You would think March meant spring in Hawkeye if you were here today! Temps in the 50's with bright warm sunshine. Very very nice. No, really, VERY VERY nice. I freed Bear's cable, just enough to let him go to the foot of the steps and step into the snow a little bit so he can sit on the top step (one of his favorite pastimes). Why the cable? Yesterday the only human contact I had was with the 2 men who drove Bear home from who-knows-how far away he had wandered. Bad Bad Bear. I wanted to reward the 2 young men because they went out of their way to find my house and return my dog but all I had to offer them was a $20 bill (too much) and beer. So I opted for the beer, which one of them took with gratitude. Boy was it nice of them to bring my dog home. So Bear's wings have been clipped.
It's been a good month, some snow, some cold, some winter. March is usually an unpleasant experience here but so far (and I know it's early) it's been quite nice. February was a busy social time, there were many visitors to Hawkeye and that kept me busy. Now there is no one here and it's so very quiet. I did have company today, a friend had come to check on his camps and he stopped in for coffee and a visit. That was nice but Bear was obnoxious and adoring, wouldn't leave the poor man alone. My good friends are in Florida for 5 weeks, they're into their 3rd week now I think, and they are my morning walking companions so poor Bear hasn't had much exercise. He misses them (yeah, right)--well I sure miss them anyway and I know he misses our bog walks.
I'm heading to Rhode Island on Wednesday to celebrate my mother's 94th birthday. She is still in great shape, happy with her life and doing very well. I'm looking forward to visiting with her and spending time in RI. I do like that place. I'll be back on Monday, back to my routines. Friends are planning to be here then, they'll stay in their house for a week or so. That means we'll do some walking and/or gym visitations for sure.
The road to my house is a mess, it's icy and slushy and rutted and just bad to drive on. What choice do I have? It's not as bad as it will be I'm sure. We're due to have rain maybe tonight but definitely tomorrow afternoon. Oh that will make a real mess.
Things at the thrift store have been fine--busy with plenty of shoppers but not an overwhelming amount of stuff coming in so receiving has been good. I'm alone in books on Wednesdays, the Book Lady has decided to work only on Saturdays. I've been alone in receiving a few times but as I say it's not been too busy so I've managed.
We got a negative scanner in the Archives--big excitement! We have more than 500 negatives to scan and digitize and have started on that project. We had high hopes for images from the 1890's and early 1900's but oh no, nothing as fascinating as that. So far we've scanned lots of posed portraits from the 1950's and early 60's. Rats. Scanning negatives is soooo much slower than scanning photos so this project will last a long, long time.
Are we worried about COVID-19 here? Not too much right here in Hawkeye (most of my friends are more concerned with stock market trends than the coronavirus, oh dear). I worry about my sister in southern Italy but she is OK. I don't like thinking that I couldn't get to her if there were a crisis and she needed me.
So tomorrow is a work day. Today was a dump day and that was great. I've wrapped my mother's presents and have started packing. I don't usually do much organizing or packing ahead of time, mostly my pattern is to pack the morning I leave but this time I've had good days to get ready.
Temps in the 40's tonight, that's usually when I take the plastic off my bedroom window and open the window but I think I'll wait for that--early March is early.
Monday, March 09, 2020
Sunday, February 09, 2020
We can call THIS winter
What a snow storm we had on Friday! It started with ice on Thursday night, turned to a full day of snow on Friday. We ended up with something between 18 and 24 inches, depending on which method of measuring you used: my plow man said we had 2 feet because his boots are 20 inches tall and the snow was over his boots. OK, that sounds good. Others measured the snow as 18-19 inches, which seems more likely to me but who knows. Either way it was a ton of snow. No, really. The ice didn't help, my car was encased in ice under the snow. Ugh.
Saturday I went to the dump, traveling roads that were slick but not impossible to navigate. What I mostly did all day was clean my house. Friends came for dinner (salmon cooked in a clay cooker along with roasted radishes) and we had a really nice time. It got cold during the afternoon and evening, was down to -5 when they left.
By this morning it was -21--wow that was a surprise to me! My house was chilly (58) but not miserable and warmed up with the sun. We had a gorgeous sunny morning and I went to the gym with friends, came back to their house for coffee and a nice visit.
I made cake for book group tonight, a bourbon apple cake. Whatever possesses me to try these things? The cake is good but the bourbon flavor is really strong.
Tonight I'll cook a pork tenderloin with roasted carrots. It can't really be called a book "group," in the winter it's just a trio. Meanwhile I need to come up with something for us to read for the next month. It's not as if I don't have enough books, I just have to pick one.
My mother's friend emptied her wall-sized bookcase and estimated the total number of books at 1500. Oh dear, this made me wonder just how many books I have--4 bookcases full, so at least a few hundred. Why, oh why?
Saturday I went to the dump, traveling roads that were slick but not impossible to navigate. What I mostly did all day was clean my house. Friends came for dinner (salmon cooked in a clay cooker along with roasted radishes) and we had a really nice time. It got cold during the afternoon and evening, was down to -5 when they left.
By this morning it was -21--wow that was a surprise to me! My house was chilly (58) but not miserable and warmed up with the sun. We had a gorgeous sunny morning and I went to the gym with friends, came back to their house for coffee and a nice visit.
I made cake for book group tonight, a bourbon apple cake. Whatever possesses me to try these things? The cake is good but the bourbon flavor is really strong.
Tonight I'll cook a pork tenderloin with roasted carrots. It can't really be called a book "group," in the winter it's just a trio. Meanwhile I need to come up with something for us to read for the next month. It's not as if I don't have enough books, I just have to pick one.
My mother's friend emptied her wall-sized bookcase and estimated the total number of books at 1500. Oh dear, this made me wonder just how many books I have--4 bookcases full, so at least a few hundred. Why, oh why?
Wednesday, February 05, 2020
Beautiful day
It's 21 degrees with bright, warm sunshine--my very favorite kind of winter day. I wish I were brave enough to go down to the lake alone but the last time I did that I fell through the ice. Yikes, luckily it was close to shore but it sure was scary. It cured me of solo trips on the ice, that's for sure.
We've been having a spell of pretty nice weather but haven't seen much of the sun.
I went snowshoeing the other day with friends. We were going to go to camp and check on the boat house but I knew I wouldn't make it up the hill to come home so I stopped at the gate and came home while they went down to the lake (with Bear). They said it was beautiful and the ice was fine.
Work is going well. We're taking a break from scanning to add bibliographic records to the data base, which is what I did for so many decades when I worked. It's funny to be doing that work again and it's even funnier what comes back to me about manipulating the data. Am I pleased about this? Not particularly.
I've been working at the thrift store but today it was pretty slow so I didn't stay long. Saturday it was really really busy with shoppers but we had enough people working and there wasn't that much in receiving, it moved at a nice pace.
I've been walking the bog some mornings with friends, when we don't walk the bog we go to the gym. One would hope this would lead to weight loss (not) and improved lung function (not) so it's all sort of discouraging. I see my doctor later this month and was hoping to proudly announce my weight loss but alas and alack that doesn't not seem to be going to happen. Oh well.
We've been having a spell of pretty nice weather but haven't seen much of the sun.
I went snowshoeing the other day with friends. We were going to go to camp and check on the boat house but I knew I wouldn't make it up the hill to come home so I stopped at the gate and came home while they went down to the lake (with Bear). They said it was beautiful and the ice was fine.
Work is going well. We're taking a break from scanning to add bibliographic records to the data base, which is what I did for so many decades when I worked. It's funny to be doing that work again and it's even funnier what comes back to me about manipulating the data. Am I pleased about this? Not particularly.
I've been working at the thrift store but today it was pretty slow so I didn't stay long. Saturday it was really really busy with shoppers but we had enough people working and there wasn't that much in receiving, it moved at a nice pace.
I've been walking the bog some mornings with friends, when we don't walk the bog we go to the gym. One would hope this would lead to weight loss (not) and improved lung function (not) so it's all sort of discouraging. I see my doctor later this month and was hoping to proudly announce my weight loss but alas and alack that doesn't not seem to be going to happen. Oh well.
Tuesday, January 28, 2020
Still winter, but barely
It's in the 20's these days, sometimes creeping up to the 30's. What's up with that? Where's our sub-zero? our teens? our single digits? It's very unnerving. And makes me nervous about February...
I haven't been doing anything startling or exciting. I went to the dump yesterday, stopping at the grocery store on my way home. The roads were slick and crappy--we had some heavy snow with some icy stuff the night before. I whacked away at the crud that had built up on my deck stairs, got them down to bare wood. I have to keep at that or they get like a bobsled run and I slide right down them.
