happy holidays

 This is what they spend a lot of time doing at my mother's house.  It's very dull compared to life here at 58OHR, where they can run free.  Their "running" is limited to a small pen.  Sometimes Mark and I take them for walks on the beach or at the park, but that didn't happen this time.  Awww, too bad Ladies.

Mark decorating the tree.  As always, he put at least a thousand white lights on the tree.  It's pretty and bright.  I didn't help decorate it, I do my tree and that's it.

I had a good Christmas, my trip there was easy and uneventful.  My days there were quiet and very nice.  I spent time with my mother, who is 90 and seems old, older than at Thanksgiving.  We ran errands before Christmas, did some Christmas shopping and got groceries.  All very nice.

The weather was grand, warm with some slight rain.  Christmas Day was lovely, we opened presents then had our traditional bagels and lox breakfast (courtesy of Mark).  Yum that was tasty, as always.  Oh, and did I mention that Christmas Eve we had lobsters, clams and mussels?  Yes, Liza and I went to Champlin's for delicious fare.  I cooked the dinner, that's easy, and we had a nice dinner.  Christmas dinner was a delicious roast of beef that Mark cooked, so very tender and flavorful.

Was there more to Christmas than the food?  Yes of course.  Big excitement was at the bird feeder in the back yard: there was a falcon there who snatched first a blue jay, which it pounded into the ground before I scared it away (then it flew into the woods with the blue jay in its talons), then it snatched a cardinal the next day.  Yikes, very dramatic.  Liza wasn't pleased and doesn't want that bird at her feeder, eating the songbirds she likes to watch.  She has a ton of titmice, chickadees, nuthatches, with a smattering of cardinals and towhees and an occasional woodpecker.  Very nice collection.

I came home yesterday, leaving RI in the morning and making a stop in Hanover, NH to see a favorite cousin.  I only visited with them for a couple of hours, but it was enough to make my ride home a long and dark one.  Dark when I got home as well, because there was no power in my house.  HORRORS!   The house was cold, 33, my house plants had frozen and there was ice in the dogs' water bowl.  Holy crap.  I called the power company and that worked out well but it took the poor man hours to find my house (you can't very well say "look for the light in the woods").  We discovered the problem, a meter that was separated from it's housing because it had been hit by falling ice and snow from the roof.  Rats!  He fixed it quickly and easily, but that was only step 1.

The floor behind the washing machine was wet, which means the pipes there burst.   I always (ALWAYS) turn off the pump and water heater when I go away, so at least there was no massive water leakage.  I have yet to uncover the splits in the pipes, I'm saving that for the plumber who will hopefully arrive tomorrow morning to mend the several-times-mended pipes.  I wrapped the pipes in insulation but there was no heat for 4 days, as near as I can figure, so the whole house got cold, very cold.

I got water from the Holts today (Annie called from Costa Rica in response to my email to her--they wanted me to move into their house.  No, that might make too much sense for me), and the house is now too warm.  It's not cold out, temp is 29, and we're not having the tons of snowfall that was predicted.  We only got a couple of inches here though I suppose we may get more overnight.  This huge storm has left us pretty much unaffected.  That's a relief.  I always used to say I preferred cold to snow, snow was so complicated to deal with.  Now however, I say PLEASE, no cold, no sub-zero, just give us snow to insulate the well and the septic system.  We have neither right now, just a few inches of snow on the ground.  There was about a foot of snow when I left last week but it rained here, then got cold so there's very slippery ice under the snow.  Slicker than snot, as they say (they?  who says that?).

Tomorrow I'll go to Plattsburgh in the afternoon, time to get some supplies.  I think I have to throw out most of what is in my fridge and some of what is in my freezer.  Oh life is never simple here, is it.

Visitors

There were 5 of these at the feeder last week, before I left for Rhode Island.  They drove the dogs nuts, while the dogs watched from the living room.  I wouldn't let the dogs out to chase the turkeys, making Treasure sing songs I never realized she knew.  Wow did she make some amazing noises.

Where did I go?

This year's Christmas tree, a tabletop tree as usual.  This one was hand-picked and cut fresh for me by Lin and Ralph.  I'm lucky, very lucky to have good friends.  At the foot of the tree is my Labrador creche.

I like this art shot--it's the reflection of my tree in the living room window at dusk.  Pretty, I thought.

I haven't been anywhere, just been busy I guess.  I've been working on Christmas--knitting some things, buying (too many) things, wrapping and packing packages, writing Christmas cards, celebrating a birthday and visiting with friends.  All of the above.  I'm having a good time with Christmas this year, though I admit I've spent too much money.  Oh well.

I'm going to Rhode Island on the 20th (Tuesday), staying until the 28th (Weds.).  Should be nice.  I won't worry about my house freezing, the weather here is predicted to be warm and pleasant.  Yesterday was neither, it was -13 in the morning, got up to 7 during the day.  My house was pretty warm and my pipes did NOT freeze.  Both of those were achievements I was proud of.  I've sprayed insulating foam around the kitchen window that doesn't close.  Boy do I hate working with that stuff, I'm no good at it and it's messy, very messy.  I made a bigger hole in the laundry room wall where the pipes come in and wrapped the pipes that always freeze and sometimes burst.  I moved the washing machine away from the wall to let the warm air circulate to the pipes.  Oh poop, it's only taken me 20 years to figure this out. 

Today was a warmer day, getting warmer tonight.  It's up to 23 right now and is supposed to be warmer and rainy later on Sunday, then it's supposed to freeze and go below zero again overnight.  Very confusing.  Ice is not my friend.

I had a really nice birthday this year, maybe too much attention.  I went to Pat & Jim's for a birthday visit & drink on the 12th, went to lunch with them the next day.  I had lunch with Barb the following day and lunch with Julie the day after that.  Boy that's a lot of lunch, isn't it?  But these are wonderful people, my friends, and I always enjoy being with them.  Too many presents, though.  I feel very well celebrated.

