Not much surf, not much going on at the beach. Block Island is out there.
Thursday, February 21, 2013
SOOOO many stones on the beach!
There were a ton of stones on the beach, with little bare sand. Lucky thing we'll get our sand back by summer.
Town beach pavillion, now abbreviated
There used to be a big front to the building with nice places to sit in the shade. That all got taken down after the last storm, it was losing ground.
Will it never end?
It was 3 degrees this morning, but I guess, on the bright side, that was ABOVE zero. While I was gone it was -5 and the house got down into the low 40's. I'm getting pretty tired of cold weather. Will soon be tired of snow. We have more than a foot on the ground, with more due soon. I know I always say "that's what it's like to live in the North Country," but every year around this time I have the same reaction to the weather: WHEN WILL IT END? The frost heaves on the Clayburg Road are out, which is a good sign that winter is moving right along. We've had some ice jams on the rivers (like, where else would they be?) but nothing too serious yet. When I drove through Upper Jay there were chunks of ice on the other side of the road from the AuSable River, which is pretty dramatic.
I had a good trip to RI. The driving was uneventful, which is what we like. The trip down is boring, probably because I'm really sick of the trip to Albany, and after that the ride is broken into different legs.
My mother is fine but has slowed down a lot in the last couple of years. She turns 87 next month. I'm just used to having a YOUNG mother, so it's an adjustment to be with her at this age. She moves more slowly and is very careful, as well as being fairly forgetful. But she's a peach and I enjoy being with her. I took her grocery shopping because she won't drive in the snow and hates to go out if there's any ice at all. I wish I lived nearer so I could take her more often. She doesn't like to ask Mark to take her, but does that often enough. I don't really wish I lived nearer--I wish SHE lived nearer. I like where I live. Even in the winter.
Mark & I walked on the beach one day with the dogs. Not many people there (3) because it was a cold day. We didn't go back because it was snowing hard the next day, and the next day I left. What did I do while I was there? Not much. Read quite a bit of the book group book (Billy Lynn's long halftime walk), which I'm not really enjoying. I have hopes that it will become a better book in the second half. Rather pointless right now.
Not sure when I'll read it--I often read the book group book the weekend of book group, but I have a lot to do this weekend so may not get to it. I have to clean clean clean my house. That will include dusting and getting rid of cobwebs, straightening the pictures, tidying up the piles of reed upstairs, cleaning the bathroom upstairs, making the bed in the guest bedroom upstairs, and oh, so many other things. I'm hosting book group on Sunday, which is nice, but have company coming next weekend, which is more complicated. I've only had my family stay at my house in recent years, so it will be interesting to have friends instead. These are people from Boston who own a camp down the road from my house--they want to be here in the winter. They'll arrive Saturday & leave Sunday, so I just have to figure out a few meals. We'll go out for dinner Sat. night. Someone suggested I feed them whatever it is that I eat, but I don't think frozen Weight Watchers dinners and yogurt will really do.
The dogs had a good time in RI, and it was good for Treasure to be quieter than she is at home. She's stopped limping, which is a big relief. I guess she sprained a toe or something, and resting while we were there did the trick. They run around a lot at home--chasing squirrels and each other. This morning they trotted to the bog to check it out. Why do they always leave just as I'm getting ready to leave for work? Well that's a stupid question--they can tell when I stoke the stove and put on my coat that I'm getting ready to leave, usually without them. Anyway, they were gone for a few minutes but came home, out of breath and happy.
I had a good trip to RI. The driving was uneventful, which is what we like. The trip down is boring, probably because I'm really sick of the trip to Albany, and after that the ride is broken into different legs.
My mother is fine but has slowed down a lot in the last couple of years. She turns 87 next month. I'm just used to having a YOUNG mother, so it's an adjustment to be with her at this age. She moves more slowly and is very careful, as well as being fairly forgetful. But she's a peach and I enjoy being with her. I took her grocery shopping because she won't drive in the snow and hates to go out if there's any ice at all. I wish I lived nearer so I could take her more often. She doesn't like to ask Mark to take her, but does that often enough. I don't really wish I lived nearer--I wish SHE lived nearer. I like where I live. Even in the winter.
Mark & I walked on the beach one day with the dogs. Not many people there (3) because it was a cold day. We didn't go back because it was snowing hard the next day, and the next day I left. What did I do while I was there? Not much. Read quite a bit of the book group book (Billy Lynn's long halftime walk), which I'm not really enjoying. I have hopes that it will become a better book in the second half. Rather pointless right now.
Not sure when I'll read it--I often read the book group book the weekend of book group, but I have a lot to do this weekend so may not get to it. I have to clean clean clean my house. That will include dusting and getting rid of cobwebs, straightening the pictures, tidying up the piles of reed upstairs, cleaning the bathroom upstairs, making the bed in the guest bedroom upstairs, and oh, so many other things. I'm hosting book group on Sunday, which is nice, but have company coming next weekend, which is more complicated. I've only had my family stay at my house in recent years, so it will be interesting to have friends instead. These are people from Boston who own a camp down the road from my house--they want to be here in the winter. They'll arrive Saturday & leave Sunday, so I just have to figure out a few meals. We'll go out for dinner Sat. night. Someone suggested I feed them whatever it is that I eat, but I don't think frozen Weight Watchers dinners and yogurt will really do.
