and it's Friday at last. Long, hot week. I'm no good in humid summer heat. Feel all wilted and sweaty. The best place to be is: at work, where it's air-conditioned ; or: on the boat house porch where there's always a breeze. I stayed at home last night, even though it was 84 in the living room at 10 p.m. The dogs panted all night--or at least they were panting every time I woke up. I'm sure they slept some. I did. I slept well, actually. Went to bed early, very tired from my Weds. travels.
I went to Utica--everyone has heard plenty about this. I left home at 5 a.m., got to the Utica Pub. Lib. around 8:30, plenty of time for the 9:00 session. The program lasted until 3, when I was totally ready to leave and was wearing my rude bored face while the last speaker spoke (endlessly). It took about 4 hours to get home, just enough traffic to screw me up. I was exhausted when I got home--I think I may be too old for these marathon drive-meet-drive days. Also, I was up too late the night before. Oh well, age is what age is. I pretty much enjoyed the trip, many lake communities, but the drive home was endless. I much prefer the 5-8 a.m. travel time.
I haven't done much this week, just work and home stuff. Saw Jim one night (Pat wasn't there) in his air-conditioned comfort. He has COPD so he can't do hot humid weather. After that I went to Linda's, where I ended up staying for delicious dinner and visit with newly arrived friends. Yesterday I stopped there again, having left work at noon. Nice visit with Linda on her porch, though there's not much breeze on her porch so it was a little stifflling.
Fred & I had drinks on his porch last evening--he has a breeze and it was quite pleasant. I want a screened in porch at my house--I'd love to sleep there. I tried a bunch of times to put up a screened gazebo but there was never a floor so it was not nice for sleeping on. Someday, someday. Or else I'll hold out for a screened-in tree house. That would be way cooler. After drinks F. & I went to Big Daddy's diner, where we go just because it's bad. He always has a turkey club and I always have a cheeseburger. I love cheeseburgers. yum. Anyway last night we had good food (for B.Daddy's) and a really nice time.
This weekend? There are cousins in camp whom I'll visit with. I still have much firewood to stack, and temps are supposed to drop a lot by Sunday so hopefully I'll be productive that way. I did some cleaning yesterday, proudly in the heat. I still have too much clutter but at least I got the laundry done. Now I have to change beds in the boat house & wash those sheets. Oh it doesn't end. But how lucky am I to have that problem?
Friday, July 22, 2011
Monday, July 18, 2011
Long Monday
And today seems like the Day that Won't END. The clocks have stopped, I'm sure. So I'm turning to my blog instead of going into the stacks to inventory more books about how to improve yourself. Turns out I/we bought a slugload of those, for the correctional facilities I imagine. Of all of the 160,000 residents of our service area, I would bet the inmates could most benefit from the 158's.
I had a good weekend, very nice. Weather was dock-worthy, so I spent both days on the dock. The water is pretty warm, though I swam briefly this morning and it fell colder after last night's rain. Ah, who knows, maybe it's just cold at 6:30 a.m.
Saturday I went to camp in the morning, visited with ex-husband's brother, someone I've always liked. He & his girlfriend + her kids were there for the day. And felt free to use anything they came across, including my canoe & my kayak (even though they had to go searching through the boat house--MY boat house--to find paddles. Personal space? what's that?). I cared only because it's a throwback to my former self, though I do prefer to have people ask if they can use things I own that cost hundreds of dollars. Oh well, the kids had fun with the kayak and no one liked the canoe, it was too tippy. Tough. I sat on the dock & finished the book group book (The lace reader), which I enjoyed. Both the sitting and the book, that is.
Saturday night I had company at the boat house for cocktail hour--the Nadals, good friends who are here for the summer. He's recently semi-retired from his glass-blowing business, she's a nurse. Or was, maybe she's retired too. I don't know--all I know is that I'm surrounded by retired people which should make me feel young but instead makes me feel as if everyone else is on a fun ride and I'm not. Patience, dear, patience. It hopefully won't be long. A few years. The Nadals & I spent a long time watching the adult loons feed the baby loons. whatever they're called. loonlets. loonettes. who knows. Anyway, there were 2 babies but one was much bigger than the other & the parents only fed the big one, leaving Little to bob in the waves alone. This upset Jim, though he finally agreed that nature is cruel. The lions kill the baby wildebeests. Crocodiles kill baby lions.
