It was a pretty busy week. Some traveling, some socializing.
Monday I drove to Malone to go to the CEF board meeting. It was a pretty drive, through Ellenburg & Brainardsville, but dark for my trip home through Standish, etc. I like that part of the country, though it's desolate & some think depressing. I've always said that, when it gets too crowded on Old Hawkeye Rd., I'll move to High Banks. Where the growing season is about 2 weeks long. But no one lives there. Hopefully that day won't come.
Tuesday I had a union dinner in Rouses Pt. Good food, pretty spot on the lake, lots of solidarity. Unions forever! Down with management!
Weds. I had a demonstration all morning (not union, done by a vendor)--an automated system we're considering if we can get the money together. Very nice system. After that I went to Wilmington, where I took the pictures below. It was very, very pretty. I visited the library there, met up with some friends from Silver Lake who were using the Internet there, then stopped to see Marylou at Candy Man. And bought some candy for Linda & Erd. because Tuesday night they let my dogs out early in the evening so they (the dogs) wouldn't be left unattended for the zillion hours it ended up being. Anyway, I had a nice visit with M., sitting outside and chatting. Then I stopped at Linda's, then I stopped at Joe & Martha's, then I collapsed at home.
Yesterday I had a doctor's appointment--my regular doctor. Oh dear, I've gained 7 pounds, and my triglycerides are up 40 points. Know why? I stopped walking, that's why. And I eat more. So it's back to last winter's regimen of yogurt, cottage cheese, treadmill and pickles. Not in that order. I eat a lot of pickles. I need to stop eating yummy cereal and crackers. I bought Life Savers today because I can eat lots of those for not too many points. Pickles have NO points, but a girl can only eat so many of them.
I stopped at a local orchard one night, or maybe twice. Twice, I think--I bought good apples (Autumn Crisp), then gave most of them away so I went back to get more. They're good eating apples. And I'll make applesauce when they get not-so-fresh.
My poor work goldfish are bored. I haven't put any plants or decorations in the tank, they just float around and stare into space. Don't tell the SPCA, please.
What's up for the weekend? Well, I'm getting some firewood delivered tomorrow--from Ken's wood shed, so it's nice and dry. Very exciting. It doesn't take much to excite me these days. I'm also hoping to rearrange some furniture, moving the dinner table to the back of the house. Let's see how far I get with that. I also need to go to the boat house to start closing. By cleaning. The water's out at camp so I'll have to bring any dishes to my house to wash. I don't think there are any dirty ones there, I'm pretty sure I at least took care of that. Mostly I need to get rid of empty bottles. I don't think I'll close it up tight just yet--sometimes I have a nice cocktail party there Columbus Day weekend. Which is NEXT WEEKEND. How can Sept. be gone already?
Dogs are doing fine. Chances coughs a lot and will go to the vet next week, I hope. Tess continues to eat whatever dead thing kitty brings into the house (nothing like "crunch crunch crunch" in the middle of the night in the dark bedroom). The other day kitty brought in a mouse and apparently wanted me to watch her killing technique, because mousie was very much alive. When I yelled at her she took it to the back of the house, killed it & brought it back. Always a jumping mouse, never just a regular old mouse. I raced Tess to the body and prevailed. I have to toss the bodies into the woods when Tess isn't watching, or she just trots into the woods to find them & eat them then. YUCKA PUCKA.
So I'll have a good weekend. It's supposed to get cold, but it's about time. I'll probably have to light a fire, but it's already October and we haven't had a killing frost yet, nor have I had my first fire. Which always happens in September. So ... bonus time.
Friday, September 30, 2011
Monday, September 26, 2011
Amazing weekend
I had such a good weekend! It started Saturday morning, a beautiful sunny September day, when I went to the dump--in the morning, not waiting until just before the dump closes, but early-ish in the day. I stopped to buy my usual scratch lottery ticket and WON $500!!! How cool was that. I called my sister to share my news & her husband said I musn't spend the money on debt. Oh how I wish I could feel good about doing that! Instead I think I'll buy firewood from a friend who has a bunch in a woodshed that needs to be moved. But that's ok, I was worrying about how I would pay for that anyway. It feels very strange to win that much money. It's not a huge amount, but perfectly respectable.
