August, and well into it

I took a break from blogging for a month or so, also taking a break from work and from the thrift store.  My sister was here in America for almost 3 weeks and I wanted to spend time with her and be unfettered.  That happened and was wonderful.  We had a lovely time together.  The beginning of her visit was spent with many relatives in camp because it was the weekend of the family meeting.  Too many people for me but we stayed in the boat house and kept mostly to ourselves.  We're good at that.

We went to RI for a week with my mother that included some beach days, good seafood and lots of down time spent reading and relaxing.  When we first got there it was too hot to go to the beach and it was very humid and unpleasant but then it cooled a bit and we had great beach weather.  Her town has 2 town beaches, one with lifeguards, radios and children and the other part of a federal natural area which very few people visit.

This is taken standing with the ocean at my back, looking toward the road and parking area.  There's a pond there and a lovely long mostly deserted beach.

The dogs got to go to RI and my sister was wonderful about walking them on leashes.  Bear has had some "unfortunate" incidents involving the neighbors here so he's leashbound nearly all the time.  He visited a friend's camp and helped himself to the dog food in their kitchen.  Well I can't help it if they don't latch their screen door!  That was extremely embarrassing and was followed by a visit to another friend's camp, tromping through the very-important-to-my-friend-nasturiums.  Oh Bear, why, oh why?

So we spent a week at my mother's house, wallowing in the prettiness that is southern RI before coming back to the North Country.  We had camp to ourselves (unheard of! what a treat!) and had a lovely time reading and visiting.  My sister swam but I didn't, we don't have a dock at the boat house this year and I didn't relish walking through the mucky bottom or climbing over the rocks to get in the water.  I've been swimming at my friend's since my sister left--we have dock time together and swim and float with swimming noodles when we're not looking at neighbors and loons with binoculars.

I'm back into my usual routines now, I worked in the Archives and volunteered at the thrift store for the last 2 weeks.  I had a wonderful lunch with a friend in Saranac Lake, someone I enjoy visiting with, from my past in Library Land.  I've been walking with my morning friends, we mostly do the bog so Bear can stretch his legs off-leash in the early morning, followed by coffee on the boat house porch.  Nice, very nice.

This morning I met up with a friend, her daughter and grandchildren at the bog and had a very nice time seeing them.  That was followed by a lovely dock sit and swim, then a trip to the laundromat to catch up on laundry.

I have a wonderful WONDERFUL friend who saw that I was overwhelmed by the sad condition of my house when I was having company come for a few days--she helped me purge and clean nearly the entire downstairs.  Wow has that been fantastic.  She vacuumed, washed floors, helped me sort through decades worth of stuff and then took a load to the dump with me.  The Big Dump, not just the transfer station we usually hit.  I have the best organized pantry in the North Country now.  How long it will stay that way is yet to be determined but it's been a week and so far the spices are still in alphabetical order.

My visitor was a friend from childhood times in Rockford, a family friend who has been in my life for more than 50 years.  She currently lives in DC and was traveling this way.  She's been here before and we talk and talk about my family and our lives in Rockford as well as what our lives are now like.  Her visit was a big success.  It's very nice to talk with someone who remembers my distant past and the people I grew up with.  She remembers my father well, one of the few people I have to talk about him with.  Oh he was a colorful character all right.

This is a tubby 65-year-old woman with her dog.  Man oh man do I need to lose weight!  I'm seeing my doctor next week and he'll gently remind me that I should "find a diet and stick to it."  Wt Watchers is effective for me but the sticking to it part seems to be nearly impossible.

My sister took this sunrise shot from the boat house.  It's Silver Lake Mtn., heavily photographed over the years.

A pensive Bear sporting his new purple collar.  It was a major (MAJOR) change to get them both new collars.  Little did I realize how dependent friends and I were on the "Bear has the blue collar, Treasure's is green" of my life.

New collars.  Not different enough.

Cool at last

Temp right now at 2:30 p.m. is 69, wow does that feel amazing.  I slept in the boat house last night, it was hot when I went to sleep but I slept really well and it cooled off during the night.  We had some rain and thunder and that was a relief (I don't have to water my deck plants).  I should be mowing the lawn, it's a good day for it but instead I'm watching an Eric Clapton concert I've seen before.  I can't help it, I just love that man's music!   Watching him live is like magic.

I went to AuSable this morning, got groceries and supplies for book group, which I'm hosting on Sunday at the boat house.  Nothing fancy or complicated that's for sure.

I've been busy making lists today, assigning myself tasks for each of the next few days and pretending that will make me efficient and productive.  It never really works but I don't give up.  I have to clean my house, mostly the upstairs because my sister is coming (MY SISTER IS COMING!!! how great is that!) and it's a good reason to do some cleaning that I've been putting off.  I don't like cleaning the shower.  Does anybody?  There's dog hair all over the place in my house, both dogs have been shedding. 

I've had some really really nice swimming times with Linda, we use her noodles to paddle out away from shore then float and chat and visit.  What a lovely thing that is.  The water was 82 degrees yesterday, though, which is warmer than I can ever remember and not very refreshing but still lovely for swimming.  The heat has just been awful and everyone is worn out from it.

Busy times coming up--road cleanup tomorrow morning with the shoreowners' association, a trip to the dump for me, a meeting of the association in the afternoon.  Sunday I'll host book group.  Monday I go to Plattsburgh for a car appointment and taking care of some errands.  Tuesday morning I'll go to work then in the afternoon I'll head to Montreal to pick up my sister.  After that it's all gravy.  We'll be here until Sunday, Saturday is our big family meeting then we'll go to my mother's in RI for a week or so.  The weather here is supposed to be good while we're here, 80's and mostly sunny I think.  Camp will be full of cousins but we'll stay in the boat house and mind our own business.

It's a pretty day, some sun, some clouds and a nice breeze.

BREAK! in the heat

It's 60 this morning, boy does that feel cool.  Our heat has been incredible, 90's, humid and sunny.  The lake was absolutely beautiful yesterday.  I worked in the morning in the Archives then went to the boat house for a while in the afternoon, read on the porch and enjoyed limited boat traffic and a gentle breeze.  Really lovely.  If I had a dock in...   well I refuse to live my life wishing for things that aren't, so no, I don't have a dock and swimming is difficult without one so I don't swim.  I am extremely lucky to have a nice screened in porch with comfortable seating overlooking the lake and the mountains.  LUCKY.

I went out for ice cream with a friend last night.  This has become a regular trip and that's OK, I'm weaning myself from hot fudge sundaes and having things with fewer calories and fat.

Had a lovely evening with friends the other night, Rib Night at their camp.  These are friends who come from far away to open their camp each summer, all men who remind me so much of my brother and his friends from high school.  Henry used to really enjoy being with his friends, and these men are like that.  Much, much laughter and good times.

Today I'm walking with friends then having coffee on the boat house porch.  I'll go to the thrift store for a couple of hours, I'm taking the rest of the month off so feel I should show up.  I don't really want to go but won't stay long and it's something I have agreed to do.  There are more volunteers working there these days so I don't feel bad taking time off.  It was busy on Saturday, many shoppers and not too many dropping off stuff, with many workers.  Hopefully today will be like that too.

My sister comes next week!  That will be nice, very nice.  We'll be here for a few days, go to the family's annual meeting and on Sunday we'll drive to RI for a week with my mother.  I'm looking forward to it all, I truly enjoy being with my sister and always enjoy visiting with my mother.

Life is good.  VERY good.  I have peppers on the pepper plant someone gave me, I have blossoms on tomato plants and many blossoms on my cucumber plants.  Now if we can only get these blossoms to mature into edibles that would be a miracle.

Hot and getting hotter

It's 74 at 10:30 today and due to be a lot hotter as the day progresses.  They're getting a lot of mileage out of the forecasts these days, it might hit 100 on Sunday.  or not.  I doubt it will be that hot here in Hawkeye, we're usually 5 degrees cooler than the Champlain Valley, which is where most of the forecasting is done.  But still...that's mighty warm and I guess this "warm spell" is supposed to last well into next week and maybe beyond.

We had a nice rainy day yesterday, I liked that because it meant my plants all got good soakings.  I've got some tomato plants that were given to me, some are in pots and some are in the ground and they're doing well, have lots of blossoms.  I also have one pepper plant with peppers on it, that's different for me, I don't usually grow peppers but someone gave me the plant.  My flowers are doing well but are in need of deadheading.  I'll try to do that today.  Other things I'll try to do today: clean my shower and the upstairs bathroom (yuck), take stuff down to the boat house and swim the dogs while I'm there, tidy up the boat house a little bit, rearrange the fridge there so there will be room for other people's food.  Jenica and her family are coming tomorrow so that will be nice.  Lot's of library talk maybe, Jen and I like talking to each other about our chosen profession.  I will probably sleep in the boat house tonight especially if it's as hot as threatened.

I've had a good few days.  Went to work yesterday, that was fine.  We scanned family photos from 1901-1905 and they reminded me of the Rogers family images.  That was kind of sweet. 

Last night I went to the Beach House for dinner with friends, more friends showed up while we were there.  It was as it always is, food is OK, beer is good, people are nice.  Let the season begin!