Saturday night Jenica & beau came, which was really nice. We had a good visit. I stayed in the boat house, they stayed in the nifty cabin that's right on the water. Nice chats during the day on Sun., lots of time when Jenica & I were on the dock together, reading & chatting. It was hot, too hot to be anywhere else. I tried going home to be productive and stack wood, but I turned right around & ended up back on the dock. Dogs were entertained. I still have many cords to stack and am not making progress at all.
Last night I had dinner with Jenica & Justin (she cooked) then we went to Hot Dog Man for ice cream with Fred. Apparently I've reached my weight plateau because my weight's been the same for 2 weeks now. Or maybe it's 3, who knows. Anyway, I'll stay this way through the summer (as long as I don't gain weight, that is) and may try losing more weight in the fall. I've lost nearly 30 pounds in the last year so I feel good. So does my doctor. He's very proud & says I might not have to take my cholesterol meds anymore. Of all the meds I take, that's the least invasive, but I guess it's good to get rid of anything I can.
I spent 2 days on the road last week--one day in Keene and one in Tupper Lake. Both were fine, though Keene was really hot and humid and the collection is pretty depressing. Too many old books. Tupper Lake is a long drive from my house. Wednesday afternoon I went to the calling hours for Ken's brother-in-law. Calling hours are a must, no matter what you thought of the person, whether you liked the person, whether you barely knew the person, etc. It's what you do. So I did it. Check that one off my list. The dearly departed was 88 and had been ill, but he really wanted to live, poor man. Congestive heart failure, all too common.
This week I'm in Plattsburgh except for Weds., when I have to drive to Utica for a seminar/workshop/meeting. YUCK. I have to be there at 9, didn't want to spend the night because then I'd have to board the dogs. So it'll be lots of driving, but I hope the meeting lasts at least as long as the driving takes. But I doubt that it will. 7 hours of driving.
Work is going along. It's too slow, after a huge flurry of work needing to be done. Now we're moving smoothly along through the summer hustle. I need to spend more time doing the inventory--I'm supposed to have half the collection done by Dec. and I'm far, far from reaching that point.
Tonight I'll stop at Linda's to give her the NY TImes I bought this morning. I haven't seen her much, need to take advantage of her presence here while I can. Sometimes I just feel as if I'm being pulled in a zillion different directions. The first event of our Chicken Wars was yesterday but I opted out. The plan is to have each person cook a chicken recipe for one Sunday dinner, and have us all judge the recipe. I'm not competitive, nor do I have a fantastic chicken recipe, so I'm not really up for the whole thing. There are scorecards and categories (presentation is one category--dear god help me). I may pass on the whole thing, since I'll be gone for 2 weekends in August anyway.
Now some time has passed, I can tell. The hands on the clocks have actually moved. I'll head into the stacks for a bit.
I had a good weekend, very nice. Weather was dock-worthy, so I spent both days on the dock. The water is pretty warm, though I swam briefly this morning and it fell colder after last night's rain. Ah, who knows, maybe it's just cold at 6:30 a.m.
Saturday I went to camp in the morning, visited with ex-husband's brother, someone I've always liked. He & his girlfriend + her kids were there for the day. And felt free to use anything they came across, including my canoe & my kayak (even though they had to go searching through the boat house--MY boat house--to find paddles. Personal space? what's that?). I cared only because it's a throwback to my former self, though I do prefer to have people ask if they can use things I own that cost hundreds of dollars. Oh well, the kids had fun with the kayak and no one liked the canoe, it was too tippy. Tough. I sat on the dock & finished the book group book (The lace reader), which I enjoyed. Both the sitting and the book, that is.
Saturday night I had company at the boat house for cocktail hour--the Nadals, good friends who are here for the summer. He's recently semi-retired from his glass-blowing business, she's a nurse. Or was, maybe she's retired too. I don't know--all I know is that I'm surrounded by retired people which should make me feel young but instead makes me feel as if everyone else is on a fun ride and I'm not. Patience, dear, patience. It hopefully won't be long. A few years. The Nadals & I spent a long time watching the adult loons feed the baby loons. whatever they're called. loonlets. loonettes. who knows. Anyway, there were 2 babies but one was much bigger than the other & the parents only fed the big one, leaving Little to bob in the waves alone. This upset Jim, though he finally agreed that nature is cruel. The lions kill the baby wildebeests. Crocodiles kill baby lions.
Saturday night Jenica & beau came, which was really nice. We had a good visit. I stayed in the boat house, they stayed in the nifty cabin that's right on the water. Nice chats during the day on Sun., lots of time when Jenica & I were on the dock together, reading & chatting. It was hot, too hot to be anywhere else. I tried going home to be productive and stack wood, but I turned right around & ended up back on the dock. Dogs were entertained. I still have many cords to stack and am not making progress at all.