Sunday I went to Fred's for coffee with Linda, then we went out to breakfast at the Bad Diner Big Daddy's. It was crowded, which made us feel good because it means they're doing well. The breakfast there is better than dinners are. I had French toast, for the 2nd time, and it was still good.
When I got home I took the dogs for a very long walk--through the bog to a trail that comes out at the end of my road. It's about an hour walk, at least at the pace Chances leads. It was incredibly pretty, and very, very peaceful. No one else in the world. I love it when it's like that.
Today is another banner Sept. day--sunny and warm. I'm at work, but get to leave at 2:30 to go to our board meeting in Malone. At least I'll have a pretty drive up there, even if the meeting is dull and depressing.
Sunday I went to Fred's for coffee with Linda, then we went out to breakfast at the Bad Diner Big Daddy's. It was crowded, which made us feel good because it means they're doing well. The breakfast there is better than dinners are. I had French toast, for the 2nd time, and it was still good.
When I got home I took the dogs for a very long walk--through the bog to a trail that comes out at the end of my road. It's about an hour walk, at least at the pace Chances leads. It was incredibly pretty, and very, very peaceful. No one else in the world. I love it when it's like that.
Today is another banner Sept. day--sunny and warm. I'm at work, but get to leave at 2:30 to go to our board meeting in Malone. At least I'll have a pretty drive up there, even if the meeting is dull and depressing.
Unbelieveably pretty moss in the bog
The picture doesn't do it justice--this is a thrick carpet of sphagmum moss, jus soo pretty. This is where I think there should be a herd of tiny horses with tiny men on their backs running through the woods.
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Pretty muschrooms. Sort of. I thought I'd find a whole bunch of entertaining, interesting and pretty mushrooms, but mostly I found slimy unattractive ones.
Find the dogs
This is a prettylittle bridge that crosses a pretty little brook. Toward the end of it (before it flows into the lake) it marks my property line. It's real name is Rattle Brook but the campers all called it Coca Cola Creek because it often runs brown from the tannins in the bog, and it gets foamy when it flows harder. I thought Rattle Brook Baskets would make a good business name, but if I ever resurrect my business I suppose I should keep the name Woods Run.
Pretty spot
This is just a nice spot, sun through the trees on moss-covered rocks. And Chances, always Chances.
This is what grows in the other part of the woods. Not as pretty a ground cover
This is what grows in the other part of the woods. Not as pretty a ground cover, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.
I don't know what this is--ground cedar? Princess pine? I think the tree-like things are Princess pine. But I don't know. Anyway, this isn't as pretty as the moss in the bog, but it's green on the ground.
The end of the trail, near the riding rings
This is how it looks when the trail comes out to the road.
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Rainy September
It's raining now, lightly. We've had nice weather, with some rain mixed in. I don't mind the rain--it's always good for my water supply, and it is what it is. I had some great sunny weekend days and got to sit on my deck reading with the dogs. OK, the dogs don't read so much. But I did. Then I went inside and watched 127 hours (the film), which was vaguely interesting. Later I watched No Country For Old Men, which was brutal but because I'd recorded it I could fast forward through the worst parts. That's a good film, so well done. But hard to watch. What an evil force.
I haven't been up to much, just visiting with summer people and hanging out at home. I did go out for dinner a few times--once with Joe & Martha & Pat, to a fancy place in Lake Placid, which was very nice. This week I went to the Hungry Trout with Betty Rine and her recently widowed daughter-in-law. It was a nice evening. I empathize with both of them--Betty for the loss of her son and Debbie for the loss of her husband. I still think divorce is harder than death, but that's only my opinion. My spouse didn't die. He did come visit me the other day, though, which stunned me. He wanted to tell me he'd taken out the water at camp. I love these relatives--they tell me what they've done AFTER they do it, rather than ask if I mind if they do it, or even tell me they're planning to do it. Anyway, ex-husband stopped by my house, which he never does. I don't know what's up with him, he's been very sociable lately. I gave him one of the 2 pieces of furniture he's supposed to get according to the divorce, but kept the other piece--it's a nice dresser that I use. It fits perfectly in the corner of my bedroom and I don't have another one like it. Wonder if he minds...