My roof is leaking tonight--this happens every winter.  I get ice under the metal plates on the roof in a couple of spots, then it melts inside the roof and drip drip drips in the living room.  Annoying, very annoying, and the cathedral ceiling in the living room is permanently stained from this.  It's very unattractive and I don't even want to know what it looks like under the wood paneling.  Oh my house, it's such a house.

I had dinner with Annie on Thursday night and again tonight.  She's been here since Weds., is going back to DC tomorrow.  They're going to Costa Rica for Christmas, that sounds  nice.  All of the kids and grandchildren will be there.

The dogs are doing well.  Tess continues to be old but seems OK.  They thought it was pretty darn cold yesterday and it was hard for them to have all 4 paws on the ground at the same time.  They didn't stay out long.  Neither did I.

Christmas is coming.  I like Christmas.

Winter Saturday

It's winter all of a sudden.  Temp this morning was 12 and it was cold, a very cold wind.  We have probably 8 or 9 inches of snow on the ground and this morning there was a thin layer of ice on the lake.  I went to the new post of our regular dump man (who was bumped from his post by someone with seniority).  It's too far to go every week but I wanted to make him feel welcomed to his new home and wanted to say hello.  He did like it that I went, and gave the dogs double biscuits and came out to talk to them.  I think I'll have to go to one of the dumps that's a lot closer, where I don't know the people and they probably don't give dogs biscuits.  Well...life is full of changes and sometimes change is good.

I have my wonderful Christmas tree up, decorated, and pretty.  Ralph picked it out and he did a good job, it just fits on the table without hitting the ceiling.  It has too many ornaments on it but it looks darn fine.

I had a good week but it was pretty quiet.  Lunch with Fred on Tuesday, followed by coffee with Bill when he joined us.  Lunch with Julie on Thursday, and finished up almost completely my Christmas shopping.  Yesterday I went to Burlington for my annual mammogram.  Lin went along but I don't think it was as much fun as she'd hoped--I was tired and didn't feel like playing.  We went to the clinic, that didn't take long, then we went to Trader Joe's, then to lunch and then I felt like coming home.  Awww, no fun!  We stopped at one store in Plattsburgh then I took Lin home, came home myself and lay down.  I don't nap well so I dozed a bit but didn't sleep soundly.  I used to take naps on weekends, before I retired.  Not every weekend but once in a while.  Now I rarely nap.  Once in a while I'll lie down in the afternoon but I don't usually get to sleep.

I slept so very well last night!  It was grand.  The dogs always wake me during the night but last night I didn't really wake up and had no trouble getting back to sleep.  I dreamed that my parents were hosting 4 people from the Navy so we were cleaning the house like mad.  Why the Navy?  Why my parents?  I mentioned it to my mother on the phone this morning and she said she didn't know anyone in the Navy.  My father was in the Army.  Oh well, if I spent much time trying to figure out my dreams I could tie my brain in knots.

Tomorrow I'll go to Pat & Jim's around noon, it will be nice to see them.  They're doing pretty well these days.  Monday night the 3 of us are going out for dinner because I'll be 64.  SIXTY-FOUR!  Who knew we would ever reach these milestones?  I'm lucky, very lucky, to have the life I do at 64.  Today is a good day, I had fun with my dogs, I fed the birds and watched them a while.  I'll finish knitting something for my mother and maybe wrap some presents or finish Christmas cards.  Or maybe I won't.  I love this life.

Snowy Monday

We lost our pre-Thanksgiving snow, it was a nice respite but now we're having new snow.  So far we've got about 5" of fluffy stuff, very pretty.  Yes, I can call it pretty--that won't happen in February, when I'll say "We've seen ENOUGH of this."  It was cold last night, 15 degrees here, and I've accepted winter as the next season.  Good for me!  I'm all in favor of accepting the inevitable.

We had book group last night but oops, we forgot to talk about the book.  Well that's not quite true, we did acknowledge that there was a book, but Marylou forgot what it was about, Lin hated it and I liked it a lot but couldn't remember why.  We use the books as an excuse to get together for dinner and conversation and good friendship.  We had a great tour of M'lou's new house, which is absolutely wonderful.  I'm jealous, oh yes I am, of a single-floor living space that's not cluttered and full.

Lin & Ralph cut Christmas trees yesterday and Ralph picked out a perfect one for me.  I do table-top trees now, I got tired of rearranging furniture and having trees that were only 2/3's decorated because I couldn't reach the top.  I like my trees, and I truly enjoy seeing the ornaments I've collected, plus I really like seeing the bright lights at that end of the room.  I use small colored lights, I switched years ago from white lights to these.  My mother's tree is white lights only and is always beautiful, but I like the colors in my house.  ANYWAY, right now the tree is outside, waiting for me to take action.  I'll get the decorations out this week and put the tree up. 

I have no plans for today, what a cool thing.  I think I'll go into AuSable to mail some stuff and buy stamps.  I've started on my Christmas cards (wow!  that's early!) and am having a good time writing notes in them.  I sometimes wonder why this is so important to me, but I think it's having the opportunity to be in touch with so many friends and relatives at one time that I appreciate.  Why do I only do this at Christmas?  Well I suppose everyone would think it pretty strange if I started sending cards at other times, but wouldn't that be good?   I write to my mother fairly often, and to some other friends from time to time.  I like writing letters.

The dogs have just taken off in the deep snow because Treasure alerted Tess to LOOK OUTSIDE!!!  there's something there I'm sure!   I have no idea what she thinks she saw, I couldn't see a hare or deer or anything but birds at the feeder but I don't question her judgment about bogey-things out there.  It's bright and beautiful.

