Who knew it would be like this?

New month

2012-02-06T13:00:00.000-05:00

And now it's February. I hate wishing my life away, but I like having the end of winter closer. And today is Monday, which I don't feel like having. I like my job a lot, but I'm tired of driving to Plattsburgh so much, and tired of working. I look forward to weekends and vacations a lot. This must be what it's like to get near retirment.

I've been doing pretty well, nothing much going on. Went to the dump on Saturday, taking Tess and Treasure for the car ride. Tess is an old pro at riding in the car, but Treasure is a rookie. She has to be lifed into the car, sees no real advantage to getting in one. I've taken her places twice, and at least she didn't chew anything (the way Tess used to)(at least I hope USED TO is the right term there). She sat in the back seat, facing the back of the seat, for most of the trip. Tess stands on the arm rest between the front seats & watches the road. She can see things like squirrels, cats, dogs, etc. People don't interest her much but animals, even birds, perk her right up. At one point Treasure did nudge me, a good sign that she's aware that a car is not a cage and she can move around. or something.

Watched the Super Bowl, mostly. It was a pretty good game but I did want the Patriots to win. That last chance pass was painful to watch. I thought Madonna sucked and the half-time show was lame.

It's in the 20's today and feels reminiscent of spring. I was going to walk on the tradmill here at work but hope to go outside instead and take a long walk. Walking in the city is boring, I think, but it would be good to get some fresh air. I spent very little time outside during the weekend, had thought of walking the dogs but got sidetracked. So Tess walked herself with strangers.

008

2012-02-06T12:53:00.001-05:00

008, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

Amaryllis. Showing the patch job in the ceiling. Fixing the hole I made when water started dripping from the ceiling. Stupid me, without thinking I made a big hole there. Where there is no plumbing. Water was running downhill. It was from the shower and my friend Chris fixed it for me. That was a while ago. The patch job is relatively new.

015

2012-02-06T12:52:00.001-05:00

015, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

Treasure watches television sometimes, and this is what she looks like when she does. If sh'e interested in what's happening on TV she'll walk around behind the TV to see the people/dogs/cats, etc. that she saw. Clever girl.

016

2012-02-06T12:51:00.001-05:00

016, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

Dogs like lying in the sun (at least mine do). Add a wood stove to that and you've got perfect conditions for sleeping.

020

2012-02-06T12:50:00.003-05:00

020, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

Treasure doesn't really hate to have her pciture taken, she just hates sitting still.

024

2012-02-06T12:50:00.001-05:00

024, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

She really is a pretety dog, that Treasure.

028

2012-02-06T12:49:00.001-05:00

028, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

We call this peaceful co-existence. Treasure has almost stopped chasing the cat. Sometimes she just can't help herself, though, and has a good run with Kittie. At Kittie's expense.

032

2012-02-06T12:48:00.003-05:00

032, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

Why do I always have animals who hate having their picture taken? This is Dot the Cat. Snotty Dotty.

036

2012-02-06T12:48:00.001-05:00

036, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

Full frontal.

038

2012-02-06T12:47:00.001-05:00

038, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

There is peace in Hawkeye. Tess is exhausted from climbing the bluffs with strangers, and Treasure is just happy to be with her sister.

January ends

2012-01-30T13:53:00.000-05:00

and YIPPEE! It's almost February. I don't like wishing my life away, and can't really complain about this winter's harshness, but it will be nice to be that much closer to spring, then summer. We had several nights of -10 or so, but also plenty of days in the 20's, so all in all we haven't suffered too much. Got more snow yesterday but had lost a lot of snow during rainy days last week. There's plenty of snow now.

My friends Duncan and David are in Hawkeye right now--arrived Thurs., and will leave tomorrow. They come for Extreme Workfest every January. Like it if conditions are tough, so were a bit disappointed this year when temps were mild and there wasn't an extreme amount of snow. They skied Whiteface, then later climbed Whiteface. They reported that there was about 6' of snow on the trail up the mountain. I wasn't surprised, really--when it's raining everywhere else it's snowing on Whiteface.

I had dinner with them twice, and good visits both times. Duncan likes to call me and have long phone conversations, which we did, too. It's always nice to see the two of them--their friendship is life-long, and they remind me of my brother and his friends from Illinois. Those boys used to gather often and have really nice visits.

Not much else going on. We've started the ice-out pool (though D & D reported open water by the brook, so thought the "out" part was bogus). I have no idea when the ice will go out--the lake froze right around Christmas, which is pretty normal. I know everyone is commenting on how mild this winter is, but we still have 2 months to get through. Last year in March we had 5 feet of snow in 2 snowfalls, so anything's possible. So far I've only had my driveway plowed twice, and sanded once. I hope he plows today.

Still fussing with e-readers at work. Big meeting today, got lots of input from member library directors about the whole project. I had a headache by the end of the discussion.

Dogs are fine, cat is too. Chances is about the same but scratches a lot with her hind legs--don't know if this is just because she CAN, or if she's really itching. It's great to see her use her legs for more than just walking, a real improvement. Tess is doing all right, but she & Treasure seem to take long walks together without telling me where they go. I tracked them the other night, they go down the hill toward the lake, at least--not out toward the hardtop. They were gone for a couple of hours yesterday, which makes me uneasy, but if I'm going to let them run loose I have to suffer the consequences. Then, later in the day when they were out again only Treasure came back--no Tess. She appeared in a little while, but it's worrisome. With my luck I'll end up with just Chances Are.

010

2012-01-30T13:43:00.001-05:00

010, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

Just a bog shot.

Treasure. She likes to pose about as much as Tess does

2012-01-30T13:42:00.001-05:00

Treasure. She likes to pose about as much as Tess does, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

Lousy picture of a pretty dog. Walking with her isn't as much fun as walking with Tess & Chances--Treasure sticks to my heels and won't go ahead, or explore, or anything. Maybe she will eventually. Maybe she thought I was taking her deep into the woods and would leave her there. She didn't seem to enjoy herself very much. But then, how would I know? She was behind me the whole time.

002

2012-01-30T13:41:00.001-05:00

002, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

It was cold. This is from a couple of weeks ago, I think.

003

2012-01-30T13:40:00.003-05:00

003, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

This is what the bog looks like these days. Not too much snow for walking on, just enough for effect

Size 7.5 bun-bun

2012-01-30T13:40:00.001-05:00

Size 7.5 bun-bun, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

That's a BIG bunny. We have snowshoe hares (varying hares--so called because they change color with the seasons), and they love the bog. Plenty of bun-bun tracks. This one has big feet.

Red squirrel

2012-01-30T13:39:00.001-05:00

Red squirrel, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

And this is a little red squirrel's track. There used to be A LOT of red squirrels in my yard, at the birdfeeders, but now I rarely see one. Someone is eating them ...

Snow on a Sunday--we got about 6"

2012-01-30T13:38:00.001-05:00

Snow on a Sunday--we got about 6", a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

It was dry, fluffy powder, and ended up being very pretty. It sort of snuck up on us, we didn't realize how much snow we were getting at first.

Amaryllis about to bloom

2012-01-30T13:37:00.001-05:00

Amaryllis about to bloom, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

Look for more soon--it's bustin' out all over

Cold winter weather

2012-01-18T12:33:00.000-05:00

Yes, it's been cold. And my house was miserably cold but I did manage to warm it up to the low 60's, which is warm by my standards. I hate to go into specifics, lest people think I'm really crazy for living the way I do, but it was cold inside when it was below zero outside. I do need a new wood stove, and I need a better heating system. I think maybe a thermal heater, kerosene seems preferable, with an outside tank. That's for when I get too old to burn wood. So should I sink money into a new wood stove, or should I go straight for the Monitor? Decisions, decisions.

I had a nice weekend, all THREE DAYS. Sunday I hosted our neighborhood gathering for snacks. A small group, but we had fun. Bill brought a quiche, I furnished wine & other goodies. I got the house relatively warm and all had a good time. Fred bonded with Treasure and invited her to summer camp at his place this year. Said he could teach her some manners and tricks. Which he no doubt would be better at that I am being.

