Monday, July 23, 2012
Moving on
I took my dear Chances to the vet on Saturaday, as planned. She was a sweet, sweet dog--a special pet. She always had vision problems, but I don't think she ever realized that. The world was a fuzzy place to her from birth. The vet was very dear and helped me through the experience. I've done this several times before--it's nothing new to me, but never gets much easier. The hardest part is making the decision to end the life of a treasured pet, the rest just happens. Thanks to all for your kind thoughts--
Friday, July 20, 2012
Moving on
The Italians got off OK, are en route to Niagara Falls today. Many complications with the car but it finally worked out and Anna is very happy with Her First Car. Nice.
We went out for dinner last night--Anna has been cooking for me all this time so I figured it would be good to get out. Went to a restaurant I often go to, where they know me well, and were thrilled to have visitors from Europe. It was a nice evening.
Anna woke in the middle of the night, as did Treasure. Anna said she'd seen lights in main camp and there were people running down the path past the boat house. No, said Auntie, you just had a bad dream. Well call me stoopid, some cousins arrived during the night, turned the lights on in main camp and ran past the b.house to their cabin. Anna was relieved not to have been seeing things that weren't there. I thought "Oh no, more relatives." But I'll spend most of the weekend at my house, I think, cleaning a bit, doing laundry, catching up on things. And I'll visit with friends I haven't seen yet.
Most important, though is that I have made an appointment for Chances at the vet tomorrow. This is very sad--she won't be coming home, if I go through with this. I'm nervous, don't know why, I've done this before. Have made arrangements for the body ahead of time, all I have to do is show up. It's a sad, sad thing.
We went out for dinner last night--Anna has been cooking for me all this time so I figured it would be good to get out. Went to a restaurant I often go to, where they know me well, and were thrilled to have visitors from Europe. It was a nice evening.
Anna woke in the middle of the night, as did Treasure. Anna said she'd seen lights in main camp and there were people running down the path past the boat house. No, said Auntie, you just had a bad dream. Well call me stoopid, some cousins arrived during the night, turned the lights on in main camp and ran past the b.house to their cabin. Anna was relieved not to have been seeing things that weren't there. I thought "Oh no, more relatives." But I'll spend most of the weekend at my house, I think, cleaning a bit, doing laundry, catching up on things. And I'll visit with friends I haven't seen yet.
Most important, though is that I have made an appointment for Chances at the vet tomorrow. This is very sad--she won't be coming home, if I go through with this. I'm nervous, don't know why, I've done this before. Have made arrangements for the body ahead of time, all I have to do is show up. It's a sad, sad thing.
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Busy time
What a busy while it's been. After the annual meeting, and Anna's and my trip to Montreal, I went back to work while Anna entertained herself at camp. She's a peach. On Friday afternoon we went to Rhode Island--a good trip down. Anna drove halfway, which was a nice break for me. Not too much traffic until Springfield/Hartford, then a big jam but we glided right through it in the HOV lane. At last! I could use the speedy lane because there were 2 of us.
We had a good, though brief visit in RI. Spent Saturday doing errands and visiting, reading, just being there. Sunday morning we went to the beach--Liza went too, which was nice. We didn't stay long, but long enough for me to swim and nap (briefly). That was really nice.
Sunday afternoon Anna & I left, drove to Boston and picked up Enrico (Anna's brother) at the airport. We got there way early so sat in the car with the dogs in the parking lot for a while. It was hot, very hot, but cool in the car. Enrico arrived without any problems, and off we went, headed for Hawkeye. We had a good trip home, though there was heavy rain in NH. Not a problem, just slowed us down a bit. Ate dinner in White River Jct., got home after midnight and settled in at camp.
I've had to work all week, which is a drag, but I don't have much time off left (except for my upcoming 2 RI weeks) so I work. Anna & Enrico have been entertaining themselves nicely, having a good camp time. Swimming, reading, taking care of the dogs. The car I arranged to buy for them has been a real problem--things go wrong with it so we're waiting for it to be delivered. Should be at my house tonight. But we heard that before... Anyway, they were hoping to go to Niagara Falls today but had to postpone the trip until tomorrow. So tonight I think we'll go out for dinner, just for something different to do. Last night we went to Hot Dog Man for ice cream in the rain. Gooooood hot fudge sundae.
