I had a very nice Christmas trip to RI. Left on Saturday during a horrible ice storm but didn't have any travel problems. I got out before it was too bad, though I couldn't get the car to the house and had to carry load after load down the hill and down the ice-covered stairs. Oh well, I just kept saying "Get me out of here!" and it was fine. We never lost power in Hawkeye, which was very lucky. When I got home the house was in great shape and no pipes had frozen--always a relief.
We had a quiet time, mostly. A couple of trips to the beach with Mark, some trips into town with Liza, visits with friends, all very nice. My car had a problem, though, with a belly pan (shield) that was dragging. Oh my it was noisy. Mark finally cut it off with lopping shears, thank goodness. It was very embarrassing to drive around with the bottom of the car dragging like that.
I had lunch with my friend Linda--we used to share a duplex in RI. She lives in Jamestown and I like driving over the bridge and around the island there. She's in touch with her ex-husband, who also lived in the duplex before they were divorced, and the 3 of us got together for coffee one morning. I hadn't seen him in 30 years, so it was pretty amazing to get together. He told me that my ex-boyfriend, who was a waiter when we lived together for 4 years, is now an attorney in Manhattan. Of course I Googled him when I got home. And there he is, an attorney in Manhattan. Yikes. He looks old, very old in his picture.
I went to a very nice neighborhood party on Sat. night. It was at one of the camps/houses across the lake and there were lots of people I knew from lots of places around the neighborhood there. It was grand and I had fun visiting with people. I came back from RI a day early so I could go to the party. I wanted to see everyone, plus I like being thought of as a member of the neighborhood.
The dogs had a good trip. They seem to like going to Liza's, spend a lot of time sleeping on the couch. They're pretty much immune to Christmas except for the wonderful treats and toys they get. Jenica and Justin sent some yummy chews made of yak cheese and yak milk and boy were those popular. There are mere nubbins left now.
My mother is doing well. She's 87 and is in great shape. She feels old, though, and seems old, which is a real switch for our family. She forgets things and remembers odd things sometimes. We had a nice time together, as we usually do. We had a lovely roast for Christmas dinner--Mark cooked it according to America's Test Kitchen cookbook (which I gave him last year and he now considers the ultimate word on all things cooked). We had lobsters on Christmas Eve, our tradition, and boy were they good. Big Christmas breakfast of lox, bagels, bacon, etc. Yikes we ate a lot while I was there.
Things are returning to normal now. Winter normal, that is. I had my stovepipe cleaned yesterday--it was plugged but not badly, which was a relief. I should be set for a while now. The stove burned better and hotter after that. It's supposed to get cold and snowy. Or just cold. Or just snowy. There are so many versions of weather predictions going around that it's impossible to know. One has us at -17 at night, another has 8" of snow. I'm sure it will be cold, this morning it was -1. Which isn't bad for Hawkeye in winter.
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
Liza has declared a moritorium on purchasing any more wind-ups. We do have quite a collection
Liza has declared a moritorium on purchasing any more wind-ups. We do have quite a collection, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.
We have a lot of wind-ups. My favorite is the pink shoes, which walk. Liza says we have too many, and what do wind-ups have to do with Christmas, anyway? She has a point. Or two.
Italian villagers bearing gifts
Every year my sister sends us each a villager from Italy. We have quite a collection now, and this isn't even all of them. We like to try to figure out what, exactly, the gifts are. Not always easy.
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The tree with decorations. Mark uses more than 3000 lights on his trees. He wraps the light strands around individual branches. A lot of work, if you ask me.
Early Christmas morning
Merry Christmas to us! We have baskets instead of stockings. We had a lot of presents and a lot of fun.
SOMEBODY resents having to look festive
Treasure thought it was stoopid to put a bow on a dog, even on Christmas.
Polly Parrot--Mark gave us these. They're motion activated and tweet sweetly
Polly Parrot--Mark gave us these. They're motion activated and tweet sweetly, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.
These are toys that Mark gave to us--they tweet when you move around them or when you turn out the lights. I brought mine to work and it's on the shelf above my desk. I didn't tell anyone about it, and when they closed the building last night & turned out the lights they couldn't figure out where the bird was. Oh I'm such a prankster.
Sleeping sisters--a familiar pose on an often-photographed blanket
They spend a lot of time on the couch at my mother's. Lots of sleep. All tired out from the festivities.
Christmas at the beach (before the other people arrived)
We got to the beach before other people (and dogs) came. It was windy but not too cold. A pretty day for a dog walk.
Thursday, December 19, 2013
Gearing up
I'm in pretty good shape as far as Christmas prep goes. I usually worry that I don't have enough presents for Liza and Mark, but this year we're (hopefully) cutting back so it's easier. Way easier. Mark traditionally goes overboard at Christmas, getting Liza and me a lot of expensive things. I'm hoping he does what he said he would do and cuts back. Because I did.
We've had very cold weather lately, it was -19 the other day in the morning. I stayed home an extra hour to try to get the house warm, with limited success. My new $$$ stove isn't drawing well so I've made an appointment to have my stovepipe cleaned. It's been a year. I know I seldom burn the fire hot enough, which results in lots of creosote building up, but I just am so conservative about fires that it's hard for me to crank them up. We'll see what the chimney cleaner says...
It's warmed up a lot, and the house was very toasty this morning (which probably is costing me a fortune in electric bills). What a difference 30 degrees makes! My back door leaks terribly and there's no storm door there so the back of the house is a wreck. The bedroom is easy to keep warm--especially now that there's actual insulation under it.
I had a good birthday, nothing exciting or glamorous but peaceful. I had a lot, a whole lot of birthday attention and presents. I ended up going to the Keene Valley library's fundraiser that night. The drive was great fun, with many Christmas lights along the way. I liked it. I liked it so much that I've volunteered to serve hot dogs on New Year's Eve at the village's fireworks show. I love fireworks, and winter fireworks are way cool. They don't go up as far, usually. Pretty cool.
I'm heading to RI on Saturday if the weather doesn't make it impossible. I'm skeptical about the driveway being passable because we're supposed to have a bit of snow by then. And it's supposed to shift to freezing rain, rain, sleet, all hell breaking loose. My plow man plowed once so the driveway is in good shape for now but we keep getting a couple of inches every day. It won't do me any good to worry about it--I'll try to pack the car at the house on Friday night so I can park at the end of the driveway if I need to. The town is great about plowing the road--the plow man knows me and knows that I need to get out for work. He was plowing this morning as I left. Very nice.
Tomorrow I see my doctor (I like it when people talk about their "regular" doctor--what's that?). I've gained weight since I last saw him but am hoping to distract him from that conversation. He and I work well together so I don't worry much about seeing him.
I've got my Christmas cards under control. I've saved the last few for people who like a more comprehensive report on my year, with pictures. One is a woman I worked with in Providence--she and I keep in touch via Christmas cards. Another is a woman I worked with here in Platts., who now lives in Arizona and has grown children. Children sure do make time into a big issue. I knew Sharon before she was married, as she was married, when she had her 2 daughters, and when the daughters were about 5. Now one is married. It's quite a game we play, keeping track of time. I have another friend, from college, who has lived in Hawaii for more than 30 years. She & I keep in touch at Christmas. Wow we've known each other a long time.
Dogs are fine. They didn't seem to mind the cold weather and do enjoy the snow. They went for a 20-minute walk in the frigid cold and came home enthusiastic and perky. Go figure. Wish I could do that.
I have my Christmas tree up and decorated. It's quite queer this year, I cut too much off of the big tree so now have a very petite table top tree. And it leans. But it's got bright colored lights and beautiful ornaments. I think I'm missing a box of ornaments because there are some I didn't use, but there's no room for any more so that's a good thing. I have some wonderful ornaments, having collected them for almost 40 years.
Last night I went out to dinner with Pat, Bill & Fred. Our standard restaurant is closing on the 31st so we had to dine there. It was a celebration of birthdays, mine and Pat's, and we had a good time. No more fried perch this winter, not the way they cooked it anyway. We'll miss that.
I've shipped all the presents that needed shipping, sending off the last of them to Vermont today. YAY! I got the Italy presents in the mail MAYBE in time for a pre-Christmas arrival. I got Jenica's and Justin's presents off, but didn't get Anna's wrapped and packed. She'll get hers in January. Sorry, Anna. I love you, you know that.
We've had very cold weather lately, it was -19 the other day in the morning. I stayed home an extra hour to try to get the house warm, with limited success. My new $$$ stove isn't drawing well so I've made an appointment to have my stovepipe cleaned. It's been a year. I know I seldom burn the fire hot enough, which results in lots of creosote building up, but I just am so conservative about fires that it's hard for me to crank them up. We'll see what the chimney cleaner says...
It's warmed up a lot, and the house was very toasty this morning (which probably is costing me a fortune in electric bills). What a difference 30 degrees makes! My back door leaks terribly and there's no storm door there so the back of the house is a wreck. The bedroom is easy to keep warm--especially now that there's actual insulation under it.
I had a good birthday, nothing exciting or glamorous but peaceful. I had a lot, a whole lot of birthday attention and presents. I ended up going to the Keene Valley library's fundraiser that night. The drive was great fun, with many Christmas lights along the way. I liked it. I liked it so much that I've volunteered to serve hot dogs on New Year's Eve at the village's fireworks show. I love fireworks, and winter fireworks are way cool. They don't go up as far, usually. Pretty cool.
I'm heading to RI on Saturday if the weather doesn't make it impossible. I'm skeptical about the driveway being passable because we're supposed to have a bit of snow by then. And it's supposed to shift to freezing rain, rain, sleet, all hell breaking loose. My plow man plowed once so the driveway is in good shape for now but we keep getting a couple of inches every day. It won't do me any good to worry about it--I'll try to pack the car at the house on Friday night so I can park at the end of the driveway if I need to. The town is great about plowing the road--the plow man knows me and knows that I need to get out for work. He was plowing this morning as I left. Very nice.
Tomorrow I see my doctor (I like it when people talk about their "regular" doctor--what's that?). I've gained weight since I last saw him but am hoping to distract him from that conversation. He and I work well together so I don't worry much about seeing him.
I've got my Christmas cards under control. I've saved the last few for people who like a more comprehensive report on my year, with pictures. One is a woman I worked with in Providence--she and I keep in touch via Christmas cards. Another is a woman I worked with here in Platts., who now lives in Arizona and has grown children. Children sure do make time into a big issue. I knew Sharon before she was married, as she was married, when she had her 2 daughters, and when the daughters were about 5. Now one is married. It's quite a game we play, keeping track of time. I have another friend, from college, who has lived in Hawaii for more than 30 years. She & I keep in touch at Christmas. Wow we've known each other a long time.
Dogs are fine. They didn't seem to mind the cold weather and do enjoy the snow. They went for a 20-minute walk in the frigid cold and came home enthusiastic and perky. Go figure. Wish I could do that.
I have my Christmas tree up and decorated. It's quite queer this year, I cut too much off of the big tree so now have a very petite table top tree. And it leans. But it's got bright colored lights and beautiful ornaments. I think I'm missing a box of ornaments because there are some I didn't use, but there's no room for any more so that's a good thing. I have some wonderful ornaments, having collected them for almost 40 years.
Last night I went out to dinner with Pat, Bill & Fred. Our standard restaurant is closing on the 31st so we had to dine there. It was a celebration of birthdays, mine and Pat's, and we had a good time. No more fried perch this winter, not the way they cooked it anyway. We'll miss that.
I've shipped all the presents that needed shipping, sending off the last of them to Vermont today. YAY! I got the Italy presents in the mail MAYBE in time for a pre-Christmas arrival. I got Jenica's and Justin's presents off, but didn't get Anna's wrapped and packed. She'll get hers in January. Sorry, Anna. I love you, you know that.
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
On the cusp of 61
Today's the last day before I have to say "I'm in my 60's." There seems to be a difference between just being 60, and moving on to 61. I know, it's not a big deal, there's nothing we can do about it, it beats the alternative, etc. But still...I don't relish being 61. Even if I'm the youngest of my Hawkeye friends. None of it helps. When I look in the mirror in the morning when I get up I see an old person with huge bags under her eyes. I do perk up, both physically and mentally, by the time I get to work. It just takes me a bit of time, I guess.
No, I'm not depressed, just contemplative. It was fun having a birthday on 12/12/12, now it's just turning another year older.
I haven't been doing much besides Christmas preps and watching TV and feeding the stove. I've started reading the book group book (Susan Vreeland) but have a long way to go and am running out of time. Book group meets Sunday at my house. Yikes. Much cleaning to be done by then, and hopefully a Christmas tree will go up. Buying it is only half the challenge.
The weather hasn't been much to talk about, but apparently that's about to change. Cold weather is coming, with temps in single digits (doubtless below zero in Hawkeye). Everyone is incredibly fussed about this, but honestly, it's not -20, and it IS winter. We're supposed to have "measurable amounts" of snow Sat. night into Sunday, but no one apparently is willing to predict how much that will be. Hopefully Donny will plow before 5 Sunday night. Otherwise book groupers will have fun getting to my house.