Midnight musings

Well, if you go to bed at 8 sometimes you are wide awake at 11:30.  So you have a nice nap then have a cup of coffee and watch late night TV.  Poor Bear, he can't go out until Treasure comes back and she has no interest in doing that, apparently.  She barked and disappeared.  I don't like having them out at night like that.

The weather has been wonderful, my favorite days at 70 and sunny, clear and cloudless.  I got to spend some time reading on my deck, an all-time favorite thing.  I mowed the lawn but didn't weed or do the trimming but there's always another day.  We're expecting very very hot weather this weekend and beyond, temps in the 90's elsewhere.  That means we'll be in the 80's and maybe the 90's but worse than that is the anticipated humidity.  Ugh, my least favorite.  I used up my tolerance for hot and humid during my formative years in northern Illinois.  At least here I have the boat house.  It's usually cooler there but if there's no breeze it's hot there too.  I don't complain.  much.

Work is good.  I have a lot of catching up to do, we've scanned many images that need editing but I haven't been able to convert them to jpg until now (no Internet in the Archives, how frustrating).  I got a lot done today but it was boring stuff, the entire Memorial Day parade from 1976 and many incarnations of Gilbert & Sullivan shows by community theater groups in the 1930's, 50's and 80's.  No, really, MANY incarnations.

Friends have arrived down the hill from my house.  They have an annual "Workfest" to open their camp and enjoy being friends.  They called tonight to invite me for pie but nooooo, I said I had to go to bed.  That was the wrong decision.

Sunday afternoon

My sister often says on a Sunday morning "I'm glad I don't have to go to church today."  We used to dress up all fancy-like, anklets (until nylon stockings), nice shoes, good dresses and of course something on our heads--a requirement in the high-church that was Emmanuel Episcopal in those days.  We sang in the choir, we taught Sunday school, we were members of the Youth Group, man we did it all.  Then it all came to a grinding halt when we left home.  I realized that organized religion was not something I wanted to be part of, and the church I had invested so much emotion, time and energy in was not representing my true self or my spiritual needs AT ALL.  The part that really got me was "we are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under Thy table."  I didn't need any more proof that I was not worthy.  Anyway, now I'm an atheist and I don't struggle with any of it.

I've had a peaceful day so far, I woke at dawn (4:30) but stayed in bed frustrating the dogs until 6:30.  Did NOT go for a walk or even really entertain them but instead went to AuSable for supplies and gas.  Went to see the neighbors, then went to Linda's to help her open her upper camp.  She has company coming this week.  I didn't really do much but it's so much nicer and easier to do those chores with help.

I'm having friends come for snacks and wine to the boat house porch in a couple of hours.  It's not the nicest day weather-wise but it's always pretty there no matter what's happening. 

I had a busy day yesterday, started with a walk to camp to swim the dogs.  I went to breakfast with friends then came home for a bit before driving to Keene to visit with a recently-retired friend who is having some trouble adjusting to the huge, HUGE change that retirement is.  Came home then went to dinner with friends, to a newly opened bar/restaurant.  That wasn't a very good idea.  It was loud and the food wasn't very good--but we had to at least TRY it.  We've scratched that itch.

Looks like a pretty quiet week ahead for me.  Appointment with the eye doctor tomorrow in Saranac Lake after a quick trip to the dump.  Work, thrift store, hot weather coming.  Next week is the 4th of July.

Early morning bog

I finally took my camera for a morning bog walk.  Here's what it was like at 6 a.m., 50 degrees, sunny and still:

 Cinnamon ferns in bloom--I love these, they look prehistoric when they're at their peak

 Bunchberries blooming in a bunch

 Bear, or is it Treasure?  Anyway, a black bog dog

 Definitely Bear, this is the view I usually get--Bear walks in front, Treasure (always a lady) walks at my feet, just behind me.

 Bear is a Handsome Boy, isn't he?

My favorite fern, whose name I can't remember.  Something like Victoria or some other queen's name.  There's only one example along the boardwalk.

Middle of the night musings

Well when you go to sleep early sometimes you wake up well-rested in the middle of the night, craving a cup of coffee to watch a British police show.  The Brits have much more peaceful police shows than we Americans do--no violence, no gore, just a dead body and lots of people figuring out who killed the victim.

It's a nice cool night, too cool for me to sleep in the boat house, comfortable here at home.  We had some very hot, muggy days then all hell broke loose and there were storms while a front came through and now it's clear and cooler.  Quite pleasant.

I went to a retirement luncheon on Monday in Champlain.  Takes a long time to drive to Champlain from here!  It was a nice time, I saw some people I've known for many many years, all library people but we didn't talk about libraries the whole time.  That was nice.  This is an interesting group of people who all have good stories to tell--the director of the library on the reservation, another director who has a gardening/landscaping business on the side, the hostess whose house is on Lake Champlain and has a Lab named Hershey, my former director (who said I was sometimes a pain in the ass but she loved me--to which I replied "You weren't always charming yourself"--I can say things like that, she's not my boss any more), some people I was less than interested in seeing (and didn't have to spend much time with), and many others.  It was a nice time I guess.

Wednesday is a thrift store day, I'll only stay a couple of hours.  Cannot do the entire 5 hours that the store is open, I never had a job in which I was on my feet so I find it quite tiring.  Not to mention being charming while being on my feet.  I do get tired of being charming to strangers but it's something I seem to do well.  Thank you to my father for teaching me that.

Oh what a beautiful morning

When I was in 5th grade we had a teacher named Pearl Prout, who fancied herself to be quite a musician.  There was a piano in the classroom and she thought Liberace was the greatest pianist of all time.  Anyway we had to sing a solo, accompanied by her on the piano.  What a horrible thing!  I sang "Oh what a beautiful morning" and she was thrilled by my performance and gave me an EXCELLENT on that.  My one shining moment in elementary school.  I never was much good at singing but now I sing loudly (LOUDLY) in my car, which probably hurts the dogs' ears a lot but it feels good.

It's a busy time in the 'hood, there seem to be a lot, LOT LOT of people here.  Isn't it early for summer traffic?  I've been walking the bog (as opposed to walking the dog, only the dogs go along) every morning with friends, sometimes one friend and sometimes 2 friends.  I'm waiting for a friend to call this morning so we can head out together.  Bear is very antsy and eager to go.

Had a lovely dinner with friends last night--these friends have a beautiful house near the top of a mountain with a magnificent view of the bluffs at the foot of Silver Lake.  It was a gorgeous evening, we sat outside for a while before dinner, and the view from their dining room is really grand.  Good food, great friends, a really nice time.  I made my signature cheesecake and that was good.

Today is Father's Day and I have very few friends who still have fathers though I have many friends who are fathers.  My father died in 1981, so long ago.  He was 68 and took a fairly long time to die, poor man.  I did get to have an adult relationship with him and we enjoyed each other's company the last few years of his life.

Tomorrow I'm going to a retirement luncheon for the former director, it will be full of member library directors.  Do I want to spend an afternoon with them?  Not so much but then I'll be reminded of what nice people they are (mostly)(nasty comment) and the luncheon is at someone's house on Lake Champlain so it will be pretty.  It's 45 minutes from my house, man I do a lot of driving.

I worked at the thrift store yesterday but it was sort of slow and I was sort of bored so I only stayed 2 hours.  Felt bad leaving but not bad enough to stay.  I had lunch with friends at a nice restaurant in Upper Jay, that was a treat. 

Dogs are fine, I'm fine, the 3 of us are happy.  I got the boat house opened up and the bed half made so maybe I'll sleep down there tonight.  It's supposed to be a hot day and hot night tonight.  Too hot to mow the lawn, rats.

Still chilly

Rainy and cool today, not a nice day at all.  It's supposed to warm up this weekend, maybe high 80's and 90 by Sunday.  OK, that's too warm for me but at least I've got the boat house open and the bed there made so I can sleep there if it really does get that warm.

It's been an uneventful week, just the usual thrift store doings and Archives work.  We scanned photos from the 80's today and that was pretty boring, truly.  Oh well, they can't all be entertaining images from the early 1900's and late 1800's.

This morning a wonderful friend helped me set up the furniture in main camp.  What a relief to have that done.  I can't do it by myself and every year I fuss and fume about getting it done.  I don't know, I truly don't know why it's become my responsibility to get this done but the family likes thinking that it's important for a local to do it so that's me I guess.  Oh well, as long as I have helpful friends I can do the basics.  We did no cleaning, I'm leaving that to others.

Tomorrow is a day off for me.  If the lawn is dry enough I may mow the lawn.  I may do some cleaning in the boat house.  I'm walking the bog in the early morning with a friend.  May have coffee with another friend (or not).  At any rate I'm looking forward to having a day free of real obligations.

Cool mornings

Temps in the mornings have been in the 40's, which at some times of year would feel balmy and wonderful but in June, not so much.  I've been walking the bog in the early mornings with various friends--the dogs are pleased and Bear barks and sings until we leave for the bog.  Ratpig.

Yesterday I went to AuSable, mailed some things to my mother and went for a few groceries, then went to the dump.  Mondays and Wednesdays are dump days, along with an occasional Saturday.  Keeping track of dump hours is a big deal in Hawkeye--all hell broke loose last year when they changed the days AND the hours.

Today was an Archives day and that was fine.  I worked on my own, my colleague only works on Thursdays in the summer because she tends the lock in Saranac Lake, living in a cabin by the lock.  She's an interesting person, that's for sure.  She has to paddle in to her cabin and post, taking provisions that way and coming out that way on her days off.

