This is how we set the table for lobster dinners. Ceramic fishies at each place, fish bowls (2--one for clams & mussels, one for lobster), little fish bowls for butter, blue glasses, blue blue blue. Photo courtesy of JPR
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
EFR Livinig room
This is what the end of my mother's living room looks like. It's a comfortable place, that's for sure. The hassock in front of the stove is where my mother sits to play with the fire. I'll always be able to picture her there--
Friday, March 12, 2010
wind farm 002
I went to a place called Ellenburg Depot the other evening. I call it a place because there's nothing commercial there except for a diner where they sell a few things, like an Ellenburg version of a Cumberland Farms. Anyway, I went there to pick up something I got on Freecycl*, where everyone swaps out stuff. I like the site because I've been able to unload a fair amount of crap, crap that other people want and are excited to get.
Sometimes I'm one of the people who picks up the crap and is excited. I have an almost new, beautiful sewing machine that a nice woman from Dannemora wanted to get rid of.
ANYWAY, let's go back to Ellenburg. It took me an hour to get there from work, and I had a little trouble finding the house until I got her directions right.
There was a big fuss about wind power in the area, and the windmills won. There are ridges, and lots of flat windy land in the area, so this is what most of the people in the country see.
I love these windmills--they're probably not called windmills anymore.
They're huge, just huge. At least 6 times the size of a telephone pole. I made that up, I have no idea. I love the idea of wind power, clean, an endless supply. Would I want to look at these from my land? Probably not. Sometimes we talk about wind power and say "What would it be like if there were windmills along the ridge of the mountain across the lake?" Of course it would ruin our view. Oh, we're so self-centered and greedy.
wind farm 009
In our house in Illinois one wall of the living room was almost all windows. My mother is a true romantic when it comes to things, as opposed to people (except for my father, who exists in her fantasy/mind). The other wall of the living room was a huge fireplace, stone. Stone fireplaces in the Midwest are made of sandstone or limestone. Maybe not limestone, since I think it disintegrates. Fireplaces here are completely different--they're made of river stones, which are round. Midwestern fireplaces are made of square, brick-like, parallel pieces of stone.
The fireplace was massive. It had no mantle, but there was a ledge in front of it for you to sit on. When my mother came home from work (she was a public school teacher, and with her work ethic she was exhausted by the end of the day) my father would get her a glass of dry sherry and she would sit in front of the fire, feet up on the ledge, sipping it before making dinner. I like remembering that part of our midwestern life. We also had time like that when we got home from church: my mother reading the Sunday papers while she sat there sipping her sherry. We subscribed to 3 papers: 2 Rockford papers and one Chicago paper. My father was an avid reader who enjoyed knowing what was going on. I attribute this to his having grown up in a small town (which is now MY small town), where everyone knew everything about their neighbors and the surrounding communities.
My mother put a bed next to the windows--we used it as a couch. I think she didn't want a couch there because the back of the couch would block the view. One of her favorite things was "blue snow." There's a time in the evening when the snow is a very pretty blue. I see it a lot, and mostly think of my mother when I notice it. I must be romantic and sentimental, like my mother.
Take away the mountains in the background and this could be northern IL.
The fireplace was massive. It had no mantle, but there was a ledge in front of it for you to sit on. When my mother came home from work (she was a public school teacher, and with her work ethic she was exhausted by the end of the day) my father would get her a glass of dry sherry and she would sit in front of the fire, feet up on the ledge, sipping it before making dinner. I like remembering that part of our midwestern life. We also had time like that when we got home from church: my mother reading the Sunday papers while she sat there sipping her sherry. We subscribed to 3 papers: 2 Rockford papers and one Chicago paper. My father was an avid reader who enjoyed knowing what was going on. I attribute this to his having grown up in a small town (which is now MY small town), where everyone knew everything about their neighbors and the surrounding communities.
My mother put a bed next to the windows--we used it as a couch. I think she didn't want a couch there because the back of the couch would block the view. One of her favorite things was "blue snow." There's a time in the evening when the snow is a very pretty blue. I see it a lot, and mostly think of my mother when I notice it. I must be romantic and sentimental, like my mother.
Take away the mountains in the background and this could be northern IL.
wind farm 008
Wow! This is so much like the midwest, which I could righfully call My Homeland, but no--REALLY no, I live in my Homeland. I light the corn stubble. Looks like someone's chin. Preferrably a man's.
wind farm 012
Pictures never really depict what's going on. The sky was blood red (gross--what an icky adjective). It's grainy because there wasn't much light.
Tuesday, March 09, 2010
Not much going on today, aside from another pre-spring day. Sunny, 40--cool enough to remind you that it's only pre-spring. The appearance of mud at home seems premature--there's plenty of time until mud season (one can hope) but the driveway is getting mushy. Although mud season offers a chance to appreciate the departure of winter, it's a big nuisance for me. I have to park at the end of the driveway (again) and slog through boot-sucking mud to the house. oh whine, whine, whine. Mud season comes pretty much before other definitive signs of spring: nothing in bloom, though it's true there's a lot less snow. Right now the ground gives off a big chill because our snow is steadily melting, but the warm air misinforms you of the true state of things. It's a great feeling, though, to have a difference in temperatures like that. Feels nifty.
For some reason I'm more enthusiastic about interlibrary loan than I used to be. I'm doing it now, since the (grumpy) clerk retired. Maybe I just got tired of it, after doing it for a decade or so, and now it's a change of pace. After seeing how dedicated the clerks have been to find requested stuff--dogged determination is a good term, I feel the same sense of mission. FIND THAT BOOK! There are too many places to look before giving up, lots of little "collections" in the building. Plus the huge backlog of shelving that's happened since g.c. retired. No time for things like that, we have services to provide.