I mailed my Italy presents yesterday, which was a great feeling. I need to get Anna's package in the mail (well, maybe wrap things first). A friend suggested I drive to Canada to mail her stuff, which doesn't sound like a bad idea. Maybe Monday after work. Monday we have a luncheon with the CEF board. We did this last year (no one is willing to own up to having the idea to do this) and it wasn't great. Mostly trustees visit with trustees and staff looks on miserably. I signed up to bring dessert, and gleefully discovered 2 boxes of brownie mix in the pantry last night. YAY! I was hoping to be enthusiastic and make some exciting cake or something, but now I feel much better. Problem solved.
Work is fine. Full of year-end things, mostly right now we're wrapping up our assessment process for 2013. Did we accomplish our goals? Well, sort of. No, I didn't write the e-book portion of our Collection Development Policy. I started to but yuck it's just not fun. I have to have a draft by the time I meet with the director this week. Well, girlie, get on with it!
I have most of my Christmas shopping done, remarkably. I have to get something for my cousin & his wife (why we swap gifts is still a mystery to me and my mother)--I hope to hit the studio/gallery of a great potter who's a friend on Saturday and pick out something nice. I've sent them baskets in recent years, but (sorry) NO ONE is getting a basket this year.
Union Christmas party is tonight. These parties usually turn out to be more fun than anyone expects (which isn't saying a lot). Dinner in a restaurant, then as soon as the last fork is put down we all scramble out quickly and go home. Travel is supposed to be tricky tonight, with snow squalls and slick roads. Swell, just about my least favorite driving conditions--snow in the dark.
No, I'm not depressed, just contemplative. It was fun having a birthday on 12/12/12, now it's just turning another year older.
I haven't been doing much besides Christmas preps and watching TV and feeding the stove. I've started reading the book group book (Susan Vreeland) but have a long way to go and am running out of time. Book group meets Sunday at my house. Yikes. Much cleaning to be done by then, and hopefully a Christmas tree will go up. Buying it is only half the challenge.
The weather hasn't been much to talk about, but apparently that's about to change. Cold weather is coming, with temps in single digits (doubtless below zero in Hawkeye). Everyone is incredibly fussed about this, but honestly, it's not -20, and it IS winter. We're supposed to have "measurable amounts" of snow Sat. night into Sunday, but no one apparently is willing to predict how much that will be. Hopefully Donny will plow before 5 Sunday night. Otherwise book groupers will have fun getting to my house.
I mailed my Italy presents yesterday, which was a great feeling. I need to get Anna's package in the mail (well, maybe wrap things first). A friend suggested I drive to Canada to mail her stuff, which doesn't sound like a bad idea. Maybe Monday after work. Monday we have a luncheon with the CEF board. We did this last year (no one is willing to own up to having the idea to do this) and it wasn't great. Mostly trustees visit with trustees and staff looks on miserably. I signed up to bring dessert, and gleefully discovered 2 boxes of brownie mix in the pantry last night. YAY! I was hoping to be enthusiastic and make some exciting cake or something, but now I feel much better. Problem solved.
Work is fine. Full of year-end things, mostly right now we're wrapping up our assessment process for 2013. Did we accomplish our goals? Well, sort of. No, I didn't write the e-book portion of our Collection Development Policy. I started to but yuck it's just not fun. I have to have a draft by the time I meet with the director this week. Well, girlie, get on with it!
I have most of my Christmas shopping done, remarkably. I have to get something for my cousin & his wife (why we swap gifts is still a mystery to me and my mother)--I hope to hit the studio/gallery of a great potter who's a friend on Saturday and pick out something nice. I've sent them baskets in recent years, but (sorry) NO ONE is getting a basket this year.
Union Christmas party is tonight. These parties usually turn out to be more fun than anyone expects (which isn't saying a lot). Dinner in a restaurant, then as soon as the last fork is put down we all scramble out quickly and go home. Travel is supposed to be tricky tonight, with snow squalls and slick roads. Swell, just about my least favorite driving conditions--snow in the dark.
I bagged me a big one this year...
Here's my Christmas tree. I bought it in Saranac so drove 40 mph all the way home (I was one of those annoyingly slow cars). Got it Sunday afternoon, there it sits on my deck, waiting for attention. I will cut the top half off and make it a tabletop tree. Oh yes, I will. Sometime soon.
Monday, December 02, 2013
Good time was had by all
I drove to RI for Thanksgiving, leaving a day earlier than intended (Tuesday) due to a number of things, like disappearing dogs (what DO they do at camp this time of year, anyway?) and predicted impending horrible terrible impassable storm. I was gone for nearly a week, which seemed strange, but it was a very nice trip.
Got to Liza's in good time on Tuesday afternoon, had a quiet time and went to bed early. Weds. (late) Jenica & Justin arrived, having traveled through the storm I was so careful to avoid (it wasn't that bad). We had a nice beach walk, though it was cold, very cold, and windy, very windy. Dramatic surf but even more dramatic total of 12 dogs on the beach at once. A group who apparently walks their 5 dogs together a lot was there. Our dogs got along with their dogs, but we kept Malcolm and Tess leashed for most of the walk. I didn't want Tess to be trampled and rolled by the energetic 1-year old giant male Labs who were there. She didn't seem to mind but DID want to investigate more areas than I was willing to walk to.
Turkey dinner was great--good food and plenty of it. I helped Liza cook, we all helped serve and eat and clean up. Very nice holiday.
I walked the dogs alone in the park on Friday while Mark was at work--we went on the "nature trail" for a change and it was very nice. Always fearful of ticks in Lyme country, but I think we escaped unscathed. Mark & I walked in the park again on Sat. but it was really cold and the dogs took off so it wasn't one of our better walks.
Justin & Jenica left on Friday and I went to town for a few things. Saturday Liza, Mark & I went Christmas shopping in Westerly. It was great--we each had our own shopping cart and filled them, checked out at the same time, then went home. Liza likes to rest a lot. We went back to town in the afternoon for a few more things, then were home to rest. I didn't have lobsters this time (!!), it just seemed like too much trouble. We had good flounder on Weds night with J&J, but ate turkey and pork the rest of the time.
The weather was variable, with a couple of cold days but mostly it was in the 40's and not bad. My mother no longer has her wood stove and worries a lot about how she'll keep the house warm. She has electric heat but hers costs a lot less than mine does.
I left RI yesterday morning, had a good trip home. Made a couple of stops so it took a bit longer but I got some shopping done. My house was 49 when I got home (ugh). Temps outside had been down to -3 and the lake froze over while I was gone. I'll find out tonight from P&J when that happened. It's a bit early for that, and it's supposed to be quite warm this week so it might open.
Had a good trip. Hard to believe I'll be going back in about 3 weeks. All is well.
Got to Liza's in good time on Tuesday afternoon, had a quiet time and went to bed early. Weds. (late) Jenica & Justin arrived, having traveled through the storm I was so careful to avoid (it wasn't that bad). We had a nice beach walk, though it was cold, very cold, and windy, very windy. Dramatic surf but even more dramatic total of 12 dogs on the beach at once. A group who apparently walks their 5 dogs together a lot was there. Our dogs got along with their dogs, but we kept Malcolm and Tess leashed for most of the walk. I didn't want Tess to be trampled and rolled by the energetic 1-year old giant male Labs who were there. She didn't seem to mind but DID want to investigate more areas than I was willing to walk to.
Turkey dinner was great--good food and plenty of it. I helped Liza cook, we all helped serve and eat and clean up. Very nice holiday.
I walked the dogs alone in the park on Friday while Mark was at work--we went on the "nature trail" for a change and it was very nice. Always fearful of ticks in Lyme country, but I think we escaped unscathed. Mark & I walked in the park again on Sat. but it was really cold and the dogs took off so it wasn't one of our better walks.
Justin & Jenica left on Friday and I went to town for a few things. Saturday Liza, Mark & I went Christmas shopping in Westerly. It was great--we each had our own shopping cart and filled them, checked out at the same time, then went home. Liza likes to rest a lot. We went back to town in the afternoon for a few more things, then were home to rest. I didn't have lobsters this time (!!), it just seemed like too much trouble. We had good flounder on Weds night with J&J, but ate turkey and pork the rest of the time.
The weather was variable, with a couple of cold days but mostly it was in the 40's and not bad. My mother no longer has her wood stove and worries a lot about how she'll keep the house warm. She has electric heat but hers costs a lot less than mine does.
I left RI yesterday morning, had a good trip home. Made a couple of stops so it took a bit longer but I got some shopping done. My house was 49 when I got home (ugh). Temps outside had been down to -3 and the lake froze over while I was gone. I'll find out tonight from P&J when that happened. It's a bit early for that, and it's supposed to be quite warm this week so it might open.
Had a good trip. Hard to believe I'll be going back in about 3 weeks. All is well.
Monday, November 25, 2013
Goose egg
That's what was on my thermometer this morning, a big old goose egg. Zero, with a wind chill (if you believe in wind chill) of something below zero. The house was cold when I got up at 5 so I turned on every heater I could find and cranked up the stove. Got it up to a respectable 60 before leaving for work. The insulation project was completed on Saturday, and it's definitely made a big difference. How stupid is it to have the thermostat for the electric heater on the floor with the heater? duh. What's the coldest place in a room? Yes, the floor. Next to the thermostat. Well they were cheap and all we could afford, so that's the kind of heater I have. People always ask what I have my thermostat set at--well, there's low, medium & high on the floor unit so who knows what temperature it's set for?
Had a nice weekend. Spent some of Saturday with Lin at a gallery we've visited in the past. I really like the artwork of one of the several artists whose work is there, so I bought some cards and some misc. other things for Christmas. Am I even THINKING about Christmas now? Not really. And it's a month from today.
After shopping we went out for lunch and had a nice pizza and beer together. Then home I went to pay the boys for their insulation work. They of course were thrilled to get checks, and I, of course, overpaid them. But it was great that they did it--what a disagreeable job, crawling around under the house, lying on your back to staple insulation above you. I know, I did it 20 years ago. They reported that there were parts of the house with no insulation at all. I could tell them where those spots were--the back of the house, most notably my bedroom. Now that it's insulated it's much better.
Yesterday was incredibly windy and cold. The house got warm and stayed warm well into the night. I went to P&J's and stayed a while for a very nice visit with them. We appreciate each other a lot in the winter--although there are others in the neighborhood we feel alone.
I had a wonderful visit to the Westport library last week. It's a great place, friendly people, fire in the fireplace, pretty location on the lake. I did my consulting there, then followed the lake up to Essex, cut over to Wadhams (which has some of the most beautiful views in the Adks), then to Lewis and up the Trout Pond Rd. We used to travel that road a lot. It's a pretty area with few homes. From there I followed the river to Keeseville, then went to the Chasm and on to Peru. Whew! It was grand and I really enjoyed it. It only took an extra half hour to get back to Plattsburgh, which impressed me. I like going to the member libraries. We have a great group of directors right now.
Tomorrow I'll leave work at noon, head home and pack for my Weds. trip to RI. There's much ado about a big, terrible storm coming tomorrow & Weds., so I'm trying not to think about driving conditions. I plan to leave Weds. early morning, which I think is when the storm is supposed to be particularly ugly, with sleet and ice. Rain to the south, so I just need to get out of the Adks.
I'll be in RI until Sunday, having a nice visit with Liza and Mark. Jenica & Justin will be there part of the time so it will be very festive. What will we do? Walk the dogs on the beach. Cook Thanksgiving dinner. Eat Thanksgiving dinner. Eat lobsters. Maybe go shopping at some small local shops. That's our usual Thanksgiving activity list. Doubt that it will be very different this year.
We got about 3" of powdery snow Sat. night and I guess we're supposed to get quite a bit more on Weds & Thurs. Well it IS winter, and we have snow in the winter. I don't like snow much, it's hard to deal with and complicates things.
Hope everyone has a good holiday. I'm looking forward to mine.
Had a nice weekend. Spent some of Saturday with Lin at a gallery we've visited in the past. I really like the artwork of one of the several artists whose work is there, so I bought some cards and some misc. other things for Christmas. Am I even THINKING about Christmas now? Not really. And it's a month from today.
After shopping we went out for lunch and had a nice pizza and beer together. Then home I went to pay the boys for their insulation work. They of course were thrilled to get checks, and I, of course, overpaid them. But it was great that they did it--what a disagreeable job, crawling around under the house, lying on your back to staple insulation above you. I know, I did it 20 years ago. They reported that there were parts of the house with no insulation at all. I could tell them where those spots were--the back of the house, most notably my bedroom. Now that it's insulated it's much better.
Yesterday was incredibly windy and cold. The house got warm and stayed warm well into the night. I went to P&J's and stayed a while for a very nice visit with them. We appreciate each other a lot in the winter--although there are others in the neighborhood we feel alone.