Today is a work day. I think we'll scan images today, we've done nearly all of the 6000 photographs in the collection but we skipped 300 images of houses in Keene Valley. Big yawn but good to get done. We laugh a lot when we scan so that will be good. I have to stop on my way home to renew my gym membership in AuSable. That's the extent of my plans for the day.
I'm trying to be productive and get a little better organized--yesterday I cleared off my kitchen counter. Wow! space in the kitchen! Of course I haven't found homes for the things that were on the counter, little bowls and dishes I rarely use. I did pack up a box of bottles and empty sippy cups that were taking up valuable real estate on the floor, but all I did with them was put them in the mud room. With a lot of other "useful but not right now" stuff. Note to self: if you ever built another house make sure you include lots of closets and storage space.
The week looks pretty easy--I do have to go to Plattsburgh tomorrow, car appointment in the morning. No thrift store for me (if you leave out the "t" it becomes "thrift sore," maybe that's too close to reality) but I'll go on Saturday. The woman who is in books says she's not working Wednesdays any more after tomorrow so I'll be doing books one day a week I guess. Which do I prefer: receiving or books? I think it depends on who's working in receiving. And I'll say no more about that.
I haven't been doing anything startling or exciting. I went to the dump yesterday, stopping at the grocery store on my way home. The roads were slick and crappy--we had some heavy snow with some icy stuff the night before. I whacked away at the crud that had built up on my deck stairs, got them down to bare wood. I have to keep at that or they get like a bobsled run and I slide right down them.
Today is a work day. I think we'll scan images today, we've done nearly all of the 6000 photographs in the collection but we skipped 300 images of houses in Keene Valley. Big yawn but good to get done. We laugh a lot when we scan so that will be good. I have to stop on my way home to renew my gym membership in AuSable. That's the extent of my plans for the day.
I'm trying to be productive and get a little better organized--yesterday I cleared off my kitchen counter. Wow! space in the kitchen! Of course I haven't found homes for the things that were on the counter, little bowls and dishes I rarely use. I did pack up a box of bottles and empty sippy cups that were taking up valuable real estate on the floor, but all I did with them was put them in the mud room. With a lot of other "useful but not right now" stuff. Note to self: if you ever built another house make sure you include lots of closets and storage space.
The week looks pretty easy--I do have to go to Plattsburgh tomorrow, car appointment in the morning. No thrift store for me (if you leave out the "t" it becomes "thrift sore," maybe that's too close to reality) but I'll go on Saturday. The woman who is in books says she's not working Wednesdays any more after tomorrow so I'll be doing books one day a week I guess. Which do I prefer: receiving or books? I think it depends on who's working in receiving. And I'll say no more about that.
Saturday, January 25, 2020
Gone too long
I just haven't been in the mood to blog, I guess. It's not been terribly busy but we did have lots of snow last weekend, we ended up with about a foot from 2 different storms. Right now it's snowing and 30 degrees, predictions are mixed--maybe snow, maybe sleet, maybe rain, maybe ice. I think we'll end up with a few inches by morning.
Last weekend was busy, friends were in the neighborhood and at my house. Good friends came to their camp below my house, I love seeing them and got to spend 2 evenings with them. They make me laugh and laugh. Other friends were here, they spent one night in their camp then spent Sunday night with me. That was nice and sure was good for my house: I cleaned and cleaned. I need to do more organizing and decluttering for sure. I think the dogs brush each other during the nights while I sleep then empty the brush on the living room rug. There is SO MUCH dog hair!
I've been working at the Archives and the thrift store, as usual. Both are going well. The thrift store has been busy, especially today when there were tons of shoppers. Not too many dropping off so that made my morning easier.
We have at least a foot of snow right now but I'm not sure there's much more than that on the ground. Unusual for the end of January. I've been walking the bog in the morning with friends--the snow is loose so it's harder, like walking in deep sand. I have cleats on my boots, which helps.
The dogs are both well. They have been good about sticking around but of course they're NOT allowed out together unless I'm walking with them, and even then Treasure is on a leash on the way home. Bear doesn't seem to go far, wouldn't it be great if he kept that up this summer! but I doubt that will be.
Winter has been pretty easy so far. It was below zero last weekend but this week was a warm week, temps in high 20's and low 30's. Very strange.
Last weekend was busy, friends were in the neighborhood and at my house. Good friends came to their camp below my house, I love seeing them and got to spend 2 evenings with them. They make me laugh and laugh. Other friends were here, they spent one night in their camp then spent Sunday night with me. That was nice and sure was good for my house: I cleaned and cleaned. I need to do more organizing and decluttering for sure. I think the dogs brush each other during the nights while I sleep then empty the brush on the living room rug. There is SO MUCH dog hair!
I've been working at the Archives and the thrift store, as usual. Both are going well. The thrift store has been busy, especially today when there were tons of shoppers. Not too many dropping off so that made my morning easier.
We have at least a foot of snow right now but I'm not sure there's much more than that on the ground. Unusual for the end of January. I've been walking the bog in the morning with friends--the snow is loose so it's harder, like walking in deep sand. I have cleats on my boots, which helps.
The dogs are both well. They have been good about sticking around but of course they're NOT allowed out together unless I'm walking with them, and even then Treasure is on a leash on the way home. Bear doesn't seem to go far, wouldn't it be great if he kept that up this summer! but I doubt that will be.
Winter has been pretty easy so far. It was below zero last weekend but this week was a warm week, temps in high 20's and low 30's. Very strange.
Friday, January 10, 2020
Good week--so far
I've had a good week, the thrift store was busy but there were too many volunteers working so it was all fine. I didn't work hard or stay long. Work on Thursday was fine, we're doing massive data entry with a collection of older, rare books we have in the Archives. Mostly my assistant will be doing the data entry, I showed her how to do it and she took right off with that.
Today was a busy day for me--walked the bog in the morning with friends then went to Plattsburgh for the pool-ercise class for fat old ladies. I of course fit right in. The class lasts an hour, that's a long time to be bouncing in the crowded shallow end of the pool. I came home and did some clearing, got the snow off the steps and made a good path on the deck.
The big news here is FEAR: they're predicting an ice storm for Saturday night and Sunday. This really scares me, the ice storm we had in '98 was just awful for me. No power for 2 weeks, temps below zero, no water for 3 weeks, pipes froze, dogs got cold, house was miserable. Hopefully this won't be a repeat, warmer temps are predicted at least. Still, it makes me very, very nervous. I have a Coleman lantern for night time and a Coleman cook stove. I have access to my friends' house down the hill, they have a generator so if there's serious trouble for a long time I may be able to go there. I do sound hysterical, don't I. Maybe it won't be that bad but they're predicting 1/2 an inch to an inch of ice. Man that's nasty.
Enough about that! Tomorrow it will rain a lot. Temp right now is 37. I'll decide in the morning if I want to work at the thrift store tomorrow. Right now I'm feeling...not so much.
Today was a busy day for me--walked the bog in the morning with friends then went to Plattsburgh for the pool-ercise class for fat old ladies. I of course fit right in. The class lasts an hour, that's a long time to be bouncing in the crowded shallow end of the pool. I came home and did some clearing, got the snow off the steps and made a good path on the deck.
The big news here is FEAR: they're predicting an ice storm for Saturday night and Sunday. This really scares me, the ice storm we had in '98 was just awful for me. No power for 2 weeks, temps below zero, no water for 3 weeks, pipes froze, dogs got cold, house was miserable. Hopefully this won't be a repeat, warmer temps are predicted at least. Still, it makes me very, very nervous. I have a Coleman lantern for night time and a Coleman cook stove. I have access to my friends' house down the hill, they have a generator so if there's serious trouble for a long time I may be able to go there. I do sound hysterical, don't I. Maybe it won't be that bad but they're predicting 1/2 an inch to an inch of ice. Man that's nasty.
Enough about that! Tomorrow it will rain a lot. Temp right now is 37. I'll decide in the morning if I want to work at the thrift store tomorrow. Right now I'm feeling...not so much.
Tuesday, January 07, 2020
either do it or don't
If I'm going to have this blog I should POST something, right? It seems I start getting fairly conscientious about posting, then I get interrupted by an event or trip or something in my life and I never return. And so once again I return.
December went by in a flash. The weather was tolerable the friends were around and good, the dogs didn't run off (much), I was busy but hardly overwhelmed. Christmas came and was very nice. I went to RI, of course, and my mother was and still is well. We had a quiet visit although there were stoppers-by and a few events. I saw a good friend from the old days when I lived there. We had a good visit with my cousin and his family. It didn't snow. The ground was bare. We had lobsters. Mark and I gave my mother a new Dyson cordless vacuum cleaner, which she has actually used since I was there. That's pretty impressive, that she's used it without any help, it's a pretty dramatic thing, a big change. She's not usually enthusiastic about change but who could hate a cordless vacuum cleaner? Any she continues to be well and happy.