Work is fine. I went to a nice meeting on Monday, at the lakeside home of one of the directors. It was a meeting of member library directors, and I like seeing these people. The meeting lasted a long time, but it was pretty and the people were nice. And the hostess has 2 dogs that behaved much as my dogs do when company comes. Like, they sniffed & wagged and circled around the new arrivals. Very sweet dogs.
Book group met at Linda's Sunday night, a nice time. Good food, as always. We're reading Justin Cronin's The passage, which is way different from anything I would read, but I've started it and it's ok. Post-apocalyptic world. Although we haven't had the apocalypse yet. It's nicely written and Martha says it's really good. It's huge, many, many pages and very heavy.
I'm trying to finish up the deleting of Upper Jay's barcodes from our automated system, but I can only stand to do it in batches of 100 and there are probably 4000 books that were destroyed by the storm. So I plug along. I'm making good progress. I have to print out each batch so they can see what they lost, and total the deletes for the insurance company. What a mess. They lost their entire Adirondack collection, which is really tough. Easy to replace things that are in print, but what to do about those that are out of print?
It's painfully obvious that I have no news. I'm just plugging along, enjoying the weather. I love September and May, when the world changes every day. The soft maples are starting to turn orange and red. And they're moving along quickly, since we had some cold nights.
I haven't been up to much, just visiting with summer people and hanging out at home. I did go out for dinner a few times--once with Joe & Martha & Pat, to a fancy place in Lake Placid, which was very nice. This week I went to the Hungry Trout with Betty Rine and her recently widowed daughter-in-law. It was a nice evening. I empathize with both of them--Betty for the loss of her son and Debbie for the loss of her husband. I still think divorce is harder than death, but that's only my opinion. My spouse didn't die. He did come visit me the other day, though, which stunned me. He wanted to tell me he'd taken out the water at camp. I love these relatives--they tell me what they've done AFTER they do it, rather than ask if I mind if they do it, or even tell me they're planning to do it. Anyway, ex-husband stopped by my house, which he never does. I don't know what's up with him, he's been very sociable lately. I gave him one of the 2 pieces of furniture he's supposed to get according to the divorce, but kept the other piece--it's a nice dresser that I use. It fits perfectly in the corner of my bedroom and I don't have another one like it. Wonder if he minds...
Work is fine. I went to a nice meeting on Monday, at the lakeside home of one of the directors. It was a meeting of member library directors, and I like seeing these people. The meeting lasted a long time, but it was pretty and the people were nice. And the hostess has 2 dogs that behaved much as my dogs do when company comes. Like, they sniffed & wagged and circled around the new arrivals. Very sweet dogs.
Book group met at Linda's Sunday night, a nice time. Good food, as always. We're reading Justin Cronin's The passage, which is way different from anything I would read, but I've started it and it's ok. Post-apocalyptic world. Although we haven't had the apocalypse yet. It's nicely written and Martha says it's really good. It's huge, many, many pages and very heavy.
I'm trying to finish up the deleting of Upper Jay's barcodes from our automated system, but I can only stand to do it in batches of 100 and there are probably 4000 books that were destroyed by the storm. So I plug along. I'm making good progress. I have to print out each batch so they can see what they lost, and total the deletes for the insurance company. What a mess. They lost their entire Adirondack collection, which is really tough. Easy to replace things that are in print, but what to do about those that are out of print?
It's painfully obvious that I have no news. I'm just plugging along, enjoying the weather. I love September and May, when the world changes every day. The soft maples are starting to turn orange and red. And they're moving along quickly, since we had some cold nights.
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A pretty spot. Just a nice September bog walk. I try to walk the boardwalk every couple of days. I hustle through, pretending I'm getting exercise. Well, I AM getting exercise, just not much.
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I don't know what these are, really. They seem to be spider webs, but they're really strange. Little trampolines in the trees. Maybe they're always there but when it gets cold they get frosty so you can see them.
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Imagine some poor spider thinking "WOW! These are the biggest bugs I've ever seen!" No, dear, they're leaves.