Work is fine. I finished cataloging the classical music CD's that Lake Placid sent me. Whew. Those are labor-intensive and hard to do because I don't know anything about classical music. But I muddled through.
I'm really enjoying being with Anna & Enrico. They're wonderful people and we have a nice time together.
We had a good, though brief visit in RI. Spent Saturday doing errands and visiting, reading, just being there. Sunday morning we went to the beach--Liza went too, which was nice. We didn't stay long, but long enough for me to swim and nap (briefly). That was really nice.
Sunday afternoon Anna & I left, drove to Boston and picked up Enrico (Anna's brother) at the airport. We got there way early so sat in the car with the dogs in the parking lot for a while. It was hot, very hot, but cool in the car. Enrico arrived without any problems, and off we went, headed for Hawkeye. We had a good trip home, though there was heavy rain in NH. Not a problem, just slowed us down a bit. Ate dinner in White River Jct., got home after midnight and settled in at camp.
I've had to work all week, which is a drag, but I don't have much time off left (except for my upcoming 2 RI weeks) so I work. Anna & Enrico have been entertaining themselves nicely, having a good camp time. Swimming, reading, taking care of the dogs. The car I arranged to buy for them has been a real problem--things go wrong with it so we're waiting for it to be delivered. Should be at my house tonight. But we heard that before... Anyway, they were hoping to go to Niagara Falls today but had to postpone the trip until tomorrow. So tonight I think we'll go out for dinner, just for something different to do. Last night we went to Hot Dog Man for ice cream in the rain. Gooooood hot fudge sundae.
Work is fine. I finished cataloging the classical music CD's that Lake Placid sent me. Whew. Those are labor-intensive and hard to do because I don't know anything about classical music. But I muddled through.
I'm really enjoying being with Anna & Enrico. They're wonderful people and we have a nice time together.
007
Mark's pond in Liza's backyard. He's done a great job of landscaping the pond, most of the plants are perennials. There was a blossom on the pond lily while we were there. And 6 frogs. We can't figure out where the frogs come from--there's no other water near Liza's house. A friend of Liza's who's an author/naturalist said that frogs can smell water and will travel great distances to reach it. I still don't understand it.
023
Anna and Mark at the beach in RI. It was hot, sunny, with a cool breeze. The water was clear and cool. Excellent.
annual meeting
What a funny looking group of people. There was a pretty small crowd at the Rogers family Annual Meeting this year, but we did a good job.
Friday, July 13, 2012
Busy week gone by
So the annual meeting of my family went well. It was short, without much discussion and with no dissention. One relative suggested we stop calling it a meeting and refer to it as a reunion. That was a point my brother often made, but the truth is we have a meeting--motions, seconds, votes, committee reports, etc. Oh well, it doesn't matter, people will think of it as a meeting no matter what we call it.
There weren't as many people as we sometimes have, but there were enough to make a crowd, maybe 25. Lunch went off without a hitch. Jenica and Anna were great and did a lot of the work. And the people ate and ate and drank lots of beer. It was a good day. In the afternoon my cousin with a power boat took us all for rides while towing his kids and his brothers' kids behind the boat. It was nice to be out on the water--I used to spend a lot of time on the water but in recent years rarely get out. There's no good reason for that, just inertia I think.
Anna has been great company and we've had a lot of fun together. She visited with the cousins on Monday and part of Tuesday (getting to know them VERY well), and on Wednesday we went to Montreal. I took the day off so we could hit the botanical garden, which was great. It was hot and a lot of walking but we had fun identifying the plants and trees. Not much was in bloom--roses gone by and lilies blooming, plus all the water plants were blooming. Lots of lotus blossoms, which were very pretty, and some red and pink water lilies, which are relatively rare. We got hot in the sun but had a good time anyway.
After the garden we went to a huge mall in the city, in search of a bookstore for Anna. We found one, way at the end of a twisty turny mall. That was great, Anna needs maps for her upcoming trip across Canada, and we found maps plus an atlas. That was a relief. Anna did a lot of the driving, which was funny for me. I'm not used to being a passenger in my car, but she's a good driver and showed off her acumen in the city. The trips I've made to Montreal in the past weeks have been easy and fun, which was something I hadn't envisioned. Maybe I'll find Ikea sometime...