I had a wonderful visit to the Westport library last week. It's a great place, friendly people, fire in the fireplace, pretty location on the lake. I did my consulting there, then followed the lake up to Essex, cut over to Wadhams (which has some of the most beautiful views in the Adks), then to Lewis and up the Trout Pond Rd. We used to travel that road a lot. It's a pretty area with few homes. From there I followed the river to Keeseville, then went to the Chasm and on to Peru. Whew! It was grand and I really enjoyed it. It only took an extra half hour to get back to Plattsburgh, which impressed me. I like going to the member libraries. We have a great group of directors right now.
Tomorrow I'll leave work at noon, head home and pack for my Weds. trip to RI. There's much ado about a big, terrible storm coming tomorrow & Weds., so I'm trying not to think about driving conditions. I plan to leave Weds. early morning, which I think is when the storm is supposed to be particularly ugly, with sleet and ice. Rain to the south, so I just need to get out of the Adks.
I'll be in RI until Sunday, having a nice visit with Liza and Mark. Jenica & Justin will be there part of the time so it will be very festive. What will we do? Walk the dogs on the beach. Cook Thanksgiving dinner. Eat Thanksgiving dinner. Eat lobsters. Maybe go shopping at some small local shops. That's our usual Thanksgiving activity list. Doubt that it will be very different this year.
We got about 3" of powdery snow Sat. night and I guess we're supposed to get quite a bit more on Weds & Thurs. Well it IS winter, and we have snow in the winter. I don't like snow much, it's hard to deal with and complicates things.
Hope everyone has a good holiday. I'm looking forward to mine.
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
November weather--I llike it
I enjoy November, when the weather is variable. We have warm, then we have cold, then it gets warm again. There aren't usually any extremes, making life simpler and more pleasant. We had nice warm weather over the weekend but now it's chilly again in Hawkeye. Due to be in single digits in a couple of days. Yikes. The ground is freezing/frozen. The temperature dropped quickly overnight and I was afraid there would be black ice on the way in this morning, but I had no problems.
Last week was good--I was pleased with my progress on Monday. I had some work meetings, some webinars, and most notably I went to the dentist on Weds. I had planned to have ONE filling replaced, but of course the dentist talked me into doing 2. Ugh. I had such bad childhood dental experiences that I get nervous just having my teeth cleaned, so this was pretty traumatic for me. This dentist is very good, however, about using a lot of novacaine and waiting for it to take effect. So it was painless. Sore for a few days afterward, but all in all not really terribly unpleasant. It took a long time and cost a lot of money but who's surprised at my age to need replacement fillings?
The insulating project at home goes on. Saturday Lin was kind enough to drive me to Plattsburgh so I could buy the 3 more rolls that Ravi said he would need. Only 2 fit in my car at once, so it was great to have her larger vehicle. That's it, I hope, for buying insulation. The living room is noticeably warmer, and now the back of the house is chilly but not truly cold (as it was before). Plastic on the bedroom window has helped.
We had a good Plattsburgh run on Sat., eating lunch at the new-to-us 5 Guys. It's all about meat. I ate what they call a regular burger, which is 2 patties, so I felt sated and sluggish all afternoon. And as if I should eat a lot of fruits and vegetables. Which I did, that night. I also made cheesecake that night, with gluten-free crust, for book group on Sunday. The crust was OK but sort of gloppy--I used gluten-free shortbread cookies, mashed up, with melted butter added to them. The extra butter sure made things greasy, but it did turn out well.
Sunday we had our Book Group Thanksgiving at M'lou's. Very nice. Very good food, but too much of it! I ate a whole lot. Ugh. Boy was it all good, though. And we had a nice time, visiting and talking (a little) about the book (Sisterland). Next month's book is Susan Vreeland, The forest lover. I don't know if it's any good, but she's a good writer so at least it should be well-written.
Yesterday I had my annual eye exam in Saranac Lake. A lot of driving--to Platts. by 8, then to Saranac Lake, then back to Platts., then home the same way at 4. My eyes are fine except for an issue with the replacement lens in my left eye--I had cataract surgery a long time ago and he said that, when you have cataracts removed at a younger age this often happens. It gets cloudy at the back of the lens. This is just starting with me but has gotten worse in the last year so may need to be fixed (lasered). It's an easy fix, he assured me. And I trust him. Mostly now it's just a blur issue, nothing too serious. After my pupils were dilated and the solution was wearing off, one pupil was way bigger than the other, which made me a little nauseous but mostly just looked very, very strange. All is back to normal now.
This weekend Lin & I are planning to go to an open house at a gallery we visited a while ago. I like the artwork of one of the artists, and we both need to do a little Christmas shopping. Wow I need to get into Christmas mode!
Next week is Thanksgiving, and I'm off to RI on Weds. Looking forward to that. Later this week I go to Westport for the afternoon, to do some consulting on their Adirondack collection. That's a nice trip--great library, wonderful director, and I like looking at Adirondack collections. And on Friday I get paid. Yay.
Last week was good--I was pleased with my progress on Monday. I had some work meetings, some webinars, and most notably I went to the dentist on Weds. I had planned to have ONE filling replaced, but of course the dentist talked me into doing 2. Ugh. I had such bad childhood dental experiences that I get nervous just having my teeth cleaned, so this was pretty traumatic for me. This dentist is very good, however, about using a lot of novacaine and waiting for it to take effect. So it was painless. Sore for a few days afterward, but all in all not really terribly unpleasant. It took a long time and cost a lot of money but who's surprised at my age to need replacement fillings?
The insulating project at home goes on. Saturday Lin was kind enough to drive me to Plattsburgh so I could buy the 3 more rolls that Ravi said he would need. Only 2 fit in my car at once, so it was great to have her larger vehicle. That's it, I hope, for buying insulation. The living room is noticeably warmer, and now the back of the house is chilly but not truly cold (as it was before). Plastic on the bedroom window has helped.
We had a good Plattsburgh run on Sat., eating lunch at the new-to-us 5 Guys. It's all about meat. I ate what they call a regular burger, which is 2 patties, so I felt sated and sluggish all afternoon. And as if I should eat a lot of fruits and vegetables. Which I did, that night. I also made cheesecake that night, with gluten-free crust, for book group on Sunday. The crust was OK but sort of gloppy--I used gluten-free shortbread cookies, mashed up, with melted butter added to them. The extra butter sure made things greasy, but it did turn out well.
Sunday we had our Book Group Thanksgiving at M'lou's. Very nice. Very good food, but too much of it! I ate a whole lot. Ugh. Boy was it all good, though. And we had a nice time, visiting and talking (a little) about the book (Sisterland). Next month's book is Susan Vreeland, The forest lover. I don't know if it's any good, but she's a good writer so at least it should be well-written.
Yesterday I had my annual eye exam in Saranac Lake. A lot of driving--to Platts. by 8, then to Saranac Lake, then back to Platts., then home the same way at 4. My eyes are fine except for an issue with the replacement lens in my left eye--I had cataract surgery a long time ago and he said that, when you have cataracts removed at a younger age this often happens. It gets cloudy at the back of the lens. This is just starting with me but has gotten worse in the last year so may need to be fixed (lasered). It's an easy fix, he assured me. And I trust him. Mostly now it's just a blur issue, nothing too serious. After my pupils were dilated and the solution was wearing off, one pupil was way bigger than the other, which made me a little nauseous but mostly just looked very, very strange. All is back to normal now.
This weekend Lin & I are planning to go to an open house at a gallery we visited a while ago. I like the artwork of one of the artists, and we both need to do a little Christmas shopping. Wow I need to get into Christmas mode!
Next week is Thanksgiving, and I'm off to RI on Weds. Looking forward to that. Later this week I go to Westport for the afternoon, to do some consulting on their Adirondack collection. That's a nice trip--great library, wonderful director, and I like looking at Adirondack collections. And on Friday I get paid. Yay.
Monday, November 11, 2013
Cold morning
It's not really that cold (27) but it's damp and snowy so feels chilly. I've got a good fire going, the house is comfortable (thought not truly warm) and I have the day off. I have a long list of tasks to accomplish today but so far all I've done is read the paper and watch TV. And eat. The dogs are eager to go out but I'm keeping them in for now because a friend is hunting on my land and I don't want the dogs to bother him. They've had plenty of entertainment this morning.
It's supposed to warm up today (40's) so hopefully I'll finish up the winter prep tasks outdoors. The deck needs attention, flower pots need to be emptied, though probably will need to have the soil thawed first. I MUST put the lawn mower away in the shed. I've put that off other years until there's real snow--it's sooo hard to push a lawn mower through the snow! You'd think a girl would learn in 20 years to get these things done before November.
Had a good week, work was fine. I saw Pat & Jim twice, well three times if you count yesterday. They're fine and Pat is feeling much better. I had dinner with the Holts and Bill on Sat., which was very nice. Holts were here for the weekend and very generously took my 7 bags of old insulation to the dump in their truck for me.
I bought a new computer on Sat. Wow what a difference. I gave my old laptop to Lin and am trying to get used to this new HP with a totally different keyboard. I have good Internet access but also have Windows 8, which is incredibly frustrating. Rush, Annie & I tried to do some simple things with it yesterday but didn't have much luck. Wow, Bill Gates, even a nuclear physicist finds it frustrating.
Busy week ahead, plenty of training and a few meetings. Also, ugh, an appointment to have a filling replaced. We had terrible childhood dental experiences (lots of drilling for cavities without novacaine, which seems unimaginable today) so I'm always fretful when going to the dentist. This dentist is good about making sure the novacaine is effective before proceeding, and I've had OK experiences in he past. Wow! It doesn't hurt! Let's see if my good luck continues.
Not really much going on in Hawkeye. Only one other person on the road now and he comes and goes. No bog walkers but there were 4 cars at the Silver Lake Mtn trailhead yesterday. It wasn't really a pleasant day but did almost get to 40. Supposed to do that again today but we've got a way to go. I still have to make one more trip to the boat house to retrieve things. The lock on the gate was frozen last weekend so I waited until it thawed, unlocked it in prep of my yet-to-happen visit. Maybe today. I hope. Let's finish at least ONE thing today!
It's supposed to warm up today (40's) so hopefully I'll finish up the winter prep tasks outdoors. The deck needs attention, flower pots need to be emptied, though probably will need to have the soil thawed first. I MUST put the lawn mower away in the shed. I've put that off other years until there's real snow--it's sooo hard to push a lawn mower through the snow! You'd think a girl would learn in 20 years to get these things done before November.
Had a good week, work was fine. I saw Pat & Jim twice, well three times if you count yesterday. They're fine and Pat is feeling much better. I had dinner with the Holts and Bill on Sat., which was very nice. Holts were here for the weekend and very generously took my 7 bags of old insulation to the dump in their truck for me.
I bought a new computer on Sat. Wow what a difference. I gave my old laptop to Lin and am trying to get used to this new HP with a totally different keyboard. I have good Internet access but also have Windows 8, which is incredibly frustrating. Rush, Annie & I tried to do some simple things with it yesterday but didn't have much luck. Wow, Bill Gates, even a nuclear physicist finds it frustrating.
Busy week ahead, plenty of training and a few meetings. Also, ugh, an appointment to have a filling replaced. We had terrible childhood dental experiences (lots of drilling for cavities without novacaine, which seems unimaginable today) so I'm always fretful when going to the dentist. This dentist is good about making sure the novacaine is effective before proceeding, and I've had OK experiences in he past. Wow! It doesn't hurt! Let's see if my good luck continues.
Not really much going on in Hawkeye. Only one other person on the road now and he comes and goes. No bog walkers but there were 4 cars at the Silver Lake Mtn trailhead yesterday. It wasn't really a pleasant day but did almost get to 40. Supposed to do that again today but we've got a way to go. I still have to make one more trip to the boat house to retrieve things. The lock on the gate was frozen last weekend so I waited until it thawed, unlocked it in prep of my yet-to-happen visit. Maybe today. I hope. Let's finish at least ONE thing today!
Monday, November 04, 2013
Getting colder
This was what it looked like at the boat house yesterday morning--very, very pretty. Reports of 2 loons still at the lake, in winter plumage. Isn't it time for them to leave?
Saturday, November 02, 2013
At home
Very exciting thing happened today--my phone company contractor finally came and installed high-speed Internet at my house. This is great but boy will take some getting used to. I tried using the email address for my Frontier account, but because I never took Jamie's name off the account the "from" says James Rogers. Yikes. Luckily I only send 2 messages that way before it was pointed out to me. This computer is slow and pretty old, so I'm thinking of buying a new one. They're so much cheaper than they were, it's just very tempting.
So now I can blog at home. Hmmmm. Not sure what this will mean. More blogging? I have to switch my email accounts all over the place. My main (new) personal email address is labrdors at gmail.com--but I'll still use my cefls address, of course, since it's my work address.
It's a rainy day, not really very cold but feels cool and damp so I built a fire. The phone guy admired my stove and told me a little history of the company. He also told me where to get good, cheap firewood, from a place that makes pallets, but you need a truck to pick up the loads. So I'll probably just stick with what I do.
