I love autumn weather, and we're having a good bunch of it these days. A tad hot tomorrow, but nice, cool evenings--thoroughly enjoyable. Last night I turned on my electric mattress pad to warm my feet. Dogs thought that was great.
The leaves are starting to turn, mostly the sugar maples getting orange & red. There's plenty of speculation about whether this is early, due to drought-stressed trees. I don't think so, I think this is just the normal turn of events. Fall comes.
I've been fairly busy, mostly socializing. Can't complain about that. I had a wonderful cocktail party last Friday night--made wonderful by the people who were there. The location promotes itself, but I heard plenty of comments about what really, really nice people showed up. When I first started living alone in Hawkeye it became very important to me to have friends. Well, that's not unusual. What I found was that the people I made friends with are exceptionally nice people. Not just the summer crowd, though those are a lot of my good friends, but the friends I have in the winter are great, too. I've felt really proud to be counted as a friend in these groups, which makes me really happy. Rush is always asking me what people in the North Country think about things, but I always have to tell him that I've surrounded myself by like-thinking liberals, so I can't really answer him.
I'm president of the shore owner's association, and we had a meeting on Saturday at my family's camp. It wasn't very well attended, but the program that Linda arranged for was great. Two men from the wildlife rehab center in Wilmington came, bringing with them a peregrine falcon, a merlin and a kestrel. Really, really cool. The crowd was impressed, and we all enjoyed the whole thing. We had a short meeting after that, then I went to dinner at the Ruders, with friends of theirs from home as well as Linda & Erd. The friends had lived in Westport, CT, where I lived after college. I couldn't remember where my house was, only the name of the street, which was hard to forget (Fragrant Pines Court). It was a nice house, in the woods at the end of a street on top of a hill. I lived there with 2 male friends, and all started out fine but things deteriorated as the year progressed. So I don't have only happy memories of that time, but I enjoyed living in W'pt. We used to drive past Paul Newman's house, and once I saw Robert Redford walking down the street. My brush with greatness. I did enjoy being in Conn., and had plenty of good times. I've only kept in touch with 2 people from that era of my life. The woman I lived with through college and after was killed in a car accident when she was in law school & I was in graduate school. That was tough--she was bright and successful but apparently fell asleep at the wheel and hit a bridge abutment. Sad time.
Whew! That was into the way back machine. Not as far back, just the weekend, I had a nice visit with Lin while we attended a Plann. Parenthood fundraiser Sunday afternoon. What a beautiful day it was, and the setting was a farm so it was really pretty. I got to spend time in the morning sitting on the dock reading with my dogs (as opposed to reading TO my dogs), and spent time Saturday afternoon doing the same. Ahhhhh. One of my favorite things. The water is still very warm and good for swimming.
Work has been fine. I've been busy this week--doing some cataloging at the Platts. Public Lib., and filling in for my co-worker who's on vacation. I'm cataloging the local history collection at PPL, as I do at lots of our libraries. Right now I'm into NY history, working my way north geographically (because that's how the books are arranged)(not north/south, but in subject by county). I'm as far as Albany so should hit the North Country soon. I hope. It's nice cataloging there, the collection is good and it's just challenging enough without being boring. It's a quiet office and I'm by myself when I'm there. Oh I do enjoy being alone, don't I.
The dogs are great. Treasure is VERY bouncy, and Tess has more energy than a 9-year-old dog should have, but they're sweet. The went visiting yesterday when I got home, down to Bill's camp, where I had dinner after their visit. They were gone for a while but I had no idea where they were. I suppose I should worry when that happens, but they're always nearby.
Three day weekend coming up, which is great. GREAT! Sat. morning Bill is coming with his crew to move my firewood to the wood shed. That will be good, then I can buy a load of wood for next year. Right now I have no place to put a load, and I don't seem to be motivated to move wood myself, so this is a nice thing. Can I afford to buy a load of wood? Embarrassingly, not really. But I'll work on it. I also need to have my chimney cleaned, which is cheaper.
Still a lot of summer people around, with some coming next week as well, for the month. Then we'll cruise into Columbus Day, then Hawkeye will be a ghost town. And I'll get used to that. I had a nice summer.
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Weekly report
Well, the week isn't over, but it's been nearly a week since I posted. Not too much to report (is there ever?). Went to the doctor last week--he gained weight on his vacation, too, so when I reported my gain he just laughed. I know how to lose weight, I just have to DO IT. Other than that my visit was uneventful. I had to wait half an hour in the exam room, and was just getting ready to leave (this is my new approach) when he came in. Once when I went to the dentist I had to wait a long time and was getting more & more hysterical, so I reported to the receptionist & left. That was fine. This time I wasn't getting hysterical, just sort of angry. All for naught.