I went to the gym regularly last month and even did some aqua-size in the pool in Plattsburgh. That wasn't quite a passing fancy but I haven't been again lately. I'll go back, but when?
It was 8 degrees this morning, though now in the middle of the night it's 23. We had a spell of warm weather that melted our snow and are slowly rebuilding a base. We got about 4 inches today, very fluffy stuff. The ice on the lake was thick but a friend recently put her foot right through the ice near shore so perhaps there has been meltage. Supposed to be zero later this week but there's a bit on sno-sulation keeping it from getting thick.
Work is good, we've scanned all of the processed photos, 6000 or more and now I need to decide what we'll do next. We're waiting for the report from our Assessment visit, I'm seriously hoping that will guide us to the next thing.
I was absent from the thrift store for a couple of weeks but dared show up on Saturday. It was busy with shoppers but we have an intensive triage routine that has kept donations down. Much less rejecting going on in receiving.
Life is good. It's a quiet time, not much activity in the woods here though friends are coming next week (!) to stay in their camp for a few days. GOOD friends I look forward to being with. Nice, very nice.
December went by in a flash. The weather was tolerable the friends were around and good, the dogs didn't run off (much), I was busy but hardly overwhelmed. Christmas came and was very nice. I went to RI, of course, and my mother was and still is well. We had a quiet visit although there were stoppers-by and a few events. I saw a good friend from the old days when I lived there. We had a good visit with my cousin and his family. It didn't snow. The ground was bare. We had lobsters. Mark and I gave my mother a new Dyson cordless vacuum cleaner, which she has actually used since I was there. That's pretty impressive, that she's used it without any help, it's a pretty dramatic thing, a big change. She's not usually enthusiastic about change but who could hate a cordless vacuum cleaner? Any she continues to be well and happy.
I went to the gym regularly last month and even did some aqua-size in the pool in Plattsburgh. That wasn't quite a passing fancy but I haven't been again lately. I'll go back, but when?
It was 8 degrees this morning, though now in the middle of the night it's 23. We had a spell of warm weather that melted our snow and are slowly rebuilding a base. We got about 4 inches today, very fluffy stuff. The ice on the lake was thick but a friend recently put her foot right through the ice near shore so perhaps there has been meltage. Supposed to be zero later this week but there's a bit on sno-sulation keeping it from getting thick.
Work is good, we've scanned all of the processed photos, 6000 or more and now I need to decide what we'll do next. We're waiting for the report from our Assessment visit, I'm seriously hoping that will guide us to the next thing.
I was absent from the thrift store for a couple of weeks but dared show up on Saturday. It was busy with shoppers but we have an intensive triage routine that has kept donations down. Much less rejecting going on in receiving.
Life is good. It's a quiet time, not much activity in the woods here though friends are coming next week (!) to stay in their camp for a few days. GOOD friends I look forward to being with. Nice, very nice.
Saturday, December 21, 2019
Getting ready for the holiday
Well I can't claim I've been "getting ready" for the past several days/weeks...
It's been a busy time for me, nothing unusual really but some social events (my birthday dinner, holiday gatherings). It got cold, -11 day before yesterday, -3 yesterday and today but due to warm up. Just in time for my travels. I'm heading to RI this morning (why did I pick today to travel? I think there will be 8 million people on the Mass Pike), will be there for nearly a week. I have to pack my clothes then the car but it's 6:45 in the morning and I'm in good shape for that. I hate packing in the dark though so I'm just watching the news and having coffee. Time to function: have to bring in firewood, pack pack pack, close up the house.
I've been going to the gym with friends--one friend comes from DC often and loves to go to the gym in the morning so we did that every day for a week. I also started going to an aqua-robics class in Plattsburgh at the Y, it's a class for seniors and I'm probably the youngest person in the pool. It's an hour of constant activity, very good for me but the shallow end of the pool is full FULL of old people all trying to avoid hitting each other with the floating barbells and kicks. I'll probably keep going once in a while but I don't relish a drive to Plattsburgh very often.
I'll have a good week with my mother, we do enjoy each other's company. I'll visit with a friend who lives in Jamestown, perhaps see a cousin who says he's going to visit, eat lobsters, read read read and have a nice vacation-type visit.
I didn't put up a Christmas tree this year, it just seemed like a lot of work. It IS a lot of work when you do it by yourself but I do like having the lights and I like seeing my collection of very nice ornaments. Maybe next year.
It's been a busy time for me, nothing unusual really but some social events (my birthday dinner, holiday gatherings). It got cold, -11 day before yesterday, -3 yesterday and today but due to warm up. Just in time for my travels. I'm heading to RI this morning (why did I pick today to travel? I think there will be 8 million people on the Mass Pike), will be there for nearly a week. I have to pack my clothes then the car but it's 6:45 in the morning and I'm in good shape for that. I hate packing in the dark though so I'm just watching the news and having coffee. Time to function: have to bring in firewood, pack pack pack, close up the house.
I've been going to the gym with friends--one friend comes from DC often and loves to go to the gym in the morning so we did that every day for a week. I also started going to an aqua-robics class in Plattsburgh at the Y, it's a class for seniors and I'm probably the youngest person in the pool. It's an hour of constant activity, very good for me but the shallow end of the pool is full FULL of old people all trying to avoid hitting each other with the floating barbells and kicks. I'll probably keep going once in a while but I don't relish a drive to Plattsburgh very often.
I'll have a good week with my mother, we do enjoy each other's company. I'll visit with a friend who lives in Jamestown, perhaps see a cousin who says he's going to visit, eat lobsters, read read read and have a nice vacation-type visit.
I didn't put up a Christmas tree this year, it just seemed like a lot of work. It IS a lot of work when you do it by yourself but I do like having the lights and I like seeing my collection of very nice ornaments. Maybe next year.
Sunday, December 08, 2019
From zero to twenty-eight
Cold morning today, temp was 0 when I got up. Can it be that I'm getting used to this weather? It didn't feel too cold when I went out early in the day. Really? How good that would be, getting used to weather like that, but of course it was still, not windy. I do not like cold, windy days but a cold day with some sunshine on bright white snow can be very pleasant.
I worked at the thrift store yesterday, it started out pretty slow with not many shoppers but all of a sudden we got hammered. I didn't work in receiving, I was a packer. I like doing that, it's fun to see what people buy and it's very VERY entertaining to see them buy the stuff you price and put out. What??? Someone is buying that? I got tired, standing on the cement floor for 3 1/2 hours but the time went by. I had to leave before the store closed (I always do) and this time I felt bad because it was busy but I had to meet friends for lunch. We had a nice visit--this is a couple who live in Albany and have a camp down the road from my house. She works in the State Archives and we always have good archival conversations. I'm impressed by what she does and by the collection they have (duh, it IS the STATE Archives, after all).
I have to decide whether to put up a Christmas tree. A friend found a place selling smaller trees--at this point in my life I only do table-top trees but I usually have to buy big trees and cut off the bottom couple of feet. Maybe I could be convinced to buy one if it were already small enough. I might check it out tomorrow, it's going to be a Plattsburgh day. Haircut. Bank. Errands. I went grocery shopping yesterday on my way to the thrift store so at least I don't have to do that. I should visit the people who used to live down the road and are now living with their son in Plattsburgh. But maybe not.
I worked at the thrift store yesterday, it started out pretty slow with not many shoppers but all of a sudden we got hammered. I didn't work in receiving, I was a packer. I like doing that, it's fun to see what people buy and it's very VERY entertaining to see them buy the stuff you price and put out. What??? Someone is buying that? I got tired, standing on the cement floor for 3 1/2 hours but the time went by. I had to leave before the store closed (I always do) and this time I felt bad because it was busy but I had to meet friends for lunch. We had a nice visit--this is a couple who live in Albany and have a camp down the road from my house. She works in the State Archives and we always have good archival conversations. I'm impressed by what she does and by the collection they have (duh, it IS the STATE Archives, after all).
I have to decide whether to put up a Christmas tree. A friend found a place selling smaller trees--at this point in my life I only do table-top trees but I usually have to buy big trees and cut off the bottom couple of feet. Maybe I could be convinced to buy one if it were already small enough. I might check it out tomorrow, it's going to be a Plattsburgh day. Haircut. Bank. Errands. I went grocery shopping yesterday on my way to the thrift store so at least I don't have to do that. I should visit the people who used to live down the road and are now living with their son in Plattsburgh. But maybe not.