I went to the dump this morning but haven't done much else besides play with the Internet. I'm trying to get this computer set up with the most current versions of things but it's so slow that it takes a long time.
Busy week at work. Monday I went to an arts program in Peru at night, getting lost in the dark on the way there. I had to laugh at myself--I certainly know how to get there from here, and used to live in Peru, but I missed my turn in the dark in Peasleeville and away I went, off into the deep darkness. It was all fine, I figured out where I was and got to the library on time.
Tuesday I had dinner with Annie and a friend (at Annie's). That was nice. A dark walk home, and it was cold--down to 18. Cold days at the beginning of the week, warm days at the end.
Weds. I spent the day in Malone, where I did 2 Power Point presentations. I only prepared one, someone else did the other (the GOOD one). Mine was boring, about cataloging rules. It was short, only about 9 slides, and they were all text. Anyway, it was over when it was over. That night I met Bill & Fred for dinner in Saranac. We were supposed to be taking Pat out for her birthday dinner but she didn't feel up to it so we went without her,. never ones to miss an opportunity for dining out. It was nice to be with the 2 of them.
Friday was a staff luncheon and I cooked a cheesecake Thursday night. I used a smaller pan so it was thicker and thus not quite cooked as well as it usually is, but people ate it anyway. After work I went grocery shopping then stopped at P&J's, then came home. whew.
Last weekend I imposed on Lin to drive me to Plattsburgh to buy rolls of insulation that don't fit in my car. We did some other shopping, had our usual fun, then she delivered the insulation to my house. Very nice of her. I'm having the son of a friend--who mows my lawn--and a friend of his put the insulation under the house. I don't think I have enough to do the whole house but it's a good start. They got started on Monday and plan to work tomorrow and Monday. Jamie & I did it 20 years ago but I just didn't feel like doing it this year, and had some cash to pay for it.
Not much going on in Hawkeye. My friends hunted on my land last weekend, and may return tomorrow. They found buck rub on a tree so were pretty excited. Goodness knows we have enough deer...
So now I can blog at home. Hmmmm. Not sure what this will mean. More blogging? I have to switch my email accounts all over the place. My main (new) personal email address is labrdors at gmail.com--but I'll still use my cefls address, of course, since it's my work address.
It's a rainy day, not really very cold but feels cool and damp so I built a fire. The phone guy admired my stove and told me a little history of the company. He also told me where to get good, cheap firewood, from a place that makes pallets, but you need a truck to pick up the loads. So I'll probably just stick with what I do.
I went to the dump this morning but haven't done much else besides play with the Internet. I'm trying to get this computer set up with the most current versions of things but it's so slow that it takes a long time.
Busy week at work. Monday I went to an arts program in Peru at night, getting lost in the dark on the way there. I had to laugh at myself--I certainly know how to get there from here, and used to live in Peru, but I missed my turn in the dark in Peasleeville and away I went, off into the deep darkness. It was all fine, I figured out where I was and got to the library on time.
Tuesday I had dinner with Annie and a friend (at Annie's). That was nice. A dark walk home, and it was cold--down to 18. Cold days at the beginning of the week, warm days at the end.
Weds. I spent the day in Malone, where I did 2 Power Point presentations. I only prepared one, someone else did the other (the GOOD one). Mine was boring, about cataloging rules. It was short, only about 9 slides, and they were all text. Anyway, it was over when it was over. That night I met Bill & Fred for dinner in Saranac. We were supposed to be taking Pat out for her birthday dinner but she didn't feel up to it so we went without her,. never ones to miss an opportunity for dining out. It was nice to be with the 2 of them.
Friday was a staff luncheon and I cooked a cheesecake Thursday night. I used a smaller pan so it was thicker and thus not quite cooked as well as it usually is, but people ate it anyway. After work I went grocery shopping then stopped at P&J's, then came home. whew.
Last weekend I imposed on Lin to drive me to Plattsburgh to buy rolls of insulation that don't fit in my car. We did some other shopping, had our usual fun, then she delivered the insulation to my house. Very nice of her. I'm having the son of a friend--who mows my lawn--and a friend of his put the insulation under the house. I don't think I have enough to do the whole house but it's a good start. They got started on Monday and plan to work tomorrow and Monday. Jamie & I did it 20 years ago but I just didn't feel like doing it this year, and had some cash to pay for it.
Not much going on in Hawkeye. My friends hunted on my land last weekend, and may return tomorrow. They found buck rub on a tree so were pretty excited. Goodness knows we have enough deer...
Friday, October 25, 2013
Snowy morn
My sister is famous (in our family) for the first line of a poem she wrote in grade school--"It snowed last night for the first time this year." Well, today's the day that happened. We had barely a dusting, but it felt and looked cold. It was 30, which will feel warm soon enough.
I'm having good luck with my new stove but still struggle to keep a fire going all day. I got it right last night & there were good coals this morning, but that's the first time for that. I'm using an infrared heater at the back of the house (thanks to Barb for her input on that)--it's working out very well and gets the living room and bathroom toasty. I have a good feeling about being warm this winter.
Toward that end I'm planning to have someone put insulation under the floor, in the crawl space. I've got someone lined up, he's the son of a friend--I figure, if I could do it (20 years ago) anyone can. I need to go to Lowes and talk to the fools there about what kind of insulation to get, and then figure out how much I'll need. All too complicated and nothing that I want to deal with, but it should make a (nominal) difference.
I was supposed to have high-speed Internet installed this week, and took an afternoon off to meet the techie from Frontier, my local-yokel phone company. Well that was swell, except that "Doug" called to say he couldn't come that day after all. I tell so many of my details to so many people that I had to explain the whole thing to friends afterward--I don't know if I talk so much because I'm nervous, or because my mother used to make us "SAY SOMETHING NICE" at the dinner table every night, or I genuinely want to share details of my life with people. Probably living alone has something to do with it. Anyway, "Doug" will come next Saturday morning to do the installation. I'm the neighborhood guinea pig. We've all been waiting for years for Frontier to come through with something like this, but the summer people who are interested in it have all left, so I'll be the first in our group to try it out. I'm not optimistic, but it would be nice to have something better than dial access at home.
I've been out and about for work a bit lately, and have to do 2 presentations in Malone next week. Yesterday I was in Saranac Lake for a good workshop on appraising things for historical value. NOT monetary value, but for their appropriateness for archival collections. OK, so it sounds pretty boring, but it was good.
What's up for the weekend? Not much. A dump run, no doubt. Oh, and CLOSING THE BOAT HOUSE. I've been walking down there and taking care of things bit by bit, but need to drive there to collect bedding, towels, etc., and take the furniture off the porch. It's not a complicated or involved process, and I always put it off until it's too cold to be pleasant. I have sort of a head start this year, and there's not much else to do there.
The foliage is gone, except for the tamararcks, which are golden and lush. I have a pet tamarack tree near the house--it just appeared one year and is now quite tall and pretty. It got bent over one year because of snow and I tied it to another tree to straighten it out. That worked well and it's now at least 25' high and fairly straight. There was a row of huge tamaracks along the road on my property, but when they widened the road so the plow could fit (for me, only for me) they cut them down. I was distressed, but it was one of those life lessons, when you have to accept things that have happened. What's done is done. The trees were grand, but the plow's arrival after snowfalls is even better.
Dogs are fine. They seem to have more energy these days, maybe because it's colder. I gave a friend permission to take his son hunting on my land on Sat. He wants to teach his son, who's 14, how to sit still and wait for the deer to appear. I said there sure are plenty of deer on my land. They can't shoot anything right now, it's muzzle-loader season, but they'll be entertained I'm sure.
The neighborhood is quiet. If I got lonely, I'd be lonely right now at home. I don't get lonely, though, and don't get afraid, either. Someone drove into my driveway the other night, probably looking for a good place to jack deer, and that made me a bit nervous but truly I rarely worry about invaders. Life is peaceful and I'm happy.
I'm having good luck with my new stove but still struggle to keep a fire going all day. I got it right last night & there were good coals this morning, but that's the first time for that. I'm using an infrared heater at the back of the house (thanks to Barb for her input on that)--it's working out very well and gets the living room and bathroom toasty. I have a good feeling about being warm this winter.
Toward that end I'm planning to have someone put insulation under the floor, in the crawl space. I've got someone lined up, he's the son of a friend--I figure, if I could do it (20 years ago) anyone can. I need to go to Lowes and talk to the fools there about what kind of insulation to get, and then figure out how much I'll need. All too complicated and nothing that I want to deal with, but it should make a (nominal) difference.
I was supposed to have high-speed Internet installed this week, and took an afternoon off to meet the techie from Frontier, my local-yokel phone company. Well that was swell, except that "Doug" called to say he couldn't come that day after all. I tell so many of my details to so many people that I had to explain the whole thing to friends afterward--I don't know if I talk so much because I'm nervous, or because my mother used to make us "SAY SOMETHING NICE" at the dinner table every night, or I genuinely want to share details of my life with people. Probably living alone has something to do with it. Anyway, "Doug" will come next Saturday morning to do the installation. I'm the neighborhood guinea pig. We've all been waiting for years for Frontier to come through with something like this, but the summer people who are interested in it have all left, so I'll be the first in our group to try it out. I'm not optimistic, but it would be nice to have something better than dial access at home.
I've been out and about for work a bit lately, and have to do 2 presentations in Malone next week. Yesterday I was in Saranac Lake for a good workshop on appraising things for historical value. NOT monetary value, but for their appropriateness for archival collections. OK, so it sounds pretty boring, but it was good.
What's up for the weekend? Not much. A dump run, no doubt. Oh, and CLOSING THE BOAT HOUSE. I've been walking down there and taking care of things bit by bit, but need to drive there to collect bedding, towels, etc., and take the furniture off the porch. It's not a complicated or involved process, and I always put it off until it's too cold to be pleasant. I have sort of a head start this year, and there's not much else to do there.
The foliage is gone, except for the tamararcks, which are golden and lush. I have a pet tamarack tree near the house--it just appeared one year and is now quite tall and pretty. It got bent over one year because of snow and I tied it to another tree to straighten it out. That worked well and it's now at least 25' high and fairly straight. There was a row of huge tamaracks along the road on my property, but when they widened the road so the plow could fit (for me, only for me) they cut them down. I was distressed, but it was one of those life lessons, when you have to accept things that have happened. What's done is done. The trees were grand, but the plow's arrival after snowfalls is even better.
Dogs are fine. They seem to have more energy these days, maybe because it's colder. I gave a friend permission to take his son hunting on my land on Sat. He wants to teach his son, who's 14, how to sit still and wait for the deer to appear. I said there sure are plenty of deer on my land. They can't shoot anything right now, it's muzzle-loader season, but they'll be entertained I'm sure.
The neighborhood is quiet. If I got lonely, I'd be lonely right now at home. I don't get lonely, though, and don't get afraid, either. Someone drove into my driveway the other night, probably looking for a good place to jack deer, and that made me a bit nervous but truly I rarely worry about invaders. Life is peaceful and I'm happy.
Last of the color near Paul Smiths
Saw this on the way to Potsdam last week--the tamaracks are at peak, then it's all brown & gray until spring. Oh, and white.
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
And the season comes to an end...
We had a great Columbus Day weekend--the weather couldn't have been better. Sunny and warm, with just enough color left in the woods to impress us. It wasn't as busy as some C.D. weekends have been, which was sort of nice. I didn't get to see all of the visitors but I did get some things done at home, and I had a WONDERFUL few hours reading on the boat house porch on Sunday. Wow was that nice.
I only saw the Neels briefly, which was too bad--they're wonderful people. I did see the Holts, who are also wonderful people. I had dinner with them on Sunday night. Poor Rush is totally frustrated by what's happening in Washington. Very disheartening. Annie had a great trip to Spain and is getting ready for retirement.
I walked the bog after the hordes of bog walkers left, on Monday. It was cloudy and drizzling but lovely. There was an unbelievable number of visitors to the bog over the weekend, which I guess is good. Hard for me to be enthusiastic about day trippers like that. Tess was good and stayed home, but she was tethered part of the time.
Saturday Jenica & Justin came with their dog Malcolm. He's huge and a sweetie. My dogs thought he was pretty imposing but also thought maybe he'd want to play with them. A bit of confusion on how to do that.
We went to Lin & Ralph's for the cider pressing. I had picked a ton of wild apples from my trees, which pleased Ralph (wild apples make the best cider). We stayed for a while and took home some cider. J & J wanted to see what Malcolm would do in the water so we walked to camp. What did he do? Walked right in, lay down, sat down, wallowed, swam--had a great time. After that we sat on the porch and visited for a while, which was pretty and nice. What great weather. They went home and I did...NOTHING. A quiet Sat. night.
Sunday I "helped" Rush & Annie take out their dock--barely did anything, but got to see people there. Another beautiful day. I ended up on the boat house porch in the afternoon, reading Border songs, which is a nice book. Well written. Boy do I like sitting on the porch there, the only person in the world.