One of the goldfish is getting biiiiig. I'm expecting to find him withered up in my chair one morning. Apparently it's true that, when they feel too crowded in their tanks, they jump out. Maybe I should call the big one Lem(ming).
I cataloged a great book today about the wild ponies of Assateague Island in Virginia. When we were kids, my sister and I were incredibly enamored by books by Marguerite Henry. The first was Misty of Chincoteague, about a pony with a patch in the shape of the United States on her side. awwwww. Anyway, there are wild ponies on Assateague, and once a year the Fire Dept. has Pony Penning Day. They swim the ponies across the water to Chincoteague, where some are auctioned off and (I just found out) the mares and/or stallions are neutered to control the population. I always thought the swimming thing was cruel, but now I see that it's a good way to keep the population at a level the island can support. Their bellies are swollen because of the beach grass they eat, and the amount of water they have to drink because of saltiness of the grass. Oh, aren't books wonderful things? Anyway, looking at the pictures and reading the book made me want wicked bad to make a pilgrimage to the area. I was there once, many years ago, and saw a few wild ponies, but not nearly enough to satisfy the obsession of my youth. Plus I've always wanted to go to the Eastern shore of Md. Ahhh, maybe someday. I can't decide if I'm brave enough to travel there alone, or if I need a companion. or if this is even realistic. I've also wanted to go to Cape May, NJ, where the birding is great and the shore is beautiful. Oh I want, I want.
Back to less inspiring things. Children's books in Mohawk. Annual report of the Ontario Power Co. zzzzzzz.
Monday, March 08, 2010
I just asked someone who's about my age if she knew what a contrail is. She didn't. Is this so outdated a term that no one uses it? or is it just something my father offered up for our vocabularies? Anyway, so much for that. She was very kind and nodded appreciatively when I told her about the beautiful ones I'd seen.
My friend Joe fell through the ice on Saturday--he was here for the weekend and wandered out, expecting to be able to walk far, far out Oops, pretty close to shore he fell through. Water was up to his chest so he was able to pull himself out. So much for my plans to walk on the lake!
Weekend was full of spectacular weather. 40's and sunny. I went to Burlington on Sat., shopping for my mother's birthday presents. Never found the place I was looking for (and saw more of the Vt countryside than anyone could ever want to), but found a great place instead. Seeds 1/2 price, seedstarters on sale, hog heaven. I saved as much as the ferry cost.
It was a spectacular trip: lake was blue, blue blue and calm. So much like summer, except for the brown shorelines. There were icefishers on the other side, on ice that I thought must be too thin, but they had snowmobiles & ATV's out there. Drat, but I left my camera at home. Mt. Mansfield looked great--bluish on the bottom & ghostly white on top. The way Whiteface looks now. Paraphrasing my brother-in-law, sometimes you just have to record things in your memory (he doesn't think it's necessary to document everything, the way my sister and I do)(but we grew up with a father who loved to record life's events, which is nice because now we have pictures of ourselves as cute little blond girls).
Yesterday afternoon I sat on my deck stairs, soaking up the sun while I read. ahhhhh.
Snow is melting around the bases of trees--spring is near. When the sap melts it warms the ground at the base of the trees. We still have (too much) snow in the neighborhood, but it's getting grainy and melting in places. Some mud, too, another harbinger of spring. What a word, huh. The top layers of snow are crusty and can hold the weight of a Lab, but can't hold the weight of an overweight 57-year-old. Punch through, struggle, punch through. Wear boots when you go out, even when
Another sign of impending spring: my first dead skunk (in the middle of the road).
I talked to my sister yesterday, something I don't do enough of. I had been staring at 2 beautiful paintings she'd done; they're hanging on the wall above my TV. They're just wonderful, Silver lake scenes. It made me think of her intensely, so I called her. I don't know why I never call Italy, but now I will more often.
Pronunciation: how to you pronounce the cover that's the full word for "tarp"? I decided this is a regional thing. We (from the Midwest) pronounced it TARP-o-lin. People here pronounce it tar-PO-lin. I asked my friend who grew up in Wisc. how she pronounces it, and wonder of wonders she says it the same way my family does. She's going to her 45th high school reunion this summer, and I'm going to my 40th.
The dogs are particularly precious these days--I have no explanation, other than maybe it's because we've been locked in the house since Dec. or so. They love being outside--I'm so lucky to live in a place where they can roam free. All weekend they stood on the deck and barked non-stop. No, really, bark bark bark, no break between barks. Both of them did it, I think they took turns. I have no idea what they're barking at, or if they just do it for sport. There's no other sound outdoors. I can tune it out, and there are no neighbors here now so I let them do it for hours. I asked them why they didn't get hoarse or lose their voices but they didn't answer.
Tess will be 7 this year, and Chances 11. My friend (from Wisc.) has a grandchild who was born the same time Tess was. We played "I have the cutest puppy in the world," and "here's a picture of the cutest grandchild in the world." Now her grandson is 7 and seems very old. Tess is growing gray hair on her muzzle, so I guess she's old too. Chances even has gray hair between her toes. She has a very thick coat, more like a bear's than a dog's.
I'm going to a conference in April--New England Technical Service* Librarians, a one-day thing. It's way geeky, but there will be some really relevant programs. I don't think I'll know anyone there, I've pretty much lost touch with the New England library community. I'll go the day before & spend night, come back the next day. Will have to board the dogs, which ends up costing more than my trip.
