Making progress, taking breaks

My cleaning work is coming along.  If only I'd learn to do this OFTEN, it wouldn't be such a chore.  I finished the upstairs bathroom, which included cleaning the shower and washing the floor.  I got started on the downstairs bathroom and dusted/swept the stairs.  Boy that doesn't sound like much, but I'm closing in on the end of my list.  Tonight I'll finish with the downstairs bathroom.  I think I'll have to wash the upstairs floor--it's rough pine boards and I don't think sweeping or Swiffering will get rid of the dust.  There's a clean path from the top of the stairs to the bathroom, duh, but the floor will look good when I finish.  I have vacuuming to do and, worst of all, mowing the lawn.  I did some path clearing at the foot of the deck stairs, which is a huge improvement.  Now I must mow mow mow.  But not NOW, it's too hot.

I took a break this afternoon and spent 2 1/2 hours with Linda on her dock.  It was glorious, warm sun and cool water, lots of swimming.  Oh so pleasant.

I went to the dump and to AuSable this morning, always feels good to get rid of things.  I had coffee with Fred and Linda, looking from F's porch to a calm and gorgeous lake.  Ahhhhhh, this is a nice time of year.

Different camera, same dog

I bought a new camera today, but not the one I thought I was getting--duh.  I'm the worst consumer.  I just pointed at the box and said "that's the one I want," without checking it out.  Oh well, it's a Coolpix, just a different one from the one I meant to buy.  It's waterproof and so is a little bigger than what I wanted, but who knows, I may use it underwater some time.  Oh wait, I just realized I can use it when I'm in the water and want to shoot pictures of the dogs (or people) on the dock.  OK, now I feel better.

Anyway, this is Treasure, taken by my new Nikon.  She looks the same as she did with the old cameras.

I had a busy day but not busy in the way I should have been.  I went to Plattsburgh, ran a lot of errands (including the purchase of the camera), bought produce at a farm stand, had lunch with Julie, baked the dogs in a hot car, then came home.  I went to some friends' camp to drop off some books and they were sitting on their dock with other friends.  A party!  It was nice, all of the people there are leaving tomorrow, some will return for Columbus Day but others will be gone for the next year.  Hard to believe we're flying into September already.  I need to have my stovepipe cleaned, I'll be burning wood within the month I bet.

I've been cleaning and sorting all week, have been able to cross off a lot of things on my list, though there are still quite a few left.  I leave the most disagreeable jobs for last.  That's dumb.  I still have to mow and weed whack, and clean the bathrooms and shower.  I can re-write my list many times, but those will still be on it.  Finish cleaning the kitchen, vacuum, clean the upstairs hallway, vacuum the extra bedroom, oh it could go on forever.  I did clean my bedroom and the laundry room and got a good start on the living room.  I suppose if I dusted regularly dusting wouldn't be such a chore, right?  When we were kids we had assigned cleaning jobs every weekend.  My usual job was to empty and wash the ashtrays--both parents smoked and it sure felt as if no one else ever emptied the ashtrays, lots of butts every weekend.  Anyway, we dusted often so you'd think that would be part of my cleaning routine.  But no, it turns out I don't have a cleaning routine.  I clean when someone is coming to visit.  One might conclude I don't feel that I'm worthy of having a clean house just for me, but that isn't true, it's just that I don't like to clean.  Really don't like to.

Tomorrow morning will be coffee with Fred and Linda, then I really need to make myself finish my house.  I have a good dump load--going there will distract me.  I should buy cold cuts, so a trip to the store in Redford may be called for (though maybe I'll save that for Sunday).  I have to have to have to get this house in order.

Boat ride

 Went on a wonderful boat ride last night with friends: here is the boat house, looking quite imposing and sturdy.

And here's our shore front--the small cabin on the water is the one communal sleeping cabin.  There are 6 sleeping cabins, one for each of the 5 Rogers families, and Dockside, the one pictured here.

It was a great boat ride, we went around the whole lake and were reminded how lucky we are to have so much "forever wild" state land at Silver Lake.

I've been working on my house, just cleaning cleaning cleaning and trying to reach some kind of peace with the place.  It's overwhelming and I can't keep up with it, but I do like living here.  I have a college friend coming next week, the reason for my frenzy.  Tomorrow I'll go to Plattsburgh for groceries, lunch with Julie and errands.  Today I'll go to AuSable Forks to mail a letter to my mother and buy some wine and the very nice local liquor store there.  And I'll clean my 2 bathrooms, oh yes I will.  Oh how I hate cleaning bathrooms!

BEACH TIME!  That would be me, in the foreground, and Mark dozing next to me.  We had a good time in RI, some excellent beaching.  The water was crystal clear, which is necessary for me to truly enjoy water.  I'm totally spoiled by sping-fed Silver Lake, where the water is clear down to 15 feet or more.

I went to my mother's on Monday the 15th, stayed until Sunday the 21st.  The traffic on the trip down was just awful, so much traffic, and I was very dozey so I stopped a few times and it took longer to get there.  Ugh.  I've learned that maybe August is not the best time to travel from one vacation spot to another.  My trip home was better but I came through VT and NH, around Boston.  It was an easy trip home, less traffic and I made good time.  I stopped at the NH Liquor Store, which I loved.  I like poking around liquor stores, a funny entertainment.  I got some excellent bourbon, a nice herbal vermouth for Erdvilas, a nice gin for Erdvilas, some whiskey for Jim Brousseau, some special gin for Fred--maybe that's it, I can't remember.  I didn't allow myself to wander through the wine section, way too tempting.  Anyway I spent plenty of money but loved it.

So I got home Sunday night, had a peaceful re-entry into Hawkeye Life.  It was very hot and humid in RI, too humid.  It has cleared here and cooled way off.  It was in the high 40's yesterday morning, 50's this morning, and in the 70's yesterday and today.  Yesterday I went to Plattsburgh, got my errands done and had a nice lunch with Barb.  Well, maybe the lunch wasn't so nice, the restaurant was packed and noisy and it took too long for our food to arrive.  But we enjoyed being together, which is really the point (except that we were both really hungry and got tired of waiting).

I went to Linda's for cocktails, tasting the bourbon I bought (which is delicious).  After drinks we went to Wilmington for ice cream with Fred, always a nice treat (both the ice cream and time spent with Fred).

I had trouble getting to sleep last night, then was up during the night and slept soundly on the couch this morning.  Yikes, Fred called at 8 and I was sleeping soundly on the couch.  I dreamed I was in the Miss America pageant.  Is this the new version of my anxiety dream?  Geez I hope not.  Anyway, Fred wanted to go to the Wild Center in Tupper Lake, so that's how we spent our day.  It was a fantastic August day, clear, sunny and warm.  The Wild Center was grand but Fred had limited mobility so that was a bit worrisome.  I walked the new trail there that's above the trees, very fancy and special..  It was great, good mountain views in the distance.

I just got home from Joe & Martha's, had a nice visit with them and their grandson.  Now I'm cooking some local corn for dinner.  I have a lot of housework to do, both inside and outdoors.  My college friend is coming next week and I really can't present my house in its current condition.  Oh my oh my there is a lot to do!  I'm hoping we'll be able to sleep at camp but I need to get the house in better shape.  I got a bit of a start this afternoon.  Tomorrow is a boat ride with friends and dinner with Linda & Erdvilas.  But FIRST:  study the list I've made of chores and get some of them done.

My dollies

They're cute, they're dear, and they're mine.

Away we go

Leaving for Rhode Island in the morning.  I can't believe how well organized and nearly packed I am for this trip.  I never have this much ready before mornings.  Maybe that's because I opted to stay home today and tonight, tired of the social life that has consumed me for the past weeks.

We had a meeting of the shoreowners' association this afternoon.  That went well.  I've been president twice, now I'm a member of whatever "board" there is.  We have by-laws but don't seem to be paying much attention to term limits.  The woman who is president is great and no one else wants to do it so we're letting it go.  Anyway the meeting was fine.  The Town Supervisor was there and spoke well.  He's a big improvement over his predecessor, I feel good about out town government (except for the one councilman I truly can't stand).

I had to go to the boat house to change the bed there and dreaded going down.  I've been lucky this week, no one was in camp since Monday, but now my ex-husband and his wife are there with friends.  Oh how I wanted to avoid going there, but I needed some things from the boat house, needed to feed the hummingbirds, and wanted to change the bed.  YAY!  I did it.  Everyone was on the dock and my dogs surprised me by staying at my side the whole time.  This is all very silly and childish.  There was a time when I wanted to talk with Jamie, be friendly (I thought).  Now I don't.  I just don't.  We have single-sentence conversations when we're face to face, as we were at the family meeting last weekend. 

