Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Thanksgiving

After a hellacious trip to RI, I had a great visit and really nice time.  It snowed on Weds., the day I drove down, and by the time I was set to leave (8:00) there was at least 8" of heavy wet snow.  My road hadn't been plowed yet and I tried driving out but didn't get far--just past the end of my driveway, by the bog.  Swell.  The car was stuck, stuck, stuck.  Lousy tires, deep snow.  New tires, but lousy nevertheless.  I walked home, called my plow man, called the town Highway Supervisor (who told me they were "coming to me").  Plow man showed up (my hero), plow never did until after I'd left.  Donny towed my car to the hardtop, then to the top of the hill there.  I had waited in the car for more than an hour, but that was OK because I just listened to my book (Thousand splendid suns--depressing Afghan story).

So by 10 I was on the road.  The roads were terrible, including the Northway, so I went 45 until about Lake George.  It was not pleasant driving but I survived.  I've sure driven through worse.  I got to RI around 4, happy to be there.  Jenica arrived later at night--her trip was much better than mine, she went a different way through the mountains.

Thursday I made the Martha Stewart pumpkin pie we have every year (secret ingredient, as I've reported=chili powder).  Liza cooked the turkey & stuffing, but it's getting harder for her to remember how to do things like that.  "What, is this the first turkey you've ever cooked?"  I helped, mostly just encouraging her. 

We had our celebratory breakfast of bagels, lox, capers, cream cheese, bacon--the Eat Like a Pig Event.  We did well, snort snort.

Mark & I walked Tess in the park.  I took Chances to RI but she stayed home when we went anywhere.  She's doing all right--she did better at Liza's because Liza has more rugs.  I'm still not sure what to do about her.  She survived the trip just fine but was having more trouble this morning, not walking well--but last night she went under the house on her own.  not that I like it when they go there, but it was a good thing to see her do.

Thanksgiving dinner was great, as it always is.  Good food and plenty of it.  Quiet night after that.

Friday we went shopping, but only to a couple of local places.  I wanted to look for earrings like the ones I bought in the summer (and promptly lost one of)--didn't find them but managed to find a couple of cheap pairs I liked anyway.  After shopping we went to the beach for a really nice walk.  Even Liza went.  Tess did very well on a leash, after she had a chance to run full bore for a while.  My dogs are not really used to leash-walking so I'm always impressed when they behave well on a leash.

After the beach we went to Champlin's for our lobsters and clams--took them home and cooked them for dinner.  Delicious.

Saturday Jenica left in the morning, then Liza, Mark & I went shopping for Liza's new vacuum cleaner.  This was a big deal, but we finally found one at Sears, good enough but not the biggest or best.  After Sears we hit a couple more stores, then stopped at the pottery sale by URI.  An annual event.  Both the sale and our going there.  Just when I think I don't need any more pottery I find a nice little bowl for $8.

Sunday morning I left--it was a drag there because my mother's dog fell down in the kitchen & couldn't get back up.  She's a cross dog and growls, has bitten my mother, so you can't really help her up.  She stayed splayed out on the floor for hours.  So I left at 9, got out of the way.  My trip home was fine, a bit of traffic here & there.  I stopped at the outlet stores to do some shopping, found a few things like socks, etc.  Nothing dramatic.

It was good to get home.  The house was chilly but warmed up when I built a fire.  Most of the snow had melted and Donny had plowed so I could drive to the house.  Kitty was fine but is still pretty clingy.  She doesn't like to be left alone, and she hates being left indoors.  She survived just fine, but managed to throw up in 3 or 4 places.  She didn't quite finish the huge amount of food I left for her (the dogs cleaned up the bowl). 

Back to work yesterday, staff luncheon.  Command performance.  I made a cabbage salad, and the dressing spilled in the front seat on the way to work.  Of course.

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001 by woodsrun
001, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

Tess has a ball in her mouth.

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004 by woodsrun
004, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

Flowers by Mark.