Why the deer are hanging around my driveway
These are wild apples at the end of my driveway. It's a banner year for wild apples. Part of my land was an orchard, long ago (so the story goes). I have different types of apples on different trees. Some are really sweet. All are sweet to Tess. She loves apples. And pickles. And broccoli. And cauliflower. What doesn't she like? Raw mushrooms.
This much stacked already
I ordered 8 cords of wood in May or June, and here's all I have stacked so far. Not good. I stacked a cord long ago and it tipped over, which was quite a setback for my morale.
I'm hoping to get a shed full of wood from Bill, who has a shed full at Ken's house that is going to waste. It would be great, nice, dry wood.
September Saranac River--sea smoke
Time to start taking pictures of the river again. This was Monday morning, I think. Anyway, it was pretty and is getting prettier.
There's a lake in there somewhere--early morning fog in Sept.
View from the foot of the lake in earlly morning. The fog was wicked heavy and very pretty.
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They WILL NOT pose nicely for me. Tess is sucking on a blade of grass and Chances is bored and apathetic.
Back when we used to wear pins/buttons, my brother's favorite was a button that said "Apathy." He'd wear it upside down so that, when people said "Your apathy button is upside down" he could say "I don't care."
Monday, September 12, 2011
And what a weekend it was
I had a great weekend. The weather was wonderful, pure September sunny and clear. I got to sit on the dock BOTH days, and I read the book group book so now I can read something I actually want to read. It wasn't a great book though it was well-written.
Saturday morning I got to have coffee with Fred and Linda at Freds's, on the porch even though it was 45 degrees and he had a fire in the fireplace. We decided to go out for breakfast, which I love doing and never get to do. We went to Big Daddy's, the bad diner nearest us. It's only 11 miles away so it's not far. The food is never very good, it's just a question of how bad it's going to be. They have, it turns out, good French toast.
After breakfast we went to the dump--I had no garbage but was along for the ride ("I bet Elizabeth feels left out because she doesn't have any garbage"--FGS). Then home to read on the deck until it got too hot, then I walked to camp to sit on the dock and read in the sun. And wind. Too windy, really. And the water is too cold for a windy September day so I didn't swim.
Saturday night was the latest in Chicken War--Erdvilas cooked Chinese foods. It was wonderful, great food and a good time. It took a long time, but that was OK. I went home and fell fast asleep.
Sunday I had another good day. Up when I wanted, but oops the power went out so I went to Jim & Pat's to see if they had power (they didn't) and I stayed there for an hour or so. Then on to Linda's to deliver some apples and let her know that no one else had power, either. What a beautiful morning on her porch, right next to the water, sunny spot. I stayd a short time, then headed home to GO TO THE DOCK. And so I did.
Last night I had a hankering to be with other people, but decided to stay home, read, be alone with the dogs. The dogs, ah, what a treat they were over the weekend. We have a good rhythm.
I walked the bog both days. It's not particularly pretty right now, everything is turnind gold/brown, but is only half way there right now.
So it was a good weekend. Just the right amount of human contact and just the right amount of alone time and just the right amount of time with my dogs. I got to talk to my sister, who is far away, but we had a good visit. That's September. I like it.
Saturday morning I got to have coffee with Fred and Linda at Freds's, on the porch even though it was 45 degrees and he had a fire in the fireplace. We decided to go out for breakfast, which I love doing and never get to do. We went to Big Daddy's, the bad diner nearest us. It's only 11 miles away so it's not far. The food is never very good, it's just a question of how bad it's going to be. They have, it turns out, good French toast.
After breakfast we went to the dump--I had no garbage but was along for the ride ("I bet Elizabeth feels left out because she doesn't have any garbage"--FGS). Then home to read on the deck until it got too hot, then I walked to camp to sit on the dock and read in the sun. And wind. Too windy, really. And the water is too cold for a windy September day so I didn't swim.
Saturday night was the latest in Chicken War--Erdvilas cooked Chinese foods. It was wonderful, great food and a good time. It took a long time, but that was OK. I went home and fell fast asleep.
Sunday I had another good day. Up when I wanted, but oops the power went out so I went to Jim & Pat's to see if they had power (they didn't) and I stayed there for an hour or so. Then on to Linda's to deliver some apples and let her know that no one else had power, either. What a beautiful morning on her porch, right next to the water, sunny spot. I stayd a short time, then headed home to GO TO THE DOCK. And so I did.