I'm watching a TV show about a woman who has endometriosis.  Wow, I do remember those days.  This woman has no insurance so can't afford the surgery that will cure it.  I took so many drugs for so many years--all kinds of hormones, not too many painkillers.  My final solution was of course hysterectomy, after 2 previous surgeries.  The freedom from pain and worry about what was happening to my body was fantastic, but the tragedy of infertility was devastating.  Wait, how did we get from Christmas cards to devastation???   I'm just happy that is part of my past, though the lack of my own children in my life is a sadness I always have with me.  What did all of this mean in my life?  I am the person I am, living the life I do because of the things that happened to me along the way.  This was a big one but as I say it's in the past and I suppose I appreciate good health and lack of chronic pain because of it.

So anyway, today is a GOOD day.  I can think about my past with regret, always some regret, but I also know that I have led a good life and have a good future to look forward to.  Even if I AM turning another year older soon.  Oh how I hate birthdays!  I'm always the one to say "it beats the alternative," but boy do I mind getting older.  Stop that, it's what happens, if you're lucky.

Long time gone

Well we had Thanksgiving, then I came home, then I just never got around to this.  Today I'm catching up on things.  I've already been to Plattsbugh, got meds, bought a few groceries, picked up some Thanksgiving prints (none worth posting here), ran a couple of errands and did NOT get a Christmas tree.  It's early to have one.  I always used to have one up by my birthday but that's not been so true in recent years.  They're for sale everywhere, so tempting.

Thanksgiving was nice.  The trip to RI was easy and uneventful.  The visit was grand.  The turkey was moist and tender.  Jenica and Gwyn came for the weekend and we had a very nice time.  Gwyn is cute, clever and wonderful and she was so lovely to me and to my mother (her great-grandmother).  She was a little less wonderful to Mark but had warmed to him by the time she left.  She's a very sweet almost-3-year-old.  And of course Jenica and I had a nice visit.  It's fun to talk library trends with her, we've always shared that.

I haven't really done much since I got home one Monday.  There was still about 5" of snow when I got here but now there are only the piles left behind by the plow.  Bare ground, how grand in December.  It's been rainy and is predicted to be rainy for the next few days, maybe some snow mixed in.  One of the salespeople I spoke with this morning said that her holly bush has a very short sprout this year, which means we'll have a mild winter.  Oh if that were only true.

Big crisis yesterday when I went to the Holts to do laundry--their generator was running!  OH NO!  Dial 911!   No, it turned out there was an actual power outage (tree down) past my house and the generator was behaving as it should have.  Crisis averted, after several calls to Annie in Minn. and lots of fretting on my part.  So today I'll return to their house and finish the laundry.

I had lunch with Julie Weds., made plans to meet what may be my new cat.  She's a used cat, they have 5 and need to find homes for some so I've agreed to take one.  Maybe.  Perhaps.

It's good to be home.  My drive home seemed endless even though it was sunny, there wasn't much traffic, and it was just fine.  I conclude that I'm tired of that trip, mostly just the trip home.  Going there is a pleasure and I look forward to being with Liza and Mark.  Well, I look forward to being home, too, so what's the big deal?  I can't explain it.  But I'm going back in 2 1/2 weeks so I'd better buck up and deal with it.

The dogs are fine.  Tess decided to throw up on the bed in the middle of the night but that was just something she did.  She's fine today, is sleeping soundly and snoring in our new chair.  Treasure is convinced it's time for lunch.  She's almost right.  I fed the birds, why didn't I feed the dogs?

SNOW!!! Run, run for cover!

They predicted 8-12 inches of snow for "the mountains," and that's us.  When I got up this morning at 6:30 we already had half an inch in spite of a promise of rain.  That just put me in a foul mood but I got better as the day wore on.  Now it's dark and there are blinking red lights in my trees--Linda sent me a laser light that shows rotating blinkers, which I have pointed into the woods.  It's way cool, looks like red fireflies.  Very nifty.

We have about 7 inches of snow so far and they said it would snow all day tomorrow, too.  So far we haven't had the wind that was predicted, which is sure fine with me.  The power went out this afternoon but only for half an hour.  Am hoping that was it.

We were supposed to have book group tonight but I suggested we postpone it because when I went to P&J's at noon the roads were bad, very slick, unplowed and messy.  I don't think they've plowed yet, hours later.  I parked my car at the end of my driveway in case my plowman comes during the night.  I doubt he'll plow much before morning.  It's not good to plow before the ground freezes but sometimes it must be done.  Right?  Right.

Yesterday was a gorgeous day, sunny and warm (60).  I pretty much finished up my outside work, then sat in the living room with the door open so the dogs could come and go (and go and come and go and come, etc. all afternoon).  I went to my potter friend's gallery to get some Christmas presents, then had a quiet afternoon at home.  Lovely, really lovely day.

It was a funny morning, many phone calls coming in and going out.  My mother called, worried about the snow storm.  Fred called, wondering about the snow storm.  Lin and Marylou and I talked in the morning and again later in the day, deciding to postpone book group for 2 weeks.  That meant I ate the gelato I bought to take there.  I mean, I HAD to it might go bad by then. 

The woods are pretty even if it is a huge inconvenience to have so much snow.  I don't think this snow will melt any time soon, either, it's supposed to be a pretty cold week.  I leave Tuesday for RI, which gives me all day tomorrow to get ready.  Get ready?  I've already got the car mostly packed.  I did laundry today.  I haven't packed my clothes yet, I do that the morning I leave.  Might want to wear some of the clothes I pack...   Well we all have our "things" about traveling.  I make lists.  Well, 1 long list for packing, other lists for tasks to be completed before leaving.  "Put away summer clothes" is on that list, but I've made no movement in that direction.  I keep tripping over a flip-flop in the bathroom.