Last night I had dinner with Jenica & Justin (she cooked) then we went to Hot Dog Man for ice cream with Fred. Apparently I've reached my weight plateau because my weight's been the same for 2 weeks now. Or maybe it's 3, who knows. Anyway, I'll stay this way through the summer (as long as I don't gain weight, that is) and may try losing more weight in the fall. I've lost nearly 30 pounds in the last year so I feel good. So does my doctor. He's very proud & says I might not have to take my cholesterol meds anymore. Of all the meds I take, that's the least invasive, but I guess it's good to get rid of anything I can.
I spent 2 days on the road last week--one day in Keene and one in Tupper Lake. Both were fine, though Keene was really hot and humid and the collection is pretty depressing. Too many old books. Tupper Lake is a long drive from my house. Wednesday afternoon I went to the calling hours for Ken's brother-in-law. Calling hours are a must, no matter what you thought of the person, whether you liked the person, whether you barely knew the person, etc. It's what you do. So I did it. Check that one off my list. The dearly departed was 88 and had been ill, but he really wanted to live, poor man. Congestive heart failure, all too common.
This week I'm in Plattsburgh except for Weds., when I have to drive to Utica for a seminar/workshop/meeting. YUCK. I have to be there at 9, didn't want to spend the night because then I'd have to board the dogs. So it'll be lots of driving, but I hope the meeting lasts at least as long as the driving takes. But I doubt that it will. 7 hours of driving.
Work is going along. It's too slow, after a huge flurry of work needing to be done. Now we're moving smoothly along through the summer hustle. I need to spend more time doing the inventory--I'm supposed to have half the collection done by Dec. and I'm far, far from reaching that point.
Tonight I'll stop at Linda's to give her the NY TImes I bought this morning. I haven't seen her much, need to take advantage of her presence here while I can. Sometimes I just feel as if I'm being pulled in a zillion different directions. The first event of our Chicken Wars was yesterday but I opted out. The plan is to have each person cook a chicken recipe for one Sunday dinner, and have us all judge the recipe. I'm not competitive, nor do I have a fantastic chicken recipe, so I'm not really up for the whole thing. There are scorecards and categories (presentation is one category--dear god help me). I may pass on the whole thing, since I'll be gone for 2 weekends in August anyway.
Now some time has passed, I can tell. The hands on the clocks have actually moved. I'll head into the stacks for a bit.
Monday, July 11, 2011
Back for more
OK, so it's been a while since I've posted. I write long letters to my mother each week, which seems to scratch my need for reporting itch. I'll try to bring things up to date. Mostly I've been visiting with summer friends and working.
Biggest news from me is that I got my braces off. Very exciting. My teeth look great, just the slightest hint of a space between my front teeth. I wear a plastic retainer until I have a permanent one put in in August. I live in mortal fear that my teeth will float apart, but if that happens it happens. I have good teeth and am lucky for that. The whole braces thing was a big experiment anyway. An expensive one, but an experiment. My thinking was that, when I turn 60 next year I'll be thin, have straight teeth and long hair. So far I've lost weight, my hair is about shoulder-length, and my teeth are pretty good looking.
My Midwestern friends are planning a gathering next year (for our 60ths). So far 17 people are planning to be there (I'm one). It's to be at a lake in southern Wisconsin. Midwestern lakes are so way different from Adirondack/Northeastern lakes. They tend not to be spring fed, which makes them warmer and with more vegetation. They're also pretty shallow, generally, and not terribly clear. All of this sounds not attractive, but some lakes are nice. The Great Lakes are fantastic. We used to swim in funky little lakes when we lived in southern Illinois. There was no good lake for swimming in Rockford, but I think they now allow swimming in the lake where we used to hang out. Never was sure why you couldn't swim there...
I had a good 4th of July. Linda is here for the summer, and she had her annual 4th of July cookout. Delicious steaks cooked on the campfire. Her friends from Mich. were there too, a couple I really like visiting with. I got to spend time on the dock with my dogs, one of my all-time favorite things. My Icky Cousin was in camp and bellowed at my dogs so I stayed away from there until they left last week. Except for the day they went golfing & shopping, when I could relax with dogs & enjoy being there. I've slept in the boat house a few times but this year I seem to be more comfortable at home. Go figure. Tonight I think I'll stay down there, it's supposed to be pretty warm. I had bad dreams last night at home, woke twice and finally got up at 5:00.