Sunday afternoon friends stopped by while they were running the roads, stayed at my house for a while then decided we should go out for dinner. They picked me up around 6:30 and we headed to Wilmington (Wilderness--which some people like, some people DON'T like, and some people are indifferent about). We ate in the bar, where they like to hang out, and it was a nice but quiet visit. They live in Union Falls, splitting time between their house and their camp, which has a fantastic view of Whiteface Mtn. and the water.

I got to travel for work yesterday, which was nice in spite of the weather. It rained mostly, getting icy only at the end of the day. I started out in Keene Valley, working with their huge map collection, then drove to Lake Placid to work with their archives. Lk Placid has tons of great stuff, including the papers from the Lake Placid Club. Way fun to work with. Wish I could spend time processing or cataloging collections like that, but my director wouldn't find that appropriate use of my time I fear.

Today I have a training phone call on collection development of our soon-to-appear e-book collection. I've been playing with the readers but haven't made a lot of progress toward becoming an expert or even someone who's adept at their use. Must step up the pace on this.

What's up for the rest of the week? Not much. I have a cold, which is irritating but not (so far) debilitating. Sunday I may go out for dinner with Bill & Fred, for perch (get it while you can). Must go to the dump. Must go to Holt's to do more laundry (no, my washer is still not working). Must spend more time outdoors.

006

2012-01-18T12:23:00.001-05:00

006, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

Tess and Treasure, hogging the couch.

Bird feeders at -11

2012-01-18T12:22:00.003-05:00

Bird feeders at -11, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

A pretty Sunday morning, but looks can be deceiving. It was cold. Nice winter sun but still cold.

Big dog being carressed by Treasure

2012-01-18T12:22:00.001-05:00

Big dog being carressed by Treasure, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

This was before she ripped the stuffing out of him.

Poor Teddy

2012-01-18T12:21:00.001-05:00

Poor Teddy, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

Sisters tugging on poor Teddy. Teddy lost most of his stuffing after this, and the tiny plastic balls that filled his body were sprinkled all over the living room floor. Treasure does NOT like to have toys filled with anything. They should be flat, I guess. She's a chewer, all right, and won't be sitting solo in my car any time soon. I learned my lesson (though it took 2 cars) about having a dog that chews being left alone in the car.

58 OHR at -11 with a warm fire and bright sunshine

2012-01-18T12:19:00.001-05:00

58 OHR at -11 with a warm fire and bright sunshine, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

This is what it's like at my house on winter weekends. I stoke the fire and the dogs lie next to it. Kitty is usually on the other side, or sometimes she fits herself into the pile o'hounds.

Sisters

2012-01-18T12:18:00.001-05:00

050, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

Two versions of the same thing.

Sisters warming by the stove

2012-01-18T12:17:00.003-05:00

Sisters warming by the stove, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

Do they know they're sisters? I don't know, but they sure do things the same way and look alike.

Christmas tree 2011

2012-01-18T12:17:00.001-05:00

Christmas tree 2011, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

Pretty scrawny, but not bad looking all in all. I keep postponing taking it down, not sure why, but I like having the lights on.

Post for the new year

2012-01-12T14:54:00.000-05:00

Someone told me I needed to post something because I hadn't done anything since last year. Well, heck, last year wasn't so long ago. Although I guess 2 weeks is sort of long.

I haven't been doing much, the usual winter-type stuff. I'm trying to keep my fire going all the time, especially since I got my latest electric bill. It's expensive to have no heat in the back of the house because the heaters in the front of the house work harder. I need to find someone to fix the heater, but I hate to bother people. There are a couple of people I could ask (to pay) and I may get desperate enough to do that. I think my washing machine will be fixed soon. That's not a crisis, though, since I can use the Holt's equipment easily. I spent 2 lovely mornings at their house over New Year's while I washed clothes & bedding. Geez, I guess I haven't done any laundry since then. No wonder I have no clean socks.

I spent Saturday night with the Holt's, having dinner then working on the jigsaw puzzle I got for them. It was a map of the world, with pieces shaped like the countries. And lots of oceans & seas. We concluded that we are woefully globally geographically ignorant. Why are there 2 Tropics of Capricorn? What IS the Tropic of Capricorn? and so on.

I've not really been up to much else. Working--time to get the year wrapped up, lots of statistics and conclusions we can reach from the statistics. Or make things up, maybe. I'm still weeding, an endless project. I'm in the gardening books now, which are heavy and not very interesting to look at. And we have tons and tons of them.

We got a grant to buy ereaders and ebooks, so I ordered 6 Nooks, 6 Kindles, 2 Sony readers and still have money left over to buy more. We're all supposed to familiarize ourselves with ereaders so that, when our ebooks subscription kicks in we can help people who have questions and will no doubt call us. Even without the bookmobile. So far I've learned a little about the Sony reader, which is not as nice as the others, but isn't very hard to use. Problem is we can't download books until our subscription is live, so we can't learn how to do that (except for the freebies). Meanwhile I scan the 172-page users manual that's loaded on the reader. yawn. I'll take it home this weekend. Along with the 2nd season of Mad Men. I recorded a bunch of episodes, then watched season 4 (out of order, because I didn't notice that someone had put the discs back in the container out of order). So now I have some awareness of story lines, but there are mystery people who've shown up, and a divorce happened somewhere along the way. I'll also watch Midnight in Paris, because I need to catalog it (OK, I'm not watching it because I have to catalog it, I'm just watching it because I want to) and return it.

Sunday I'm hosting the Sunday Snack Hour. Instead of having a big Sunday dinner the way we did for years and years we get together at Pat's for snacks and a visit. I don't go every Sunday, just once in a while. So I decided to host the event this weekend. Because I cleaned my house for book group last weekend, and I have Monday off so I won't feel cheated out of ME time for the weekend. I can't decide whether to take down my Christmas tree or not. I think probably I should, because it takes up too much room. There was enough room for book group, but there might be more people on Sunday.

We had a good book group meeting. Nice visits, exchanged presents, ate a lot, had a good evening. Next book is Chocolat by Joanne Harris. I liked the movie, especially the Johnny Depp part. I'm reading The poisonwood Bible right now, for the second time. It's very funny in places, and I know I really liked it the first time I read it (many years ago).

Dogs are ok. Chances is in her own special world, not aware of much and not very active. Tess and Treasure are quite a pair. Chances isn't any more mobile but she gets around. Everyone tells me I'll know when it's time to end her life, but so far I've not received such a message. But I'm not sure how much longer she wants to be around for. I had a long conversation with the vet about it and he said as long as the quality of her life is good ("are her eyes bright?" Well, no, she's got congenital cataracts and never could see very well) there's no problem. I don't know how great the quality of her life is. She does very little and falls down a fair amount. And likes to pee on the floor. Which REALLY irritates me. It's not that she's unaware of doing it, either, she does it deliberately on the bathroom rug. Honestly! What about the quality of MY life?

We're getting snow today. I went out at lunch, did grocery shopping so I won't have to stop on my way home. It's supposed to turn from wet snow to ice and/or rain later in the day, so we're closing an hour early. Yippee. Big deal, but nice. It would be nicer if today were Friday and we were getting paid.

008

2012-01-12T14:24:00.001-05:00

008, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

Sleeping beauties. They're getting along really well. Tess and Treasure play (too much, sometimes). They run around a lot outside and chew on each other when they're inside. Treasure, however, chews on other things as well. Like ... socks especially, but soda bottles and cans, anything plastic and all of Tess' soft toys. Toys shouldn't have stuffing in them, apparently, and they shouldn't be made of plastic.