I'm only working part of the day today--then am heading home, then Anna & I + dogs will drive to Rhode Island. We'll spend tonight, tomorrow & Sunday at Liza's, then will drive to the Boston airport Sunday night to pick up Anna's brother Enrico & return to the lake. Whew, complicated arrangements, but it will be good. It's supposed to be hot in RI, so we may need a trip to the beach.
I still have 3 dogs, but keep thinking serioiusly about Chances' future. I'd like to make a decision, then act on that decision, but I'm spinning my wheels on this. She's not in great shape but wags her tail and gets around OK. She wants to be with me all the time--I'm sure I'm her guide/service dog. She's a sweetie but her time may have come to an end. It would be good if I stopped talking & writing about it and actually DID something.
Work is going well. I got to spend a day in Port Henry this week, which was really nice. I'm working with the local history collections of our libraries, cataloging stuff there. It's interesting and fun, and it's always good to get out to the libraries.
My co-worker is off next week, so I'll be hustling. Enrico and Anna will be here, but also plan a trip to Niagara Falls during the week. I'm looking forward to my vacation, which is coming up in 2 weeks. Wow, cannot believe it's only 2 weeks away.
I've been spending time with Anna and haven't seen many friends since she got here. A brief visit with Pat & Jim, a quick trip to Joe & Martha's, one visit with Linda. Mostly we sit on the porches at camp and the boat house and visit. We had a good visit with Jenica and Justin last weekend, spent a whole day on the dock in the sun. That was really nice. Dogs liked it, too.
There weren't as many people as we sometimes have, but there were enough to make a crowd, maybe 25. Lunch went off without a hitch. Jenica and Anna were great and did a lot of the work. And the people ate and ate and drank lots of beer. It was a good day. In the afternoon my cousin with a power boat took us all for rides while towing his kids and his brothers' kids behind the boat. It was nice to be out on the water--I used to spend a lot of time on the water but in recent years rarely get out. There's no good reason for that, just inertia I think.
Anna has been great company and we've had a lot of fun together. She visited with the cousins on Monday and part of Tuesday (getting to know them VERY well), and on Wednesday we went to Montreal. I took the day off so we could hit the botanical garden, which was great. It was hot and a lot of walking but we had fun identifying the plants and trees. Not much was in bloom--roses gone by and lilies blooming, plus all the water plants were blooming. Lots of lotus blossoms, which were very pretty, and some red and pink water lilies, which are relatively rare. We got hot in the sun but had a good time anyway.
After the garden we went to a huge mall in the city, in search of a bookstore for Anna. We found one, way at the end of a twisty turny mall. That was great, Anna needs maps for her upcoming trip across Canada, and we found maps plus an atlas. That was a relief. Anna did a lot of the driving, which was funny for me. I'm not used to being a passenger in my car, but she's a good driver and showed off her acumen in the city. The trips I've made to Montreal in the past weeks have been easy and fun, which was something I hadn't envisioned. Maybe I'll find Ikea sometime...
I'm only working part of the day today--then am heading home, then Anna & I + dogs will drive to Rhode Island. We'll spend tonight, tomorrow & Sunday at Liza's, then will drive to the Boston airport Sunday night to pick up Anna's brother Enrico & return to the lake. Whew, complicated arrangements, but it will be good. It's supposed to be hot in RI, so we may need a trip to the beach.
I still have 3 dogs, but keep thinking serioiusly about Chances' future. I'd like to make a decision, then act on that decision, but I'm spinning my wheels on this. She's not in great shape but wags her tail and gets around OK. She wants to be with me all the time--I'm sure I'm her guide/service dog. She's a sweetie but her time may have come to an end. It would be good if I stopped talking & writing about it and actually DID something.
Work is going well. I got to spend a day in Port Henry this week, which was really nice. I'm working with the local history collections of our libraries, cataloging stuff there. It's interesting and fun, and it's always good to get out to the libraries.
My co-worker is off next week, so I'll be hustling. Enrico and Anna will be here, but also plan a trip to Niagara Falls during the week. I'm looking forward to my vacation, which is coming up in 2 weeks. Wow, cannot believe it's only 2 weeks away.
I've been spending time with Anna and haven't seen many friends since she got here. A brief visit with Pat & Jim, a quick trip to Joe & Martha's, one visit with Linda. Mostly we sit on the porches at camp and the boat house and visit. We had a good visit with Jenica and Justin last weekend, spent a whole day on the dock in the sun. That was really nice. Dogs liked it, too.
