These are mountains you see from the back roads of Wadhams/Lewis. Very pretty. Not much snow.
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
The Wadhams library
This is the tiny Wadhams library, which is actually very nice inside. They finally got heat so she no longer has to stoke the wood stove. They almost doubled the size of the library a few years ago with the addition.
The Boquet River falls in Wadhams
This is the river next to the library in Wadhams. The director of the library runs a hydroelectric plant here. Our directors are talented people.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Thanksgiving
After a hellacious trip to RI, I had a great visit and really nice time. It snowed on Weds., the day I drove down, and by the time I was set to leave (8:00) there was at least 8" of heavy wet snow. My road hadn't been plowed yet and I tried driving out but didn't get far--just past the end of my driveway, by the bog. Swell. The car was stuck, stuck, stuck. Lousy tires, deep snow. New tires, but lousy nevertheless. I walked home, called my plow man, called the town Highway Supervisor (who told me they were "coming to me"). Plow man showed up (my hero), plow never did until after I'd left. Donny towed my car to the hardtop, then to the top of the hill there. I had waited in the car for more than an hour, but that was OK because I just listened to my book (Thousand splendid suns--depressing Afghan story).
So by 10 I was on the road. The roads were terrible, including the Northway, so I went 45 until about Lake George. It was not pleasant driving but I survived. I've sure driven through worse. I got to RI around 4, happy to be there. Jenica arrived later at night--her trip was much better than mine, she went a different way through the mountains.
Thursday I made the Martha Stewart pumpkin pie we have every year (secret ingredient, as I've reported=chili powder). Liza cooked the turkey & stuffing, but it's getting harder for her to remember how to do things like that. "What, is this the first turkey you've ever cooked?" I helped, mostly just encouraging her.
We had our celebratory breakfast of bagels, lox, capers, cream cheese, bacon--the Eat Like a Pig Event. We did well, snort snort.
Mark & I walked Tess in the park. I took Chances to RI but she stayed home when we went anywhere. She's doing all right--she did better at Liza's because Liza has more rugs. I'm still not sure what to do about her. She survived the trip just fine but was having more trouble this morning, not walking well--but last night she went under the house on her own. not that I like it when they go there, but it was a good thing to see her do.
Thanksgiving dinner was great, as it always is. Good food and plenty of it. Quiet night after that.
Friday we went shopping, but only to a couple of local places. I wanted to look for earrings like the ones I bought in the summer (and promptly lost one of)--didn't find them but managed to find a couple of cheap pairs I liked anyway. After shopping we went to the beach for a really nice walk. Even Liza went. Tess did very well on a leash, after she had a chance to run full bore for a while. My dogs are not really used to leash-walking so I'm always impressed when they behave well on a leash.
After the beach we went to Champlin's for our lobsters and clams--took them home and cooked them for dinner. Delicious.
Saturday Jenica left in the morning, then Liza, Mark & I went shopping for Liza's new vacuum cleaner. This was a big deal, but we finally found one at Sears, good enough but not the biggest or best. After Sears we hit a couple more stores, then stopped at the pottery sale by URI. An annual event. Both the sale and our going there. Just when I think I don't need any more pottery I find a nice little bowl for $8.
Sunday morning I left--it was a drag there because my mother's dog fell down in the kitchen & couldn't get back up. She's a cross dog and growls, has bitten my mother, so you can't really help her up. She stayed splayed out on the floor for hours. So I left at 9, got out of the way. My trip home was fine, a bit of traffic here & there. I stopped at the outlet stores to do some shopping, found a few things like socks, etc. Nothing dramatic.
It was good to get home. The house was chilly but warmed up when I built a fire. Most of the snow had melted and Donny had plowed so I could drive to the house. Kitty was fine but is still pretty clingy. She doesn't like to be left alone, and she hates being left indoors. She survived just fine, but managed to throw up in 3 or 4 places. She didn't quite finish the huge amount of food I left for her (the dogs cleaned up the bowl).
Back to work yesterday, staff luncheon. Command performance. I made a cabbage salad, and the dressing spilled in the front seat on the way to work. Of course.
So by 10 I was on the road. The roads were terrible, including the Northway, so I went 45 until about Lake George. It was not pleasant driving but I survived. I've sure driven through worse. I got to RI around 4, happy to be there. Jenica arrived later at night--her trip was much better than mine, she went a different way through the mountains.
Thursday I made the Martha Stewart pumpkin pie we have every year (secret ingredient, as I've reported=chili powder). Liza cooked the turkey & stuffing, but it's getting harder for her to remember how to do things like that. "What, is this the first turkey you've ever cooked?" I helped, mostly just encouraging her.
We had our celebratory breakfast of bagels, lox, capers, cream cheese, bacon--the Eat Like a Pig Event. We did well, snort snort.
Mark & I walked Tess in the park. I took Chances to RI but she stayed home when we went anywhere. She's doing all right--she did better at Liza's because Liza has more rugs. I'm still not sure what to do about her. She survived the trip just fine but was having more trouble this morning, not walking well--but last night she went under the house on her own. not that I like it when they go there, but it was a good thing to see her do.
Thanksgiving dinner was great, as it always is. Good food and plenty of it. Quiet night after that.
Friday we went shopping, but only to a couple of local places. I wanted to look for earrings like the ones I bought in the summer (and promptly lost one of)--didn't find them but managed to find a couple of cheap pairs I liked anyway. After shopping we went to the beach for a really nice walk. Even Liza went. Tess did very well on a leash, after she had a chance to run full bore for a while. My dogs are not really used to leash-walking so I'm always impressed when they behave well on a leash.
After the beach we went to Champlin's for our lobsters and clams--took them home and cooked them for dinner. Delicious.
Saturday Jenica left in the morning, then Liza, Mark & I went shopping for Liza's new vacuum cleaner. This was a big deal, but we finally found one at Sears, good enough but not the biggest or best. After Sears we hit a couple more stores, then stopped at the pottery sale by URI. An annual event. Both the sale and our going there. Just when I think I don't need any more pottery I find a nice little bowl for $8.
Sunday morning I left--it was a drag there because my mother's dog fell down in the kitchen & couldn't get back up. She's a cross dog and growls, has bitten my mother, so you can't really help her up. She stayed splayed out on the floor for hours. So I left at 9, got out of the way. My trip home was fine, a bit of traffic here & there. I stopped at the outlet stores to do some shopping, found a few things like socks, etc. Nothing dramatic.
It was good to get home. The house was chilly but warmed up when I built a fire. Most of the snow had melted and Donny had plowed so I could drive to the house. Kitty was fine but is still pretty clingy. She doesn't like to be left alone, and she hates being left indoors. She survived just fine, but managed to throw up in 3 or 4 places. She didn't quite finish the huge amount of food I left for her (the dogs cleaned up the bowl).
Back to work yesterday, staff luncheon. Command performance. I made a cabbage salad, and the dressing spilled in the front seat on the way to work. Of course.
009
The beach. We had a nice beach time. Liza sat in her chair and looked at the water, Mark, Jenica and I walked with Tess to the end of the beach & back. It was a warm day--me in a t-shirt and no coat. Everyone else bundled up, but I'm in no hurry to start wearing jackets.
Tess
Tess hates to have her picture taken. We spent a lot of time trying to get a picture of her "looking like a dog." This is about the best I could do. She looks very skeptical.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Thanksgiving trip
I think my road trip to RI tomorrow will really suck--snow in the north, heavy rain in the south--but once I get there it should be great. Sunny and 50's. Ahhhhh. I guess we're supposed to get something like 4" or so, which I guess shouldn't be a surprise. We've only had a tiny bit of snow here & there so far. It's hard to believe that some years the lake freezes by Christmas, we're so far from that right now. The lake freezing, not Christmas.
I'll leave tomorrow morning--nothing more fun than packing a car in the snow, then return on Sunday. I'm looking forward to being there and visiting with Liza, Mark and Jenica. Relaxing, good food (lobsters, of course) and plenty of restful time. I don't have a great bunch of books this time; I usually take a pile of books for people to read (sometimes librarians just can't help being librarians) but this time I'm without great inspiration. I looked over a zillion books here at work yesterday without finding much. I do have a bunch of paperback discards for Jenica. The author shall remain nameless, but Jen has a favorite mass market author and I try to provide her with books from time to time.