Saturday, December 07, 2019
Good dog-Bad dog--SUPER Bad dog
I always swear I can't/don't let both dogs out together but of course there are exceptions. Friends came for coffee yesterday morning, friends who are much loved by my dogs so I let the dogs out to greet them. They barely acknowledged the people, then ran down the driveway and disappeared. For FIVE HOURS. Wow what a bad pair. I tracked them down to camp (they tried to get in the back door) and along the shoreline for a short way but the woods got too thick so I gave up. Drove to Plattsburgh to meet a friend (yes, I felt bad but I also thought they deserved to come home to an empty house). Came home 2 hours later and there were no dogs at my house. Man oh man. They finally did come home, 5 hours after leaving. Treasure could barely walk, sore shoulder but Bear was just fine. Yes, they did sleep. for hours. And they skipped lunch and barely noticed that.
So I had a quiet afternoon watching them sleep and listening to them snore. Oh they are bad dogs indeed.
It snowed most of the day but it wasn't a convincing snow, only got a few inches. There's ice on the lake, snow on the ice. I doubt the ice is more than an inch or so thick.
Today is a thrift store day, then lunch with friends. I have to decide if I want to put up a tree this Christmas. I'm feeling slightly (or more) lazy about that. I have always had a tree, I like the lights and I really like my collection of ornaments but this year it just seems like a lot of work. We'll see.
So I had a quiet afternoon watching them sleep and listening to them snore. Oh they are bad dogs indeed.
It snowed most of the day but it wasn't a convincing snow, only got a few inches. There's ice on the lake, snow on the ice. I doubt the ice is more than an inch or so thick.
Today is a thrift store day, then lunch with friends. I have to decide if I want to put up a tree this Christmas. I'm feeling slightly (or more) lazy about that. I have always had a tree, I like the lights and I really like my collection of ornaments but this year it just seems like a lot of work. We'll see.
Thursday, December 05, 2019
Post-Thanksgiving catch-up
I was lucky with my Thanksgiving traveling, avoiding heavy snow and heavy traffic. I did have to stay an extra day but that's always a nice "have to do" thing.
I drove to RI on Tuesday (skipping work) without incident but with lots of company on the roads. I went through Worcester, which turned out to be a bad idea because a lot of other people had the same idea. Oh well, I got there in good time and all was well with my mother in her house.
I did some shopping on Wednesday but pretty much all the food shopping had been done. We had a nice Thanksgiving day, our celebratory breakfast of lox & bagels then lots of prep for the dinner, which we had at 4. Boy do we have a lot of food for Thanksgiving. I made my usual pumpkin pie, using my Martha Stewart recipe of many years. It was good, as expected. Secret ingredient=1/4 tsp of chili powder.
We took the dogs to the beach in the morning, poor Treasure on a leash the entire time while Bear got to romp in the water (only a little, he is always surprised to discover that it's SALT water). We saw juvenile loons but they didn't reveal their original location. I think our Silver Lake loons winter in New Jersey and Long Island Sound, if I remember correctly.
Friday was a good shopping day, we just went to a couple of places and had a grand time spending money. It was all good.
We had restful days on Saturday and Sunday, lots of visiting and reading. I read a few books while I was there, that's always a treat. We don't watch much television so I read read read. Very nice.
I had planned to come home on Monday but the snow storm in the Northeast convinced me to stay an extra day. Tuesday morning it snowed in RI, about 3 inches or so--that's very dramatic for southern New England, especially along the coast. My trip home was just fine, roads were clear and empty. My house survived my absence and all was just fine.
The lake froze over during my absence, that was quite a shock. It was chilly, down to single digits at night.
Now I'm back into my routines, I worked at the thrift store yesterday. It was busy but not hectic, just the right pace of shoppers and drop-offs with the right number of volunteers. Today I worked in the Archives, we have many projects to get started on after our Needs Assessment in November. That was a great experience and I'm really looking forward to the report that will result--we've been promised a 40-page report. Yikes.
It's been snowing today and we picked up maybe 2 more inches with more expected tomorrow. Oh it's winter all right.
I drove to RI on Tuesday (skipping work) without incident but with lots of company on the roads. I went through Worcester, which turned out to be a bad idea because a lot of other people had the same idea. Oh well, I got there in good time and all was well with my mother in her house.
I did some shopping on Wednesday but pretty much all the food shopping had been done. We had a nice Thanksgiving day, our celebratory breakfast of lox & bagels then lots of prep for the dinner, which we had at 4. Boy do we have a lot of food for Thanksgiving. I made my usual pumpkin pie, using my Martha Stewart recipe of many years. It was good, as expected. Secret ingredient=1/4 tsp of chili powder.
We took the dogs to the beach in the morning, poor Treasure on a leash the entire time while Bear got to romp in the water (only a little, he is always surprised to discover that it's SALT water). We saw juvenile loons but they didn't reveal their original location. I think our Silver Lake loons winter in New Jersey and Long Island Sound, if I remember correctly.
Friday was a good shopping day, we just went to a couple of places and had a grand time spending money. It was all good.
We had restful days on Saturday and Sunday, lots of visiting and reading. I read a few books while I was there, that's always a treat. We don't watch much television so I read read read. Very nice.
I had planned to come home on Monday but the snow storm in the Northeast convinced me to stay an extra day. Tuesday morning it snowed in RI, about 3 inches or so--that's very dramatic for southern New England, especially along the coast. My trip home was just fine, roads were clear and empty. My house survived my absence and all was just fine.
The lake froze over during my absence, that was quite a shock. It was chilly, down to single digits at night.
Now I'm back into my routines, I worked at the thrift store yesterday. It was busy but not hectic, just the right pace of shoppers and drop-offs with the right number of volunteers. Today I worked in the Archives, we have many projects to get started on after our Needs Assessment in November. That was a great experience and I'm really looking forward to the report that will result--we've been promised a 40-page report. Yikes.
It's been snowing today and we picked up maybe 2 more inches with more expected tomorrow. Oh it's winter all right.
Wednesday, November 20, 2019
Warmer but snowing
It's been snowing all afternoon. I don't think we'll end up with more than a couple of inches but it sure has snowed a lot today.
I went to the gym alone this morning, proudly did some time on the treadmill (after figuring out how to turn on the television, no small accomplishment). I went to the thrift store, was the bagger for 3 hours because it wasn't too busy and there were 3 people in receiving. I like bagging and I'm VERY good at wrapping and bagging things. or so I've been told.
So far this week has been pretty unremarkable. Monday was a day off. That felt really grand. I cleaned the kitchen, went to the dump and binge-watched some shows I had recorded. What would I do without television???
Tuesday was a fine day at work, a little slow in terms of people visiting the library but I got a lot of editing done. We've done just about 6000 photos; scanned and edited them so now they're searchable on the hard drive. Next step is to get them online.
Tomorrow is a big day in the Archives, we're having a Needs Assessment done by a consultant from Philadelphia. We applied for this grant and YAY! we were awarded with a day-long visit and assessment. Although it will be a long day I'm looking forward to hearing what the consultant has to say about what we're doing and how we're doing it. I'll be tired by the end of the day I'm sure but I'll feel good and happy.
Friday is a Plattsburgh day, I have to have work done on my car (brakes) and I have a few errands to take care. I'll be heading to RI on Tuesday and I want to get some of the groceries we'll need for Thanksgiving before I head out. I do like Thanksgiving, it's sure straight-forward and uncomplicated.
I went to the gym alone this morning, proudly did some time on the treadmill (after figuring out how to turn on the television, no small accomplishment). I went to the thrift store, was the bagger for 3 hours because it wasn't too busy and there were 3 people in receiving. I like bagging and I'm VERY good at wrapping and bagging things. or so I've been told.
So far this week has been pretty unremarkable. Monday was a day off. That felt really grand. I cleaned the kitchen, went to the dump and binge-watched some shows I had recorded. What would I do without television???
Tuesday was a fine day at work, a little slow in terms of people visiting the library but I got a lot of editing done. We've done just about 6000 photos; scanned and edited them so now they're searchable on the hard drive. Next step is to get them online.
Tomorrow is a big day in the Archives, we're having a Needs Assessment done by a consultant from Philadelphia. We applied for this grant and YAY! we were awarded with a day-long visit and assessment. Although it will be a long day I'm looking forward to hearing what the consultant has to say about what we're doing and how we're doing it. I'll be tired by the end of the day I'm sure but I'll feel good and happy.
Friday is a Plattsburgh day, I have to have work done on my car (brakes) and I have a few errands to take care. I'll be heading to RI on Tuesday and I want to get some of the groceries we'll need for Thanksgiving before I head out. I do like Thanksgiving, it's sure straight-forward and uncomplicated.
