who's she?

Favorite beach--RI Valentine's Day visit

Ferry in Galillee

Mark--snow on the rocks

Mark, snow on the beach

OK, so I got a call yesterday from a good friend & she asked "Do you still live there?" She kindly pointed out that my blog is stuck in early Jan., and I never posted any Christmas pictures. Well, the Christmas pictures are pretty old,but I was in RI for Valentine's Day, so maybe I'll post some of those pictures. I had a good time, Mark & I walked the dogs on 2 beaches & had a contest to see who could find the best scallop shells. It must have been a tie. It was nice but windy and cool. The promise of bare ground was broken--there had been a storm prior to my arrival. I'm returning in mid-March for my mother's 84th birthday--again the promise of bare ground. Bet I'll be ready for it by then--we're supposed to have a storm this week, but it's too early to know how much snow, according to our inept meteorologist. Who is a jerk and (as M pointed out) can only say "nor-thurrn" instead of using the more commonly used "northern." Wish M hadn't pointed this out to me because now it drives me crazy, too.

Life progresses. I've been well, though have slipped into my winter depression (this is beyond the doldrums, or being shack-wacky--this is the "I can't get up off the couch or wake up" syndrome). My house is a mess (I can hear the responses--"yeah, like that's unusual"). Is it really necessary to use so many "quotation marks?" Anyway, my winter has gone pretty well. Amazing what a difference a clean stovepipe and dry wood stored in the woodshed make. Wow. My stove gets warm, my living room isn't 53 degrees (well, sometimes, but I can get it up to 63 or so, which is pretty toasty for 58 OHR).

I've seen friends this month--my friends from the camp down the hill from my house were here. Boys from Mass., Minn., Calif. They're great and I got to have dinner with them twice. And talk to Duncan every night. These are wonderful people.

The Holts were here for the weekend and took me to a fundraiser for our wonderful new Congressman. It was something, all right. Held at an exclusive Lake Placid landmark. I knew no one until I spotted a librarian from SUNY, who (whom?) I've known a long time--since Jamie's fly-tying classes in the 80's. And I chatted with the library's mailman, who was there representing the letter carriers' union. Passed out many compliments. Kidded around with a nice man from Schenectady until I realized he was a Congressman, then felt foolish. There were 4 Congresspeople there, including Rush. They all spoke at dinner, of course. Dinner, ahhh, after appetizers like tuna, venison sausage, chicken Satay. Actually, the food wasn't as great as I expected. rats. No, the food wasn't rats. I sat across from the owner and spent most of the time talking to her. Did you know that you can make fake, low-cal coconut cream pie, using a low-fat Jello pudding cup sprinkled with coconut, mixed in with coconut extract and sprinkled on top with crushed graham crackers? well now you do. Other topics were the usual dog, cat, weather, etc. stories. Except when the owner told me ad nauseum that there aren't any age-appropriate books for her 8- and 10-year olds. And that we should have all books labeled so that no one would read an inappropriate book. And that one of our best libraries is too noisy. Aside from that, I enjoyed talking with her and she kept saying "EXACTLY!" when I said something she agreed with.

Work has been fine, except for the past week, when my colleague was on a cruise and I did her work. Yeowie is there a lot of running around and checking books in & out, putting things on delivery shelves, sorting things out when the delivery comes in. not pleasant for an elderly asthmatic.

I've been pedaling on a stationary bike and walking on the treadmill we have here. We chipped in together (as opposed to apart?) & bought the t'mill. I've been better than anyone would have expected--working on it every day for at least 15 min. I can read while doing either activity so time passes quickly. OK, not quickly, but it's not bad. I was reading our book group book, which was a really sucky book, but now I can move on to something I'll enjoy. So far my pants are still too tight and my asthma is still bad, but I'll keep it up. I almost enjoy it.

Dogs are fine. Chances is showing her age--her vision is getting worse, she has trouble jumping up on the bed, but she's a sweetie. Tess is spunky (what a stoopid word) and still likes to lie on top of me while we watch NCIS repeats. My mother really likes these 2 dogs and takes great care of them when I'm there. Spoils them, actually.

We've had cold weather but now we're having great temps, 20's & 30's. False hope of approaching spring? perhaps. But I ordered flower seeds, and am getting ready to plant them. In March, I hope.

Bill is keeping up with the Sunday noon tradition, sans dinner. Good snacks, wine, good visits with the regulars. I visit Ken's niece & her husband, who live next door to K's house, stopping on my way home from work as I did with Ken. We like tradition in Hawkeye.

I have nothing exciting or startling to report. I think about retirement but try not to be one who puts x's on calendars, counting down the days. I'm hoping for early retirement in 4 years, so I have plenty of time left. Plenty of projects, lots of things about my job to enjoy.

And life goes on. If you were expecting something fascinating I apologize. It's winter, you know.