022

2012-01-12T14:22:00.001-05:00

022, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

Can you tell they're sisters? Only half sisters, but nevertheless--

Last post of the year

2011-12-30T16:25:00.000-05:00

Hard to believe we'll be in 2012 soon. I like having winter be so much over but it sometimes scares me, how quickly time passes. So far the winter has been OK but (and I can't believe I'm saying this) we need snow. There are only a couple of inches on the ground right now, which won't be good when spring comes and there's no snow to melt. Although the ground hasn't frozen down very far--my sump pump is still pumping, so the water table is high. This is good news for someone with a shallow well.

I had Christmas in Rhode Island, and it was very nice. Drove there last Thursday, had good Christmas with Mark & Liza. We always have a good time, and Christmas is special for us. Quiet, and we know each other very well so always have good presents. Mark gave me 2 roof racks for my car, so now I'll have no excuse and will have to be kayak-mobile in the summer. That should be good. The other roof rack is a basket, so I can pack it up to take more stuff to the dump. He knows me well.

I visited my friend Linda, who lives in Jamestown, half an hour from my mother's. Linda & I have known each other for more than 35 years. Wow. She used to live in the other side of the duplex I rented for 9 years. And I thought THAT was a long time to live in one place. I've lived in my current house for 20 years, have been in the Adks for 27 years. Amazing. Never lived anywhere else that long. Anyway, Linda and I had a nice visit, lunch at her house.

Christmas Eve dinner was lobsters, which I now cook instead of having Liza wrestle with them. Wish I could say I mind dropping living things into boiling water, but it doesn't seem to bother me. No, they NEVER make any noise.

My trip home was fine, some blowing sleet in the Berkshires, which always happens. Not a big deal, didn't last long. House was relatively warm except for the bedroom and laundry room. Apparently it got pretty cold here because 2 pipes in the laundry room burst. I always turn the pump off but didn't realize the pipes were split and turned the pump on when I got home. Took a little while to figure out why there was not much water pressure. Duh. Big fountains spraying into the laundry room and bedroom. Yuck. Now I have no washing machine, which means I either impose on friends or go to the laundromat. It's across the street from work so that's really no big deal, and the machines are huge. Why is it always winter when I have to do this? The laundry soap freezes in the car during the day.

Back to work today. Busy day, lots of catching up, plus doing Kim's work so she could take the day off. Put up my new 2012 Chocolate Labs calendar, which my friend Doug sends me every year for my birthday. This year he couldn't decide between Choc. Lab Puppies and just Choc. Labs, so I got both.

What will I do for New Years Eve? Probably not much. I went to a neighborhood party the other night, mingled and visited with people and had a good time. I have great neighbors, both the seasonal ones and the year-rounders. I've been invited to another neighborhood party Sat. night but don't know if I'll go. I'll definitely stop to see my friends Pat & Jim around 5 to toast the new year.

Jamestown vista

2011-12-30T16:08:00.003-05:00

Jamestown vista, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

Not a fascinating shot, but that's what a lot of the landscape in southern RI looks like. It's very pretty.

Newport Bridge from Jamestown

2011-12-30T16:08:00.001-05:00

Newport Bridge from Jamestown, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

That's the bridge that goes from Jamestown (one island) to Newport (another island). Lots of jumpers off of that bridge over the years. I think if I climbed to the top of this, I'd have to jump just because I'd be too scared to climb down.

Mark and his electronic coin sorter--a big hit

2011-12-30T16:07:00.001-05:00

Mark and his electronic coin sorter--a big hit, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

Liza gave Mark an electric digital coin sorter, which offered hours of constructive entertainment. Once we figured out how to turn it on. He has to divvy up the tips at work so this is a really grand present for him.

Tess likes her new squeaky ball

2011-12-30T16:06:00.001-05:00

Tess likes her new squeaky ball, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

A new toy from Jenica. We now have: Squeaky Ball, Woodland Creature and Big Dog. Tess played with them all.

003

2011-12-30T16:05:00.003-05:00

003, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

We don't do stockings, we do baskets.

001

2011-12-30T16:05:00.001-05:00

001, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

Blurry picture of Liza's tree with presents. That's her spiffy new wheelbarrow on the left.

019

2011-12-30T16:04:00.003-05:00

019, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

The tree AFTER presents.

Mark and a very active Tess at the beach

2011-12-30T16:04:00.001-05:00

Mark and a very active Tess at the beach, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

Run, Tess, run! Nice day for a beach walk, Tuesday.

No one on the beach

2011-12-30T16:03:00.001-05:00

No one on the beach, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

Pretty beach, nice day. The beach to ourselves. Except for some town workers in the parking lot, who made Tess think it was LUNCH time and they must have something to eat. They did not.

Tess behind the fence. Can you find her?

2011-12-30T16:02:00.001-05:00

Tess behind the fence. Can you find her?, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

There's a dog on the other side of that fence, running along and trying to figure out how to get to this side of the fence. Reminds me of a chicken crossing the road--like, why did Tess go behind the fence in the first place?

Waiting for something to happen

2011-12-30T16:01:00.001-05:00

Waiting for something to happen, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

At the end of our visit, just hanging around.

040

2011-12-30T16:00:00.001-05:00

040, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

Surprise visitor on the right, Tess on the left. They're half-sisters (same father)

Treasure--who is Tess's half-sister

2011-12-30T15:56:00.002-05:00

Treasure--who is Tess's half-sister, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

My new dog. I picked her up yesterday at my breeder's. She's one & a half years old and is very, very nice. Why would ANYONE want 3 dogs? And why would ANYONE get a 1.5 year old to go with her 12 and 8 year olds? So far so good, but Tess is too submissive around Treasure. They did play run around the car yesterday, and do well together but Tess is jealous (no surprise--maybe once the novelty of Treasure wears off I'll be better). I try to pay attention to Tess every time I pet Treasure, but there are only so many hours in a day.

BIG catching up

2011-12-13T11:38:00.000-05:00

Wow it's been a long time since I wrote anything. December is going fast. First it was hard to believe it was December, now it's even harder to believe that I go to Rhode Island next week for my Christmas visit. I'll be there from Thursday to Weds. Have to come back Wednesday because on Thursday the 29th I PICK UP MY NEW DOG. Yes, I'm crazy. I still have Chances, who is doing pretty well. She stands up much more now, and can walk more steps. Still tips over easily, but she's trying. So why am I getting another dog? Oh such a good question. Because my breeder has a 1 1/2 year old female black Lab that's perfect. Dog is named Treasure, which is what Tess' name (Tesoro) means in Italian. So how could I not? I don't know how this will work out as far as Chances goes, and I know I've said vehemently many times that I'll never have 3 dogs again, but oops, here goes. This is a nice and special dog.

I turned 59 yesterday, which is startling to me. Even more startling is that I'll be 60 next year. How did this happen? I celebrated the day with lunch with my good friend Barb, lots of phone calls and emails and cards, then a visit with Jim & Pat on the way home. Sister's present is coming in the mail, Barb's presents were great and very tasty. Mother sent new slippers, which she always does for my birthday. P & J gave me cash, which was a nice surprise, even though I don't think they should give me anything.

It's been pretty cold, mostly at night. Days aren't too bad, climbing into the 40's at times. Nights have been in the teens so I've been keeping my fire going. Wow is it hard to get into that routine. I'm getting up earlier so I can get a hot fire going before leaving for the day. Which means I sit around waiting for the fire to get hot, watching stupid people on television. But it's the right thing to do. I got my electric bill for November and it was HUGE. I have electric back-up heat. Because we couldn't afford to buy a furnace when we built the house. Something I pretty much regret every winter. Even with the wood stove (and $$$ firewood) the house doesn't get very warm when it's really cold, and the heat is on all winter, chalking up huge bills. When my ex husband moved out I ended the winter with a $1000 electric bill, but it was in his name. When I called the electric company to change the account to my name the woman told me I wasn't liable for the $1000 in his name. Shockerooni. I felt bad (briefly) but ended up sticking him with the bill. "We'll get the money from him eventually," she said. Which was more than I could do. I don't know what happened but I suspect there was a lien against him, which he never knew about. Maybe still doesn't. who knows. More, though, who cares?