Saturday, November 16, 2019
Yes, winter in November
It's 4 this morning with a blazing orange sunrise. Very pretty.
I've been busy but not TOO busy. Work on Thursday was good, we scanned and processed photos, I like that although some of them sure were boring. They can't all be gems.
Yesterday I went to Plattsburgh, had an appointment at last to have snow tires put on. Went for coffee with a friend while they worked on the car. When I picked it up oh boy they told me the car needs brake work but of course they couldn't do it yesterday. Back to Plattsburgh I go next Friday. I wanted to make sure to have the work done before heading to RI next week. Wow, Thanksgiving is next week! I'm heading to RI on Tuesday. Looking forward to being with my mother and Mark, we have good visits.
I over-stoked the stove last night so it was in the 70's in the living room when I got up at midnight. Whew! That's too warm. Now I have a respectable fire going, not too hot but hot enough. The weather these days is fine--for January. Temps are supposed to be in the 40's but today's high is supposed to be barely 20. Yesterday was good, temps in the 30's, boy didn't that feel nice.
I'm hosting book group on Sunday, we're reading a mystery that takes place in France so it's full of lots of French words, some just describing food, some more important to the story. I'll have to dig up something for us to read next. We don't usually meet in December, life is just too complicated, so maybe we'll have until January. By then I'll either have a Christmas tree up or I won't do one this year. I face this decision every year. It's a lot of work but I do like seeing my ornaments and I like the lights on the tree. Life is good, if that's my big decision.
I've been busy but not TOO busy. Work on Thursday was good, we scanned and processed photos, I like that although some of them sure were boring. They can't all be gems.
Yesterday I went to Plattsburgh, had an appointment at last to have snow tires put on. Went for coffee with a friend while they worked on the car. When I picked it up oh boy they told me the car needs brake work but of course they couldn't do it yesterday. Back to Plattsburgh I go next Friday. I wanted to make sure to have the work done before heading to RI next week. Wow, Thanksgiving is next week! I'm heading to RI on Tuesday. Looking forward to being with my mother and Mark, we have good visits.
I over-stoked the stove last night so it was in the 70's in the living room when I got up at midnight. Whew! That's too warm. Now I have a respectable fire going, not too hot but hot enough. The weather these days is fine--for January. Temps are supposed to be in the 40's but today's high is supposed to be barely 20. Yesterday was good, temps in the 30's, boy didn't that feel nice.
I'm hosting book group on Sunday, we're reading a mystery that takes place in France so it's full of lots of French words, some just describing food, some more important to the story. I'll have to dig up something for us to read next. We don't usually meet in December, life is just too complicated, so maybe we'll have until January. By then I'll either have a Christmas tree up or I won't do one this year. I face this decision every year. It's a lot of work but I do like seeing my ornaments and I like the lights on the tree. Life is good, if that's my big decision.
Wednesday, November 13, 2019
Winter in November, no kidding
We had a storm, oh yes we did. We did NOT have 12 inches of snow, as predicted. Instead we had 7 inches of snow, with a temperature of zero this morning. It can't be winter, we didn't dip below zero.
It was very windy and wintry last night--I had to go to my mailbox to get the UPS items that the driver called me (now how do they get our phone numbers?) to report that he was leaving packages there. No, he's not supposed to do that but I told him he wouldn't have to drive to my driveway or my house in winter months. The hardtop is plowed often and well, my road (OHR) is not. It was plowed once, at 5 a.m. yesterday but not again until today. Oh well. I managed to get out yesterday before my driveway was plowed, that was a relief. I won't have my snow tires on until Friday and boy what an education this has been! Driving AWD without snow tires is NOT the same as driving AWD WITH snow tires. duh. OK, I know this is common knowledge, and that's why we have snow tires, blah blah blah but it was really obvious to me yesterday and again today when the roads were slick.
OK, enough about driving, snow, winter, cold, wind, etc. Today I volunteered at the thrift store. It wasn't terribly busy so we were able to get a lot done and that was nice. I came home, stoked the stove, cut up a bunch of big cardboard boxes (some of which I retrieved from my mailbox last night), packed up the garbage and went to the dump. Now I'm watching Impeachment TV, mostly because there's not much else on. Bear the dog is staring at me--intently because he thinks it surely must be time for DINNER. not. They're lucky they get to eat at 4:00, let's not push it Bear.
Bear and I walked partway down the road yesterday afternoon. It was cold but also lovely. I do like a decent snowfall, in the beginning at least. I don't know how much of this snow will melt but it's supposed to warm up soon (before it gets cold and snows some more). I've always maintained that I like November. Maybe this year will be the exception.
It was very windy and wintry last night--I had to go to my mailbox to get the UPS items that the driver called me (now how do they get our phone numbers?) to report that he was leaving packages there. No, he's not supposed to do that but I told him he wouldn't have to drive to my driveway or my house in winter months. The hardtop is plowed often and well, my road (OHR) is not. It was plowed once, at 5 a.m. yesterday but not again until today. Oh well. I managed to get out yesterday before my driveway was plowed, that was a relief. I won't have my snow tires on until Friday and boy what an education this has been! Driving AWD without snow tires is NOT the same as driving AWD WITH snow tires. duh. OK, I know this is common knowledge, and that's why we have snow tires, blah blah blah but it was really obvious to me yesterday and again today when the roads were slick.
OK, enough about driving, snow, winter, cold, wind, etc. Today I volunteered at the thrift store. It wasn't terribly busy so we were able to get a lot done and that was nice. I came home, stoked the stove, cut up a bunch of big cardboard boxes (some of which I retrieved from my mailbox last night), packed up the garbage and went to the dump. Now I'm watching Impeachment TV, mostly because there's not much else on. Bear the dog is staring at me--intently because he thinks it surely must be time for DINNER. not. They're lucky they get to eat at 4:00, let's not push it Bear.
Bear and I walked partway down the road yesterday afternoon. It was cold but also lovely. I do like a decent snowfall, in the beginning at least. I don't know how much of this snow will melt but it's supposed to warm up soon (before it gets cold and snows some more). I've always maintained that I like November. Maybe this year will be the exception.
Sunday, November 10, 2019
To share or not to share
I've neglected this blog for a month now--I'm not sure why but it does make me question the future of it. I write in a journal every night, I email several people daily (some more than once daily) so I feel my existence is well-documented. When I started this blog, many years ago I think I felt a need to try something new and also to reach out to people I didn't communicate with regularly or often. Now I've got my communication patterns well established and lately those patterns don't include posting to a blog. So what does that mean? Oh hell, I'll keep posting and I'll try to do it regularly. Or I'll leave this blog hanging in the air. No, I'll post.
My life has been good during the past month, as it seems to pretty much always be. I have no astonishing or fascinating news to report. We had a huge wind storm and lots of trees came down, it rained hard and lots of rivers rose. My sump pump has been busy. A section of the boardwalk in the bog was upended in a most dramatic way:
Talk about dramatic! The Nature Conservancy's steward came right out and fixed it so all is well now, though it's been icy there so I haven't walked it lately.
The dogs have been traveling (BAD dogs)--they ran off one morning and ended up on the other side of the lake at a friend's house, nearly 5 miles away. I got a phone call an hour after they disappeared--my friend said "Are you missing something?" Boy am I lucky to have good, responsible and caring friends who keep better track of my dogs than I do.
I'm still an archivist. I'm still a thrift store volunteer. Both activities are still enjoyable and worth doing. In the Archives we've scanned and labeled more than 5700 photos in our collection and only have a few hundred left that haven't been processed. The routine for those images is to decide whether we keep them or "deaccession" them (they've been donated, apparently deemed precious and having redeeming value by the donors). Some are really good, many are pictures of scenes or people unidentified and unremarkable. So we look at each image, sometimes we giggle, sometimes we are impressed (in a good way) and we get them ready to be processed. The keepers will be numbered, scanned and described presumably for future use by someone some time in the future. We keep in mind images we've been asked for in the past, using that as a yardstick. Oh the poor images we don't keep! Like the seedlings I can't bear to pull to thin the pots in the spring... not
We had good weather for the rest of October but then things got ugly. We have about three inches of snow on the ground now. It's 29 in the middle of Saturday night, up from 15 Saturday morning. Sunday is supposed to be a warmer day but later this week temps will drop into single digits at night and refuse to rise above freezing during the days. In November? Really? This has made me reconsider my oft-uttered statement of "Oh, I like November, it's a month with no extremes in weather, it's just cold but not bad." The woods are naked so I have a barest of glimpses of water from my living room (you have to use your imagination to know it's water). I closed the boat house at long last but forgot to shut off the power at camp so need to get down there to do that. There's a threat of six more inches of snow in a couple of days so wouldn't I be wise to do that NOW?