Sun? What sun?

Heavy fog this morning in spite of what was promised: sun and warmth.  It's up to 33 outside and feels damp and cold.  Come on sun, I take my cues from you.  I have outside chores to do but don't seem to be able to do anything when it looks like that out there.

I got up at 5 this morning, was awake at 4 and couldn't get back to sleep.  The joy of retirement is that it DOESN'T MATTER what time you get up or how much sleep you get.  It can all be fixed.

I talked to my mother for a minute this morning, did the dishes, stoked the stove, brought in some firewood and read the book group book for a while.  I still 3/4's of the book to read by Sunday so why am I doing this instead of reading?  The book isn't grabbing me but I'm determined to do my best to finish it.

It's been a pretty quiet week for me, I've done quite a bit of Christmas shopping online, a bit in stores.  Went to Plattsburgh twice, had to hit the bank that's there and not in the Forks to get cash for my upcoming trip.  I'm leaving for RI on Tuesday, returning the Monday after Thanksgiving.  They're predicting 6" of snow Sunday afternoon into Monday, so swell, I'll be packing the car in snow.  Truly one of my least favorite things.  TRULY.  I never put my winter boots away, they're always close at hand so at least I don't have to dig them out.  They're under the bed.

Jenica and Gwyn will be in RI next weekend!  That's very exciting and great.  Jen and I always have great conversations about libraryland.  Yesterday I was driving home from Plattsburgh and thinking about work.  Do I miss it?  NO, not the work.  Do I miss being part of a team of workers?  Well, if I miss anything about working I think it would be that.  But I think that's my winter personna that would think that, certainly not my summer me.  I have a huge team of summer people.

Going to AuSable today but I have to wait until the liquor store opens at 10--must get wine for RI, plus told Jim I'd get him some whiskey today.  Also need to get ice cream for book group and gas for the car.  I like my trips to AuSable, it's so much nearer than Plattsburgh and I finally feel more at home in the Forks, less like a visitor.   The people in the liquor store know me (oh swell I'm the one who buys cheap whiskey all the time--must remember to tell them it's NOT FOR ME), the people in the grocery store know me.  I use the ATM so the bank people don't know me.  Oh well.

I've been helping my friend Julie a little, now and then, with moving.  They're selling their house and have 20 years' worth of stuff to pack or throw out.  Boy do I sympathize with that!  I'm planning to help them move boxes to their storage unit tomorrow.  I took some of their trash to the landfill on Weds.  That was very brave of me, I find it intimidating to go to the BIG dump, but I had a lot of bags and it was cost effective to pay the flat rate of $20 at the landfill.

Waiting for the sun.

Feeling better...but that's just me

No, I'm not feeling better about the election, but I've moved on to the "it is what it is" phase of, phase of what?  Grief?  How many phases in extreme disappointment?  Someone should write a book about that.  I doubt acceptance will ever roll around in this case, and I'm still too optimistic and think maybe we'll never have more than a president-elect Trump.  I'll say no more.

It's a stay-at-home day for me.  I'll do some laundry, bring in the ceramic flower pots, feed the birds and hopefully will cover the back door with plastic.  It would be great if I could bring myself to drag the ladder to the kitchen window and try to close it but that's asking a lot.  I'll probably spend time with Pat & Jim, or else this would be a day in which I have no human contact.  Those days are fine once in a while but we don't want to make a practice of it.  Human contact is a good thing.

Yesterday I spent the morning in Plattsburgh, finally found a 13-pound turkey (has to be a Butterball) in my 3rd store.  I bought the cutest, most wonderful drill so I can fix the hanger for the bird feeder.  My old drill died, which was really grand because then I could justify buying a much smaller one.  Last night I went to a public hearing in town about the state of the cemetery where generations of my family are buried.  The Cemetery Association is having trouble finding enough money for maintenance of the grounds and there was a question of having the Town take over the cemetery.  The Town sure does NOT want this, so some of us went to show support for keeping the cemetery private and raising fees, etc. to make sure it stays that way.  The Town was very firm about not wanting to take it over, which suits me.  I offered to work with the Association, I may have actually found my "worthwhile" activity.  At least it's not in Plattsburgh, meetings are in AuSable.

Sunday I helped Julie pack up glasses and dishes so they can move out of their house and have their closing soon.  Maybe soon is an exaggeration, but I empathize with anyone faced with moving.  It doesn't seem to matter what the circumstances of the move may be, it's just a depressing thing to handle all of your belongings, one by one.  I'm going back tomorrow to help with whatever else they need help with.  I remember moving the last of our stuff from our Green St. house outside of AuSable, when we moved here.  We had brought pretty much everything we wanted to keep to this house in May and just walked away from the rest of it.  We sold the Green St. house and the buyer was in a big hurry to move in so we had to rush over to empty the house.  It was February and there was waist-deep snow that had to be shoveled before we could even get to the house.  Where we discovered that the furnace hadn't started and the pipes had frozen.  We set up a salamander in the basement and came back home.  The next day the walls were dripping with water, it warmed up all right.  We did a fair job of emptying the house, leaving a few pieces of furniture, including the freezer which had who-knows-what in it.  One thing that was in it was a blue heron that my ex had hit with his truck one winter day.  He thought maybe he could use the feathers for flies, but I don't think he ever tried.  Anyway, that was the end of that chapter (in more ways than one).  Now a recurring dream I have involves moving in but not moving out first.  Last night it was the house I lived in for 9 years in Rhode Island--I often dream about that duplex.  I don't know why, there was nothing dramatic about living there or leaving there.  That was where I really discovered that moving, no matter what the reason is depressing.

We moved a lot when I was a child, maybe that's why I find it so depressing.  Anyway I don't plan to move any time soon and rejoice in that.  My goals instead are to make this house a nicer place to live, by weeding through my belongings and throwing out a lot of junk.  I have a dire need to purge, purge, purge.  Oh what a collection of things I have.  But they are MY things.