I've been swimming a couple of times--the lake is very warm this year, thought it was a bit colder yesterday, who knows why. I had a fantastic dock day yesterday--went to camp around 10:30 and stayed until I could stay no more, around 2:30 or so. Went home to make dessert for book group, which Linda hosted last night. We had a good crowd, though no one really like the book (The big house). Good food, very nice people. This month we're reading The lace reader, which I know nothing about, nor do I know how I happened to have a copy to offer as a choice.
I saw the loons the other day. Two adults and two tiny ducklets. Ducklets swam a little, then rode on ma's back for a while. Very cute. Mostly boats and jet skis left them alone, let's hope that trend continues.
I've seen lots of summer friends--the Holts were here for a week so I had dinner with them twice. Their Slovenian grandsons were here and were lots of fun to visit with. 9 and 12, excellent English. We also had our Hawkeye Conserva. road clean-up and picnic (again, hosted by Linda). I got to partner with Fred & Bill for the clean up, which was fun. F. won't go in the tall grass because there might be snakes, and Bill is color blind so misses a lot of the garbage. We managed to collect plenty, which made Fred feel it was worth the time.
Tomorrow I spend the day in Keene, barcoding and adding records to the data base. It's a small, quiet library with a shy director. Am I looking forward to this? Well, sort of. It's nice to be out of the library from time to time. Weds. I spend in Tupper Lake cataloging their local history collection. Another nice group of people. Tupper Lake is way far away from everything. Takes an hour to get to from home.
I survived Kim's week-long vacation before the 4th. Man did I hustle. Her work has to be done every day, and right away every day, so I had plenty to do. Other than cataloging I've been ordering books like a mad food for a grant we got. $30,000 for member libraries to purchase books with, all orders placed by me and processed by Kim. There are huge piles of boxes waiting to be unpacked & have the books distributed. whew. So far about 15 (half) of the libraries have sent in their orders so we're making progress.
It's hot and sunny this week. Very nice. I try to stack some firewood every day, and will do so even in the unpleasantness of hot humid weather. I have a friend's son mow my lawn every week and last week he stacked some wood while he was there. Unfortunately the stack he built tipped over--chaos ensued. It took me a while to straighten it out & restack the wood. Too frustrating, handling the wood one more time and not being ahead of the game when I was finished. It doesn't take much to convince me that stacking firewood can be postponed. Though it can't--this wood won't really be dry enough to burn this winter, but it's the best I can do. 8 cords, about 1.5 cords stacked so far. It does dry when piled the way it is now, but not as well as when it's neatly stacked with lots of air circulating through it. Blech.
Dogs are fine, cat is fine. Dogs are shedding a lot and look very motly. I comb them every day, taking a quart of fur from each of them. There's always more, though, and plenty of it ends up on the floor. Yesterday kitty delivered a bird--a finch, I think--way more alive than dead. I picked up birdie & it flew away as soon as I took it outside. Whew! A close call. I found a baby shrew on the bedroom floor recently. Kitty doesn't like regular old rodents, she prefers something a little more interesting.
I'm heading to RI in August, which I'm really looking forward to. My sister arrives in America in 2 weeks, stays for a month. I don't know if they'll come here this year--it's impossible to know ahead of time what my mother will want to do. If they're here, I'm here. They wouldn't be here for more than a few days anyway.
Back to work. Must come up with call numbers for DVDs about teen suicide, pelicans, yoga, etc. Aw heck, who cares what their call numbers are, just make something up.
Biggest news from me is that I got my braces off. Very exciting. My teeth look great, just the slightest hint of a space between my front teeth. I wear a plastic retainer until I have a permanent one put in in August. I live in mortal fear that my teeth will float apart, but if that happens it happens. I have good teeth and am lucky for that. The whole braces thing was a big experiment anyway. An expensive one, but an experiment. My thinking was that, when I turn 60 next year I'll be thin, have straight teeth and long hair. So far I've lost weight, my hair is about shoulder-length, and my teeth are pretty good looking.
My Midwestern friends are planning a gathering next year (for our 60ths). So far 17 people are planning to be there (I'm one). It's to be at a lake in southern Wisconsin. Midwestern lakes are so way different from Adirondack/Northeastern lakes. They tend not to be spring fed, which makes them warmer and with more vegetation. They're also pretty shallow, generally, and not terribly clear. All of this sounds not attractive, but some lakes are nice. The Great Lakes are fantastic. We used to swim in funky little lakes when we lived in southern Illinois. There was no good lake for swimming in Rockford, but I think they now allow swimming in the lake where we used to hang out. Never was sure why you couldn't swim there...