So why am I going to RI at the peak of my social season in Hawkeye?  Probably BECAUSE it's the peak of my season.  There are  3 sets of people here for the week, all of whom like to get together (and drink) so it will be a busy time here.  I'm going to see my mother, of course, but I think part of the appeal of this trip is the escape from Hawkeye.  Staying with Liza is always relaxing, and I can feel that I'm doing something to improve the quality of her life.  We have very nice conversations and visits, I drive her everywhere she wants to go (this time she wants to go to the town beach, that's an easy one) and I like being there.  It's hard on my dogs because they have to stay in the pen at her house, no running free.  Sometimes Mark and I take them or early morning walks but that's harder to do in the summer because of the tourists.  No beach walks.  We can go to the wonderful park but they have to be on leashes there because they've turned into very BAD DOGS and wander.

So we'll have beach time, lobster time, we'll go to our favorite breakfast restaurant on the shore--for lunch this time.  I'll get some good coffee beans for Linda.  Liza will ask me 5 times if I want anything from her house and we'll make each other laugh.  Mark is on vacation and hopes to paint his apartment so I may help him with that.  or not.  Anyway, it will be a good trip.

This is what I look like when surround by cousins, cousins' children and cousins' grandchildren.  "Whaaaa?"  We had our family meeting and it all went well.  Very harmonius, no discord, some actual decisions made.  15 minutes of business and 45 minutes of conversation, not bad, not bad at all.  I had some nice visits with people, I was the only rep. from my family there but that turned out not to matter much as no major issues were brought up.  Whew.

That was last weekend.  The week before was full of social things, lots of dinner, coffee in the mornings with friends, dinners with friends, a doctor's appointment thrown in, helping a friend with a broken-down car, just "stuff" going on.  A busy time.

Just a view of the mountain on a day with nice clouds.  I've had some very nice dock time, just me and my dogs, and several nights of having camp to myself.  I sleep well in the boat house, especially when it's as hot as it's been.  Always cooler at the lake.  Tonight I'm home, once again camp is full of other people and a) I don't want to intrude, and b) I like to be alone in camp.  It's been very busy.

The dogs are just fine.  Right now they're outside breathing cooler air.  I was at Linda's tonight for Moroccan dinner, delicious, celebrating Joe's birthday.  For his REAL birthday we went on a cruise out of Burlington on Lake Champlain, which was way cool.  That was a lot of fun.  It was a hot day but we sat in the bow where there was a grand breeze.  I really enjoyed the day.  Since then it's been too hot to enjoy much.  Yesterday I spent the entire day at camp (I promised the dogs I'd spend the day with them), sitting on the dock for a while until the biting flies just were too much to bear, then I sat on the boat house porch and swam once in a while to cool off.  It was 96 in Plattsburgh, probably merely 90 here in Hawkeye.  Today felt worse, it was more humid.  I just felt that, if I did go swimming I would never be dry because of the humidity.  Anyway I got the boat house in pretty good shape, and emptied the camp fridge as I promised I would.  Tomorrow I go to the dump with at least 20 1-gallon water jugs from camp and a friend's recyclables, camp garbage, boat house garbage, my garbage.  Yikes.  First is coffee with friends and a field trip to a marvelous bakery in Keeseville.

Monday I'm going to RI for the week.  Mark is on vacation so we'll either paint his apartment or just go to the beach.  Anyway I'll see my mother and we'll enjoy being together.

Middle of the night

Can't blame it on alcohol this time, I'm just up and restless.  My day was too stimulating, I guess.  Started with breakfast with Linda and her company--blueberry pancakes on her porch, right on the water.  Very nice.  Then I stopped at the Nadals, spent 2 hours visiting with them on their porch, next to the water still.  Still, very still.  We finally had a calm day on the lake, it's been windy.  Came home for a bit, then back to Linda's for dock time.  That was fun, as it always is.  We laugh a lot.  It wasn't a prime dock day, though, there was a huge, low, dark cloud hovering above us.  Even that made us laugh.  I had dinner with Fred, Linda and Erd. at the Beach House, then stopped for a minute at Fred's for a quick visit.  OK, now I can have a day to myself, no?  I'll call my mother in the morning (every Saturday and Weds. mornings) then head to Plattsburgh, which I had thought of doing this morning but never made it. 

Jim & Judy came to watch the convention after all, and we had a good time.  I watched lots of very good speeches before they arrived at 9:30, then we watched the BIG speech.  I though it was long but Hillary had a lot to say.  None of us fell asleep and it was nice to be together.  I didn't get to bed until after midnight, very rare for me.  So tonight I'm back to my sometime-pattern of getting to bed at a decent hour, then getting up during the night.  Frustrating but when one doesn't have to go to work what difference does it make, really?

A friend from college is planning to come at the end of August, which will be very nice.  We spent a lot of time together when I lived in Conn., shared a house with another friend in Westport after we graduated.  Saw Paul Newman together.  Laughed a lot.  A LOT.  He still lives in Conn., has 2 grown children and a good life.  We will have a good time but we will miss our friend Sally, who was my roommate for 4 years and died when she was in law school and I was in graduate school.  We'll talk about her and I will wish she were still alive so I could find out how her life turned out, and tell her how my life is going.  But it will be nice to see Ted and I think we'll have a good visit.

The dogs are sound asleep--they used to get up with me when I have these middle-of-the night bouts, but now they know I'll just sit on the couch with the computer (which Tess sometimes nudges if she thinks I should pay attention to HER and not this screen) and will eventually join them back in bed.

So what is it that's keeping me up?  Thinking about my house, mostly tonight.  Things I should do to it before Ted comes, to make it look better.  If it's nice we can stay in camp, but if we stay here I need to do some purging.  I have 2 rooms that are full of clutter--winter things, books, furniture I don't use, stuff, just stuff.  I can make this house look better, I know I can.

Dock day extraordinaire

Yesterday was perfection.  I had coffee with friends, came home to get the dogs, then went to camp for a Dock Day.  It was hot, very hot, but there was a cool breeze on the dock and the water temp is perfection.  I read, stared into space and swam (just a little).  The dogs did the same except for the reading.  I promised them I would spend the day with them and was true to my word.  They were wonderful, stuck close to me the whole afternoon. 

I went to see P&J briefly in the afternoon, then went to the Beach House for dinner with a big group to celebrate a friend's birthday.  Huge group, and I ate too much food and drank too much beer.  I paid for that at 2 this morning, wide awake, thinking bad thoughts about myself.  What did I do for distraction?  I tidied up the piles of books in the boat house.  I was tempted to do the dishes in main camp but decided that would be a bit extreme.  I did get back to sleep, woke at 5:30 and got up at 6:30.  Nice visit with F. over coffee this morning, now I'm home daring myself to clean.  I've organized papers, balanced my checkbook, put away the laundry, now what?

No big plans for the next few days, which feels just grand.  REALLY grand.  I mowed my lawn but need to weed whack a lot to complete the process.  I have to clean and fill the hummingbird feeder at the boat house.  I need to dead head the flowers on the deck, and I should fertilize them as well.  I bought  new bookcase for the bedroom and must put it together and replace the tottery one I use for clothes storage.  Fred said this morning he was trying to picture storing clothes in a bookcase.  My only response to that is that it isn't pretty.  The room I use for a bedroom was designed to be my basketmaking studio so has no closet.  One entire wall is a window, another wall has 2 doors, there's really only one place to put the bed, and there's only room for one bureau, so I use a bookcase for pants and sweatshirts.  I laugh at myself and the way I "organize" my things.  Always a cataloger.  I'm trying to get rid of a lot of books, all fiction, that I've read recently.  I think I'll give them to my friend Judy and let her deal with them.  I passed some Richard Russo books to Sue, who is loving them.  I'm really loving Moving on, by McMurtry (for the third time)(but it's 800 pages and I don't remember much of it).  It's a real project to read it but it's wonderful.

May watch the Convention tonight with Judy and maybe Jim.  Wow would it be a late night if we stayed up to watch the acceptance speech.  But it would be historical and worth watching.  I could record it and watch it tomorrow, but would that be the same?  Anyway I'll be at home tonight--cousins due in camp later today.  I'm so spoiled, having so much time there alone and with just my sister.

 ROGERS WOMEN!  Here are my sister, my mother and me in the front garden at my mother's house.  We had a very nice visit, lots of relaxation and reading and spending time together.  I'm going back in mid-August, when Mark will be on vacation.  I'm going to "help" him but really am hoping mostly for beach days.

My sister took this shot of a calm morning on Silver Lake.  I love it.

Right now it's 3:30 a.m. and I'm at home.  I was sleeping in the boat house but woke at 2 and couldn't get back to sleep so the dogs egged me on and I came home.  Television is my best sleep-aid (OK, maybe not my BEST, there are magic drops from Italy that help) so I thought I'd give it a try.