The thrift store was incredibly busy this week. Apparently it's a Canadian holiday Monday, another version of Veterans Day, and apparently the way many Canadians celebrate is by shopping in secondhand stores. Wow there was a lot of French flying around. I still enjoy being there--I like the people, I enjoy the work but I get tired after a couple of hours and the store is open for 5 hours. I've yet to be there more than 3 1/2 hours at a stretch. I admire the other volunteers, they work hard and for long hours there.
The dogs are doing well. Bear's splenectomy became a non-issue once the incision healed. He's a great dog (but a BAD dog) and Treasure seems to appreciate him more without a spleen because they now play with each other. Treasure was never interested in chewing on him or gamboling around (good word, huh, gambol) but lately they do a little companionable gnawing on each other. Treasure is 10 now but doing very well, she's slower than Bear but that's always pretty much been true. Except when they run off, then she seems capable of a faster gait.
I'll go to Rhode Island for Thanksgiving, which will be here soon. One thing I am amazed by is how quickly time passes. On a Wednesday I'll say (to myself, thankfully) "How can it be Wednesday, it was just Monday!" I don't like getting older. This morning my mother said to me "So you're 69, right?" Well NO, I'm not, Mother dear, I'm 66 for another month. She's 93 so is excused for many things. We laughed and for the next few days she'll remember how old I am. She writes things down now and has many pieces of paper and notes in her living room and by the telephone. Whether she refers to these notes I don't know but it's a very sweet thing. She is in good shape and has a greater thirst for knowledge than I do. She was curious about impeached presidents so I had a good reference book on the presidents shipped to her. She was thrilled! "It even has information about their wives!" She says she likes to learn things, which I guess we all do, but I'm impressed with her ability to read and remember facts.
Life is good and so am I. I have my winter social life--different from my summer social life but satisfying and lovely. There are 2 couples nearby who like to get together--both around 5 miles away, and both have been visited by my dogs without being transported by me. I guess the dogs make the rounds of summer camps, discover there's no one in residence so keep going until they hit an occupied house. Oh dear.
This week I have an appointment to have snow tires put on the car. Apparently I'm not the only person with that thought, I've had to wait a week for the appointment. I get to Plattsburgh about once a week, have coffee with a good friend (well let's be honest, I don't have any BAD friends, just BAD dogs) and run errands in the Big City. It's very pretty where I live. I have good firewood for my good stove although yesterday I finally did turn on the electric heat in two rooms. rats, I've been putting it off. There aren't many birds at my feeder, just a couple of chickadees and a blue jay. What's up with that? Pass the word, birdies, there's good food at 58OHR.
My life has been good during the past month, as it seems to pretty much always be. I have no astonishing or fascinating news to report. We had a huge wind storm and lots of trees came down, it rained hard and lots of rivers rose. My sump pump has been busy. A section of the boardwalk in the bog was upended in a most dramatic way:
The dogs have been traveling (BAD dogs)--they ran off one morning and ended up on the other side of the lake at a friend's house, nearly 5 miles away. I got a phone call an hour after they disappeared--my friend said "Are you missing something?" Boy am I lucky to have good, responsible and caring friends who keep better track of my dogs than I do.
I'm still an archivist. I'm still a thrift store volunteer. Both activities are still enjoyable and worth doing. In the Archives we've scanned and labeled more than 5700 photos in our collection and only have a few hundred left that haven't been processed. The routine for those images is to decide whether we keep them or "deaccession" them (they've been donated, apparently deemed precious and having redeeming value by the donors). Some are really good, many are pictures of scenes or people unidentified and unremarkable. So we look at each image, sometimes we giggle, sometimes we are impressed (in a good way) and we get them ready to be processed. The keepers will be numbered, scanned and described presumably for future use by someone some time in the future. We keep in mind images we've been asked for in the past, using that as a yardstick. Oh the poor images we don't keep! Like the seedlings I can't bear to pull to thin the pots in the spring... not
We had good weather for the rest of October but then things got ugly. We have about three inches of snow on the ground now. It's 29 in the middle of Saturday night, up from 15 Saturday morning. Sunday is supposed to be a warmer day but later this week temps will drop into single digits at night and refuse to rise above freezing during the days. In November? Really? This has made me reconsider my oft-uttered statement of "Oh, I like November, it's a month with no extremes in weather, it's just cold but not bad." The woods are naked so I have a barest of glimpses of water from my living room (you have to use your imagination to know it's water). I closed the boat house at long last but forgot to shut off the power at camp so need to get down there to do that. There's a threat of six more inches of snow in a couple of days so wouldn't I be wise to do that NOW?
The thrift store was incredibly busy this week. Apparently it's a Canadian holiday Monday, another version of Veterans Day, and apparently the way many Canadians celebrate is by shopping in secondhand stores. Wow there was a lot of French flying around. I still enjoy being there--I like the people, I enjoy the work but I get tired after a couple of hours and the store is open for 5 hours. I've yet to be there more than 3 1/2 hours at a stretch. I admire the other volunteers, they work hard and for long hours there.
The dogs are doing well. Bear's splenectomy became a non-issue once the incision healed. He's a great dog (but a BAD dog) and Treasure seems to appreciate him more without a spleen because they now play with each other. Treasure was never interested in chewing on him or gamboling around (good word, huh, gambol) but lately they do a little companionable gnawing on each other. Treasure is 10 now but doing very well, she's slower than Bear but that's always pretty much been true. Except when they run off, then she seems capable of a faster gait.
I'll go to Rhode Island for Thanksgiving, which will be here soon. One thing I am amazed by is how quickly time passes. On a Wednesday I'll say (to myself, thankfully) "How can it be Wednesday, it was just Monday!" I don't like getting older. This morning my mother said to me "So you're 69, right?" Well NO, I'm not, Mother dear, I'm 66 for another month. She's 93 so is excused for many things. We laughed and for the next few days she'll remember how old I am. She writes things down now and has many pieces of paper and notes in her living room and by the telephone. Whether she refers to these notes I don't know but it's a very sweet thing. She is in good shape and has a greater thirst for knowledge than I do. She was curious about impeached presidents so I had a good reference book on the presidents shipped to her. She was thrilled! "It even has information about their wives!" She says she likes to learn things, which I guess we all do, but I'm impressed with her ability to read and remember facts.
Life is good and so am I. I have my winter social life--different from my summer social life but satisfying and lovely. There are 2 couples nearby who like to get together--both around 5 miles away, and both have been visited by my dogs without being transported by me. I guess the dogs make the rounds of summer camps, discover there's no one in residence so keep going until they hit an occupied house. Oh dear.
This week I have an appointment to have snow tires put on the car. Apparently I'm not the only person with that thought, I've had to wait a week for the appointment. I get to Plattsburgh about once a week, have coffee with a good friend (well let's be honest, I don't have any BAD friends, just BAD dogs) and run errands in the Big City. It's very pretty where I live. I have good firewood for my good stove although yesterday I finally did turn on the electric heat in two rooms. rats, I've been putting it off. There aren't many birds at my feeder, just a couple of chickadees and a blue jay. What's up with that? Pass the word, birdies, there's good food at 58OHR.
Monday, October 07, 2019
Peak is peaked
Although the woods are gorgeous these days, we're not having the brilliant color we usually have. Colors are a bit muted this year, that leads to a lot of complaints from locals and leaf peepers but I just enjoy the colors.
The last of my summer friends left yesterday, back to Michigan they went. Now the 'hood is quiet--there's just one of my Plattsburgh friends who summers here, though other friends are here. They come throughout the year and since both are retired they're spending much more time here. We go to the gym together most mornings, now that it's too dark to walk the bog early in the day.
It's a rainy day today but nice and warm, temp is now 58. Since it was 29 the other morning I'm just wallowing in the the warmth. I'm up now because Bear said he needed, NEEDED to go out then have a snack when he came in. Treasure is amenable to any time spent outside and especially any time there's food in her bowl.
No big plans for the week, today is dump day and I have a big load to take. Wednesday I take Bear to Plattsburgh to have his staples removed and I promised a friend I would at last have my shingles shot while I'm in town. I need to have my pneumonia shot and flu shots as well but that will come later. Just fill me full of holes.
Next weekend is Columbus Day, the final celebration. There will be plenty of people here and the weather looks pretty good, not too cold and even some sunshine. There will be color left for visitors.
Life is good. Thrift store, Archives, gym, friends, dogs, good weather.
