Ripe old age

I turned 66 yesterday.  I'm lucky to have many many friends of many many ages, some of whom insist I am still young.  Thank you, all who tell me that.  I feel young.  I also feel loved and fully birthday-ed.  What a lot of attention and good wishes I received.  I have collected a wide and wonderful crowd of loving generous kind people in my life, from my early years in Rockford to my years here in Hawkeye.  Phone calls, emails, cards, messages and just a lot lot lot of attention.  All making me feel fortunate and happy, very happy.

And now it's back to reality.  It's -7 right now.  The dogs have had their midnight snack and each went out for a short time.  Quite short, announcing to me that--BARK--its cold out there and could they please be let in NOW.  It will get colder before daybreak but it won't be -20, those are the temps that make me nervous.  "I can remember when" is often heard here, and I do remember when we first lived in this house it was -40.  I stayed home that day, refusing to put my car to the test and worried about my house.  Cold and snow, snow and cold.  "That's what winters USED to be like" I hear a lot.  I have to agree, we don't generally have the massive amounts of snow we had in my memory here but we still hit 100 inches I think.  At least that's what my plow bill indicates, at $50 a pop every time he plows my driveway--and he only plows for 6" or more.

It's a work day and there are 2 people who would like to use the resources of the Archives.  OH NO!  One person is researching the boundaries of the Town.  I'm not sure what exactly he's hoping to find, we have a map collection in the library, not in the Archives but it's in the mountaineering collection.  I'll sic Margaret on these people and she'll find something akin to what they're looking for.  She's a wonderful assistant, she is actually my assistant but it's foolish to call her that.  She's my colleague and does the research while I just mess around with metadata and scanned images and pleasing the Board members by being charming to them.

I have half of my Christmas shipping wrapped and packed but not yet shipped.  And lying in my driveway is my tree, not yet cut to size or brought indoors, looking more like a carcass than something of Christmas.  I'm hoping to get to the post office this afternoon.  More like committed than hoping.  Tomorrow is lunch with a friend who shares a December birthday, I've yet to wrap her presents.  There will be errands taken care of in Plattsburgh too, then maybe I'll be close to completing my Christmas present-like tasks and I'll focus on the tree.  In my younger days I made a point to have my tree up by my birthday but that seems less important now.  The tree will be viewed by my book group in January and probably the friend I see several times a week but other than that the dogs and I will enjoy it.  I like seeing my collection of ornaments, and I really like having the little colored lights on that side of the living room.  Maybe some year I should just spread the ornaments on the table, surrounded by the lights.  Yeah, that sounds like a plan.

And on it goes

It was winter today, -4 this morning, high in the teens.  Right now its 11.  That's not too bad because we've no wind.  This house is so much nicer with spray foam insulation underneath!  duh.

I've been to the gym a couple of times this week, boy would I like to get back into that routine.  We're planning to go again this morning but my friend hosted a wonderful party last night and I wouldn't be surprised if she thought maybe it would be good to stay home and put the house back together.

I enjoyed the party--it was all couples but that rarely even occurs to me until I describe a group to someone (or in this case someTHING).  I had too much wine and am suffering the effect of that now with a headache in the middle of the night.  Someone filled my very large wine glass too full and I wasn't paying attention and drank it all.  And that wasn't my first glass of the evening.

I was taught in high school journalism that one should never start a sentence with AND or BUT or HOWEVER.  Do these rules still apply?  Grammar rules have changed.  It's always interesting to me what specific things we remember (OK, maybe not ALWAYS interesting)(but often enough).  Moments, rules, events of no particular significance perhaps are seared into our brains.  Like the zip code of Waterville, Maine, where my brother tried to go to college (04901), and yet I can't remember my close friends' cell phone numbers.  Not even close.

Now it's more like winter

It's 15 now, temps due to be in single digits overnight.  And I got chilled today, darn it.  I'm hoping I sure didn't get acclimated to warmer temps.  No, I'm not that fickle and silly.

I've been keeping busy.  really?  no, not really.  Mostly I just do my household things: dishes, laundry, firewood, feed the birds, shovel and hack at ice on the deck.  The driveway is deep iced ruts, I drove too much through the slush of the weekend, now I deal with the results.  It's hard as rocks out there.