Last night I had a hankering to be with other people, but decided to stay home, read, be alone with the dogs. The dogs, ah, what a treat they were over the weekend. We have a good rhythm.
I walked the bog both days. It's not particularly pretty right now, everything is turnind gold/brown, but is only half way there right now.
So it was a good weekend. Just the right amount of human contact and just the right amount of alone time and just the right amount of time with my dogs. I got to talk to my sister, who is far away, but we had a good visit. That's September. I like it.
Dock sisters
Aside from the fact that Tess doesn't like to have her picture taken, she's convinced there are FISH in the water by the dock. She's spends hours hypnotized by what might just be fish in the water.
Tuesday, September 06, 2011
Happy September
And off we go, into fall. I'm ready for the change of seasons--what's the point of living in a climate that has 4 different seasons if you don't change from time to time? If I wanted summer all year I'd live in California. As if. Anyway, I look forward to September; May and Sept. are 2 of my favorite months. Clear days, mild temps. And color is starting to show up in the woods. Some subtle signs, some not so subtle.
I had a good Labor Day. I labored just enough to feel good about the day but not enough to feel put-upon. I cleared off the dinner table, the coffee table and the wood stove. And packed 100 bottles & cans, which I took to the redemption center (I love being redeemed at the redemption center). And packed up my impressive collection of plastic bags, which I took to be recycled today. And swept the living room. And did lots of dishes. And rounded up the juicer I'm giving away, finding all its parts. I even have the manual. Once a co-worker prepared a whole policy statement referring to the corresponding procedures manuel. Oh did we get some mileage out of that.
I scored well in the neighborhood Chicken War on Sunday. I started cooking on Saturday, fried lots of zucchini and eggplant, which I combined with diced tomatoes, olives and capers for a delicious pasta sauce (Boathouse Pasta, created by my sister). Sunday morning I cooked lots of chicken and some onions in olive oil. My but it takes a lot of olive oil to fry enough food for 8. It was all worth the work, though, my meal turned out very well. My sister was a huge help in preparing a menu (an actual written, illustrated and in-Italian menu), showing me how to prepare the meal, and giving lots of moral support. I was nervous--there are a bunch of competitors, and everyone is scored, from 1-15 points on presentation, flavor and 5 subjective points. HONESTLY! What kind of neighborhood do I live in? It was fun, and now I'm done. Time for others to take their turns. Already talk of what we will do next year. My mother says we should do NOTHING, this is all too much pressure and too complicated. I think she's right but I'll play along.
Saturday I went to cocktails at some friends' camp, followed by dinner at another group of friends' camp. Then I went home and collapsed. Sunday I spent hours at the boat house after lunch, reading on the porch. Can't hate that. I ended up sleeping there, it was a nice night and I realize there won't be many chances for that from now on. It rained dramatically during the night, which only added to the nice experience. We had a huge thunderstorm on Sun. morning, and a friend of my got a huge electric shock while taking her boat out of the water. Yowiee, I guess they're right when they tell you not to swim in a thunderstorm. Who knew?
Last night I went to friends' camp for cocktails, then a quick drop-in at Linda's. She has company from Michigan and they were all watching tennis. I sometimes watch tennis, but I don't know the rules or scoring, so it's sort of like a blind person watching it. I go by the crowd's reactions to things. Oh, that must have been a good shot. Wonder who gets points for it?
Today I have the department to myself, Kim is off. I've done her tasks and have cataloged a bunch of local cookbooks--the kind that are put together as fundraisers. Some from the 70's, some from the 90's. There's a huge collection at Plattsburgh Public, and we're cataloging the whole collection, so this is the current project. There are dozens more to do.
I'm also deleting thousands of barcodes from the data base--Upper Jay has lost 40% or so of its collection as a result of flooding, and volunteers peeled barcodes from each book and put them on strips of tape so I can scan them. This is a BIG project, something to work on a bit at a time. many, many barcodes.