I'm looking forward to my trip to RI. Nice to be there for such a long time. I'll see my friend Linda--we always have lunch together (as opposed to separately) during Christmas week. I have most of my Christmas chores finished, except for making a few things and finishing up my Christmas cards. Not bad for the 13th. I have to find something for the director, as I'm her Secret Santa this year. Swell. I have to buy vodka, candy and dog biscuits for my plow man. I have to mail the Italy presents, but that will happen this afternoon. I have to wrap & mail presents to my niece and do the same for my cousin and his family. Plus ... I have to put up my tree. Traditionally I had it up by my birthday, but I'm 59 now so things are different.

I cut a tree on Sunday, maybe 20' tall, then took the top off. Not a great looking tree so I tromped through the woods in search of another one. I cut 2 more small trees, and if I put all 3 together it would make a barely respectable tree. So I have to decide whether to have a tree that's too small for all of my ornaments, or buy a tree that will be big and harder to deal with. Better hurry up and decide, no?

Tomorrow I get snow tires. I'm proud of myself for planning this before my trip. I insist on buying the most expensive snow tires ($900 for 4). Why? Because that's how I am. These tires are good in snow and keep me from sliding around the road, which makes me feel more secure. Would I have been able to get out before Thanksgiving if I'd had my snow tires? Who knows. Mute point. I know, it's moot, but I like mute better.

I just finished reading Jeffrey Eugenides' The marriage plot, which was a nice read. He won a Pulitzer for his last book, so I knew the book would be well written and it was. Story of young college graduates. From Brown, so there was lots of Providence stuff in the beginning. Vaguely entertaining. Now I'm reading a Julian Barnes book that is very, very funny. Terribly British, but the humor is good. Like, "mantra sounds like the name of an automobile. The Oldsmobile Mantra." I thought that was cute. And true.

The Westport library

2011-12-13T11:13:00.001-05:00

The Westport library, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

I went traveling last week, down to Westport, which is on Lake Champlain south of Plattsburgh. Here's their library. They have to wind the clock in the tower every day, and they have a fire in the fireplace during cold weather. There's a new director there so I went for a consultant visit. I like those visits. I'm going to Elizabethtown next week. I went for a scenic drive on my way back to Pbg from Westport, enjoyed the day.

Geese on Lake Champlain in Westport

2011-12-13T11:12:00.001-05:00

Geese on Lake Champlain in Westport, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

This is down the street from the Westport library. Nice view when it's clearer.

Mountain views

2011-12-13T11:11:00.001-05:00

005, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

These are mountains you see from the back roads of Wadhams/Lewis. Very pretty. Not much snow.

The Wadhams library

2011-12-13T11:10:00.001-05:00

The Wadhams library, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

This is the tiny Wadhams library, which is actually very nice inside. They finally got heat so she no longer has to stoke the wood stove. They almost doubled the size of the library a few years ago with the addition.

The Boquet River falls in Wadhams

2011-12-13T11:09:00.001-05:00

The Boquet River falls in Wadhams, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

This is the river next to the library in Wadhams. The director of the library runs a hydroelectric plant here. Our directors are talented people.

Thanksgiving

2011-11-29T10:59:00.000-05:00

After a hellacious trip to RI, I had a great visit and really nice time. It snowed on Weds., the day I drove down, and by the time I was set to leave (8:00) there was at least 8" of heavy wet snow. My road hadn't been plowed yet and I tried driving out but didn't get far--just past the end of my driveway, by the bog. Swell. The car was stuck, stuck, stuck. Lousy tires, deep snow. New tires, but lousy nevertheless. I walked home, called my plow man, called the town Highway Supervisor (who told me they were "coming to me"). Plow man showed up (my hero), plow never did until after I'd left. Donny towed my car to the hardtop, then to the top of the hill there. I had waited in the car for more than an hour, but that was OK because I just listened to my book (Thousand splendid suns--depressing Afghan story).

So by 10 I was on the road. The roads were terrible, including the Northway, so I went 45 until about Lake George. It was not pleasant driving but I survived. I've sure driven through worse. I got to RI around 4, happy to be there. Jenica arrived later at night--her trip was much better than mine, she went a different way through the mountains.

Thursday I made the Martha Stewart pumpkin pie we have every year (secret ingredient, as I've reported=chili powder). Liza cooked the turkey & stuffing, but it's getting harder for her to remember how to do things like that. "What, is this the first turkey you've ever cooked?" I helped, mostly just encouraging her.

We had our celebratory breakfast of bagels, lox, capers, cream cheese, bacon--the Eat Like a Pig Event. We did well, snort snort.

Mark & I walked Tess in the park. I took Chances to RI but she stayed home when we went anywhere. She's doing all right--she did better at Liza's because Liza has more rugs. I'm still not sure what to do about her. She survived the trip just fine but was having more trouble this morning, not walking well--but last night she went under the house on her own. not that I like it when they go there, but it was a good thing to see her do.

Thanksgiving dinner was great, as it always is. Good food and plenty of it. Quiet night after that.

Friday we went shopping, but only to a couple of local places. I wanted to look for earrings like the ones I bought in the summer (and promptly lost one of)--didn't find them but managed to find a couple of cheap pairs I liked anyway. After shopping we went to the beach for a really nice walk. Even Liza went. Tess did very well on a leash, after she had a chance to run full bore for a while. My dogs are not really used to leash-walking so I'm always impressed when they behave well on a leash.

After the beach we went to Champlin's for our lobsters and clams--took them home and cooked them for dinner. Delicious.

Saturday Jenica left in the morning, then Liza, Mark & I went shopping for Liza's new vacuum cleaner. This was a big deal, but we finally found one at Sears, good enough but not the biggest or best. After Sears we hit a couple more stores, then stopped at the pottery sale by URI. An annual event. Both the sale and our going there. Just when I think I don't need any more pottery I find a nice little bowl for $8.

Sunday morning I left--it was a drag there because my mother's dog fell down in the kitchen & couldn't get back up. She's a cross dog and growls, has bitten my mother, so you can't really help her up. She stayed splayed out on the floor for hours. So I left at 9, got out of the way. My trip home was fine, a bit of traffic here & there. I stopped at the outlet stores to do some shopping, found a few things like socks, etc. Nothing dramatic.

It was good to get home. The house was chilly but warmed up when I built a fire. Most of the snow had melted and Donny had plowed so I could drive to the house. Kitty was fine but is still pretty clingy. She doesn't like to be left alone, and she hates being left indoors. She survived just fine, but managed to throw up in 3 or 4 places. She didn't quite finish the huge amount of food I left for her (the dogs cleaned up the bowl).

Back to work yesterday, staff luncheon. Command performance. I made a cabbage salad, and the dressing spilled in the front seat on the way to work. Of course.

001

2011-11-29T10:39:00.005-05:00

001, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

Tess has a ball in her mouth.

004

2011-11-29T10:39:00.003-05:00

004, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

Flowers by Mark.

005

2011-11-29T10:39:00.001-05:00

005, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

This is how Liza spent a lot of her time during the visit. She's a busy kitchen person.

009

2011-11-29T10:38:00.001-05:00

009, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

The beach. We had a nice beach time. Liza sat in her chair and looked at the water, Mark, Jenica and I walked with Tess to the end of the beach & back. It was a warm day--me in a t-shirt and no coat. Everyone else bundled up, but I'm in no hurry to start wearing jackets.

011

2011-11-29T10:37:00.003-05:00

011, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

Mark and Jenica at the beach. We went for a nice walk. Tess was very good.

013

2011-11-29T10:37:00.001-05:00

013, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

Mark, Jenica and Tess at the beach. Nice house in the background, huh.

015

2011-11-29T10:36:00.001-05:00

015, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

Tess on a leash.

020

2011-11-29T10:35:00.003-05:00

020, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

pretty much what we did during the visit.