I had a good weekend, busy with summer people. Saturday I went to a high school graduation party of a friend's grandchild. It was less than exciting but I'm glad I went--they liked it. It was a beautiful day, clear and sunny and cool. Everyone was all bundled up (it was outdoors) but I had a short-sleeved shirt on. I must have gotten hardy in my old age.
Saturday afternoon I got myself into a mess, not a big surprise--I was driving to a friend's house on their very narrow road and moved over to let someone pass, moving far enough to end up stuck in a ditch. What a drag! I thought I would only ever do that sort of thing in the winter, but I'm making it a year-round activity. The second person I called was more than happy to drive over & tug the car out. Not as dramatic as I was feeling it to be--I truly, truly hate feeling helpless and having to ask for help. Not a great approach when living alone in the woods. But it's who I am.
Sunday I had a really nice visit with summer friends over coffee. Lots of catching up, which I hadn't been able to do when we saw each other last week. He's a retired judge and is a wonderful, patient and sensible man. Everyone's mad for him. His wife is equally wonderful and sensible and they are both incredibly talented artistically--painting, knitting, pen & ink--just amazing works of art. I envy their connection with each other and their talents.
Sunday afternoon I had my weekly visit with Pat & Jim, and gave Bill some Rockwell Kent prints I had brought back from my mother's house. She gave me 5 prints, 4 compile a series and the 5th is just a print that Kent gave to my father as a gift many years ago. Bill agreed to take them to the museum here in Platts. and have them assessed. The museum doesn't want them, they already have copies of these prints, and these particular ones aren't in great shape. It was great to have the evaluation done, though, and my sister, mother and I had a good time looking the prints over at Liza's house.
Sunday evening I had dinner with Linda & Erdvilas and another couple. After dinner we processed the neighborhood rag--newsletter of the Conservationists organization made up of shoreowners and neighbors. Linda & I put it together and we sent it out to a bunch of people. Does anyone want to read it? I doubt it. My contribution was an accounting of the year in Hawkeye from my perspective. I review my journal for these articles. Although I don't write in the journal every single day, I make sure there's an entry for each day. I've been doing this for years--recording mostly facts and events rather than my feelings. Why do I do this? I have no idea, but it's such a habit at this point that I think I'd miss it if I stopped. And this annual reviewing is entertaining and insightful. Turns out what I did most of in 2011 was dine out with friends. Many, many shared meals. Perch dinners at one of our favorite restaurants, meals at the local diner, a couple of fancy (expensive) meals with friends. And I can't figure out why I'm not losing weight.
Tonight, as a matter of fact, I'm going out for dinner with Martha, Joe and Pat. To a restaurant in Lake Placid that others have tried and liked. I'm looking forward to both the visit and the food.
Last night I attended the annual meeting of one of our member libraries. It was really more of a general board meeting, which lasted for a long, long time. They have 14 board members--too many for a small library, and also a problem because it's an even number. Always have an odd number on boards to avoid tie votes. Anyway, it was a late night so I spent some time at home this morning. I love mornings at home. I walked the dogs to a couple of camps to deliver the newsletter--what a pretty morning it was.
And that brings me to this afternoon. I'm still inventorying the adult non-fiction collection, am finally moving along to the arts & crafts section. Which is huge. And the books are big and clumsy to handle. This project has turned into a life-time legacy. Always good to get to know your collection, I say, but our collection is huge (60,000 vols., including juvenile, adult, non-fiction and fiction) so this is quite a task. I'm enjoying it, off & on, but would like the project to END.
I had a good weekend, busy with summer people. Saturday I went to a high school graduation party of a friend's grandchild. It was less than exciting but I'm glad I went--they liked it. It was a beautiful day, clear and sunny and cool. Everyone was all bundled up (it was outdoors) but I had a short-sleeved shirt on. I must have gotten hardy in my old age.
Saturday afternoon I got myself into a mess, not a big surprise--I was driving to a friend's house on their very narrow road and moved over to let someone pass, moving far enough to end up stuck in a ditch. What a drag! I thought I would only ever do that sort of thing in the winter, but I'm making it a year-round activity. The second person I called was more than happy to drive over & tug the car out. Not as dramatic as I was feeling it to be--I truly, truly hate feeling helpless and having to ask for help. Not a great approach when living alone in the woods. But it's who I am.
