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!

Home again

Home from Rhode Island.  I had a good trip, a nice Easter visit with Liza and Mark.  The trip down was easy and fine.  We didn't do much while I was there, lots of visiting and resting.  Mark was sick with strep and ear infections, I had a cold and was fussing to make sure it didn't turn into an asthma event, and Liza is old.  We did take the dogs to the beach one morning and that was nice.  I took my mother to town a couple of times, our standard routine.  We went grocery shopping one time, she goes once a week so this was her weekly trip.  They know her well at the store and always like seeing me.  My mother has a list of errands every time we go to town: bank, grocery store, post office, drug store, etc.

Easter was good.  Mark cooked an herb-encrusted lamb for us.  I don't really care much for lamb but he does a nice job with it so I take it to them for Easter.  We dyed eggs and had fun with that.

I took videocassettes that I uncovered upstairs in my house.  They were from 1989 and the early 90's, so we watched them.  Lots of fun, plenty of footage of Molly's kids at 2, 3 and 4.  Boy were they cute, cute, cute.  I'm having some of the tapes converted to DVD so I can share them.  There were also some tapes of building the house.  It sure looked big before I filled it with furniture, dogs and junk.  It was interesting identifying the people who helped build it.  I was hoping there would be good footage of the location of the septic tank but no such luck.  I've never had it pumped out and live in fear of an episode.

My trip home was fine but it rained hard through Hartford.  The rest was easy and I made good time.  The house was just fine, still standing and in fine shape.  The TV wasn't working, but that was true when I left.  This morning the Dish man came and discovered a problem with the cable coming in from the dish.  He fixed it but said it will need to be replaced "next time."  He's the same man who came last year and got his van stuck in the mud up to the axles.  This year he had better luck because the mud is a little firmer this morning.  We have snow, a couple of inches that snowed overnight.  I guess the weather here was wonderful over the weekend--it wasn't great in RI but there were daffodils and crocuses in bloom.  We bought pansies, which are now on my deck, covered with snow.

Not much up for this week, lunches in Plattsburgh, a hair appointment in town.  Today I'll go to AuSable for gas and milk.  Sunday I'm hosting book group--the house is still clean from last week's efforts.  Next week I have to call to see if I have jury duty, plus I have an appointment to have my teeth cleaned.  My old dentist had me come once a year because I have such good, clean teeth, but this one wants me there ($$$) every 6 months.  I'm so lucky about my teeth--my mother has great teeth, my father had crappy teeth, and I got the good tooth gene.

The dogs are great.  They like going to my mother's but do get bored.  They only get to go out into the pen unless Mark and/or I take them for a walk.  Mark took Treasure to URI for a walk around campus Easter morning while Tess and I stayed home.  They're happy to be home.  Me too.

Spring at 4 degrees

Cold morning on Sunday, down to 4 from the 9 degrees we had on Saturday morning.  That's really typical for March, and I don't mind much--it freezes the mud so I can drive to the house.  We're having a pretty mild mud season so far.  There wasn't much snow to melt, but plenty of ice.  My sump pump has been working hard, which is music to my ears because that means the water table is high and my well is healthy.  Oh I dream of a drilled well...

I had a busy weekend, starting with a trip to Plattsburgh on Friday.  I needed lots of groceries and had lunch with Julie.  Saturday I spent the day cleaning and cooking, a special pork dinner for Fred and Bill.  Linda left me a local pork roast with strict instructions to cook it for them, so that I did.  I made a cheesecake, made applesauce, cooked sauerkraut all day, and cleaned cleaned cleaned.  I even polished some of my silver, which I enjoy doing almost as much as I enjoy cleaning the toilet.  Lots of scrubbing on that silver because I never polish it.  But boy oh boy does it look nice now!  So shiny.

Anyway, I finally got the pork tender enough and got the food ready, table set, and Bill came sans Fred.  Fred was sick and couldn't make it.  Boy did he miss a good meal.  Anyway Bill suggested we take the meal to Pat & Jim's, so we packed it all up and had dinner with them.  That was nice but they didn't eat as much as I'd hoped so I have too many leftovers.  The dogs will get most of the mashed potatoes and gravy.  There's still some pork left but that may go to the dogs.  I gave Lin most of the cheesecake.  There are odds & ends of things that I can take to Rhode Island when I go there on Weds. for Easter.

I was supposed to host book group Sunday night but that was cancelled, too, so I have the food I was going to cook for that.  I can freeze most of it.  I did made a delicious brussels sprouts slaw that I'll eat.

I went to the movies with Lin & Ralph on Sunday, we saw Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, which we all enjoyed.  Tina Fey did a great job, and it was good to be reminded of the scary mess that is Afghanistan.  Still.