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005 by woodsrun
005, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

This is how Liza spent a lot of her time during the visit. She's a busy kitchen person.

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009 by woodsrun
009, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

The beach. We had a nice beach time. Liza sat in her chair and looked at the water, Mark, Jenica and I walked with Tess to the end of the beach & back. It was a warm day--me in a t-shirt and no coat. Everyone else bundled up, but I'm in no hurry to start wearing jackets.

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011 by woodsrun
011, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

Mark and Jenica at the beach. We went for a nice walk. Tess was very good.

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013 by woodsrun
013, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

Mark, Jenica and Tess at the beach. Nice house in the background, huh.

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015 by woodsrun
015, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

Tess on a leash.

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020 by woodsrun
020, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

pretty much what we did during the visit.

Tess

021 by woodsrun
021, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

Tess hates to have her picture taken. We spent a lot of time trying to get a picture of her "looking like a dog." This is about the best I could do. She looks very skeptical.

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Thanksgiving trip

I think my road trip to RI tomorrow will really suck--snow in the north, heavy rain in the south--but once I get there it should be great.  Sunny and 50's.  Ahhhhh.  I guess we're supposed to get something like 4" or so, which I guess shouldn't be a surprise.  We've only had a tiny bit of snow here & there so far.  It's hard to believe that some years the lake freezes by Christmas, we're so far from that right now.  The lake freezing, not Christmas.

I'll leave tomorrow morning--nothing more fun than packing a car in the snow, then return on Sunday.  I'm looking forward to being there and visiting with Liza, Mark and Jenica.  Relaxing, good food (lobsters, of course) and plenty of restful time.  I don't have a great bunch of books this time; I usually take a pile of books for people to read (sometimes librarians just can't help being librarians) but this time I'm without great inspiration.  I looked over a zillion books here at work yesterday without finding much.  I do have a bunch of paperback discards for Jenica.  The author shall remain nameless, but Jen has a favorite mass market author and I try to provide her with books from time to time.

I think I'll go to Burlington tonight to visit my friend in the hospital there.  I talked to her yesterday & she said she was feeling better but was depressed.  I offered to stop on my way to RI (which would mean going the long way, through Vt and NH) but she said her daughter will visit her on Weds., so I offered to go tonight.  Will finalize plans later today.  Not thrilled with the idea of going, but it so much sucks being in the hospital that if I can offer distraction and maybe cheer I'll go.

I stoked the stove before leaving this morning, plus left the heat on.  It was cold--15, and frosty.  Don't think it's supposed to get higher than in the 30's today, though the sun should help warm things.  I have errand to run before leaving for RI--must buy all the stuff to make the pumpkin pie (Martha Stewart recipe) plus wine plus must get meds at drug store.  Whew.  I could have done some of this last night but had to work until 5 and just felt like getting out of town.  So now I deal with that.

Chances is doing well.  She seems to stand more than she used to, and does a pretty good imitation of walking on rugs.  She still slumps down sometimes, her hind end just sliding out from under her.  And she's very tottery.  Pretty depressing but I think she's improving.  I'm not very optimistic about a full recovery but she's so sweet and brave.

Had book group on Sunday night (Chris Bohjalian's Secrets of Eden) and we had Thanksgiving dinner at Marylou's.  It was great, delicious food and a really nice time.  I made gallons of rice and mushrooms, not sure why I made so much but it was tasty and was dinner last night.  The turkey and stuffing (by Andy) were fantastic.  We skip a December meeting and will meet in January at my house so everyone can admire my Christmas tree, which will go up after Thanksgiving sometime.  We're reading Erik Larson's In the garden of beasts, which is Berlin in WWII but is supposed to be really good.

I went Christmas shopping with Lin on Saturday, didn't get much more than groceries but we had a good time.  Had lunch out, checked out a few stores without much luck, made plans to shop in Saranac Lake and maybe Lake Placid after Thanksgiving.  My it sounds as if there will be a lot of activity after Thanksgiving, doesn't it.