The last of my summer friends left yesterday, back to Michigan they went. Now the 'hood is quiet--there's just one of my Plattsburgh friends who summers here, though other friends are here. They come throughout the year and since both are retired they're spending much more time here. We go to the gym together most mornings, now that it's too dark to walk the bog early in the day.
It's a rainy day today but nice and warm, temp is now 58. Since it was 29 the other morning I'm just wallowing in the the warmth. I'm up now because Bear said he needed, NEEDED to go out then have a snack when he came in. Treasure is amenable to any time spent outside and especially any time there's food in her bowl.
No big plans for the week, today is dump day and I have a big load to take. Wednesday I take Bear to Plattsburgh to have his staples removed and I promised a friend I would at last have my shingles shot while I'm in town. I need to have my pneumonia shot and flu shots as well but that will come later. Just fill me full of holes.
Next weekend is Columbus Day, the final celebration. There will be plenty of people here and the weather looks pretty good, not too cold and even some sunshine. There will be color left for visitors.
Life is good. Thrift store, Archives, gym, friends, dogs, good weather.
Saturday, September 28, 2019
Honest autumn
OK, so I took a month off...
We're having an honest autumn here now, the trees are coloring up nicely and the air has that autumnal feel to it. The weather has been wonderful but next week, late in the week we're supposed to have highs in the 50's. I think I won't like that much but then it will give me a chance to wear jackets I haven't worn in a long time and that's always entertaining (briefly).
I had a good month, some very nice fall dock time with my friend--it's our tradition to sit on her dock in the September sunshine then get in the icy water and squeal a lot. The last time we did this the water was lovely, this was last week (my journal tells me). I do love September.
I spent almost a week in the Midwest and it was even better than I anticipated, what wonderful people my Rockford friends are. I think only 1 or 2 of the 15 of us still lives in Rockford, but many are still in the Midwest. I flew to Minneapolis, spent a night in Chippewa Falls (Wisc.) with friends then drove pretty much the length of Wisconsin to Lake Geneva where we met up with the rest of the women. I have been going to these gatherings for many years now, and first felt more like an outsider but kept going anyway (why?). Now I feel very much a part of this group and feel embraced by them. They are kind, loving, bright and funny. It was a really nice experience and I look forward to our next gathering--we pretty much get together every 2 years. It costs a lot of money for me to go but as I say, it's a group I like being part of.
I boarded the dogs while I was away ($400, thank you very much) and they were fine. Treasure was happy and relieved to see me but Bear never likes to let me know how much he really likes me. Yes, he wagged his tail but mostly he explored the dog sledding equipment stored in the room where I was having a long dog talk with the kennel owner (about Bear's behavior on a leash).
Bear was suddenly quite ill this week so I rushed him to the vet in Plattsburgh (the BIG vet) where they xrayed and blooded him, discovering a mass in his abdomen. Boy did my heart drop at that news. They operated on him that night (Tuesday), removed the mass and his spleen and I retrieved him the following day. He is recovering incredibly well, the huge incision is good and he is almost as bouncy and energetic as ever. He must be walked on a leash but he is so very good at peeing and pooping when leash-bound.
One night this week I went out with friends to a restaurant for a library benefit and it turned out to be Trivia Night. I am NOT a group gameplayer but we formed a team and had a lot of fun playing. Our team came in 3rd (out of how many? is the most important thing--about a dozen), did quite well I think. I knew that Elvis died in 1977 but didn't know that Greenland was the largest island in the world.
Now it's 1:30 and I'm a few days behind in my journaling (unforgivable!). Friends are leaving soon, some Tuesday, some soon after that. Other friends will arrive for Columbus Day and that will be that. The color this year looks to be very very bright and lovely. I will find out whether Bear's abdominal mass was malignant. That's scary but he's my Bear. He's a Dog. He's a Bear Dog.
We're having an honest autumn here now, the trees are coloring up nicely and the air has that autumnal feel to it. The weather has been wonderful but next week, late in the week we're supposed to have highs in the 50's. I think I won't like that much but then it will give me a chance to wear jackets I haven't worn in a long time and that's always entertaining (briefly).
I had a good month, some very nice fall dock time with my friend--it's our tradition to sit on her dock in the September sunshine then get in the icy water and squeal a lot. The last time we did this the water was lovely, this was last week (my journal tells me). I do love September.
I spent almost a week in the Midwest and it was even better than I anticipated, what wonderful people my Rockford friends are. I think only 1 or 2 of the 15 of us still lives in Rockford, but many are still in the Midwest. I flew to Minneapolis, spent a night in Chippewa Falls (Wisc.) with friends then drove pretty much the length of Wisconsin to Lake Geneva where we met up with the rest of the women. I have been going to these gatherings for many years now, and first felt more like an outsider but kept going anyway (why?). Now I feel very much a part of this group and feel embraced by them. They are kind, loving, bright and funny. It was a really nice experience and I look forward to our next gathering--we pretty much get together every 2 years. It costs a lot of money for me to go but as I say, it's a group I like being part of.
I boarded the dogs while I was away ($400, thank you very much) and they were fine. Treasure was happy and relieved to see me but Bear never likes to let me know how much he really likes me. Yes, he wagged his tail but mostly he explored the dog sledding equipment stored in the room where I was having a long dog talk with the kennel owner (about Bear's behavior on a leash).
Bear was suddenly quite ill this week so I rushed him to the vet in Plattsburgh (the BIG vet) where they xrayed and blooded him, discovering a mass in his abdomen. Boy did my heart drop at that news. They operated on him that night (Tuesday), removed the mass and his spleen and I retrieved him the following day. He is recovering incredibly well, the huge incision is good and he is almost as bouncy and energetic as ever. He must be walked on a leash but he is so very good at peeing and pooping when leash-bound.
One night this week I went out with friends to a restaurant for a library benefit and it turned out to be Trivia Night. I am NOT a group gameplayer but we formed a team and had a lot of fun playing. Our team came in 3rd (out of how many? is the most important thing--about a dozen), did quite well I think. I knew that Elvis died in 1977 but didn't know that Greenland was the largest island in the world.
Now it's 1:30 and I'm a few days behind in my journaling (unforgivable!). Friends are leaving soon, some Tuesday, some soon after that. Other friends will arrive for Columbus Day and that will be that. The color this year looks to be very very bright and lovely. I will find out whether Bear's abdominal mass was malignant. That's scary but he's my Bear. He's a Dog. He's a Bear Dog.
Saturday, August 31, 2019
Autumnal nights
We're having a bit of autumn here, chilly nights and clear cool days. It's absolutely lovely. Some of the maple trees are starting to turn but mostly it's still quite green (with a bit of yellow here and there).
I did go to RI after all, went last week for a few days to see my mother. She wasn't keen on having me come but we ended up doing well together, as usual. I was helpful to her, did grocery shopping for her and bought extras of things so she wouldn't have to go for a while. She seems to be reaching a point where she doesn't really want to go to the store again. An hour after I left to come home she fell from her chair and landed on the rug. She wasn't hurt but it was upsetting (for me and for her). She couldn't get herself up, couldn't reach Mark so she pushed her magic button on her wristband and the EMTs and police came and helped her up. All was fine but I found this to be terribly TERRIBLY sad. I think I need to get used to this sort of thing, as much as I'm able.
Other than the trip I haven't been doing much but seem to keep busy enough. Work is going well, we're still scanning photos, have about 1000 left to do before we process the bunches we have that have yet to be added to the collection. Those are a problem because mostly they don't have any information or identification of people or places, they're just photos people have donated in recent years.
Summer friends are still in residence, some will be until Columbus Day then we'll switch to winter mode socially. I'm going to the Midwest next weekend, spending a week with friends I've known since childhood. There are about 16 or 18 of us, we'll stay in a house we've rented in Lake Geneva. We get together fairly often, every few years. It's all women, friends of mine from my ancient past in Rockford, Brownies, junior high school, high school. I'm the only one who's single and only 3 of us are childless--most of the rest now have granchildren, yikes.
The dogs have not been very good recently, they ran off the other day and showed up in a friend's kitchen. She called me, I went to retrieve them but they'd moved on by then, on to some other friends' camp. Back they went to the first place, she called me again, again I missed them but that time they were on their way home. The other morning they ran off at 6:00 while I was waiting for my friend to walk with me. We walked the bog doglessly and the dogs met us as we were coming out of the bog. BAD DOGS. Now they're snoring on the couch beside me, dreaming no doubt of their freedom. I have to board them while I'm in Wisconsin. I have a good kennel, the people raise Siberian huskies and my dogs have been there before and done well so I'm not worried. It's expensive but they're well cared for there.
