Rainy Sunday

Well thank goodness it's warmed up--most of the snow is gone and I'm hoping that tomorrow's high temps and expected rain will get rid of the rest of it.  November to April is a long time to have snow on the ground.
Had a good weekend but not an especially productive one.  Last night I went to the Whallonsburg Grange hall with Lin & Ralph for dinner and a showing of Jay Craven's film Where the Rivers Flow North.  I'd seen the movie before but didn't remember that much of it.  It was excellent but the director couldn't stop talking so we didn't get out of there until 10, with an hour drive home to L&R's and another half hour home for me.  I didn't get home until midnight.  Late, late, late for someone who famously goes to bed around 8.  It was fun and we agreed that, though we were glad to have gone we sure wouldn't do it again.

This morning I took the dogs to get the paper at P&J's and when I got home they took off.  What a couple of turds.  They were gone for more than 2 hours before I left for my noontime visit with P&J & Bill.  I worried but hoped for the best, and sure enough when I got home at 1 they were waiting for me at home.  They've been sacked out ever since then and poor Tess is very sore and moving slowly.  I gave her an aspirin which helped a bit.  Mostly she's just lying next to the wood stove.

Last week was pretty quiet.  I spent a lot of time clearing out papers and books at work and finally got 2 file cabinets and a file drawer in my desk emptied.  YAY.  Now I just need to get to the 3 huge piles of papers and the bookshelf full of stuff and then I'll be all set.  I bought the goldfish a new bowl.  I think the director will take him after I leave.  I can't bring him home then because I'll be in RI for 2 weeks and the house will be too cold (in the 40's no doubt).  I killed off a couple of guppies that way.  This fish cost a whopping 17cents so it's no great loss but he's sort of a nice fish.  I think I'll get another one when I get back in Jan.  My days of having a big aquarium with a heater and  light are long gone.  Boy did I spend a fortune on that set up and the fish.  Which all died.

I'm only working tomorrow then am off for the rest of the week.  Heading to RI on Tuesday, avoiding the predicted miserable storm for Weds.  Whew.  I'm looking forward to going, it's always nice.  We'll have a nice peaceful Thanksgiving, just the 3 of us for dinner.  We do like to do it up big.

People are still asking me how many days until retirement--I don't know.  I'll be back at work on Dec. 2nd so I guess after that there will be 17 days.  Yikes I just zoomed in on the text and now it's HUGE.  I like my laptop but am not totally used to using it yet.

All is well. Happy Thanksgiving to all--

Ahhhh, much better picture of the November mtn.  This was yesterday, Veterans Day, when the temp was in the 50's and it was sunny and wonderful.  This is a slightly different view, it's from the HTC boat house instead of our boat house.  Beautiful from any site.
I had a grand time yesterday, day off.  Finished outdoor chores, walked to the HTC boat house to take pictures of the new roof for Duncan & JK, enjoyed the whole thing.  The dogs took off but weren't gone long.  I cabled Tess for most of the day so I could leave the door open.  How nice!  Two chickadees flew into the house but I managed to herd them out the window upstairs.  They really are sweet birds, let me get so close to them.  I started feeding the birds again over the weekend and within an hour there were chickadees, blue jays and a woodpecker at the feeder.  Hungry little boogers they all are.
It's colder today but nothing like what's happening in the Midwest.  Boy do I feel sorry for those people!  We have no snow and it's not likely we'll have any anytime soon.  It will be chilly but in the 30's, which I never really think is cause to complain.

November mtn.

It's not really monocromatic, there is green there.  It's as cold as it looks

Cold weekend

Well, can't really call it cold because it was above freezing, but it was cloudy, windy and in the 30's both days.  I spent a lot of time yesterday driving, which seems to be turning into my favorite weekend activity.  I drove to the farmstand with great apples and got some great apples, then I drove to the farmstand with good cider and bought some good cider.  The dogs are always eager to go in the car but unless I drive very slowly with the windows down they don't seem to do much.  Treasure sleeps and Tess stands between the front seats and looks out the windshield.  I have no idea how much she sees but she does respond to things like turkeys and squirrels.

I had dinner with Annie and her brother + his wife last night.  It was a cold walk down, which made me feel woefully inadequate to deal with impending winter.  Get use to it, Toots, it's here to stay.  Anyway it was a nice evening and pleasant walk home in the dark.

Today I did a few chores, went to P&J's for a nice visit, then walked to camp with the dogs to shut off the power there.  Of course they didn't come home with me, they ran off.  Treasure soon returned but Tess found a huge crowd at the bog and spent an hour or so with them.  Right now she's on the deck barking non-stop at what?  The dark I guess.  It's high entertainment for her.

This week looks good--until Weds. night.  I have Tuesday off and it's supposed to be 50 so I'll finish up my outdoor chores, then plan to go to Pat's & help her take in her garden stuff.  I have some more flower pots to empty and bring inside and have to put away my chair--the last vestige of summer.  I started feeding the birds today, filled the bird feeder this afternoon and within an hour there were chickadees, blue jays and woodpeckers hanging out there.  That was nice.

It's due to be much colder at the end of the week.  My stove is behaving well but I'm eager to have the stovepipe cleaned on Thursday afternoon.  The house is warm right now without the heat, just the stove going.

All is well in Hawkeye.  The lake looks cold and unforgiving.  There's snow on Catamount, on Duncan and Whiteface plus of course the High Peaks.  

The last bit of color in Hawkeye--I took this picture over the weekend.  Yes, we had snow, but no, it wasn't much and it's gone now.
The dogs don't care for setting the clocks back because it's nearly dark when I get home so they think I'm late.  They don't seem to notice how light it is when we get up.  Dumb dogs.

Nice stove

Cold and wet outside but my living room is warm.  Boy I do like my new stove, but it smokes right now.  I'm having stovepipe cleaned next week and sure hope that will take care of it.  Once I get the fire going it's great but it's hard to get it going and it smokes like a chimney in the house.  It's ticking away merrily now and that's what counts.

Went to the dump today, then took a nice long drive with the dogs.  This seems to be my big entertainment.  I had to buy more apples because the dogs ate the ones I got last week while I was at P&J's last night.  Rat pigs.

I pulled up the kitchen rug today which was on my list of MUST DO'S.  It stinks because Tess peed on it a bunch of times and it can't be cleaned so out it goes.  The kitchen floor is red oak on the diagonal but the wood is in terrible shape and needs to be sanded and treated, plus there are huge gaps between boards.  Almost all of the wood in this house (and there's a lot of it) came from our sawmill so was air-dried not kiln dried.  This means the boards expand and contract all the time and there are big gaps in nearly every room.  The maple in the bedroom is a mess and I'd like too paint the floor but can't figure out what to do with the bed.  Well that's a big project.  I painted the living room floor many years ago with Lin's help.  It should be painted again but boy that was something, to move all the living room furniture onto the deck and hope it didn't rain.

I'm excited about having time to do work on the house in January.  I have to be back here around the 6th so will start my retired life then.  I'm going to RI for Thanksgiving, leaving Tuesday and returning Sunday/  I retire on Dec. 19 and will go to RI after that for Christmas.  Christmas will be here before I know it so I should be making baskets instead of writing this.

We have book group Thanksgiving this month but I don't know when that is so I need to call M'lou to get details.  We have grand Thanksgivings together.  We've been a group for more than 10 years.

It's pretty dark now, at 6:00, which will be 5:00 tomorrow.  It was pitch black at 6 this morning and I'm looking forward to having more light in the morning.  Doesn't bother me to have it be dark earlier at night, I prefer good morning light.