Must pedal now, my 20 minutes. I'm going to start doing crunches, too. A living hell. The most odious thing a human can do. I was taught a way to do them while lying on my big pink ball, so I can start them tonight. I bought a new bathing suit (swimsuit?) and I look like a sausage, or a barrel, in it. This inspired me, in a disgusting way, to do something about my gut. So far I've lost 5 lbs by pedaling for 20 min. 4 times a week. At this rate I'll lose the weight I want to in, oh, let's see ... 2 years or so. not really, but it'll take a very long time.
Thursday, March 04, 2010
contrail 002
The other picture I took looks as if there's a problem with the camera. This one at least shows the jet.
Sometimes contrails (do people still call them that?) make a pretty effect in a blue sky. Having such a big skyline helps.
What's better than a contrail like this?
Sometimes contrails (do people still call them that?) make a pretty effect in a blue sky. Having such a big skyline helps.
What's better than a contrail like this?
contrail 005
Why, two of course! when I see contrails this way I wonder if it's like a game of chicken between two pilots. Are they going to meet somewhere in the sky?
Tuesday, March 02, 2010
March sunrise
It was a pretty sunrise this morning. This is from my deck, looking south toward the lake. A sign that spring has finally returned another year is when the view of the lake through the woods turns from white to blue. well, duh.
Good weather this week--high 30's. Hopefully that will melt the ice on my deck and stairs so I'll stop sliding down and landing on my butt. with plenty of embarrassing bruises on arms.
I've taken on some of the work that the retired (nasty) clerk did. I thought it wouldn't take long & maybe would even be entertaining. I was wrong, way wrong. B-O-R-I-N-G and time-consuming. Although I do get to see what people in other libraries are reading--or at least want to borrow from us.
I ordered a bathing suit yesterday, still on the hunt for the perfect fit. I got one the other day (I only shop Land's E*d overstocks). It's ok but not very pretty. At least I have something. I'll NEVER order a suit that's all one color. That made me look particularly sausage-like. I have a barrel-shaped body, lucky me I inherited my mother's body type. Not true for my sister, or my brother. At least my mother also gave me good hair color--it's barely gray and the gray hairs are barely visible.
Good weather this week--high 30's. Hopefully that will melt the ice on my deck and stairs so I'll stop sliding down and landing on my butt. with plenty of embarrassing bruises on arms.
I've taken on some of the work that the retired (nasty) clerk did. I thought it wouldn't take long & maybe would even be entertaining. I was wrong, way wrong. B-O-R-I-N-G and time-consuming. Although I do get to see what people in other libraries are reading--or at least want to borrow from us.
I ordered a bathing suit yesterday, still on the hunt for the perfect fit. I got one the other day (I only shop Land's E*d overstocks). It's ok but not very pretty. At least I have something. I'll NEVER order a suit that's all one color. That made me look particularly sausage-like. I have a barrel-shaped body, lucky me I inherited my mother's body type. Not true for my sister, or my brother. At least my mother also gave me good hair color--it's barely gray and the gray hairs are barely visible.
SL Mtn from deck
My brother would be very pleased to see this. He wanted me to have a view ("What's the point of living on a hill if you don't have a view?"). I think the clear-cutting across the road has improved the view. This is today at 7:00 or so.
feb snow 003
From the kitchen window. Time to clear some space before the forest re-claims the land where the house is.
feb snow 005
I thought the dripping snow in the center of the picture looked like a slug. yucka pucka.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Up close and personal, the view from my kitchen window.One of the books my father enjoyed was "Don't get perkonal with a chicken." It's not as much fun to say things like that when there's no one to recognize its significance. So, like, when I say perkonal, no one knows what I mean.
My sister's birthday was yesterday. One is really supposed to say "Yesterday was my sister's birthday," I think. I play with phrases, too much when I write.
I got to talk to her last night. There's always something sweet and reassuring about talking to a sister (or brother, but I can't do that anymore). I talk to my mother often, so talking to her isn't such a treat. Besides, she's my mother--so much, so way different. Anyway, Mary (who know that was her real name? She has no middle name. Family lore is that, because my parents lived in West Virginia when she was born, everyone asked "Mary what? Mary Lou? Mary Alice? Mary Jane?," so my father, proprietary about his childrens' names, decided it should just be Mary. Does Mary mind that she has no middle name?) says she's now in her 60th year. I'm not far behind--there was 22 months between each child in my family. Coincidence? who knows, my mother used to tell us that, almost boastfully. Anyway, for part of the year my sister is one year older than I am, for most of it she's 2 years older. So how do I feel about having a sister who's in her 60th year? Not bad, but a bit intimidated. I don't want to get older, (though, as they say, it beats the alternative) (don't I use parentheses a lot?) but if I get just a little bit older I might be able to stop working.
We moved a lot when we were kids (no, I don't mean we moved a lot, like dancing all the time or something) (there I go with the paren. again) and something like that does a lot to define who you become. My brother was always a friend when we were new in town, but my sister and I were best friends. Or so I like to believe. We always had each other, to walk to the new school with; to climb the mulberry tree with; to play with our plastic horses with--boy that filled an incredible number of hours; to make the dachshund jump over the broomstick so we could pretend he was a horse; and lots and lots of other things. But never reading. She read, I didn't. I was jealous of the printed word. Ironic now, isn't it. Then there was the year she begged, and begged and begged to have a concrete wall built to divide the bedroom we shared. I was devastated, of course, knowing how much I'd miss her, and suffering greatly at such rejection. My mother's excuse was that it was a rented house so we couldn't do something like that. HAH! My sister saw right through that one. I was too relieved to think anything else. When we finally bought a house and had separate bedrooms, I missed my sister. Later in life we didn't like each other at all--imagine how good I felt when she told me that she didn't like me at all & didn't want to be my sister when we were in high school. I'd felt the same way about her. Ah, secrets of the past. My mother used to tell us that, no matter what we said or felt at the moment, she knew we loved each other. Of course that's always been true.