I'm off to Plattsburgh in the early morning, a quick trip for blood work and to get dog food.  Then what?  Home, maybe mow the lawn but definitely finish cleaning the boat house and camp after cooking dinner for book group Sunday.  We barely mentioned the books (Boys in the boat and Little women) but had  nice time anyway.  Marylou brought the most excellent mango salsa and pesto (I could have eaten tubs and tubs of both of those things, wow were they good.  Thank you, Andy.

Today was not particularly productive, but I had a good time.  Road trip with F.,  AuSable and a couple of farm stands in Peru.  Got some excellent corn, wow.  Finally found some pickling cukes but only a few for sandwiches, not enough yet for pickling.  This year I'm making million dollar pickles again, they were a big success last year.

Trying to get ready for upcoming family time--cousins coming to camp this weekend, more and more cousins arriving next week for the annual meeting/gathering.  This means it's AUGUST (almost). 

Busy season

It sure is summer in Hawkeye, wow has it been busy.  Camps are full, swimming is great, dock time if wonderful.  I had a good week but am ready for a quiet break I think, and that's what today may be.

My Dish technician came last Sunday--the TV wasn't giving me all it could.  Oh yes, there was a problem: branches blocking the signal.  Duh, boy did I feel silly.  He cut the branches and wow, now all is well.  He was very nice, has 2 Labs (of course, doesn't everyone?) and is interested in maybe returning in the fall to hunt deer on my land (with my encouragement). I slept in the boat house, with loud loons on the lake.

Monday was a Plattsburgh day, haircut and lunch with Barb, plus some groceries.  Not a bad day at all.  Visited with Linda & F. after that, then it rained (much needed).

Tuesday it was 47 when I got up.  I set 4 mouse traps, having a stable mouse population in the bathroom (the bathroom???).  All 4 were licked clean but not sprung, so I'm just fattening up the little boogers.  I had coffee with friends, twice.  J&M reported following a moose down the hardtop, not far from OHR.  Jimmy says there are moose tracks in the road not far from my driveway.  I almost hit a huge deer in my driveway.  A HUGE deer.  A STUPID deer.  The deer have feasted on my hostas and lily buds but I blame myself for not spraying as I had intended--Liquid Fence is a great repellent.

Big excitement this week was my sighting of an indigo bunting!  I've wanted to see one for many, many years.  Most of the people I know who work in the woods have reported many sightings, but I've never seen one.  This one was flying across the road in front of me.  Wow what a treat.

Great dock time with Linda this week, a couple of swell afternoons.  One afternoon we swam and swam, laughed and splashed a lot.  Just a couple of fat old ladies having water fun.  It has been hot (by Hawkeye standards), was nearly 90 yesterday.  I was in Plattsburgh for many hours, leaving the dogs at home in a very warm house.  I can't leave the front door open when I'm not home so there's no effective cross breeze for them.  Today I promised I'd spend many hours with them and so far I've been true to that.

I finally got on a mouse elimination roll and have killed 5 in the bathroom so far.  How many are there?  Anyone's guess, but many friends are having mouse infestations this summer.  It's strange to have them indoors this time of year, they don't usually come in until it cools off in the fall.

Right now Bill's work crew is stacking the last of my firewood in 90-degree heat.  Lucky me!  I bought 6 cords this year, still having some left from last winter.  My stove is efficient, burns less and gives off more heat, so I'm burning less each winter.

This week looks pretty quiet, I have to go to Plattsburgh to have bloodwork done, and Weds. is a birthday celebration for a friend (yeah, as if I'd celebrate the birthday of a non-friend).   I did not watch the Republicans in Cleveland, doubt that I'll watch the Democrats this week but you never know.  Tomorrow is a double-duty social day.  Brunch at 1 and book group at the boat house in the evening.  Can it be true that August is coming soon?  

Home again at last

This was yesterday's sunrise.  I got up at 5 this morning, hoping for a repeat, but it was cloudy and gray instead. 

It's been a busy 3 weeks.  My sister flew into Montreal at the end of June and I picked her up there.  How great to be together again.  We had some time at camp to ourselves, no one else was there and it was wonderful.  Good enough weather.  We hit the social highlights, saw pretty much everyone, and swam a lot.  The boat house dock isn't in this year, but that isn't really an issue.  We use the main dock, or get in on the rocks at the boat house.  The water was cool in June but is warmer now, very nice.

One of my cousins lives in the Finger Lakes ad she & Molly wanted to see each other so Molly & I drove to her house on Owasco Lake and spent the night.  It was fine  but I was a nervous wreck about having the dogs there.  Treasure, of course, took off as soon as we got there.  They live on a point, far from the road, so it was worrisome but not too bad.  She ran around a bit then came back to the house.  We had a good visit, complete with a nice boat ride.  We left the morning of 4th of July weekend, yikes what a mess that turned out to be.  The traffic in Conn. was awful, which wouldn't have been much of a real problem for me except that the rear brakes of my car crapped out and were grinding the whole time.  I was a wreck but of course we made it to Rhode Island just fine.  We spent 10 days at my mother's and it was very good.  The weather was just what we expected, some hot and humid and some rain.  We went to the beach 3 times, swam in the very cold ocean and had a nice time.

My mother's sister died at the end of June and there was a memorial service in Lexington, Mass., which we went to.  My mother wrote a eulogy, which Molly delivered.  The service was fine, both Molly and I were very emotional.  This was my mother's only sister and even though she was 93 it was still very sad.  I think I was especially emotional because I was thinking of my 90-year-old mother. 

The beach we went to was my mother's town beach (one of 2)--newly re-opened, no lifeguard, food or bathrooms, so not many people there.  It's a wonderful place, next to a wildlife preserve and totally uncrowded.  Waves not too big, water a perfect (cool) temperature.  Boy did we have some good beach days.  That was grand.

Molly and I came back on Monday, an easy drive home.  We had more days at camp without company and we totally enjoyed it.  My cousin John came on Tuesday to visit (it was his mother who died), we had a good time with him.  Wednesday was Molly's last day in the states so we didn't do much, lots of sitting around reading, swimming, napping, enjoying each other.  Thursday afternoon I drove her to the Montreal airport and away she went, back to Italy.  I miss her and am slowly getting used to my "regular" life.  It's summer in Hawkeye and there are lots of people here so my social life is rapidly picking up.

Yesterday I had coffee and breakfast with Fred and Linda, dinner last night with Bill & Fred.  This morning I had coffee and a visit with Duncan and Sue, then went to Keene to see Julie.  Tonight Duncan and Sue are having a few people over to see the work that's been done on their camp.  After that I'll return to the boat house for a quiet night.

I had a great time with my dog breeder this week.  Some friends have a puppy from her and they had Sue come to help with training of the pup, who is now 8 months old.  I was the stranger who arrived at their camp to see if the pup would jump on me so they could correct that behavior.  He didn't jump on me, but I had taken Treasure along so the Sue could see her again--she hadn't seen her for almost 5 years.  Treasure acted as the distraction so they could teach the pup to COME even though he was distracted--very distracted by Treasure.  I learned a lot about training and had a nice visit with Sue.  I just love being with her, she knows so much about dogs it's fascinating talking to her.  That was a highlight of my week.

Tomorrow morning a technician is coming to fix the cabling for my satellite dish so my TV will be normal again.  The last time a tech came he said he could fix the problem then but not the next time.  Well, hello "next time."  Don't know if it will be the same tech or not, but I bet he will have to go under the house to work on the cables.  Yuck.

So I miss my sister but we were lucky to have so much time alone together.  Is "alone together" right?  Can you be alone if you're together?  Anyway, it was just the two of us for several days and we loved it.

Cool, man, cool

And when it cools off here boy does it cool off.  t was 47 this morning, only got up to the 60's and it was windy and rainy with occasional sun.  Brrr.  Not complaining, I try hard not to complain about the weather.

I had a nice morning, coffee with Fred and Linda, then we went out for breakfast.  The food wasn't great but we had a good time.  It rained hard while we were out and about, rained less during the day after that.  I went to our favorite produce place, stopping in AuSable on the way.  I went to the cemetery and deadheaded the geraniums on graves.  The plants look surprisingly well considering the neglect that's been showered on them.

I actually dozed this afternoon, cuddled with a dog under a comforter on the couch.  Nice, very nice.  It was too cold and wet to do much outdoors so I settled for a non-productive day.  Oh, yes, that's a rare thing for me, right?