Today I'm hoping I'll sort through the huge plastic bin of videocassettes I have upstairs.  I'd like to see if there are any worth converting to DVD.  I should have taken some to RI when everyone was there but just didn't get to it.  Maybe I can preview these with my mother, who has a VHS player in her TV.  I sure don't have one, I don't even have a DVD player anymore.

Tuesday I have to go to Plattsburgh; lunch with Julie and a zillion errands.  Many stops to make.  I'm going back to RI on Weds., will be there until Monday.  Have to buy lamb and an Easter lily before I go.  Have to pick up prints of last week's celebration.  Have to get drugs.  Have to find brush killer for Mark, who wants to eliminate the bittersweet that's taking over the dog pen at my mother's. 

I'm up in the night because I woke up and thought it was Tuesday, my friend Doug's birthday, and I wanted to send an early birthday greeting.  It wasn't until I started writing the email that I realized it is NOT Tuesday, it is only Monday.  It's so easy to lose track of days and dates.  I have a wall calendar which I write things on but that doesn't help if you don't know what day it is.  I'm such a print-oriented person and I need a visual image to reinforce things in my feeble mind.

Dogs are fine (speaking of feeble-minded).  Tess groans a lot when she doesn't like what I'm doing (like writing things with my computer) but she is in great shape for a nearly 13-year-old Lab.  What a sweetie.  While I was at the movies yesterday the dogs finished off the bag of potatoes and found something in a box that I still can't identify from the shreds of box and powdered something on the living room floor.  Oh what dears they are.   Well they are, really.

Family time

Here's my family, all except for one.

We had a grand 90th birthday celebration with my mother.  It lasted for days, which made it extra special.  The actual birthday was nice, our fancy breakfast (bagels + lox)(a LOT of lox) and a nice day together, with dinner in a good restaurant. 

I got to RI on Weds., had an easy trip down.  I dropped the dogs off at the kennel in the morning and went on from there.  They like their kennel, are never unhappy to be left there, and aren't especially excited to see me when I pick them up.

Quiet Thursday and Friday, went to town both days with my mother.  She likes to go to town pretty much every day when I'm there, hit the bank and pretty much the same stores each time.  I like her town, Wakefield, it's got a lot of crazy drivers, a combination of very old and very young.  It's not far from the Univ. of RI so there are a lot of college kids, but the population is aging so there are many, many "older" drivers.

Jenica and her family came on Friday and I cooked massive numbers of perch for dinner.  They were ice fish and I bought way too many pounds but we all had enough with a lot left over.  That was nice.  We struggled to stay awake to greet Molly and her family late that night.  Late is a relative term because our usual bedtime is around 8:00 and this was more like 10 or so.  But we made it!  Molly, Paolo and Anna arrived safely and happily.  It was really nice to see them and be together.  Anna and I slept on the front porch, which isn't insulated and is all windows so it was chilly some nights but I like sleeping there, it's like being outside, sort of.  I got to spend a lot of time visiting with Anna, who is an absolute peach.  She's getting her doctorate in botany at UBC in Vancouver and is a very special person.

Molly & Paolo stayed in their motel so they had lots of time to relax and rest.  It was odd to be at Liza's house without the dogs but it was also very peaceful.  VERY peaceful.  We had 2-yr-old Gwyn to keep us entertained and awake.  She's special, too--I have amazing nieces and a grand-niece.  Jenica and I got to talk libraries a little bit (but never enough) and spent some good time together.  The weather sort of sucked, rainy mostly so there were no beach walks.  We did see the water, though, when we went to get the lobsters and clams for Sat. night's dinner.  Delicious lobsters, good clams and mussels.  Mark was a huge help to me cooking 8 lobsters, 8 pounds of clams and 4 pounds of lobsters.  All went well, yay.

We did have some nice weather on Sunday so everyone spent time outside in the backyard.  There's a big exercise ball in the yard, which Mark calls yard art.  When Mark & I were sitting in the living room we saw the ball go flying and Mark said "THEY'RE PLAYING WITH THE YARD ART!" which made me laugh heartily.  We laughed a lot during the week, pretty standard for family visits.

Monday Jenica and her family left (sad day) and we rested.  Tuesday Molly and her family left (another sad day) and we rested some more.  We had a quiet evening Tuesday, our usual dinner-then-Jeopardy time, the 3 of us.

I came home yesterday, left around 9 and had an easy trip.  No traffic and easy driving.  Do I prefer driving without the dogs in the car?  Hard to say, but I could have the music loud without worrying about their delicate ears.  I picked them up last night.  Yes, they're happy to be home.  Right now they're snoring, Treasure in the chair and Tess on the couch.  I woke at 1:00, after sleeping for a few hours.  Now I think I'll get back to bed for a few more hours.

I love being with my family.  Boy was it nice to be together, I think the world of them all.

Mud!