I saw my cousins on Sunday--they came to camp looking for me. They're wonderful, have a camp on the other side of the lake but take good care of camp and me anyway. They always make an effort to visit with me when they're here, which is flattering. I really enjoy seeing them. I remember them as toddlers, which makes me feel very old--they're married with children of their own (well, as opposed to what? children of someone else?) now. They have nice wives and sweet children.
I had morning coffee with the Nadals, sitting by the lake in the sun--oh so very nice. They packed up, closed their camp and might come this winter.
Monday was a holiday, YAY so I did a few things at home. Had intended to close the boat house but I think it's just too warm for that. Wouldn't be closing time unless I have to wear a jacket. I managed to put plastic on 2 windows a the back of the house downstairs. My big effort at energy conservation. One year I did all the windows on the first floor, including the big living room windows. Not this year, but I do hope to do more--the kitchen window is broken and leaks, and the bathroom window doesn't quite close all the way, so those are contenders.
New stove is great. I conferred with Annie about fires and how to make the most of the stove--their stove is the same model but a bit older and, of course, not cobalt blue. I'm still figuring out this stove's burning habits. It's very different from my old stove, which I suppose is the point.
Today I have a webinar in the morning and will visit the AuSable Forks library in the afternoon. They have some things they think are archival and want my help to identify and classify them. Tomorrow I head to Canton for a meeting with people I like to see. Should be a pretty drive, too. Maybe I can stop at the farm stand in Nicholville. To get what?
Linda leaves tomorrow. Joe & Martha leave next week. And that's it for the 2013 season.
I only saw the Neels briefly, which was too bad--they're wonderful people. I did see the Holts, who are also wonderful people. I had dinner with them on Sunday night. Poor Rush is totally frustrated by what's happening in Washington. Very disheartening. Annie had a great trip to Spain and is getting ready for retirement.
I walked the bog after the hordes of bog walkers left, on Monday. It was cloudy and drizzling but lovely. There was an unbelievable number of visitors to the bog over the weekend, which I guess is good. Hard for me to be enthusiastic about day trippers like that. Tess was good and stayed home, but she was tethered part of the time.
Saturday Jenica & Justin came with their dog Malcolm. He's huge and a sweetie. My dogs thought he was pretty imposing but also thought maybe he'd want to play with them. A bit of confusion on how to do that.
We went to Lin & Ralph's for the cider pressing. I had picked a ton of wild apples from my trees, which pleased Ralph (wild apples make the best cider). We stayed for a while and took home some cider. J & J wanted to see what Malcolm would do in the water so we walked to camp. What did he do? Walked right in, lay down, sat down, wallowed, swam--had a great time. After that we sat on the porch and visited for a while, which was pretty and nice. What great weather. They went home and I did...NOTHING. A quiet Sat. night.
Sunday I "helped" Rush & Annie take out their dock--barely did anything, but got to see people there. Another beautiful day. I ended up on the boat house porch in the afternoon, reading Border songs, which is a nice book. Well written. Boy do I like sitting on the porch there, the only person in the world.
I saw my cousins on Sunday--they came to camp looking for me. They're wonderful, have a camp on the other side of the lake but take good care of camp and me anyway. They always make an effort to visit with me when they're here, which is flattering. I really enjoy seeing them. I remember them as toddlers, which makes me feel very old--they're married with children of their own (well, as opposed to what? children of someone else?) now. They have nice wives and sweet children.
I had morning coffee with the Nadals, sitting by the lake in the sun--oh so very nice. They packed up, closed their camp and might come this winter.
Monday was a holiday, YAY so I did a few things at home. Had intended to close the boat house but I think it's just too warm for that. Wouldn't be closing time unless I have to wear a jacket. I managed to put plastic on 2 windows a the back of the house downstairs. My big effort at energy conservation. One year I did all the windows on the first floor, including the big living room windows. Not this year, but I do hope to do more--the kitchen window is broken and leaks, and the bathroom window doesn't quite close all the way, so those are contenders.
New stove is great. I conferred with Annie about fires and how to make the most of the stove--their stove is the same model but a bit older and, of course, not cobalt blue. I'm still figuring out this stove's burning habits. It's very different from my old stove, which I suppose is the point.
Today I have a webinar in the morning and will visit the AuSable Forks library in the afternoon. They have some things they think are archival and want my help to identify and classify them. Tomorrow I head to Canton for a meeting with people I like to see. Should be a pretty drive, too. Maybe I can stop at the farm stand in Nicholville. To get what?
Linda leaves tomorrow. Joe & Martha leave next week. And that's it for the 2013 season.
Who's a pretty boy? Malcolm, of course!
That's Jenica & Justin's dog. He's very nice. Wallows in the water like a hippo.
008
Pretty view from the boat house deck. The leaves in the foreground belong to an oak tree that my father grew from an acorn he brought from RI. It got too big and my mother cut it down, but it refuses to die. Does this mean something?
009
Always a nice view--from the boat house porch. I didn't have a party there this Columbus Day. Just didn't seem to have the time.
Monday, October 07, 2013
Come and gone
I think our color peaked last week. We've lost a LOT of leaves in the past few days, and a windy day like today won't help. There's still color, but it's not that great. Or maybe it will be for people who haven't been here yet. Big crowd will come this weekend for Columbus Day.
I had a good weekend, enjoyed myself and was mildly productive. Thursday night I had dinner with Linda & Erd. + friends, Friday night Bill had a catered dinner at his camp that was WONDERFUL. He had a cook from his favorite restaurant come and cook a fantastic meal for us. Only problem was that Bill suffers from portion control issues and the servings were HUGE. Sat. Linda cooked a Thanksgiving dinner for Bill's birthday (same people as Friday night). That was delicious but a lot of food. Last night was book group at Linda's & she served another delicious meal. Yikes. I told Linda she wouldn't need to see me tonight but she invited me to stop for dinner so maybe I'll do that. They'll be leaving next week.
I picked a lot of wild apples by my driveway on Sat., which was fun. It was a really warm day, though cloudy, and I managed to pick 2 small bags. My friend is having a cider pressing this Saturday and they always like to have wild apples to add to the mix. There are still many, many apples on the trees--too high for me to reach so I'll whack them with a spade or something. The dogs wait patiently under the tree to be hit on the head with yummy apples. The apples are huge and wonderful this year, which is very different from last year's crop.
Book group was nice. We finished Isabel Allende and have selected our next book. We'll meet at Marylou's house and have Thanksgiving dinner. Her husband cooks a spectacular turkey with stuffing.
Yesterday I went to a yard sale with friends--the brother and sister-in-law of one of my friends are selling everything and moving to their place in Florida, so we picked over a lot of stuff at the end of the sale. I got a nifty blender for $5--I've been wanting a blender so this was perfect.
I stopped at the AuSable Forks library on Friday to pick up my keys. They were lost in a box of archival things that I delivered to the library earlier. I thought I was very clever to figure out that that's where the keys were. I hate losing keys.
Thursday night I'm having a friend come for dinner--I'm not sure he's ever been in my house and his wife isn't coming with him this week so I thought it would be nice to cook for him. What I'll cook is still a mystery. At least the house is moderately clean so that won't be a problem.
Raining hard right now, just as predicted. It's amazingly warm these days, and warm sunny days are predicted for the rest of the week. Yowie.
I had a good weekend, enjoyed myself and was mildly productive. Thursday night I had dinner with Linda & Erd. + friends, Friday night Bill had a catered dinner at his camp that was WONDERFUL. He had a cook from his favorite restaurant come and cook a fantastic meal for us. Only problem was that Bill suffers from portion control issues and the servings were HUGE. Sat. Linda cooked a Thanksgiving dinner for Bill's birthday (same people as Friday night). That was delicious but a lot of food. Last night was book group at Linda's & she served another delicious meal. Yikes. I told Linda she wouldn't need to see me tonight but she invited me to stop for dinner so maybe I'll do that. They'll be leaving next week.
I picked a lot of wild apples by my driveway on Sat., which was fun. It was a really warm day, though cloudy, and I managed to pick 2 small bags. My friend is having a cider pressing this Saturday and they always like to have wild apples to add to the mix. There are still many, many apples on the trees--too high for me to reach so I'll whack them with a spade or something. The dogs wait patiently under the tree to be hit on the head with yummy apples. The apples are huge and wonderful this year, which is very different from last year's crop.
Book group was nice. We finished Isabel Allende and have selected our next book. We'll meet at Marylou's house and have Thanksgiving dinner. Her husband cooks a spectacular turkey with stuffing.
Yesterday I went to a yard sale with friends--the brother and sister-in-law of one of my friends are selling everything and moving to their place in Florida, so we picked over a lot of stuff at the end of the sale. I got a nifty blender for $5--I've been wanting a blender so this was perfect.
I stopped at the AuSable Forks library on Friday to pick up my keys. They were lost in a box of archival things that I delivered to the library earlier. I thought I was very clever to figure out that that's where the keys were. I hate losing keys.
Thursday night I'm having a friend come for dinner--I'm not sure he's ever been in my house and his wife isn't coming with him this week so I thought it would be nice to cook for him. What I'll cook is still a mystery. At least the house is moderately clean so that won't be a problem.
Raining hard right now, just as predicted. It's amazingly warm these days, and warm sunny days are predicted for the rest of the week. Yowie.
Thursday, October 03, 2013
Looking across Chapel Pond
I drove to Albany & back yesterday so I got to see lots and lots of good color in the mountains. I think it might be peak in the mtns, though in other places there's still a lot of green. It was really pretty, though, driving through Keene and Keene Valley, and then on to Silver Lake. Where it's especially pretty.
Just about peak color from the Keene cemetery
I like this cemetery--it's almost as nice as the cemetery my family "uses." The view from this one is sure way better than the view from ours, though.
Monday, September 30, 2013
Comin' good
The color in the mountains is coming along nicely (comin' good) though it's not as brilliant as it has been other years. We can't help comparing each year's color to past year's, it's a form of great entertainment.
I had a busy weekend and enjoyed it all very much. Friday I stopped at P&J's, where I was joined by "the boys": Joe, Bill and Fred. What a nice group! We had an excellent visit. Fred was eager to get on to his camp, where he spent the night. I was eager to get home to the dogs, who haven't had the best of care in recent days. Sometimes I walk them, sometimes I just don't. I did walk with them to camp yesterday, just a quick trip.
Saturday I went to the dump--Dump Man knows me well now and always gives me 2 dog biscuits for The Ladies. I stopped at Linda's on the way home and she suggested we have a Dock Day Royale. Which we did. Boy was it nice. The sun is low in the sky but very hot, and the water is COLD, very cold. We got hot enough to swim, though "swim" would be a generous description. Mostly we dipped. We read a bit and visited a lot. What a lovely time it was.
Saturday I showed off my new stove to Duncan, Sue, David & Maryanne. I had them come for wine & snacks in the evening and they were duly impressed with my cobalt blue enameled Jotul. It IS a pretty stove.
Yesterday morning was chilly but warmed up quickly. Temps at night have been in the low 40's but daytime temps have been in the 70's, with good sunshine. We had our autumnal brunch at Duncan's--Linda cooked delicious pancakes and there was a ton of other food. Great time, lots of good company and nice visiting.
After that I struggled with my choices: should I spend the day on the boat house dock, or should I return to Linda's? Boy that was a tough one. I opted for Linda's--she'll be leaving in a couple of weeks and I like being with her. The day was warmer than Sat. and the water was more bearable. We actually swam and floated around. Brrr. But very refreshing. I read some of the book group book, we visited a bit, and we spent a lot of time watching activities on the far shore through our binoculars. There wasn't much of interest happening, but we're easily entertained.
I had a restless night, was up for hours. I went to sleep but woke up and couldn't get back to sleep so I watched Stupid Television for a while before finally getting back to sleep around 3. The dogs are puzzled by this but enjoy their night travels in the wee hours. Tess did run off yesterday afternoon, ostensibly to join bog walkers. She wasn't gone long.
This will be a busy week. Weds. I spend the day in Albany for training. It's a 3-hour trip, and the training is scheduled from 9-4 so it will be a long and tiring day. I can't imagine spending that many hours being trained on the new interlibrary loan platform, but who knows.
Thursday I'm having dinner with the Ruders + Linda & Erd. Friday Bill is hosting an extravaganza at M'side, and Saturday is Bill's birthday turkey dinner at Linda's. Whew! Easy to get fatter with a schedule like that. I tried to go to a yoga class in Keene last night but it was canceled. I don't think I was really disappointed.
Work is fine, busy and entertaining. I am tired of driving to and from Plattsburgh, but I enjoy my job. That counts. A lot.
I had a busy weekend and enjoyed it all very much. Friday I stopped at P&J's, where I was joined by "the boys": Joe, Bill and Fred. What a nice group! We had an excellent visit. Fred was eager to get on to his camp, where he spent the night. I was eager to get home to the dogs, who haven't had the best of care in recent days. Sometimes I walk them, sometimes I just don't. I did walk with them to camp yesterday, just a quick trip.