Tess

2011-11-29T10:35:00.001-05:00

021, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

Tess hates to have her picture taken. We spent a lot of time trying to get a picture of her "looking like a dog." This is about the best I could do. She looks very skeptical.

Thanksgiving trip

2011-11-22T09:00:00.000-05:00

I think my road trip to RI tomorrow will really suck--snow in the north, heavy rain in the south--but once I get there it should be great. Sunny and 50's. Ahhhhh. I guess we're supposed to get something like 4" or so, which I guess shouldn't be a surprise. We've only had a tiny bit of snow here & there so far. It's hard to believe that some years the lake freezes by Christmas, we're so far from that right now. The lake freezing, not Christmas.

I'll leave tomorrow morning--nothing more fun than packing a car in the snow, then return on Sunday. I'm looking forward to being there and visiting with Liza, Mark and Jenica. Relaxing, good food (lobsters, of course) and plenty of restful time. I don't have a great bunch of books this time; I usually take a pile of books for people to read (sometimes librarians just can't help being librarians) but this time I'm without great inspiration. I looked over a zillion books here at work yesterday without finding much. I do have a bunch of paperback discards for Jenica. The author shall remain nameless, but Jen has a favorite mass market author and I try to provide her with books from time to time.

I think I'll go to Burlington tonight to visit my friend in the hospital there. I talked to her yesterday & she said she was feeling better but was depressed. I offered to stop on my way to RI (which would mean going the long way, through Vt and NH) but she said her daughter will visit her on Weds., so I offered to go tonight. Will finalize plans later today. Not thrilled with the idea of going, but it so much sucks being in the hospital that if I can offer distraction and maybe cheer I'll go.

I stoked the stove before leaving this morning, plus left the heat on. It was cold--15, and frosty. Don't think it's supposed to get higher than in the 30's today, though the sun should help warm things. I have errand to run before leaving for RI--must buy all the stuff to make the pumpkin pie (Martha Stewart recipe) plus wine plus must get meds at drug store. Whew. I could have done some of this last night but had to work until 5 and just felt like getting out of town. So now I deal with that.

Chances is doing well. She seems to stand more than she used to, and does a pretty good imitation of walking on rugs. She still slumps down sometimes, her hind end just sliding out from under her. And she's very tottery. Pretty depressing but I think she's improving. I'm not very optimistic about a full recovery but she's so sweet and brave.

Had book group on Sunday night (Chris Bohjalian's Secrets of Eden) and we had Thanksgiving dinner at Marylou's. It was great, delicious food and a really nice time. I made gallons of rice and mushrooms, not sure why I made so much but it was tasty and was dinner last night. The turkey and stuffing (by Andy) were fantastic. We skip a December meeting and will meet in January at my house so everyone can admire my Christmas tree, which will go up after Thanksgiving sometime. We're reading Erik Larson's In the garden of beasts, which is Berlin in WWII but is supposed to be really good.

I went Christmas shopping with Lin on Saturday, didn't get much more than groceries but we had a good time. Had lunch out, checked out a few stores without much luck, made plans to shop in Saranac Lake and maybe Lake Placid after Thanksgiving. My it sounds as if there will be a lot of activity after Thanksgiving, doesn't it.

Happy Thanksgiving to all--

Plenty of apples for the deer ... and dogs

2011-11-22T08:45:00.001-05:00

Plenty of apples for the deer ... and dogs, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

It was a banner year for apples & other fruit. The other apple trees on my land (an old orchard) are pretty bare, but these apples are haning on. I interrupt deer grazing beneath the trees, and Tess has had a great time eating apples this fall. My friend Lin made the best-ever grape jellly from grapes she picked this year. I ate too much of the jelly, but it was sooooo sweet and delicious.

Pitcher plant in winter plumage

2011-11-22T08:44:00.001-05:00

Pitcher plant in winter plumage, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

I can't say pitcher plant are ever really attractive, but here's what they look like in the off-season. They're pretty cool carnivorous plants, though.

squirrel track, which would be really cute if squirrels weren't such rodents

2011-11-22T08:43:00.002-05:00

squirrel track, which would be really cute if squirrels weren's such rodents, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

aw, cute little toe-toes

Bun-bun tracks

2011-11-22T08:42:00.001-05:00

Bun-bun tracks, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

Front feet of a snowshow hare/varying hare. Hind feet are big, hence the name snowshoe hare. They're dappled right now, turning white for winter, hence the name varying hare.

Just a bit of snow in the bog Saturday morning

2011-11-22T08:41:00.001-05:00

Just a bit of snow in the bog Saturday morning, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

Nice peaceful but chilly walk in the bog with Tess. It still seems strange to walk with only one dog, and Tess seems a bit puzzled too.

The mountain from across my road

2011-11-22T08:40:00.001-05:00

The mountain from across my road, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

I just need to cut down that clump of pines, and I'll have a good view--

Must be time

2011-11-18T16:37:00.000-05:00

It must be time to write something. I write a lot and lose track of what I've written for what or to whom. I write a letter to my mother every week, I write a Friday email to a bunch of relatives and friends, I write to my friend in Illinois who had a stroke (or something close enough to that to debilitate her), and I write in my journal every day. Pretty much every day. I make sure there's an entry for each day, even if I have to back peddle and fill in the days. Like last night, when I had to recreate 3 days worth of activities. Entries like that are brief and not particularly noteworthy. Of course, not much in my journal is noteworthy--my family and I use it as a reference tool sometimes. Which Christmas was it that ...? Check my journal. I used to use it to settle arguments with my ex-husband, which gives you an idea of what kind of marriage we had. Being right was very important to him. Probably still is.

I had a fairly quiet week. Went to Burlington last week, nice trip to see my friend in the hospital there. Very pretty ferry ride, full moon in daylight. Called a children's moon, because (supposedly) it's the only kind of moon children can see before they go to bed. Or so.

I had a quiet weekend, didn't accomplish a whole lot but felt ok about it. On Sunday I joined the neighbors for the weekly gathering at noon and ended up staying for lunch. That was nice. It was a light meal, nothing like the Sunday dinners I always shared with Ken. I still managed to gain 3 pounds this week, but it's the same three pounds I lost last week so it's not a big deal.

Wednesday night I met Fred and Bill for dinner here in Plattsburgh and we had a good time. Good food, good company. Poor Bill is having terrible back problems but he showed up in spite of it. I ate like a pig and still had plenty to take home. burp.

The dogs are doing all right. I can't really tell if Chances is getting better, the improvements would be slight and slow to show up. She still can't walk more than a couple of steps, and sometimes just gives up and sits down. She sort of hops with her hind legs sometimes. I think she's at least as frustrated as I am but at least she's learned to bark when she needs help coming up the stairs to come inside. Clever girl.

I walked the bog on Saturday, when it was chilly and there was a bit of snow. We got more snow last night, not more than half an inch by morning. Heavy snow on the way home from work in the dark--just to remind me of what's to come.

I worked 10-5 today, which was really nice. I have to use up a little time so decided to stay home an extra hour this morning. Very peaceful, and it gave me a chance to build a good fire to warm up the living room. I stoked the fire, a good habit to get into now that it's colder. I've been having fires but have been lazy about keeping them going, which means the electric heat is on more. $$$$

Tomorrow I'm planning to go Christmas shopping with my friend Lin. We'll come to Plattsburgh, shop, visit, have lunch, shop--she never buys much, but I always spend plenty of money. Sunday is our book group Thanksgiving dinner. I finally figured out what I'll take (rice and mushrooms) but don't have the energy or drive to buy supplies tonight so I'll make poor Lin go to the grocery store tomorrow. I've been buying odds & ends of presents for a while, but have nothing much for anyone. Nor do I have ideas. I'll talk to Liza and Mark next week about what we'll do for Christmas. Not much I'm hoping.