I went to work today and it wasn't the most productive day as far as Archives tasks went but we did what we did.  I met with the president of the newly-formed historical society.  They have finally wrestled away the historical collection from the home of the Town Historian and it's now waiting in the Keene library for organizing and sorting and making accessible.  The president of the society met with me today to get ideas on how to proceed and what to try to accomplish.  I was feeling inadequate to the task but we worked out a plan and came up with some ideas on how to proceed.  If it were nearer my home I'd be more involved but driving the 40-minute drive twice a week to the Archives is as much as I feel like doing (I guess).

Tomorrow I have a busy morning, stress test and EKG at 7:45.  That means leaving home at 7, which isn't a problem.  What is a problem is that I'm not supposed to ingest any caffeine before the stress test.  I hate to be so rigid but I sure do like a cup of coffee when I get up and when I have to drive to Plattsburgh in the morning.  Too bad for me.  I'll survive.  My instructions are to wear comfortable clothes (I don't really have any other kind of clothes) and not to eat a big breakfast (I never do unless I'm with summer friends at the restaurant in Upper Jay).  OK, this will be easy.

The dogs are fine in their new collars.  Bear was wearing the pink & purple one but when the new blue one came for Treasure I realized the folly of my choices.  Now all is right with the world.

Rain? Really?

They're predicting 1. snow    2. sleet/ice   3. rain for tonight and tomorrow.  So far nothing is happening.  We saw the sun for about 5 minutes today but that's the first time we've been exposed to Vitamin D in days and days.  It didn't snow at least.

I had a good enough week.  Was at the Archives on Thursday, where someone came in needing help doing research.  A rare sighting. 

This morning I worked in the thrift store though I only stayed until 11:30.  I don't understand how the other volunteers can work for 5 hours, I just get exhausted and my feet get tired.  Concrete floors, lots of walking around and standing the whole time.  It was busy with shoppers and there were a lot of droppers too, lots of stuff to process when I left but did that make me stay to help the only other person in receiving?  Hell no, once I decide to leave there's no stopping me.

The dogs are fine.  Bear got a new collar just before Thanksgiving and today Treasure's new collar came.  How exciting!   Life in Hawkeye is pretty slow-paced but really, that's not exciting nor is it newsworthy.

No big plans for tomorrow.  I'm very curious about the weather, it's 28 degrees right now.  Will it rain?  That would be nice, should make it easier to shovel the stairs and path on the deck.  But then...will it freeze before I can shovel?  or will it not rain at all but just freeze?  OMG I just don't know.  How lucky am I to have those be the questions on my mind!

It just won't stop!

I'm guessing we have 2 feet of snow on the ground by now.  It's just snowing and snowing and snowing.  Snowed all night, off & on during the day, still spitting snow now.  Man oh man this is a lot for November.  We won't be seeing bare ground for a long long time.

It's warm, 32 out there now, which will make my shoveling harder in some ways but at least not unpleasant.  I already shoveled the steps once but you'd never guess that.  I think we got 6 more inches last night AFTER my driveway was plowed.  It could use some tidying up but that's not going to happen I'm sure.

Went to Plattsburgh this morning, the roads were good on the way in but were worse on the way home.  Side roads are a problem but nothing dangerous or scary.

My house warms up quickly when I stoke that fire.  The spray foam insulation has made a huge difference and is really a great thing.  I used to lose a ton of heat to the upstairs but the insulation has cut way down on that (no draft coming up from under the house through the floor).  It seems very strange to have such a warm house!

And wait for it...it's coming again

Another storm is predicted for tonight and tomorrow.  A foot, maybe more.   maybe less.  Do they ever really know?

I'm home today from my Thanksgiving trip to Rhode Island.  I had a good time, Thanksgiving was nice.  Started with a beach walk with the dogs, a very abbreviated walk because it was 10 degrees and very windy, so windy that I cut it short.  I didn't take my winter clothes to RI because you never need those at Thanksgiving.   WRONG.  Anyway we had another, nicer and longer beach walk later on and the dogs had a great time.  They don't get to run free at my mother's house, there's a pen for them but that's all they get for exercise.  And it's a small pen.  Mark and I try to get them to the beach at least twice a week when I'm there.

