Day off

Well, I don't get a day off because EVERY day is a day off for me.  It's a holiday, though, and what am I doing to celebrate?  Thinking about things, having a quiet day.

I had a nice weekend, pretty busy by my standards.  Saturday I went to the Democratic brunch, hearing from the candidate and visiting with the few people I knew there.  It was nice, I went thinking it was my civic duty but was very pleased to have gone after all.  Good candidate, good politics.

Yesterday I went to see Star Wars with Lin.  First we had lunch in Plattsburgh, then we went to the movies.  I really liked it, was surprised at how much I enjoyed seeing it.  It's a very nice film, very funny and clever.  I'm not much for battle scenes or light sabers, but was it was fun to see.

I've tried to keep up with my lists every day.  This, I guess is a formalization of my attempt to do 3 things each day.  My lists have more than 3 things, maybe so I have something to choose from.  Today's list includes laundry (done), feed the birds (done), finish my letter to the Neels (done) and 2 other, loftier activities: move a chair upstairs and start working on the master bedroom.  Since it's still morning there is a chance I'll do one or both of these things.  A chance.

We got a couple of inches of fresh snow.  It was sort of a disappointment, as it was predicted that we'd get 2-4 and I assumed we'd get the 4".  Not to be.  Now it's 15 outside, which isn't very cold.  Temps supposed to drop for the week.  That is good, we need cold weather to firm up the ice so my friends can walk on it when they come next week.  Would I walk on it?  That's questionable.  I'll wait to see if they fall through.  And hope for the best.

I'm reading The gravity of birds which so far is about a birdwatcher.  I recently found a couple of CD's of bird calls.  I used to listen to them in the car all the time.  Only a few calls stuck with me.  One trip I took with Anna, from here to RI, I made her listen to bird calls for hours (poor dear).  The woman who described the calls was more entertaining than the calls, and the calls were entertaining enough ("Quick three beers," which is what bird?  I only remember that, not the bird it belongs to).  We laughed a lot, but as I say I remembered few of the calls.

This week I have 2 Plattsburgh trips scheduled.  Tomorrow I'll go in the morning to have blood work done, followed by a hair appointment.  Timing is crucial. I'll want to go early because it's a fasting lab, but my appointment isn't until 11.  I guess shopping is an option, but for what?  Maybe a visit to Starbucks would be time better spent.  I can always read while I drink coffee.  Wednesday is my standard lunch with Julie.  We go to the Japanese restaurant downtown now, a change from the Thai food we were eating before the downtown restaurant opened.

The dogs are doing well.  Last night they entertained themselves (and me) by standing on the deck in the dark and barking barking barking nonstop.  They took turns, which I thought was pretty funny.  I don't think there was anything out there but for all I know it could have been Sasquatch.  Anyway they still take themselves for walks but not as often and for much shorter walks, now that they get a treat every time they come home.  Geez, I wish I got a treat every time I came home. 

Treasure, pondering the future.  Or maybe just thinking about her next meal (in the Evil Bowl)

Signs of spring?

Amaryllis and narcissus: at least there's something growing in the house in January. 

Tess, exhausted from guiding me through Facebook, email and blogging.

Warming trend

It's 17 at 8:30 a.m. and that feels just great.  Not sunny, which would be asking too much.  We had some sun yesterday before it clouded over and snowed in the afternoon.  I've been outside a couple of times so far and it really does feel nice, probably because there's no wind.

I had sort of a rough day yesterday, a day without focus.  I need more structure than that, so this morning I made a list of tasks for the day.  What does it say about me that I need a LIST to be productive?  I can't wing it, I need to know what I'm doing and where I'm going.  Is it because I was a librarian?  A cataloger?  Or am I just a disorganized dork...

I have a house full of disorder that should provide me with endless tasks that shouldn't require a written list to accomplish.  Well, we have to accept who we are and how we function, so that's what I'll do.  With a smile.

The mailwoman came to my house yesterday to deliver a package.  She's really great that way--instead of leaving a note in my mailbox that requires a trip to town, she'll deliver things 1/2 mile down the road and up my "rustic" driveway to my door.  Every time she does that she says "I don't know how you live out here, in the middle of nowhere, by yourself."  I give her the same answer every time: I like it.  She just looks at me when I say that, like a dog hearing a strange sound.  I blabber on about how I'm not anti-social, I like people but I really like my privacy.  And the quiet.  Still she looks at me.  She's retiring in March and I don't know what the new carrier will be like but I bet the new carrier won't drive to my house and chat with me.  Well, it depends on who trains the newbie I suppose.

Tomorrow I'm going to a brunch for the Democratic Congressional candidate.  Why?  Well, my friends from Scarsdale asked me if I wanted to go and I often feel obligated to say yes to invitations.  So I go.  I went to some things like this when I worked with Rush's campaigns in NJ.  One time I was his driver for the day, which was interesting, entertaining and a nice chance to visit with him.  Another time I went door-to-door for him.  When we were kids my mother used to have us do that for school board candidates.  My sister hated it, I wasn't thrilled, but we tended to do what my mother told us to.  In later years we went door-to-door for Eugene McCarthy, and not because our mother asked us to.  Will I do anything to help this candidate's campaign?  What he really needs is money, which I can't help with, but maybe I can make phone calls or stuff envelopes or something like that.

Life is good, if a little unfocused.  I am entertained to learn things about myself all the time.  Yesterday was a good lesson.  I need a list, if I don't have any obligations, appointments or plans for the day.  So today I have a list.

Cold and snowy

It was 6 this morning, now, at 9:00 up to 12.  We're supposed to have a relatively big snowstorm this afternoon (if you count 6 inches as "big") and tonight.  We could use the snow.  Well, wait, what do you use snow for?  Anyway, it would be appropriate for us to have more snow.  The lake re-froze, it was cold after it rained.  Lots of ice in our driveways but the roads are clear.

I have no plans for the day, which is a very strange feeling.  Yesterday I went to Plattsburgh to pick up something at UPS (the driver couldn't find my house--obviously not the regular driver).  AND I took down the Christmas tree.  Which one took longer?  The tree was a mess, it was so dry that you touched a branch and it rained needles.  I got it de-decorated, then cut off most of the branches before taking it outside.  It's now lying on the deck, looking very sad.  It may well stay there for the rest of the winter, that's not unusual for a lazy fool like me.
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What I picked up at UPS was a new bowl for Treasure.  It's plastic and has ridges in the bottom, like a maze.  It's designed to slow down her eating.  She eats so incredibly fast, doesn't really chew most of her kibble.  So I thought I'd try this.  The first time she used it I felt really guilty--she just looked at it before working so hard to get the food into her mouth.  This morning she wasn't surprised about it, she jut sort of wilted.  Tess thinks it's great because she finally finishes first so can help Treasure dig out the final pieces.  It just seems as if I'm torturing poor Treasure.  How do you explain to a dog that it's for her own good?

I started reading the latest Chris Bohjalian book, just released.  It's on my Kindle, which is less fun for me to read from than print copies, but it was cheaper and immediately available.  We had book group on Sunday, our book was Ordinary grace, which we all agreed was a good choice.  Next up is The Martian.  There were 5 of us, counting Linda via phone.  She called and we had  very nice time chatting with her.  She's an important addition to the group so it was great to have her here.  Lin made delicious pizza, Marylou brought a LOT of chocolate, Lori brought potato chips (forbidden fruit) and cookies.  I made a salad and served ice cream with raspberry sauce for dessert.  Lots of good food and a nice time visiting.

Tomorrow is my weekly lunch with Julie in Plattsburgh.  There's an ad in today's newspaper for a driver needed, to drive once a week to Plattsburgh from a town between here and there, pays $100 per trip.  It is sooooo tempting to call and sign up for this.  It feels as if I drive as a hobby, so it would be good to have someone else benefit from this, and of course the money would be handy. 

The dogs are taking themselves for a walk.  I let them do that this time of year.  There's no one else in the neighborhood and they don't seem to go to the hardtop (most of the time).  I suppose I like having them do this because it means I don't have to walk them.  I am, as we know, an inherently lazy person.

As part of my "3 things a day" plan I will have to come up with 2 things for today.  I'll visit with Pat & Jim later in the day so that will be 1, and if I were smart I'd walk to the mailbox for #2, then what?  I could take the Christmas stuff upstairs and make room in the master bedroom/storage unit for them.  That seems almost insurmountable but may be what I do.  The day will define itself I'm sure.