Happy Thanksgiving to all--

Plenty of apples for the deer ... and dogs

It was a banner year for apples & other fruit. The other apple trees on my land (an old orchard) are pretty bare, but these apples are haning on. I interrupt deer grazing beneath the trees, and Tess has had a great time eating apples this fall. My friend Lin made the best-ever grape jellly from grapes she picked this year. I ate too much of the jelly, but it was sooooo sweet and delicious.

Pitcher plant in winter plumage

I can't say pitcher plant are ever really attractive, but here's what they look like in the off-season. They're pretty cool carnivorous plants, though.

squirrel track, which would be really cute if squirrels weren't such rodents

aw, cute little toe-toes

Bun-bun tracks

Bun-bun tracks by woodsrun
Bun-bun tracks, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

Front feet of a snowshow hare/varying hare. Hind feet are big, hence the name snowshoe hare. They're dappled right now, turning white for winter, hence the name varying hare.

Just a bit of snow in the bog Saturday morning

Nice peaceful but chilly walk in the bog with Tess. It still seems strange to walk with only one dog, and Tess seems a bit puzzled too.

The mountain from across my road

I just need to cut down that clump of pines, and I'll have a good view--

Friday, November 18, 2011

Must be time

It must be time to write something.  I write a lot and lose track of what I've written for what or to whom.  I write a letter to my mother every week, I write a Friday email to a bunch of relatives and friends, I write to my friend in Illinois who had a stroke (or something close enough to that to debilitate her), and I write in my journal every day.  Pretty much every day.  I make sure there's an entry for each day, even if I have to back peddle and fill in the days.  Like last night, when I had to recreate 3 days worth of activities.  Entries like that are brief and not particularly noteworthy.  Of course, not much in my journal is noteworthy--my family and I use it as a reference tool sometimes.  Which Christmas was it that ...?  Check my journal.  I used to use it to settle arguments with my ex-husband, which gives you an idea of what kind of marriage we had.  Being right was very important to him.  Probably  still is.

I had a fairly quiet week.  Went to Burlington last week, nice trip to see my friend in the hospital there.  Very pretty ferry ride, full moon in daylight.  Called a children's moon, because (supposedly) it's the only kind of moon children can see before they go to bed.  Or so.

I had a quiet weekend, didn't accomplish a whole lot but felt ok about it.  On Sunday I joined the neighbors for the weekly gathering at noon and ended up staying for lunch.  That was nice.  It was a light meal, nothing like the Sunday dinners I always shared with Ken.  I still managed to gain 3 pounds this week, but it's the same three pounds I lost last week so it's not a big deal.

Wednesday night I met Fred and Bill for dinner here in Plattsburgh and we had a good time.  Good food, good company.  Poor Bill is having terrible back problems but he showed up in spite of it.  I ate like a pig and still had plenty to take home.  burp.

The dogs are doing all right.  I can't really tell if Chances is getting better, the improvements would be slight and slow to show up.  She still can't walk more than a couple of steps, and sometimes just gives up and sits down.  She sort of hops with her hind legs sometimes.  I think she's at least as frustrated as I am but at least she's learned to bark when she needs help coming up the stairs to come inside.  Clever girl.

I walked the bog on Saturday, when it was chilly and there was a bit of snow.  We got more snow last night, not more than half an inch by morning.  Heavy snow on the way home from work in the dark--just to remind me of what's to come.

I worked 10-5 today, which was really nice.  I have to use up a little time so decided to stay home an extra hour this morning.  Very peaceful, and it gave me a chance to build a good fire to warm up the living room.  I stoked the fire, a good habit to get into now that it's colder.  I've been having fires but have been lazy about keeping them going, which means the electric heat is on more.  $$$$

Tomorrow I'm planning to go Christmas shopping with my friend Lin.  We'll come to Plattsburgh, shop, visit, have lunch, shop--she never buys much, but I always spend plenty of money.  Sunday is our book group Thanksgiving dinner.  I finally figured out what I'll take (rice and mushrooms) but don't have the energy or drive to buy supplies tonight so I'll make poor Lin go to the grocery store tomorrow.  I've been buying odds & ends of presents for a while, but have nothing much for anyone.  Nor do I have ideas.  I'll talk to Liza and Mark next week about what we'll do for Christmas.  Not much I'm hoping.

