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Just Me Kate

Family

Happy Memorial Day 2022!

May 30, 2022

Happy Memorial Day! We celebrated in true “Cilley” style, a trip up to Back Lake, in Pittsburgh, New Hampshire.  It’s a family tradition. It was a bit different this year.  It was just Sam and me, no Tyler or Jacob.  Tyler is interning in Michigan this summer at a very large cucumber farm.  Jacob’s high school lacrosse team was in a big sectionals game.    So, off we went…

Business Perspective Travel

A Trip to Iowa

May 22, 2022

Last week I took a trip to Iowa to visit the Iowa Soybean Association. I introduced them to the concept of finding the best donut in Des Moines (Bethany and Lydia were very good sports), and they introduced me to 2 of their farmers and Iowa soybeans. The trip was about overseas markets and the economic environment here.  We talked about fuel costs and fertilizer costs and the…

Lifestyle Perspective

Laughing in Church

May 1, 2022

Dear Readers, It’s been a busy week!  Lacrosse is in full swing, the leaves are about ready to burst out of their buds and I think, by the time you open this article on Monday morning, there will be lilacs ready to be picked.  I do love this time of year, it’s so fresh. What I wanted to share this week, is just a little piece of a…

Perspective

Why I hug…

April 24, 2022

On Tuesday, November 5, 1985, my life and the way I think of goodbye changed, forever. Over the last few weeks, I have watched close people in my life suffer through losing people close to them.   I have been affected. Loss is a trigger to reflect and go deep within yourself.  And even though it may not be your loss, you can’t help but be affected watching people…

Family Perspective

A Boy Mom’s “Prom”

April 10, 2022

On this morning after prom, I am here to say that I think it’s much easier to be the mother of a boy during these occasions. Not nearly as stressful as what it is on the girl side. Mothers of boys spend their “day of” cleaning vehicles, reminding their boys to wash behind their ears, and then attach the boutonnière to their lapel.  We give them a quick once…

Business

The Daily Dirt Campaign Launch

April 4, 2022

Dear Readers, I am excited, and nervous today. Today is the day. The day that we are launching our Daily Dirt campaign which will help to fund our newest endeavor, the Daily Dirt.   “Can you dig it?” The Daily Dirt “seed” was planted 7 years ago, in a humble office on the Main Street of Greenwich.  As an off-the-cuff comment, it came from Brittany about the need for…

Perspective Travel

Dear Delta,

March 27, 2022

Dear Delta, I just wanted to thank you for the mind-numbing experience you gave me during my flight last week. How thankful I was that you placed screens on the back of every seat. I was able to view 14 different things at once as I looked on either side and to the rows ahead of me.  Watching all of those different screens certainly helped to free my…

Lifestyle

Daylight savings time

March 13, 2022

Daylight savings time… …how I loathe thee. You feel like an archaic institution that has not yet been thrown out. Can we get rid of you?   Your presence means that I will wake up even more tired and grumpy than usual on a Monday morning. From my perspective, you mess everything up.  You wreak havoc with my rising time. I must wake to darkness with no sun to…

Travel

Moving Animals

March 6, 2022

Once a day, once a week, or once a month.  It’s an event to be marked, especially when performed with family members. Moving animals. Reading the moods ahead of time doesn’t seem to matter, as you know, dispositions are likely to change on a dime. It is nearly impossible to anticipate all of the loopholes that an animal or herd of animals will find.  Some days it’s like…

Family

Here are my 3 Valentines

February 13, 2022

Here are my 3 Valentine’s! Tyler, Jacob, and Sam. To be honest, Valentine’s Day is a day that I am challenged with.  Not because I don’t believe in telling people that you love them, but because I know, for just as many people who are feeling the love today, many more are feeling just the opposite, very unloved.  It makes me sad. Maybe today, you should consider showing…