Not an easy thing

I haven't written in a while--well, since the infamous election.  I cheerfully, optimistically (and foolishly) voted on Tuesday so convinced that the best woman would win.  I'd had phone calls and conversations with people, promising that Clinton would win.  I don't break my promises (as a rule) but this time I did.  I'm still having trouble coming to terms with the election results, I CANNOT believe this has happened.  I don't consider myself to be a great patriot, but I do love my country, if I think about it.  This is a wonderful place to live (after all, it has given me Hawkeye, right?) and we are fortunate to be here. But WHAT HAPPENED???   Who didn't vote (besides Susan Sarandon)?  Did people not think that staying home would have dire consequences?  So what if you didn't like either candidate, don't ignore your opportunity to choose!  I was visiting with Annie and said, surprising myself that I take my civic responsibility very seriously.  I always get nervous when they hand me a ballot.  I'm afraid I'll screw it up and my vote won't count.  Well this time my voted counted...but not enough.  They should have let women have weighted votes, yeah, that's what should have happened.

ANYWAY I'm surviving the bombardment of news about this.  I can't bring myself to connect the winner of the election with the Presidency, but that will change I suppose.  Maybe.

I had a great time with Annie, we had lots of good visits.  She is soooo good to me!  I had dinner with the Ruders and Annie on Monday, that was a very nice and cheerful time.  Tuesday A. stopped for coffee on her way out of town.  I voted early (but only once).  I stayed up late that night, unable to sleep as I watched terrible things happen (i.e., Electoral votes being counted).  Weds. I made a couple of phone calls and felt lousy both physically and in my pointed little head.  I recovered, of course.  I had a nice visit with a friend from the library world on Tuesday in Plattsburgh, again both of us foolishly giddy and optimistic.  But we enjoyed being together and it was a friendship that's been neglected so this was a good thing.

Yesterday was an amazingly quiet day.  I was waiting for delivery of a chair I bought so didn't want to go anywhere.  Not even to do laundry at the Holts.  The only person I spoke to in person was the very nice and helpful delivery guy.  Too young to be called a man, too old to be a kid.  Anyway, he brought the chair up with a hand truck because he couldn't get his tractor trailer up my driveway.  Then he helped get it out of the box, and carried it into the house.  Good man!  I thought the dogs would be thrilled to have a new place to settle into but they won't go near the chair.  Well, I helped Tess get into the chair last night but she pronounced it uncomfortable and with an unappealing odor and jumped down.  OK, swell, I'll be the only one who uses the chair (except when company comes).

Now I'm up at 4:30, have been up for an hour.  What's up with that?  I'm watching middle-of-the night news, which is one of my favorite things to watch.  It's not sensational or vying for ratings, it's just reporting news to a dubious audience of insomniacs and people who work nights.  Very straightforward.

Today I'll finish the laundry, go to AuSable to get bananas for Jim, maybe get some chores done around the house.  I have to use a ladder and hammer the kitchen window shut, it's busted and won't close all the way.  Been that way for years and maybe THIS will be the year I'll do something about that.  or not, but really--leaving a window cracked when it's -10???

Leonard Cohen died (I thought he was already dead).  His music reminds me of the horribly depressing coffeehouse my sister and I used to go to when we were horribly depressed teenagers in Rockford.  OMG it was an awful place full of sad people singing and listening to sad music.  Heather on the Moor, it was called.  What a thing.

Saturday I'll meet Julie for coffee and we'll plan our day: she wants me to take one of her cats so I'll do that.  She has things she wants to store at my house (they've sold their house) so I'll do that.  I can do these things to help my very good friend who is having a very hard time.

Last of the last

The last of the color is the tamaracks (larches).  They're beautiful, probably because the only other colors come from the firs.  They are gorgeous, too, in the spring when they have a florescent green (we always call it "tamarack green"--not very creative, but easily identifiable).

 No matter what's going on on the boardwalk, there's always something more interesting along the edge of the bog.  Sometimes it's fox poop, sometimes it's bunny buttons, sometimes it's just an unidentifiable scent.  Whatever it is, it smells great.

This is a close up of the tamarack leaves.  Oh they are a thing of wonder and beauty.  My favorite tree.

I went for a bog walk, two actually, to see the tamaracks.  The second time Annie was with me, as was her Gordon setter Milo.  Milo runs around like a maniac, literally running circles around us.  He starts ahead of us and 2 minutes later comes running full bore from behind us.  What a goofus.

I've been having a nice time with Annie, she's here for several days without Rush, who is in Asia on business.  Last night we had dinner at the Mirror Lake Inn, which was grand (as always).  We pretend we're fancy rich people (well the rich part is pretending for me at least) and totally enjoy ourselves.

Other things I've been doing: toting firewood into the house.  I'm hoping that I can alter my behavior this winter and keep a steady supply inside the house, big piles next to the stove.  Will I be so eager to do that when it's windy and -10?  or even just 0?  How much strength of character do I really have, will be determined.

I bought a utility knife and insulation for my laundry room pipes.  That's where the pipes always freeze, inside the wall between the bathroom and the laundry room, so I'm planning to cut a bigger hole there so I can reach inside the wall and put insulation around the pipes.  Annie is always a great help to me and she keeps offering to help me with this but I'm very bad at accepting help so I keep saying no, thanks.  Yesterday, though, we took the pile of metal trash that was next to my deck stairs to the dump in her car.  It all fit, with bungie cords.  Wow what a difference it makes, not having that crap to look at every time I go anywhere or look out the window.  Nice, very nice.