I think I'll go to Burlington tonight to visit my friend in the hospital there. I talked to her yesterday & she said she was feeling better but was depressed. I offered to stop on my way to RI (which would mean going the long way, through Vt and NH) but she said her daughter will visit her on Weds., so I offered to go tonight. Will finalize plans later today. Not thrilled with the idea of going, but it so much sucks being in the hospital that if I can offer distraction and maybe cheer I'll go.
I stoked the stove before leaving this morning, plus left the heat on. It was cold--15, and frosty. Don't think it's supposed to get higher than in the 30's today, though the sun should help warm things. I have errand to run before leaving for RI--must buy all the stuff to make the pumpkin pie (Martha Stewart recipe) plus wine plus must get meds at drug store. Whew. I could have done some of this last night but had to work until 5 and just felt like getting out of town. So now I deal with that.
Chances is doing well. She seems to stand more than she used to, and does a pretty good imitation of walking on rugs. She still slumps down sometimes, her hind end just sliding out from under her. And she's very tottery. Pretty depressing but I think she's improving. I'm not very optimistic about a full recovery but she's so sweet and brave.
Had book group on Sunday night (Chris Bohjalian's Secrets of Eden) and we had Thanksgiving dinner at Marylou's. It was great, delicious food and a really nice time. I made gallons of rice and mushrooms, not sure why I made so much but it was tasty and was dinner last night. The turkey and stuffing (by Andy) were fantastic. We skip a December meeting and will meet in January at my house so everyone can admire my Christmas tree, which will go up after Thanksgiving sometime. We're reading Erik Larson's In the garden of beasts, which is Berlin in WWII but is supposed to be really good.
I went Christmas shopping with Lin on Saturday, didn't get much more than groceries but we had a good time. Had lunch out, checked out a few stores without much luck, made plans to shop in Saranac Lake and maybe Lake Placid after Thanksgiving. My it sounds as if there will be a lot of activity after Thanksgiving, doesn't it.
Happy Thanksgiving to all--
I'll leave tomorrow morning--nothing more fun than packing a car in the snow, then return on Sunday. I'm looking forward to being there and visiting with Liza, Mark and Jenica. Relaxing, good food (lobsters, of course) and plenty of restful time. I don't have a great bunch of books this time; I usually take a pile of books for people to read (sometimes librarians just can't help being librarians) but this time I'm without great inspiration. I looked over a zillion books here at work yesterday without finding much. I do have a bunch of paperback discards for Jenica. The author shall remain nameless, but Jen has a favorite mass market author and I try to provide her with books from time to time.
I think I'll go to Burlington tonight to visit my friend in the hospital there. I talked to her yesterday & she said she was feeling better but was depressed. I offered to stop on my way to RI (which would mean going the long way, through Vt and NH) but she said her daughter will visit her on Weds., so I offered to go tonight. Will finalize plans later today. Not thrilled with the idea of going, but it so much sucks being in the hospital that if I can offer distraction and maybe cheer I'll go.
I stoked the stove before leaving this morning, plus left the heat on. It was cold--15, and frosty. Don't think it's supposed to get higher than in the 30's today, though the sun should help warm things. I have errand to run before leaving for RI--must buy all the stuff to make the pumpkin pie (Martha Stewart recipe) plus wine plus must get meds at drug store. Whew. I could have done some of this last night but had to work until 5 and just felt like getting out of town. So now I deal with that.
Chances is doing well. She seems to stand more than she used to, and does a pretty good imitation of walking on rugs. She still slumps down sometimes, her hind end just sliding out from under her. And she's very tottery. Pretty depressing but I think she's improving. I'm not very optimistic about a full recovery but she's so sweet and brave.
Had book group on Sunday night (Chris Bohjalian's Secrets of Eden) and we had Thanksgiving dinner at Marylou's. It was great, delicious food and a really nice time. I made gallons of rice and mushrooms, not sure why I made so much but it was tasty and was dinner last night. The turkey and stuffing (by Andy) were fantastic. We skip a December meeting and will meet in January at my house so everyone can admire my Christmas tree, which will go up after Thanksgiving sometime. We're reading Erik Larson's In the garden of beasts, which is Berlin in WWII but is supposed to be really good.
I went Christmas shopping with Lin on Saturday, didn't get much more than groceries but we had a good time. Had lunch out, checked out a few stores without much luck, made plans to shop in Saranac Lake and maybe Lake Placid after Thanksgiving. My it sounds as if there will be a lot of activity after Thanksgiving, doesn't it.
Happy Thanksgiving to all--
Plenty of apples for the deer ... and dogs
It was a banner year for apples & other fruit. The other apple trees on my land (an old orchard) are pretty bare, but these apples are haning on. I interrupt deer grazing beneath the trees, and Tess has had a great time eating apples this fall. My friend Lin made the best-ever grape jellly from grapes she picked this year. I ate too much of the jelly, but it was sooooo sweet and delicious.
Pitcher plant in winter plumage
I can't say pitcher plant are ever really attractive, but here's what they look like in the off-season. They're pretty cool carnivorous plants, though.
squirrel track, which would be really cute if squirrels weren't such rodents
squirrel track, which would be really cute if squirrels weren's such rodents, a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.
Bun-bun tracks
Front feet of a snowshow hare/varying hare. Hind feet are big, hence the name snowshoe hare. They're dappled right now, turning white for winter, hence the name varying hare.
Just a bit of snow in the bog Saturday morning
Nice peaceful but chilly walk in the bog with Tess. It still seems strange to walk with only one dog, and Tess seems a bit puzzled too.
The mountain from across my road
I just need to cut down that clump of pines, and I'll have a good view--
Friday, November 18, 2011
Must be time
It must be time to write something. I write a lot and lose track of what I've written for what or to whom. I write a letter to my mother every week, I write a Friday email to a bunch of relatives and friends, I write to my friend in Illinois who had a stroke (or something close enough to that to debilitate her), and I write in my journal every day. Pretty much every day. I make sure there's an entry for each day, even if I have to back peddle and fill in the days. Like last night, when I had to recreate 3 days worth of activities. Entries like that are brief and not particularly noteworthy. Of course, not much in my journal is noteworthy--my family and I use it as a reference tool sometimes. Which Christmas was it that ...? Check my journal. I used to use it to settle arguments with my ex-husband, which gives you an idea of what kind of marriage we had. Being right was very important to him. Probably still is.
I had a fairly quiet week. Went to Burlington last week, nice trip to see my friend in the hospital there. Very pretty ferry ride, full moon in daylight. Called a children's moon, because (supposedly) it's the only kind of moon children can see before they go to bed. Or so.
I had a quiet weekend, didn't accomplish a whole lot but felt ok about it. On Sunday I joined the neighbors for the weekly gathering at noon and ended up staying for lunch. That was nice. It was a light meal, nothing like the Sunday dinners I always shared with Ken. I still managed to gain 3 pounds this week, but it's the same three pounds I lost last week so it's not a big deal.
Wednesday night I met Fred and Bill for dinner here in Plattsburgh and we had a good time. Good food, good company. Poor Bill is having terrible back problems but he showed up in spite of it. I ate like a pig and still had plenty to take home. burp.
The dogs are doing all right. I can't really tell if Chances is getting better, the improvements would be slight and slow to show up. She still can't walk more than a couple of steps, and sometimes just gives up and sits down. She sort of hops with her hind legs sometimes. I think she's at least as frustrated as I am but at least she's learned to bark when she needs help coming up the stairs to come inside. Clever girl.
I walked the bog on Saturday, when it was chilly and there was a bit of snow. We got more snow last night, not more than half an inch by morning. Heavy snow on the way home from work in the dark--just to remind me of what's to come.