My drive down was fine, I went through Worcester and it was a shorter trip but too many miles spent on the Mass Pike to suit me.  I went on Tuesday.  Wednesday, of course we went to town, just a quick trip.  Thanksgiving was fine with a 10.5 pound turkey.  Mark did a lot of the cooking and the food was all great.

Friday we went to town of course, several stops including the grocery store for my mother to do her weekly shopping.  It was cold here at home, -10 reported to me, -21 in Saranac Lake I think.  I worried and fretted about my house.  I had left all my baseboard heaters as high as they would go but sill I worried.  For naught.

Anyway on Saturday my niece, her daughter (4 years old) and her husband came for the afternoon and evening.  In the morning Mark & I went to the seafood store for lobsters and clams, yummy delicious small littlenecks and lobsters from cold water.  We all had a good visit, such a nice time with my family.  The little girl is a wonder and is just as sweet as a child can be.  Who's one of her best friends?  TREASURE!  They left after lobsters, went to Mystic Aquarium on Sunday before they headed home for Potsdam.  A lot of driving.

We had a quiet Sunday, mostly read, visited, I struggled for hours with the Sunday crossword puzzle.  Did I finish it?  Only with help from an atlas and Wicktionary, and even then there were 4 empty spaces.  Oh my.  

It warmed up considerably.  My friend came to check on my house on Thanksgiving and reported that it was warm and fine, then she returned this morning and reported that the living room temp was 79.  Well OK so I spent a fortune needlessly heating my house but my pipes did NOT freeze so that was swell.  My friend laid a fire for me and brought in mail and delivered packages.  How lucky I am to have a kind, generous and considerate friend. 

Now the temp outside is 32, the living room is 69 and I just lit the fire.  I've turned off all the heaters.  Man oh man am I glad I had the insulation sprayed under the house!

The dogs were so very very happy to be home.  Bear whined nearly the whole way from Albany to the house.  I thought he was desperate to pee so stopped at a rest area but oh no, he didn't HAVE to, he just sniffed a lot and peed a little.  What a pig.   I assume he was sick of being in the car.  Well hells bells so was I!

So we're supposed to have this storm tonight (it's raining right now) and tomorrow.  I'm supposed to go to Keene Valley to work in the morning, let's wait and see what the conditions are.  It feels as if I've been gone for a very long time but of course it's just about a week.  I'll be going back to RI for Christmas and will spend almost a week there then.  What will I set the heat at?  Oh such a good question.

Oh no! not again!

Predictions for a big storm tonight and tomorrow!   Run for cover!   Their best guess is that we might get a foot of snow.  It's cold so it should be fine, drier snow.  Right now the temp is 4, I think it's supposed to get up to 20 today.  Makes me think of my friends in Georgia and chuckle--don't they wish they were here today?!

Life has been good and without incident.  The car is still clean, my wood stove works well, the insulation I had sprayed under the house is working admirably.  It's true that the living room is cold at 59 but it will warm up and there's not the draftiness of the past.  The upstairs is much cooler, yay for that, not losing as much heat from the downstairs.  That's what the sprayers predicted, there's not the big draft coming through the downstairs with all that cold air being blocked.  I'm so happy!

Although I was convinced it was Saturday when I got up this morning at 5:30, it's really Thursday.  A work day.  I'll head out around 8 or so, be home by 1 if I come straight home.  No anticipated stops today.  So what will I do this afternoon?  I have glassware for the thrift store that needs to be washed--I brought a box home weeks ago to wash before selling it but then my well ran dry so it's been sitting in my mudroom all this time.  I'm so cocky about my water supply that I'm doing laundry right now, just a smallish load but I don't feel like going to the neighbors' to do it.  Oh I'm living close to the edge all right.

Hard to believe Thanksgiving is next week.  I'm leaving on Tuesday but packing is no big deal.  I have a LIST, a long list.  At the top of the list is TURKEY, don't forget the turkey.  Then we have dog bowls and dog food, don't ever forget those!

It's 0 in Saranac Lake right now, we're so much better off than they are.

SNOW! But just a little bit

We didn't get as much snow as I expected, only ended up with a couple of inches.  Of course it's still here, didn't melt...

I had a good weekend, worked at the thrift store for a couple of hours on Saturday morning.  They needed me in books so I didn't work in receiving, books are much easier to deal with and a lot less tiring.