Sunday I had a really nice visit with summer friends over coffee. Lots of catching up, which I hadn't been able to do when we saw each other last week. He's a retired judge and is a wonderful, patient and sensible man. Everyone's mad for him. His wife is equally wonderful and sensible and they are both incredibly talented artistically--painting, knitting, pen & ink--just amazing works of art. I envy their connection with each other and their talents.
Sunday afternoon I had my weekly visit with Pat & Jim, and gave Bill some Rockwell Kent prints I had brought back from my mother's house. She gave me 5 prints, 4 compile a series and the 5th is just a print that Kent gave to my father as a gift many years ago. Bill agreed to take them to the museum here in Platts. and have them assessed. The museum doesn't want them, they already have copies of these prints, and these particular ones aren't in great shape. It was great to have the evaluation done, though, and my sister, mother and I had a good time looking the prints over at Liza's house.
Sunday evening I had dinner with Linda & Erdvilas and another couple. After dinner we processed the neighborhood rag--newsletter of the Conservationists organization made up of shoreowners and neighbors. Linda & I put it together and we sent it out to a bunch of people. Does anyone want to read it? I doubt it. My contribution was an accounting of the year in Hawkeye from my perspective. I review my journal for these articles. Although I don't write in the journal every single day, I make sure there's an entry for each day. I've been doing this for years--recording mostly facts and events rather than my feelings. Why do I do this? I have no idea, but it's such a habit at this point that I think I'd miss it if I stopped. And this annual reviewing is entertaining and insightful. Turns out what I did most of in 2011 was dine out with friends. Many, many shared meals. Perch dinners at one of our favorite restaurants, meals at the local diner, a couple of fancy (expensive) meals with friends. And I can't figure out why I'm not losing weight.
Tonight, as a matter of fact, I'm going out for dinner with Martha, Joe and Pat. To a restaurant in Lake Placid that others have tried and liked. I'm looking forward to both the visit and the food.
Last night I attended the annual meeting of one of our member libraries. It was really more of a general board meeting, which lasted for a long, long time. They have 14 board members--too many for a small library, and also a problem because it's an even number. Always have an odd number on boards to avoid tie votes. Anyway, it was a late night so I spent some time at home this morning. I love mornings at home. I walked the dogs to a couple of camps to deliver the newsletter--what a pretty morning it was.
And that brings me to this afternoon. I'm still inventorying the adult non-fiction collection, am finally moving along to the arts & crafts section. Which is huge. And the books are big and clumsy to handle. This project has turned into a life-time legacy. Always good to get to know your collection, I say, but our collection is huge (60,000 vols., including juvenile, adult, non-fiction and fiction) so this is quite a task. I'm enjoying it, off & on, but would like the project to END.
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Vacation is over
But it was a good vacation. I was off for 2 weeks, spent nearly all the time in Rhode Island. My sister arrived in the US just after her children were here and drove up here with her daughter Anna. Anna left for her trans-Canadian trip and Molly & I went to RI. We had a nice few days at camp first, which was a treat.
The RI trip was great. Lots of beach and eating. Too much eating. I gained 5 pounds and have to report to my doctor this afternoon. He won't be pleased, but he's a nice man and will understand the temptations of constant supplies of cookies and chips. Two weeks to gain, 3 months to lose is how it usualy goes.
My mother is in good shape, but she is old. It's hard for all of us to deal with this--she's always been youthful and energetic, and now she's slowed down and is very cautious about what she does and how she does things. Which is good, just strange.
We read a lot in RI--I always take a bunch of books there and we all spend quiet times reading in the evenings. My sister asked if I read that much at home--heck NO, I watch TV all the time, which is not great. But it's how I entertain myself. I am getting tired of TV, though, which is a funny thing.
So it was a quiet trip. We had lobsters, fresh flounder, and every night we had delicious corn. Yum. We ate lunch at Champlin's, which we always do. Molly cooked a lot of dinners--she's a very good Italian cook and her food is great. I made meatloaf for my one dinner contribution. It was good.
I got home Sunday afternoon and went to Linda's for a drink in the evening. Two book groupers came to Linda's, looking for the group. We changed the date of the meeting but they never got the word. Oh well, we had a good mini-meeting anyway. The rest of the group is meeting tonight at the boat house. I'm making curried chicken salad because I can't think of anything else to make. And watermelon. This month we read The language of flowers, which was a good book but had a little too perfect ending.
Dogs are fine--Treasure was spoiled by my sister & the attention lavished on her, so now she pokes me and tries to stand on me while we're on the couch. DOWN TREASURE! is something she's not really recognizing as a command. Tess is very tolerant of Treasure, and they have started to play with each other--Mean Vicious Fighting Dog is their favorite game. They ran around a lot at my mother's house, chasing each other. My mother is really tolerant of that behavior, which was nice.