I worked 10-5 today, which was really nice. I have to use up a little time so decided to stay home an extra hour this morning. Very peaceful, and it gave me a chance to build a good fire to warm up the living room. I stoked the fire, a good habit to get into now that it's colder. I've been having fires but have been lazy about keeping them going, which means the electric heat is on more. $$$$
Tomorrow I'm planning to go Christmas shopping with my friend Lin. We'll come to Plattsburgh, shop, visit, have lunch, shop--she never buys much, but I always spend plenty of money. Sunday is our book group Thanksgiving dinner. I finally figured out what I'll take (rice and mushrooms) but don't have the energy or drive to buy supplies tonight so I'll make poor Lin go to the grocery store tomorrow. I've been buying odds & ends of presents for a while, but have nothing much for anyone. Nor do I have ideas. I'll talk to Liza and Mark next week about what we'll do for Christmas. Not much I'm hoping.
I'm off to Rhode Island on Weds., will stay there until Sunday. I'm looking forward to the trip--Thanksgiving is a favorite holiday, since it's straightforward and mostly about a meal. And of course we'll have lobsters one night. Jenica will be there, which makes it more special. I'll be interested to hear what everyone there has to say about Chances and her situation. I'm so uncertain about it. Sometimes I think I can last a long time with her struggling like this, other times I don't see how much longer I can stand to deal with it. A normal response, I think.
I had a fairly quiet week. Went to Burlington last week, nice trip to see my friend in the hospital there. Very pretty ferry ride, full moon in daylight. Called a children's moon, because (supposedly) it's the only kind of moon children can see before they go to bed. Or so.
I had a quiet weekend, didn't accomplish a whole lot but felt ok about it. On Sunday I joined the neighbors for the weekly gathering at noon and ended up staying for lunch. That was nice. It was a light meal, nothing like the Sunday dinners I always shared with Ken. I still managed to gain 3 pounds this week, but it's the same three pounds I lost last week so it's not a big deal.
Wednesday night I met Fred and Bill for dinner here in Plattsburgh and we had a good time. Good food, good company. Poor Bill is having terrible back problems but he showed up in spite of it. I ate like a pig and still had plenty to take home. burp.
The dogs are doing all right. I can't really tell if Chances is getting better, the improvements would be slight and slow to show up. She still can't walk more than a couple of steps, and sometimes just gives up and sits down. She sort of hops with her hind legs sometimes. I think she's at least as frustrated as I am but at least she's learned to bark when she needs help coming up the stairs to come inside. Clever girl.
I walked the bog on Saturday, when it was chilly and there was a bit of snow. We got more snow last night, not more than half an inch by morning. Heavy snow on the way home from work in the dark--just to remind me of what's to come.
I worked 10-5 today, which was really nice. I have to use up a little time so decided to stay home an extra hour this morning. Very peaceful, and it gave me a chance to build a good fire to warm up the living room. I stoked the fire, a good habit to get into now that it's colder. I've been having fires but have been lazy about keeping them going, which means the electric heat is on more. $$$$
Tomorrow I'm planning to go Christmas shopping with my friend Lin. We'll come to Plattsburgh, shop, visit, have lunch, shop--she never buys much, but I always spend plenty of money. Sunday is our book group Thanksgiving dinner. I finally figured out what I'll take (rice and mushrooms) but don't have the energy or drive to buy supplies tonight so I'll make poor Lin go to the grocery store tomorrow. I've been buying odds & ends of presents for a while, but have nothing much for anyone. Nor do I have ideas. I'll talk to Liza and Mark next week about what we'll do for Christmas. Not much I'm hoping.
I'm off to Rhode Island on Weds., will stay there until Sunday. I'm looking forward to the trip--Thanksgiving is a favorite holiday, since it's straightforward and mostly about a meal. And of course we'll have lobsters one night. Jenica will be there, which makes it more special. I'll be interested to hear what everyone there has to say about Chances and her situation. I'm so uncertain about it. Sometimes I think I can last a long time with her struggling like this, other times I don't see how much longer I can stand to deal with it. A normal response, I think.
Bog on Saturday: snow on Duncan
If you look closely you can see snow on top of the mountain. The mountain is Duncan, which is north of Silver Lake. There never was a very good trail going up the mountain but that never stopped my father from taking us to the top. It was one of his favorite mountains, though who knows why. Not a particularlly good view from the top.
Tuesday, November 08, 2011
Chances Are update
Went to the vet last night to see what's up with Chances. She walked for him and he was impressed with her progress. He said it could take up to 6 months for her to recover fully, or maybe she'll never recover fully at all. Nerve regeneration is what's up. And atrophied leg muscles. So we wait to see how much and how quickly she improves. Right now she's walking pretty much but is very tippy and has no strength in her hind legs. Slippery floors at home are a big issue so I'll be buying some cheap runners with rubber backing to put on the path from the bathroom to the front door. Vet said I could build a ramp for the deck stairs, but I think not. Right now that's the trickiest part--she can go down the stairs unassisted but can't climb up them. Unassisted means that she goes down really fast, sort of pushed by gravity and her hind end. But she's a sweetheart and is game. Wags her tail all the time. She tires easily but David (vet) said her walking is like physical therapy, which is a slow process. He was more concerned about me, really, and how I'm holding up. If I decide I can't wait 6 months, or that she's not recovering more, I'm not a bad person. That was a nice thing to say. I'm holding up pretty well but this is really a drag. Pun intended.
I had a nice weekend. Saturday I drove to Dannemora for an open house at the new library there. The views were spectacular--High Peaks to Lake Champlain and the Green Mtns. It was a clear sunny day and I drove partway up the mountain just to enjoy the view. Really, really pretty, and me without my camera.
Sunday morning I took Tess for a nice long walk. Good November weather, temp not quite 30 but warm sun. We walked down to a friend's camp along the road, then home along the shore to check on other camps. Everything was in good shape, nothing going on. One year when I made the rounds like that I discovered that one of the camps had been broken into and a bunch of stuff was stolen. So I'm sometimes leery when I check on things.
I painted the small chest from my bedroom. I've switched from yucky green to glossy black for my furniture. Anything that can be painted has been painted. Pretty much. But wait, I'll find more. The chest turned out well and looks so much better. Maybe partly because I took the huge pile of stuff off the top of it.
Tomorrow I'll go to Burlington to visit my friend in the hospital there (chemo for leukemia). It's supposed to be a beautiful day so the trip will be nice. I have to get a couple of books for her, so I'll go to the book store there. What will I get? Geez, who knows. Sometimes I hate picking out books for other people, it feels like a big responsibility. Sometimes I really like it. Hopefully this will be one of those times.
I had lunch with my good friend (well, I have no BAD friends) Barb yesterday. Always nice to be with her. I've been trying to make a specific basket for her daughter's wedding present (let's not go into when the wedding was) but cannot, absolutely cannot shape it right. I can still weave well but my shaping skills are gone. So it's going to be a square basket instead. I can do squares.
I started knitting again, out of boredom mostly. I found a blanket that was 2/3 done from several years ago & have almost finished that. Then I decided I was tired of knitting the seed stitch so I bought yarn & a pattern for a sweater. I never finish sweaters, but this is a vest so maybe I'll actually make something I can wear. I hate armpits and sleeves--I always make the armpit openings too small.
We have Friday off. Yippee!!! Weather not supposed to be too great, maybe rainy and cold, but it will be nice to be home. Maybe, just maybe, I'll start getting ready to paint my living room. Which will be an interesting project, considering scaffolding is required to paint the top parts of the wall. Guess I'd better pick a color that looks good with what it is now.
I had a nice weekend. Saturday I drove to Dannemora for an open house at the new library there. The views were spectacular--High Peaks to Lake Champlain and the Green Mtns. It was a clear sunny day and I drove partway up the mountain just to enjoy the view. Really, really pretty, and me without my camera.
Sunday morning I took Tess for a nice long walk. Good November weather, temp not quite 30 but warm sun. We walked down to a friend's camp along the road, then home along the shore to check on other camps. Everything was in good shape, nothing going on. One year when I made the rounds like that I discovered that one of the camps had been broken into and a bunch of stuff was stolen. So I'm sometimes leery when I check on things.