I'm at work, where the 2 fish tanks are in front of me. One has 4 male guppies--one of each primary color and one left over from the guppy population explosion I had at home. The colorful guppies are very flashy and have big tails. The homemade guppy is sort of grayish-invisible, with a big but not flashy tail. He's about 1/3 the size of the others--I call him Little Man. And there's Blue Man, of course, and Red and Yellow Guy. The other tank has 2 big goldfish in it. Twice a goldfish has jumped out of the tank to its death. The first landed on the floor, the 2nd landed splat on my chair seat. I have a water pump in the bigger tank, and hear the sound of running water all day. It's nice and is a truer sound than the white noise of the heating system.
Since I'm at work, I have to get going on our 2010 Department Goals. There are only 2 of us in the department now so it's easier and more peaceful to do this. Plus the goals can't be quite as lofty. hey lofty.
What I get to look at on my way to work. Note the snot ice on the left. Snot ice is called that because, of course, it's the color of snot (well, some people's snot I guess). It's a sign of spring--I saw some really green snot ice the other day and it cheered me immensely. It's not particularly attractive to anyone who doesn't know what it portends.
s'no day
This is what they do after a hard day's work in deep snow. They're a great help--they make paths in the heavy snow. One to the bird feeder (must chase squirrels before eating sunflower seeds rejected or dropped by birds)--and that's a good one, very packed down and pretty wide. Another to get under the house--this path is a godsend to Kittie, since she likes using a litter box about as much as I like having one in the house. The ground is bare naked under the house. Sometimes I feel like crawling under there just to smell wet dirt. Mud is not wet dirt, wet dirt smells like spring. Another path goes past the burn barrel (I know, not legal to burn trash, but is it better to send it to the landfill? I only (mostly) burn paper), down to the woods, where they like to poop in private, and pee, getting their hoo-hoos wet when they squat. Another path goes down the driveway, where they run every time they think a) the bogeyman is coming, or b) someone fascinating who loves dogs is coming. Neither is true, most of the time. They bark every time the snow plow comes. I can just see the blinking yellow lights of the plow through the trees from the deck. I can hear its rumbling as I sit in the living room. The town plowman is a wonderful man named Lee. Lots of times last names are irrelevant. Anyway, Lee also drives for the woman I buy firewood from, so he knows plenty about me. What I know about him isn't much: that he's a kind man who knows how to get to my house and knows that I need to leave for work early, so he plows the road at an early hour. He also knows my dogs, and how much firewood I have and where it's piled. The man who plows my driveway, named Donny because his father is Don, comes a little late sometimes, but he's very reliable. As opposed to other plowmen I've had. Donny came yesterday and we had our usual plow-time visit. Each time we talk we end by saying "It's a wonderful neighborhood, isn't it."
The neighborhood consists of an area of about maybe 10 square miles, with maybe 15 or so year-round residents. The population explodes in the summer, and we all enjoy our summer company (they are some of my best friends). It's a biannual adjustment: from no neighbors to lots of neighbors, from no cars on my road to lots of cars on my road. Ken and I always talked about it, around Memorial Day we'd say "Time for the crowds to come. Won't be long before there will be a lot of people here." After Columbus Day we'd say "Now it's just us." I think I live a nearly-perfect life. Even when I have no water I can enjoy my lifestyle. Donny once said "Well ... when you live alone and you're lonely ... " I never corrected him to say I'm NEVER lonely. I figure it's a good investment to have him think that, even though I don't like to have anyone think of me that way.
at least it's february
This is what it looks like from my deck. Or at least it did yesterday. Actually, the landscape doesn't change much once it looks like this; the snow falls off of the tree limbs, that's all.Monday, February 22, 2010
who's she?
Favorite beach--RI Valentine's Day visit
Ferry in Galillee
Mark--snow on the rocks
Mark, snow on the beachOK, so I got a call yesterday from a good friend & she asked "Do you still live there?" She kindly pointed out that my blog is stuck in early Jan., and I never posted any Christmas pictures. Well, the Christmas pictures are pretty old,but I was in RI for Valentine's Day, so maybe I'll post some of those pictures. I had a good time, Mark & I walked the dogs on 2 beaches & had a contest to see who could find the best scallop shells. It must have been a tie. It was nice but windy and cool. The promise of bare ground was broken--there had been a storm prior to my arrival. I'm returning in mid-March for my mother's 84th birthday--again the promise of bare ground. Bet I'll be ready for it by then--we're supposed to have a storm this week, but it's too early to know how much snow, according to our inept meteorologist. Who is a jerk and (as M pointed out) can only say "nor-thurrn" instead of using the more commonly used "northern." Wish M hadn't pointed this out to me because now it drives me crazy, too.
Life progresses. I've been well, though have slipped into my winter depression (this is beyond the doldrums, or being shack-wacky--this is the "I can't get up off the couch or wake up" syndrome). My house is a mess (I can hear the responses--"yeah, like that's unusual"). Is it really necessary to use so many "quotation marks?" Anyway, my winter has gone pretty well. Amazing what a difference a clean stovepipe and dry wood stored in the woodshed make. Wow. My stove gets warm, my living room isn't 53 degrees (well, sometimes, but I can get it up to 63 or so, which is pretty toasty for 58 OHR).
I've seen friends this month--my friends from the camp down the hill from my house were here. Boys from Mass., Minn., Calif. They're great and I got to have dinner with them twice. And talk to Duncan every night. These are wonderful people.