It's melllllting!

It rained really hard today, and is now 40 degrees and windy.  The perfect equation to melt the noisy ice and turn the snow into slush that will freeze tomorrow and be hell to deal with.  It was funny to have such hard rain, but I always favor rain--water in the well.

I spent time yesterday and today cleaning the house for book group.  There will only be 4 of us (at most) but the house really needed some attention.  What happened to my plans of cleaning the entire house?  All I ever really take care of are the kitchen, living room and bathroom, and sometimes my bedroom.  This house is too big for me, and I don't want to live in a 2-story house, but it's my home and it's where I live.  If I win PowerBall I'll bulldoze this place and build something better.  In the same spot?  Maybe a little farther up the hill.  And I'll buy a jet and hire someone to take me anywhere I want to go any time I want.  Yeah, that's right.  And everyone I know gets tens of millions of dollars.  Then the rest goes to charities I get to pick, oh what fun I would have picking.

I haven't taken the Christmas tree down yet, have left it up for book group viewing.  It's incredibly dry and dropping needles like mad.  It will make a huge mess when I take it down.  It's still pretty and colorful.  And overdressed.

Lin is making pizza for book group dinner tonight.  I've made a big salad, have a bunch of snacks, and will serve ice cream with raspberry sauce for dessert.  That should take care of us.  I bought some red wine but last time no one drank any so I'm not opening the bottle yet.

What's up for the week?  Not much.  I guess I'll go to Plattsburgh tomorrow afternoon because UPS has the special bowl I ordered for Treasure but the driver couldn't find my house so I have to pick it up there.  They don't open until 3, what a drag.  The day after I got the notice from UPS another driver delivered my box of fatwood.  Go figure.  The bottom of the bowl is all bumpy and lumpy and is supposed to slow down her eating.  I talked to someone who's Lab is the same way about food and they got a lumpy bowl, which did the trick.  I can't imagine ANYTHING that would slow down Treasure's eating, but I'll try this.

I saw a big woodpecker at the bird feeder this afternoon--either a three-toed woodpecker or a black backed woodpecker, I couldn't tell which.  They're fairly rare but we used to see them all the time at Ken's suet feeder.  I don't have much in the way of interesting birds this year: chickadees, blue jays, finches, woodpeckers.  No nuthatches yet.  I've seen snow buntings in my travels 3 times, which is impressive.  We call them snowbirds. 

Dogs are just fine.  They're exhausted right now, after spending 2 hours sleeping in the car while I was at Pat & Jim's, and running away twice.  They're not begging for dinner, which is amazing.  Should I wake them up?  NO.

Noisy ice

The lake froze over yesterday and the ice was really loud this morning.  It moans and groans when the ice plates move around, which is very entertaining (as long as you know what the noise is).  I heard it when I was chasing the dogs.  I was getting ready to go to Plattsburgh and they ran off, down the hill and off into the woods.  Oh was I mad.  I finally found them, 20 minutes later, at the end of the driveway.  They always seem so surprised to see me when I catch them out and about.  Ratpigs.

I had a good trip to town but didn't get everything done that I'd hoped.  I got groceries for book group Sunday night, got the car washed, bought gas, mailed something to my mother, but mostly had lunch with Barb.  We always have a good time together and cover a lot of subjects.  It was very nice.  I had a big salad, pretending to further my effort to lose a pound a week.  What did I have for dinner?  Peas, lots of peas.  Only 280 calories of peas, which is four servings according to the package.  Am I full?  No, but I'm not really hungry, either.  I've got fruit and yogurt to eat in a little while.

I'm not doing terribly well with my plan to do 3 things every day.  What did I do today?  Went to Plattsburgh (1), carried in a lot of firewood (2--really?) and chased the dogs (3, a real stretch).  I have to get back to being what I carefully define as productive. 

Someone repaired my mailbox post and put a new mailbox on it.  WHO???  I'm assuming it was the County Highway Dept., but must check with the tomorrow to make sure it's for me.  No mail delivered today so I guess the mailwoman wonders the same thing.  I'll go into AuSable to finish shopping for book group and talk to the people at the post office there.

I decided not to finish John Irving's latest book.  Pretty dramatic, I really like his writing and think some of his work is really grand.  This one did nothing for me.  I read about a third of it, put it down and read 4 other books.  I tried reading it again, but it just didn't get me.  I'm reading a collection of short stories by David Guterson and am really enjoying it.  I'm trying to come up with titles for book group to choose from.  It sure is different doing this without the benefit of CEF's collection, but I poke around different websites and come up with titles.

Although it was -11 earlier this week, it was 8 this morning and up to 33 this afternoon.  Some predictions call for 40-degree temps and sleet on the weekend.  Bet we don't see 40, we're always cooler than what's predicted on TV.

I started using my Roku, at last.  This afternoon I watched Trailer Park Boys, which I'll continue to watch.  I also watched Jerry Seinfeld's Comedians in cars with coffee, which is very clever and funny (and are short bits).  I watched House of Cards earlier in the week but it grabbed me about as much as John Irving's latest book did.  There is nothing much on TV that interests me so I should really be streaming more often.  Or, heaven forbid, turn off the television (NOT).

Dogs are fine, exhausted tonight after their busy day touring the 'hood and Plattsburgh.  They are special, very special.  I thoroughly enjoy them (even when they're evil toads).

New Year

Time to pay attention to this blog--either post more often (and more interesting) or give it up.  I'm not ready to give it up so I'll try to post more often.  Do I have anything to say?  Always!

Went to Potsdam today, left home by 10 and stayed at Jenica's until after 3, was home around 4:20.  The roads were fine, some a bit slick but mostly all was just fine.  The windshield kept icing over in the morning, which meant that Tess was too hot in the front seat and panted a lot.  The visit was great, Jenica and I always have good chatting and enjoy each other very much.  Gwen is a cute, cute little girl with curly blonde hair and the Parker genes hard at work (Parker=my maternal grandmother's family).  She looks a lot like a baby Jenica, and let's hope that space between her front teeth is a temporary thing.

Justin (Jenica's husband) showed me a nifty portable propane heater, which can use regular propane canisters.  I hurried up and ordered one for my mother, had it shipped to her.  It seems simple and straightforward enough for Liza to use, if she needs it.  She worries endlessly about power outages and the lack of heat.  Let's hope it's not an issue for her, but I think she'll find this to be reassuring.

Jenica reminded me that this round of El Nino weather may match that of 1997-98.  Swell.  That was the hell of the ice storm.  I have a much better understanding of how to handle that situation, should it happen again.  But oh my oh my do I hope we skip it.  That was just awful.  Thank goodness I have good friends who helped me and supported me though the crisis.

Justin also fixed my mailbox!  Boy am I excited about that.  It was smashed and he hammered it out.  It actually opens and closes now.  Next step: attach it to a post.  I am still pissed off at the county plowman who broke the post and the mailbox.  Joe has offered to fix it for me when he comes in May but I'm hoping I can figure something out soon.  Meanwhile I go to AuSable to pick up my mail, not every day.  Do I get a lo of mail?  The mailwoman thinks so.  I have probably too many subscriptions--I inherited the need for constantly renewed printed matter from my father.  When I was a kid we subscribed to just about every conceivable magazine (Time AND Newsweek, Look AND Life, even Punch, the British magazine with cartoons I never understood).  And so I repeat the pattern.  Do I read everything I get?  NO, of course not, but I do enjoy what I read.  Can I keep up with The New Yorker?  or The Week?  Barely.  OK, honestly, not totally, but I try.  I depend on television much more than my father did as a source of information and news.

I don't know that I've ever had actual resolutions for a new year, but this year I'm truly hoping to lose a pound a week.  I'm doing better at limiting what's in my kitchen to healthier options, and I'm trying to eat protein for dinner every night.  Boy I sure do prefer whole milk yogurt over low- or no-fat yogurt.  Yikes--that was all they had for plain yogurt in AuSable, so YUM I'm enjoying it.

Ah, Bill Cosby is on the news right now.  What a pig.  Shouldn't I reserve judgment until all is settled?  Not when there are 50 people saying the same thing.

It's still warm here, 25 right now.  We're due to have real winter weather Sunday night through Tuesday morning; temps going below zero.  I hope I've figured out enough about using my wonderful stove and have made a difference with the few things I've done so it will be warmer in my house this year.  It will still be expensive because I have to use my electric heaters, but it is what it is.