I painted the small chest from my bedroom. I've switched from yucky green to glossy black for my furniture. Anything that can be painted has been painted. Pretty much. But wait, I'll find more. The chest turned out well and looks so much better. Maybe partly because I took the huge pile of stuff off the top of it.
Tomorrow I'll go to Burlington to visit my friend in the hospital there (chemo for leukemia). It's supposed to be a beautiful day so the trip will be nice. I have to get a couple of books for her, so I'll go to the book store there. What will I get? Geez, who knows. Sometimes I hate picking out books for other people, it feels like a big responsibility. Sometimes I really like it. Hopefully this will be one of those times.
I had lunch with my good friend (well, I have no BAD friends) Barb yesterday. Always nice to be with her. I've been trying to make a specific basket for her daughter's wedding present (let's not go into when the wedding was) but cannot, absolutely cannot shape it right. I can still weave well but my shaping skills are gone. So it's going to be a square basket instead. I can do squares.
I started knitting again, out of boredom mostly. I found a blanket that was 2/3 done from several years ago & have almost finished that. Then I decided I was tired of knitting the seed stitch so I bought yarn & a pattern for a sweater. I never finish sweaters, but this is a vest so maybe I'll actually make something I can wear. I hate armpits and sleeves--I always make the armpit openings too small.
We have Friday off. Yippee!!! Weather not supposed to be too great, maybe rainy and cold, but it will be nice to be home. Maybe, just maybe, I'll start getting ready to paint my living room. Which will be an interesting project, considering scaffolding is required to paint the top parts of the wall. Guess I'd better pick a color that looks good with what it is now.
58OHR on a cold November morning
Here's what my house looks like these days. The last of the color on the left is from the tamarack tree growing next to the house. It's a beautiful tree and I've been watching it grow for at least a decade. One year it got all tipped over from snow so I tied it to another tree to straighten it out. That pretty much worked, but it still has a pronounced tilt. It's a favorite tree.
Where's a kitty? Find a kitty.
Dottiekitty showed up at the end of our walk. Don't know how far she wanders or how often she goes for her strolls. I always assumed she was bringing dead things into the house from nearby, but it could be that she's picking them off from other people's homes.
The other day she left me a vole, which is a BIG version of a mole. Flippers for front legs, disgusting long ratty snout. And about 6-8" long. Really gross. Thanks, Kitty.
The Holts' house, showing Rush's observatory on 3rd floor
This is what Rush & Annie's house looks like from down the hill. The tower effect is a sleeping porch on the 2nd floor, and a nifty observatory-type office for Rush on the 3rd floor. Pretty views from the 3rd floor, especially when the leaves aren't on the trees. It's a nice house and sure has served me well in times of water crisis.
Tess enters the water tentatively
Tess always feels compelled to try the water, no matter what the air or water temp might be. She didn't really "swim," it was more of a couple of strokes. That perked her right up, though, and she did a lot of rolling afterward.
Nice view of the mountain from someone else's shorefront
I like this veiw of the mountain. It's from a huge flat rock that's out in the water up the shore from our camp. I like the shadows & details you get from this vantage point.
Friday, November 04, 2011
Friday
Don't really have much to say, but I could give a Chances update. She's doing marginally better, really tries to walk but tumbles over easily. Like, when Tess nudges her. Chances walks a little, sort of staggers. The vet said I should help her by doing physical therapy with her hind legs, but I have yet to start. Her legs are weak, I guess. It'll be 3 weeks on Sunday. Hard to remember what she was like before. I tried taking Tess for a walk but Chances dragged herself to the door & tried to push it open. That was sad. I finally did take Tess for a quick bog walk but felt guilty so didn't stay long. Why do we feel guilt about our animals?
I had a good week, temps made it not unpleasant at least. Ice and frost this morning at home, with a report that it was snowing not far from home. Supposed to be 19 tonight so I'll have a fire for sure. This morning was bright and sunny--I didn't have to be at work until later so I got to drive in bright sunshine. A nice change.
I spent Tuesday afternoon in Saranac Lake, cataloging some goodies in their Adirondack Room. That was a nice change, and a good chance to visit with the people there.
What's up for the weekend? Not much. Going to the open house at the Dannemora library on Saturday--they moved into the old elementary school, which is really nice and a huge improvement over their former winidowless digs. That won't take long. Hopefully I'll finally paint the little chest of drawers in my bedroom, it should be warm enough to paint outside. We once had a beagle named Chester Drawers. My father liked to play with pet names. We had a cat named Pitney Bowes. Dog named Fanny Allen (when we lived in Burlington, of course), dog named Natty Bumpo (small puppy, hit by a car & died young), dog named John Humperdink Stover (Dink--horrible dachshund who lived for 18 years and even then refused to die), and a dog named Cindy. Cindy? She was a fat little doxie who was very sweet.
I had a good week, temps made it not unpleasant at least. Ice and frost this morning at home, with a report that it was snowing not far from home. Supposed to be 19 tonight so I'll have a fire for sure. This morning was bright and sunny--I didn't have to be at work until later so I got to drive in bright sunshine. A nice change.
I spent Tuesday afternoon in Saranac Lake, cataloging some goodies in their Adirondack Room. That was a nice change, and a good chance to visit with the people there.
What's up for the weekend? Not much. Going to the open house at the Dannemora library on Saturday--they moved into the old elementary school, which is really nice and a huge improvement over their former winidowless digs. That won't take long. Hopefully I'll finally paint the little chest of drawers in my bedroom, it should be warm enough to paint outside. We once had a beagle named Chester Drawers. My father liked to play with pet names. We had a cat named Pitney Bowes. Dog named Fanny Allen (when we lived in Burlington, of course), dog named Natty Bumpo (small puppy, hit by a car & died young), dog named John Humperdink Stover (Dink--horrible dachshund who lived for 18 years and even then refused to die), and a dog named Cindy. Cindy? She was a fat little doxie who was very sweet.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Moving along
Things are going all right. Chances is improving, now takes about 3 steps before losing her balance & falling down. This is a huge improvement, but isn't enough. She's gotten way better in the last week, and goes to the vet tonight for her follow-up. Don't know what the vet will say, but I'm figuring to bring her home after the appointment, giving her more time to heal. She's doing really well, her desire to walk is powerful. She moves really quickly, walks on her hind knees if I don't grab her hind end quickly enough. She can really motor and seems very cheerful. I don't know how much better she'll get, but I'm willing to wait a while.
I closed the boat house yesterday, finally. It wouldn't be right if I weren't wearing a down vest--I don't think I've closed it in recent years much before November 1. So I was early this year. It was very pretty and not terribly cold. It doesn't take much time to close (if you do it the way I do), just strip the beds, take the towels home, take the garbage home, empty the fridge, move furniture in off the porch., shut off the power & lock up. Bingo, all done. I sat in the sun a while, drank a bit of Wild Turkey and enjoyed the scenery. It was incredibly peaceful. Even Tess lay in the sun with me.
I visited a friend in Burlington last week, she's there for chemo for her second case of leukemia. This is very sad and difficult. She's in good shape so far but has just started her chemo. She's very discouraged at having it again, after 8 years. My trip was not particularly interesting, I just took the ferry, drove to the hospital, visited Betsy, then came home. No, no shopping or anything interesting. I was tired when I got home, around 8.
Had a good weekend, all told. Saturday I came into town for lunch with Fred and my friend Donna. We last saw each other last November, so it was a nice reunion. We visited for a couple of hours, I bought some flowers for Pat's birthday, got some birdseed, then went home. I stopped to see Pat (her birthday) for a bit, then on home to set up the bird feeders. Only blue jays so far. I don't know how they figure out so quickly that there's food in the feeder, but there they were.
I took some stuff in off the deck, getting ready for winter. The dirt in the pots was frozen, though, so I have to keep them in the living room for a few days to thaw out before I can dump them. I wouldn't know how to do it any other way. I should have emptied the wood stove but I kept it going all day Sat., then it was still hot yesterday. So I put that off. Lazy.