I'm off to Rhode Island on Weds., will stay there until Sunday. I'm looking forward to the trip--Thanksgiving is a favorite holiday, since it's straightforward and mostly about a meal. And of course we'll have lobsters one night. Jenica will be there, which makes it more special. I'll be interested to hear what everyone there has to say about Chances and her situation. I'm so uncertain about it. Sometimes I think I can last a long time with her struggling like this, other times I don't see how much longer I can stand to deal with it. A normal response, I think.

Bog on Saturday: snow on Duncan

2011-11-18T16:14:00.001-05:00

Bog on Saturday: snow on Duncan, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

If you look closely you can see snow on top of the mountain. The mountain is Duncan, which is north of Silver Lake. There never was a very good trail going up the mountain but that never stopped my father from taking us to the top. It was one of his favorite mountains, though who knows why. Not a particularlly good view from the top.

Chances Are update

2011-11-08T10:09:00.000-05:00

Went to the vet last night to see what's up with Chances. She walked for him and he was impressed with her progress. He said it could take up to 6 months for her to recover fully, or maybe she'll never recover fully at all. Nerve regeneration is what's up. And atrophied leg muscles. So we wait to see how much and how quickly she improves. Right now she's walking pretty much but is very tippy and has no strength in her hind legs. Slippery floors at home are a big issue so I'll be buying some cheap runners with rubber backing to put on the path from the bathroom to the front door. Vet said I could build a ramp for the deck stairs, but I think not. Right now that's the trickiest part--she can go down the stairs unassisted but can't climb up them. Unassisted means that she goes down really fast, sort of pushed by gravity and her hind end. But she's a sweetheart and is game. Wags her tail all the time. She tires easily but David (vet) said her walking is like physical therapy, which is a slow process. He was more concerned about me, really, and how I'm holding up. If I decide I can't wait 6 months, or that she's not recovering more, I'm not a bad person. That was a nice thing to say. I'm holding up pretty well but this is really a drag. Pun intended.

I had a nice weekend. Saturday I drove to Dannemora for an open house at the new library there. The views were spectacular--High Peaks to Lake Champlain and the Green Mtns. It was a clear sunny day and I drove partway up the mountain just to enjoy the view. Really, really pretty, and me without my camera.

Sunday morning I took Tess for a nice long walk. Good November weather, temp not quite 30 but warm sun. We walked down to a friend's camp along the road, then home along the shore to check on other camps. Everything was in good shape, nothing going on. One year when I made the rounds like that I discovered that one of the camps had been broken into and a bunch of stuff was stolen. So I'm sometimes leery when I check on things.

I painted the small chest from my bedroom. I've switched from yucky green to glossy black for my furniture. Anything that can be painted has been painted. Pretty much. But wait, I'll find more. The chest turned out well and looks so much better. Maybe partly because I took the huge pile of stuff off the top of it.

Tomorrow I'll go to Burlington to visit my friend in the hospital there (chemo for leukemia). It's supposed to be a beautiful day so the trip will be nice. I have to get a couple of books for her, so I'll go to the book store there. What will I get? Geez, who knows. Sometimes I hate picking out books for other people, it feels like a big responsibility. Sometimes I really like it. Hopefully this will be one of those times.

I had lunch with my good friend (well, I have no BAD friends) Barb yesterday. Always nice to be with her. I've been trying to make a specific basket for her daughter's wedding present (let's not go into when the wedding was) but cannot, absolutely cannot shape it right. I can still weave well but my shaping skills are gone. So it's going to be a square basket instead. I can do squares.

I started knitting again, out of boredom mostly. I found a blanket that was 2/3 done from several years ago & have almost finished that. Then I decided I was tired of knitting the seed stitch so I bought yarn & a pattern for a sweater. I never finish sweaters, but this is a vest so maybe I'll actually make something I can wear. I hate armpits and sleeves--I always make the armpit openings too small.

We have Friday off. Yippee!!! Weather not supposed to be too great, maybe rainy and cold, but it will be nice to be home. Maybe, just maybe, I'll start getting ready to paint my living room. Which will be an interesting project, considering scaffolding is required to paint the top parts of the wall. Guess I'd better pick a color that looks good with what it is now.

58OHR on a cold November morning

2011-11-08T09:51:00.001-05:00

58OHR on a cold November morning, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

Here's what my house looks like these days. The last of the color on the left is from the tamarack tree growing next to the house. It's a beautiful tree and I've been watching it grow for at least a decade. One year it got all tipped over from snow so I tied it to another tree to straighten it out. That pretty much worked, but it still has a pronounced tilt. It's a favorite tree.

Where's a kitty? Find a kitty.

2011-11-08T09:50:00.001-05:00

Where's a kitty? Find a kitty., a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

Dottiekitty showed up at the end of our walk. Don't know how far she wanders or how often she goes for her strolls. I always assumed she was bringing dead things into the house from nearby, but it could be that she's picking them off from other people's homes.
The other day she left me a vole, which is a BIG version of a mole. Flippers for front legs, disgusting long ratty snout. And about 6-8" long. Really gross. Thanks, Kitty.

The Holts' house, showing Rush's observatory on 3rd floor

2011-11-08T09:48:00.001-05:00

The Holts' house, showing Rush's observatory on 3rd floor, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

This is what Rush & Annie's house looks like from down the hill. The tower effect is a sleeping porch on the 2nd floor, and a nifty observatory-type office for Rush on the 3rd floor. Pretty views from the 3rd floor, especially when the leaves aren't on the trees. It's a nice house and sure has served me well in times of water crisis.

Tess enters the water tentatively

2011-11-08T09:47:00.001-05:00

Tess enters the water tentatively, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

Tess always feels compelled to try the water, no matter what the air or water temp might be. She didn't really "swim," it was more of a couple of strokes. That perked her right up, though, and she did a lot of rolling afterward.

Nice view of the mountain from someone else's shorefront

2011-11-08T09:46:00.001-05:00

Nice view of the mountain from someone else's shorefront, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

I like this veiw of the mountain. It's from a huge flat rock that's out in the water up the shore from our camp. I like the shadows & details you get from this vantage point.

Friday

2011-11-04T12:39:00.000-04:00

Don't really have much to say, but I could give a Chances update. She's doing marginally better, really tries to walk but tumbles over easily. Like, when Tess nudges her. Chances walks a little, sort of staggers. The vet said I should help her by doing physical therapy with her hind legs, but I have yet to start. Her legs are weak, I guess. It'll be 3 weeks on Sunday. Hard to remember what she was like before. I tried taking Tess for a walk but Chances dragged herself to the door & tried to push it open. That was sad. I finally did take Tess for a quick bog walk but felt guilty so didn't stay long. Why do we feel guilt about our animals?

I had a good week, temps made it not unpleasant at least. Ice and frost this morning at home, with a report that it was snowing not far from home. Supposed to be 19 tonight so I'll have a fire for sure. This morning was bright and sunny--I didn't have to be at work until later so I got to drive in bright sunshine. A nice change.

I spent Tuesday afternoon in Saranac Lake, cataloging some goodies in their Adirondack Room. That was a nice change, and a good chance to visit with the people there.

What's up for the weekend? Not much. Going to the open house at the Dannemora library on Saturday--they moved into the old elementary school, which is really nice and a huge improvement over their former winidowless digs. That won't take long. Hopefully I'll finally paint the little chest of drawers in my bedroom, it should be warm enough to paint outside. We once had a beagle named Chester Drawers. My father liked to play with pet names. We had a cat named Pitney Bowes. Dog named Fanny Allen (when we lived in Burlington, of course), dog named Natty Bumpo (small puppy, hit by a car & died young), dog named John Humperdink Stover (Dink--horrible dachshund who lived for 18 years and even then refused to die), and a dog named Cindy. Cindy? She was a fat little doxie who was very sweet.