The dogs are great.  I took them with me today and the poor things never got out of the car.  They were well-behaved, except for Tess' batting my arm on the way home.  PAY ATTENTION TO ME.  She probably had to pee.  Anyway both dogs are doing well.  I had New Years Eve dinner with friends last night--the son of these friends (well, I suppose he's my friend too) has a black Lab from the same breeder I get my dogs from.  She's a beautiful dog, born around the same time Treasure was.  And WOW on Monday I'm scheduled to return to Sue's (the breeder) to help inoculate and microchip another litter.  Whenever I talk to her I am reminded how much I really, really like dogs.  Especially Labs.  What great animals.

Christmas holiday

We had a great trip to RI, really enjoyed being there, had lots of good visiting and relaxing.  Relaxing from what?  Well, I was on vacation.  Vacation from what?  I just talked to a friend on the phone for a long time and she asked me what I've been doing to keep busy.  Oh dear, how embarrassing, I don't do much of anything.  Lunches in Plattsburgh.  Play with Lab puppies at the breeder's.  Watch too much TV, read too few books.

Anyway, Christmas was very nice.  I got there on Monday the 21st, had an easy drive down.  Liza was in good shape but has a torn meniscus and worries about her knee so doesn't do much.  We went to town every day, which is the norm for visiting her.  She sat in the car while I did shopping and errands, that was just fine.  We had a good Christmas day, lots of presents and fun.  Mark cooked a delicious chateaubriand for dinner (WOW) and that was fun.  Mark and & took the dogs to the  beach after Christmas--it was a short walk because it was rainy and windy and the dogs were not enjoying it at all, since they were on leashes.  I went to Jamestown to see my friend Linda.  We shared a duplex when I lived in RI so have known each other for 40 years.  We had a good visit--we always get together at Christmas and used to go to lunch in Newport but now we just visit at her house.  Easier and very pleasant.

I drove home yesterday, left Liza's at 8 and went around Boston instead of my usual Hartford-Albany route.  I stopped in Hanover, NH to visit cousins.  I stayed a couple of hours, had a really nice  visit with them, then came home through Vermont and across the lake.  There was a lot of traffic, which surprised me.  It took longer than my usual trip because of the route, so I was tired when I got home at 5.  The house was just fine, it didn't burn or collapse while I was gone.  No frozen pipes, the weather was warm and wonderful while I was gone.  Last night it was 10, and it snowed about 5" during the night.  Now it's sort of sleeting but is 20 and not bad.  I went out to get the paper this morning, they've plowed my road and the snow tires and AWD I have made it an easy drive.  Tonight I'm going to a neighborhood party on the other side of the lake with friends.  It should be nice, it's an annual gathering.

I have no plans for the rest of the week.  I talked to Annie Holt this morning--they were here for Christmas week but went home yesterday so I didn't get to see them.  They'll be back.  I think my friends want to have me come for dinner--they're here from Scarsdale, and have a relative who's new to the area and they want me to meet her.  Next week I'm going to the breeder's to help her give shots and microchip the second litter of pups.  There are yellows and blacks in that litter, wow are they cute. 

It's been a really nice holiday season.  The weather, strange as it was, was fine.  Now we're having winter but it's still warm, due to be 40 tomorrow I think.  No sub-zero temps predicted.  I have friends coming to their camp below my house at the end of January and they're hoping for extreme conditions.  We have a long way to go to reach that.

I have chores to do--unpack & put away stuff, set up my new smoke detectors (that was all I wanted for Christmas), put away my new toolbox (very nifty present from Mark), feed the birds, shovel the deck, get more firewood.  Will any of these count as an activity for the day?  I need to get back on track with my 3 things a day.

Dogs are happy to be home.  It seems strange, even though I was only gone for a week but it seems as if I left a long time ago.  I have to adjust to my routines, get back into the Hawkeye swing of things.  I'll go to Pat & Jim's in a little while, got some Canadian Club whiskey for Jim at the NH liquor store yesterday.  It will be good to see them again, hear about their holiday.  Soon enough it will be 2016.

Mark and Tess relax and wonder at the marvel of Christmas generosity.  We don't do stockings, we do baskets.  Santa brought the dogs FOUR BAGS of treats, which spent the week propped up on the back of the couch.  Tess stared at them a lot.

After Christmas we walked on the beach, but it was a foggy/misty day with strong wind.  Even though we had the whole beach to ourselves, we kept the dogs on leashes, which they did NOT appreciate at all.  We didn't walk far--Tess starts to limp when she gets bored, and it didn't take long for her to be bored by walking on a leash.

The Italian villagers rushed the creche, looking as if they were raiding it but really they were bringing gifts.  My sister sends these clay figurines every year from Naples, and we have a great time guessing what exactly each one is bringing: like, I don't really think Broccoli Man is bringing a big bunch of broccoli, but that's what we've assigned him.  Watermelons?  Not likely.  Then there's the woman who's got her skirt lifted up...what's that all about?

And at the end of it all, we're exhausted and hate wearing our pretty bows, so we chewed up a box and collapsed.

CHRISTMAS!

Here she is, Christmas tree 2015.  Not bad but overdecorated because I have way too many ornaments.  I know, you'll all study what else is in the picture.  A white cyclamen that I got for my birthday, a box of Russel Stover chocolates, the dog food bin, an indoor-outdoor thermometer, some unidentifiable things.  It's my dinner table, it has to have unidentifiable things on it.

Back to Plattsburgh this morning, a quick and uneventful trip.  It was snowing when I got home, but now I think it's raining.  I have chores to do but cannot, absolutely cannot make myself get started.  I need to sort presents to figure out what's going to RI but that just seems like a lot of work.  I guess this is what happens when you retire, after a year.

Supposed to snow tomorrow and I'm afraid that's OK with me.  It just seems as if there should be snow, and dismal me thinks that, the sooner we get snow, the less we'll get at one time.  It's those 2 foot dumps that are really a pain in the neck to deal with. 

Well anyway, happy holidays to all.

My version of a creche.  There's no baby, there's no manger, it's all about the animals.

Non-winter weather

It's warm, warmer, warmest.  Temps have been in the 40's consistently, up to 50 near here.  I can't seem to enjoy the weather because I keep thinking that winter days will be added at the end of the season.  Instead, I should be thankful that we're using up so much of winter with warm weather.  It's 30 today and that feels chilly.  That's bad.  We had barely a dusting of snow this morning, mostly that has disappeared. That, too, is bad.  We need snow for its moisture and snowmelt.  Yikes.  So far my well is behaving OK but I'm nervous about that, too.  I can find lots of ways to worry about my water supply.  If the ground freezes hard without snow my well can freeze (that's happened).  If we don't get enough snow my well can go dry (that's happened).  Or, and this is my preference, none of this will happen and life will go on.  So far so good.

Last week Julie & I spent a day in Burlington.  I'm always happy to spend a day there.  We did some shopping, had lunch at a nice restaurant, and had a fine time together.  The ferry ride home was sort of rough, with big waves splashing over the bow of the ferry.  We remembered the worst ferry trip either of us has ever taken, back in the 90's, when we were going to pick up my new car.  That was in March and it was freezing weather.  Huge waves, and the ferry started going up the lake instead of across the lake.  I was sure we would have to be rescued by the Coast Guard, it was just awful.  Neither one of us said much--all I remember is that I kept apologizing to her.  When we got to the other side my car was encased in ice from the spray.  Boy that was awful.  This ride was nothing like that, just some rocking and splashing.

I had a good birthday, spent the day with Lin & Ralph.  We went out for lunch, then to the movies (Spotlight) and I stopped at Pat & Jim's on the way home.  Lots of birthday activity.  I called my sister in the morning and we had a nice conversation.  Talked to my mother after that and we had another nice conversation.  My mother is laid up right now with a torn meniscus, which is really hard for her.  The tear doesn't sound too bad, and the doctor she saw felt it wasn't a bad tear, surgery not necessary.  My poor mother has not had any health problems in recent decades so is not used to being in pain and immobile.  I offered to go there earlier than planned, to help her get ready for Christmas.  I think she'd just as soon skip Christmas this year.  Anyway, I'm going there on Monday the 21st, will stay for a week.  There's a neighborhood holiday party on the night of the 29th, so I'll go to that.