The Holts were here for the weekend and took me to a fundraiser for our wonderful new Congressman. It was something, all right. Held at an exclusive Lake Placid landmark. I knew no one until I spotted a librarian from SUNY, who (whom?) I've known a long time--since Jamie's fly-tying classes in the 80's. And I chatted with the library's mailman, who was there representing the letter carriers' union. Passed out many compliments. Kidded around with a nice man from Schenectady until I realized he was a Congressman, then felt foolish. There were 4 Congresspeople there, including Rush. They all spoke at dinner, of course. Dinner, ahhh, after appetizers like tuna, venison sausage, chicken Satay. Actually, the food wasn't as great as I expected. rats. No, the food wasn't rats. I sat across from the owner and spent most of the time talking to her. Did you know that you can make fake, low-cal coconut cream pie, using a low-fat Jello pudding cup sprinkled with coconut, mixed in with coconut extract and sprinkled on top with crushed graham crackers? well now you do. Other topics were the usual dog, cat, weather, etc. stories. Except when the owner told me ad nauseum that there aren't any age-appropriate books for her 8- and 10-year olds. And that we should have all books labeled so that no one would read an inappropriate book. And that one of our best libraries is too noisy. Aside from that, I enjoyed talking with her and she kept saying "EXACTLY!" when I said something she agreed with.
Work has been fine, except for the past week, when my colleague was on a cruise and I did her work. Yeowie is there a lot of running around and checking books in & out, putting things on delivery shelves, sorting things out when the delivery comes in. not pleasant for an elderly asthmatic.
I've been pedaling on a stationary bike and walking on the treadmill we have here. We chipped in together (as opposed to apart?) & bought the t'mill. I've been better than anyone would have expected--working on it every day for at least 15 min. I can read while doing either activity so time passes quickly. OK, not quickly, but it's not bad. I was reading our book group book, which was a really sucky book, but now I can move on to something I'll enjoy. So far my pants are still too tight and my asthma is still bad, but I'll keep it up. I almost enjoy it.
Dogs are fine. Chances is showing her age--her vision is getting worse, she has trouble jumping up on the bed, but she's a sweetie. Tess is spunky (what a stoopid word) and still likes to lie on top of me while we watch NCIS repeats. My mother really likes these 2 dogs and takes great care of them when I'm there. Spoils them, actually.
We've had cold weather but now we're having great temps, 20's & 30's. False hope of approaching spring? perhaps. But I ordered flower seeds, and am getting ready to plant them. In March, I hope.
Bill is keeping up with the Sunday noon tradition, sans dinner. Good snacks, wine, good visits with the regulars. I visit Ken's niece & her husband, who live next door to K's house, stopping on my way home from work as I did with Ken. We like tradition in Hawkeye.
I have nothing exciting or startling to report. I think about retirement but try not to be one who puts x's on calendars, counting down the days. I'm hoping for early retirement in 4 years, so I have plenty of time left. Plenty of projects, lots of things about my job to enjoy.
And life goes on. If you were expecting something fascinating I apologize. It's winter, you know.
Monday, January 04, 2010
Monday, December 21, 2009
christmas tree 09 015
I did it! I finally decided to put up a tree. I found the perfect one next to my driveway, and in true North Country style I cut off the top. It's a big table top tree and looks great. I finished decorating it at 6 this morning. Only special ornaments made the cut this year.
Wednesday, December 09, 2009
Thanksgiving, then December
Thanksgiving wasn't so long ago, but now it's fer shure December. I had a great time at T-giving, nice to visit with everyone. Sometimes I feel bad going there because Mark & Liza tell me how much they love having me visit. That makes me feel as if I should get there more often. Oh well, I do what I can do. At least this time I could say that I'll be back in 3 weeks. A week at Christmas, when we always have a really nice time.
Things in Hawkeye are fine. I bought 5 cords of Ken's wood and Bill arranged for it to be delivered and stacked in the woodshed. I have about 12 cords now, all dry enough to burn. That'll get me through the season, probably with plenty to spare. I'm still practicing new methods of burning in the stove (DON'T shut it down all the way!) and mostly I have no coals left in the morning or when I get home at night. This is a big change, and the price I pay for keeping my stovepipe clean and safe.
I've taken to visiting Ken's niece and her husband on the way home. All 3 of us enjoy this and like catching up on neighborhood news--Pat always has something to share, and I often have updates. Jim stands at the kitchen window nearly all the time, so he knows who drives by, how many times they do, what direction, when, etc. This means there's a gold mine of information for us all to share. It's an OK substitute for Ken, and we talk about him a lot, without too much sadness. I still think of him and want to call to share something, plus I want to have our evening visits again.
There are so many "Favorite/Best Books of 2009" lists that I'm spending a lot of time going through them to see which I've added to our collection, which I've read, what I think of them, if I've heard of them, etc. This is a project that can continue well into 2010, when the lists will hardly be relevant.
Do we call it two thousand ten, or twenty ten? I've heard a lot of twenty tens, I guess it all depends on how many syllables people want to say.
Big storm today, thank you Midwest. 4-8", or maybe a foot, or maybe less. Love these weather people. Snowing hard this morning, rough drive to work. I have yet to have my snow tires put on (oops, what a cliche to put it off this long) so I have trouble getting the car to want to drive without spinning tires and fishtailing. I'm used to dealing with those, so it's not a big deal, but it sure is frustrating when I can barely get up the smallest incline. I guess we're supposed to have sleet/rain this afternoon, but I don't expect to be able to drive to the house tonight. Donny The Plowman works nights so will only be able to plow before 2:00 or so.
