12 days of rain and still going strong

Amazing, but at least my well is nice and full. My sump pump has been running with some regularity, which is music to my ears. Like money in the bank. Icing on the cake. Creme de la creme. A full bowl of dog food. I can wash all the clothes I want to without cringing and waiting for the well to run dry. It's the simple things that make me happy. If I lived near a river I'm sure I'd feel differently, but I'm on a hill with a mere hole in the ground for a cellar.

I'm still cataloging worthless CD's. Yesterday had two highlights. The Royal Philharmonic is still hard at work, this time recording the Greatest Hits of Madonna. Yes, Like a Virgin and Material Girl with plenty of stings. Then there was The Best Darn Drinkin' Songs, which included the perennial favorite The Girls Get Prettier at Closing Time. And that's how I spent my day. Not even anything good to listen to while I cataloged them. I did listen briefly to 60's Flower Power, which included Herman's Hermits' I'm Henry VIII. That reminded me of Henry's first car, which was an old, old blue VW van. He spray painted "HVIII" across the front of it and boy did he love having that vehicle. He drove all over the East Side in it, and even let his sisters ride in it. In the back, where there were no seats or windows, but ride in it nevertheless. He was a good brother.

It rained all weekend, even though it wasn't terribly cold. I got three lobsters for dinner Friday night and ate them with Linda and Erdvilas. They were surprisingly good. According to the guy at the store they came in that morning. Lobsters you get in Plattsburgh come from Maine. Anyway it was my final evening for the year with L & E, so we said our farewells. They left Saturday morning. I spent Saturday doing not much of anything, unfortunately. I don't know if I'm depressed or just not motivated because I'm sick of drizzly gray skies. I had a nice, long conversation with my mother, who had sunshine and 60 degrees at her house. She sounded well, better than last week.

I fell asleep for just a few minutes late Sat. morning and awoke to a funny "thump" sound. Tess had gotten up on the kitchen counter, where I had left a plastic half gallon of milk, retrieved the milk and carried it to the living room. She dropped the container, spilling most of the milk on the floor and rug, and she and Chances were industriously lapping up the milk. I yelled at them both, picked up the milk container, then shrugged and said, "Well, you might as well lick up the rest of it." They wagged their tails and obeyed me. Not as much of a mess for me to clean up but now they smell like Resolve carpet cleaner every time they lie down in that spot. And, oh, isn't Tess clever?

Erdvilas gave me custody of a big carton of liquors for the winter, ones that would freeze if left in camp. There are many small bottles of assorted things, and I've left the carton on the kitchen floor. Every day Chances seems to want to try out the contents of one of the small bottles because I find a small bottle in the middle of the living room floor. OK, so I forget to move the carton to a place where she can't find it, just as I neglected to put the milk back in the refrigerator.

Sunday was rainy too. I cleaned my living room and did some laundry then went to Sunday dinner. Quiet dinner, just Bill and Ken. Ken had his wood stove cranking so it was HOT and both Bill and I got very sleepy after dinner. I had my stove going all weekend, too.

Sunday night I was watching TV, looking forward to my regular shows. It was incredibly windy outside and I was really enjoying watching the trees bend and wave, listening to the amazing noise and at 8:30 the power went out. I sat there in the dark for a few minutes, letting it sink in. There was just a bit of light from the moon through the clouds so it was very peaceful. I always know where my flashlights are, and I know where my Coleman lantern is so I'm always in good shape when the power goes out. This time, though I wasn't in the mood to read. I tried. It was really hot sitting in the living room next to the lantern, so I moved into the bedroom, where the temperature at night is about 50. I lasted until about 10 before I fell asleep. I woke up at 4 when the power came on.

Monday I went to an all-day workshop in Canton, waving hello to Jenica as I drove through Potsdam (wasn't alone, so couldn't stop). I gave a brief demonstration and talk on patron-initiated interlibrary loan at CEF. Of course I made a mistake, but I can always make fun of myself so it was fine. I got dragged away from the podium before I finished what I had to say. There weren't very many people there but it was a good group. The afternoon session was interesting, about a collaborative effort in the Albany area, but it made me realize that other regions are still trying to do what we've been doing for 15 years as far as resource sharing goes.

The trip to Canton was really pretty, especially the first part (up into the hills). From my house I drive up to Lyon Mountain, where there used to be a huge iron mine. When we were kids my grandfather liked to drive there on his Sunday afternoon drive and we'd poke through the slag (leftover) piles. Now there's a huge, huge slag pile in the middle of town. I love Lyon Mtn. because it's sort of monochromatic. The mine buildings are brown/gray and the huge slag pile is totally devoid of color--gray. There's a long row of company houses down the main drag, all identical but some painted a couple of different colors. They're some sort of stucco, which is really rare here. There's a minimum security prison in the middle of the place and a Mobil station, and that's all there is to the town. It's not really a town. My drive takes me through a place called Standish, which is just a cluster of houses, all run down. The trees were so brilliantly yellow and orange that it was as if the sky were lit up. It was so bright on both sides of the road, it was just fantastic. I love this time, the end of the color, when it's so incredibly bright that it feels as if the sun is always shining (especially nice when you haven't seen the sun for 12 days!). I always say that if my neighborhood gets too crowded--that is, if houses go up across the road from me--I'll move to the road going to Standish. There's an area there called High Banks, and from one side of the road there's an incredible view of the mountains. Of course, the growing season is about 5 weeks long.

The New Director (N.D.) is doing well. She's still reasonable and sane. I'm working with her on a personnel issue I'm having with one of my clerks and it feels really good to have someone who sees things from an organizational perspective rather than working against me personally.

And now it's on to more CD's, starting with Feng Shui: Harmony, Balance, Energy. What in the world can be on that CD?