Went to the dump Saturday afternoon.  It was really windy and snowy a bit.  Some friends were here to take out their dock, they got that done without my help (yay) and we went out for dinner that night in Saranac Lake at the Hotel.  My friends spent the night there instead of their unheated, waterless cabin in the cold.  We had a good dinner and nice visit.  I had a long dark ride home in blowing snow but it wasn't a problem.  I have a good car (Crosstrek) with snow tires.  And a CLEAN Crosstrek too!

Sunday was quiet, I walked with my friend in the morning but the dogs took off on the way home.  BAD DOGS!  My friend found them on her way home, down the hardtop more than a mile away.  We walked the bog again today but I put Treasure on a leash on the way out.  Boy was Bear sad about that.  He doesn't seem to take off from our walks unless she tempts him.

Today is Veterans Day--no mail.  I wrote a letter to my dear niece who is now a Doctor, doing research in Bozeman.  Talked to my mother for a long time, she was very very chatty.  I went to a farm stand, got delicious Fuji apples, carrots, got cider at another stop and picked up a few low-point and pointless vegetables.  Man, Weight Watchers is killing me.  I have so much trouble staying within my daily points!  Tonight's dinner will be scrambled eggs=zero points.

It's 36 degrees outside and there was some sunshine so my living room is HOT, too hot at 73.  I do not like it that hot.  It's much like winter here now, snowy ground and dark afternoons.  Well what do I expect?

SNOW!!!! Heavy snow!

It's snowing hard and adding up.  Predictions had it starting at 3:00 and guess what time it started snowing?  Just before 3.  How do they do that?

I was up during the night, decided to be productive as long as I was up so did 2 loads of laundry at my friends' house, bringing them home to dry here.  Did dishes.  Brought in firewood.  Dumped some deck pots (those that weren't frozen) and brought the rest inside to thaw.  Cleared the deck.  YAY cleared the deck.  I walked with friends at 7:30, that was nice at 30 degrees.  I like 30 degrees, it's not too cold for me.

We ended up meeting in Lake Placid for lunch, that was really nice.  I ran some errands, did some shopping (hello dog food and dog biscuits) and met up with my friends at the Pub.  Nice time, very nice time. 

Now I'm home in front of a nice fire in the stove, watching it snow knowing I'll have to go out for more wood even though I have plenty in right now.  I'll go out for more when I go out for the mail in an hour or so.  Predictions are for us to get 3-6 inches.  I'll take 3, thank you.  But I have new snow tires on my car and I don't really HAVE to go anywhere tomorrow.  I feel I should show up at the thrift store tomorrow so will try to get there if the roads aren't bad.

Now I've put away the laundry, oh I love clean clothes.  I have to take apart the bookcase in the bedroom and replace it with the new one I bought but that just doesn't sound like fun right now.  Instead I'll watch dumb TV and maybe go to sleep.

Busy busy busy

I worked THREE mornings this week, last week as well.  OMG that's almost like working full-time (not, so much not).  We finished up the project with the schoolkids and it turned out well, the kids were excited and interested and engaged so it was a success.  I can't take credit, I just furnished the materials, the ideas and follow-through were done by others. 

I finally FINALLY got my car detailed.  What a disgusting mess it was, but now it's nice and sparkling clean.  Cost a fortune but had to be done.  Now I have to put on the seat covers and take better care of the poor car.  I really like the Crosstrek, I've been driving my friend's Impreza for the last 2 days--my previous car was an Impreza and I didn't like it much but it was fun to drive a car closer to the ground, I felt very sporty.  But boy am I happy to have my car back.

I have a long list of tasks to accomplish both indoors and outdoors.  Too many things to get done in just one day.  or two.  I'm not good at accomplishing tasks, mostly.  I still haven't emptied the deck but I did get a start on it.  It's supposed to snow this weekend, starting tomorrow night I think.  Many inches are expected in higher elevations, which usually includes us.  But wait, maybe it will turn to rain.  or sleet.  So I'm guessing we don't really know what will happen.

I have friends coming to their camp for the weekend to take out their dock.  Man that sounds like a miserable job but I offered to help.  I'm working at the thrift store Sat. morning but may help them in the afternoon (or not).