I've been getting ready for Christmas but can't figure out if I have any Christmas spirit. I love buying presents for people but haven't shipped out the Italy stuff yet. I did cut 3 trees the other day, though. They're propped up on the deck, waiting for me to make a decision about which will be The Chosen One, or whether I'll bring anyone in to decorate at all. I bought a new tree stand, though, one that will accommodate the tiny trunks these have. They're skanky looking balsams, lots of spaces between the boughs, but they're fresh, free and they are what they are. My father always had us have balsam Christmas trees, but though they smell like Christmas, balsams seldom make good trees for decorating. Sparse, always sparse. My mother now gets Fraser firs, nice and full. Mark puts about 1000 lights on them (no exaggeration, at least 10 strands). The trees are always pretty. White lights. Do I want colored lights or white? Ah, life is full of complex issues, no?
Things in Hawkeye are fine. I bought 5 cords of Ken's wood and Bill arranged for it to be delivered and stacked in the woodshed. I have about 12 cords now, all dry enough to burn. That'll get me through the season, probably with plenty to spare. I'm still practicing new methods of burning in the stove (DON'T shut it down all the way!) and mostly I have no coals left in the morning or when I get home at night. This is a big change, and the price I pay for keeping my stovepipe clean and safe.
I've taken to visiting Ken's niece and her husband on the way home. All 3 of us enjoy this and like catching up on neighborhood news--Pat always has something to share, and I often have updates. Jim stands at the kitchen window nearly all the time, so he knows who drives by, how many times they do, what direction, when, etc. This means there's a gold mine of information for us all to share. It's an OK substitute for Ken, and we talk about him a lot, without too much sadness. I still think of him and want to call to share something, plus I want to have our evening visits again.
There are so many "Favorite/Best Books of 2009" lists that I'm spending a lot of time going through them to see which I've added to our collection, which I've read, what I think of them, if I've heard of them, etc. This is a project that can continue well into 2010, when the lists will hardly be relevant.
Do we call it two thousand ten, or twenty ten? I've heard a lot of twenty tens, I guess it all depends on how many syllables people want to say.
Big storm today, thank you Midwest. 4-8", or maybe a foot, or maybe less. Love these weather people. Snowing hard this morning, rough drive to work. I have yet to have my snow tires put on (oops, what a cliche to put it off this long) so I have trouble getting the car to want to drive without spinning tires and fishtailing. I'm used to dealing with those, so it's not a big deal, but it sure is frustrating when I can barely get up the smallest incline. I guess we're supposed to have sleet/rain this afternoon, but I don't expect to be able to drive to the house tonight. Donny The Plowman works nights so will only be able to plow before 2:00 or so.
I've been getting ready for Christmas but can't figure out if I have any Christmas spirit. I love buying presents for people but haven't shipped out the Italy stuff yet. I did cut 3 trees the other day, though. They're propped up on the deck, waiting for me to make a decision about which will be The Chosen One, or whether I'll bring anyone in to decorate at all. I bought a new tree stand, though, one that will accommodate the tiny trunks these have. They're skanky looking balsams, lots of spaces between the boughs, but they're fresh, free and they are what they are. My father always had us have balsam Christmas trees, but though they smell like Christmas, balsams seldom make good trees for decorating. Sparse, always sparse. My mother now gets Fraser firs, nice and full. Mark puts about 1000 lights on them (no exaggeration, at least 10 strands). The trees are always pretty. White lights. Do I want colored lights or white? Ah, life is full of complex issues, no?
Tess has learned a new term for treats: BISCUITS
"When's the turkey going to ready?" or maybe "Someone dropped food," or maybe "Someone's blowing their nose so maybe I can eat the kleenex." The dog is paper-obsessed. She's allowed to eat kleenex but nothing else. Paper, I mean.
The whole trip was exhausting for some
Plenty of time was spent doing this. The only way I can tell these two apart is by collar color. Chances has a red collar. Tess' is purple. No significance, except that Chances is too dignified for a purple collar and Tess is too childish for any other color.
Run Forrest, Run!
When we were kids my sister and I liked to pretend that our dogs were horses. We made that poor dachshund jump over the broom handle thousands of times. Here's Tess, looking as if she's leading the pack in the Kentucky Derby.
thanksgiving 09 085
Tess is so happy she's walking on air. Can't see the pond in summer, but when the trees get naked there it is!
Two of my favorites
Although we didn't get to go on our walks as early as we did in the summer, we still had our nice treks. Chilly but not too cold. Brisk, maybe.
Hippo? Chances?
I love seeing Chances enjoy herself. She went for a quick dip but apparently decided to shake, maybe she forgot that you're supposed to do that AFTER you get out of the water. Sort of like breathing in while you're underwatre, I guess.
Chances up close and personal. or maybe it's Tess
Tess up close and personal. She can't sit still for ANYTHING
As always, Mark outdid himself
Thanksgiving centerpiece, by Mark Tucker. Imagine what his wedding work looks like--
thanksgiving 09 024
A different way of serving turkey: carve first, then reassemble on the serving platter. Mark is at it again--
This is what Mark calls a salad
The masterpiece that was Mark's salad. It was so cool, what a creative mind he has.
After
This is what greeted me when I got home: a clean, almost empty kitchen counter. I cleared pretty much everything off of it when I put up the backsplash. Bill says my counter is the litmus test for whether or not I can keep my living room clean. So far so good
Tuesday, November 03, 2009
Back for more
I know, it's been a long time. Life is just going along these days, my life is very different without Ken. I have reflex reactions to things like, I can't wait to talk to Ken about the new polling place, and calling him when it's raining to say "It's raining at my house, is it raining at yours?" that was a standing joke between us, since our homes are only a mile apart.