There's mud on OHR!  The ground, where it's bare anyway is thawing.  There's still snow covering the ground in most of Hawkeye, especially around my house, but the road is bare and slushy with mud.  Very exciting.  The ice on the lake was only 11 inches thick when Joe measured it earlier, so I'm thinking we'll have an early ice-out.  The weather for the next several days is supposed to be definite thawing weather.  I'll be in Rhode Island for the next week--leaving tomorrow morning--but predictions for the weather here look fine, just fine.  I usually worry about frozen pipes when I go away in March, but aside from some snow there doesn't seem to be much for me to worry about.  It's 41 right now and lovely.

I went to Plattsburgh today, just ran some errands.  It was a quick & efficient trip, but I foolishly forgot it was Tuesday and went to the Redford dump.  It's not open on Tuesdays, duh, so I had to go to the "big" dump with my garbage.  Boy did I feel dumb.  No harm done but the dogs didn't get the biscuits they've come to welcome when I pack up the garbage and head to the dump.

I leave for my mother's house tomorrow morning.  I'll drop the dogs off at the kennel at 8:30 and head out from there.  The kennel is not at all on the way but it's a good kennel and they like my dogs so there I go.  I won't worry (much) about them, they've been there several times and don't seem to mind when I drop them off, and they're never terribly enthusiastic to see me when I pick them up.  The last time they were there the owner told me that they'd figured out how to use the dog door so went in and out of the run all the time.  Let's see if they remember that.

I actually started packing today, very strange for me.  My usual routine is to pack in the morning just before I leave.  This time I have a lot of things to take along that I don't usually have, so I'm getting organized and piling things up.  I'm taking 5 pounds of Lake Champlain perch, which I bought a while ago and have frozen.  I'm thinking we'll have that for dinner on Friday night and am taking an electric frying pan for cooking.  Hopefully there will be enough for another serving on Monday so my sister and her family can enjoy them too.

Needless to say I'm looking forward to the next week.  I'll see my sister, her husband and daughter, a big treat.  They are among my favorite people.  Jenica will be there, along with her family, and it will be a great time I'm sure. 

Still February in March

It was -7 yesterday morning, -2 today.  I hate to complain, but this is getting a bit tiresome.  Right now it's sunny an 26, which seems appropriate.  Those morning temps do NOT seem appropriate, but then I remind myself that this is what March is like, so buck up, sweetie.  And so I do.  Buck up.

I had massive technology problems this week.  First one wasn't a problem, I installed a new receiver for my satellite dish (maybe I already reported this)(I think I did).  Anyway that went well and now I have very few recorded programs to watch.  That is OK, I have Roku, Netflix, and HBO and so many other things to watch.

Day before yesterday my Internet connection quit.  We have no choice in carriers or ISP here, it's Frontier all the way.  How can that be OK?  Anyway, Frontier is notoriously crappy in so many ways.  I called tech support and got a horse's ass of a man who finally decided he didn't want to deal with me so he told me there was an outage in my area and hung up.  I waited 4 hours and called again, got a wonderful woman who identified the problem (which was NOT an outage in the area: "No, I don't see any report of an outage").  She arranged for a technician to come on Friday.  He came and did some work even though I wasn't there--maybe there was a problem with the outside connection.  He left me a nice note and a new modem.  I installed the new modem...almost.  It worked when the computer was hard-wired to the modem, but the wireless didn't connect.  OMG I talked to the worst ever techie woman, who made me feel feeble and deaf.  Finally, after an hour we got it all set but boy if they ask me how Anne-Marie is as a customer service rep they will get an earful.  Now I know what it's like to be deaf and try to talk on the phone. I kept asking her to speak into the mouthpiece, which she would do.  once.  Oh well, all in the past now.  But wait, my printer doesn't work with the new modem so I have to uninstall and reinstall that.  It turns out that it takes a long time to uninstall something. 

What did I want to print?  The manual for my new Garmin toy.  I decided I would like to have a Garmin for my April trip.  It's a nifty but noisy toy but I don't know how to use it.  I got it hooked up to the car, to the computer, and it seems to be OK but I haven't tried it since I downloaded the stuff from online.  I feel like a feeble fool who lives in the '90's and is just learning DOS.  Well, hell, if it were all about DOS I'd do just fine.

Other than struggle with toys I haven't been up to much.  I worried that, without hearing from me for 2 days some people would worry if I were OK.  No, they weren't concerned.  Hmmm.  I do have a deal with Linda that, if she doesn't receive any email from me for a few days she is to worry.  And call me.  And call Pat.  I used to be covered that way when I worked--if I didn't show up at work by 10 they would call the state troopers to check on me.  Except that the time I didn't show up because I had a doctor's appointment they didn't remember that I had the appointment, then they did but they felt they had to call the doctor's office to make sure I showed up for the appointment.  Oh no, not too embarrassing.