Tuesday I had a hair appointment, then had lunch with Barb.  We had our usual good time.  I stayed home the rest of the week, with a trip or two to AuSable (groceries, bank, gas) and on Friday I went back to Plattsburgh to have my winter tires installed and the oil changed.  That was expensive!  My car uses synthetic oil (WHY???), which makes an oil change an expensive task, and of course it's expensive (by my standards) to have the tires mounted.  Anyway I'm all set for winter, but my car needs a new air filter, they report.  It's due for a Burlington servicing but that will have to wait.

Tomorrow (Monday) I'm going to Plattsburgh to make phone calls for my preferred Congressional candidate.  I'm having dinner at Annie's with the Ruders.  Tuesday I'm voting, of course, on my way to have lunch with a friend.  What will I do the rest of the week?  Maybe I'll just cut a hole in the wall in the laundry room and insulate the pipes.  Yeah, right.  No, really.

What humans?

Very quiet and peaceful day.  The only human contact I had: 2 telephone calls.  One from my mother and one to my cousin in Vermont.  Wow, and I went nowhere and spent no cash.  Did I spend money?  Why, yes, yes I did, I paid my monthly bills because today was NYState Retiremt. pay day.  I feel very clean, I met my financial obligations (of which there are plenty).  I will try to save as much as I can from what's left.  Drilled well, plane fare, new sofa--all lofty purchasing goals.

I had a quiet weekend, too, which was pleasant.  There was a really nice gathering on the other side of the lake, wine and snacks with 3 couples who are year-rounders.  It was a nice group of people and we had good visits.  Decided we should do that on a regular basis, which made me take a good hard look at the seating in my living room.  Could I have 7 people here?  Good question.

The snow melted, we had rain instead and that was OK with me.  It's been cold and damp for many days now and we haven't seen the sun in a very long time.  I've been sort of chilled in my house all this time but the meteorologist promises 50 degree temps tomorrow and 60 degrees on Weds.  Boy do I hope that works out. 

Tomorrow I'm going to Plattsburgh, haircut, lunch with friend Barb, mailing a letter and book to my mother, getting dog food and birdseed, picking up a few things in a couple of stores.  And meds., always picking up meds.  A busy day.

Weds. morning my chimney cleaners are coming (YAY).  The stove is working well but it's time for a cleaning.  This means no fire tomorrow, so I hope it's warmer.  Thursday Annie comes to Hawkeye, Friday I take my car to Plattsburgh to have its snow tires put on and oil changed.  By then I'm sure I'll need to get more groceries or something.  Always something.

Snow, no snow

I spent yesterday worrying about an impending snow storm--we were on the cusp of 2" to 8" total, a range I love.  There's s huge difference in the impact between 2 inches and 8 inches.  Last night I went to Plattsburgh with Pat to celebrate her birthday dinner with Fred, Bill and Bill's cousin.  It rain-snowed on the way in but snowed hard on the way home.  Dinner was fine, we all enjoyed being together, but the ride home was messy and unpleasant.  I don't have snow tires on my car yet (that comes next week) but it does have AWD so it was stable and only skidded a bit and slid a few times.  I'm usually pretty calm and easy about driving in bad weather on bad roads but maybe I'm getting too old for that attitude, or maybe it was because there was someone else in the car--anyway it was a really crappy trip.  I got us both home easily, really, and was safe in the house with the car parked outside.  It turned to rain overnight, I guess, because there was only a dusting on the ground this morning and now the ground is bare and it's 39 degrees.  Balmy.

I had coffee with Fred yesterday morning, that was nice but it was 23 outside and not much warmer in his camp.  That was OK, my house is warm and we didn't visit long.  I'll try to recreate what I did yesterday, but details are sort of hard to dig up.  I know I did laundry at the Holts, 2 loads.  I still have camp laundry to do but am taking a break today.  I still have water in my well (apparently) because I can shower, flush and do dishes at home.  And I even have enough to give to the thirsty dogs.

I went to Westport the other day, had to pick up worming pills for the dogs.  It's a pretty long trip but there was still come color in the mountains there, mostly oaks and poplars/aspens/birches.  Fairly colorful.  Mostly it just felt like a long drive.  They got wormed with the $60 worth of pills and seem to be just fine.  The same, for sure, worms don't upset them.

I brought home some of Fred's geraniums and vinca, finally took the windowbox upstairs.  I also have Joe's rosemary bush, and I found it a nice home in the bathroom. It will get light there and it will be cool enough to keep it from drying out.  I don't expect the geraniums to do well but just thought it would be nice to have some green.  I have a couple of plants from Linda as well.

I called Vermont to schedule my mammogram.  They can't see me until December but that's just fine.  I wrote a couple of notes to friends and mailed them.  Went to the grocery store for milk, got gas, did a modicum of tidying up the living room.  Much remains to be done with that project, but there was a little progress instead of increasing the mess.  Oh how I hate vacuuming.  Why does the black dog throw her hair on the floor.  oh wait, I just looked more closely at it, there's a big bunch of BROWN hair under the TV.

The birds at my feeder are busy and hungry.  I have some thrushes on the ground, that seems odd and not something I remember from years past.  I had 8 robins on the lawn the other day, that was a treat.  Lots of juncos, who must be passing through, nuthatches, who will stick around.  Woodpeckers aplenty, happy and silly chickadees and one I think is a pine grosbeak.  I've had them before but only once or twice in 20 years.

Although 39 feels pretty warm, I'm waiting for even warmer days to finish my outdoor chores.  I have to clear off the deck, cover some firewood, put the mower in the shed, clear off the deck, dump the flower pots and I'm sure do some other things outside.  I would be much more inclined to do those things if the sun would ever shine.  I like the bare naked woods, trees without leaves--I can see into and through the woods, and it's much lighter in my house without leaves.  I'm doing well at adjusting to this new season.