I resurrected a blanket I started knitting a few years ago, had the urge to knit. Everyone should have a project like that, something that's simple but pretty and can go on forever. And when it's a blanket, you keep yourself warm while knitting. Kitty likes to sit on my lap when it gets cold, which complicates the knitting process.
I watched the Martin Scorsese documentary on George Harrison, which was excellent. The Beatles were amazing, and it was fun to see the decades of changes they went through. How cute were those boys?
Back to work today. Halloween. Means nothing to me. This year I bought no candy--I haven't had a trick or treater for more than 25 years, no reason to believe this year would be different. I always buy candy and eat it before Halloween. So no this year. I still need to love the 5 pounds I gained during the summer. I'm struggling but haven't put forth my full effort yet. I keep putting it off. Something comes up. Like, now I'm stressed out because of my dog. And Saturday I went out for lunch. And this week, well, I have no excuses. Back to cottage cheese and olives. And pickles. Lots of pickles.
Tomorrow I get to go to Saranac Lake to catalog stuff in the Adirondack Room there. Always a treat. I'm setting up a plan to visit or at least speak with all 30 member library directors in the next year. Yikes, that's a lot of traveling and talking. I need to find out what types of "special" collections they have. This is a project near & dear to the director's heart, and I like visiting the libraries so it's a good mesh.
I closed the boat house yesterday, finally. It wouldn't be right if I weren't wearing a down vest--I don't think I've closed it in recent years much before November 1. So I was early this year. It was very pretty and not terribly cold. It doesn't take much time to close (if you do it the way I do), just strip the beds, take the towels home, take the garbage home, empty the fridge, move furniture in off the porch., shut off the power & lock up. Bingo, all done. I sat in the sun a while, drank a bit of Wild Turkey and enjoyed the scenery. It was incredibly peaceful. Even Tess lay in the sun with me.
I visited a friend in Burlington last week, she's there for chemo for her second case of leukemia. This is very sad and difficult. She's in good shape so far but has just started her chemo. She's very discouraged at having it again, after 8 years. My trip was not particularly interesting, I just took the ferry, drove to the hospital, visited Betsy, then came home. No, no shopping or anything interesting. I was tired when I got home, around 8.
Had a good weekend, all told. Saturday I came into town for lunch with Fred and my friend Donna. We last saw each other last November, so it was a nice reunion. We visited for a couple of hours, I bought some flowers for Pat's birthday, got some birdseed, then went home. I stopped to see Pat (her birthday) for a bit, then on home to set up the bird feeders. Only blue jays so far. I don't know how they figure out so quickly that there's food in the feeder, but there they were.
I took some stuff in off the deck, getting ready for winter. The dirt in the pots was frozen, though, so I have to keep them in the living room for a few days to thaw out before I can dump them. I wouldn't know how to do it any other way. I should have emptied the wood stove but I kept it going all day Sat., then it was still hot yesterday. So I put that off. Lazy.
I resurrected a blanket I started knitting a few years ago, had the urge to knit. Everyone should have a project like that, something that's simple but pretty and can go on forever. And when it's a blanket, you keep yourself warm while knitting. Kitty likes to sit on my lap when it gets cold, which complicates the knitting process.
I watched the Martin Scorsese documentary on George Harrison, which was excellent. The Beatles were amazing, and it was fun to see the decades of changes they went through. How cute were those boys?
Back to work today. Halloween. Means nothing to me. This year I bought no candy--I haven't had a trick or treater for more than 25 years, no reason to believe this year would be different. I always buy candy and eat it before Halloween. So no this year. I still need to love the 5 pounds I gained during the summer. I'm struggling but haven't put forth my full effort yet. I keep putting it off. Something comes up. Like, now I'm stressed out because of my dog. And Saturday I went out for lunch. And this week, well, I have no excuses. Back to cottage cheese and olives. And pickles. Lots of pickles.
Tomorrow I get to go to Saranac Lake to catalog stuff in the Adirondack Room there. Always a treat. I'm setting up a plan to visit or at least speak with all 30 member library directors in the next year. Yikes, that's a lot of traveling and talking. I need to find out what types of "special" collections they have. This is a project near & dear to the director's heart, and I like visiting the libraries so it's a good mesh.
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Waiting for rain. I've always heard that, when cows lie down like this, they're expecting it to rain. This was before the big snowstorm, which missed us entirely. This was a false alarm--it didn't rain at all. These cows are outside of Peru, near the orchard where I stopped to buy a whole bunch of apples. Half a bushel for $10, mix & match a zillion different kinds. Yum.
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Tess has no patience for any animal that lies with its head upside down. These two were lying next to the wood stove in the sun. Two of their favorite environmental conditions. First being a bowl full of food.
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Boy it looks cold, doesn't it? It wasn't really that cold, sunny and 40's. No leaves on trees, no color in the hills. Pretty anyway.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Chances Are update
Many thanks to all of you who have been so supportive and interested in my poor dog's plight. I picked her up at the vet's last night & brought her home. She's incredibly cheerful, wags her tail ALL the time and was very, very happy to be home. Tess was thrilled to have her sister home, wiggled & wagged, licked her, then sat on her. Chances can't walk by herself, I have a sling to hold up her hind end with. She's strong and can move quickly--this morning, when it was DARK and RAINING she ran around the yard looking for the perfect pee and poop spots, I ran after her, which must have looked great. Anyway, she can't use her hind legs but is starting to move them a little. She's got great spirit, ran through the house (again, with me following) to get to her breakfast bowl this morning. She slept in her cage last night, wasn't interested in going into the bedroom. She's in her cage today, and I have a second cage set up for Tess so that C. can have more room. I left the door to the cage open so we'll see where she is when I get home. In the cage, will be my guess. She rarely drags herself around but is capable and doesn't seem to mind.
All else is well. We're supposed to have snow later this week, which is inevitable, but maybe the north won't get as much. or any. I'm leaving work early tomorrow to load up the car at home & head to the Big Dump. I put down a new kitchen rug and need to get rid of the old one, plus there's plenty of stuff that can go. Broken chair, crap on the deck, old glassware I cleaned out when putting down the new rug, just odds & ends. I'm feeling good about cleaning out stuff these days, just wish I had more time (when I felt motivated) to do it. I got some cleansing done over the weekend, getting ready to attack the upstairs in case people really do come visit me this winter. yikes, a daunting thought.
All else is well. We're supposed to have snow later this week, which is inevitable, but maybe the north won't get as much. or any. I'm leaving work early tomorrow to load up the car at home & head to the Big Dump. I put down a new kitchen rug and need to get rid of the old one, plus there's plenty of stuff that can go. Broken chair, crap on the deck, old glassware I cleaned out when putting down the new rug, just odds & ends. I'm feeling good about cleaning out stuff these days, just wish I had more time (when I felt motivated) to do it. I got some cleansing done over the weekend, getting ready to attack the upstairs in case people really do come visit me this winter. yikes, a daunting thought.
Tamaracks in the bog
Very pretty, every fall. The last hurrah. Lots of tamaracks (larches) getting ready to drop their leaves.
Cold morning, 28 degrees and very frosty & foggy.
This was yesterday (Monday). Today it was too dark, way too dark to take any pictures. And it was raining. And so dark.
Friday, October 21, 2011
Friday
It's Friday of an upsetting week. My dog Chances is not doing well. On Sunday she got in front of my car when I was moving it, and I hit her. Not hard, but hard enough to damage her back. She can't use her hind legs now and has been at the vet's since Monday. She showed slight improvement on Tuesday and the vet & I were hopeful, but there's been no progress since then. I went to see her yesterday--the vet and I talked about having me take her home, but we agreed she was probably better off there, where there aren't stairs she has to be carried up & down. It was hard to see her but also really nice. She's in great shape, very perky, wags her tail a lot, eats like a pig and has control of her bodily functions. He's not sure what's wrong, maybe something blocking the blood supply to her hind end. We're going to wait 2 weeks before making any decision, but it doesn't really look very good.