I had a good 4th of July. Linda is here for the summer, and she had her annual 4th of July cookout. Delicious steaks cooked on the campfire. Her friends from Mich. were there too, a couple I really like visiting with. I got to spend time on the dock with my dogs, one of my all-time favorite things. My Icky Cousin was in camp and bellowed at my dogs so I stayed away from there until they left last week. Except for the day they went golfing & shopping, when I could relax with dogs & enjoy being there. I've slept in the boat house a few times but this year I seem to be more comfortable at home. Go figure. Tonight I think I'll stay down there, it's supposed to be pretty warm. I had bad dreams last night at home, woke twice and finally got up at 5:00.
I've been swimming a couple of times--the lake is very warm this year, thought it was a bit colder yesterday, who knows why. I had a fantastic dock day yesterday--went to camp around 10:30 and stayed until I could stay no more, around 2:30 or so. Went home to make dessert for book group, which Linda hosted last night. We had a good crowd, though no one really like the book (The big house). Good food, very nice people. This month we're reading The lace reader, which I know nothing about, nor do I know how I happened to have a copy to offer as a choice.
I saw the loons the other day. Two adults and two tiny ducklets. Ducklets swam a little, then rode on ma's back for a while. Very cute. Mostly boats and jet skis left them alone, let's hope that trend continues.
I've seen lots of summer friends--the Holts were here for a week so I had dinner with them twice. Their Slovenian grandsons were here and were lots of fun to visit with. 9 and 12, excellent English. We also had our Hawkeye Conserva. road clean-up and picnic (again, hosted by Linda). I got to partner with Fred & Bill for the clean up, which was fun. F. won't go in the tall grass because there might be snakes, and Bill is color blind so misses a lot of the garbage. We managed to collect plenty, which made Fred feel it was worth the time.
Tomorrow I spend the day in Keene, barcoding and adding records to the data base. It's a small, quiet library with a shy director. Am I looking forward to this? Well, sort of. It's nice to be out of the library from time to time. Weds. I spend in Tupper Lake cataloging their local history collection. Another nice group of people. Tupper Lake is way far away from everything. Takes an hour to get to from home.
I survived Kim's week-long vacation before the 4th. Man did I hustle. Her work has to be done every day, and right away every day, so I had plenty to do. Other than cataloging I've been ordering books like a mad food for a grant we got. $30,000 for member libraries to purchase books with, all orders placed by me and processed by Kim. There are huge piles of boxes waiting to be unpacked & have the books distributed. whew. So far about 15 (half) of the libraries have sent in their orders so we're making progress.
It's hot and sunny this week. Very nice. I try to stack some firewood every day, and will do so even in the unpleasantness of hot humid weather. I have a friend's son mow my lawn every week and last week he stacked some wood while he was there. Unfortunately the stack he built tipped over--chaos ensued. It took me a while to straighten it out & restack the wood. Too frustrating, handling the wood one more time and not being ahead of the game when I was finished. It doesn't take much to convince me that stacking firewood can be postponed. Though it can't--this wood won't really be dry enough to burn this winter, but it's the best I can do. 8 cords, about 1.5 cords stacked so far. It does dry when piled the way it is now, but not as well as when it's neatly stacked with lots of air circulating through it. Blech.
Dogs are fine, cat is fine. Dogs are shedding a lot and look very motly. I comb them every day, taking a quart of fur from each of them. There's always more, though, and plenty of it ends up on the floor. Yesterday kitty delivered a bird--a finch, I think--way more alive than dead. I picked up birdie & it flew away as soon as I took it outside. Whew! A close call. I found a baby shrew on the bedroom floor recently. Kitty doesn't like regular old rodents, she prefers something a little more interesting.
I'm heading to RI in August, which I'm really looking forward to. My sister arrives in America in 2 weeks, stays for a month. I don't know if they'll come here this year--it's impossible to know ahead of time what my mother will want to do. If they're here, I'm here. They wouldn't be here for more than a few days anyway.
Back to work. Must come up with call numbers for DVDs about teen suicide, pelicans, yoga, etc. Aw heck, who cares what their call numbers are, just make something up.
Friday, June 24, 2011
Friday afternoon
Close to quitting time, but another hour for me. I'm working until 5 today, the last day we need coverage to 5 until Labor Day.