Good girl, getting better

At my friends' urgings I'm returning to my list-making for daily accomplishments.  Today's list was maybe a little too long and too enterprising, but I DID do 3 things at least.  Feeding the dogs doesn't count, but changing the bed does.  Watering the plants doesn't really count but I put it on the list anyway.  I did NOT clean the living room.  I did do more of the camp laundry, which still isn't finished but I've made great progress.  I did go to AuSable, hit the bank with a DEPOSIT, not a withdrawal, and I hit the grocery store but limited purchases to $30 worth.  Limiting expenditures should count as an accomplishment.

I moved a fair amount of firewood, which probably shouldn't count since it's a necessity.  I made a vat of chili, which wasn't on my list but was just a bonus.  I went to see P&J, had a nice time with them but did not have a drink.  Good girl.

Weather forecasts have us getting snow (more snow) tomorrow and Wednesday.  Swell, just swell.  Only a couple-few inches, and I have to admit I'm used to this weather pretty much already.  High today was 39, with a constant and cold wind.  A little bit of sun but a lot of heavy gray clouds.  Boy does the sun make a difference.  Looks as if we won't be having much sunshine this week, rats.

Tomorrow I guess I'll go to Plattsburgh, buy a new smoke detector, pick up some meds, maybe have lunch with a friend.  I need to have my snow tires put on, must call the car place this week to set that up.  Must check in with the well driller.  Must call Vermont to schedule my mammogram.  Must must must.  Do phone calls count as achievables?  Probably not.  

It always snows in October

Yes we always have some snow in October, and it always melts (except for one year) so I wasn't shocked or stunned when I got up this morning and there were inches of heavy snow bending the trees and covering my geraniums.  I was surprised that it felt so cold, it was 30 and in a couple of months that will feel like spring.  But it's NOT a couple of months from now and it's been very, very warm and lovely.  I never really put my winter things away, including boots and jackets, so getting wood was only a problem because I suffered so much.  We had no power.  No phone.  No Internet.  But more than that...no television.  No water.  My house is incredibly silent where there's no TV and the fridge doesn't run.  Spooky.  No, peaceful, really.  It was cold, in the 50's, but the fire helped with that, I'm lucky to have an alternate source of heat.

I got up around 7 (boy it is SO dark then), stoked the stove, lit my Coleman lantern and assessed things.  OK, Fred and I had planned to share coffee at his camp at 7:30, so I went to the closest convenience store (10 miles), bought 2 coffees, Pop Tarts and lottery tickets, and delivered them to Fred.  His camp was very, very dark and very, very cold but we sat in front of his fireplace and had a good visit.  Much discussion about "what are we going to do when we get older?"  What, indeed.  I think about this fairly often: how much longer can I live in my house in Hawkeye in the winter?  Who knows, and it's not something I fret about, I just wonder.  In 10 years I'll be 73.  Fred is 75 and he can manage fairly well on days like today but it's not comfortable or swell.  Anyway we enjoyed being together and laughed a lot.

Later in the morning I went to Pat & Jim's, they had no power either and their house was getting pretty chilly.  The sun came out and warmed us all just before the power came back on.  We don't know how long it was out for, we all went to bed with power, heat, television and very strong wind, with sleet.  My guess is that it was out for about 10 hours.  This isn't a problem when it's 30, but it can be scary when it's well below zero.  We were all surprised at the outage, the power company has been around for at least a week, clear cutting along power lines.  Oh well, crisis averted, life back to normal.

I have little planned for the week, my calendar is woefully bare.  Dinner Thursday night with Fred, Bill and Pat and maybe Jim to celebrate Pat's birthday, which is Saturday.  We used to go to Big Daddy's, our neighborhood diner, but Big Daddy's is closed.  Rats, how we miss that place.  No, the food wasn't particularly good but it was convenient and OK.

Tomorrow's list includes putting plastic on the back door, feeding the birds, cleaning the living room (when will that black dog stop throwing her hair on the floor?), dumping flower pots on the deck and doing some more laundry.  Camp laundry, it's taking forever to do.

The weather for the week looks pretty benign.  40's, maybe some sun but also maybe some snow.  I don't have my snow tires on yet, I suppose I should start thinking about getting that done.  Oh winter, oh winter.

Flue and flu (shot)

Went to Plattsburgh this morning, got errands done and as a bonus got my flu shot.  Good for me!  I'm not one who cares much about needles, I have my blood tested 4 times a year and get shots for this and that, so it was no big deal at all.  They scare you, though, by asking you to stay in the store for 5 minutes after the shot in case you have a reaction.  All the way home I thought "Am I having a reaction?"  Well of course not.

I bought myself another mum but had to search for one that was mostly buds and not blooms.  Since they were only $3.50 I thought it was OK to treat myself (I didn't buy any Halloween candy at the drug store while waiting for a reaction to the shot)(VERY proud of myself for that one).

It's absolutely beautiful in the hills between here and Plattsburgh, the golds and yellows are blaring.  Wow what a treat.  Can't see the mountains, though, because there are low-lying clouds.  That makes the colors bolder.

Started a fire when I got home, the house felt chilly and damp.  It's slow to warm up without sunshine, my living room is mostly windows with good southern exposure.  I'm trying to adjust to cold even though it's barely cold either indoors or out.  It's 48, which will feel tropical in a short time.

Yesterday my only human contact was a phone conversation with someone.  Today was much better, I talked to people at the post office and stores, plus just had a nice phone conversation with Annie.  Now it's just me and the dogs.  I have a friend who has lived alone for the nearly 40 years I've known her, without any pets.  I rely on my dogs so very much for companionship and (one-way) conversation (no, my dogs don't answer me when I ask them questions), I wonder what it would be like to live without pets.  Not even a fish.

Autumn full bore

I need to remember to take off my glasses for selfies.  This was this morning when I was closing the boat house and camp

The final burst of color on the mountain, a gorgeous vision.