I was supposed to "help" train a puppy that some friends got from my breeder today but the session was cancelled because of the rain.  It was rescheduled for next week, when MY SISTER will be here.  I need help saying no to invitations: these friends invited us for dinner while Molly is here, I managed to say no to that, but instead we're having lunch with them.  So far we have commitments for Sunday lunch, Monday lunch and Tuesday dinner.  That doesn't cover everyone, not by a long shot.  I'll do my best to head off invitations but I'm notoriously bad at that.

I stayed in the boat house 2 nights, the first was Sunday, when it was hot oh so hot.  Linda and I went to the farmers market Sunday morning, which was great.  Didn't get much stuff but it was good to be there and I saw friends.

On Monday Linda and I had a grand dock day but it was very windy.  90 degrees but a cool wind so sitting in the sun was pleasant.  We swam a few times in very cold but refreshing water.  So cold that you don't ever get used to it, but it feels wonderful when the sun is hot.

Monday night we had an incredible storm with huge amounts of lightning.  The storm didn't hit us directly, it seemed to be on the other side of the mountain.  I watched and watched the lightning from the boat house porch, getting wet because the rain blew all the way across the porch.  A tree came down on OHR, by the hardtop and the Highway Dept. cleaned it up around 7 a.m. yesterday.

I've been visiting with friends and neighbors, getting into the summer swing.  Cocktails with Joe & Martha, dinners with Linda & Erdvilas, visiting with Pat & Jim.  Lots of couples in my life, not many singles.

Tomorrow may be lunch with Barb and some shopping in prep of Molly's arrival.  She flies in to Montreal Saturday afternoon so I'll see her then.  Looking forward to some quality sister time.

Hot and hot

We're having summer again.  It's been getting progressively warmer every day and today we're approaching TOO hot for me.  I've had nice times sitting on my deck and sitting on Linda's dock, but now it's time to head to the lake.  This afternoon I'll sit with Linda on her dock, tonight I'll sit on the boat house porch and maybe I'll even sleep there.  June nights this year are cool, temps in the 40's when I get up so I haven't been staying by the water.  That will change for the next few days, though.

It was a rough week for my mother--her sister Louise died on Wednesday.  She was 93 and had Alzheimer's, died rather suddenly.  She had been ailing for maybe 2 weeks and just slipped away.  I've been talking to my mother every day, she's progressing from feeling very sad to thinking of memories with her sister and family.  I remember my aunt fondly, she was a warm and happy person.  Her son, my cousin John, my mother and I are working on an obituary (my mother doesn't have email so John sends me things and I read them to my mother; additionally John will call me with messages and information for my mother, he finds it harder to talk to my mother because it's a very emotional thing for both of them).  Tomorrow I'll call my mother again and we'll go over our editing of the text John sent me today.  The funeral will be in Lexington, Mass. the second weekend in July, when my sister and I will be in Rhode Island.  That will be good, we can take my mother and probably Mark will go as well.  My mother's delivering a eulogy, she was pleased, I think to have been asked.

What else is going on with me?  Busy social activities.  Dinners, lunches, yoga.  I cooked delicious lobsters, clams and mussels for friends.  Man can those people eat a lot of shellfish!  I thought there would be leftover clams but I was wrong.  Which was good I think.  I cleaned the house gradually so there was no great flurry of activity on the day of the dinner.  What a grand thing!  I'm still getting used to having so much free time, am used to cleaning for a few hours at a time to get everything ready the day of a dinner. 

This afternoon I'm going to Linda's, to sit on her dock and look across the lake with our binoculars.  There aren't too many people on the lake yet but there are a few boats and jet skis on weekends.  Ugh, we much prefer the silence of weekdays.  Hard to believe the 4th of July is 2 weeks away.

My sister comes in a week.  I've done a little to get the boat house ready, will spend more time there this week cleaning and setting up.  Water in camp is a problem (or non-existent) and the boat house dock has not been put in.  Molly and I can't do that so we'll either use the camp dock or just get in the water from shore, over the rocks.  Not a huge deal but boy it is nice to have a dock.

My niece Jenica is going to CUBA!   She's going with a library contingent to set up a program, will be there for a week.  That is so exciting, and I'm so proud of her.  What a great thing. 

My friends are well.  I am well.  My dog is old but well.  My other dog is ripping apart the cushion on the couch whenever I leave her alone at home.  ratpig.  I have all of my wood for the winter delivered and paid for but not stacked.  That comes later.  Getting it is step 1, paying for it step 2, stacking happens when other people do it.

The coming week looks quiet (so far).  How great is that?

How long has it been?

I had made a promise to myself that I would write for this blog at least twice a week.  I also made a promise to myself that I would do 3 things every day.  So how's that working out? 

I've been busy, mostly with a social life.  I keep a wall calendar and write salient appointments, lunches, events on it.  The first half of June looks pretty full.  Lots of lunches with Julie (one a week), yoga every Tuesday night with Julie, lunch with Barb, dinner with Linda, dinner with Anne, dinner with J&M.  So mostly it seems to be about food, in my life.

I did take the dogs to the vet for their annual visits.  My nice, homespun, local vet sold his practice to a big corporate-style practice so it's not what it used to be.  The office I've been going to or 30 years is in Westport, the vet I've seen is not often there, and prices have risen dramatically.  I've been thinking of switching to another vet but it's so hard to sever ties.  Anyway, I took both dogs and they passed with flying colors.  Tess was miserable, wouldn't sit still, struggled and squirmed and finally fell off the exam table.  Treasure was a perfect patient.  I asked the vet which dog she thought I had trained, and which I got as an adult, already-trained dog.  Huh.  She doesn't know me terribly well but sure could guess that Treasure was NOT a product of the ESRogers Training Program.  It was all fine, they got their shots, had blood tests, I got meds to bring home, all for $500.  I guess I should be putting away $50 a week for next year's visit.  Both dogs weigh a mere 53 pounds, which is great.  Tess lost 5 pounds during the year so she gets even more treats and biscuits now that she's 13.

My yoga skills aren't really improving, I only go once a week.  Some of the positions are not difficult for me but some are uncomfortable and unpleasant because my huge gut gets in the way.  There are a couple of positions where we're all pretzeled and bent over and I can barely breathe.  The teacher is very nice and doesn't make me feel like an inflated beach ball, and Julie and I are always right in front of her.  Yoga is like other classes, in which people always want to be in the same spot week after week.  We're the most recent joinees so planted ourselves in the front.  Brave of us, no?

The weather has been extremely crappy.  Temps in low 40's in the morning, lots of cold wind and plenty of clouds.  Some rain, which was nice for my plants.  I did get nearly all of my container planting done, I just have a few more plants to find a place for.  I planted nasturtium and cucumber seeds, as well as moonflowers and morning glories.  They've all come up but there's one pot that I thought I planted nasties in but there's no sign of life so maybe I forgot to put any seeds in the dirt.  I'll give it a little more time but it sure looks stoopid.

I have some transplanting to do--I brought back some evening primroses from RI, must plant them, and I have to dig up the giant globe thistle plant that's crowding and blocking the snakeweed plant that I really like.  Last year I dug up the thistle and moved it but that only encouraged the remaining growth and now it's huge.

We had a really nice Belmont party but none of us picked the race winner.  The food was delicious, Linda made a great new Belmont cocktail, and it was a good evening.  I did think Exaggerator was going to win but I was wrong wrong wrong.

Book group met at Linda's and we spent (what for us was) a good amount of time discussing the unremarkable book.  We'll meet again at the end of July so we're reading 2 books this month, very unusual for us.  The books are The boys in the boat and Little women.  I've not read Little women and a looking forward to that.  I'll re-read the boys book, I wasn't as enthusiastic about it as pretty much everyone in the whole world was when I first read it.  What I'm reading now is the new Richard Russo book, Everybody's fool, which is a wonderful, wonderful book.  My only complaint is that it's long, very long, but things are moving right along.  Rich characters (most of whom we've already met) with fantastic plot twists.  Oh I love this book.

I went to an author luncheon last week, a local author who's a friend and former library director.  I bought the book Adirondack outlaws, to give to Joe because I thought he'd enjoy it.  While I was visiting Linda for a matter of minutes, mere minutes, Treasure ate the first 28 pages of the book.  I debated whether it was an appropriate gift, but decided to give it to Joe anyway.  Honestly, I'd had the book in the car for less than an hour before Treasure grabbed it.  What a ratpig.

I got to use my new cordless reciprocating saw yesterday, which was sooooo much fun.  I cut up a piece of plywood, putting one piece under the cushion of a Mission style chair and putting another piece under the broken couch that I've sworn to replace just as soon as, well, as soon as I can.  I threw out the dogs' favorite chair and replaced it with the Mission chair and they are not, so much not happy.  They approach the chair, look at it, look at me, then cross the room and get on the couch.  Oh the poor dears.