I went to camp this afternoon and did a little bit of work in the boat house.  It needs cleaning! and I am so not motivated to do that.  People have used main camp but no one has done anything about opening it.  That really REALLY irritates me, if you're putting 4 chairs on the porch for you and friends to use, why not put out ALL the chairs on the porch, as well as the dinner table???  I can't do it all by myself but will do a little now and then I suppose.  Each year I swear will be the last year I open camp--I don't use the main building and there are relatives who will live there for a week, 10 days, two weeks with lots of company and THEY don't do anything about opening.  There, I've ranted.  should be out of my system by now.  Some things won't change, will they.

Tomorrow is a thrift store day then I'll either clean my car or do something at camp.  maybe.  I'm walking the bog with a friend at 7.   I'm volunteering at the thrift store Wednesday and Saturday mornings, working in receiving.  Yes it's true I see all the stuff that comes in before the shoppers do but it's more responsibility than I want because I have to inspect, clean and price the goods.  And what a variety of goods we get!  Lots of stuff.  Well I enjoy the people I work with there and it's a good way to spend my time, a worthwhile endeavor. 

What happened to me?

Not much of anything unusual happened to me, I've just been negligent.  I'm working at the Archives, scanning photos and attaching metadata to an online spreadsheet so they can be posted online.  I volunteer at the thrift store 2 mornings a week but cannot stay the full 5 hours it's open so I leave feeling guilty while others stay and work and work and work.  I can't stand for that many hours, my poor feet and knees complain.  I come home after 3 hours and lie on the couch for an hour to recover from my brief stint.

I'm still walking in the mornings with my friend--now that the weather's good and it's light early in the morning we tend to walk outside.  Our favorites are the bog near my house, a boardwalk through a gorgeous forest where the dogs feel proprietary and free, and a logging road near her house where the dogs feel excited and wonderfully brave and explore the woods.  I walked the bog alone with the dogs (a contradiction no?) at 6:30 or so this morning and it was truly lovely.  The ferns and bracken are getting tall and are starting to bloom.  Their blossoms are far from pretty but it's a sign of the seasons moving along.  Bunchberries and Labrador tea are in bloom.

I started opening the boat house yesterday afternoon.  The weather has been up and down, some nights in the 40's but then some very hot and humid days.  I haven't been very tempted to spend time at the boat house but decided to swim Bear and get the opening process started.  I left a pretty good mess at the end of last year but mostly things are OK.  It needs a day of cleaning from me and a trip to the dump.  Not a big deal but getting me to do it won't be so easy I'm afraid.

No big plans coming up.  I went to a workshop yesterday on collecting and preserving photographs.  Spent 2 hours on the history of photography because that's what the presenter's specialty was.  Well I don't really care what kind of processing the 7000 photos we're scanning had and they're about as preserved as they're ever going to be, in some kind of "preserving" plastic sleeves.  Too many of them to put in newer, better sleeves so there they'll be.  There are a lot of photos from the late 1800's and early 1900's, then we hit a batch from the 1980's so it's always an adventure.  So far we've scanned 1200 images but I haven't kept up with the metadata for all of them.  Keep getting distracted by other tasks.

It's a gorgeous day, due to be 70's and sunny.  The lake was beautiful yesterday afternoon when I put the boat house porch together.  Linda is here and we've had some nice visits.  Other summer friends are in residence and it's wonderful to be with them.  Today is the Belmont but we'll celebrate more quietly than some years.  That's fine, I watch horse races with great trepidation, fearing for the safety of the poor but beautiful horses.  Do I care if Justify becomes a Triple Crown winner?  Not really, I didn't watch the Preakness.  It's entertaining anyway.

It IS spring, it really is!

There are just the tiniest leaves on the poplar trees in Hawkeye.  Everyone else has full-blown leaves but I'll settle for ours.  The tamaracks are starting to green up as well and my daffodils are in bloom like crazy.  Primroses are in bloom too but not much else going on.  That's OK, May is a joyous time of daily advances.

I'm still volunteering at the thrift store two days a week and this morning was one of those days.  Wow it was busy.  Wednesday was the same--partly because the regulars in Receiving are out for a couple/few weeks and partly because it's SPRING and the sun is shining so people are cleaning.  Many many shoppers and many many droppers.  I can't do the whole 5 hours the store is open, I do 3 1/2 hours and head out.  I feel guilty leaving but I just can't do that many hours on my feet.  I never had a job that demanded that kind of physical activity, I mostly sat on my butt all my working years. 

I've been walking outside with my gym friend, she lives near here and there are nice walks by her house and by mine.  The lucky dogs get to join us and they run and run and run.  This morning we walked in 31 degrees, up from the 29 it was when I got up.  Another frosty morning predicted for tomorrow.

The sun is warm.  Grass is not green but that's good because I'm not in a mowing mood.  I should be outside cleaning up the yard but I'm sitting in the living room resting.  I usually feel mildly depressed in the spring, always in April.  I forgot to do that this April but yesterday had a very blue day.  I slept and slept, then went to bed and slept some more.  Today I feel much better so maybe it wasn't really depression.  If that's what I want.

I'm off to Rhode Island on Friday for Mark's 60th birthday and a few days with my mother.  Looking forward to that--she says the dogwood is in bloom, some of the rhododendrons are still blooming.  I'll do some plant shopping while I'm there, it's a little early based on weather here.  I did get violas, not my usual pansies, but haven't started laying in supplies for my deck pots yet.  It's too cold!

Big drama, BIG BIG drama

We had a storm here Friday night, a big wind storm.  We even had a tornado watch to match it, which unnerved me a bit.  I grew up in tornado country so that sort of thing frightens me.  The wind lasted all night and sounded like a train coming through, which is what a tornado sounds like (so I've been told).  We didn't have a tornado, thankfully but we had massive trees blow down, lots of lasting power outages and were without phone service for a couple of days.  That meant no Internet.  WHAT????  I'm too dependent on Internet means of communication so it was hard for me and for those who expect to hear from me electronically on a regular basis.  There was no regular basis but by Sunday night all was swell.  Today we're having a gorgeous sunny day with temps in the 50's.  The air is still cool but it's pretty out there.  We have no leaves on trees or bushes yet but the maples are blooming  (ah-choo).  That's great progress.

The biggest progress to report is ICE OUT!  That happened Saturday afternoon, May 5th.  A tad late but not the latest ever.  It went out pretty quickly.  One of my friends at the foot of the lake says that it must have been a violent ice-out because there are ice blocks on his lawn going down to the water.  That's pretty amazing.

I've been busy--that seems to be my normal state these days.  I went to the thrift store to work on Saturday but there was no power so I got the day off.  That was a treat.  I had dinner with friends and watched the Derby, walked the bog with a friend in the morning yesterday--the purple trillium is just coming up there.  We may have a change of season after all.  My daffodils are blooming like champions and look great.  I went pansy shopping with a friend on Saturday, got my annual pot o'pansies planted and on the deck. 

This morning I went to the dump then to Plattsburgh to run some errands.  I should take my mother's package to the post office this afternoon but do I feel like driving even more today?  Unknown.

Snow sucks mud

It's been snowing all afternoon, we have 3-4 inches of heavy stuff right now and they're (of "they") predicting 6" by morning.  Totally unnecessary.  We had rain this morning but then it turned to snow here in Hawkeye.  I went to the laundromat at 7:30 this morning, thinking I'd have the place to myself but noooo, who knew that's when other people do their laundry?  Anyway I did a big wash then came home to snow falling and falling and falling.  There go my crocuses (I have 5) and buried are the daffodils.

The dogs are not doing well--they got into something edible the other night and ate too much of it.  Treasure looks as if she swallowed a balloon.  Bear is better, he was all swoled up yesterday but now seems as normal as he knows how to be.  Treasure is not better and it's scary.  I think I'll call the vet in the morning, of course I'm convinced she has a blockage and will be dead soon.  I haven't let them out loose all day, they are cabled every time they go out so at least they're not getting more of whatever it was they ate.

It looks like an easy week for me--my calendar is almost empty!  Just waiting to be filled with vet visits I'm sure.  Meanwhile I'm going to the gym in the morning with 2 friends, then will hit the dump unless I have to drive to Westport to the vet.  Tuesday is work, Wednesday is thrift store, Thursday is work.  That's it!  I was at the thrift store on Saturday and man oh man was it busy.  Lots of shoppers and droppers, plenty of donations coming in and plenty of shoppers buying treasures.

Rain melts snow

It's raining HARD and plenty.  We've lost a lot of snow and I can see daffodils brave and hardy in parts of my yard.  Oh boy!  Looks like a good year for blooms.

I'm home from the trip to Potsdam/Canton for an archives-relevant workshop/training session.  It was good but a long day.  We left my house at 7:30 or so, had an easy and uneventful trip going and coming.  It rained all the way home but that was nice, rinsed off my car.  How was the workshop?  It was good but a tad detail-oriented with a lot of attention paid to policies and mission statements.  Someone else took care of those long before I showed up in Keene Valley so I'm lucky.

I got to see my friend at the Network and say farewell to him--he's retiring at the end of this week.  Boy do I like having people I know retire, it's such a gift.