What does Tess think? She thinks her sister should be somewhere in the yard or in the car, and she runs around a lot, then sits on the back of the living room chair staring out the window. Very touching, very sad. I wish I could explain it to her, but maybe she suspects something, since she saw Chances before I took her to the vet. Tess wants my attention all the time, which I suppose is not surprising. She's very sweet but it's hard to see her being so puzzled. She still has her Kitty, and she likes her Kitty.
What else happened this week. Well, must have been SOMETHING. Yes, we had a negotiations meeting on Monday, which resulted in a declaration of impasse by labor. The board rejected our settlement offer 3 times, so our labor relations specialist feels we'll be in good stead with a mediator. We'll see.
Work has been ok. A little slow, not as interesting as it sometimes is, but I'm probably just distracted. I had an appointment with my psychiatrist this week & told him all about Chances Are. I told him that I no longer think of our appointments as sessions, or of him as my therapist, so it never occurred to me to call him in my time of crisis. I think he wished I still needed him that way. He told me basically the same thing my sister told me: take care of myself. Don't do anything or make any decisions right now. So I'm not. Well, I bought myself a new pair of shoes. That would make my friend Ralph laugh--his partner Lin and I used to go to town every Saturday and I was always buying new shoes. I guess it's what I do when I'm not feeling great, a way to cheer myself up. Pretty much all the shoes I buy look the same, just trail shoes.
Yesterday I went to Wilmington, and I had plenty of time to get there so I went the back way, past the house we bought and sold many years ago, then past the Jay Mountain Range. It was all very pretty and a nice experience. Didn't make me feel bad or sad, I just appreciated how pretty it all was. What I did in Wilmington was weed their non-fiction collection, which, it turned out, is heavily used so we couldn't throw out much stuff. That was both disappointing and encouraging. Good for her to have a collection her community uses. Not very rewarding as a weeding experience.
After that I drove to Westport because I thought I would take Chances home. The drive was pretty but long. An even longer drive home. But I had a nice visit with Chances, who was happy to see me. Tess didn't seem to smell her sister on me when I got home. Was I disappointed or relieved? Yes. Mostly I was just really sad that I didn't get to take her home. Not so much because I want her home, but more that it would mean she was improving.
This weekend I will put down the new rug I bought for my kitchen. No small task, means unloading sets of shelves and moving things around. But I must do it--or why did I buy the rug? I also hope to paint a small chest in my bedroom. My signature black. And Saturday night I'm having dinner with friends from across the lake. I don't know them very well but am getting to know them in recent months. Do I want to do this? Not particularly, but when a neighbor issues an invitation it's polite to accept. What DO I feel like doing this weekend? Not much.
What does Tess think? She thinks her sister should be somewhere in the yard or in the car, and she runs around a lot, then sits on the back of the living room chair staring out the window. Very touching, very sad. I wish I could explain it to her, but maybe she suspects something, since she saw Chances before I took her to the vet. Tess wants my attention all the time, which I suppose is not surprising. She's very sweet but it's hard to see her being so puzzled. She still has her Kitty, and she likes her Kitty.
What else happened this week. Well, must have been SOMETHING. Yes, we had a negotiations meeting on Monday, which resulted in a declaration of impasse by labor. The board rejected our settlement offer 3 times, so our labor relations specialist feels we'll be in good stead with a mediator. We'll see.
Work has been ok. A little slow, not as interesting as it sometimes is, but I'm probably just distracted. I had an appointment with my psychiatrist this week & told him all about Chances Are. I told him that I no longer think of our appointments as sessions, or of him as my therapist, so it never occurred to me to call him in my time of crisis. I think he wished I still needed him that way. He told me basically the same thing my sister told me: take care of myself. Don't do anything or make any decisions right now. So I'm not. Well, I bought myself a new pair of shoes. That would make my friend Ralph laugh--his partner Lin and I used to go to town every Saturday and I was always buying new shoes. I guess it's what I do when I'm not feeling great, a way to cheer myself up. Pretty much all the shoes I buy look the same, just trail shoes.
Yesterday I went to Wilmington, and I had plenty of time to get there so I went the back way, past the house we bought and sold many years ago, then past the Jay Mountain Range. It was all very pretty and a nice experience. Didn't make me feel bad or sad, I just appreciated how pretty it all was. What I did in Wilmington was weed their non-fiction collection, which, it turned out, is heavily used so we couldn't throw out much stuff. That was both disappointing and encouraging. Good for her to have a collection her community uses. Not very rewarding as a weeding experience.
After that I drove to Westport because I thought I would take Chances home. The drive was pretty but long. An even longer drive home. But I had a nice visit with Chances, who was happy to see me. Tess didn't seem to smell her sister on me when I got home. Was I disappointed or relieved? Yes. Mostly I was just really sad that I didn't get to take her home. Not so much because I want her home, but more that it would mean she was improving.
This weekend I will put down the new rug I bought for my kitchen. No small task, means unloading sets of shelves and moving things around. But I must do it--or why did I buy the rug? I also hope to paint a small chest in my bedroom. My signature black. And Saturday night I'm having dinner with friends from across the lake. I don't know them very well but am getting to know them in recent months. Do I want to do this? Not particularly, but when a neighbor issues an invitation it's polite to accept. What DO I feel like doing this weekend? Not much.
This is what our old house looks like now. VERY different from when we lived there.
This is what our old house looks like now. VERY different from when we lived there., a photo by woodsrun on Flickr.
Our house on Green Street, outside of AuSable Forks. It was a junky little house that we bougt for $20,000. Jamie had visions of grandeur, of demolition and fixing it up. He got the demolition part right, but the fixing it up never took place. He took the heater out of the bedroom without telling me he had no intention of putting in a new one. I used to wake up in the winter with my hair frozen, stuck to the window. Oh, weren't those just the good old days.
It is actually a nice little house, on 3 pretty acres. We had some good times there but mostly I conclude (in hindsight) that we didn't really like living there, because we spent as much time as we could elsewhere. We went out for breakfast & dinner every chance we got.
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Just a pretty scene. This is from the bridge I used to drive across every day--that's the AuSable River.
The chicken coop on the left, now an apartment
The blue building is what we used as a chicken coop. Jamie built it from square logs he cut at the sawmill. It was beech and he built it as an experiment to see how long it would last. The new owner liked the building so much he turned it into an apartment. So far it's lasted 20 years. Not bad, James, not bad.
Hairy cow
Doesn't this cow look great? There were calves in the pasture too, they were dark brown and very cute.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Early report
It's a bit early in the week to be reporting, but I had a busy weekend and will be out tomorrow afternoon, then doing a Google demo on Friday. Besides, I'm taking a break from deleting OCLC holdings of large print books we've discarded. I have a masters degree for this?
It was a really good weekend. The weather was wonderful, sunny and warm, warming up the colors in the woods. The color isn't too great this year, definitely muted, but there are yellows and golds and they do that thing that they do where there's a glow in the woods even when the sun isn't shining on the trees. A really nice effect. We've lost leaves even since the weekend, and I guess we'll lose more in the next few days--rain predicted for the rest of our lives.
There were plenty of people in the neighborhood, enough so that I got totally peopled out. Saturday night I had a cocktail party on the boat house porch, which was very nice. Always is. After that I went out to dinner with a bunch of people, to a nice restaurant with good food. Sunday I got to spend time on my deck, reading, a lot. Very nice. In the evening was a party at the Holts', with 24 people. I wasn't in the mood to socialize much, maybe I'm just ready for the season to end. I visited with people I wanted to see, chatted with others, wanted to leave early but stayed a while anyway. Monday I went out to breakfast with the Nadals, had a very nice time with them. Then I stopped at Fred's to collect a few plants to winter over in my house. Or kill in my house, whatever. He doesn't care, it just seems a shame to let them die when maybe I can keep them alive and they'll look good in my house. or not. Monday night was drinks at Linda's, the last happy hour of the season. That was nice, but again, I was ready to leave. Last night I stopped at Linda's, picked up some food she's leaving behind, and we went to Pat & Jim's to deliver food to them as well. Then I left, saying goodbye to Linda for the year. It's hard to say goodbye, but it is time. Hard to believe we won't see each other for a long time, but spring will come before we expect it to. This morning I saw the Nadals while I was getting my coffee, and visited with them for a while. They hope to come here this winter, planning to stay at my house. Wow that's quite a project for me but it would be great.