I'm hoping to stop in Hanover NH on my way home from Liza's, to see a favorite cousin.  I haven't had a good visit with him in a long time (since his mother's funeral) and we really like each other so it would be great to spend time with him.  He's living in California right now but will be in Hanover for the holidays so hopefully I'll catch him then.

I've done most of my Christmas prep already, which is very strange.  It's sooooo much easier to get ready when you're retired!  I've been shopping here & there, sending Christmas cards a few at a time, shipped the presents to Italy and to a cousin in Vermont, and best of all, I bought a tree, put it up and decorated it.    It's a good tree this year.  The only problem with it is that I have too many ornaments so it's extremely well decorated.  It looks good.  I wanted to put up some outside lights but don't seem to be able to make myself do that, even in the warm weather.

Am I sticking to my 3 things a day plan?  Not always.  I was on a roll before Thanksgiving but sort of lost it when I went to RI.  Now I'm just focusing on getting things done for Christmas.  Most days I stop and ask myself how many things I accomplished by the end of the day.  I do pretty well, most days I can list 3 things.

The dogs are doing well.  Tess refuses to age any more and is doing very well.  She's not lame, isn't deaf or blind at all and I'm really pleased with her.  She's nearly 13 and is very stubborn, more stubborn than she used to be.  She's demanding in a gentle, sweet way, pretty pushy.  I get a kick out of her.  Treasure is OK too but she likes to run.  She takes off down the driveway and I don't know where she goes but she's not usually gone long so I guess she's mostly just eating rotten apples on the ground.

Life is good, very good.  The weather is the only thing I have an issue with.  What am I going to do if winter comes?

Easy Sunday

Not much to report for today.  I was up very early so went to Plattsburgh as soon as the stores opened.  I needed more yarn, plus got a poinsettia for Pat.  It was a quick trip, in and out, no traffic and no crowds in the stores.  Lovely.  I went to Pat & Jim's at noon, had a nice visit with Bill and others.  Came home, did some knitting, stoked the stove--all of my wood is now stacked and under cover.  That is just too amazing and cool.

Yesterday was a wonderful day because I got to play with PUPPIES.  I've been in touch with my dog breeder, offering to help her with litters or other chores.  We finally worked out a good time and I went there to help her vaccinate seven 6-week-old chocolate Labs, and to microchip them.  She waits until the puppies are tired and sleeping to do this, they're not at all wiggly and are sooooo cuddly and fantastic.  Jeezum those pups are cute.  It all went well and Sue (breeder) and I had a good visit.  We've known each other for a long time, I've had 4 of her dogs.  She asked if I would be a reference for perspective buyers.  I was really flattered and said yes, of course.  She has the best dogs and is a very serious and conscientious breeder.  She has an adult female she's thinking of retiring within a couple of years and thought that dog would be a good match for me.  Well...   I don't want to have 3 dogs right now, but Tess is 12 so maybe in the next few years it might work out.  Tess is in good health and does very well.  She and Treasure make a good pair.

I've no plans for the next couple of days.  I did spray that horrible spray foam insulation in the cellar hole.  What a mess.  I didn't know how to do it--it's not as easy as it might seem, and I got it all over.  I did get some holes filled, but there's a big spot where the foamboard has broken so I need to tape it back up.  I don't like working down there, would rather ignore the whole mess of primitive plumbing.  I still haven't wrapped the pipes in the laundry room, maybe that will get done tomorrow.

Wednesday I've got plans to go to Burlington with Julie, just for fun.  She has vacation time to use up and she suggested we go--I'm always up for a trip across the lake.  That will be nice.  Friday I'm having lunch with Barb for our annual birthday visit.  We'll have a good time, we always do.

Dogs are fine, I'm fine.  The house is warm (but it's not winter yet).  The bathroom needs to be cleaned.  Let's see...if I wrap the pipes and clean the bathroom, then walk to the mailbox, that will make THREE things in a day.  I need to get back to that.  Reading doesn't count.  Knitting doesn't count.  Watching Law & Order reruns doesn't count, either (too bad).

Thanksgiving trip

 First trip to the beach on Thanksgiving morning--it was warm but windy, with big surf.  Poor Tess and Treasure had to stay on their leashes (our new policy).  Treasure ran across my mother's road on Weds., scaring me something fierce.  There's not too much traffic on the road but cars drive fast, so we were very lucky that she wasn't hit.  I freaked out, and kept her on a leash ever after that.

The table, set and ready for the turkey.  I took the turkey with me, bought it here.  It was a good one, a 12-lb. Butterball.  Liza did most of the cooking the whole time I was there, except for the lobsters and clams that I cooked.  She likes to be in charge of the kitchen, which is fine with me.  She cooks dinner for Mark every night, keeping her busy.

Liza and Mark at the beach, watching the surfers.  It was a nice day, warm enough but still windy.  The surf was unusually big, and there were about 20 people surfing in wetsuits.  It was fun to watch them.

Surfin' USA.  When I was young, in Illinois, I really wanted to be a surfer girl.  I had pictures of surfers on my walls, and listened endlessly to the Beach Boys (none of whom ever surfed).  I wanted to go to college in Calif., though that idea evaporated when I fell in love with someone from Yale.

The beach.  We had it to ourselves for a while.

The whole visit was nice.  We had lots of good visiting and spent a lot of time reading.  I took Liza shopping several times.  Since she doesn't drive anymore, Mark takes her wherever she needs to go and she doesn't like that much.  I don't mind taking her anywhere she wants to go.  We went to the grocery store several times, and did some Christmas shopping as well.  The weather was good, it was cold one day, rained one day but mostly was warm and pleasant.  Mark and I walked the dogs on the beach on Thanksgiving, then later in the week we walked them at the Univ. of RI's botanical garden on campus (my alma mater).  That was very pleasant but again the poor dogs were never off their leashes.  Tough luck, sweeties.

My trips down and back were fine, uneventful and easy.  I traveled on weekdays and avoided the holiday rush, which was my intention.  I made good time both ways, under the usual 6 hours it takes.  Hmmmm.  I'm always trying to beat my best time, without taking any chances or driving too fast.

I'll go back for Christmas, will probably spend a week there.  I worried about my house this trip, as I always do.  Nothing to worry about, though it was 7 the morning I returned.  I left the heat on, had the heater in the cellar to keep the pump warm, and all was just fine.  Maybe the best thing about my Thanksgiving was that the Holts stacked ALL of my firewood, putting it in the wood shed under cover.  YAY.  Not only did they do that for me, they tidied up outside and did a DUMP RUN in Annie's truck.  I had a mini-dump of crap that I collected in anticipation of a dump run, but I didn't expect them to do it.  That was really, really nice.  What a relief.

I went to lunch with Julie in Plattsburgh today--we've been eating at the new Japanese restaurant for the past several weeks, a switch from our usual Thai meals.  I ran errands while I was in town, got some Christmas shopping done plus hit the grocery store big time.  I guess I haven't done a big buy in a while.  Always a shock how much we spend on food.

Tomorrow I'm hoping to get back to my 3-things-a-day routine.  I'd like to spray foam in the cellar to plug the holes in the walls and insulation.  Ugh.  I also want to wrap the pipes in the laundry room, which freeze and burst pretty much every year.  That will be a trick, getting behind the washing machine.  What a difference that should make!

Life continues to be good for me.  My house is warm and dry.  It's raining outside, due to turn to snow tonight.  Nothing dramatic, just a few inches.  It's about time.

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to all.  I'm leaving in the morning for Rhode Island, looking forward to safe travels and a nice visit with my mother and Mark.  I've got myself somewhat organized for the trip but I never really pack until just before leaving--what would we do without traditions?

Our Thanksgiving is really nice, very quiet and sort of private.  We have a turkey (I bought one here and it will have many miles on it before we cook it), mashed potatoes, good stuffing, and Mark insists on having TWO kinds of lima beans--once I told him that I can't get Fordhood limas here, and Liza likes baby limas, so he buys tons of both kinds.  What would we do without traditions?  I make a delicious pumpkin pie using Martha Stewart's old recipe, which has 1/4 tsp of chili powder that makes it delicious.

I had lunch with Julie today and ran some errands in Plattsburgh (my second home).  I got wine and champagne for RI, picked up a prescription, and Julie & I ate at our new-favorite Japanese restaurant.  We have lunch once a week and always went to the Thai restaurant but this Japanese restaurant opened downtown recently so we've changed our routine.