The dogs were (apparently) well-behaved while I was gone, but then I put chairs on the couch to keep them off.  They were happy to have me home, happier to have me feed them.  Now they're dozing.  Me too.

Today would be my brother's 69th birthday.  I can't picture him as a 69-year-old, but I can't picture myself as a 65-year-old, either.  He was a special person.  I miss him, think of him pretty much every day.  A sibling is a special and wonderful treasure.

Mud

We're having an extended mud season this year--it started a few weeks ago but because it was cold and cloudy the mud never had a chance to dry out.  Soooo, my driveway is off-limits for now.  I'm to smart to get stuck in deep mud but too lazy to never drive through the mud.  Deep ruts at the bottom of my driveway but oh well.

I've had good days--last week Annie was here and we went to the gym and had dinners together.  She went back on Saturday.  I've been taking care of a friend's cat while my friend and her husband are out of town.  I had to have help with that last week because their driveway was impassable.  Their house is high on a hill with an incredible view of the bluffs at the foot of the lake, which is really lovely but man the driveway is hell to get up.  Anyway the cat is fine, she's pretty much deaf and blind but otherwise healthy.  I feed her and scratch scratch scratch her until she purrs.

We had book group last night and barely mentioned the book (we had more pressing things to discuss).  We're skipping the month of May, too many conflicts so we'll meet again in June at Linda's camp.  That seems so far away but then I'm reminded that next week is MAY!  The weather has made it hard to believe in the passage of time but we're making progress.  The sun has been out for 2 straight days with more to come (if you want to believe predictors).

Tomorrow is the Archives, we'll do some more scanning.  Wednesday I'm going to a day-long training session in Canton with the woman I work with in the Archives.  It's not training I'm very interested in but it's relevant, about conservation of the collection.  All day???  I promised my co-worker we would go.

I'm sitting on my new couch.  I sleep on my new mattress.  WOW such big changes!

Third winter

I recently saw something called "The 11 Seasons of the Adirondacks," which said that we are currently in Third Winter, just before Mud Season.  We're really having both at the same time.  My driveway is a mud wallow, I'm parking at the end of it and slog through snow-covered mud to get to the car.  Probably my least favorite walking condition is this, mud under snow, which will suck the boots right off your feet--no, really, it does.

I've been doing all right in spite of the weather.  Weather is one of those things you can't change so I try, in my life to not fuss about things I have no control over.  Do I succeed?  Sometimes, sometimes moderately, sometimes better, sometimes worse.  It tends to improve the quality of my life, I think.

I had a good week.  Two trips to Potsdam, that was a big much but both trips were good.  The training session on Tuesday was geekily fun.  REALLY geeky but I got to see a good friend in the process and I learned that I'm doing the work at the Archives in a successful way.  The second trip was on Thursday afternoon to attend the same friend's retirement party.  I went with a friend and we really REALLY screwed up the trip there, taking a "short cut" that added many miles and almost an hour to our trip.  Oh well, we made it and had a nice time at the party.  It reminded us that we have been here for a LONG time and have come in contact with many many people.

I did the gym most mornings.  Well, some mornings at least.  Yesterday we met at the gym and quit after 15 minutes because my friend was sick and neither of us felt like treadmilling so we went to Stewarts for coffee instead.  We did walk at Taylor Pond twice this week so that was good for the dogs and also really nice to be outside even though it was 19 degrees.  Not windy and semi-sunny so a pleasant time.

Today is my friend Annie's 75th birthday.  She's choosing to ignore the number.  Today is the day that Fred always drives down North Shore Lane to his camp, except NOT this year.  Too much snow still and icy roads today.  Our precipitation is something hard to describe--snow, no, not quite.  ice, well maybe.  sleet, yes, probably.  Just a messy combination of all of this.  And it's supposed to get worse and be windy ("damaging" winds, swell, just swell).  I'm hoping to get to Plattsburgh tomorrow, have to pick up meds and am hoping to have lunch with a friend.  Today I'll go visit P&J, I hope, after I go to AuSable to get milk and maybe a bottle for James.  Which is more important, milk to make yogurt for myself or whiskey for Jim?

Still moving toward spring but slowing down

We're stuck in this weather pattern where it's in 30's during the day but down to 11 or 12 at night.  Although we do like to firm up the mud, this is doing little to bring spring.  I recklessly turned off the heat in my cellar hole and bingo! my pump froze this morning.  No harm done and it thawed while I was running errands in town so all was well.  But really???  Is that necessary?

Life goes on in Hawkeye.  Huge wind storm last week caused power outage that lasted almost 2 days while temps were in the teens.  That was nasty.  House was 47 when I got up Thursday morning.  I went to work, convinced as I always am that the power would be back on ANY MINUTE.  Only it wasn't and the house did not warm up during the day.  I lit a fire and got it up to 57 before going to bed on the couch by the wood stove.  What a drag.  Power came back on of course and all was fine.  Just a reminder of how dependent on running water and television I am in my daily life.

My new couch was delivered on Friday after my friend Lin spent hours cleaning my bedroom as a favor so my new mattress would have a good home.  Except there was a problem with the ordering of the mattress, of course so it won't come until this week.  Not to worry, the bedroom is still clean and the couch arrived without incident.  The dogs think it's not as nice as the old couch (yes, I know what they think) because it's higher, cleaner, you don't sink to the floor when you sit on it and it doesn't smell bad.  Aw, too bad. Wait until they find out we're getting a new mattress.  Yikes.

I'm still getting to the gym most mornings, the thrift store on Weds. and Sat. and the Archives on Tuesday and Thursday.  A busy time but not too much.  I've been promoted at the thrift store and am learning to accept the responsibility of receiving and pricing donations.  Yes, there's a philosophy and a method to the madness.  Somewhere between "one less thing to the landfill" and "this could be valuable."  Always "one person's trash..."  Yes, we get a lot of trash, most of which is no ones treasures.

Tomorrow I'm going to Canton to a workshop on metadata for my work in the Archives.  It's about 1 1/2 hours away and the training is 3 hours long.  I have always maintained that meetings or training sessions should last at least as long as it takes to get to them so this session is very satisfying.

Later this week I go to Potsdam to a retirement party for a network director friend.  How do I feel about retirement parties? 

Moving toward spring

What a beautiful day in Hawkeye!   It's cool, 35 but the sun is bright and warm.  Funny when you think about the snow that people like my mother are having today.  We still have 6-10 inches of snow on the ground but days like today have a big impact on that for sure.

Easter was a day all right.  I woke up at 3:30 because the dog barked, then I discovered the power was out so I called the elec. company and went back to bed.  The power had been out on Saturday for a little while too (who knows why) so I wasn't worried.  What an inconvenience, though--no power, no water, no television, no hot coffee (off I went to Redford for that).  Oh suffer suffer.  I went to P&J's and had a nice visit with them in their very cool (as in chilly) living room.  I had a fire in my wood stove so my living room was much warmer.  After that I went out for Easter dinner with friends who live across the lake--they have a generator so it's nothing to them to have the power out.  I really think I need to work with my mother to get her a generator set up like that.  She's interested I know.
The power came back on around 3 p.m. and life was good again.

Today was dump day but I went too early, once I started doing some cleaning I found more dump-worthy stuff but didn't feel like making a second trip today.  Later, baby, later.

I'm still going to the gym most mornings.  This week I'll work in the Archives solo, my assistant is off to Texas this week and next.  Rats, it's school vacation and the 7th graders have been told to visit the Archives to work on their projects.  Oh crumb.  Wednesday is a trip to Burlington with Lin, my annual mammogram and doubtless a trip to Trader Joe's.  I need dog food though so may have to stop in Plattsburgh on the way home.  No planned trips to Plattsburgh this week other than a pass-through on Weds.  Friday my new furniture is due to be delivered and of course I'm worrying about the mud in the driveway.  It's bad, very bad.  Freezes at night but I have 2 spots that are pure wallows between the end of the driveway and the house.  And of course it's supposed to rain, no, snow, no, rain later this week.  Oh drat.

Still not quite spring

We are losing snow, there's no denying that.  I heard a red-winged blackbird (but not at my house) and today I saw a turkey vulture.  and I smelled dead skunk on the way to Plattsburgh.  Signs of spring but the ground is still covered, well covered with snow.  And there's mud in the driveway.  The ground hasn't thawed yet but it's coming along slowly.

Wednesday was my first day in Receiving at the thrift store.  It went well but I asked a lot, lot, lot of questions about what to keep and about pricing.  I think it will be OK and the people are very nice to me.  Do I like it?  Yes, it's a good thing for me to do.

I went to the Archives yesterday and that, too was fine.  Margaret will be gone for the next 2 weeks so I'll be on my own.  That's fine as long as no one comes in asking for help and unfortunately the school kids will be on vacation next week so may come in to work on their projects.  OH NO!!!

Today was an exciting day, the gym this morning as usual but then I went to Plattsburgh to buy a new couch.  What a good salesman, he took me right to the perfect couch for me, based on what I told him I was looking for.  SOLD!   Then I asked if he sold futons because my futon is 16 years old (I recently discovered) and I sleep in an indentation the shape of my body.  I tried a few mattresses--oh, so different from a futon!  and found one that felt just perfect so I bought it.  A new mattress!  I don't know what the dogs will think, first a new couch then a new bed as well.  They'll deliver the goods next Friday but best of all they're taking the old stuff away.  Far, far away.