Saturday I went to the dump--Dump Man knows me well now and always gives me 2 dog biscuits for The Ladies. I stopped at Linda's on the way home and she suggested we have a Dock Day Royale. Which we did. Boy was it nice. The sun is low in the sky but very hot, and the water is COLD, very cold. We got hot enough to swim, though "swim" would be a generous description. Mostly we dipped. We read a bit and visited a lot. What a lovely time it was.
Saturday I showed off my new stove to Duncan, Sue, David & Maryanne. I had them come for wine & snacks in the evening and they were duly impressed with my cobalt blue enameled Jotul. It IS a pretty stove.
Yesterday morning was chilly but warmed up quickly. Temps at night have been in the low 40's but daytime temps have been in the 70's, with good sunshine. We had our autumnal brunch at Duncan's--Linda cooked delicious pancakes and there was a ton of other food. Great time, lots of good company and nice visiting.
After that I struggled with my choices: should I spend the day on the boat house dock, or should I return to Linda's? Boy that was a tough one. I opted for Linda's--she'll be leaving in a couple of weeks and I like being with her. The day was warmer than Sat. and the water was more bearable. We actually swam and floated around. Brrr. But very refreshing. I read some of the book group book, we visited a bit, and we spent a lot of time watching activities on the far shore through our binoculars. There wasn't much of interest happening, but we're easily entertained.
I had a restless night, was up for hours. I went to sleep but woke up and couldn't get back to sleep so I watched Stupid Television for a while before finally getting back to sleep around 3. The dogs are puzzled by this but enjoy their night travels in the wee hours. Tess did run off yesterday afternoon, ostensibly to join bog walkers. She wasn't gone long.
This will be a busy week. Weds. I spend the day in Albany for training. It's a 3-hour trip, and the training is scheduled from 9-4 so it will be a long and tiring day. I can't imagine spending that many hours being trained on the new interlibrary loan platform, but who knows.
Thursday I'm having dinner with the Ruders + Linda & Erd. Friday Bill is hosting an extravaganza at M'side, and Saturday is Bill's birthday turkey dinner at Linda's. Whew! Easy to get fatter with a schedule like that. I tried to go to a yoga class in Keene last night but it was canceled. I don't think I was really disappointed.
Work is fine, busy and entertaining. I am tired of driving to and from Plattsburgh, but I enjoy my job. That counts. A lot.
The view from Linda's dock, where I spent 2 fantastic afternoons
I had the most wonderful weekend. I spent 2 afternoons with my friend Linda, sitting on her new (and very fancy) dock. We read, visited, spied on the other side of the lake with our binoculars, and, yes, we swam. The water is freezing cold but the sun was very hot and it felt wonderful. It felt more wonderful when you got out, but it was really nice. This is what September in Hawkeye is supposed to be like.
Looking at the neighbors from Linda's dock
This is looking up the lake, toward the boat house (which you can just barely see). Near perfection.
Thursday, September 26, 2013
Ahhhhhh.
I took a day off yesterday to clean and organize my house. It worked out well and I was pleased with my progress. I had a nice, relaxing morning, got up early & walked to the boat house to check on the lake (it was windy) and color (coming along but not yet peak). I cleaned my deck of a lot of debris, which was just wonderful. Took 2 bags of garbage to the dump + got rid of my old (35 yrs.) propane camp stove that no longer works. The deck looks much better now. I also emptied some of the skankier-looking flower pots. I couldn't bring myself to throw them all out, though, so still have some mediocre-looking pots on the railing & deck.
I walked the bog in the afternoon, my first walk to the end of the boardwalk in many weeks. I like going in the off-season--not only is it less crowded (like, you get to have the place to yourself) but the colors are always different. It's very pretty in there now, unless you're the type of person depressed by signs of autumn. I like autumn--isn't that why we live in places with 4 seasons? To watch the seasons change?
It's been a pretty busy time--a flurry of late-season activity. Dinners with Linda & Erdvilas, Duncan & Sue, Joe. All very nice and delicious. I'm not gaining weight, thankfully, and have lost 3 pounds. I'm really hoping to walk more regularly and lose weight. Hoping to lose some SERIOUS weight this winter.
I've kept a fire going in my stove pretty much every day, but haven't kept it going all night yet. I know how to set it to keep it burning low and steady but have yet to get it really hot. It is a determined stove, does not like to shut down. I've already emptied the ash pan (just for practice, while the stove was cold). It's a wonderful stove and I feel so lucky to have it. Does that mean I think I don't deserve it? Well, not, it's just that it was a luxury that I couldn't really afford but really wanted. So I have it, and I admire and appreciate it regularly.
Dogs are fine. They're busy eating drops from the apple trees along the driveway and looking for deer. I don't think they know what deer are, but they're sure there's SOMETHING out there in the woods. They bark and fuss when we see deer from the car but I'm not sure they connect THOSE deer with the deer we have around the house.
Oh I had such a nice day yesterday. I love this time of year. Weather is expected to continue to be sunny and warm. Saturday looks like a wonderful day. I need to start working on the boat house--emptying the fridge, tidying up. And I need to get to the fridge in main camp, which has flotsam from summer visitors in it. I already ate the marshmallows that were in the cabinet.
We're getting some good color but of course there's much discussion about just how good the color is this year. Is it as good as usual? Isn't it duller, not as bright? But wait, that's what we said last year and it ended up being beautiful. There definitely is not as much red as we usually have, probably due to some weather activity. Lots of yellows and oranges, though. We haven't reached the time when walking in the woods feels as if there are bright lights everywhere because of the yellow yellow yellow leaves. That will come, though.
I walked the bog in the afternoon, my first walk to the end of the boardwalk in many weeks. I like going in the off-season--not only is it less crowded (like, you get to have the place to yourself) but the colors are always different. It's very pretty in there now, unless you're the type of person depressed by signs of autumn. I like autumn--isn't that why we live in places with 4 seasons? To watch the seasons change?
It's been a pretty busy time--a flurry of late-season activity. Dinners with Linda & Erdvilas, Duncan & Sue, Joe. All very nice and delicious. I'm not gaining weight, thankfully, and have lost 3 pounds. I'm really hoping to walk more regularly and lose weight. Hoping to lose some SERIOUS weight this winter.
I've kept a fire going in my stove pretty much every day, but haven't kept it going all night yet. I know how to set it to keep it burning low and steady but have yet to get it really hot. It is a determined stove, does not like to shut down. I've already emptied the ash pan (just for practice, while the stove was cold). It's a wonderful stove and I feel so lucky to have it. Does that mean I think I don't deserve it? Well, not, it's just that it was a luxury that I couldn't really afford but really wanted. So I have it, and I admire and appreciate it regularly.
Dogs are fine. They're busy eating drops from the apple trees along the driveway and looking for deer. I don't think they know what deer are, but they're sure there's SOMETHING out there in the woods. They bark and fuss when we see deer from the car but I'm not sure they connect THOSE deer with the deer we have around the house.
Oh I had such a nice day yesterday. I love this time of year. Weather is expected to continue to be sunny and warm. Saturday looks like a wonderful day. I need to start working on the boat house--emptying the fridge, tidying up. And I need to get to the fridge in main camp, which has flotsam from summer visitors in it. I already ate the marshmallows that were in the cabinet.
We're getting some good color but of course there's much discussion about just how good the color is this year. Is it as good as usual? Isn't it duller, not as bright? But wait, that's what we said last year and it ended up being beautiful. There definitely is not as much red as we usually have, probably due to some weather activity. Lots of yellows and oranges, though. We haven't reached the time when walking in the woods feels as if there are bright lights everywhere because of the yellow yellow yellow leaves. That will come, though.
Tess dozes while Treasure keeps an eye on things (namely me)
My but they're shiny, aren't they? They're very pretty girls.
I went to the dump yesterday and there was a man who couldn't stop petting them or talking about how perfect they were. His chocolate Lab just died. He thought mine were the perfect size, were beautiful and sooooo sweet. They thought he was pretty grand, too, but not as grand as Dump Man, who always gives me biscuits for them. Oh they love a trip to the dump.
Tamaracks are lightening up...
The tamaracks in the bog turn a fantastic color at the end of the fall--they're about the last bit of color we get. They're starting to turn.
Ferns turning in the bog
They turn gold, then brown, then they sort of drop off. They're very pretty.
Looking for the perfect leaf
Not so many red leaves this year, and lots of leaves are falling before we've had peak color. Hold on until Columbus day, leaves!
How it looks at 58OHR these days
Oh it's getting pretty. Very pretty. A sunny, warm, clear day yesterday and I spent it at home.
Monday, September 23, 2013
023Treasure's treasure--a deer skull and spine. yum.
Treasure found this the other day and proudly brought it home for Tess to play with. YUCK.
017Bog walkers enjoying the color
It's really getting colorful. This is from the end of my driveway. Bog is busy.
014
It's an amazing year for wild apples. Part of my land is an old orchard so I have a few different kinds of apples. These are very sweet and the ones on the next tree over are very tart. These apples are huge. The deer and the dogs are enjoying the falls.
003Pretty gaudy, but beautiful on Sat. morning at 6:30 a.m.
Amazing color--even more amazing that the camera caught it so well. Timing is crucial, since colors change by the minute. Not a bad image to wake up to on a Saturday
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
And WOW
What a beautiful day today--bright, strong sunshine, clear and cool. Perfect autumn weather. Or at least it looks that way from my desk...
We had our first real frost yesterday morning--temp was 30 at 6:30 a.m. and there was scrapable frost on my windshield. My flowers didn't seem to mind, however, I don't think I lost anything. Darn, that just means I have to deal with the pots on my deck with live plants still in them. Dump them out, girlie, they're not going to get any prettier. They all look pretty skanky right now anyway.
Had a quiet weekend, which was nice but not productive. I did have a nice time Saturday morning with Duncan and Sue, traveling to Paul's bakery in Upper Jay for food & visit with Linda & Erd., then we stopped at the Wilmington festival and poked around there a while, then home. It was a bit cold but a very nice fall day. I went to the dump in the afternoon with Stephanie, who was eager for social contact. Uneventful dump run except that I got to dump my old microwave into the metal bin. Very dramatic effect, tossing it in and hearing a big crash. I like my new (cheap) microwave--it heats food as quickly as a microwave is supposed to. And makes popcorn with all the kernels popped.
Sunday was quiet, just a quick visit with P&J at noon then home to do...what? Not much. I got laundry done, did dishes, tidied a bit but still have much left to do. Joe came to get my great-grandmother's desk to fix. That's a huge deal to me--I hate it when I can't figure out how to fix things or get things done, so it was wonderful that he agreed to take care of it. It will be nice to have a desk with a drawer in it again. And now I promise to use it as a desk instead of a storage unit.
Ravi came to mow on Sunday, and we had a long visit. He's just out of college and has an interesting attitude about life, work, etc. He just visited relatives in Calif. and was really wooed by their lifestyle and income levels. Very impressed by their expensive cars, wants that life for himself. Well I guess we're all impressed by SOMETHING when we're 22, but my friend and I had a long conversation this morning about what young people's expectations are these days. Does life own them something? We just went to college and got jobs as a matter of course (although my only reason for going to college was to kill 2 years until I got married--that all changed when I decided NOT to get married at 19). We've had jobs since we were 16, and knew that, when we graduated from college with our shiny history degrees that we'd have to find something to do for a career. So we turned to libraries. That was sort of where those of us with liberal arts majors ended up. There were 250 people in my lib. science program, at a relatively small school. Lots of sociologists, historians, English majors, etc. All wondering what we would do and not knowing much about libraries. At least we didn't get our degrees because "we like books." That reason drives me crazy, especially now when libraries are so much less about books than ever.
So life goes on. Big unanswered questions. What is the meaning of life, anyway? Why is the sky blue? Actually Rush answered that one for me.
Dogs are fine. They're very playful these days, lots of roughhousing in the living room. They're full of joy and I like it when they chase each other around and play big mean fighting dog. I started walking the bog the other day but got bored and turned around. Even Tess seemed bored so it was a bust. I have been walking to camp on the weekends but that's not really much of a walk. I went to the doctor this week--my numbers are all good (except for the one on the scale) so he and I had little to say to each other. Which is fine. See you in 3 months.
Work is good. Busy. I've been doing a lot of the interlibrary loan work, which is always interesting. What are people reading these days? Well, inmates like to know how to make $1 million in real estate by investing $25, how to fight off zombies, how to cast spells and place curses, how to make fancy tattoos, and one of them has come up with a game app that the CEO of Yahoo! absolutely MUST know about. He needs to get in touch with her directly. Her contact information is on the Internet so I don't mind sending it along.