It was cold--but what I'll soon think of as "cool," in the 30's today.  It didn't get above freezing here in Hawkeye but was in the 30's in Plattsburgh.  I got chilled, which sort of upsets me because I really have to adjust to cold, colder, coldest temperatures.  Right now the living room is toasty, with a good fire and the heat on.  I'll leave the heat on while I'm gone and will worry about my house.  I'll turn on the cellar heat, not really necessary but a safety thing.

The Holts are coming tomorrow and will be here exactly as long as I'll be in RI--we'll totally miss seeing each other.  I asked them if they would stack some of my wood, which I hated (REALLY hated) doing, but it seems almost insurmountable at this point for me to do it myself.  If I were more disciplined and in better shape I could do it with no problem, but I just looked at the 4 cords left to be stacked and thought how cold it's going to be and how long it will take me.  Oh I'm just a wuss.

I take the dogs with me and they seem to like being in RI even though they have more fun here at home.  Right now Tess is out on the deck barking non-stop at the woods.  I do wish we could communicate better with our pets, it would be fun to know what they bark at.  It's like high sport to them sometimes.  They went to Plattsburgh with me--I take them in the car whenever I can.  They get excited about "Want to go in the car?" but it's never very exciting for them (by my standards).  They mostly sleep but do get to bark at other cars and people in parking lots.

I hope everyone has a happy and peaceful Thanksgiving, full of whatever pleases us all.

What will I do when winter comes?

It was in the 30's today and I felt very chilled.  Not good, what will I go when it really gets cold?  It was a cloudy day, slightly damp, and it was just unpleasant.  I did walk to the mailbox but didn't zip my jacket (huh?) so it was cool.  I've had a good fire going all day but I got the living room too hot so now I'm in bare feet, sitting on the couch panting with the dogs.

I was doing pretty well about stacking the wood but slowed way down, so slow that I didn't stack any today.  I did fill a wheelbarrow and bring the wood into the house, at least.  It just wouldn't be a day if I didn't handle wood.

I ran an errand for a friend this morning, going to Jay for something, then I went to the other side of Keeseville to pick up a friend's wheelbarrow.  Boy what a nice wheelbarrow, too.  Bigger than mine and not rusty or broken.  I'll get back to my stacking tomorrow.

I went to Plattsburgh twice this week.  On Weds. I ran a bunch of errands, including buying a turkey to take to RI on Tuesday.  My mother couldn't find one at her local market so I said there MUST be turkeys here, and there certainly are.  Lots of them.  So I got a 12-pounder for the 3 of us to gnaw on.  I'm taking some hubbard squash that Linda gave me before she left, the supplies to make a pumpkin pie, whipped cream and the bird.  My mother and Mark are doing the rest.  We have this Thanksgiving thing down for sure.

Friday I had lunch with Julie in Plattsburgh and did a few more errands (there are ALWAYS errands to run in Plattsburgh).  We had a good time.  Such a good time that we're doing it again on Monday.  Julie still works so I give her lots of encouragement and sympathy.  I feel so lucky to have my life.

I finished the book group book this week--we're reading The nightingale, which is a dreary WWII novel.  It was upsetting to read about concentration camps, I really hate hearing about inhumanity.  I started reading the new John Irving book but it didn't grab me so I picked up something else (which I can't remember).  I have bought several books in print, mostly paperbacks, because I like to switch back & forth from the Kindle to print.  I think my attitude about a book is influenced by the format, not sure just how but I think I have different reactions to Kindle books.

The dogs are great.  Tess is doing very well and is walking without a limp nearly all the time.  They got away from me this morning but I just picked them up in the car and they were happy.  They'll like going to Rhode Island, but they don't get as much exercise there.  My mother has a small pen so they can go outside off the leash at her house, but they can't run much.  Mark and I take them on walks in the park or at the beach but the last time I was there Treasure ran into the road at the park and was nearly hit by a car so SHE'S on a leash now. Treasure is better behaved at the beach than Tess is--Tess feels obligated to greet and visit with anyone else who happens to be there.  Treasure is less interested in people, more interested in eating seaweed and horseshoe crab shells.  Last month I didn't take Tess on our walks because she has her mobility issues.  Not sure what we'll do this time around.  I'll take Liza to the beach (she doesn't need a leash but does have mobility issues)--she likes to look at the ocean.

I like Thanksgiving, it's a very straightforward and easy holiday and it's all about food and feeling good.  We have a nice time together.

Riding in my car

Oh we love riding in the car, all right.  I like seeing them in the mirror.  They like hanging their heads out the window.

I've been good about doing my 3 things every day.  Sometimes the "things" are less strenuous and eventful, but I do three of them.  This week I'm stacking firewood,stacking 3 wheelbarrow loads of firewood in the morning and 3 in the afternoon.  I don't usually stack my own firewood but the people who do it have more complicated schedules this year so it's not getting done.  I have 6 cords to stack and doubt that I'll get it all done before snow flies but I'm doing my best.  I can't do much more than that each day because my back hurts.  whine whine.

I'm also counting calories now.  Boy is that a drag.  When I lost 28 pounds a few (or many) years ago it was with WeightWatchers, but this time I'm trying calorie counting as a method.  My friend Linda is doing WW, we did it at the same time before.  That is a good program, very effective but I feel like trying the calorie thing and saving the money.

The weather has been grand.  We didn't get much snow, just a dusting, and now it's warm and sunny with no wind.  A real treat.

The book sale went well.  I worked 2 1/2 hours, then had an asthma attack and went home.  They could have used my help at the end of the sale, packing unsold books in boxes.  Next time I'll do it differently and hopefully will help in the afternoon too.

I'm feeling good these days--better because I'm actually being productive.  I like my 3-thing days and sometimes, amazingly, I do MORE than 3 things.  Yikes, I'm out of control.  Life is good.  Retirement is extremely good.

Not snowing...yet

Supposed to snow tonight and tomorrow morning, maybe a few inches for us at the "higher elevations."  That's all right, I just got new snow tires in Plattsburgh yesterday, for a mere $856.  Well, that included installation, let's not exaggerate.  I hit a curb the other day and put a big digger in my tire so was going to have to do something about tires.  I hadn't decided whether to get snows or not and this helped me make the decision.  So let's pretend we have enough money for this sort of thing.

I've been doing all right at being productive.  Not great, but maybe better.  I have my new policy of doing 3 things every day and that makes me feel accountable and more structured.  Dishes don't count, making the bed doesn't count, laundry doesn't count.  Bringing in extra firewood DOES count, as does walking to the mailbox or to camp.  Going to town counts, but only as one thing, no matter how many stops I make.  So far today I've been to AuSable, to the post office and grocery store--that counts as 1 thing.  Brought in extra firewood and will walk to the mailbox this afternoon.  There!  Like magic!  Three things.

Tomorrow I'll be in Plattsburgh by 8 to help Bill unpack and sort books for the Historical Association's book sale.  We only have 2 hours to set up because the sale starts at 10, so it will be a hustle, which will be fine.  We used to have a book sale every year at CEF and it was a huge deal, a lot of work and staff time.  We never made much more than $1000 so we decided it wasn't worth it.  Man that was a lot of work.

I have so many household tasks to do, I should be busy all winter with that.  I never did get to the master bedroom, which was to be a priority as soon as I retired.  It's a storage unit right now and I have to dive in and throw out a ton of stuff.  I got the guest bedroom in good shape, and have actually had guests use it.  My bedroom is in fair shape, I've been cleaning it bit by bit.  Mostly cleaning it means getting rid of dog hair, but the other day I put away my summer clothes and got out my winter ones.  I have too many clothes--4 pairs of books, many coats, and many, many pairs of pants.  I need no more clothes.  I wanted to buy a new pair of Sorel boots for this winter, but my old ones are in fine shape so I can't justify the expense.  Rats.

I'm trying to find a used treadmill.  I think this will be my best bet for weight loss and fitness.  I clearly don't feel motivated to do much walking.  When I worked I used the treadmill at CEF, reading while I walked, and that was very successful.  So my goal is to repeat that at home.  All I need is a treadmill.