My sister comes in less than 2 weeks!  She's flying to Montreal on the 25th so I'll pick her up there and we'll spend 4 or 5 days here before heading to a cousin's house in the Finger Lakes, then on to RI for 10 days before returning here for a couple of days.  How will it be to be with my sister for 3 weeks?  Fine, fine and wonderful.  We each know that we need alone time, so there will be plenty of that mixed with good visiting.  I have some work to do in the boat house before she comes but it's just too cold to want to get to that.  Supposed to warm to the 80's late this week so maybe I'll really get that taken care of.  I need sunshine before I can get much outdoor work or boat house work done.  That's just how I am.

Where did it go?

I don't know where the week went.  Day by day I got things done, saw people, had fun.  The weekend was busy, the Holts were here, there was a dinner at J&M's, and I did a lot of planting.  I have almost all of my flowers planted in containers on the deck, with still some cosmos and cleome to plant in the ground and enough flowers for one more container.  I bought more dirt--I've used more dirt this year than ever before, having a great time mixing it with cow manure in the wheelbarrow and filling the pots.

Coffee in the mornings with Linda and Fred, sometimes just Linda on her lakeside porch, sometimes at Fred's on his porch.  It was very hot, unpleasant for me and hard for me to be very productive.  It's cooled off a bit now but today is a big muggy and in the 70's.  We had a big rain storm on Sunday afternoon, complete with hail.  It poured and poured--so much that my sump pump got in on the action.

Tuesday I went to Plattsburgh, ran a few errands and had lunch with Julie.  That night we went to yoga class together.  Stretched muscles I don't usually stretch so I was a bit sore yesterday but am fine today.  I've been cleaning my house in prep. of dinner for Linda and Erdvilas--the original plan was to cook them a lobster dinner tomorrow night, but I've postponed that until next week.  Meanwhile I cleaned the living room and even vacuumed the rug.  Yikes. 

Yesterday I finally went to the cemetery to plant flowers on the dead people.  I had a ton of geraniums, plus some portulaca and lobelia for my father and brother.  The plot has no shade so there's not much I can plant there, every year it's geraniums.  Maybe this year I'll actually go to the cemetery during the summer and deadhead the plants.  maybe.

Today was a banner day, my friend showed up with his dump truck and we had a grand time filling it.  Boy did we fill it.  I had taken some things out of the mud room, and we cleared all the crud off of the deck (broken table, falling-apart planting table, broken this and broken that), plus we threw out the pieces of foamboard that were scattered around the side of the house.  I had him take away the huge chair in the living room, much to the dogs' dismay.  It was their favorite spot.  Too bad, I was so tired of that chair and it was falling apart.

Tomorrow is another Plattsburgh day, lunch with Barb and a few errands.  I hope to finish planting everything in the morning.  Hope to.  May.  Perhaps.  Stranger things have happened.  We had good rain this afternoon that watered everything so that was nice.  I think tomorrow is supposed to be sunny and not obnoxiously hot.

Saturday I'll probably get together with Julie, although there's a big bikefest that will close lots of the roads between her house and mine.  We'll see what we can do.

Apparently the docks and water were put in in camp on Monday.  I haven't been down there since I opened the boat house last week.  It wasn't the usual cousins who put in the docks so it will be interesting to see how it was done.  I guess I'm responsible for opening main camp and don't plan to do that until the end of the month, when my sister will be here to help me.  Sometimes people show up in June to use camp, but it won't be ready for them so SOMEONE ELSE will have to do it.  That would be grand.

I had the nicest morning today, just a pleasant time when I said I LOVE THIS LIFE.

Successful trip but I missed Adk spring

I had a good trip to Rhode Island, good visiting with my mother and with Mark, celebrating Mark's birthday, eating lobsters, buying flowers, reading and resting (resting? resting from what?).  The weather was good and they were about as far along in spring (leaf-wise) as were were here in Hawkeye when I left home.  BUT...when I got home on Monday there were green leaves all over the place here.  Rats!  We had a 5-day spring and I missed it.  Well, it's still spring here, it's just that I missed the big drama of it.  Now the woods are pretty much obscene green but the leaves aren't quite big enough to be noisy so it's still a quiet place.

People have arrived for the season--Joe & Martha came while I was away and are well settled in now.  Linda arrived Monday and I spent Tuesday afternoon, Wednesday and part of today with her.  We totally enjoy being together and have fun.  Yesterday we went to Plattsburgh, got plants at Pray's--I bought 8 geraniums, ostensibly for the cemetery, but most of them went into a pot on my deck this morning.  I'll get more tomorrow when I go into town for lunch & errands.  Today Linda and I went to Asgaard to see the goats and buy some meat (not goat meat, I just bought pork).  Tonight I'm home alone (with the dogs) and have a couple of phone calls to make.  I planted many, many flowers this morning, all in containers for the deck.  So very satisfying.  I have more to plant but ran out of dirt so I'll get more of that tomorrow, too.  I have to plant seeds: cucumbers, morning glories, nasturtiums and moonflowers.  Get those seeds in the ground!

I haven't been to camp yet, every day this week I've thought I would get to the boat house to open it up, but other things came up.  Tomorrow I'm hoping to get myself down there, it's supposed to be hotter tomorrow than the 84 it was today, so maybe when I get back from town I'll do that, then sit on the porch and enjoy a lake breeze.  We need rain, it's been hot and dry for the last week, didn't rain at all while I was away.

I went to yoga class with Julie on Tuesday night.  There as a big crowd--15 women, and it was fine.  Do I really like yoga?  Maybe not so much but it's sure good for me to do SOMETHING.  I walked to the neighbors' house this morning to drop off something, retrieving Tess on the way.  The planting I did took lots of moving around and hauling dirt and pots, so that was good.  The black flies haven't been bad--if/when it rains that will change.  I know there will be flies, we couldn't have a June without them.  They were out before I went to Liza's, but where have they gone now?

My mother doing what she likes to do in Rhode Island (and one of reasons she moved there from land-locked northern Illinois): looking at the water.  This is near our seafood haven (Champlin's), watching boats leaving the docks, watching the Block Island ferry come and go, watching gulls and cormorants (ugh) and just enjoying the view.  We went to her best ocean-spotting place, near the town beach.  It was a windy day and the surf was big (by RI standards) so there were more than 25 surfers there.  Mostly the surfers seemed to be sitting on their boards, waiting for the perfect wave.  Apparently there weren't many perfect waves, they all sat there a long time.

Dinner set for the Violet Dinner.  Every year Liza and Mark celebrate the blooming of the violets by setting the table with some of the zillions of violet-themed dishes they've accumulated over the years.  They stopped trying to find purple food to serve, we just had steak for Mark's birthday.

Dogs doing what dogs do at my mother's house.  They get pretty bored there--their freedom is limited to a small pen and they get tired of sniffing the violets and lilies of the valley there.  Tess was a BAD DOG one day and wandered off into the woods, ending up in the middle of the road.  She was rescued by a nice young woman who knew enough to read both sides of Tess' ID tag, so she could call my mother's house to report the wayward pup's location.  Whew!  That was a big deal and both Liza and I were hysterical.

My mother's back yard and the back of her house.  There's a lot in bloom--2 dogwood trees, azaleas, rhododendrons, lots of ground flowers in bloom, and there were leaves on some of the trees.

Hobble bush and trillium

I just noticed the blossoms on the hobble bushes this afternoon; yesterday I found purple trillium blooming.  So spring is coming--can't say it's really here yet, but we're moving in that direction.  There is some shad in bloom in my neighborhood, it seems peak everywhere else.  The tamaracks are starting to green up nicely and there are definite tiny leaves on the poplar trees.  We're working on it, we're working on it.

I had a good week, too much traveling but that is my modus.  I went to yoga class with Julie on Tuesday night and did quite well (for someone with my current athletic prowess).  I could do nearly all the positions, but did get confused at one point and couldn't remember which direction I was supposed to be facing.  It's a group of about 10 women, I only knew 3 of them and everyone of course is very nice.  No judging anyone's performance (or lack thereof).  Lots of stretching but either I did it wrong or I'm more flexible than I thought because I wasn't sore.

Wednesday I went shopping of course, then had lunch with Julie.  We're regulars at the Japanese restaurant and always order the same thing.  That makes it easy for our server, who is a lovely young Japanese woman with a very strong accent.  Sometimes we have trouble understand her long stories, but she smiles a lot and that makes us feel good.

Yesterday was sunny and nice but it was hazy--from the fire in Alberta, apparently.  Not cloudy, just some haze.  I sat on the deck and read for a while, had to use bug dope to keep the black flies at bay.  They're not peak yet (by a long shot) but were annoying enough, and I wanted to read in the sun enough so that I DEET-treated myself.