I'm off to Rhode Island on Weds., will stay there until Sunday.  I'm looking forward to the trip--Thanksgiving is a favorite holiday, since it's straightforward and mostly about a meal.  And of course we'll have lobsters one night.  Jenica will be there, which makes it more special.  I'll be interested to hear what everyone there has to say about Chances and her situation.  I'm so uncertain about it.  Sometimes I think I can last a long time with her struggling like this, other times I don't see how much longer I can stand to deal with it.  A normal response, I think.

Bog on Saturday: snow on Duncan

If you look closely you can see snow on top of the mountain. The mountain is Duncan, which is north of Silver Lake. There never was a very good trail going up the mountain but that never stopped my father from taking us to the top. It was one of his favorite mountains, though who knows why. Not a particularlly good view from the top.

Tuesday, November 08, 2011

Chances Are update

Went to the vet last night to see what's up with Chances.  She walked for him and he was impressed with her progress.  He said it could take up to 6 months for her to recover fully, or maybe she'll never recover fully at all.  Nerve regeneration is what's up.  And atrophied leg muscles.  So we wait to see how much and how quickly she improves.  Right now she's walking pretty much but is very tippy and has no strength in her hind legs.  Slippery floors at home are a big issue so I'll be buying some cheap runners with rubber backing to put on the path from the bathroom to the front door.  Vet said I could build a ramp for the deck stairs, but I think not.  Right now that's the trickiest part--she can go down the stairs unassisted but can't climb up them.  Unassisted means that she goes down really fast, sort of pushed by gravity and her hind end.  But she's a sweetheart and is game.  Wags her tail all the time.  She tires easily but David (vet) said her walking is like physical therapy, which is a slow process.  He was more concerned about me, really, and how I'm holding up.  If I decide I can't wait 6 months, or that she's not recovering more, I'm not a bad person.  That was a nice thing to say.  I'm holding up pretty well but this is really a drag.  Pun intended.

I had a nice weekend.  Saturday I drove to Dannemora for an open house at the new library there.  The views were spectacular--High Peaks to Lake Champlain and the Green Mtns.  It was a clear sunny day and I drove partway up the mountain just to enjoy the view.  Really, really pretty, and me without my camera.

Sunday morning I took Tess for a nice long walk.  Good November weather, temp not quite 30 but warm sun.  We walked down to a friend's camp along the road, then home along the shore to check on other camps.  Everything was in good shape, nothing going on.  One year when I made the rounds like that I discovered that one of the camps had been broken into and a bunch of stuff was stolen.  So I'm sometimes leery when I check on things.

I painted the small chest from my bedroom.  I've switched from yucky green to glossy black for my furniture.  Anything that can be painted has been painted.  Pretty much.  But wait, I'll find more.  The chest turned out well and looks so much better.  Maybe partly because I took the huge pile of stuff off the top of it.

Tomorrow I'll go to Burlington to visit my friend in the hospital there (chemo for leukemia).  It's supposed to be a beautiful day so the trip will be nice.  I have to get a couple of books for her, so I'll go to the book store there.  What will I get?  Geez, who knows.  Sometimes I hate picking out books for other people, it feels like a big responsibility.  Sometimes I really like it.  Hopefully this will be one of those times.

I had lunch with my good friend (well, I have no BAD friends) Barb yesterday.  Always nice to be with her.  I've been trying to make a specific basket for her daughter's wedding present (let's not go into when the wedding was) but cannot, absolutely cannot shape it right.  I can still weave well but my shaping skills are gone.  So it's going to be a square basket instead.  I can do squares.

