I just got home from my second day at work! Well... I actually clocked out at 11 pm, but Bill surprised me by waiting in the parking lot outside the shop. He said "Oops, you caught me with my girlfriend!" When I looked in the passenger seat, there sat his Mom! She looked so happy to see me! Bill went to New York State today (200 miles from us!) to visit his family. His Mom never saw the house, so he brought her down for an overnight visit. I guess she had a very bad experience with dogs years ago, and now is deathly afraid of them. I had to keep my dogs on leashes until she got used to them, and vice versa. My Dalmatian is a good dog, but quite exuberant when we have guests, so I think he wanted to sit on her lap! It wasn't a good situation! Now they are locked in with us in our bedroom. My Mother-in-Law is sleeping on the bed that Fredo (my Dal.) likes... I usually keep the door closed so he can't get in there, but since she is here, she is keeping the door open. We don't need Fredo giving her a heart attack by going in there in the middle of the night, and plopping down next to her to sleep! LOL!

Work was very hectic. I don't understand. Why hire teenagers if all they do is quit? I was in the dining room all night, bussing tables, cleaning trays, washing dishes, etc. I was supposed to have someone with me, but there were three "kids" who were supposed to work tonight, but they never showed up. The manager told me that they never tell them when they are quitting... they don't give notice... they just don't show up anymore. It's really hard to depend on anyone. But I was fine. I ran around, and didn't take a break, but it's not hard work. I guess they know they can do that to me... I have the restaurant business in my blood, so this wasn't a big deal. Besides spilling hot coffee all over the counter and then putting my hand in it (ouch!), and the fact that my shoes are supposed to have non-skid soles (I found out the hard way that they don't!!!), it went well. Panera Bread is really similar to "Central Perk" in the tv show "Friends"... especially on a Saturday night. People came in to eat, but we also had the cool crowd who came in with their friends for coffee, and hung out on our couches. It was nice to see! I have to work tomorrow, and I am learning the register system. Now I am off to bed!

Trial by Fire

I just returned home from my first day of training at Panera Bread. I was basically given a book to read for a while, and then I backed up the register girls in the bakery. It was pretty hectic, but I loved it! There was no one actually training me... I just asked questions when I didn't know how to do things. It was very fast-paced, and I love a job where you aren't just standing around, because it seems the time flies by much more quickly! I only burned two bagels in the toaster! Not bad! Tomorrow, I start in the late afternoon, so I learn about how to close the place... they may put me in the cafe, but I really like the bakery. I started laughing at myself when I was supposed to make a box (with all the folding and stuff), and I couldn't do it. Maybe the girls thought I was cracking up and needed reassurance, but one of the girls said to my that I am doing better on my first day than some people do after being there for a while! That made me feel good! I'm looking forward to tomorrow!

Bill went golfing today with his friend Tom. Tom has never been to our house since we moved here in June. This morning Bill hinted that he may bring Tom over to show him the house. So I did one of those "impress the guests" cleanings... nothing out of place... no dust on anything... all the mail and magazines tucked away... the clothes were picked up off the floor and put into the hamper. Later in the day, Bill calls and tells me that Tom couldn't make it today that his girlfriend called and he had to go right home. Hmmm. Was that a ploy by my husband to get me to clean the house? Was Tom really never coming to the house? Bill gets home and his face lights up, and he is thanking me for doing what I did. He then says, "Wouldn't it be great if the house could look like this everyday?" Pfft, yea right! I said, "Sure, honey, it would be great, but it isn't realistic!" Men are so cute sometimes!

Bill's on time away from work... he will be off for the rest of the week. We don't have any big plans... I think he is taking the week to relax and recoup. Today was a beautiful autumn day, though still quite warm. The sun is shining and hardly any of the leaves were turning. We went for a drive to an apple orchard. It was so pretty... the hillsides were covered in fruit trees! I love places like this! I was on a mission to get fresh apples... I'm so tired of those tasteless stored apples that you find in the grocery store. We bought half a peck (whatever that is... it was just a small basket!) of Macintosh apples, and a gallon jug of yummy apple cider! There were two busloads of small children who were just about finished with their visit to the orchard. They were so excited, because they were picking out their "free" pumpkins. It was so cute to see them! They were running around the bales of hay that formed a little maze for them, and posing next to the "spooky" scarecrow. I miss going on field trips! I loved that stuff when I was in school! I remember once when we were taken on a tour of a huge dairy farm. We learned about every step of the process of milk-making, including walking through the barn where the cows were hooked up to the machines. We were told to not walk so close to the back ends of the cows as they had a tendency to kick, and you also never knew when one was going to let loose a giant cow plop! They also had chickens on the farm, and I remember thinking that the chickens smelled worse than the cows! Our tour ended with a carton of "fresh" milk. I remember it as being a very fun day! Ah, to be young and so care-free again!

I just returned from my first orientation with Panera Bread. It looks like it's going to be fun. I was afraid that I was going to be the oldest one to work there, since the girl training with me was only 16, and everyone else looked like they just got out of a day at high school. I guess it depends on your shift. The manager told me that they don't expect me to be busing too many tables in the dining room, that I will probably go straight on the registers in either the cafe or the bakery as soon as I complete my "certification". We got to make our own name badges, so I decorated mine with tiny dog stickers and little paw prints that I drew myself. My name tag is in honor of my own pooches will be at home missing me while I am at work! The work doesn't really look too hard, and the bread smelled delicious. There is no smell nicer than the smell of freshly baking bread. My mouth starts to water as soon as the aroma hits my nose! I don't have to go back to work until Friday at 6am... UGH! They want to show me how to open the store. Then Saturday, I will work til the store closes. I don't mind. Right now, everything seems rosy because it is new! As I was leaving, I asked if it was ok for me to buy some bagels. The manager is like, "OH! I was going to give you some anyway!". She has one of the girls fill up a bag with bagels, and she gave me some hummus (my favorite!) and sun-dried tomato creamed cheese (Bill's favorite!) for free! I can grow to like this!

I want to watch "The Sopranos", but Bill is still at work. Normally, he is home two hours ago. He is having an official "visit" of alot of big-wigs in his company tomorrow, so he has been working all day to make sure all is right in his store. This always happens when he has a visit. He loses track of time. Thank Goodness we have that Tivo thingie, and I'm recording the show. I gotta have my Sopranos fix!

Welcome to my Autumn-themed blog! It's still a work in progress... there are a few more tweaks I'd like to do. It's a learning experience!

I just got back from walking the Ironton Trail with my dogs. I love the old railway tracks that get converted into walkways. It's so pretty walking through the woods. This one takes you by some creeks and a stone quarry... the leaves are just starting to change, and it's so pretty. It is somewhat creepy though, going around a bend and finding a skeleton of a building... they are all in ruin. When there is no one else around, the sight is a little spooky! I guess it made sense when the trains were still running to have these buildings in the middle of a forest, but now it's quite unsettling! The main paths have quite a few less kept path zigzagging off them. They all lead somewhere, but it is very easy to get lost. I came upon three boys on bikes... the kids were probably around 12 years old. They were lost had had to find their way to the stone quarry to find their trail out. I pointed them in what I hope was the right direction! I remember the days of riding your bike through the woods... when I was in grade school we used to ride along the train tracks (they were still in use). We found a cave once, and I was brave enough to go inside. We used to climb over a retaining wall and stand on a ledge overlooking the rushing waters of Nay Aug Creek. I didn't know how to swim! I look back and think how dangerous that was! Nothing could stop us when we were kids!