And now we get on with the job of living our lives in Hawkeye. Very nice, peaceful (except for hunters). Dogs don't notice a difference, except maybe for the fact that I'm home more so they spend less time in their cage. Me? I notice a difference. I don't have to go anywhere after work today. I can be alone. I may stop at the orchard that has a zillion kinds of apples & get some, I've pretty much finished the last batch I bought.
Tomorrow I head to Burlington for my mammogram. A nice diversion. Maybe I'll go to Gardener's Supply for Christmas presents, but then again I may just turn around & come home.
Friday I have to do a demo of Google searching. I had such a hard time coming up with a subject to search! Tried lots of things that were too easy, finally came up with the Atlas missile silos here in the Adirondacks. Found a lot of interesting information about them. Pretty scary, what was going on. I've always attributed my lack of faith in the future to the Cold War, along with the farewells we bade to our grandfather at the end of each summer in the Adks. "Good-bye Grampy, see you next year." "If I'm still here." I suppose, once you're in your 90's that's the way you think and talk, but for an impressionable lass it meant we might never see the future. I spent a lot of my adult life feeling that way, but have finally overcome that pessimism. I used to not plant bulbs in the fall because I had no faith that there would be spring. Now I don't plant them because I have so many that I have no more places to put them. Mostly daffodils, but I have some perennial plants too. I like thinking about the future. But am hesitant to think too much about 3 years going by. That would mean I might be able to RETIRE. It's an interesting thing, to be my age and want to get older so I can retire, but hate getting older and being 60. Only 59 this year, 60 is 12/12/12.
It was a really good weekend. The weather was wonderful, sunny and warm, warming up the colors in the woods. The color isn't too great this year, definitely muted, but there are yellows and golds and they do that thing that they do where there's a glow in the woods even when the sun isn't shining on the trees. A really nice effect. We've lost leaves even since the weekend, and I guess we'll lose more in the next few days--rain predicted for the rest of our lives.
There were plenty of people in the neighborhood, enough so that I got totally peopled out. Saturday night I had a cocktail party on the boat house porch, which was very nice. Always is. After that I went out to dinner with a bunch of people, to a nice restaurant with good food. Sunday I got to spend time on my deck, reading, a lot. Very nice. In the evening was a party at the Holts', with 24 people. I wasn't in the mood to socialize much, maybe I'm just ready for the season to end. I visited with people I wanted to see, chatted with others, wanted to leave early but stayed a while anyway. Monday I went out to breakfast with the Nadals, had a very nice time with them. Then I stopped at Fred's to collect a few plants to winter over in my house. Or kill in my house, whatever. He doesn't care, it just seems a shame to let them die when maybe I can keep them alive and they'll look good in my house. or not. Monday night was drinks at Linda's, the last happy hour of the season. That was nice, but again, I was ready to leave. Last night I stopped at Linda's, picked up some food she's leaving behind, and we went to Pat & Jim's to deliver food to them as well. Then I left, saying goodbye to Linda for the year. It's hard to say goodbye, but it is time. Hard to believe we won't see each other for a long time, but spring will come before we expect it to. This morning I saw the Nadals while I was getting my coffee, and visited with them for a while. They hope to come here this winter, planning to stay at my house. Wow that's quite a project for me but it would be great.
And now we get on with the job of living our lives in Hawkeye. Very nice, peaceful (except for hunters). Dogs don't notice a difference, except maybe for the fact that I'm home more so they spend less time in their cage. Me? I notice a difference. I don't have to go anywhere after work today. I can be alone. I may stop at the orchard that has a zillion kinds of apples & get some, I've pretty much finished the last batch I bought.
Tomorrow I head to Burlington for my mammogram. A nice diversion. Maybe I'll go to Gardener's Supply for Christmas presents, but then again I may just turn around & come home.
Friday I have to do a demo of Google searching. I had such a hard time coming up with a subject to search! Tried lots of things that were too easy, finally came up with the Atlas missile silos here in the Adirondacks. Found a lot of interesting information about them. Pretty scary, what was going on. I've always attributed my lack of faith in the future to the Cold War, along with the farewells we bade to our grandfather at the end of each summer in the Adks. "Good-bye Grampy, see you next year." "If I'm still here." I suppose, once you're in your 90's that's the way you think and talk, but for an impressionable lass it meant we might never see the future. I spent a lot of my adult life feeling that way, but have finally overcome that pessimism. I used to not plant bulbs in the fall because I had no faith that there would be spring. Now I don't plant them because I have so many that I have no more places to put them. Mostly daffodils, but I have some perennial plants too. I like thinking about the future. But am hesitant to think too much about 3 years going by. That would mean I might be able to RETIRE. It's an interesting thing, to be my age and want to get older so I can retire, but hate getting older and being 60. Only 59 this year, 60 is 12/12/12.
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Silver Lake Mountain from the boat house. I had a cocktail party on Sat. and this was the view we looked at from the porch.
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There's still some color on OHR--this is looking down the road toward my driveway. That's Catamount in the background, Douglas Mtn in the foreground, Chances Are in front.
We've even lost leaves since I took this on Sat. It's getting pretty naked in the neighborhood.
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How cute is she? It's strange to look at a picture of yourself like this. So this is what I look like?
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Friday, October 07, 2011
Week's end
It's Friday, 4:30. I'm here until 5 and it's quiet. I spent a lot of time today weeding the non-fiction (we're into the SATs and GREs right now, very boring), and more time deleting our holdings from the national database--huge numbers of large print have been discarded and SOMEONE has to delete the holdings from OCLC. That would be me. I can do it for long stretches, but my back hurts after a while. I like it when it's something hard to find and I have to rely on my searching skills to find the record.
I have to do a presentation on Google next week. I need a good subject search to demonstrate. I just found out that Google was named in error--it was supposed to be Googol, but was misspelled. Just a nugget of information there.
It's Columbus Day weekend and all hell will break loose at Silver Lake. Then Monday afternoon a hush will fall over the land, when everyone leaves. Linda is leaving on Weds., and she's pretty much the last to go. There are a lot of friends here for the weekend (none staying with me--I think I only have friends who have their own homes here) so it will be busy. And beautiful. I'm hoping to get to work on the boat house, get it ready to close. And spend some time reading in the sun. On the big rock next to the boat house. And on my deck at home. And spend time stacking the stoopid wood. I guess I'm having a cocktail party at the boat house some day this weekend, not sure when. Linda and I are hosting, at a time that's convenient for the largest number of people. Whenever that will be. I'm flexible.
I went to Essex yesterday to visit the library there. There's a new director and he's all hot to do stuff like interlibrary loan. Something not normally done in that library, so this is pretty exciting. I spent time with him and looked over the book collection. Which is a big mess and in need of weeding. Which I will return to do in October. I've also scheduled a weeding trip to Wilmington in 2 weeks, I think. I think it's in 2 weeks. I KNOW I've scheduled the visit. For a Weds., so I can hit the thrift store on my way to the library. Because, yes, of course I need MORE STUFF.
Have to feed Julie's fish now, she's in Canada for the long weekend. I only have one goldfish left here at work. Yes, I can even kill goldfish. I have a knack for it.
I have to do a presentation on Google next week. I need a good subject search to demonstrate. I just found out that Google was named in error--it was supposed to be Googol, but was misspelled. Just a nugget of information there.
It's Columbus Day weekend and all hell will break loose at Silver Lake. Then Monday afternoon a hush will fall over the land, when everyone leaves. Linda is leaving on Weds., and she's pretty much the last to go. There are a lot of friends here for the weekend (none staying with me--I think I only have friends who have their own homes here) so it will be busy. And beautiful. I'm hoping to get to work on the boat house, get it ready to close. And spend some time reading in the sun. On the big rock next to the boat house. And on my deck at home. And spend time stacking the stoopid wood. I guess I'm having a cocktail party at the boat house some day this weekend, not sure when. Linda and I are hosting, at a time that's convenient for the largest number of people. Whenever that will be. I'm flexible.