The far shore.  Lots of bare naked trees, but still some poplars, birches and aspens in living color.

It's been a funny week, one of adjustment for me.  Linda left Sunday, arrived safely in Ann Arbor on Monday.  That means I have a very different life now, all the summer people are gone.  I'm having a good time, keeping busy and feeling very, very lucky to live here, be retired and have the life I do.

I still have water issues, am doing my laundry at the Holts (which is a huge blessing) but I shower, do the dishes and flush the toilet here at home.  Ahhhhh, life sure is good.  There's not a lot of water in the well but there's enough for one person who doles out water drop by drop.

I went to Plattsburgh on Weds., had lunch with Julie and ran some errands.  Got some groceries, couldn't believe I would need more food but there's always a need for dog food.  I went to the orchard, got myself some Macoun apples, my favorites.  Did I need more apples?  No, but those are my very favorites and this is the time to eat them.  I got some cider too, again, this is the time to have it.  Yum.

I slept most of Monday, I like to think it was recovering from the summer.  It felt wonderful.  Tuesday I felt sick, had intestinal trouble, slept a good part of the day and spent the rest of the time back on the couch.  I did have coffee with Fred, in front of a dead calm and still-colorful lake.  Very nice.

We've lost a lot of leaves--it was warm but really windy this week and now there are bare trees around my house as well as a few (very few) brightly colored trees.  It's still gorgeous here but is supposed to rain heavily for the next few days, with maybe some snow on the weekend.  It always snows in October so this is no great deal.

Bucklet list check-off

Every now and then (and 3 times this summer) people see a moose in my neighborhood.  Well fan me with a brick yesterday I saw one.  I've always wanted to see one up close and personal, and what a bonus that it was 7 miles from my house.  They have a range of 50 miles and have been seen nearer my house than that--moose prints at the end of my driveway, and in the bog next door to my house.  This was way cool.  I was on my way to the dump and she came out of the woods, trotted to the middle of the road (I was parked on the shoulder), looked around then turned back and trotted back into the woods.  She was beautiful, shiny and relaxed and looked just great.  I've heard reports that ticks are a big problem for some mooses, they get such bad infestations, but this one looked wonderful.  Oh I'm a happy girl now.

Other than moose musings life goes on.  Linda is the last of the summer friends to leave, she leaves later in the morning.  We had one final dock-sit Sat. afternoon in hot sun.  The water was tempting, we almost went in, but thought better of it.  I've helped her a bit to close up her camp, hating to see her go but also looking forward to getting back to my REAL life.  This week the weather is supposed to be wonderfully warm.  It wasn't warm Sat. morning, temp was 25 and we finally had a heavy frost.  Killed my impatiens but not the geraniums.

I still have water coming out of my faucets but I'm using as little as possible.  Yes, I flush my toilets, and the other day I bravely took a shower here.  No problems so far.  I'm not doing my laundry at home, I use the Holts' washing machine (which is way better and bigger than mine anyway).  I suppose eventually I'll have to stop using their machine and go to a laundromat.  Back to that, I've been in this position before.  Time to start saving quarters.

The dogs are just fine--it's 3 a.m. and they're snoring in the bedroom while I'm in the living room writing this in front of the fire.  I lay in bed, awake, for an hour or so before deciding to get up.  I don't often sleep through the night but am trying to stay up later.  When I retired I started going to bed early, 8:30 or so, but that just means I wake after a few hours, as if I've just had a lovely nap.  I have trouble getting back to sleep.  Ideally I would sleep until 6 or so and wake up refreshed and ready for the day.  I am extremely sensitive to morning light, I wake when it gets light outside without an alarm.  I have my nifty "pretend sunrise" alarm light and it wakes me at 5:45 or so, but sometimes I go back to sleep until it's light outside, which is too late or me now. 

I've been retired for nearly 2 years and am still getting used to it.  I worked full-time for 40 years, will it take that long for me to get used to not working?  Oh I hope not.

End of fall color

 Silver Lake Mountain bluffs, just past peak color.  What a year it's been.

Not exactly next door to my house, but not far.

Well well well

It's been quite a week and it's only Tuesday.  I had a plumber come today, he took the well cap off (oh the magic of a lever) and we looked into the way-down well tiles to see about a foot of water at the bottom.  That was better than I'd expected, but still not great.  This great plumber said "I'm not leaving until you have water" so he worked and finally diagnosed the problem as, yes, the pump lost its prime, but there was a warped fitting that was leaking air into the line.  YAY.  "Plastic fittings, those are the worst," so he replaced it and the pump came up to pressure, and, miracle of miracles water came out of the faucets and the toilet tank filled with water.  It's only been 10 days without water but I'm ready to be able to wash the dishes under running water, and to use my own toilet.  I'll still use my friends' house for showering and laundry but my oh my how easy it is when you turn on the faucet and water comes out.

It's still beautiful here, wonderful color in the woods.  We're losing leaves but it will be a while before we get into the monochrome that is November.  I like November, you can see into the woods and there are very few people around.  Don't mean to sound anti-social, I just like peace.

It was a busy weekend, a lot of god friends visiting.  We watched the debate but not all of it.  We had dinners together and good visits.  Tomorrow I'm cooking dinner for the book group friends, Thursday is one of my last Linda/Erdvilas dinners.  Friday is lunch with a friend in Plattsburgh then dinner with friends.  Tomorrow Linda and I are hoping for a dock day.  We may swim, but then the temperature was 29 this morning so the water no doubt is a tad chillier than it was last week.

Dogs are fine though Treasure took off when we were leaving Linda's this evening.  She was chasing something, a rabbit or deer or her imagination.  My plumber has coonhounds, hunts raccoons but doesn't kill them. 

Life is good.