We had our first real frost yesterday morning--temp was 30 at 6:30 a.m. and there was scrapable frost on my windshield. My flowers didn't seem to mind, however, I don't think I lost anything. Darn, that just means I have to deal with the pots on my deck with live plants still in them. Dump them out, girlie, they're not going to get any prettier. They all look pretty skanky right now anyway.
Had a quiet weekend, which was nice but not productive. I did have a nice time Saturday morning with Duncan and Sue, traveling to Paul's bakery in Upper Jay for food & visit with Linda & Erd., then we stopped at the Wilmington festival and poked around there a while, then home. It was a bit cold but a very nice fall day. I went to the dump in the afternoon with Stephanie, who was eager for social contact. Uneventful dump run except that I got to dump my old microwave into the metal bin. Very dramatic effect, tossing it in and hearing a big crash. I like my new (cheap) microwave--it heats food as quickly as a microwave is supposed to. And makes popcorn with all the kernels popped.
Sunday was quiet, just a quick visit with P&J at noon then home to do...what? Not much. I got laundry done, did dishes, tidied a bit but still have much left to do. Joe came to get my great-grandmother's desk to fix. That's a huge deal to me--I hate it when I can't figure out how to fix things or get things done, so it was wonderful that he agreed to take care of it. It will be nice to have a desk with a drawer in it again. And now I promise to use it as a desk instead of a storage unit.
Ravi came to mow on Sunday, and we had a long visit. He's just out of college and has an interesting attitude about life, work, etc. He just visited relatives in Calif. and was really wooed by their lifestyle and income levels. Very impressed by their expensive cars, wants that life for himself. Well I guess we're all impressed by SOMETHING when we're 22, but my friend and I had a long conversation this morning about what young people's expectations are these days. Does life own them something? We just went to college and got jobs as a matter of course (although my only reason for going to college was to kill 2 years until I got married--that all changed when I decided NOT to get married at 19). We've had jobs since we were 16, and knew that, when we graduated from college with our shiny history degrees that we'd have to find something to do for a career. So we turned to libraries. That was sort of where those of us with liberal arts majors ended up. There were 250 people in my lib. science program, at a relatively small school. Lots of sociologists, historians, English majors, etc. All wondering what we would do and not knowing much about libraries. At least we didn't get our degrees because "we like books." That reason drives me crazy, especially now when libraries are so much less about books than ever.
So life goes on. Big unanswered questions. What is the meaning of life, anyway? Why is the sky blue? Actually Rush answered that one for me.
Dogs are fine. They're very playful these days, lots of roughhousing in the living room. They're full of joy and I like it when they chase each other around and play big mean fighting dog. I started walking the bog the other day but got bored and turned around. Even Tess seemed bored so it was a bust. I have been walking to camp on the weekends but that's not really much of a walk. I went to the doctor this week--my numbers are all good (except for the one on the scale) so he and I had little to say to each other. Which is fine. See you in 3 months.
Work is good. Busy. I've been doing a lot of the interlibrary loan work, which is always interesting. What are people reading these days? Well, inmates like to know how to make $1 million in real estate by investing $25, how to fight off zombies, how to cast spells and place curses, how to make fancy tattoos, and one of them has come up with a game app that the CEO of Yahoo! absolutely MUST know about. He needs to get in touch with her directly. Her contact information is on the Internet so I don't mind sending it along.
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
006Late season swim for Tess
I can't believe she lets me take her picture these days. The new camera makes a noise when you turn it on and she usually hides when she hears it. I guess this was just the magic of the moment. She had a nice swim.
Monday, September 09, 2013
Sunny and frosty
No real frost at 58OHR this morning, temp was 36 around 6:30. I had a restless night, having put a different comforter on the bed--I woke at 1:30 sweating and uncomfortable. Finally got up, watched stooopid television and knit for a while, then dozed. I think the dogs are getting used to this sort of night time routine, they're pretty calm after their initial "we're getting up" excitement. Anyway, it was cool but not frosty at my house but there was frost a-plenty on the way to Platts.
I've pretty much given up on the plants on my deck. It wasn't a banner year for my flowers--maybe too much rain, I don't know. The geraniums are just starting to recover and bloom, and most of the other annuals did quite poorly. I'm hoping they all die a gentle, frosty death soon. I caught the dog eating the only cucumber of any notable size that I grew, and there were plenty of green grape tomatoes for the dogs to eat. Why do I try growing cukes and tomatotes? Because I'm an optimist, I think ("this year it will be different"). Or else just a fool.
It's a bit quieter in the neighborhood, but there are still summer visitors. Friends arrived at their camp yesterday for a 3-week stay, Linda is still here, Joe is still here, though mostly that's it. I stopped at P&J's on Friday and had a nice visit with Jim's sister and Joe. We're all enjoying September weather and everyone is pretty cheerful. Pat & I like autumn--Jim doesn't, because it just means that winter is coming. Two of my favorite months are September and May--everything is in transition from one season to another and there's always a lot of activity. Right now the leaves are just starting to turn (though slowly) and the goldenrod is in full bloom everywhere. Tess' reaction to ragweed is under control, wild apples are plentiful and huge, deer are starting to move around, there's morning mist on the water, and it's very peaceful.
I walked to camp both Sat. and Sun., picking up a few things to take home, getting ready to close for the season. I think I'll have at least another night down there this week, when temps are suggested to hit 80. I don't like staying there when it's cold at night.
I had fires in my new stove. Apparently it's crucial to break the stove in gradually, so I had one fire at 100 degrees, a second fire at 200 degrees, then a third, hotter fire and now it's all set. This stove is very different from my old stove (well, duh, I hope so). It burns the wood slowly and gives off excellent heat. And it's pretty to look at as well.
Oh I love a new toy.
Saturday morning Linda & I went to a local bakery that is just a wonderful gathering place with delicious treats. We had a nice visit and saw some people we knew, relaxed there for quite a while.
Yesterday morning I had coffee with Fred and Linda at Fred's camp, which was very nice. Days of sitting on porches are dwindling down as it gets colder. We had book group last night at Linda's and sat on her porch. It was chilly but nice. We actually had some good discussion of the book (The widow of the south) and all agreed it was a worthy read. All. Well, there were 4 of us. We lost Martha to Montana, so the group is smaller. We're not sure who, or if we'll add another member, maybe we'll just have 3 or maybe 4 winter members. It's a tricky thing, to invite someone new to a book group.
What's up this week? Work, a meeting, more work. Looks pretty quiet from here. I think I'll look for a new comforter. But maybe not. My friend's 10-year-old son ordered $150 worth of Star Wars DVD's, using their Amazon account without his parents' knowledge. Yes, they cancelled the order and learned a valuable lesson.
I'm trying to walk regularly again, having become quite portly and pretty much out-of-shape. The dogs really deserve walks, and I'll have to reveal my weight gain to my doctor next week so hope to be able to report increased activity by then.
I've pretty much given up on the plants on my deck. It wasn't a banner year for my flowers--maybe too much rain, I don't know. The geraniums are just starting to recover and bloom, and most of the other annuals did quite poorly. I'm hoping they all die a gentle, frosty death soon. I caught the dog eating the only cucumber of any notable size that I grew, and there were plenty of green grape tomatoes for the dogs to eat. Why do I try growing cukes and tomatotes? Because I'm an optimist, I think ("this year it will be different"). Or else just a fool.
It's a bit quieter in the neighborhood, but there are still summer visitors. Friends arrived at their camp yesterday for a 3-week stay, Linda is still here, Joe is still here, though mostly that's it. I stopped at P&J's on Friday and had a nice visit with Jim's sister and Joe. We're all enjoying September weather and everyone is pretty cheerful. Pat & I like autumn--Jim doesn't, because it just means that winter is coming. Two of my favorite months are September and May--everything is in transition from one season to another and there's always a lot of activity. Right now the leaves are just starting to turn (though slowly) and the goldenrod is in full bloom everywhere. Tess' reaction to ragweed is under control, wild apples are plentiful and huge, deer are starting to move around, there's morning mist on the water, and it's very peaceful.
I walked to camp both Sat. and Sun., picking up a few things to take home, getting ready to close for the season. I think I'll have at least another night down there this week, when temps are suggested to hit 80. I don't like staying there when it's cold at night.
I had fires in my new stove. Apparently it's crucial to break the stove in gradually, so I had one fire at 100 degrees, a second fire at 200 degrees, then a third, hotter fire and now it's all set. This stove is very different from my old stove (well, duh, I hope so). It burns the wood slowly and gives off excellent heat. And it's pretty to look at as well.
Oh I love a new toy.
Saturday morning Linda & I went to a local bakery that is just a wonderful gathering place with delicious treats. We had a nice visit and saw some people we knew, relaxed there for quite a while.
Yesterday morning I had coffee with Fred and Linda at Fred's camp, which was very nice. Days of sitting on porches are dwindling down as it gets colder. We had book group last night at Linda's and sat on her porch. It was chilly but nice. We actually had some good discussion of the book (The widow of the south) and all agreed it was a worthy read. All. Well, there were 4 of us. We lost Martha to Montana, so the group is smaller. We're not sure who, or if we'll add another member, maybe we'll just have 3 or maybe 4 winter members. It's a tricky thing, to invite someone new to a book group.
What's up this week? Work, a meeting, more work. Looks pretty quiet from here. I think I'll look for a new comforter. But maybe not. My friend's 10-year-old son ordered $150 worth of Star Wars DVD's, using their Amazon account without his parents' knowledge. Yes, they cancelled the order and learned a valuable lesson.
I'm trying to walk regularly again, having become quite portly and pretty much out-of-shape. The dogs really deserve walks, and I'll have to reveal my weight gain to my doctor next week so hope to be able to report increased activity by then.
Tuesday, September 03, 2013
Whew!
Well we made it through Labor Day weekend--it was busy but nice. Weather was OK with some exceptions. Huge storm last night but Linda had already grilled the steaks before torrential downpour and high winds arrived. One of those dramatic Silver Lake storms, which I enjoyed watching with friends. Everyone loves to see those wind "waves" across the surface of the lake.
I went to Jenica's wedding on Saturday. Dropped the dogs off at 7:30 at the kennel, went home for a few hours, then left for southern Vermont at 10:30. Easy trip, it turned out. I checked a ton of map sites, plus my print map (which I love, and which I find much easier to follow than print-outs of online routes). I ended up going down the western part of the state, which was an easy trip, then over to Rte. 7. Went to Manchester because I got to the wedding park too early. Bought my mother socks for Christmas (don't tell her) and myself a pair of shorts that are too tight but are really nice anyway. I can hang them on the wall as incentive to lose the weight I'm planning to work hard on losing. Wedding pictures on Facebook show just how tubby I look. Well, wait, I LOOK? No, I AM. I gained 7 pounds over the summer, mostly during my 2 weeks in RI, eating delicious seafood and the Italian cooking of my sister. So now I must get into a routine of eating better and walking. Yes, get out there and WALK.
Anyway, the wedding was fine. It was in a very pretty state park and was a nice, relaxed affair. The "ceremony" was short but lovely, and both Justin & Jenica were sooooo happy to get married. I had good visits with Deb, Jenica's mother, whom I hadn't seen in 9 years, and with some Potsdam friends of J&J's. All good. I left a little early, not really worried about my trip home but apprehensive. The trip was fine but a bit rainy. I took a different route home, which turned out to take just as long but not longer than the route going south. So now I've mastered western Vermont and southern New Hampshire, after these 2 weddings. And now I'm home.
I had dinner with friends on Friday night, hosted a cocktail party on Sunday night, and had dinner with friends last night. See? It's all about food and drink. It's lovely to see all of these people, I truly enjoy being with them. Now we settle in to the end of the season, with only Linda and Joe still here, while we watch the already-turning leaves light up the air.
I'm back at work after what seemed like a long, long break but was only 3 days. I picked up the dogs on Sunday and heard about Treasure's antics ("she showed her true colors"--uh-oh). Deb (kennel owner) separated my 2 dogs because Treasure was playing too hard with Rocket, another visitor, and Tess was getting bumped around too much. It's very hard to think of Tess as The Old Dog, but she is 10 and starting to show her age. Treasure needs to SETTLE DOWN. She really is full of energy these days and is very active.
This week I have a few things going on--appointment with my psychiatrist this morning. I'm on a 6-month schedule now, which is sort of like graduating from a very long and intensive program. This means I'll only see him twice a year, oh my we'll have so much to catch up on. Weds. I'm having dinner with friends, tonight I'll see Jim & Pat, but really it looks pretty quiet.
I had a colonoscopy last week with great results--no polyps or abnormalities. The doctor spoke to me--well, really just waved at me after the procedure, telling me all was well and he'd see me in 5 years. Hah!
Dogs are fine. Tess has been suffering from her annual ragweed allergy attack but is now on Prednisone and doing very well. That stuff makes the dog pretty perky but mostly it's benefit is that she no longer itches and wiggles every time you touch her. Treasure seems to think peeing on the floor INSIDE the house is the way to go. Not sure how to deal with that, except shut both bedroom doors and hope it doesn't get too hot. There's only 1 window that opens in my bedroom--one wall is pretty much all window, which is why I stay in that room, and we put very few windows on the north side of the house.
