you're from, and have hordes of ferocious viking warriors to command, skalds lining up to sing your praises, and countless slaves to do your dirty work. You're living the good life, when you're not working tirelessly to defend your borders from your brothers who feel like dear old dad should have left THEM the throne instead of YOU. And then there are those damn missionaries who keep telling you that Odin and Thor are just Satan in disguise. No matter how convincing they may be, your people will turn on you if you become Christian. It is not advisable, politically.

Link: The Viking Age Persona Test written by fenrirgagootsi on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test View My Profile(fenrirgagootsi)

Mystic Fish

My most favorite part about this part of our trip?

The little girl screaming at the clown fish exhibit,

"Nemo! Look Momma, Look! I found Nemo!!!" Isn't that the cutest thing ever? :-)

We also took the kids to Mystic Sea Aquarium. See the pretty Fish?

Which thing is not like the others?

LOL

Enjoy the grace of this almost moving fish....

ds to

Fort Griswold

The day before Memorial Day, we discovered Fort Griswold in Connecticut.

To say we were shocked is an understatement. The internet site under Fort Griswold showed a different fort structure so we were driving around and around looking for this huge stone building and we only found the earthen remains of one.

Turns out, there are two forts and both share a tragic and important part of history.

Fort Griswold is the scene of a massacre.

Turns out, the British annihilated nearly every last person in this fort. Some that survived were treated brutally.

Seems the commanding officer surrendered and told his men to lay down arms, after fighting long and hard. Unfortunately, the succeeding British officer, a lesser man promoted because the original leaders were killed, didn't care about honoring the terms of surrender and proceeded to cut down unarmed men.

The jerk.

This is the monument erected to honor the men who died. It has 170 steps no bigger than 20 inches across. If someone is coming up, no one is coming down. There is NO room to pass, no room to comfortably place two feet side by side. If you're claustrophobic in any way, don't attempt this.

Me? Um... I was winded by the time I got to the top, sure. But what I didn't expect was a panic attack. I posed for a picture on the top just to show that I wouldn't let it beat me. My DH was more than willing to let me go back down, to not force me to continue. But I'm stubborn. I was not going to let the feelings overtake me. Oh sure, I had to put my head between my knees at the top but who cares? I did it. HA!

The City of Groton has this nice memorial honoring the fallen..

This is another memento honoring this place of courage and death.

Sorry about all the shadows hiding some of the letters. I couldn't get an angle where my body shadow didn't obliterate the words. There was a lot of history to share from this one place.

Like I said above, I refused to let my panic/anxiety attack defeat me. I stood p and looked out the tiny window for a spectacular view. See?

Not much left of this fort. Heck, the town of New London across the river was burnt to the ground by none other than troops under Benedict Arnold. You must remember HIS name from our history. The British troops who massacred the soldiers and people at Fort Griswold were a part of Arnold's contingent... they think 800 men all told were involved in the whole mess. They split up and attacked Fort Griswold, Fort Trumbell and New London. I have pics of Fort Trumbell but that will be for another day.

See the ferry? What a view!

All that's left is the earthen structures.

I took a very shaky (sorry) video clip of one of the trenches of Fort Griswold.

So that was the first day of our mini vacation. It was beautiful, it was informative and it was memorable.

Hope your Memorial Day was memorable too.