Tomorrow I'll meet my friend at the gym at 7:30 then (after coffee) will head to the thrift store for a couple of hours before meeting another friend in Keene for coffee.  more coffee.  Sunday is Easter.  I've been invited to a sunrise service at the top of Whiteface but I think I'll pass on that.  I've also been invited to an Easter dinner across the lake in the afternoon.  That will be nice, it's just 2 couples and me.

Life continues to be good for me.  I'm not antsy about the weather--it's in the 30's these days, above freezing during the day with cool nights.  Very typical.  I'm usually fed up with winter by the end of March but I have a much more benign attitude about it all this year.  A sign of maturity?

Tuesday--is it spring yet?

Temp today was in upper 30's but there wasn't sun.  Some breeze, though, which helps melt the snow.

Yesterday was a Plattsburgh day, doctor's appointment and a couple of errands.  Did go to the gym first, did half an hour on the treadmill.  This morning we went to the gym but only did 15 minutes because my friend had to get to work early.  Oh I'm so happy I don't have a full-time job!  I do have a job, though, and went to the Archives today.  I don't have to be there until 9 and only work until noon so it's barely enough time to get anything done.  We had the 7th-grade class from the school visit.  I am not a good tour guide of the place so I turned them over to my assistant Margaret and she did a wonderful job.  We weren't sure what they wanted to get from the visit, the teacher was a little vague but the kids had a good time looking up photos.  I asked them if they knew what a card catalog was--guess what they said--NO.  They had no idea what it was or how to use it so we set them loose on the ever-important to the Archives card catalog.  It was fine and I laughed at the fact that libraries haven't had card catalogs in the lifetimes of these kids.  I explained it to my mother--she was stunned that the kids didn't know about card catalogs but I reminded her that libraries got rid of catalogs 20 or more years ago.  What a job that was, getting rid of the cards.  We found a company that would recycle our cards and we sold the catalogs themselves for $50 each (my friend bought them and resold them for $200 each to friends).  Oh those were the days...    not.

Tomorrow I'm volunteering at the thrift store.  My first official day in Receiving.  I went yesterday to be trained and am still (more?) intimidated.  I'll be fine, I just don't want to make decisions that much.  I can barely make decisions about what to wear.

SUNSHINE

It's a beautiful day, almost spring-like but still 34 degrees.  Supposed to warm up this week, temps in the 40's.  Maybe even some rain at the end of the week.  Pretty exciting.

Had an exciting day yesterday--on my way to the gym at 7 a.m. I came across a dead bobcat in the road, hit by a car but unmarked.  I went on to the gym & asked my friend if she'd seen the cat and she screamed I ALWAYS WANTED A STUFFED BOBCAT so we raced back to the dead animal and put it in her car.  Back to Stewarts to ask the regulars (we knew they would know) where a good taxidermist could be found.  Plenty of "Can I see the bobcat?!!" and suggestions about what to do next, final determination was that she should call DEC (Environmental Conservation) and they would tag the animal for her so she could take it to be stuffed.  Well, almost.  DEC said they couldn't tag the animal because the trapping season ended in February, even though she didn't trap it.  Rules are rules.  The Forest Ranger went to her house and picked up the 1-year-old female absolutely gorgeous specimen, said they would have to send it to Albany for testing but then would donate it to an educational institution.  Which is what my friend runs, so we're hoping they'll return the cat to her.  It is really just a beautiful animal, in perfect condition.  That was just too much excitement for yesterday, all I could do for the rest of the day was head to the dump.  Whew!

Now it's Palm Sunday and that means nothing to me.  I had planned to go to RI for Easter but the decision was made that I'd skip it since I'm going back in May.  It will be the first Easter I've spent by myself--will I care?  Impossible to know.  I'm half-tempted to go to RI anyway but then I think about how much driving that involves and how nice it's supposed to be here so I think I'll stay put.  It will be strange, this much I know.

Tomorrow I have a doctor's appointment, will take my filthy new car to the car wash and will buy an Easter lily for my friend Patricia.  I ordered one to be sent to my mother, I always take her one.  At noon tomorrow I'm meeting someone at the thrift store because they want me to start working in receiving, where they need more help than the Book Lady I usually work with needs.  Do I want to work in receiving?  Not so much but I do want to be helpful.  Some of the stuff is priced automatically but other stuff has to be priced when it comes in.  OH NO!!!  I don't want any responsibility.  I'll see how it goes tomorrow--the thrift store is only open Weds. and Saturday so we'll have a chance to go over everything easily.

Not much else going on this week for me.  There's a class coming to the Archives on Tuesday, 7th graders I think.  The teacher doesn't seem to know exactly WHY they're coming but she said she wants them to know what's in the Archives.  Luckily my colleague Margaret will be there, SHE can be the expert.

Weather is supposed to get exciting this week, temps in the 40's and maybe even some rain.  I should walk to camp this afternoon, it's a beautiful day and the dogs would like it.  But no, I doubt I'll do that.  Mostly I'll tidy up the living room and maybe do some work in the bedroom.

I'm a lucky girl.

Spring NOT

Although it was -6 yesterday morning, today it was +3.  Yeah, that's spring all right.  We do have bright warm sunshine with a sun that's remarkably higher in the sky, yeah that's spring for real.  There is just a whole lot of snow here.  Life is good anyway but I got a report from Michigan that crocuses are blooming there, and in RI the daffodils were up and snowdrops were blooming.  Hard to imagine that happening here but then I do have a good imagination...

I've been getting to the gym but with mixed results.  This morning we did an honest 30 minutes, other days we've stopped at 15 minutes for various reasons.  My friend will be out of town tomorrow morning so I'll need to decide whether to go alone or bag it.  Gee, I wonder which I'll do.  Oh I may surprise myself (but I doubt it).

I worked this morning in Keene Valley, that was good.  Lots of scanning old photos with a smattering of being charming to board members and patrons.  My colleague and I have a good time, a very good time together and it's always a treat to see her smile.  She has a great sense of humor (which matches mine nicely).  I've registered for a workshop on metadata in early April to see if I'm entering the metadata I'm entering correctly or not.  Since I've only entered data for 200 images it's a good time to look into this.  The other, really important thing I need to do is write instructions and descriptions for what I'm doing.  When I started there was no one who knew how to scan or what the scanning project was (the previous archivist died suddenly last summer).  Now, swell, there is someone who knows how to do it but once again there is only ONE person with the knowledge.   I'm not irreplaceable, I've proven that, but I do believe in manuals and handbooks.

I hosted book group (The tea girl of Hummingbird Lane)(at least I think that was the title) on Sunday.  We had a good time, one of us had ordered a cake of tea to go with our discussion, I cooked shrimp and broccoli that was supposed to be Chinese-ish (but wasn't, ultimately) and we had a good time.  Lots of food and good conversation (some of it about the book, even).  Next up is a Brunonia Barry book, title of which I can't remember.

I'm not going to RI for Easter this year.  The first time in modern history I won't be spending the holiday weekend with my mother.  or anyone.  How will that be? 

Snow but a winning team

I was in Rhode Island for my mother's birthday last week--she turned 92 on 3/13, and we had a really lovely time together.  We always enjoy being together and I don't know what was so special about this visit but it was just extremely pleasant.  There was BARE GROUND when I got there and stayed that way for the next 3 days.  Day number 4, however, my mother's actual birthday brought a snow storm and power outage.  I was glad to be there when the power went out, that is one of my mother's greatest fears, lack of power.  She has no heat or water without electricity so I sure do understand her fear.  Anyway the power was out for most of the day but came back on in late afternoon so Mark and I could cook her birthday dinner and celebrate.  It was a nice time. 

Before the storm Mark and I took the dogs to the beach and had a really nice walk.  Bear romped in the water and tried (several times) to drink it.  No, Bear, it's salt water everywhere, no matter how far down the beach you go.

My trip coming home was uneventful until I got to Wilmington when the roads turned suspiciously crappy.  There had been a storm here too and we ended up with more than 23" of snow.  What a struggle getting up my stairs and into the house.  Road and driveway had been plowed so that was no problem.  I hate shoveling snow but did shovel a path to the steps and most of the steps.  It snowed some more that night and the next day.  Yesterday and today were beautiful sunny days--warm sun high in the sky but the temperature this morning was -4 and the high was 16.  Not a nice day, really but not the cold winds of previous days.  Another cold night tonight but not sub-zero.

We're trying to get back into our gym routine, both of us had scheduling issues last week but went this morning and are meeting tomorrow morning at 6:30.  I need to get back to regular treadmilling.

I watched the Syracuse basketball game this afternoon--I've enjoyed watching college basketball's March Madness for a long time.  I have 2 good friends who are avid (rabid) SU fans so I'm interested in the games.  What a great game today's game was!   Wow, a real nail-biter but Syracuse won by 3 so all is well.  On they go to the Sweet Sixteen.

I'm back!

Not sure why I haven't been here.  I've been busy but is that an excuse?  Not really.

There have been many visitors to Hawkeye, that's been nice rather un-winterlike.  Some friends with a camp here came up from Albany and we went out for dinner and had a good visit.  Other friends from Scarsdale were here at their house/camp and had other friends and me come for dinner.  The Holts were here and had friends and me come for dinner.  Joe was here for The Burn (we went out for lunch but skipped dinner).  It has been a busy time.  Nice.