Friday, July 06, 2012
Mass hysteria
It's the weekend of the Rogers Family annual meeting. Yikes. Everyone gets hysterical about this but it always works out. There should be around 30 people at this year's meeting, not bad but not a record high by any stretch. I have to provide lunch (it's my family's turn) but will have help from my 2 nieces (Jenica and Anna) so it'll work out. I have to go shopping for the food & supplies after work today, which will be tiring, but I'll have help unpacking the car & putting food away. Thank goodness! Plus I get to spend the evening with Jenica & Anna, something I haven't done in years. And we've never been alone, just the 3 of us. Great fun.
Anna arrived on Wednesday--I drove to Montreal to pick her up at the airport. We had a good trip home, though we had to wait a long time for her luggage (big storm made it DANGEROUS for workers to unload the plane, they said. in French). Got home around 8:30, settled into camp and spent the night. She's staying in one cabin, I'm in the boat house. Tonight Jenica & Justin come, and will sleep in the boat house with me. Group hugs.
Anna and I are having a really nice time together. We share a similar attitude and sense of humor, and humor is important to both of us so we get along well. Our observations about people & events seem to match up pretty well. Oh no! Someone who thinks the way I do! Run! Run for your lives.
We had a nice evening on the 4th of July--some people down the lake had tons of big fireworks and we had a great view from the boat house porch so we watched for a long time.
I spent a lot of time earlier in the week getting the house & b.house ready for company. Never did quite finish with either one, but the upstairs of my house looks way much better now. Downstairs perhaps not so much, there are piles of things that need to go to the dump, all over the living room.
It's strange to work while people are at your house, but Anna is making brownies this afternoon for the meeting tomorrow. Jenica & Justin might be there by now, and we'll all have dinner together at my house. Or else we'll go out. We won't, however, share the kitchen in main camp with our cousins. These particular cousins are especially food-centered, so it's not much of a pleasure to share a kitchen with them.
So I'm hysterical about all of this but am managing. Slept alone in the boat house last night, got up early and had a quick swim/bath. It was cool but very nice. The dogs do well in camp except they are obsessed with the garbage can on the back porch of main camp, which is very embarrassing for me. Treasure knows how to swim (Jenica & I made her swim one time) but she doesn't do it voluntarily. Tess and Chances swim every chance they get. Me? I've only been in the water twice this whole summer. Too lazy. I like sitting on the b.house porch, reading and watching the loons.
Anna arrived on Wednesday--I drove to Montreal to pick her up at the airport. We had a good trip home, though we had to wait a long time for her luggage (big storm made it DANGEROUS for workers to unload the plane, they said. in French). Got home around 8:30, settled into camp and spent the night. She's staying in one cabin, I'm in the boat house. Tonight Jenica & Justin come, and will sleep in the boat house with me. Group hugs.
Anna and I are having a really nice time together. We share a similar attitude and sense of humor, and humor is important to both of us so we get along well. Our observations about people & events seem to match up pretty well. Oh no! Someone who thinks the way I do! Run! Run for your lives.
We had a nice evening on the 4th of July--some people down the lake had tons of big fireworks and we had a great view from the boat house porch so we watched for a long time.
I spent a lot of time earlier in the week getting the house & b.house ready for company. Never did quite finish with either one, but the upstairs of my house looks way much better now. Downstairs perhaps not so much, there are piles of things that need to go to the dump, all over the living room.
It's strange to work while people are at your house, but Anna is making brownies this afternoon for the meeting tomorrow. Jenica & Justin might be there by now, and we'll all have dinner together at my house. Or else we'll go out. We won't, however, share the kitchen in main camp with our cousins. These particular cousins are especially food-centered, so it's not much of a pleasure to share a kitchen with them.
So I'm hysterical about all of this but am managing. Slept alone in the boat house last night, got up early and had a quick swim/bath. It was cool but very nice. The dogs do well in camp except they are obsessed with the garbage can on the back porch of main camp, which is very embarrassing for me. Treasure knows how to swim (Jenica & I made her swim one time) but she doesn't do it voluntarily. Tess and Chances swim every chance they get. Me? I've only been in the water twice this whole summer. Too lazy. I like sitting on the b.house porch, reading and watching the loons.
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