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.
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