I've gone for walks with friends in Keene Valley twice this week.  Once was with Julie, we walked our dogs and had a good time.  Monday I walked with another friend but our walk ended up being a 3-mile trek.  Yikes.  My feel hurt after that.  Treasure went along, on a leash the whole time, and was well behaved but bored, I think.  The dogs ran off the other day when I was walking back from camp and I found them way down the road at a friend's empty camp.  BAD DOGS.  I've been very conscientious when getting them out of the car, one is always on a leash, but I didn't think quickly enough to do that coming home the other day.  ratpigs.

There's not much going on in the neighborhood.  Friends are having some work done on their camp and asked me to check on progress there.  I haven't been down there yet, feel a bit awkward "checking" on things, as the contractors are friends of mine.  It's quiet and there's no traffic, although there is someone in the bog several times each week.

The dogs think it's time to eat.  They think that a lot.  I used to feed them twice a day but since retiring I feed them a small lunch every day.  I got up at 2 this morning, fed them a tiny bit then, gave them breakfast when it got light, and now they think they should get lunch.  That will make 4 meals in one day, a bit extreme, no?

Beautiful weather now going away

It's been a wonderful week for weather, lots of 60-degree days.  I've been walking to the mailbox most days, taking both dogs along.  Tess likes to run in the beginning but walks so slooooowly coming home.  I always have to have one on a leash--on Sunday they ran off and were sighted more than a mile away on the hardtop.  BAD DOGS.  Neighbors let me know they were out and about but I couldn't find them for a while.  I never did find Treasure, she found me at Pat & Jim's.  I was really upset, I can't stand the thought of having them on the hardtop.  So every day when we get the paper, or go to town, or go anywhere, one of the has to wear a leash when we get out of the car.  BAD DOGS.

I'm trying not to do so much traveling but there always seems to be something going on elsewhere.  Monday I went to AuSable and opened a checking account at the bank there.  That took forever because the bank manager has 3 Labs and wanted to tell me alllll about her breeding program for them.  Well, I started the conversation.

Tuesday I went to Burlington for my annual mammogram.  It was an uneventful trip but I had a grand time at Barnes & Noble, buying used books for me and Christmas presents for other people.  Oh I love to spend money.  I've never had anything show in mammograms so I'm assuming all will be fine.

Wednesday I went to Plattsburgh and had lunch with Julie.  We ate at a new Japanese restaurant downtown, a radical departure from our usual Thai lunch uptown.  It was good.  We always have good visits, and I'm always happy to be reminded that retired life is wonderful.

I have planted some of the daffodil bulbs Linda left with me but still have more to plant.  There were 200 of them, most of which have been doled out to others, but I was left at least 50 to plant myself.  So I plant a few here and there every now & then.  Still have some to plant but not too many.  I'd like to have them line the driveway but the digging will be harder there so I may give up on that.

Yesterday I went to my favorite farmstand in Peru, had a grand time picking out apples from the dozen or so bins of different kinds there, for 75 cents a pound.  I got some other produce and took the scenic way home, through the neighborhood we lived in when I first moved here.  It was a nice drive through pretty countryside.

Tomorrow I'll go to the dump (it IS Saturday) then on to Julie's to help her plant some of the daffodil bulbs she ended up with.  I think we'll go for a walk after that but we're both having asthma problems so it will be a slow walk on level ground.  The wet and moldy leaves exacerbate my asthma but I'm trying to be conscientious about using my inhalers to keep it under control.  I don't like to use the steroid inhaler but that's good for prevention.  cough cough wheeze wheeze.

The weather is changing back to November-like days.  It's supposed to be in the 40's tomorrow with nice warm sun.  Should be pleasant.  I went to camp the other day to take some things down and pick up the photo album I keep there.  I'd like to lock the gate but have to communicate with the new neighbor before doing so, telling him the combination and notifying him. 

I'll be doing 3 things every day, but walking to the mailbox and knitting don't count toward that.  I need to get myself better organized and more productive.  I bought supplies to paint the bathroom floor so that's one project I need to get going on.  I like painted floors, and the floor there right now looks awful, the finish is worn off.

Dogs are just fine in spite of the limits placed on them.  As long as there's food in their bowls and biscuits in the pantry they don't seem to care about much else.  Tess is strong and moves well, taking her anti-inflammatory med every day.  Treasure is needy, always wants attention, but is a sweet, sweet dog.

I voted this week--there were a lot of local candidates to vote for so that was good.  I always get nervous when I vote, convinced I'll do it wrong, or vote for the wrong candidates.  This time I got it right (whew!) but not all of my candidates won.  Most did, though.

Life is good.  I wish I were more productive.  I've been knitting every day, which keeps me from doing chores.  Well, some think knitting is being productive, but that's not the kind of production I NEED to be working on.

Dark night

Wow, welcome Standard Time--it's pitch black at 6 p.m.  We've had very bright moonlight for the past several nights so it seems strange to have it so dark.  I prefer light in the early morning so this time of year is good for me.  The weather is great and it's predicted that the week will be warm (60's) and sunny, so YAY.  I'll maybe, just maybe, plant those damn daffodil bulbs.

The dogs raised hell with me today.  This morning they ran off after I went for the paper, and they were gone for hours.  I got a call from the woman whose camp is next to Linda's, way far down the road, telling me that she had seen the dogs at her camp, then her granddaughter saw them on the hardtop after that, not near my road.  I drove all over looking for them and was frantic.  I finally found Tess walking down the hardtop to my road, then Treasure showed up at Pat & Jim's while I was there.  Honestly!  I just can't have this.  It's leash time, that's for sure.  Right now they're passed out cold and snoring.

I've been knitting a lot, something constructive to do while I watch endless hours of television.  I guess some people will get knitted treasures for Christmas.  Maybe.  I can't knit sweaters, they just never turn out well.  Maybe I'll give sweaters one more try, though, and knit myself a vest.  I can't do armpits at all, have tried several times but the armpit holes are always too small and tight.  But as I say, maybe I'll try one more time.

I'm reading a good book by Gail Tsukiyama, something about a thousand blossoms.  It's about two Japanese brothers during and after WWII and is a good read but very long.  I'm plugging along and need to finish it so I can start the book group book: The nightingale, by Kristen Hannah.  Another WWII book.

Yesterday I went to the movies with Lin & Ralph.  We saw Bridge of Spies, which was good but long.  Tom Hanks is really wonderful and so talented.  We went out for dinner after the film, a very festive evening.  Every year Lin & I swear we're going to go to the movies regularly but somehow it never happens.  Maybe now.

Tuesday I have to go to Burlington for a mammogram, no big deal but oh boy!  Burlington!  Trader Joe's!  Barnes & Noble!  Spend money!  Hopefully I'll think about Christmas presents while I'm over there.  I've started getting presents for Mark and Liza, but just the standard gifts we exchange, nothing exciting or interesting.  Mark likes white sweatshirts and white t-shirts so I always give him those.  Both Liza and Mark are hard to find gifts for--we all have pretty much everything we need.  Which I suppose is a good thing, isn't it.

Even less color now

All that's left now are the golds of the tamaracks and the ever-darkening beeches.  It was a beautiful day, felt warm even though it was only in the 40's.  The sun was warm and there was no wind.  Did I take advantage of this?  Sort of.  I did a few outdoor chores; got my deck cleared and ready for winter, put the lawn mower away, dumped my flower pots, did laundry and cleaned the bedroom.  Man oh man do those dogs ever throw a lot of hair.  I swept under the bed (how embarrassing) and put away some of my summer clothes.  I haven't completely unpacked from my RI trip.  What am I waiting for?  My next trip?

I had a nice weekend, slightly productive.  I did get rid of my old television, dropped it off at Julie's house on Sat.  We had book group on Sunday night, hosted by me.  I got the house in pretty good shape--well, the 3 rooms people would see.  We had book group Sunday night, though we're down to 3 pretty much for winter.  I made a meatloaf that wasn't very good.  I thought I made good meatloaf but this one pretty much sucked.  I've been nibbling on the leftovers without enthusiasm.