Moving along

2011-10-31T11:54:00.000-04:00

Things are going all right. Chances is improving, now takes about 3 steps before losing her balance & falling down. This is a huge improvement, but isn't enough. She's gotten way better in the last week, and goes to the vet tonight for her follow-up. Don't know what the vet will say, but I'm figuring to bring her home after the appointment, giving her more time to heal. She's doing really well, her desire to walk is powerful. She moves really quickly, walks on her hind knees if I don't grab her hind end quickly enough. She can really motor and seems very cheerful. I don't know how much better she'll get, but I'm willing to wait a while.

I closed the boat house yesterday, finally. It wouldn't be right if I weren't wearing a down vest--I don't think I've closed it in recent years much before November 1. So I was early this year. It was very pretty and not terribly cold. It doesn't take much time to close (if you do it the way I do), just strip the beds, take the towels home, take the garbage home, empty the fridge, move furniture in off the porch., shut off the power & lock up. Bingo, all done. I sat in the sun a while, drank a bit of Wild Turkey and enjoyed the scenery. It was incredibly peaceful. Even Tess lay in the sun with me.

I visited a friend in Burlington last week, she's there for chemo for her second case of leukemia. This is very sad and difficult. She's in good shape so far but has just started her chemo. She's very discouraged at having it again, after 8 years. My trip was not particularly interesting, I just took the ferry, drove to the hospital, visited Betsy, then came home. No, no shopping or anything interesting. I was tired when I got home, around 8.

Had a good weekend, all told. Saturday I came into town for lunch with Fred and my friend Donna. We last saw each other last November, so it was a nice reunion. We visited for a couple of hours, I bought some flowers for Pat's birthday, got some birdseed, then went home. I stopped to see Pat (her birthday) for a bit, then on home to set up the bird feeders. Only blue jays so far. I don't know how they figure out so quickly that there's food in the feeder, but there they were.

I took some stuff in off the deck, getting ready for winter. The dirt in the pots was frozen, though, so I have to keep them in the living room for a few days to thaw out before I can dump them. I wouldn't know how to do it any other way. I should have emptied the wood stove but I kept it going all day Sat., then it was still hot yesterday. So I put that off. Lazy.

I resurrected a blanket I started knitting a few years ago, had the urge to knit. Everyone should have a project like that, something that's simple but pretty and can go on forever. And when it's a blanket, you keep yourself warm while knitting. Kitty likes to sit on my lap when it gets cold, which complicates the knitting process.

I watched the Martin Scorsese documentary on George Harrison, which was excellent. The Beatles were amazing, and it was fun to see the decades of changes they went through. How cute were those boys?

Back to work today. Halloween. Means nothing to me. This year I bought no candy--I haven't had a trick or treater for more than 25 years, no reason to believe this year would be different. I always buy candy and eat it before Halloween. So no this year. I still need to love the 5 pounds I gained during the summer. I'm struggling but haven't put forth my full effort yet. I keep putting it off. Something comes up. Like, now I'm stressed out because of my dog. And Saturday I went out for lunch. And this week, well, I have no excuses. Back to cottage cheese and olives. And pickles. Lots of pickles.

Tomorrow I get to go to Saranac Lake to catalog stuff in the Adirondack Room there. Always a treat. I'm setting up a plan to visit or at least speak with all 30 member library directors in the next year. Yikes, that's a lot of traveling and talking. I need to find out what types of "special" collections they have. This is a project near & dear to the director's heart, and I like visiting the libraries so it's a good mesh.

002

2011-10-31T11:37:00.001-04:00

002, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

Waiting for rain. I've always heard that, when cows lie down like this, they're expecting it to rain. This was before the big snowstorm, which missed us entirely. This was a false alarm--it didn't rain at all. These cows are outside of Peru, near the orchard where I stopped to buy a whole bunch of apples. Half a bushel for $10, mix & match a zillion different kinds. Yum.

003

2011-10-31T11:35:00.001-04:00

003, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

Tess has no patience for any animal that lies with its head upside down. These two were lying next to the wood stove in the sun. Two of their favorite environmental conditions. First being a bowl full of food.

007

2011-10-31T11:34:00.001-04:00

007, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

Boy it looks cold, doesn't it? It wasn't really that cold, sunny and 40's. No leaves on trees, no color in the hills. Pretty anyway.

009

2011-10-31T11:33:00.001-04:00

009, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

The corner on the boat house porch--ready for a party. Just add people ...

010

2011-10-31T11:32:00.001-04:00

010, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

So I sat here, in the sun for a little white, enjoying the quiet and pretty surroundings.

Chances Are update

2011-10-25T09:10:00.000-04:00

Many thanks to all of you who have been so supportive and interested in my poor dog's plight. I picked her up at the vet's last night & brought her home. She's incredibly cheerful, wags her tail ALL the time and was very, very happy to be home. Tess was thrilled to have her sister home, wiggled & wagged, licked her, then sat on her. Chances can't walk by herself, I have a sling to hold up her hind end with. She's strong and can move quickly--this morning, when it was DARK and RAINING she ran around the yard looking for the perfect pee and poop spots, I ran after her, which must have looked great. Anyway, she can't use her hind legs but is starting to move them a little. She's got great spirit, ran through the house (again, with me following) to get to her breakfast bowl this morning. She slept in her cage last night, wasn't interested in going into the bedroom. She's in her cage today, and I have a second cage set up for Tess so that C. can have more room. I left the door to the cage open so we'll see where she is when I get home. In the cage, will be my guess. She rarely drags herself around but is capable and doesn't seem to mind.

All else is well. We're supposed to have snow later this week, which is inevitable, but maybe the north won't get as much. or any. I'm leaving work early tomorrow to load up the car at home & head to the Big Dump. I put down a new kitchen rug and need to get rid of the old one, plus there's plenty of stuff that can go. Broken chair, crap on the deck, old glassware I cleaned out when putting down the new rug, just odds & ends. I'm feeling good about cleaning out stuff these days, just wish I had more time (when I felt motivated) to do it. I got some cleansing done over the weekend, getting ready to attack the upstairs in case people really do come visit me this winter. yikes, a daunting thought.

2011-10-25T09:00:00.001-04:00

003, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

Last of the fall color in the bog

Tamaracks in the bog

2011-10-25T08:59:00.001-04:00

015, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

Very pretty, every fall. The last hurrah. Lots of tamaracks (larches) getting ready to drop their leaves.

Must be a fire in the wood stove--

2011-10-25T08:58:00.003-04:00

Must be a fire in the wood stove--, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

Tess and Kitty.

Cold morning, 28 degrees and very frosty & foggy.

2011-10-25T08:58:00.001-04:00

Cold morning, 28 degrees and very frosty & foggy., a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

This was yesterday (Monday). Today it was too dark, way too dark to take any pictures. And it was raining. And so dark.

Friday

2011-10-21T13:49:00.000-04:00

It's Friday of an upsetting week. My dog Chances is not doing well. On Sunday she got in front of my car when I was moving it, and I hit her. Not hard, but hard enough to damage her back. She can't use her hind legs now and has been at the vet's since Monday. She showed slight improvement on Tuesday and the vet & I were hopeful, but there's been no progress since then. I went to see her yesterday--the vet and I talked about having me take her home, but we agreed she was probably better off there, where there aren't stairs she has to be carried up & down. It was hard to see her but also really nice. She's in great shape, very perky, wags her tail a lot, eats like a pig and has control of her bodily functions. He's not sure what's wrong, maybe something blocking the blood supply to her hind end. We're going to wait 2 weeks before making any decision, but it doesn't really look very good.

What does Tess think? She thinks her sister should be somewhere in the yard or in the car, and she runs around a lot, then sits on the back of the living room chair staring out the window. Very touching, very sad. I wish I could explain it to her, but maybe she suspects something, since she saw Chances before I took her to the vet. Tess wants my attention all the time, which I suppose is not surprising. She's very sweet but it's hard to see her being so puzzled. She still has her Kitty, and she likes her Kitty.

What else happened this week. Well, must have been SOMETHING. Yes, we had a negotiations meeting on Monday, which resulted in a declaration of impasse by labor. The board rejected our settlement offer 3 times, so our labor relations specialist feels we'll be in good stead with a mediator. We'll see.