Work is different, one of the clerks in our department retired. I won't go into the joy we're all experiencing, but she's not being replaced, so I have to figure out which of her tasks I'll do and which the other (nice, funny, charming, personable) clerk will do. So far I'm making some progress but I don't want to overload the clerk with too much. Can it be that I'll have to do interlibrary loan again? After all these years of not doing it? When I came here (25 years ago) I hoped I'd never catalog another book or work with MARC records again. That didn't work out. I feel the same way about ILL, but there's no one else to do it. At least I'll use better judgment than She Finally Retired did.
I accomplished a major task recently, cleaned 3 whole rooms in my house. Kitchen, bathroom, living room. Wow do they look great. I'm making a huge effort to keep the look, avoiding cluttering things up, cleaning all the time. One of the most amazing feats is taking everything off of the kitchen counter. Wow! does it look great. Bill came the other day and said the counter would be the litmus test of how well I can do keeping the house organized. I can't imagine having as little room on the counter as I used to, so this might just work out.
It was suggested that I'm so interested in organizing/cleaning because of Ken's death--this is a new phase of my life. That may be true. Or else I've finally taken a good look at my house and realize how awful it looks.
I've been enjoying autumn more, I think, than any other year. I walk the bog on weekends and the colors have been great. Once I took pictures of individual leaves, making up stories and situations for each one. It would have made a great children's book, except that there are already hundreds of books about colored leaves and autumn already. Plus, of course, there's always the getting it published part ...
I'm reading a lot more these days, too. The new John Irving book just came in, hopefully great to read. Well, maybe great, or maybe my expectations are too high. He's always been one of my favorite authors, so let's see how he's doing.
I had a chimney man come to take a look at my stove last week. I have Stage 3 creosote. This is very bad, I think there are only 3 stages. My stovepipe is glazed with creosote. I said to Duane (very cute, very knowledgeable), "You've seen worse, haven't you?" No answer. I take it this means I will be the "worse" that he'll refer to when other customers ask this question. swell. Anyway he's coming back to fix everything and I'm soooo looking forward to that. It's cold at night (20's, 30's) and I can't get my living room very warm without the stove. I'm acclimated though, 60 feels comfortable, especially when the room is 54 when I get up or get home. I have electric baseboard heat as a back up, and have been a loyal and lucrative customer of the electric company for years. I did order shades for my huge windows, though, with great regret. I'm getting honeycomb shades, hoping that what people have told me is true and they'll make a big difference. I'll miss looking out the windows at night, but I can always leave them up and lower them when I go to bed. Boy this all seems very mundane and not very stimulating, but this is my life these days.
Flat tire on the way to work this morning, just as I pulled into my coffee stop. Swell. A flat tire is a great man magnet, though--at one point there were 4 men standing around watching an acquaintance change the tire. Lots of offers of tools, help, etc. I just found out that the tire can't be fixed, so swell, my new tire will now be replaced by a newer one. Although I like having new things, a tire offers little anticipation or interest.
I started feeding the birds recently. The first to appear were the blue jays (not my favorites, but they are a beautiful color). I always associate the squawk of jays with my grandmother's house in New Jersey. It was the first time I got acquainted with the bird and it's noise. Did we not have them in Ill.? We didn't like going to NJ as children--there was nothing to do. When we were young, my sister and I played with the best dollhouse ever --light bulbs in the rooms, a porcelain bathroom sink, a neat telephone cubby under the stairs. We'd spend hours in the basement with that. When we got older, there was nothing to do, except for the year my sister read Gone With The Wind. She sat on the window seat on the 3rd floor (which was a really cool bedroom, you could almost see the NYC skyline from there) and read for hours, no, days, no, years. I remember asking her over and over when she'd be done & play with me. Later, in high school when I was home sick I read GWTW and finally understood what that summer was all about. I read it all day. The book is much more engrossing than the film, although the film was full of beautiful people.
I brought guppies to work, their tank is next to the goldfish's. I'd finally culled the herd of guppies and had just 4 males left, but it turns out that there's a Guppy Gang thing, and they intimidated the other fish. I don't like to see anyone/thing suffer like that, so I broke up the gang. I brought 3 here. One died and the others feasted on his remains. How to keep a clean tank--
The neighborhood is quiet now, only about 4 houses are occupied. I'm spending time with Pat & Jim, Ken's neighbors. Pat is Ken's niece. They're my surrogate Ken, but we all seem to be all right with that, they miss him terribly too.
And so we've been dumped into the days of darkness. I usually have trouble adjusting to the time changes, but so far I've been OK. Except for yesterday, when I didn't realize I hadn't set my bedside clock back. There I was, dressed & ready for work an hour early. duh.
Work is different, one of the clerks in our department retired. I won't go into the joy we're all experiencing, but she's not being replaced, so I have to figure out which of her tasks I'll do and which the other (nice, funny, charming, personable) clerk will do. So far I'm making some progress but I don't want to overload the clerk with too much. Can it be that I'll have to do interlibrary loan again? After all these years of not doing it? When I came here (25 years ago) I hoped I'd never catalog another book or work with MARC records again. That didn't work out. I feel the same way about ILL, but there's no one else to do it. At least I'll use better judgment than She Finally Retired did.
I accomplished a major task recently, cleaned 3 whole rooms in my house. Kitchen, bathroom, living room. Wow do they look great. I'm making a huge effort to keep the look, avoiding cluttering things up, cleaning all the time. One of the most amazing feats is taking everything off of the kitchen counter. Wow! does it look great. Bill came the other day and said the counter would be the litmus test of how well I can do keeping the house organized. I can't imagine having as little room on the counter as I used to, so this might just work out.