Tomorrow I go to the dump with 2 garbage bags from camp--I closed both main camp and the boat house on the weekend, yay.  I keep hearing "Why is it your responsibility to close camp?" and there's no good answer for that.  Because no one else will do it, I guess.  It doesn't really take that long.  Anyway, after the dump I may go to the Historical Museum to see if I want to resume volunteering there this winter.  I took the summer off, and as Bill pointed out, summer has passed.  I'm not sure I want to do anything there and won't decide that until tomorrow morning.  I'll have lunch with Julie then come home.  Thursday is Pat's birthday and we'll have dinner in Plattsburgh at the seafood restaurant.  A big crowd, I'm sure.  Friday I'll have lunch in Plattsburgh with Barb.  It's supposed to be warm on Thursday so maybe I'll dig some holes and plant the bulbs Linda left behind.  She bought 200 daffodils on sale and we've doled out a bunch of them to various people but I have a ton of them to plant here.  I don't know where I'll put them all but I need to refresh my daffodil crop, it seems to be fading instead of spreading.

Not really much going on, just life in Hawkeye.  I'm happy.

Not much color left

I got back from visiting my mother in Rhode Island--I was there from last Thursday until this Tuesday.  Traveling was easy, no traffic.  I made really good time on my trip home, cut nearly half an hour off my best time.  That was a treat.

We had a good visit, spent time at the beach.  I went with my mother to a favorite spot and we sat there for a while.  Mark & I took the dogs to the beach on a cold morning when there was no surf and mist on the ocean.  Very pretty.  I took my mother grocery shopping, banking, shoe shopping, more grocery shopping, and to the fish market to get lobsters.  Lobs were pretty cheap and very tasty.

I thought the trees would be bare when I got home but there is still some color in the woods.  Not much, and it's all golds and a few yellows.  The tamaracks are starting to turn and they're pretty much the last of the color we get.  I like looking into the naked woods--I'd forgotten how much I appreciate that.  Lots of leaves on the ground, lots of brown and gray in the woods.  Very peaceful.

Today I went to Lake Placid to have lunch with my friend Julie.  The NY librarians are having their annual conference there this week so the place was crawling with librarians.  Yikes.  And I used to be one of those people.  It was funny seeing so many people with their nametags and blue NYLA bags walking around town.  We went to a restaurant far from the convention center but there were still a few librarians there anyway.  I visited with the people at the public library, who miss me and my work routines (things have changed a lot since I left)(and I don't really care).

Yesterday I went to Plattsburgh, needed some groceries and got some banking done.  I do like being in town on weekdays.  There was no real traffic on my trip today, I like having the roads to myself--who doesn't?

All the summer people are gone.  Linda was the last to leave, on Friday.  We email daily, often more than once a day, it's not the same as being together but not a bad substitute.  I email my sister daily, too.  Anyway, without the summer people the neighborhood is quiet.  Not much traffic on OHR, that's for sure.  I've been walking Treasure to the mailbox every day--I have to have to have to get more exercise and lose weight.

I keep getting messages from my dog breeder delaying my puppy play dates.  I'm hoping to get over there next week.  One of her bitches just had 7 chocolate puppies, but those are too young for me to play with.  I guess I'll probably return to the Keene Valley library next week to do more work in the archives--that depends on the director's schedule.  Those are my 2 volunteer activities for this fall.

This weekend I'll clean the house for book group Sunday eve.  There are only 3 of us now that the summer people have left.  It's funny to call it a book group when it's a trio but we do read a book every month.  I'll also deliver my old television to Julie in Keene.  I bought a new (cheap) one to use with Roku so need to find a home for my old one.  I'm hoping to get a bunch of stuff cleared out of the downstairs, but the upstairs sure is getting full of stuff.  I have to clear off my deck.  My plants all froze while I was gone.  It was in the teens and snowed twice here.  Time to dump out the planters.  I've put out food for the birds.  Must bring in the rug that Mark sent me home with, which will go in the living room.  Oh there's a long list of tasks.  Linda bought 200 daffodil bulbs and distributed a fair number of them but there are a ton left.  I'll give some to Julie, some to Pat, and plant a lot along my driveway.  Yeah, sure I will.

Life is good.  This is the first fall I've been retired and I sure am enjoying it.

Home again home again

 Trip to the beach with my mother.  She likes to sit by the sea and look at it, which is the main reason she moved to Rhode Island in the first place.  It was a sunny day, with a warm wind.  At this beach there are often people surfing on very small waves.  There was no one else there this time, so we had the beach to ourselves.  It was nice.

 My mother actually took a picture with a digital camera (that turned out).

This is what the dogs spent a lot of their time doing while we were in RI.  My mother bought 2 new couches and we agreed that they work well for 2 dogs.  They work well for people, too.

Fall color

 The Silver Lake Mtn bluffs.  Better color than this shows, but still not the brilliance we expect.

View along the road in Wilmington.  Again, good color but not what we usually get.  Pretty anyway.

Right now the wind is blowing and leaves are flying off the trees.  There are a lot of bare trees out there, a change from yesterday when there were a lot of bright yellows and the woods were glowing.

I've been helping Linda get ready for her homeward trek, which starts tomorrow.  Today we took massive amounts of stuff to the dump.  The other day we closed Upper Camp.  Last night we went out for dinner (wait, is that helping her get ready? well, sort of).  I'll go there tonight for a final drink and farewell.  I was supposed to go to the dog breeder's this afternoon to play with her puppies but that didn't work out.  Postponed until next week.

I'm leaving for RI tomorrow, a visit just to entertain my mother and Mark.  I'll stay until Tuesday, not a very long visit, and hopefully I can help her get ready for Jenica's visit next weekend.  Liza is looking forward to seeing Jen and especially the baby.  Cute little girl, that one is.

I did a little bit of closing the boat house, mostly just took a look around and made mental notes of what needs to be done.  I guess I'll probably close main camp, too, but not this week.  Those things don't really take much time.  Jamie took out the water but the camp dock is still in (not my problem).  There are still a few other docks in the lake, but not many.  Linda and I had some nice dock time this week, more than an hour of sitting in the sun watching nothing in particular.  It was relaxing and pleasant.  Water is way too cold for swimming, although Sue did swim while she was here, and Annie Klassen says she was in the water this week.  brrrr.

I went to a tea with my friend Julie on the 4th of this month.  It was pretty funny, in a newly-opened coffee place in Keene Valley.  You had to make reservations, and there were 2 tables occupied in the first seating, with 2 more set for the second seating.  Well it was a good experiment, but was probably too expensive for anyone but fools like us. 

Last Sunday I went to the Keene Valley farmers market by myself.  It was great fun and I didn't spend much money, just got a few things.  It was the last market of the season.  Columbus Day weekend wasn't as busy as it usually is, there weren't many people around.  Linda did have some dinner parties and that was fun.  The week before Annie was here with her brother & his wife so I got to spend time with them.  They played with Annie's chain saw and cut some small trees around my driveway.  There is a LOT, a WHOLE LOT more of that needing to be done, especially close to the house.

The dogs are fine.   I was supposed to go to the breeder's this afternoon to play with (socialize) her puppies, but she had a vet crisis so it's been postponed.  I'm considering this my volunteer activity for the winter.  That, plus I spent a couple of hours at the Keene Valley library, working on the books in their archives.  I'll get back to that, I enjoyed doing it and we've set it up very loosely so I can go whenever I want to but there's no great pressure.  At least I'll feel productive.  Maybe.

  The weather has been wonderful, just turning cool lately.  We had a few cool nights and I kept a fire going but mostly it's just warm and sunny.  It's supposed to get very cold (20's) this weekend with a chance of snow, but I'll miss that.  It always snows in October, just a dusting or an inch of wet snow that disappears quickly.  I'm counting on that.

I'll have a good time in RI , always do.  I'll help my mother run errands, visit with her, visit with Mark, read, and relax.  Relax from what???  My life is so non-stressful, what a wonderful thing to report.

Busy week

The week got off to a good start, with my dental report that there's NOTHING wrong with my teeth.  I have to go back to have my permanent retainer re-glued in 2 places, but there are no other problems.  Yay for that--I get hysterical going to the dentist because of my childhood experiences of drilling without novacaine, if anyone can imagine that.  What a nasty dentist Dr. Kyle was!  He traumatized all three of us children but we moved on.  More or less.

My car, with 21,000 miles on it, was making a horrible noise, rear end sounding like grinding brakes.  I took it to the dealer in Burlington, where I bought it, and they kept it overnight.  It was indeed the rear brakes, which were replaced under warranty.  Another yay for me.  Two trips to Burlington two days in a row is tiring, that's for sure, but I did have fun shopping while I was there.  Once to Trader Joe's and once to Barnes & Noble.  Two of my favorite spots.  Did I spend a lot?  Well, yes, but I had to make it worth the trip.