I got my lawn mower out of the shed, dusted it off and took it to the shop in Jay where I have it serviced.  He said I got it there early, which was a relief because I thought it was late in the season, and there were many, many machines waiting for their attention.  I did not stop at the plant nursery near the shop, showing great restraint I thought.

Not the same restraint this afternoon.  I spent the morning cleaning, doing laundry, changed the bed, brushed the dogs, doing the sorts of things that a responsible homeowner would do.  I took a big bag of garbage to the dump in the afternoon, had to go to the main dump because it's Friday.  On the way home from there I stopped at my usual plant place, my first visit there this year.  Restraint?  Not.  I bought 2 flats of flower plants plus some single plants.  I didn't get the geraniums for the cemetery--I'll either get those in Rhode Island next week or will get them when I get back.  It's still a little early to be planting flowers--we may have some snow Monday morning.  I'll keep my plants inside (especially since I don't have the dirt to plant them in the pots yet) while I'm gone.

Monday night I'm having dinner in Plattsburgh with Pat & Jim--I gave Jim a gift certificate for a lazy man's lobster (pre-cracked) for his birthday so we're planning to celebrate at the seafood restaurant.

I'm going to Rhode Island next week, will leave Wednesday and return Monday.  It's Mark's birthday on Thursday so we'll have a special dinner that night, and he wants to go out to our favorite restaurant on Friday night so that will be nice.  We'll doubtless go plant shopping, what would a spring trip to RI be without that?

Grosbeaks and snow

This is the spring that isn't, following what some have called the winter that wasn't.  It was cold this morning, 28, with a dusting of snow.  NOT NECESSARY.  The snow is gone now, it's 49, and there was some sun throughout the day.

The snow just showed off the gorgeousness of the four male rose-breasted grosbeaks that were at my feeder yesterday and today.  Wow they are pretty.  I've only seen one female so far, and I saw her first.  I had to look her up in a bird book because I sure didn't recognize her.  The goldfinches I have--at least 4 are gorgeous, too, such a bright yellow.  My feeder is a busy place.  I'll have to get more seed tomorrow.  We used to have dozens (and more) of evening grosbeaks, which we called yellow pigs because they would eat and eat and eat.  The rose-breasted grosbeaks are pretty piggish but there aren't as many of them so I think I can keep up with the seed.

I had a good weekend, went to the dump on Saturday of course.  In the afternoon I met a friend in Keene and we took our dogs for a nice long walk.  Her dog is a Westie who thought the whole thing was a lot of fun--he trotted along happily, wagging his tail and bouncing.  I only took Treasure, and she acted as if I were torturing her by forcing her to go on this walk.  She hung back, dragging along and barely wagging her tail.  What a turkey.  She would perk up when I talked to her but mostly she just walked and sulked.

Today was a Plattsburgh day, time for a hair cut plus a little shopping.  It was partly sunny but mostly cloudy, and there's still a cold wind out there.  I also went to Saranac Lake, a wasted trip to pay my bill at the eye doctor's.  They said my insurance should have covered the visit, and that I should call the insurance people to find out why it was denied.  So I drove the nearly 30 miles home and dutifully called.  Yes, it was an error, the claim shouldn't have been denied.  Was I happy that I just saved $200?  No, I was irritated that I'd wasted the trip.  OK, now hours later I have put it in perspective and am relieved that I don't have to pay the bill.  But still...all the way to Saranac Lake.

Tomorrow I hope to get some outdoor work done at home.  The black flies were out over the weekend, but if it's still cold and windy tomorrow the flies shouldn't be bad.  I got some rugosa roses from someone who ordered 60 of them and then didn't want them all.  I'll plant those, putting aside a couple for Linda.

We had book group last night, though we didn't talk much about the book--even less than we usually do.  The book was Here be monsters, which is a mystery that takes place in the Adirondacks.  It wasn't very good but it was fun to read about places so nearby.  We scheduled our next gathering (I hesitate to call it a meeting) for June and elected Linda to host it.  She'll be here in 2 weeks!  Let the games begin.

Mice and cars, cars and mice

I took my car in for servicing in Burlington yesterday.  The problem was the check engine light, which apparently was easily fixed and covered under warranty.  What was NOT covered were the 2 mouse nests the service people found in the filters--one in the engine and one in the cabin.  HONESTLY!!  What kind of person has this problem?  Well, the woman in the service department told me she had had the same problem, so that helped.  I did find a dead mouse in the iced tea bottle in the car just after Easter so I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised.  There was no mouse poop in the nests, which they told me (the service people, not the mice) was a good thing.  Now I have to buy smelly dryer sheets to put in the glovebox and under the floor mats.  Will that scent be preferable to the dog smell that's the current eau du auto?

Besides the car dealer I went to Barnes & Noble yesterday, they were having a huge sale on their used books so of course I had to buy some.  WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME???  I guess this is better than my earlier fixation on shoes, when I would buy new shoes all the time.  I sorted through some shoes today but could only manage to get rid of a few pairs.  I don't wear the same shoes I used to wear to work at all so really only wear a few pairs, but I LIKE the shoes I have that I don't wear.

Anyway, I also went to Trader Joe's and bought food, some of which I needed and some I just wanted.  I bought frozen corn and discovered when I got home that there's a massive recall on Joe's frozen vegetables so I guess I'll chuck the corn.  Too bad, I was really in the mood for corn.

I had great expectations for productivity today.  I was up during the night and decided, very definitely that I was going to sort through the stuff at the back of the downstairs and find other places for the stuff.  This morning I looked it all over, shrugged and walked away.  Too much, too complicated.  So far I've only spoken to the FedEx man, haven't had a conversation other than electronic with anyone.  I guess that's OK.  I do talk to the dogs but they don't answer.

It's warming up, slowly, up to 55 today but the house was chilly so I built a fire.  I saw a flicker yesterday, sign of spring.  Very yellow goldfinches at the feeder still.  I saw a GRAY squirrel at the feeder yesterday, which is unheard of.  I don't think I've ever had a gray one here, we just have red squirrels (and that's bad enough).  Although squirrels are really quite cute I can't stand to see them around.  I'm convinced they're going to go inside my walls and chew through wires, starting a fire.  Has that ever happened?  Well, no.  But it gives me something to worry about.  Because I need more of that.

Spring, NOT

We're having the slowest arrival of spring I can remember.  I know that by this time last year I had a robin's nest in my upstairs bathroom window, which was open all the time.  This year it's been too cold to have any windows open, so there's a robin that's banging on my back door window.  ALL THE TIME.  My mother has cardinals that bang on windows, but I think that's being territorial, thinking it's another male bird.  This robin doesn't seem to think that, it's a very fat robin and I think it's trying to open the window.  Well, wait, if that's true why isn't it banging on the upstairs window?  Bird behavior is always a bit of a puzzle.

I saw bats outside my bedroom window last night, which was good.  We've had a terrible problem losing bats to some fungal disease, it's killed thousands of them.  I haven't seen bats around my house for a few years so it was pretty exciting.  Maybe exciting isn't the right word, but it was a relief at least.

I had my doctor's appointment this morning--I see him every 3 months or so.  Last time my cholesterol was a mess, but this time he was quite pleased with the numbers.  That was a relief.  He thinks the changes I've made in my diet are responsible--not the faint attempt at pedaling that I've been trying to be regular about.  Today I walked to the mailbox with the dogs.  The other day I walked to camp with the dogs.  All is well at camp.  There are a few colt's foot flowers blooming now, a vague sign of spring.  There's not much else spring going on.  There are bright yellow goldfinches at the feeder, and very purple finches, and white-throat sparrows as well.  If only there were some sign of green somewhere, I'd feel more that spring will happen.  I do have daffodils blooming, the early ones.  It looks as if it's going to be a good year for them, lots of buds.

Tomorrow I have to go to Burlington to have my car serviced.  There's something hinky about the check engine light and it needs an oil change.  I'll wait there at the dealer's while they wok on it, no loaner car this time.  What will I do in Burlington besides that?  Not sure I'll do anything.  I don't need any groceries or books--those are the 2 things I usually shop for over there.  I ordered Richard Russo's new book, and Jane Hamilton's new book.  WHY???  I already have too many books to read but I can't resist buying new ones.  It's better than shoes, which I used to always buy.

Friday I'm having lunch with Barb, Sunday is book group.  There are small leaves on some of the trees in Plattsburgh, and the pussy willows are out here.  I guess spring is coming after all.