I'm still going to the gym most mornings followed by coffee at Stewarts.  Yes, we're regulars there and see other regulars regularly.  It's a regular thing.

I'm still working in Keene Valley at the Archives.  Scanning photos and entering metadata about the images.  The other woman who works in the Archives makes me laugh, and I make her laugh and we have a good time working together.  The work sometimes gets a little monotonous but it's only 3 hours twice a week and I am very enthusiastic about the project and about the Archives in general so all is good.

I haven't spent much time at the thrift store, other things have been taking my time.  Doctor's appointment (I'm healthy), trip to Burlington to buy a new car (2018 Subaru Crosstrek), trips to Plattsburgh to get the car inspected and registered and next a trip to RI for my mother's 92nd birthday.  I leave tomorrow morning, return on Wednesday.

We've been hit by both nor'easters but nothing overly dramatic.  We got snow last weekend and more snow last night and all day today.  It's hard to believe we had bare ground recently, there's at least a foot of snow on the ground now and it's still snowing.  No power issues here but my poor mother lost power for more than 2 days--which is a long time for someone her age with electric heat.  My sump pump is running often so I know winter is moving along and the ground is thawing.

Dogs are fine, they think the new car is hard to jump into but don't really seem to care much about it otherwise.  I like it a lot but it doesn't have snow tires and that makes me nervous so I drive slowly.  It had a "break-in period" of the first 1000 miles.  I knocked that off, no problem.  It doesn't have a CD player and I've almost figured out how to load music from my phone.  I have a lot of CDs so getting this set would be way cool.  I've got music loaded to my computer.  I've almost got the music loaded to my phone.  What comes next?  Hello YouTube...

Birthday Eve for my sister

Tomorrow is my sister's birthday.  How did we get to be so old????  She'll be 67, entering the time of year when she's 2 years ahead of me.  This morning my friend asked me how old my brother would be if he were still alive.  Wow I had to stop and count on my fingers.  He was born in 1949 so wouldn't he just be pushing 70!  He was 54 when he died.  And we miss him every single day, as my mother and I agreed on the phone this morning.  We had a long, long conversation, very nice and interesting. 

We went to the gym most days this week, missed a couple but mostly we were there at 6:30 or 7.  Tomorrow is a late day, we're meeting at 7:30.  Tomorrow is also The Burn--all summer neighbors and friends take brush and wood scraps to the site and in February Joe flies up from his winter home in Georgia and lights the fire.  Last year they burned a boat, this year I don't think there's anything as dramatic.  I have plenty of brush to contribute but no way to get it up there.

Sunday my gym friend and I are meeting other friends in Plattsburgh to walk before having breakfast together.  Monday I have a hair appointment and lunch in Plattsburgh then dinner with friends.  So many of my socializations are food-centered!  Better than alcohol that's for sure but not so easy for me to control how and what I eat.  I'm trying to take control of my food intake, I only eat for 6-hour periods during the day (that made my doctor smile/almost laugh--his advice was "Get back on Weight Watchers," which is sound advice for sure).  Mostly it just means I eat less.  It's a slow process, losing weight at 65.

What the...?

I can't believe it's been so long since I posted anything.  Oops.  It's true I had a busy week last week but not THAT busy.  Keene Valley two mornings, did more work on data entry for posting to the website.  I was there again this morning but had too many problems to get much done.  Rats.

I cooked dinner for friends one night, that was fine and the house was clean (enough).  Lots of visits with the neighbors, lots of gym time followed by coffee at Stewarts.

The weather has been variable.  It's been zero, it's been 50.  Right now we're having heavy fog because it's 52 and the snow is far from gone.  Supposed to be even warmer tomorrow.  That would be good except all that's happening in my driveway is that more and more ice is being exposed.  Man it's slippery.

I went to Potsdam on the weekend, visited my niece and celebrated her daughter's 4th birthday at a party.  What a wonderful person the little darling is.  She's very polite and considerate, listens to what adults say to her (more important than listening, she HEARS and takes it all in).  She was thrilled to have lit candles on her cupcakes and cake, what joy I saw.  It was a nice evening.

But wait, there's more: yesterday I went to Burlington and bought a new car.  It's a Crosstrek (Subaru), which is just a fancified Impreza.  I traded in my 2014 Impreza (on a bad deal)(but what the heck) and got a good deal on the new car.  Am I thrilled?  No, not thrilled but happy with the new car.  It's familiar enough for me to be very comfortable driving it but different enough for me to be pleased with the purchase.  It's an elevated Impreza so is nothing fancy.  The dogs haven't been in it yet, I have some covering of upholstery to do before that happens much.  I miss the snow tires my Impreza had but will wait until fall to buy those for this car.

Tomorrow is Wednesday.  I'm meeting my friend at the gym at 7 but have no plans beyond that (and the coffee that follows).  Will I get to the thrift store?  Anybody's guess.

More Snow?

There's usually a time in winter where it snows every day, just an inch or two (or three).  Apparently that time is now.  We got 3 inches last night, nice fluffy stuff, and it's snowing again.  How much will we get?  Who knows, 6 inches?   7 inches?   4 inches?  My mother always asks me how much snow we have on the ground.  It's impossible to tell but there's at least a foot and probably closer to a foot & a half or something.  Does it matter?

I've been busy, not extra-busy but keeping busy.  This morning I went to the gym then to coffee, then to the thrift store for a couple of hours, then had lunch at the diner in Upper Jay with friends.  Then I came home, lay down and dozed.  Whew that was a lot.  My horoscope said something about being charming.  I was charming.

So now it's night time and I was watching the Olympics, men's single luge but the locals weren't doing too well.  I like watching the downhill skiing, not much else.  I know everyone loves the figure skating but that just doesn't do much for me.  Well call me a bitch.

Tomorrow I have to clean clean clean and cook.  I'm having friends come for dinner (I resist the urge to say "I'm having friends for dinner" because, well really, just because).  The dinner is no big deal but the cleaning is daunting.  Always.  I never clean the whole house, just the places people will see (and even those only get a cursory treatment).  Vacuuming is almost my least-favorite thing.  Topped by cleaning the bathroom.

The dogs are doing well.  They were alone in the house for a long time today but did nothing wrong.  They nag and nag at me when I come home, first for food then for ATTENTION.  They are very dear and are both good dogs.  Although somebody threw up on the bed the other night (it wasn't me) and of course Bear has a tendency to eat whatever he finds appealing.

Not too much going on this week, a doctor's appointment and lunch with a friend.  Of course there will be gymming and coffee at Stewart's, plus the Archives (I got a raise!) but I guess I'll have to skip the thrift store on Weds. because that's the doctor time.

Snow, lots of it

The predictors couldn't decide how much snow we would get today and into tonight.  I think they finally settled on 8-14 inches.   I love these spreads--like, do we get to choose something between 8 and 14?   I choose 8 1/2.  No, wait, that's about what we have right now and it's still snowing. 

It's a powdery snow, not bad for moving around but I'll do no moving of it until tomorrow morning.  or maybe afternoon.  but not tonight.  My plow man just came so I can get out.  They've been plowing OHR off and on for much of the day.  I don't need to go anywhere until tomorrow morning, it's a Keene Valley day tomorrow.  Today was supposed to be a thrift store day but that didn't work out (to my embarrassment, because I haven't been there for 2 weeks).  I went to Plattsburgh early to have blood drawn but there was a 1-hour wait because of a computer problem so I went for groceries (NOT to Hannaford...).  That was fine but I ran into Mr. Smith and he wanted to have coffee.  We had an extra-nice visit but that put me way behind.  I finished shopping and went back to the blood place.  No problem there but it took a little too long, long enough for Bear to eat: 2 chunks of cheese, 1 bag of frozen broccoli and some deli turkey.  Thankfully he didn't find the chicken and grapes (more likely he ran out of time).  He stared at me all the way home--why?  Because I interrupted him?  Because he knew he was a BAD dog (not)?  Anyway so far no ill effects of his marauding.  I have a cover I can put back in the car to cover what's in the back, I just don't like to have the bar there but it's either that or never take Bear grocery shopping again.

I went to see the neighbors today, it's Jim's 83rd birthday.  We had a nice visit and they are just fine.  We'll celebrate his birthday on Friday over lunch in Plattsburgh.

Now I'm home, in for the night.  It's very pretty outside and has warmed up to 17 (from 2 this morning, no wonder I was cold).  The birds need to be fed but will have to wait.  The dogs wanted to see the plow man but I wouldn't let them get plowed.

Tomorrow is a scanning day in Keene Valley.  We've scanned 514 images so far and it's time for me to figure out how to get them to the network in Canton so they can be posted on the NY State website.  I'll contact the people at the network for instructions and hope all images are in the right format and with the right amount of description.  Perhaps I could have done that BEFORE there were 514 images to deal with but noooooo, that's not my style.

Of COURSE it's cold: it's February

It was nice early this morning, temps in the 20's, almost 30 but now it's 11 and not nice.  It was a beautiful day if you looked out the window, not so nice to be out in it.  There's a very cold and "brisk" wind.  Even Dump Bob commented on it.  So did the man at Stewart's.  And the woman who sold me coffee this morning.  I guess we're all in agreement, then: it's cold and it's winter.