I went to Plattsburgh again yesterday to run errands, a quick trip with the dogs.  Today was Lin & Raph's cider pressing.  I went with Linda, we met Marylou there and had a great time.  It was cold here this morning, 31 degrees, but it had warmed up by the time we were at the pressing and the sun was warm and bright.  Linda & I took the ton of wild apples we'd picked--Ralph swears that wild apples make the most flavorful cider so he was pleased to see them.  There was a guitar-playing singer there who had fun entertaining us all.  Ralph makes guitars and he played one of them for a song, which we all liked.  He sang a Stephen Foster song, which made me smile.  My 5th grade teacher was the music teacher and she had us sing Stephen Foster songs all the time, but only the racist ones.  According to her the best musician ever was Liberace.  Of course, she didn't live long enough to catch the musicians of later years.  But there never was another Liberace.

Tomorrow is the neighborhood breakfast at the Blue Heron.  Minards, McDougalls, Linda & Erd., me, the Holts and maybe some others will be there.  Should be nice but I bet it will be a tad cool on the screened porch at 9 a.m.  Linda is making pancakes, Sue is making a strada, I'm taking juice and cider.  It will be great--it's an annual thing.

The coming week has a few events.  Monday I'm due in Keene Valley, where the library director thinks I'm going to volunteer to work in the archives.  I don't know what I'll do about it, but I do know I won't go there every week.  I don't want another voluntary obligation.

Tuesday I'm having my stovepipe cleaned.  I haven't had a fire yet this season, am just waiting for the cleaning.  What's up for the rest of the week?  Probably lunch with Julie on Weds., a birthday dinner for Bill on Thursday at Linda's.  That's it.  Maybe yoga on Tuesday night with Sue, but maybe not.

Things are good, very good.  Retirement is a great gift.

 Just a few of the apples that were there.  A small fraction.

Our book group!  That's Marylou, Linda, Lin and me, along with Lin's grandchild Hannah.  We have seasonal members, too, but this is the core group.  A good looking bunch, I think.

Late autumn coming along

We're usually approaching peak color by now but there's just a hint of some yellows and reds in the hills and woods right now.  The weather has been fantastic, if you like dock days (I sure do).  80's and sunny and not very humid.  Ahhhhh.  Today it's 60 and sunny and probably signals the end of dock days, though the water is still very comfortable for swimming.

I've been doing well, still on permanent vacation.  No, I have to remind myself, it's not a vacation, it's real life.  I have a lot more fun entertaining and cooking dinners (well, I've only done 2) because I'm not working, so it's much, much less stress to plan, prepare, clean, and cook.  Last night I had 4 friends eat dinner at camp, on the front porch with a great view of the lake, on a warm evening.  It was really nice.  I wanted to cook my turn at Sunday dinner at camp, too, but camp was full of other people that weekend so I had it at Joe & Martha's instead.  It was eggplant parmesan, cooked two very different ways, one by me and one by Linda.  Both were great, got lots of compliments, and it was a really nice time.

Joe & Martha are still here, so are Duncan & Sue and Linda & Erdvilas.  Do I mind being the single person among couples?  Not really.  It would be fun to share time (and work) with someone but I so much enjoy being by myself that it all seems OK.  And people are always very generous about including me (my mother would say "Well of course they do, that's because you're nice and they like you," which I suppose has a grain of truth to it).  We're creeping up on October, which is Departure Time for everyone.  What this means is that we all spend a lot of time together, lots of dinners at each others' camps and homes and it's a lot of fun.  No, we don't get sick of each other or run out of things to talk about.

I have a dentist appointment tomorrow, ugh.  Haven't been for a while and am past due for a cleaning.  My permanent retainer (which is what you get when you have braces) is busted in 2 places and it will be expensive to get them fixed, but if I don't get them fixed the teeth will float back to their original places and why did I get braces anyway?

Since my cousin took my dock out on Labor Day, I spend my dock time with Linda on her dock.  She has Dock Supreme and we have a wonderful time together so it's a treat.  The location isn't as fantastic as our dock is, but there are hardly people left on the lake so it's quiet.  And sooo pretty

I'm still reading a lot, hoping to carry that over to winter instead of my usual TV habit.  I'm reading Jane Smiley's latest, which is a continuation of a family saga.  It's sort of hard reading, not a fast-paced story at all but she's a good writer.  I still have a long list of titles to get to but keep buying new titles both for my Kindle and in print.  Sometimes I feel like reading a "real" book in print, other times I like reading on my Kindle.  I get a ton of ebooks for $1.99 each from BookBub, which just fills up the Kindle without my ever getting to read them.

I did some actual cleaning the other day, threw out a lot of junk and rearranged things in the library at the back of the house.  I have to get the heater there fixed so needed to make room for someone to get to it.  I have a lot more of that kind of thing to do but it felt good to do even just a little bit.

I have lunch with friends often, about once a week, in Plattsburgh.  I don't mind going to Plattsburgh sometimes, but man it seems like such a long drive.  How did I do that all those years?

I've been picking wild apples in prep. for Lin's cider pressing party next week.  Linda and I had great fun driving down a back, uninhabited road, picking lots of wild apples along the roadside.  I had scoped out a bunch of trees, and can't help but keep noticing apple trees loaded with apples still.  Must learn to notice something else.

Tonight is book group, Linda's last turn hosting.  After this it will be Lin, Marylou and me for the winter.  We still call it book group, and read a book each month.  We sure don't spend much time talking about the book, but we've been getting together for 13 years and have become a good group.  Getting smaller, but still nice.

The dogs are fine though a big pudgy because I haven't been walking them much lately and they get lunch every day.  They take each other for walks pretty much every day, which is not great but they seem to stay out of trouble.  Last night I was driving home from camp after dark and there was a huge porcupine in the road.  Treasure took off when we got home and I was fearful that she had her heart set on meeting up with Porky, but that didn't happen.

Life is good, very good.

Tess and I like Dock Days

 Tess swims a bit, then suns on the big rock.  I think every camp has a "Big Rock" along the shoreline.  We have 2, one at each dock.  Our neighbors have a bigger Big Rock. 

And I smile.  It was a very, very nice dock day.  Temps in the 80's, the water was cool but not at all cold, and there was a slight breeze to keep us cool.  Ahhhhhh.  This is what I had in mind when I retired, all I wanted was to have a summer without going to work.  Lucky me!
Lots of social life these days, plenty of time spent with Linda as well.  I made pickles, using a recipe from long ago.  My friend Barb and I used to make these pickles every year by the gallon, then eat the out of the jar.  They're sort of like bread & butter pickles only much better.
This morning I'm having coffee with friends who are leaving the lake today.  I'm hoping to convince them to return for Columbus Day and stay with me.  Then I'll make another batch of pickles.  Then I'll go to the dump.  Then I'll sit on the dock, if the sun comes out.  Tonight I'm having dinner with friends who invited my dogs to joins us.  I'll only take Treasure--Tess is easily bored and stares at me when she thinks it's time to go home (and that is always sooner than I'm ready to go).

The weather has been good but we could use a little rain.  The plants on my deck have pretty much died or pooped out.  I didn't show much interest in them this year.  The dogs picked the tomatoes.  I ate a few cucumbers.  The flowers looked nice for a while but I didn't deadhead them enough.  Today is dump day--I have my garbage, boat house garbage, camp garbage and friends' garbage so it will definitely be worth the trip. 

I've had a really good summer.  My only complaint is that I thought I'd be more productive--but uh-oh, my social life got in the way.  Most retired friends agree that we're less ambitious than we hope we'd be because we don't have to do anything today, there's always TOMORROW.  I have a long list of things to get done around the house, and only 2 items have been checked off and completed.

Not much else going on.  Dogs are all right.  Tess is old.  Treasure is good.  The people I'm seeing tonight are waiting for a puppy from the same breeder I get my dogs from.  She's expensive but boy oh boy these are nice dogs.  I had a good visit with a cousin & his wife recently--they're big Lab fans and love love love to visit with my dogs.  So my dogs love them.  REALLY love them.  They go bounding into camp (the dogs, not the cousins) and run to the front porch where Rob & Betsy are.  PET ME PET ME PET ME.  It's very sweet.

I've been reading quite a bit, nothing terribly notable but some good stuff.  What a luxury and joy.  Is retirement what I'd hope it would be?  All that and more.