Work is OK, I'm working with someone on a technology grant, hoping to get funded for a subscription to streaming videos during the next year. We'll see how it goes.
The RI trip was great. Lots of beach and eating. Too much eating. I gained 5 pounds and have to report to my doctor this afternoon. He won't be pleased, but he's a nice man and will understand the temptations of constant supplies of cookies and chips. Two weeks to gain, 3 months to lose is how it usualy goes.
My mother is in good shape, but she is old. It's hard for all of us to deal with this--she's always been youthful and energetic, and now she's slowed down and is very cautious about what she does and how she does things. Which is good, just strange.
We read a lot in RI--I always take a bunch of books there and we all spend quiet times reading in the evenings. My sister asked if I read that much at home--heck NO, I watch TV all the time, which is not great. But it's how I entertain myself. I am getting tired of TV, though, which is a funny thing.
So it was a quiet trip. We had lobsters, fresh flounder, and every night we had delicious corn. Yum. We ate lunch at Champlin's, which we always do. Molly cooked a lot of dinners--she's a very good Italian cook and her food is great. I made meatloaf for my one dinner contribution. It was good.
I got home Sunday afternoon and went to Linda's for a drink in the evening. Two book groupers came to Linda's, looking for the group. We changed the date of the meeting but they never got the word. Oh well, we had a good mini-meeting anyway. The rest of the group is meeting tonight at the boat house. I'm making curried chicken salad because I can't think of anything else to make. And watermelon. This month we read The language of flowers, which was a good book but had a little too perfect ending.
Dogs are fine--Treasure was spoiled by my sister & the attention lavished on her, so now she pokes me and tries to stand on me while we're on the couch. DOWN TREASURE! is something she's not really recognizing as a command. Tess is very tolerant of Treasure, and they have started to play with each other--Mean Vicious Fighting Dog is their favorite game. They ran around a lot at my mother's house, chasing each other. My mother is really tolerant of that behavior, which was nice.
Work is OK, I'm working with someone on a technology grant, hoping to get funded for a subscription to streaming videos during the next year. We'll see how it goes.
203
Nice view from the top of the bluffs. Molly took this picture when she & Anna walked up there. I haven't been there in a few years--I don't like to take the dogs there because I worry too much about one of them wandering over the edge. People have told me that Tess scared them by going really, really close to the edge. Swell, that's all I need.
I had a Chesapeake Bay retriever many years ago, a horrible dog that I rescued. He was damaged goods, was 4 when I got him. Anyway, I took him to the top of the bluffs and he scrambled down to a ledge below the edge and acted as if he couldn't get back up (barked and shuffled around). I left him there to go for help, and he came barreling down the path past me. Faker faker bellyacher.
221
Molly spent a lot of time trying to get Treasure to swim. She's the first Lab i've had that doesn't like the water. Molly has a lot more patience than I do: I finally dragged Treasure into the lake, which she didn't mind toooooo much, but she got right out & didn't return.
234
Not a great picture of Anna, but I don't look as fat in this shot as I do in others, so I pick this one to share.
251
Tess likes to stand above me and look down, like a vulture. My sister is sure this is a sign of dominance. I'm not sure Tess knows how to be dominant.
279
Just a picture I like. My sister took it--she slept on the porch of the boat house and took sunrise pictures every morning.
370
Mark's pond, in my mother's back yard. Water lilies come back every year and bloom. Very nice. We used to be excited if we found a frog in the pond. This year there were 16 frogs in a small pond, which seemed like overkill to us. Some of the frogs were getting very, very big.
386
Breakfast at Jim's Dock, which is on the water and is a great place for breakfast. That's Mark, with Liza in the corner. Going to Jim's for breakfast is a MUST DO in summer in RI.
434
What my mother's house looks like from the back. It's a nice house, on a nice 4-acre lot. Lots of woods. Lots of ticks, too, but I seem to be an uninviting host because I don't seem to have ticks, nor do the dogs. YIPPEE!!
484
Treasure spent a lot of time doing this on the couch. She had a pretty good time in RI but was happy to be home, where she can lie on her deck and eat my tomatoes. I had at least a dozen tomatoes waiting to ripen when I got home; now there is ONE left on the plant. I used to move the plants around each year, hoping to foil the dogs' attempts to find them. This year I gambled & lost.
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Sisters
Lunching at Champlin's in Rhode island. Had a great trip and wonderful visits with my sister, her children, my brother's daughter and my mother. What a great few weeks it's been. Will write more later--all is well with me (except that I gained 5 pounds and am back at work).
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