I've just been doing my usual things, working in Keene Valley (we've scanned more than 500 images), it's time for me to figure out how to dump the scanned images on a drive and ship them out to be posted.  I've skipped the thrift store 3 times, that's not good.  One day I just didn't feel like going and then it felt like a holiday not to go, another time I had to take the car to be fixed from being fixed and on Saturday I had coffee with a friend instead.  Wednesday I will return and decorate the Holiday Loft for Easter.

I've been to the gym almost every day with my friend though we did skip a couple of days last week because of her schedule (heaven forbid I go without Carol!).  This morning I was up before 5, which is way too early to meet her at 6:15.  My poor car was bumped hard by a deer who ran alongside of me just outside of Black Brook in the dark this morning.  Luckily I wasn't going fast, the roads are pretty slick these days.  Neither deer nor car was injured.  I think.

I had lunch with a good friend (do I have any friends who AREN'T good ones?  I don't think so) in Plattsburgh today, she retired last week so we could spend as much time together as we could stand.  She's only 55 but has 5 grandchildren.  Yikes.

Got some errands taken care of but didn't leave enough time before lunch for groceries and sure didn't feel like doing that after lunch.  Hit the dump, liquor store, gas station, bank and drug store, oh, yeah, got eggs at the Farmhouse too.  Most of those errands weren't for me (like, do I buy chewing tobacco and cheap whiskey for MYSELF?  I think not).  I can't believe I used to go to Plattsburgh often, now it seems far far away.  I'll go again on Friday though to celebrate Jim B.'s 83rd birthday at the lobster restaurant.

We had some snow last night, probably 4 inches and I guess we're getting more in a couple of days.  SO much that they can't even predict how much it will be.  And a cold night tonight.  Yes, that is winter isn't it.  My summer friends all tell me this is God's country, which of course it is for most of the year.  January and February not so much.

I'm feeding the birds but have a limited selection of visitors this year.  Many many blue jays, some chickadees and some juncos.  Where are the woodpeckers?  I put out suet but only the blue jays are enjoying it.  And hogging it.  There are a lot of grouse around in the woods, and turkeys along the road but that's about it for birds.

Life continues to entertain and please me.  I'm lucky.

Oh dear, too long

What happened?   Well I am busy but shouldn't be too busy to write a few words now and then.  Anyway I'm back.  It's a cold, miserably cold day.  Temp is 1 but there's a huge wind so we're having wind chills (if you believe in them) in the teens below zero.  And due to drop to sub-zero temps tonight.  My house is warm, my fire is hot and I'm just fine.

I went to the laundromat this morning, washed bedding that was covered with dog hair.  It will be hairless for about 2 hours until tonight.  Treasure is shedding, Bear holding on to his hair.  I've been cutting Bear's nails but have to do it one at a time and quickly.  I don't know the story of his past, I don't know if someone tortured him by cutting his nails, but he sure acts like a big big baby when I cut a nail.  And they need to be cut.  He gets a treat for every nail I cut--to this Treasure says she has to have ALL of her nails cut to earn a treat so what's up with this? 

I had a car-centered week.  Took my car to the Platts. Sube dealer on Monday for oil change, tire rotation and to have the broken rear wiper fixed.   All went well until I drove the car on Tuesday when the lug nuts on one wheel were loose.  Man what a horrible noise and what a terrifying thing!   I was very very upset.  Stopped at Fred Drake's in AuSable and he was a real peach and helped me right out.  Yes, he said, that front wheel is very very loose, shaking his head.  Today I took him some brownies because he wouldn't let me pay him on Tuesday.  He said to call any time for anything and he'd help.  HOW WONDERFUL!!!   Weds. I went back to the dealer (after telling them I would never never go back--they wooed me with promises of checking all wheels).  They really couldn't find a reason for the loose lug nuts except for dealer error so they fixed my rear wiper for free (worth nearly $400 and interpreted by me as an admission of guilt).  OK, I did all right but it sure was a lucky thing that wheel didn't fall off.  I had ambivalent feelings about that dealer anyway, I usually go to the Burlington dealer (where I bought the car).  So I guess I'll keep doing that.

Aside from that I've had a quiet time.  Thrift store, Archives, gym.  All good.  No gym today or tomorrow, my friend has conflicts.  Heaven forbid I go by myself, that wouldn't be fair to her!  Tomorrow I'm going to Keene for coffee with my friend who still works at the library system.  We see each other pretty much every week but don't talk about her work much, I think maybe she knows I'm not really that interested in what's happening where I no longer work.

We had an actual patron at the Archives this week.  Not my favorite part of the job but the woman who works with me is a gem and she helped.  It was a request for an image we had already scanned so I found it and printed out a good (surprisingly good) copy for the patron, who left with a smile on her face.  Margaret (my "assistant") found additional information for her and boy did we look good!

It snows often, typical for winter but only a couple of inches at a time.  It's just miserable cold today mostly due to the wind.  Temp is 0 and dropping, will be well below zero tonight.  I feel lucky to have a warm living room with a good stove and plenty of firewood.  I have the best ever kindling, a friend's cousin is a woodworker and gives us kiln-dried pieces of kindling that lights like magic.

Will I watch the Super Bowl?  Probably.  I don't care what people say, I LIKE Tom Brady.  I do not like the violence of football but enjoy watching it anyway.

Cold again

So much for my efforts at keeping this blog current.  Time gets away from me--I've been going to the gym in the early mornings, to the thrift store on Weds. and Sat. mornings and to the Archives on Tuesday and Thursday mornings.  Yikes that's 4 days a week I've committed myself to something.  It's only mornings, though, and it does feel good to be doing something (and even getting paid for some of it).

It's 7 right now and due to drop below zero tonight.  Today was sunny and in the teens with a very cold and strong wind.  Not very pleasant.  I walked with the dogs to the Holts' house to check on a furnace issue.  That was nice but chilly.  When I went back to see if my "fix" worked I drove even though it felt sort of silly. 

I went to the movies on the weekend and on Monday.  I have 2 friends who are movie buddies, we see films together in the winter.  On Sunday we saw The Post, which was excellent but amazingly moving for me.  Reminders of those times affect me pretty strongly.  It was very very good.  On Monday we saw Three Billboards Outside of Ebbing, Missouri, which is also excellent but in very different ways.  It's a disturbing film but boy the acting is wonderful.  I don't like violence on the big screen so there were some scenes I didn't like but mostly I just thought it was really good.

Whew!  2 films in 2 days, that really threw me off.  I thought Monday was Sunday and that threw me off for the whole week.  Now I'm ready to have tomorrow be Thursday.  I'm meeting my friend at the gym at 6:45 (we'll go to Stewarts for coffee afterward, we are officially regulars there now).  After that it's off to the Archives, where we'll scan old photographs.  That's an entertaining undertaking, we laugh a lot and puzzle over the significance of portraits of individuals who are just named with no descriptors or dates.  "It must be important, it's in the Archives" is our joke.

The dogs are just fine but I'm irritated with Bear because I fed the birds today and he will NOT stop eating the seed that fell on the ground.  Big PIG.  They ate a lot of frozen rotten apples today and I wondered if there would be any effects, like maybe drunkenness but no, they're stone cold sober.  I had a dog who ate something that had fermented once and she got very drunk.  I didn't realize that's what it was--she wagged her tail and staggered around a bit, then fell into a deep and snoring sleep.  I asked the vet about it later and he diagnosed it easily: she was drunk. 

So we're heading back into the cold weather after a lot of rain yesterday.  There wasn't as much ice as I expected so that was a relief.  We still have plenty of snow--I always say "there must be at least a foot" but I never measure it.  I just know there's a lot on the ground and big piles where it's been plowed.  And it's winter.

I

WARM and plenty of it

Temps in the 20's these days and boy does that feel good!  We've been having a little snow every day, a couple of inches but that's pretty standard for winter.

I've had a good week, did my stints at the thrift store and Archives.  Hit the gym every day (!) and we're extending our treadmill times slowly.  We're hoping to make February a productive month both in exercise and weight loss.

Tonight I'm going to a dinner honoring the thrift store volunteers.  Am I a thrift store volunteer?   I guess I qualify but it doesn't seem that way.  I was invited (twice) so they think of me as a helper I guess.  I started in October and have missed a few weeks but mostly do show up on Wednesdays and Saturdays.  The people who are always there are remarkable and reliable.  I don't feel that I'm reliable but they do count on me a bit.

My work at the Archives continues to be fun (fun?) and rewarding.  There's a group who are enthusiastically establishing a Town of Keene Historical Society and I've been marginally involved with that.  I'm not enthusiastic or in the Town of Keene so am a peripheral figure but am there because I'm the Archivist.  It's a nice and interesting group but I can't seem to muster the enthusiasm they have.  Oh well.  Not my town, not my people.

This weekend I'll work in the Easter Loft at the thrift store then maybe get to the dump.  Sunday is a Movie Day, plans are to go with R & L to see The Post.  All of a sudden there are films worth seeing in Plattsburgh, that happens once in a while.

Life continues to be full of good friends and nice times.

COLD and plenty of it!

Boy this is getting tiresome.  Temp this morning was -15, right now it's up to 5.  At least the sun was out and warm today and there wasn't any wind.  My house would NOT warm up until I figured out that I'd shut the heat off in the kitchen when it got too warm and had turned down the heat in the living room then as well.  Duh.   I knew when I did that that I would forget to readjust the heat.  Sometimes I wonder how I find my way home.