Home (no place like it)

I had a good trip home, very easy.  I drove 7 hours from Ann Arbor on Monday, ended up between Buffalo and Rochester, where I stayed in a hotel.  I love staying in hotels by myself, it's so peaceful and perfect.  I slept very well and felt rested.  Yesterday I drove the rest of the way home, getting stuck behind a snowplow outside of Watertown.  We had a lot of snow--heavy wet spring snow.  My living room was 48 and the house was miserably cold and damp.  I didn't leave any heat on while I was gone--don't be silly, I thought, it's SPRING.  Not.  Anyway I got the house warm with a hot fire and heat.  It was still snowing so there wasn't any sun to help.  I slept well again last night, happy to be home.  I picked up the dogs at the kennel.  Were they thrilled to see me?  No, not at all.  They were happy but I think it's a real tribute to that kennel that they don't jump up & down and get all excited when I pick them up.  I don't worry about them when they're there, they're just fine and the kennel owners really like them.

The house was just fine, no issues or problems.  Today it got very warm because the sun is out, bright warm spring sun.  I have some daffodils in bloom and found a couple of crocuses as well.  We had about 3 inches of snow and some of it has melted today.  Hopefully tomorrow there will be bare ground.  I got awfully used to seeing green grass on my trip.

Today I went to Plattsburgh for groceries and lunch with Julie.  That was all fine but when I started the car after shopping the check engine light came on.  HONESTLY: the warranty was up 168 miles ago.  I don't know what's up.  The soonest the dealer can see me is next Weds. so I'll limp along until then, being hysterical.  The service guy said it was OK to drive it so drive  it I will.  I have to go to Plattsburgh again on Friday--blood work and meet with the director of the Historical Assoc. to go over the newsletter. 

I did a lot of reading on my trip, read 3 good books.  I don't seem to read much when I'm at home, too much distraction from the dogs and television (mostly television).  That's something I'd like to change.  Maybe I'll set it up so I can read while I pedal my exercise bike.

The dogs are fine.  They're still exhausted from the kennel, plus the trip today so they're snoring.  I was fearful that I was snoring last week because of my congestion and lung issues.  Well.  I did snore.  I woke myself up with my snoring and snorting but that seems to have ended.  I hope.

Botanical garden

 We went to the U Mich. botanical garden yesterday, on a sunny cool day.  These are orchids, unlike ones I've seen before.  They struck my fancy.

 This is something strange with red flowers

 The blue things hanging from this sausage tree are NOT part of the tree, they are ceramic things hung there for a reason I didn't understand

 They of course had koi.  Mark has a true aversion to koi, though he likes his goldfish.  I learned that koi and goldfish are not even close to being the same thing.  This will be a relief to Mark.  He has goldfish in his pond.

 Outside were a lot of daffodils and grape hyacinths.  It was pretty, yes, and very spring like but the trees still have no leaves

What it looked like inside.  Pretty, very pretty.


This has really be a nice trip and Linda and I have had good visiting and fun together.  Last night we went out for dinner at her favorite restaurant, where the cocktails are huge and delicious.  We ate a lot.  This afternoon we went to her favorite deli, where they don't have cocktails but the sandwiches are huge and we ate a lot.  A LOT.  Now we're resting.

Live from Michigan

I'm in Ann Arbor now, having completed my pilgrimage to Cleveland.  I stopped for 2 nights in Canandaigua en route, then found Cleveland with Judy's help.  Dropped her off and found Mary Frances (my longtime friend from RI) in the lobby of the Cleveland hotel.  We checked in, found safe havens for our cars, and went out to dinner to an OK restaurant described as "the only one within walking distance" of the hotel.  It was loud and pretty mediocre but did just fine for us.

We got up early enough on Tuesday, had breakfast at the hotel and were at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame for opening at 10 a.m.  YAY!!! I made it!  I have wanted to be there for many years so this was just so cool and amazing.  MF and I were well matched in our viewing so spent the day together wandering.  There are cool exhibits and even cooler films, videos and kiosks.  It's a great place.  We sang along with Graham Nash, we listened to an alphabet of one-hit wonders, we watched an Elvis film, an American Bandstand film, films of all the inductees, and watched part of the 25th anniversary concert.  The only disappointing part of the entire day was the museum's gift shop.  It's woefully inadequate and full of key chains and refrigerator magnets.  Where are the cool t-shirts?  Oh, there were travel mugs, sure.

We had dinner at a very nice restaurant (Midwestern walleye, yum) and checked out of the hotel on Weds. morning.  I drove on to Ann Arbor, just a few hours away, and am now settled in at Linda's for a nice visit.  We just spent a long time putting together the shoreowners' association's newsletter, 82 copies of which are nestled in their stamped and sealed envelopes, ready to go to the post office.  Whew!  It was great to get that done.  We've had a very nice visit, relatively quiet with lots of sightseeing in Ann Arbor.  Quite a place, this AA.

I start home on Monday, staying for a night between Buffalo and Rochester, about 7 hours from here and halfway home.  I'll be home Tuesday in time to retrieve the retrievers by 6 p.m.  I'm looking forward to seeing them.  I don't miss them too much, I'm distracted by enough things, but I do think of them.  I check my phone often for messages but so far the kennel has had nothing to report (which is GOOD news).

Cleaning and packing

I'm heading out on my pilgrimage tomorrow morning.  Drop the dogs off at the kennel/spa at 8:30, then hit Route 3 and off I go.  First stop is 5-6 hours away, Jim & Judy's house.  The weather is supposed to be grand, sunny and warm.  I have lots of books and music to listen to, and a GPS to entertain me.  I have maps of every state I'm driving to or through.  I have everyone's phone numbers.  I said goodbye to my mother this morning.  Mark sent me a nice card and a lot of money yesterday.  I haven't packed my clothes yet but they're either in the dryer or piled up in the bedroom.  Can I really be this well organized?  Is this what it's like to travel when you're retired and driving?

I saw a woodcock near my driveway yesterday and again this morning.  This is a sure sign of spring.  Jamie used to hunt them but they really taste like worms (well, to be honest, what I imagine worms would taste like) so he stopped shooting them.  They make amazing sounds with their wings when they do their mating routine.  They fly straight up into the sky then plummet to the ground.  It's pretty cool to see.

I had a cowbird at the feeder the other day, that was strange.  I'd say it was a treat but they're not very attractive and all they're known for is laying eggs in other birds' nests so I don't think of them as exciting to see.  I haven't seen one in a long time so I guess it's vaguely exciting.

I found a crocus in bloom this morning.  I have no idea where the rest of my crocuses are, but there's one blooming under the living room windows.  One.  Where are all of my daffodils?  And what about the squill?  Where, huh, where?

It's a beautiful sunny day, temp is 50 so I'll go outside in a little while and clean out the car and feed the birds.  I think I'll take the car to the free car vacuum to try to get at least some of the dog hair out of the seats.  Some, at best.  These dogs are shedding like mad this year.  I need to brush them some time today.  Yesterday at the dump (not my regular dump) the woman fed the dogs biscuits and we talked about dogs.  She has a "mastador," which is a mastiff-Lab mix and sounds like an ugly dog.  Anyway, we talked about shedding dogs and she nodded when I talked about my mess, saying "Oh yes, you're on to me, you get it."  Not sure exactly "on to me" means but we agreed and it was a nice exchange.

I bought brown paint so I can re-paint the trim on the living room windows.  I painted them several years ago but never really liked the color, and it brings out the pinkish hue of the wall paint so I really don't like it.  I painted the living room door gray and it looks just awful against the trim as well as the walls, so I should figure out something to do with that, too.  Boy do I want to paint my living room.  It's a cathedral ceiling, though, and would require scaffolding.  Someday, someday I'll hire someone to do that for me.  Oh there are so many ways to spend money!

Spring thaw

We had more snow, then more snow, but tonight it's raining and raining and the ground is once again bare.  I can't find the daffodils I planted last fall but others are coming up in different places.  At one time I paid close attention to my plantings: I have early-bloomers, mid-season bloomers and late-bloomers.  Now some of them are gone, some seem to have moved, and the ones I planted last fall are who-knows-what.  They were part of a big batch that Linda ordered from Costco.  Let's see how they do.

I went to Plattsburgh yet again today--as a true commitment to spring I had my winter tires removed and put in storage.  I didn't have 4 tires to replace them with so bought new ones.  I love me, there can't possibly be anyone less organized than I am.  Anyway, my car has new shoes and is much quieter without the low-profile tires I use in winter.

I had an OK weekend, met a friend for coffee and long visit on Saturday morning.  It was cold out, with a cold wind and frozen ground.  We had a nice time anyway.  I went to the dump, picked up garbage at the Holts.  I went to their house for dinner Sat. night and had a nice visit with our ex-Congressman and his wife (until I offered my opinion on a friend and associate of his, oops).  The Holts left this morning.  Yesterday I went to P&J's, had a nice visit with Bill.  Jim is not doing well, has had breathing problems more severe than his usual issues and they're working with the doctor to discover what the problem is.  It's very scary, reminds me of my father's final days with congestive heart failure but maybe this is different.