I was running early this morning, had my day all planned around a long lunch when I could accomplish a lot & get my errands all done. Sure, that worked fine until I got to Saranac, when I realized I'd forgotten my purse at home. How girly girl, a purse. Anyway, I went back for it, was on the road from 7:15 to 8:45, when I finally got to work. So I didn't take a very long lunch, and I cut out some of the errands I'd hoped to do, but it all worked out. I guess. I went grocery shopping, for just a few things (cheese & crackers for the former in-laws to have on the boat house porch this weekend). Every Canadian in the country is in America for their 3-day weekend. Stay off the roads, it's not worth it. They're all driving campers & towing cars. It's a nightmare. Plus tonight is high school graduation so all hell is breaking loose out there. People people everywhere, all going crazy.
I'll have a busy weekend. Tonight I'm meeting Linda in AuSable at the farmers' market. It's the first time AuSable has had one, so it's important for us all to go to support it. After hanging around there a bit we'll go to dinner, who knows where. Maybe the diner in AuSable. yum. grease. I thought I'd been eating pretty carefully, but I gained 2 pounds this week. Back to where I was after LAST weekend, when I ate too much of the wrong things. A slippery slope. I have to be vigilant all summer.
My friends the Blue Heron Boys (sounds like a musical group, but they're former campers who own a camp down from my house) are here for a week. They're great fun to be with. Each year they have this week together ("workfest") when they open camp and get lots of things done. And climb some mountains. They always have a Theme Dinner Night, and it's a surprise so you don't know ahead of time what to expect. I've no idea what it will be this year, but it'll be this weekend.
I have to walk the dogs this weekend, I've been neglecting them terribly. They practically had to introduce themselves to me this morning, and I realized then that I haven't been with them much, and I certainly haven't been walking them. oops. Seems I mostly walk on the weekends, which is not what I'd hoped for myself.
There will be people in camp this weekend--my ex-husband's parents (cousins). We got along really well for years but then we had a bit of a problem and things have not been great for a while. I try, and we relax after a while of being together, but it's not what it used to be. Which I suppose is to be expected. And though I sort of miss them, my life is simpler now. Busy, but simpler.
My colleague/clerk is on vacation next week. Yikes, this means I'll be doing 2 jobs next week. Or just doing hers. Her work is the sort that needs to be done every day by a certain time. I don't like her job, but she rarely takes time off so I can't complain. She's heading to S.Carolina with her son & parents, is looking forward to being on the ocean. I don't blame her, I'd like to be on the ocean, too. I'll be in RI for 2 weeks in August. That seems like a long time from now.
I was running early this morning, had my day all planned around a long lunch when I could accomplish a lot & get my errands all done. Sure, that worked fine until I got to Saranac, when I realized I'd forgotten my purse at home. How girly girl, a purse. Anyway, I went back for it, was on the road from 7:15 to 8:45, when I finally got to work. So I didn't take a very long lunch, and I cut out some of the errands I'd hoped to do, but it all worked out. I guess. I went grocery shopping, for just a few things (cheese & crackers for the former in-laws to have on the boat house porch this weekend). Every Canadian in the country is in America for their 3-day weekend. Stay off the roads, it's not worth it. They're all driving campers & towing cars. It's a nightmare. Plus tonight is high school graduation so all hell is breaking loose out there. People people everywhere, all going crazy.
I'll have a busy weekend. Tonight I'm meeting Linda in AuSable at the farmers' market. It's the first time AuSable has had one, so it's important for us all to go to support it. After hanging around there a bit we'll go to dinner, who knows where. Maybe the diner in AuSable. yum. grease. I thought I'd been eating pretty carefully, but I gained 2 pounds this week. Back to where I was after LAST weekend, when I ate too much of the wrong things. A slippery slope. I have to be vigilant all summer.
My friends the Blue Heron Boys (sounds like a musical group, but they're former campers who own a camp down from my house) are here for a week. They're great fun to be with. Each year they have this week together ("workfest") when they open camp and get lots of things done. And climb some mountains. They always have a Theme Dinner Night, and it's a surprise so you don't know ahead of time what to expect. I've no idea what it will be this year, but it'll be this weekend.
I have to walk the dogs this weekend, I've been neglecting them terribly. They practically had to introduce themselves to me this morning, and I realized then that I haven't been with them much, and I certainly haven't been walking them. oops. Seems I mostly walk on the weekends, which is not what I'd hoped for myself.
There will be people in camp this weekend--my ex-husband's parents (cousins). We got along really well for years but then we had a bit of a problem and things have not been great for a while. I try, and we relax after a while of being together, but it's not what it used to be. Which I suppose is to be expected. And though I sort of miss them, my life is simpler now. Busy, but simpler.