Anyway it's been a good couple of days.  I cleaned my downstairs (well most of it anyway) and cooked for book group last night.  We had a good visit with each other and a nice discussion about reincarnation and afterlife.  Interesting what people believe, isn't it?

Today I went to the gym, that was fine and we've decided to extend our treadmilling time and REALLY extend it in February.  Can't argue with that.  I had coffee with another friend in Keene later in the morning and that was fine but I got chilled.  I came home, did last night's dishes and took down my Christmas tree.  So proud of myself!  Now I just have to take the boxes of Christmas stuff upstairs and put them away.  OK, that's for another day.  Why rush everything?  It was a good tree this year but it was looking pretty bad.  My book group friend liked seeing it and looked at all my ornaments so it was good to keep it up.

Tomorrow we're hitting the gym at 6:30 in the morning.  Today I got up at 5:30, tomorrow I'll be up at 5.  After gym and coffee I'll head to Keene Valley to edit and crop the images we scanned last week.  Much work to be done with them.  I usually work only 3 hours but was thinking maybe I'd stay longer tomorrow (bet that doesn't happen).  Wednesday is the thrift store (I have 2 boxes of donations from friends--I'm getting more and more popular as people declutter and divest).

It's supposed to warm up a bit and snow tomorrow and Wednesday.  That's OK, now that I've got my heaters turned on.  I amaze myself sometimes with my ability to forget things.

SNOW!!! and lots of it

We had rain and 50 degrees yesterday, got rid of a lot of snow but today we're correcting that.  It's snowing hard, about 7 inches so far with 6-12" predicted.  I'm voting for the 12 (not because I want it but because it seems likely).

I just did an extremely stupid thing and cleared off my car (no small task--coated in ice covered with snow) and drove to the neighbors' to see if the newspaper had been delivered (it had not).  Driveway not plowed.  Roads not plowed.  Visibility limited.  I'm a doofus.  I drove until there was a place to turn around (a mile) then came home, shrugged my shoulders and marveled at my stupidity.  I just like to know if I can get out.  Well yes I can but WHY would I want to?   I should be volunteering at the thrift store this morning but no, that's not going to happen.  We didn't go to the gym this morning because no, that would be a complicated trip to town.

Nice lunch in Plattsburgh with friends yesterday, driving in the rain and heavy fog.  A nice change from driving in frozen slush and slick roads.  Stopped at the dump on my way home.  That makes it a productive trip.

Today my tasks are cleaning tasks in prep. of book group hosting tomorrow.  We read The forgetting time, which is a novel about reincarnation.  I really liked it but Marylou hated it.  That usually leads to a good discussion so at least we'll spend some time talking about the book.  I've left my Christmas tree up for M'lou to look at but it sure looks droopy and it's definitely time for it to come down.

I worked in Keene Valley on Thursday--we scanned more than 100 photos, now I have to crop and label them.  That takes longer than I thought it would, I did half of the ones we scanned last week and didn't get that finished.  And I still have grave concerns about how exactly we're going to get these images onto the Internet.  That part is not my job, I just send the files to a library network who will facilitate the posting.  This is what wakes me in the middle of the night, HOW WILL THIS WORK?

Dogs are fine.  Treasure is a hardy soul, not stopped by cold air or snow but Bear is a wuss and doesn't like to stay out long when it's below zero.  What a baby!  I think I'M hardier than her is and I don't have a fur coat.

SUNSHINE

Oh dear I've neglected this blog.  I had intended to be a regular contributor but somehow it just doesn't happen.  Try harder!

It's a gorgeous sunny day with blue blue skies and white white snow.  Temps in the 20's, approaching freezing, really lovely.  I went to the thrift store for the morning then came home to hack away at the packed snow on my steps.  It gets more like a bobsled run if I don't keep up with the shoveling (which I rarely do).  I got the steps cleared but didn't work on the path from the door to the steps, that's a well-packed down walkway about 2" high.  I'll wait to see if the predicted rain makes it easier to clear.  If not, then what?

I've been doing my usual things--working in Keene Valley Tuesday and Thursday.  Yesterday was a long day because there was a meeting at 4 that I was asked to attend.  Man I was tired last night!  Pretty funny.  I left the dogs at home, taking a chance with Bear because he hasn't spent much unchaperoned time in the house.  They were fine but certainly happy to see me.

This morning I went to the thrift store but we couldn't open for 2 hours because of a propane problem.  That meant we sat in the basement of the church drinking coffee and visiting.  I didn't have the nerve to leave so waited until we opened, then worked a bit before leaving at my usual time.  Boy it's amazing how busy that thrift store ALWAYS is.

Tomorrow is a Keene Valley day.  May go to the gym at 6:45, may skip it.  Temps are supposed to be obscenely high and it's supposed to rain Friday just before temps drop and it all freezes.  Donny wasn't able to plow my driveway because of a truck problem so I push it in my car coming and going.  Not good but he guarantees me that he'll have it plowed by tomorrow night even if he has to use his tractor.  That would be good.

Life continues to be good, very good.  I have massive housecleaning chores to get done by Sunday when I host book group.  Uh-oh--can't do it too far in advance because then it will just get dirty so I have to wait until Friday at the earliest.  Yeah, that's right.

Last Beatles song

My favorite New Year's Day activity is to listen to "The Beatles A to Z" on a Vt. radio station.  I missed the first song but stayed until the last at 8 p.m. (it takes at least 8 hours for them to play all the songs--a very impressive catalog of recordings).  What was it?   Your Mother Should Know.  I took care of cleaning tasks, wrote some stuff, balanced bank accounts, did odds and ends of things until I ran out of things to do while listening to the radio.  You can't just sit on the couch and listen to the radio, you have to be DOING something, right?  Anyway I listened to probably 80-85% of the songs with great joy.

I've had a cold for the last few (several?) days.  I don't know where it came from but my doctor friend tells me that a cold virus can live a long time on various surfaces so that must be the ticket for me.  I don't mind colds, this one was not bad either but viruses always settle in my asthmatic lungs and I cough and cough and cough.  And now I'm out of Robitussen.  I'll get some in the morning and hope for a peaceful night.

It was -12 this morning (oh how tiresome, these temperature reports) but got up to 12 by afternoon.  It snowed for most of the day and we ended up with a couple of inches.  We're entering the Snow Zone, when it snows an inch or two or three every day.  There is more than a foot of snow on the ground now.

Friends stopped by yesterday, they were up from Albany for the day and skied on the lake.  They had an auger and drilled a hole in the 14-inch thick ice 10 feet from shore.  Some people say it's thickest next to shore and that's still not thick enough to go out very far.  I have no idea--I'm wary and just follow other people's footprints onto the ice.  It's too cold now anyway, I'm not even tempted to head out there.

It's been a busy time since I got back from RI but things have quieted down.  Today I went to Keene Val. to work in the Archives there.  There's a wonderful patron who comes in with his toddler on Tuesdays who helps me figure out how to get the scanning program to work and today he showed me how to access and edit the images we scanned when I was last there.  Thank goodness for good neighbors!  It was great to get so much done.  I'll be back there Thursday to scan more photos and the routine begins.

Tomorrow I'm heading to the gym at 7:30 then will go to the thrift store in Wilmington to volunteer.  I haven't been there in a while, since before Christmas.  Not sure what they'll need to have me do, the Christmas Loft may need some packing up or maybe there are a lot of donations that need to be stored for next year.  Who knows.  I'm less enthusiastic about working there now that I've made the commitment to work Tues. and Thursday mornings.  Maybe I'll cut back to one day a week.  Who knows.

The dogs don't mind the sub-zeros too much--Treasure wanders easily in the cold but Bear doesn't stay out long before he starts to suffer and play the "I can't put all 4 paws on the ground at once" game.  Funny boy.

Farewell to 2017

I'm home in Hawkeye, the holidays were good and all is well at -6 here.  This morning's early temp was -13.  This weather is almost enough to be depressing but I'm just happy my house is operational and not freezing or having a problem.  I have a cold and am spending the day watching 80's music videos from the couch with my dogs in front of a warm fire.  Nothing seems to help ease the symptoms of this head cold but I feel fortunate that it's only a head cold and not even a very bad one.  Geez I sound goofy, my glass is always half full isn't it.

I went to the neighborhood holiday party last night, that was lovely.  I didn't stay long but did visit with everyone there.  There were probably 35 or so people, people I like and am happy to see.  We are neighbors, after all, and we need to keep each other in mind.

The Holts have been here since Christmas and Annie and I have been to the gym every morning.  You'd think that would have some impact on my weight but apparently I eat enough to keep it in balance.  I don't do resolutions, really, but am hoping to get back to my Weight Watchers routine in January. 

It's sunny and bright outside.  Soon I'll go out for more wood but that's about it.  I'm drinking hot lemon-honey water (blech) because that's what 2 friends told me to do.  Mostly I'm just doing nothing and that feels so good!  I didn't go to the thrift store yesterday and will have another idle day tomorrow I hope, but return to my routines after that.  Work Tuesday and Thursday mornings, thrift store Weds. and Sat. mornings.  A good life.

I think 2018 will bring good things.  A girl can dream.