I started knitting again, out of boredom mostly.  I found a blanket that was 2/3 done from several years ago & have almost finished that.  Then I decided I was tired of knitting the seed stitch so I bought yarn & a pattern for a sweater.  I never finish sweaters, but this is a vest so maybe I'll actually make something I can wear.  I hate armpits and sleeves--I always make the armpit openings too small.

We have Friday off.  Yippee!!! Weather not supposed to be too great, maybe rainy and cold, but it will be nice to be home.  Maybe, just maybe, I'll start getting ready to paint my living room.  Which will be an interesting project, considering scaffolding is required to paint the top parts of the wall.  Guess I'd better pick a color that looks good with what it is now.

58OHR on a cold November morning

Here's what my house looks like these days. The last of the color on the left is from the tamarack tree growing next to the house. It's a beautiful tree and I've been watching it grow for at least a decade. One year it got all tipped over from snow so I tied it to another tree to straighten it out. That pretty much worked, but it still has a pronounced tilt. It's a favorite tree.

Where's a kitty? Find a kitty.

Dottiekitty showed up at the end of our walk. Don't know how far she wanders or how often she goes for her strolls. I always assumed she was bringing dead things into the house from nearby, but it could be that she's picking them off from other people's homes.
The other day she left me a vole, which is a BIG version of a mole. Flippers for front legs, disgusting long ratty snout. And about 6-8" long. Really gross. Thanks, Kitty.

The Holts' house, showing Rush's observatory on 3rd floor

This is what Rush & Annie's house looks like from down the hill. The tower effect is a sleeping porch on the 2nd floor, and a nifty observatory-type office for Rush on the 3rd floor. Pretty views from the 3rd floor, especially when the leaves aren't on the trees. It's a nice house and sure has served me well in times of water crisis.

Tess enters the water tentatively

Tess always feels compelled to try the water, no matter what the air or water temp might be. She didn't really "swim," it was more of a couple of strokes. That perked her right up, though, and she did a lot of rolling afterward.

Nice view of the mountain from someone else's shorefront

I like this veiw of the mountain. It's from a huge flat rock that's out in the water up the shore from our camp. I like the shadows & details you get from this vantage point.

Friday, November 04, 2011

Friday

Don't really have much to say, but I could give a Chances update.  She's doing marginally better, really tries to walk but tumbles over easily.  Like, when Tess nudges her.  Chances walks a little, sort of staggers.  The vet said I should help her by doing physical therapy with her hind legs, but I have yet to start.  Her legs are weak, I guess.  It'll be 3 weeks on Sunday.  Hard to remember what she was like before.  I tried taking Tess for a walk but Chances dragged herself to the door & tried to push it open.  That was sad.  I finally did take Tess for a quick bog walk but felt guilty so didn't stay long.  Why do we feel guilt about our animals?

I had a good week, temps made it not unpleasant at least.  Ice and frost this morning at home, with a report that it was snowing not far from home.  Supposed to be 19 tonight so I'll have a fire for sure.  This morning was bright and sunny--I didn't have to be at work until later so I got to drive in bright sunshine.  A nice change.

I spent Tuesday afternoon in Saranac Lake, cataloging some goodies in their Adirondack Room.  That was a nice change, and a good chance to visit with the people there.

What's up for the weekend?  Not much.  Going to the open house at the Dannemora library on Saturday--they moved into the old elementary school, which is really nice and a huge improvement over their former winidowless digs.  That won't take long.  Hopefully I'll finally paint the little chest of drawers in my bedroom, it should be warm enough to paint outside.  We once had a beagle named Chester Drawers.  My father liked to play with pet names.  We had a cat named Pitney Bowes.  Dog named Fanny Allen (when we lived in Burlington, of course), dog named Natty Bumpo (small puppy, hit by a car & died young), dog named John Humperdink Stover (Dink--horrible dachshund who lived for 18 years and even then refused to die), and a dog named Cindy.  Cindy?  She was a fat little doxie who was very sweet.