It was suggested that I'm so interested in organizing/cleaning because of Ken's death--this is a new phase of my life. That may be true. Or else I've finally taken a good look at my house and realize how awful it looks.
I've been enjoying autumn more, I think, than any other year. I walk the bog on weekends and the colors have been great. Once I took pictures of individual leaves, making up stories and situations for each one. It would have made a great children's book, except that there are already hundreds of books about colored leaves and autumn already. Plus, of course, there's always the getting it published part ...
I'm reading a lot more these days, too. The new John Irving book just came in, hopefully great to read. Well, maybe great, or maybe my expectations are too high. He's always been one of my favorite authors, so let's see how he's doing.
I had a chimney man come to take a look at my stove last week. I have Stage 3 creosote. This is very bad, I think there are only 3 stages. My stovepipe is glazed with creosote. I said to Duane (very cute, very knowledgeable), "You've seen worse, haven't you?" No answer. I take it this means I will be the "worse" that he'll refer to when other customers ask this question. swell. Anyway he's coming back to fix everything and I'm soooo looking forward to that. It's cold at night (20's, 30's) and I can't get my living room very warm without the stove. I'm acclimated though, 60 feels comfortable, especially when the room is 54 when I get up or get home. I have electric baseboard heat as a back up, and have been a loyal and lucrative customer of the electric company for years. I did order shades for my huge windows, though, with great regret. I'm getting honeycomb shades, hoping that what people have told me is true and they'll make a big difference. I'll miss looking out the windows at night, but I can always leave them up and lower them when I go to bed. Boy this all seems very mundane and not very stimulating, but this is my life these days.
Flat tire on the way to work this morning, just as I pulled into my coffee stop. Swell. A flat tire is a great man magnet, though--at one point there were 4 men standing around watching an acquaintance change the tire. Lots of offers of tools, help, etc. I just found out that the tire can't be fixed, so swell, my new tire will now be replaced by a newer one. Although I like having new things, a tire offers little anticipation or interest.
I started feeding the birds recently. The first to appear were the blue jays (not my favorites, but they are a beautiful color). I always associate the squawk of jays with my grandmother's house in New Jersey. It was the first time I got acquainted with the bird and it's noise. Did we not have them in Ill.? We didn't like going to NJ as children--there was nothing to do. When we were young, my sister and I played with the best dollhouse ever --light bulbs in the rooms, a porcelain bathroom sink, a neat telephone cubby under the stairs. We'd spend hours in the basement with that. When we got older, there was nothing to do, except for the year my sister read Gone With The Wind. She sat on the window seat on the 3rd floor (which was a really cool bedroom, you could almost see the NYC skyline from there) and read for hours, no, days, no, years. I remember asking her over and over when she'd be done & play with me. Later, in high school when I was home sick I read GWTW and finally understood what that summer was all about. I read it all day. The book is much more engrossing than the film, although the film was full of beautiful people.
I brought guppies to work, their tank is next to the goldfish's. I'd finally culled the herd of guppies and had just 4 males left, but it turns out that there's a Guppy Gang thing, and they intimidated the other fish. I don't like to see anyone/thing suffer like that, so I broke up the gang. I brought 3 here. One died and the others feasted on his remains. How to keep a clean tank--
The neighborhood is quiet now, only about 4 houses are occupied. I'm spending time with Pat & Jim, Ken's neighbors. Pat is Ken's niece. They're my surrogate Ken, but we all seem to be all right with that, they miss him terribly too.
And so we've been dumped into the days of darkness. I usually have trouble adjusting to the time changes, but so far I've been OK. Except for yesterday, when I didn't realize I hadn't set my bedside clock back. There I was, dressed & ready for work an hour early. duh.
deer me
Here's a deer track (cloven hoof). There are lots & lots of deer in the neighborhood, maybe too many. Anyway, on my land is an old apple orchard, which is a huge attraction to the deer. Lots of apples on the ground, and the dogs and deer vie for who gets the most. Yesterday there were 2 deer grazing under an apple tree. They really are pretty--so dainty, and beautiful when they bound through the woods.
tamaracks 027
This is what lotsof the "roads" look like now. This is Laundry Lane, looking toward Linda's camp. Roads to camps are pretty much all one lane dirt roads, and look really pretty.
end of season 09 056
In September (yes it's been a long time) I followed the trail at the end of the boardwalk. It goes to the top of the bluffs, which are at the head of the lake. This is what it looks like when you first get to the top.
end of season 09 054
This is your reward when you get to the edge. There's a better view if you go down to a ledge, but I was afraid the dogs would be too reckless. Or in Chances' case, wouldn't see the edge.
end of season 09 083
who's poop this is, I think I know...
I'm pretty sure it's fox poop--or scat, if you want to be a naturalist.
I'm pretty sure it's fox poop--or scat, if you want to be a naturalist.
more oct 09 003
I have fun taking pictures of things. Of course this is in the bog--the pool you find on the boardwalk. Lots of times the dogs walk right in but they're learning to wait until I've finished taking a picture-- f
tamaracks 028
These are the steps leading to Bill's camp (well, one of them--he owns 2). The camp is called Morningside and is a wonderful place, tucked up the hill from the road. This is like Stairway to Heaven, no?
tamaracks 001
This is what the tamaracks look like when they get ready to be naked. It's pretty much the last color we see--
yellow brick road
And this is what it looks like now. Tams are pretty much bare, but the effect of their shedding leaves is really pretty.
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