Work has been ok. A little slow, not as interesting as it sometimes is, but I'm probably just distracted. I had an appointment with my psychiatrist this week & told him all about Chances Are. I told him that I no longer think of our appointments as sessions, or of him as my therapist, so it never occurred to me to call him in my time of crisis. I think he wished I still needed him that way. He told me basically the same thing my sister told me: take care of myself. Don't do anything or make any decisions right now. So I'm not. Well, I bought myself a new pair of shoes. That would make my friend Ralph laugh--his partner Lin and I used to go to town every Saturday and I was always buying new shoes. I guess it's what I do when I'm not feeling great, a way to cheer myself up. Pretty much all the shoes I buy look the same, just trail shoes.

Yesterday I went to Wilmington, and I had plenty of time to get there so I went the back way, past the house we bought and sold many years ago, then past the Jay Mountain Range. It was all very pretty and a nice experience. Didn't make me feel bad or sad, I just appreciated how pretty it all was. What I did in Wilmington was weed their non-fiction collection, which, it turned out, is heavily used so we couldn't throw out much stuff. That was both disappointing and encouraging. Good for her to have a collection her community uses. Not very rewarding as a weeding experience.

After that I drove to Westport because I thought I would take Chances home. The drive was pretty but long. An even longer drive home. But I had a nice visit with Chances, who was happy to see me. Tess didn't seem to smell her sister on me when I got home. Was I disappointed or relieved? Yes. Mostly I was just really sad that I didn't get to take her home. Not so much because I want her home, but more that it would mean she was improving.

This weekend I will put down the new rug I bought for my kitchen. No small task, means unloading sets of shelves and moving things around. But I must do it--or why did I buy the rug? I also hope to paint a small chest in my bedroom. My signature black. And Saturday night I'm having dinner with friends from across the lake. I don't know them very well but am getting to know them in recent months. Do I want to do this? Not particularly, but when a neighbor issues an invitation it's polite to accept. What DO I feel like doing this weekend? Not much.

This is what our old house looks like now. VERY different from when we lived there.

2011-10-21T13:30:00.001-04:00

This is what our old house looks like now. VERY different from when we lived there., a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

Our house on Green Street, outside of AuSable Forks. It was a junky little house that we bougt for $20,000. Jamie had visions of grandeur, of demolition and fixing it up. He got the demolition part right, but the fixing it up never took place. He took the heater out of the bedroom without telling me he had no intention of putting in a new one. I used to wake up in the winter with my hair frozen, stuck to the window. Oh, weren't those just the good old days.
It is actually a nice little house, on 3 pretty acres. We had some good times there but mostly I conclude (in hindsight) that we didn't really like living there, because we spent as much time as we could elsewhere. We went out for breakfast & dinner every chance we got.

001

2011-10-21T13:28:00.001-04:00

001, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

Just a pretty scene. This is from the bridge I used to drive across every day--that's the AuSable River.

The chicken coop on the left, now an apartment

2011-10-21T13:27:00.001-04:00

The chicken coop on the left, now an apartment, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

The blue building is what we used as a chicken coop. Jamie built it from square logs he cut at the sawmill. It was beech and he built it as an experiment to see how long it would last. The new owner liked the building so much he turned it into an apartment. So far it's lasted 20 years. Not bad, James, not bad.

Hairy cow

2011-10-21T13:26:00.001-04:00

Hairy cow, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

Doesn't this cow look great? There were calves in the pasture too, they were dark brown and very cute.

The Jay Range. The last of the color

2011-10-21T13:25:00.001-04:00

The Jay Range. The last of the color, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

This is just a pretty scene I came across.

Early report

2011-10-12T13:20:00.000-04:00

It's a bit early in the week to be reporting, but I had a busy weekend and will be out tomorrow afternoon, then doing a Google demo on Friday. Besides, I'm taking a break from deleting OCLC holdings of large print books we've discarded. I have a masters degree for this?

It was a really good weekend. The weather was wonderful, sunny and warm, warming up the colors in the woods. The color isn't too great this year, definitely muted, but there are yellows and golds and they do that thing that they do where there's a glow in the woods even when the sun isn't shining on the trees. A really nice effect. We've lost leaves even since the weekend, and I guess we'll lose more in the next few days--rain predicted for the rest of our lives.

There were plenty of people in the neighborhood, enough so that I got totally peopled out. Saturday night I had a cocktail party on the boat house porch, which was very nice. Always is. After that I went out to dinner with a bunch of people, to a nice restaurant with good food. Sunday I got to spend time on my deck, reading, a lot. Very nice. In the evening was a party at the Holts', with 24 people. I wasn't in the mood to socialize much, maybe I'm just ready for the season to end. I visited with people I wanted to see, chatted with others, wanted to leave early but stayed a while anyway. Monday I went out to breakfast with the Nadals, had a very nice time with them. Then I stopped at Fred's to collect a few plants to winter over in my house. Or kill in my house, whatever. He doesn't care, it just seems a shame to let them die when maybe I can keep them alive and they'll look good in my house. or not. Monday night was drinks at Linda's, the last happy hour of the season. That was nice, but again, I was ready to leave. Last night I stopped at Linda's, picked up some food she's leaving behind, and we went to Pat & Jim's to deliver food to them as well. Then I left, saying goodbye to Linda for the year. It's hard to say goodbye, but it is time. Hard to believe we won't see each other for a long time, but spring will come before we expect it to. This morning I saw the Nadals while I was getting my coffee, and visited with them for a while. They hope to come here this winter, planning to stay at my house. Wow that's quite a project for me but it would be great.

And now we get on with the job of living our lives in Hawkeye. Very nice, peaceful (except for hunters). Dogs don't notice a difference, except maybe for the fact that I'm home more so they spend less time in their cage. Me? I notice a difference. I don't have to go anywhere after work today. I can be alone. I may stop at the orchard that has a zillion kinds of apples & get some, I've pretty much finished the last batch I bought.

Tomorrow I head to Burlington for my mammogram. A nice diversion. Maybe I'll go to Gardener's Supply for Christmas presents, but then again I may just turn around & come home.

Friday I have to do a demo of Google searching. I had such a hard time coming up with a subject to search! Tried lots of things that were too easy, finally came up with the Atlas missile silos here in the Adirondacks. Found a lot of interesting information about them. Pretty scary, what was going on. I've always attributed my lack of faith in the future to the Cold War, along with the farewells we bade to our grandfather at the end of each summer in the Adks. "Good-bye Grampy, see you next year." "If I'm still here." I suppose, once you're in your 90's that's the way you think and talk, but for an impressionable lass it meant we might never see the future. I spent a lot of my adult life feeling that way, but have finally overcome that pessimism. I used to not plant bulbs in the fall because I had no faith that there would be spring. Now I don't plant them because I have so many that I have no more places to put them. Mostly daffodils, but I have some perennial plants too. I like thinking about the future. But am hesitant to think too much about 3 years going by. That would mean I might be able to RETIRE. It's an interesting thing, to be my age and want to get older so I can retire, but hate getting older and being 60. Only 59 this year, 60 is 12/12/12.

007

2011-10-12T12:57:00.003-04:00

007, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

Some color at my house (taken from my deck)

001

2011-10-12T12:57:00.001-04:00

001, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

Tree of color with blue sky.

002

2011-10-12T12:56:00.003-04:00

002, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

Silver Lake Mountain from the boat house. I had a cocktail party on Sat. and this was the view we looked at from the porch.

006

2011-10-12T12:56:00.001-04:00

006, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

The far shore. Not much color shows up in pictures.

012

2011-10-12T12:55:00.001-04:00

012, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.

There's still some color on OHR--this is looking down the road toward my driveway. That's Catamount in the background, Douglas Mtn in the foreground, Chances Are in front.

We've even lost leaves since I took this on Sat. It's getting pretty naked in the neighborhood.