My sister has been scanning photos from our childhood. Here's what my sister and I looked like in the early 50's when we lived in Turkey (that's my brother in the background)--that's me on the right.
I did go to RI after all, went last week for a few days to see my mother. She wasn't keen on having me come but we ended up doing well together, as usual. I was helpful to her, did grocery shopping for her and bought extras of things so she wouldn't have to go for a while. She seems to be reaching a point where she doesn't really want to go to the store again. An hour after I left to come home she fell from her chair and landed on the rug. She wasn't hurt but it was upsetting (for me and for her). She couldn't get herself up, couldn't reach Mark so she pushed her magic button on her wristband and the EMTs and police came and helped her up. All was fine but I found this to be terribly TERRIBLY sad. I think I need to get used to this sort of thing, as much as I'm able.
Other than the trip I haven't been doing much but seem to keep busy enough. Work is going well, we're still scanning photos, have about 1000 left to do before we process the bunches we have that have yet to be added to the collection. Those are a problem because mostly they don't have any information or identification of people or places, they're just photos people have donated in recent years.
Summer friends are still in residence, some will be until Columbus Day then we'll switch to winter mode socially. I'm going to the Midwest next weekend, spending a week with friends I've known since childhood. There are about 16 or 18 of us, we'll stay in a house we've rented in Lake Geneva. We get together fairly often, every few years. It's all women, friends of mine from my ancient past in Rockford, Brownies, junior high school, high school. I'm the only one who's single and only 3 of us are childless--most of the rest now have granchildren, yikes.
The dogs have not been very good recently, they ran off the other day and showed up in a friend's kitchen. She called me, I went to retrieve them but they'd moved on by then, on to some other friends' camp. Back they went to the first place, she called me again, again I missed them but that time they were on their way home. The other morning they ran off at 6:00 while I was waiting for my friend to walk with me. We walked the bog doglessly and the dogs met us as we were coming out of the bog. BAD DOGS. Now they're snoring on the couch beside me, dreaming no doubt of their freedom. I have to board them while I'm in Wisconsin. I have a good kennel, the people raise Siberian huskies and my dogs have been there before and done well so I'm not worried. It's expensive but they're well cared for there.
My sister has been scanning photos from our childhood. Here's what my sister and I looked like in the early 50's when we lived in Turkey (that's my brother in the background)--that's me on the right.
Friday, August 16, 2019
Oh it's busy all right
August is busier than July was, both for me and for the Adks in general. Traffic is way different, so many more cars!
I've been having good times visiting with friends, walking every morning with the dogs and a friend or two. Bear didn't think that was good enough one day, he went to a friend's camp at 7 (the dogs ran off while I was getting dressed--well EXCUSE ME for wanting to get dressed in my bedroom instead of the living room. He showed up at my friend's (she doesn't get up until 9:00), banged on the their door and barked a lot, a LOT. OK, so he got let in, I was called and while he was waiting for me to get him he got 6 treats. Oh that will keep him from doing that again, for sure. Treasure came home, grinning and saying "Bear's in big trouble." Of course he didn't get in trouble, he got treats.
I still haven't been back to the thrift store, I guess I'm taking the summer off. It's great to have all this free time but right now I'm wondering what I should do next. Deadhead the flowers? Cut some tall grass with the weedeater? Read the library book I checked out (yes, I actually checked out a book)? Vacuum dog hair in the living room and bedroom? Replant the geraniums? No need to pick cucumbers, Bear has eaten them all, even though they were infants only 2 inches long.
I'm not going to RI this month, those plans were changed. I may go in October, I would like to see my mother--but then I'll be going in November and December so why go in October too? September is out, it's busy and beautiful here.
Weather has been good, some gorgeous August days. You can tell autumn is coming, there's something in the air and the nights are cool. One day my friend and I swam in very cold water, yesterday I swam in water that was just the right temperature, boy was it great. I'm sure the water in the lake doesn't change temperature that much but the difference was notable.
A gorgeous and bright moon last night--someone said it was called the sturgeon moon. I should look that up.
No big plans coming up, breakfast with friends yesterday, perhaps a trip to Plattsburgh tomorrow, a trip to a farm stand this afternoon. Work is good. Home is good. Dogs are, well, they are good. Mostly.
I've been having good times visiting with friends, walking every morning with the dogs and a friend or two. Bear didn't think that was good enough one day, he went to a friend's camp at 7 (the dogs ran off while I was getting dressed--well EXCUSE ME for wanting to get dressed in my bedroom instead of the living room. He showed up at my friend's (she doesn't get up until 9:00), banged on the their door and barked a lot, a LOT. OK, so he got let in, I was called and while he was waiting for me to get him he got 6 treats. Oh that will keep him from doing that again, for sure. Treasure came home, grinning and saying "Bear's in big trouble." Of course he didn't get in trouble, he got treats.
I still haven't been back to the thrift store, I guess I'm taking the summer off. It's great to have all this free time but right now I'm wondering what I should do next. Deadhead the flowers? Cut some tall grass with the weedeater? Read the library book I checked out (yes, I actually checked out a book)? Vacuum dog hair in the living room and bedroom? Replant the geraniums? No need to pick cucumbers, Bear has eaten them all, even though they were infants only 2 inches long.
I'm not going to RI this month, those plans were changed. I may go in October, I would like to see my mother--but then I'll be going in November and December so why go in October too? September is out, it's busy and beautiful here.
Weather has been good, some gorgeous August days. You can tell autumn is coming, there's something in the air and the nights are cool. One day my friend and I swam in very cold water, yesterday I swam in water that was just the right temperature, boy was it great. I'm sure the water in the lake doesn't change temperature that much but the difference was notable.
A gorgeous and bright moon last night--someone said it was called the sturgeon moon. I should look that up.
No big plans coming up, breakfast with friends yesterday, perhaps a trip to Plattsburgh tomorrow, a trip to a farm stand this afternoon. Work is good. Home is good. Dogs are, well, they are good. Mostly.
Sunday, August 11, 2019
Rain. Sun. Clouds.
We've had some great rains, my deck plants are well watered now. Yesterday was cold--OK,not COLD but chilly. I was with friends for coffee in the morning, came home chilled so built a fire. I'd say it was the first of the season but the season hasn't started yet.
I've been walking every morning still--Bear now expects to see the bog at 7 each morning, he sits by the door waiting. Today I went to the farmers market that's on Sunday mornings--went with friends and bought not too much stuff but enough. I bought some sheeps milk yogurt to try it out. Boy I'm strange.
Dinner with friends tonight, a quiet day tomorrow with maybe a dump run. Dinner with friends Tuesday night then a whole lot of empty squares on my calendar. Whew!
I've been reading the book group book, The book woman of Troublesome Creek, which is more than slightly depressing but also sort of interesting. It's about Kentucky in the 1930's, full of poor people and about some blue-skinned people, one of whom is a library person who rides her mule around delivering books and magazines to people in the hills. Do I want to be reminded of bookmobile-style service? Not a bit. I looked up the blue-skinned people and they really did exist. So did the mule-riding library service providers. I'm halfway through the book and not terribly interested in finishing it because I know, just KNOW that bad things are going to happen. I just checked with a friend who's read it, though and she told me the mule does not die so at least I can stop worrying about that.
The dogs are fine, they sure do like their morning walks. They eat dropped apples along the road. There's one tree that's loaded with apples but they're still small and very tart. My apple trees aren't offering much fruit this year.
Life is good, as always.
I've been walking every morning still--Bear now expects to see the bog at 7 each morning, he sits by the door waiting. Today I went to the farmers market that's on Sunday mornings--went with friends and bought not too much stuff but enough. I bought some sheeps milk yogurt to try it out. Boy I'm strange.
Dinner with friends tonight, a quiet day tomorrow with maybe a dump run. Dinner with friends Tuesday night then a whole lot of empty squares on my calendar. Whew!
I've been reading the book group book, The book woman of Troublesome Creek, which is more than slightly depressing but also sort of interesting. It's about Kentucky in the 1930's, full of poor people and about some blue-skinned people, one of whom is a library person who rides her mule around delivering books and magazines to people in the hills. Do I want to be reminded of bookmobile-style service? Not a bit. I looked up the blue-skinned people and they really did exist. So did the mule-riding library service providers. I'm halfway through the book and not terribly interested in finishing it because I know, just KNOW that bad things are going to happen. I just checked with a friend who's read it, though and she told me the mule does not die so at least I can stop worrying about that.
The dogs are fine, they sure do like their morning walks. They eat dropped apples along the road. There's one tree that's loaded with apples but they're still small and very tart. My apple trees aren't offering much fruit this year.
Life is good, as always.
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