I had lunch with Barb on Friday and that was really nice.  I delivered the baskets I made for her 2 new grandchildren's Easter.  The baskets turned out well, as I know I have reported.  It was good to get them out of my house, that's certain.

Today I went to AuSable to pay with my Garmin and get money from that bank.  I'm still wrangling with bank accounts in retirement.  I hate to switch everything over from the Plattsburgh bank I've been doing business with for 30 years, even though people assure me that the bank won't care that I've been sending money through them all those decades, loyalty apparently doesn't count for much in finance.  We all know how complicated it is to change banks.  I got as far as opening 2 accounts in the AuSable bank, which is also in Plattsburgh and Saranac Lake and Lake Placid.  A better bet for me but as I say, I hate to switch everything over.  Especially since I just proved that I can barely manage a modem.

I went to Lake Placid the other day, needed to UPS something and it's the closest place for that.  Of course I saw someone who knew me--my ex-husband's old girlfriend.  UGH.  I would have ignored her but she said hello to me and asked what I was doing there.  "You don't live here, do you?"  Well pardon me for not knowing there's a residency requirement to do business in that town.  I said hello and pretty much left it at that.  She probably wanted to talk about what a toad Jamie is but I don't.

The dogs have been fine except for throwing hair all over the house.  The bedspread is covered with fur and the floors in all rooms have big bundles of hair.  STOP IT.  They're shedding because of the change in daylight.  I'll be in RI when we switch to Daylight Saving next weekend.  Then it will be even darker when I get up, but light later, which matters not to me much at all.

I'm slowly getting organized for my RI trip.  I leave Weds., will drop the dogs off at the kennel at 8 so can't leave any earlier than that.  Should be an easy trip, I think it's supposed to rain.  That will rinse off my extremely dirty car.  Oh boy!  I can use my Garmin!  It will be like having someone else in the car!

February-March-February

My fear in February was that we were having March's weather that month and would be having February's weather in March.  So far I was right.  Today was icy, with a strong, cold wind.  The trees were twirling and rocking like crazy and the car was coated in ice.  I did go to Plattsburgh in spite of the dozens of closings--nearly all schools in the area were closed today.  On my trip the roads were just fine, and I finally did get the ice off the windshield, but that took a lot of scraping and a very long time.  I had lunch with Julie, our usual Wednesday Japanese lunch.  Always a treat.  I didn't do much else in Plattsburgh, just a couple of errands, then I came straight home.  The sun had been bright and the house was warm but now I'll have to work on it to keep it that way.

We were supposed to (supposed to? well, it was predicted) have a big storm last night, with heavy snow and lots of ice.  They delivered the ice but there was only a dusting of snow.  That's just fine with me.  It turns out that I don't need 3 feet of snow to be sick of snow by March 2nd.  I'm tired of winter, I think.  Everyone says that's not possible, we haven't had winter weather.  Well...we haven't had spring weather, either.  But we will, I'm sure we will.  Eventually.  Some day.  Not tonight, it's already dropped from 27 to 9, and should go well below zero tonight.  -10 in Saranac Lake, so I wouldn't be surprised if we saw that.  The nails in the deck are popping like crazy.

Tomorrow I may go to Lake Placid.  I have to return the broken satellite dish receiver that's been replaced with a new one, which I successfully installed.  Color-coded cables, 2 sets of instructions, pretty much idiot-proof installation.  I lost all of my recordings, which truly is no great tragedy.  I spent a lot of time surfing through my recordings in search of something worth watching.  Now I get to start all over again, but I'm having trouble remembering what I like to watch, on what channel, at what time.  Well.  If that's my greatest issue today I think my life must be pretty fine.

What have I been doing for the last few days?  Hard to remember.  I know I went to Plattsburgh on Monday, I had a doctor's appointment at 8 a.m.  That went well.  I get to stop taking one of the zillion meds I take for various issues.  Yay!  I'm healed!  Not exactly, but I'm in better shape.  And I'm happy.  After seeing the doctor I did some grocery shopping, then bought an electric frying pan (those are not easy to find) to take to Rhode Island next week so I can cook the perch fillets I'm taking there.  I bought 5 pounds of perch when Joe was here, envisioning a delicious meal with my family in RI. 

Yesterday I went to AuSable, had a couple of things to get and take care of there.  Mostly what I do is stoke the stove, try not to eat much, wait on the dogs (I live to serve) and watch too much television.  I am pedaling every day and I do like my little exercise bicycle, which is near enough to the TV so time passes easily when I'm pedaling

The dogs are just fine.  Tess likes the new seat bottom in the car and has left an amazing amount of brown hair on it.  Both dogs are shedding, the days are growing longer and animals molt and shed based on the amount of daylight.  I brushed them today and should repeat that every day.  I'm going to RI next week and they will be boarded for a week so the shedding will at least take place somewhere that is not my living room or bed.