The dogs had a good time in RI, and it was good for Treasure to be quieter than she is at home. She's stopped limping, which is a big relief. I guess she sprained a toe or something, and resting while we were there did the trick. They run around a lot at home--chasing squirrels and each other. This morning they trotted to the bog to check it out. Why do they always leave just as I'm getting ready to leave for work? Well that's a stupid question--they can tell when I stoke the stove and put on my coat that I'm getting ready to leave, usually without them. Anyway, they were gone for a few minutes but came home, out of breath and happy.
Looking through Dannemora
This is the town of Dannemora, not far from Plattsburgh. The wall on the left is the prison--Clinton Corr. Fac., a maximum security prison. It's imposing and intimidating, and I know quite a few people who work there as corrections officers. That's a preferred job here in the North Country--good pay, good benefits, job security. It's not a nice job, and lots of the CO's don't talk much about work. I know some very gentle, kind men who've turned into cross people because of what they've experienced in their jobs.
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Going away
I'm heading out tomorrow morning, off to RI for a long weekend. My mother had no power for several days, and often gets the blues this time of year, so I figured I'd give her a break and visit. "Do you take your dogs?" people ask. Well, so far, yes, but I'm wondering if maybe it isn't time to start thinking about going without them. It would be simpler--for my mother and for me. Well, not this trip.
It's been a pretty good couple of weeks. I got to spend time with Duncan & David while they were here for their winter visit. Dinner one night, dessert another, and lots of email & some phone conversations. Duncan is at home in Minn. now, after being stuck in Burlington for a few days due to last week's storm.
We had a storm, but escaped pretty much unscathed. We got about a foot of snow, which isn't that hard for us to handle. Our snow was light and fluffy, easy to shovel. Unlike the snow in New England, which was wetter and thus much less pleasant. And there was more of it. We've had a couple of inches since then, nothing "measurable," as they say. Not sure if we're planning to have more snow soon or not. It is warm, 30's, but due to get cold again while I'm gone. This means I MUST REMEMBER to shut off my pump & hot water, and turn up the heat when I leave.
I haven't really been doing much. Lots of time spent on the couch with the dogs, watching TV and catching up on reading. Lots of New Yorkers to read. Now I'm caught up and where I should be. For now. I subscribe to a lot of magazines--something I got from my father, I think. When I was growing up we subscribed to 3 newspapers, a zillion magazines of all sorts--Life and Look, Time and Newsweek, American horticulture, Punch (which was a huge puzzle to me--I couldn't figure out what was funny about the cartoons, not really realizing that it was a British magazine) and others. My father was pretty good about reading them as they came in, or at least that's what I remember. I don't remember the huge piles of magazines I now have at my house in my childhood homes.
The dogs are doing all right. They like the snow a lot and have been romping and running all over. Treasure has some ailment that's making her limp and I can't figure out what's up with that. I was going to take her to the vet in Keeseville last night but just couldn't bear to drive half an hour when I got home. Bad dog owner. It might be related to her toe injury, when she got her toe stuck in a trap n the fall. But it could be something else. I'll deal with it NEXT week. She doesn't always limp, which is one of the reasons I haven't taken her in--with my luck she wouldn't be limping at the vet's.
There's not much going on, just work, home, fires, television, reading, dogs, phone calls. Book group is next weekend and so far pretty much no one is very fond of the book. Maybe it'll get better if I read more. Let's hope so.
It's been a pretty good couple of weeks. I got to spend time with Duncan & David while they were here for their winter visit. Dinner one night, dessert another, and lots of email & some phone conversations. Duncan is at home in Minn. now, after being stuck in Burlington for a few days due to last week's storm.
We had a storm, but escaped pretty much unscathed. We got about a foot of snow, which isn't that hard for us to handle. Our snow was light and fluffy, easy to shovel. Unlike the snow in New England, which was wetter and thus much less pleasant. And there was more of it. We've had a couple of inches since then, nothing "measurable," as they say. Not sure if we're planning to have more snow soon or not. It is warm, 30's, but due to get cold again while I'm gone. This means I MUST REMEMBER to shut off my pump & hot water, and turn up the heat when I leave.
I haven't really been doing much. Lots of time spent on the couch with the dogs, watching TV and catching up on reading. Lots of New Yorkers to read. Now I'm caught up and where I should be. For now. I subscribe to a lot of magazines--something I got from my father, I think. When I was growing up we subscribed to 3 newspapers, a zillion magazines of all sorts--Life and Look, Time and Newsweek, American horticulture, Punch (which was a huge puzzle to me--I couldn't figure out what was funny about the cartoons, not really realizing that it was a British magazine) and others. My father was pretty good about reading them as they came in, or at least that's what I remember. I don't remember the huge piles of magazines I now have at my house in my childhood homes.
The dogs are doing all right. They like the snow a lot and have been romping and running all over. Treasure has some ailment that's making her limp and I can't figure out what's up with that. I was going to take her to the vet in Keeseville last night but just couldn't bear to drive half an hour when I got home. Bad dog owner. It might be related to her toe injury, when she got her toe stuck in a trap n the fall. But it could be something else. I'll deal with it NEXT week. She doesn't always limp, which is one of the reasons I haven't taken her in--with my luck she wouldn't be limping at the vet's.
There's not much going on, just work, home, fires, television, reading, dogs, phone calls. Book group is next weekend and so far pretty much no one is very fond of the book. Maybe it'll get better if I read more. Let's hope so.
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