I have no real plans for the rest of the week--lunch on Weds. in Plattsburgh, with a stop at AAA to get a map of Ohio and Michigan (if they have one) for my upcoming trip.  I'm leaving Saturday morning or Canandaigua, where I'll spend 2 nights with friends before moving on to Cleveland to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.  I'm sure I've written about this pilgrimage already.  Anyway, I'm meeting my RI friend Mary Frances in Cleveland, where we'll stay for 2 days to see the RRHF, then I'll go north to Ann Arbor to spend time with Linda.  I'm driving, which just makes it more dramatic.  I think I'll stop at a cousin's in the Finger Lakes on the long trip home, but haven't worked out the details of that.  I may end up in a motel for the night instead, weary from visiting with people.  I'm boarding the dogs at the spa, where they thrive.  That's expensive but this is a trip I've wanted to take for a long time so it's worth it.

Nothing much else going on.  I'm working on the newsletter for the Historical Assoc. and will meet with Bill and 2 other trustees some day this week (I guess).  I'll meet with the Director again when I get back from my trip.  By then it will definitely be spring here.  Temps are supposed to be in the 60's this weekend--of course I won't be here for that...

Even MORE spring snow

It snowed quickly and hard last night, we ended up with 4-5 inches of white magic.  not magic, just white.  I was enjoying the bare ground, not always visible in early April, but now I'm looking at a landscape that is more like January.  It's supposed to be 50 and raining today but right now, at almost 7 a.m. it's only 28 and cloudy.  I have to go to the Holts this morning to turn up their heat--they're arriving tonight for the weekend.  It will be nice to be with them, but I sure don't feel like leaving my living room right now, and it's not even that warm here.  Well tough, toots, get off your butt and walk down there.

I've been to Plattsburgh too, too many times lately.  Made 3 trips last week, it will be 4 this week.  Dentist appointment, meeting at the Historical Association followed by lunch with Bill, emergency med. run for Jim, and lunch with Julie today.  It feels like a long drive to me now, which is what is expected when you don't do it 5 times a week, every week the way I did for so many years.

So what do I do besides drive to Plattsburgh?  Not really much, it appears.  I email friends, I read the paper and many magazines, I watch too much television, I let the dogs in an out and in an out and in and out, I clean my house (a little, sometimes, rarely), and suddenly the day has ended.  I agreed to edit the Clinton County Historical Assoc. newsletter so met with the Director there earlier this week.  What exactly this will entail is unclear to me, but I'll have to learn Publisher in order to be of much help, and will have to work there in Plattsburgh because I don't have Publisher here at home.  Oh boy!  More trips to Plattsburgh!

Today I'm having lunch with Julie, which will be tough as she continues to deal with problems.  I can assist by offering support and advice (oh I always have plenty of that) and making her laugh.  Last night I visited with Pat & Jim, who are facing a crisis of their own--Jim is unhealthy and is having trouble breathing.  I made and emergency run to get him some meds last night.  His condition is all to reminiscent of my father's final months, but there is so much more information and so many more treatments now, so Jim will probably outlive us all.

I communicated with my friend Mary Frances yesterday, we're meeting in Cleveland soon--my pilgrimage to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.  I guess I take a trip every spring, last year it was to Georgia, which was a real treat.  This year it's to Cleveland and Ann Arbor, again a treat.  Why am I so obsessed with the RRHF?  I don't really know, except listening to music has always been important to me.  I'm lucky to have a life soundtrack consisting of the good music of the 60's and 70's, with gaps in the late 80's and most of the 90's.  I don't like museums much but this one has been summoning me for decades.  And I will be very happy to see Mary Frances, who currently lives in Pittsburgh.  I haven't seen her in a very long time.  We worked together in Providence and were good friends then.  The gallons of Dewars we drank together were legendary.

This week included the anniversary of my brother's death.  Generally death anniversaries don't do much for me--I miss my people every day--but this year, the 13th anniversary, for some reason hit me harder.  My brother was a special person (but then, aren't all dead people "special?"), he was truly capable of great charm and humor and was a good big brother.  A very loving person.  It's too bad he didn't get to know his granddaughter, which is a shame.  He did have a good life, though too short for sure.

Enough about dead and dying people.

Next week I'll have my winter tires switched, a definite sign of spring.  This has to be done before driving to Cleveland, but I'm always hesitant to do it too early.  I think my timing is pretty good this year, having winter tires will be awfully handy today.

And Donald Trump failed in Wisconsin.  My mother conceded that, thankfully, we may not have a President named Trump after all.  She's been very worried about that.  I have more faith in Americans than that--time will tell whether that's misplaced faith or not.  I voted this week, absentee ballot, because I'll be away for the NY primary.  I also was summoned for jury duty but didn't even have to show up.  Ordinarily I'd be happy to serve but the timing was all wrong for me, I am counting, absolutely counting on leaving next Saturday.

The dogs are just fine.  They like snow.  We have a regular visit from a snowshoe hare (we don't have cottontails here, we have giant hares), driving the dogs wild.  The hare is turning brown from its winter white and is a dun color so I'm surprised that Tess can spot it in the brown grass, but every day she explodes when she sees it.  I don't like to have them chase the poor hare, but sometimes I let them out, worrying that they might catch it.  Doubtful, very doubtful.  Anyway it's reassuring to me that Tess' vision is so good.  She's barely deaf, is much like an older person who turns her head and says "Did you say something?"  This is her 13th year and I feel very lucky.  I think this means that Treasure will be 7 this year, but I really should look that up.

Spring snow

It's snowing today but nothing serious.  It was 7 when I got up, now it's up to 20.  I just returned from Plattsburgh, a visit to the dentist.  Just a cleaning but I think I get hysterical even just when the word "dentist" is mentioned.  Anyway all is well, I passed with flying colors.  How great is that?  No problems, no changes.

It was a pretty busy week last week, 3 trips to Plattsburgh.  I went Wednesday to have lunch with Julie and do some shopping.  Poor Julie was not having a good week and was at home so I missed her.  Did get a lot of errands done, though.  Thursday I had a hair appointment, followed by a nice Julie visit at Starbucks.  I can't do much to help her through this very difficult time, but I can listen and offer support and affection.  Affection?  Well, she's not an affectionate person but I offer emotional affection and whatever advice I can come up with.  And I can make her laugh.

Friday I had lunch with Barb, which is always a treat.  We get along well and are evenly matched in many ways.  We compare mother stories and make each other laugh.

Saturday was dump day, after that I didn't feel like doing much so I mostly spent the afternoon on the couch watching PBS cooking shows.  I did some cleaning, did more yesterday because I hosted book group last night.  I made dinner, something that used to be delicious called Mexican lasagna.  I think I didn't cook it long enough because it sure wasn't delicious.  Oh well, we never complain about each other's cooking and never, ever judge each other in any way.  I got rid of a few things, managed to find some giveaways that Lin and Marylou were interested in--maybe I should say WILLING to take.  We had a good time, the 3 of us.  It was peaceful and pleasant and good visiting.  Hard to believe our next meeting will be in May.  That used to seem so far away.

Yesterday I went to P&J's, with much discussion about whether the ice was out or not.  Jim finally went to the foot of the lake and determined with binoculars that NO, the ice is not yet out.  After last night's temps I'm sure it's REALLY not out.  It's still early but the lake is almost all open so it will be an early year for ice-out.  My date is the 20th so I won't win the pool for sure.

I'm starting to get ready for my trip to Cleveland and Ann Arbor, mostly just getting myself psyched for the trip.  I'm driving to Canandaigua on the 16th, spending the night and Sunday with friends there.  Monday my friend Judy and I drive to Cleveland, where I'll meet a friend from the old days of Providence.  We'll stay in a hotel for 2 nights, and spend Tuesday at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.  I am so psyched to go there!  I've wanted to do that for a long, long time.  I don't like museums at all, but this one is so very, very wonderful.  On Weds. I'll drive to Ann Arbor for some time with Linda, and will start home on Monday.  I'm spending Mon. night with cousins near Auburn, NY, on one of the Finger Lakes.  I haven't seen them for a few years and they are favorite relatives so that will be nice.

When I boarded the dogs for the RI birthday trip, they spent a week at the kennel and came out in fantastic shape.  They lost weight and were happy and great.  I'm boarding them again, for 10 or 11 days when I leave, and they'll return to the spa/kennel.  They like it there and never seem to mind being there--plus the kennel owners like my dogs so it's an ideal situation.  Expensive, yes, but I feel lucky to have such a good situation nearby.

My kitchen is full of dirty dishes so that's what I'll work on today.  I love this life!