I went to Essex yesterday to visit the library there. There's a new director and he's all hot to do stuff like interlibrary loan. Something not normally done in that library, so this is pretty exciting. I spent time with him and looked over the book collection. Which is a big mess and in need of weeding. Which I will return to do in October. I've also scheduled a weeding trip to Wilmington in 2 weeks, I think. I think it's in 2 weeks. I KNOW I've scheduled the visit. For a Weds., so I can hit the thrift store on my way to the library. Because, yes, of course I need MORE STUFF.
Have to feed Julie's fish now, she's in Canada for the long weekend. I only have one goldfish left here at work. Yes, I can even kill goldfish. I have a knack for it.
Essex ferry to Vermont
My family has always been romantic about the ferries crossing Lake Champlain. We lived in Burlington when I was a kid and visited this side of the lake a lot--my grandfather was in AuSable Fks. I think it must have started then, the big deal about crossing the lake.
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This is a nicer looking building than our boat house (if you prefer this sort of thing) but I like ours better. We have a better lake, for one thing.
Friday, September 30, 2011
Weekly wrapup
It was a pretty busy week. Some traveling, some socializing.
Monday I drove to Malone to go to the CEF board meeting. It was a pretty drive, through Ellenburg & Brainardsville, but dark for my trip home through Standish, etc. I like that part of the country, though it's desolate & some think depressing. I've always said that, when it gets too crowded on Old Hawkeye Rd., I'll move to High Banks. Where the growing season is about 2 weeks long. But no one lives there. Hopefully that day won't come.
Tuesday I had a union dinner in Rouses Pt. Good food, pretty spot on the lake, lots of solidarity. Unions forever! Down with management!
Weds. I had a demonstration all morning (not union, done by a vendor)--an automated system we're considering if we can get the money together. Very nice system. After that I went to Wilmington, where I took the pictures below. It was very, very pretty. I visited the library there, met up with some friends from Silver Lake who were using the Internet there, then stopped to see Marylou at Candy Man. And bought some candy for Linda & Erd. because Tuesday night they let my dogs out early in the evening so they (the dogs) wouldn't be left unattended for the zillion hours it ended up being. Anyway, I had a nice visit with M., sitting outside and chatting. Then I stopped at Linda's, then I stopped at Joe & Martha's, then I collapsed at home.
Yesterday I had a doctor's appointment--my regular doctor. Oh dear, I've gained 7 pounds, and my triglycerides are up 40 points. Know why? I stopped walking, that's why. And I eat more. So it's back to last winter's regimen of yogurt, cottage cheese, treadmill and pickles. Not in that order. I eat a lot of pickles. I need to stop eating yummy cereal and crackers. I bought Life Savers today because I can eat lots of those for not too many points. Pickles have NO points, but a girl can only eat so many of them.
I stopped at a local orchard one night, or maybe twice. Twice, I think--I bought good apples (Autumn Crisp), then gave most of them away so I went back to get more. They're good eating apples. And I'll make applesauce when they get not-so-fresh.
My poor work goldfish are bored. I haven't put any plants or decorations in the tank, they just float around and stare into space. Don't tell the SPCA, please.
What's up for the weekend? Well, I'm getting some firewood delivered tomorrow--from Ken's wood shed, so it's nice and dry. Very exciting. It doesn't take much to excite me these days. I'm also hoping to rearrange some furniture, moving the dinner table to the back of the house. Let's see how far I get with that. I also need to go to the boat house to start closing. By cleaning. The water's out at camp so I'll have to bring any dishes to my house to wash. I don't think there are any dirty ones there, I'm pretty sure I at least took care of that. Mostly I need to get rid of empty bottles. I don't think I'll close it up tight just yet--sometimes I have a nice cocktail party there Columbus Day weekend. Which is NEXT WEEKEND. How can Sept. be gone already?
Dogs are doing fine. Chances coughs a lot and will go to the vet next week, I hope. Tess continues to eat whatever dead thing kitty brings into the house (nothing like "crunch crunch crunch" in the middle of the night in the dark bedroom). The other day kitty brought in a mouse and apparently wanted me to watch her killing technique, because mousie was very much alive. When I yelled at her she took it to the back of the house, killed it & brought it back. Always a jumping mouse, never just a regular old mouse. I raced Tess to the body and prevailed. I have to toss the bodies into the woods when Tess isn't watching, or she just trots into the woods to find them & eat them then. YUCKA PUCKA.
So I'll have a good weekend. It's supposed to get cold, but it's about time. I'll probably have to light a fire, but it's already October and we haven't had a killing frost yet, nor have I had my first fire. Which always happens in September. So ... bonus time.
Monday I drove to Malone to go to the CEF board meeting. It was a pretty drive, through Ellenburg & Brainardsville, but dark for my trip home through Standish, etc. I like that part of the country, though it's desolate & some think depressing. I've always said that, when it gets too crowded on Old Hawkeye Rd., I'll move to High Banks. Where the growing season is about 2 weeks long. But no one lives there. Hopefully that day won't come.
Tuesday I had a union dinner in Rouses Pt. Good food, pretty spot on the lake, lots of solidarity. Unions forever! Down with management!
Weds. I had a demonstration all morning (not union, done by a vendor)--an automated system we're considering if we can get the money together. Very nice system. After that I went to Wilmington, where I took the pictures below. It was very, very pretty. I visited the library there, met up with some friends from Silver Lake who were using the Internet there, then stopped to see Marylou at Candy Man. And bought some candy for Linda & Erd. because Tuesday night they let my dogs out early in the evening so they (the dogs) wouldn't be left unattended for the zillion hours it ended up being. Anyway, I had a nice visit with M., sitting outside and chatting. Then I stopped at Linda's, then I stopped at Joe & Martha's, then I collapsed at home.
Yesterday I had a doctor's appointment--my regular doctor. Oh dear, I've gained 7 pounds, and my triglycerides are up 40 points. Know why? I stopped walking, that's why. And I eat more. So it's back to last winter's regimen of yogurt, cottage cheese, treadmill and pickles. Not in that order. I eat a lot of pickles. I need to stop eating yummy cereal and crackers. I bought Life Savers today because I can eat lots of those for not too many points. Pickles have NO points, but a girl can only eat so many of them.
I stopped at a local orchard one night, or maybe twice. Twice, I think--I bought good apples (Autumn Crisp), then gave most of them away so I went back to get more. They're good eating apples. And I'll make applesauce when they get not-so-fresh.
My poor work goldfish are bored. I haven't put any plants or decorations in the tank, they just float around and stare into space. Don't tell the SPCA, please.
What's up for the weekend? Well, I'm getting some firewood delivered tomorrow--from Ken's wood shed, so it's nice and dry. Very exciting. It doesn't take much to excite me these days. I'm also hoping to rearrange some furniture, moving the dinner table to the back of the house. Let's see how far I get with that. I also need to go to the boat house to start closing. By cleaning. The water's out at camp so I'll have to bring any dishes to my house to wash. I don't think there are any dirty ones there, I'm pretty sure I at least took care of that. Mostly I need to get rid of empty bottles. I don't think I'll close it up tight just yet--sometimes I have a nice cocktail party there Columbus Day weekend. Which is NEXT WEEKEND. How can Sept. be gone already?
Dogs are doing fine. Chances coughs a lot and will go to the vet next week, I hope. Tess continues to eat whatever dead thing kitty brings into the house (nothing like "crunch crunch crunch" in the middle of the night in the dark bedroom). The other day kitty brought in a mouse and apparently wanted me to watch her killing technique, because mousie was very much alive. When I yelled at her she took it to the back of the house, killed it & brought it back. Always a jumping mouse, never just a regular old mouse. I raced Tess to the body and prevailed. I have to toss the bodies into the woods when Tess isn't watching, or she just trots into the woods to find them & eat them then. YUCKA PUCKA.
So I'll have a good weekend. It's supposed to get cold, but it's about time. I'll probably have to light a fire, but it's already October and we haven't had a killing frost yet, nor have I had my first fire. Which always happens in September. So ... bonus time.
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