My colleague/clerk is on vacation next week. Yikes, this means I'll be doing 2 jobs next week. Or just doing hers. Her work is the sort that needs to be done every day by a certain time. I don't like her job, but she rarely takes time off so I can't complain. She's heading to S.Carolina with her son & parents, is looking forward to being on the ocean. I don't blame her, I'd like to be on the ocean, too. I'll be in RI for 2 weeks in August. That seems like a long time from now.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
001
The boardwalk, looking a little old and sad. It is old.
I like it when the ferns get so big they hang over the boardwalk. There haven't been too many peope in the bog lately--not even Tess is tempted to join the few groups there have been on the weekends. Now that it's almost July I bet business will pick up. Let's see how Tess does this year. She has a new tag on her collar that says, basically "I'm Tess the Bog Dog, I live next door" Hoping that will help people relax and not feel so intense about driving her home or leaving me phone messages reporting my missing dog. People have always been really nice like that, but it's gotten tiresome over the years. Mostly I have Tess cabled, but she runs off every now & then.
I stayed in the boat house last night, it was a pleasant night. Temp around 50. I read on the porch for a long time. There's nothing else to do in the evening there, which is one reason I like going there. Unplug me from the TV. The cat sometimes joins us but last night she stayed home. So she could act irritated with me this morning.
My favorite fern
I like this fern a lot. There's only one of it in the whole bog. I think it's called a Victoria fern. or something like that.
005
Baptisia (false inidigo). This is a great plant but it's getting old. Or rather, IS old. My mother got it for me more than 20 years ago. It used to be a huge shrub, now it's a more modest bush.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Where have I been?
I haven't blogged in a long time, obviously. I've been sending long letters to my mother, which seems to leave me all written out. She likes getting mail (who doesn't, probably) so I try to send her a long chatty letter every week. Not hard for me to be chatty, but I don't like repeating myself in a blog or email, so my mother usually gets the best efforts. She's doing well, enjoying the season pretty much but tired of the rain. She doesn't complain, just comments. She, like me, has a bunch of little plantlets to put in the ground. Most of my flowers have been planted and are doing all right. I never planted the marigolds, which were free seeds so I never felt too attached to them. The cosmos acre is coming along nicely. I'm soaking my morning glory seeds so I can plant them, maybe tonight. My nasturtiums didn't do very well, quite a disappointment. I'm hoping enough will survive and thrive so that I'll be able to pick flowers later on. I like a small bouquet of nasties next to my bed. It's a nice smell.
Work is going well, no big adventures. Trip to Tupper Lake last week, which was a nice thing. There's a rooster across the street from the library and it crows all day. I like the sound but I can see that you might get tired of it. My mother told me that we had chickens in Turkey and that our rooster crowed so much the neighbors got annoyed so we had to get rid of him. Wonder how ... We had finches, too. My father always liked having birds. He bred canaries at one point. We had a male (orange) and female (brown--sparrow-like) who hatched 3 eggs. One was orange and beautiful, one looked just like the female and the third was piebald, orange and brown, not attractive. My sister and I each picked one of the pretty ones and played with the baby birds until they died. We played them to death. Anyway, the survivor turned out to be a male who lived for 11 years and sang beautifully. He was in my sister's room for years but she got tired of him & he moved to my room. I liked having him and was sad when he died. We lived in 3 different places while we had him.
I've got the boat house pretty much opened up, but there's cleaning I need to get done. I did sweep the floor, in prep. of book group. There are a bunch of magazines, from many years, which I seem to leave there every year. This will be the year I'll get rid of them. I'll also wash the refridgerator and empty the garbage. Tonight I'm picking up a comforter, king-sized, and some sheets. Freecycle. Let's see how groaty they are, but maybe they'll be ok to use in the b.house.
I've been pretty busy having a social life. And it's just the beginning. Some friends were up a couple of weekends ago and I saw them. Joe & Martha are in residence and I stop there often. Jim & Pat are around, of course, and I see them often. Linda is here and I see her once in a while. Fred is in residence and I try to see him often. We've been out to dinner a couple of times--we bravely went to Big Daddy's restaurant in Clayburg. It's quite an experience. It's an old biker bar and the door to the restroom is heavy metal and all dented. Lends an air of authenticity to the place, no?
I got a lot done during my May vacation. Painted the windowsills in the living room, though the color wasn't what I'd hoped it would be. It matched the chip perfectly, just looked different than I'd expected. Brown. They look better than before, when they were dirty white, but it's an odd color, I think. I primed the kitchen cupboards/doors. Now I have to pick out a color for them. Some sort of gray-ish something. Not the black I had intended, I know now that would make the room seem even smaller than it is. Big goal is to paint the living room. Now THERE'S a big goal. How would I ever decide what color to paint it? Something that goes with a strange shade of brown.