So now I think I'll have a quiet spell in my life, which will be pleasant. We'll have a busy Columbus Day weekend, as always, then Jim, Pat & I settle into our winter routine. Joe will be here longer than usual and that will be a treat.
I went to Jenica's wedding on Saturday. Dropped the dogs off at 7:30 at the kennel, went home for a few hours, then left for southern Vermont at 10:30. Easy trip, it turned out. I checked a ton of map sites, plus my print map (which I love, and which I find much easier to follow than print-outs of online routes). I ended up going down the western part of the state, which was an easy trip, then over to Rte. 7. Went to Manchester because I got to the wedding park too early. Bought my mother socks for Christmas (don't tell her) and myself a pair of shorts that are too tight but are really nice anyway. I can hang them on the wall as incentive to lose the weight I'm planning to work hard on losing. Wedding pictures on Facebook show just how tubby I look. Well, wait, I LOOK? No, I AM. I gained 7 pounds over the summer, mostly during my 2 weeks in RI, eating delicious seafood and the Italian cooking of my sister. So now I must get into a routine of eating better and walking. Yes, get out there and WALK.
Anyway, the wedding was fine. It was in a very pretty state park and was a nice, relaxed affair. The "ceremony" was short but lovely, and both Justin & Jenica were sooooo happy to get married. I had good visits with Deb, Jenica's mother, whom I hadn't seen in 9 years, and with some Potsdam friends of J&J's. All good. I left a little early, not really worried about my trip home but apprehensive. The trip was fine but a bit rainy. I took a different route home, which turned out to take just as long but not longer than the route going south. So now I've mastered western Vermont and southern New Hampshire, after these 2 weddings. And now I'm home.
I had dinner with friends on Friday night, hosted a cocktail party on Sunday night, and had dinner with friends last night. See? It's all about food and drink. It's lovely to see all of these people, I truly enjoy being with them. Now we settle in to the end of the season, with only Linda and Joe still here, while we watch the already-turning leaves light up the air.
I'm back at work after what seemed like a long, long break but was only 3 days. I picked up the dogs on Sunday and heard about Treasure's antics ("she showed her true colors"--uh-oh). Deb (kennel owner) separated my 2 dogs because Treasure was playing too hard with Rocket, another visitor, and Tess was getting bumped around too much. It's very hard to think of Tess as The Old Dog, but she is 10 and starting to show her age. Treasure needs to SETTLE DOWN. She really is full of energy these days and is very active.
This week I have a few things going on--appointment with my psychiatrist this morning. I'm on a 6-month schedule now, which is sort of like graduating from a very long and intensive program. This means I'll only see him twice a year, oh my we'll have so much to catch up on. Weds. I'm having dinner with friends, tonight I'll see Jim & Pat, but really it looks pretty quiet.
I had a colonoscopy last week with great results--no polyps or abnormalities. The doctor spoke to me--well, really just waved at me after the procedure, telling me all was well and he'd see me in 5 years. Hah!
Dogs are fine. Tess has been suffering from her annual ragweed allergy attack but is now on Prednisone and doing very well. That stuff makes the dog pretty perky but mostly it's benefit is that she no longer itches and wiggles every time you touch her. Treasure seems to think peeing on the floor INSIDE the house is the way to go. Not sure how to deal with that, except shut both bedroom doors and hope it doesn't get too hot. There's only 1 window that opens in my bedroom--one wall is pretty much all window, which is why I stay in that room, and we put very few windows on the north side of the house.
So now I think I'll have a quiet spell in my life, which will be pleasant. We'll have a busy Columbus Day weekend, as always, then Jim, Pat & I settle into our winter routine. Joe will be here longer than usual and that will be a treat.
Monday, August 26, 2013
Busy time
Was there a weekend in there sometime? I think I might have missed it.
Traveled (a lot) and socialized (a lot) over the weekend. Went to the wedding of my cousin's daughter (wore a dress)(and nice shoes). Dropped the dogs off at the kennel at 7:30 Sat. morning, then hit the road for the 5-hour trip to motel in southern NH. I was worried about a)getting there on time and b)finding the church (since I forgot to Googlemap the actual site of the wedding). All went well. The trip was long but uneventful. A lot of traffic. No, really, a LOT of traffic. But I made it, and got to the church. Of course, the car ahead of me was that of my cousins/former in-laws, but that was nice because then I got to sit with them in the church. I dearly love my cousin/former sister-in-law, and we always have very nice visits. This time we had a GREAT visit. Lots of laughing and sharing.
The wedding was formal, nice. The reception was exceptionally nice. It was at Philips-Exeter Acad., where the bride teaches. Wow what great food and what a lot of wine! First there was a pre-dinner reception and I got to visit with relatives I truly enjoy. Dinner was good. I sat with other cousins and their children (these children, now in their 30's have had very complicated lives and lived with my mother for a time when they were young). Food was good, evening was a bit long. I was one of the first to leave--which seems to be what I usually am these days. Back to the motel, found my way there amazingly well. I like staying in motels alone. Anyway, I was up at 6 yesterday so left at 6:30 and had a good drive home. Not much traffic but a long trip. I made it home in time to spend an hour on the dock on one of the most beautiful days of the season. Another cousin's son is in camp (yegods I have a lot of relatives).
Sunday dinner was Michigan Madness yesterday at J&M's. Yum! Food was grand, company was special. It was a very, very nice time. Wow what a great blueberry pie.
Home to NAP.
Friday night I went to a lovely gathering hosted by a former camper and her wife. Potluck, with lots of good food and fine company. I visited with the Holt's, had had dinner with them earlier in the week. They came to my house while I was away on Sat. and cut down a bunch of trees that were encroaching on my house. I love my friends, I truly do. They are wonderful. The forest is reclaiming the land around the house and I'm helpless to do anything about it. I waited too long to cut the trees, and they got too big for me & my handy sawz-all and handsaws. What a mess. Anyway it looks grand now and I'm very pleased.
Picked the dogs up last night at 6--Treasure apparently really likes the kennel because she didn't want to come home. They ran and ran when they got home, as always. Tess is having her ragweed allergy attack now and is miserable. Tonight I stop at the vet's and pick up cortisone pills for her. Poor thing--goopy eyes and itchy skin. Oh, how very attractive.
Traveled (a lot) and socialized (a lot) over the weekend. Went to the wedding of my cousin's daughter (wore a dress)(and nice shoes). Dropped the dogs off at the kennel at 7:30 Sat. morning, then hit the road for the 5-hour trip to motel in southern NH. I was worried about a)getting there on time and b)finding the church (since I forgot to Googlemap the actual site of the wedding). All went well. The trip was long but uneventful. A lot of traffic. No, really, a LOT of traffic. But I made it, and got to the church. Of course, the car ahead of me was that of my cousins/former in-laws, but that was nice because then I got to sit with them in the church. I dearly love my cousin/former sister-in-law, and we always have very nice visits. This time we had a GREAT visit. Lots of laughing and sharing.
The wedding was formal, nice. The reception was exceptionally nice. It was at Philips-Exeter Acad., where the bride teaches. Wow what great food and what a lot of wine! First there was a pre-dinner reception and I got to visit with relatives I truly enjoy. Dinner was good. I sat with other cousins and their children (these children, now in their 30's have had very complicated lives and lived with my mother for a time when they were young). Food was good, evening was a bit long. I was one of the first to leave--which seems to be what I usually am these days. Back to the motel, found my way there amazingly well. I like staying in motels alone. Anyway, I was up at 6 yesterday so left at 6:30 and had a good drive home. Not much traffic but a long trip. I made it home in time to spend an hour on the dock on one of the most beautiful days of the season. Another cousin's son is in camp (yegods I have a lot of relatives).
Sunday dinner was Michigan Madness yesterday at J&M's. Yum! Food was grand, company was special. It was a very, very nice time. Wow what a great blueberry pie.
Home to NAP.
Friday night I went to a lovely gathering hosted by a former camper and her wife. Potluck, with lots of good food and fine company. I visited with the Holt's, had had dinner with them earlier in the week. They came to my house while I was away on Sat. and cut down a bunch of trees that were encroaching on my house. I love my friends, I truly do. They are wonderful. The forest is reclaiming the land around the house and I'm helpless to do anything about it. I waited too long to cut the trees, and they got too big for me & my handy sawz-all and handsaws. What a mess. Anyway it looks grand now and I'm very pleased.
Picked the dogs up last night at 6--Treasure apparently really likes the kennel because she didn't want to come home. They ran and ran when they got home, as always. Tess is having her ragweed allergy attack now and is miserable. Tonight I stop at the vet's and pick up cortisone pills for her. Poor thing--goopy eyes and itchy skin. Oh, how very attractive.
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
Back to reality
I had my wonderful 2 weeks in Rhode Island and am back on North Country soil again. Before I went to RI I went to our family meeting, something we have every summer. A smaller crowd this year than we have some years. It was our 40th gathering. Yikes. We get together to talk about money, camp, each other, etc.
My trip to RI was great. I got to be with my sister and her husband for a day or so before Paolo returned to Italy. They came to Silver Lake, too, and we had a nice visit while they were there. Molly got to swim in fresh water.
We didn't do much that was exciting or different in RI, which was fine. Lots of reading and quiet time, beach time every sunny day (and there were a lot of those), lobster a couple of times, RI corn (delicious) every night, some shopping and mostly just a lot of good visiting. The beach was grand--my mother's town beach is very nice, not too crowded most days. It was very crowded (by our standards) on Monday the 12th, which was Victory Day in RI. I think only RI still celebrates Victory Day--it used to be called V-J Day (Victory over Japan) but they finally realized that wasn't appropriate, so they changed the name. It's really just an excuse for another summer holiday in the state. Anyway, that was the only time the beach was uncomfortably crowded.
We ate at our favorite places. Jenica came to visit. The dogs behaved well. Treasure swallowed one of Mark's socks, then threw up for 2 days until she finally threw up the sock. Swell. That was the only dog incident, thankfully--no running away, just a couple of walks in the park and lots of time sunning on the deck at Liza's.
There's not much more to say about the trip. It was so so nice to be with my family, having a good time together.
I came back on Saturday, and uneventful trip. Too much traffic, which seemed strange, but not a big deal. I went to Sunday dinner with my friends--it was at one of Bill's camps (he has 2)(we call him a land baron). Food was excellent and all were in rare form and feeling good.
Yesterday I went to Burlington, to the dermatologist to have some more pre-cancerous stuff frozen on my arm. A nice enough trip but I didn't do much else while I was there, went to a grocery store for a few things then came straight home. I had planned to spend the night in the boat house, packed a few things & went down there but ka-zowie we had a power outage so I went home to call it in. Power was out for a bit more than 3 hours--I went to bed. Tonight I'll be in the boat house--it's warm at night and I like sitting on the porch there, reading quietly.
My trip to RI was great. I got to be with my sister and her husband for a day or so before Paolo returned to Italy. They came to Silver Lake, too, and we had a nice visit while they were there. Molly got to swim in fresh water.
We didn't do much that was exciting or different in RI, which was fine. Lots of reading and quiet time, beach time every sunny day (and there were a lot of those), lobster a couple of times, RI corn (delicious) every night, some shopping and mostly just a lot of good visiting. The beach was grand--my mother's town beach is very nice, not too crowded most days. It was very crowded (by our standards) on Monday the 12th, which was Victory Day in RI. I think only RI still celebrates Victory Day--it used to be called V-J Day (Victory over Japan) but they finally realized that wasn't appropriate, so they changed the name. It's really just an excuse for another summer holiday in the state. Anyway, that was the only time the beach was uncomfortably crowded.
We ate at our favorite places. Jenica came to visit. The dogs behaved well. Treasure swallowed one of Mark's socks, then threw up for 2 days until she finally threw up the sock. Swell. That was the only dog incident, thankfully--no running away, just a couple of walks in the park and lots of time sunning on the deck at Liza's.
There's not much more to say about the trip. It was so so nice to be with my family, having a good time together.
I came back on Saturday, and uneventful trip. Too much traffic, which seemed strange, but not a big deal. I went to Sunday dinner with my friends--it was at one of Bill's camps (he has 2)(we call him a land baron). Food was excellent and all were in rare form and feeling good.
Yesterday I went to Burlington, to the dermatologist to have some more pre-cancerous stuff frozen on my arm. A nice enough trip but I didn't do much else while I was there, went to a grocery store for a few things then came straight home. I had planned to spend the night in the boat house, packed a few things & went down there but ka-zowie we had a power outage so I went home to call it in. Power was out for a bit more than 3 hours--I went to bed. Tonight I'll be in the boat house--it's warm at night and I like sitting on the porch there, reading quietly.
DSCN0081
How to deal with a hot August sun at the beach. There was a man my sister called "Jerry Garcia," who resembled Jerry. He put his chair in the water like this and Molly thought that was a nifty idea.
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