My plans for the week? Well, thankfully the week is well underway so before I know it it will be the weekend again. Supposed to rain a lot between now & then but then be sunny & 70. The water in the lake is pretty cold so I'm not sure how much more swimming I'll do, but if it's warm enough I'll try to stay at the boat house. The dogs are happy to be there. Kitty will come down if I stay more than one night, whining and nagging.
Some summer people are leaving now, some will stay through Columbus Day. Or mid-Sept. Then it'll be back to normal for me. I have many sticks of firewood to stack, but it needs to stop raining before I'll do that. I've stacked almost 4 cords, which is half of what I have to do. And I've had weeks and weeks to do that paltry amount of work. Oh I am a lazy girl.
I had a good Labor Day. I labored just enough to feel good about the day but not enough to feel put-upon. I cleared off the dinner table, the coffee table and the wood stove. And packed 100 bottles & cans, which I took to the redemption center (I love being redeemed at the redemption center). And packed up my impressive collection of plastic bags, which I took to be recycled today. And swept the living room. And did lots of dishes. And rounded up the juicer I'm giving away, finding all its parts. I even have the manual. Once a co-worker prepared a whole policy statement referring to the corresponding procedures manuel. Oh did we get some mileage out of that.
I scored well in the neighborhood Chicken War on Sunday. I started cooking on Saturday, fried lots of zucchini and eggplant, which I combined with diced tomatoes, olives and capers for a delicious pasta sauce (Boathouse Pasta, created by my sister). Sunday morning I cooked lots of chicken and some onions in olive oil. My but it takes a lot of olive oil to fry enough food for 8. It was all worth the work, though, my meal turned out very well. My sister was a huge help in preparing a menu (an actual written, illustrated and in-Italian menu), showing me how to prepare the meal, and giving lots of moral support. I was nervous--there are a bunch of competitors, and everyone is scored, from 1-15 points on presentation, flavor and 5 subjective points. HONESTLY! What kind of neighborhood do I live in? It was fun, and now I'm done. Time for others to take their turns. Already talk of what we will do next year. My mother says we should do NOTHING, this is all too much pressure and too complicated. I think she's right but I'll play along.
Saturday I went to cocktails at some friends' camp, followed by dinner at another group of friends' camp. Then I went home and collapsed. Sunday I spent hours at the boat house after lunch, reading on the porch. Can't hate that. I ended up sleeping there, it was a nice night and I realize there won't be many chances for that from now on. It rained dramatically during the night, which only added to the nice experience. We had a huge thunderstorm on Sun. morning, and a friend of my got a huge electric shock while taking her boat out of the water. Yowiee, I guess they're right when they tell you not to swim in a thunderstorm. Who knew?
Last night I went to friends' camp for cocktails, then a quick drop-in at Linda's. She has company from Michigan and they were all watching tennis. I sometimes watch tennis, but I don't know the rules or scoring, so it's sort of like a blind person watching it. I go by the crowd's reactions to things. Oh, that must have been a good shot. Wonder who gets points for it?
Today I have the department to myself, Kim is off. I've done her tasks and have cataloged a bunch of local cookbooks--the kind that are put together as fundraisers. Some from the 70's, some from the 90's. There's a huge collection at Plattsburgh Public, and we're cataloging the whole collection, so this is the current project. There are dozens more to do.
I'm also deleting thousands of barcodes from the data base--Upper Jay has lost 40% or so of its collection as a result of flooding, and volunteers peeled barcodes from each book and put them on strips of tape so I can scan them. This is a BIG project, something to work on a bit at a time. many, many barcodes.
My plans for the week? Well, thankfully the week is well underway so before I know it it will be the weekend again. Supposed to rain a lot between now & then but then be sunny & 70. The water in the lake is pretty cold so I'm not sure how much more swimming I'll do, but if it's warm enough I'll try to stay at the boat house. The dogs are happy to be there. Kitty will come down if I stay more than one night, whining and nagging.
Some summer people are leaving now, some will stay through Columbus Day. Or mid-Sept. Then it'll be back to normal for me. I have many sticks of firewood to stack, but it needs to stop raining before I'll do that. I've stacked almost 4 cords, which is half of what I have to do. And I've had weeks and weeks to do that paltry amount of work. Oh I am a lazy girl.
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