Work is going well, no big adventures. Trip to Tupper Lake last week, which was a nice thing. There's a rooster across the street from the library and it crows all day. I like the sound but I can see that you might get tired of it. My mother told me that we had chickens in Turkey and that our rooster crowed so much the neighbors got annoyed so we had to get rid of him. Wonder how ... We had finches, too. My father always liked having birds. He bred canaries at one point. We had a male (orange) and female (brown--sparrow-like) who hatched 3 eggs. One was orange and beautiful, one looked just like the female and the third was piebald, orange and brown, not attractive. My sister and I each picked one of the pretty ones and played with the baby birds until they died. We played them to death. Anyway, the survivor turned out to be a male who lived for 11 years and sang beautifully. He was in my sister's room for years but she got tired of him & he moved to my room. I liked having him and was sad when he died. We lived in 3 different places while we had him.
I've got the boat house pretty much opened up, but there's cleaning I need to get done. I did sweep the floor, in prep. of book group. There are a bunch of magazines, from many years, which I seem to leave there every year. This will be the year I'll get rid of them. I'll also wash the refridgerator and empty the garbage. Tonight I'm picking up a comforter, king-sized, and some sheets. Freecycle. Let's see how groaty they are, but maybe they'll be ok to use in the b.house.
I've been pretty busy having a social life. And it's just the beginning. Some friends were up a couple of weekends ago and I saw them. Joe & Martha are in residence and I stop there often. Jim & Pat are around, of course, and I see them often. Linda is here and I see her once in a while. Fred is in residence and I try to see him often. We've been out to dinner a couple of times--we bravely went to Big Daddy's restaurant in Clayburg. It's quite an experience. It's an old biker bar and the door to the restroom is heavy metal and all dented. Lends an air of authenticity to the place, no?
I got a lot done during my May vacation. Painted the windowsills in the living room, though the color wasn't what I'd hoped it would be. It matched the chip perfectly, just looked different than I'd expected. Brown. They look better than before, when they were dirty white, but it's an odd color, I think. I primed the kitchen cupboards/doors. Now I have to pick out a color for them. Some sort of gray-ish something. Not the black I had intended, I know now that would make the room seem even smaller than it is. Big goal is to paint the living room. Now THERE'S a big goal. How would I ever decide what color to paint it? Something that goes with a strange shade of brown.
003
Silver Lake Mountain, of course. You can just see the brightness of the deciduous trees. Leaves a poppin'.
This is the view from the boat house. I've stayed there a few times but not lately. It was wicked hot so I stayed there, but now it's cooler so I've been staying at home. Will I regret this later? Anyone's guess. I like staying at home when the weather's nice, sleeping with the window open. And getting up to my house/yard in the spring. Summer. Whatever. It feels as if summer is well underway, though the season hasn't really started yet. July, that's when it's really summer. Right now it feels as if it's time to move on to the next season. We've already had a bunch of summer.
This is the view from the boat house. I've stayed there a few times but not lately. It was wicked hot so I stayed there, but now it's cooler so I've been staying at home. Will I regret this later? Anyone's guess. I like staying at home when the weather's nice, sleeping with the window open. And getting up to my house/yard in the spring. Summer. Whatever. It feels as if summer is well underway, though the season hasn't really started yet. July, that's when it's really summer. Right now it feels as if it's time to move on to the next season. We've already had a bunch of summer.
002
I really like the way my driveway looks when it's a little hazy and humid. The forest is incredibly lush right now.
016
Ferns in bloom in the bog. They're getting big, which is what I love. They get huge, as tall as I am, and look really prehistoric. Right now they're an incredibly bright green. They look so happy.
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Labrador tea. Not leatherleaf. I can't imagine the tea made from these plants would be at all ingestible.
008
Canada mayflower. In June. These are very tiny little things and come up early but take a while to bloom. Not to be confused with foamflower.
009
Bunchberry. Member of the dogwood family. Found everywhere. Very pretty. Red berries emerge when the flowers go by.
002
Clintonia. Named for the governor of New York (DeWitt, not Hillary, who has yet to be a governor). The blossom turns into a huge blue berry-like thing that looks delicious. But DON'T EAT IT. It's poisonous (supposedly).
005
I don't know the name of these tiny plants. Mountain something. Every year I have to look up the name. They're reallly tiny and drape on the ground in a very pretty way.
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