I haven't been walking, my walking partner has been busy with other things (she still works full-time).  We are planning a walk tomorrow morning and that will be good.  I did walk half a mile to the hardtop this afternoon to meet the friend who took me to Plattsburgh to retrieve my car.  Not much but something.

Rain and more rain (good for the well)

We're in the middle of a rainy spell, seems to rain every day and all night.   That is OK with me, water from the sky makes its way to my well eventually (or so I like to think).  No, not really, I know the water in my well comes from the vein underground.  This year was the year of spray foam insulation, I'm hoping next year will be the year of the well.  We'll see how things go.  It's the one thing everyone nags me about ("You should have a well drilled"), but who has thousands of dollars handy?  (Oh I know there are people who do, I'm just not one of them)

It's another middle-of-the-night postings.  I got some good sound sleep for a few hours but woke up at 1 with 2 antsy dogs and decided to get up.  Yes, the dogs get a snack and then get to go outside in the rain but then they collapse into a deep sleep, lucky buggers.  I'll no doubt be asleep soon.  I don't have to be at the thrift store until 9 so I'll get some more sleep.  I'm looking forward to earlier sunrise after tomorrow, I like having light in the early morning.  I used to stay in bed until the last possible minute when I worked, now I get up at least an hour earlier than I need to be anywhere.  I like having a quiet time.  as quiet as it can be with 2 bouncy black dogs.

I got new shoes for my car, snow shoes!  I spent much of yesterday in Plattsburgh--got the tires and had them installed while I waited, then ran a few errands before coming home.  Next week it's back to Plattsburgh to have the poor car detailed and ionized.  When my friend and I have our morning coffee at Stewarts we look at the displays--aspirin, candy, condoms and of course air fresheners in a number of scents.  We were intrigued by the "Black Ice" scent so when I bought my car my friend gave me a Black Ice dangler for my new car.  It finally came in handy this week--VERY handy and is pretty good at masking the Odoban/dog poop smell that has saturated the seats. 

It' supposed to be ("supposed to be") sunny and 40 tomorrow and I have high hopes for finishing my outdoor chores.  Have to get these things done!   Put the mower in the shed, empty the flower pots and put away the deck furniture then finish the boat house closing. 

The birds are eating a feederful every day, mostly chickadees but nuthatches and a few finches as well.  Woodpeckers are chowing down on the suet, blue jays are trying to grab anything they can.  Red squirrels gnaw on the suet but they don't seem to really enjoy eating fat.  Who can blame them?

Middle of the night

Or early morning, whichever you choose.  I woke at 2 a.m. and finally just got up at 2:30.  The dogs were pleased, they seem to think a snack and trip outside are appropriate for this time.  I'm a sucker and eager to please so they get what they request.  Some of the time.

I'm all fussed about the car, I've tried everything to clean the backseat with no success so I have an appointment to have it detailed.  This is really embarrassing, the car is disgusting and I hate to have anyone have to deal with it.  Then I remind myself that they've probably seen worse and had to deal with more disgusting things.  But still... I hate to be the one to make people deal with unpleasant things.  But still.. it's what they do for a living.

I'm watching The Baroness von Sketch Show, which is very funny VERY funny women's humor, short vignettes by a women's comedy troupe.  Some of these make me laugh out loud.

A group of us had lunch in Plattsburgh to celebrate Pat's 79th birthday.  79!  Wow, next year she'll turn 80, amazing.  Of course that used to seem so old but now, oh no, it's not old at all, we'll all soon be in our 70's then 80's.  We had a good time, there were 8 of us so it was festive.

Our weather was nice yesterday, supposed to be even nicer today with maybe even some sunshine.  That would be pleasant.  It was in the 40's and drizzly but actually quite a nice day.  I went to the dump in the morning before driving to Plattsburgh for lunch.  There is still some color in the woods, the beeches and birches, aspens still have darkish gold leaves.  They're clinging to their leaves all right, it's almost November and we still have a nice bit of brightness out there.  Of course it's snowing right now but we're not supposed to have much.

A week? really?

Didn't realize it had been so long.  Maybe I had a busy week.  but probably not.

I had to go to Plattsburgh Monday, then to a meeting in Keene that evening before dinner with friends who were here for the weekend.  A lot of driving.  Tuesday was a work day and that was fine.  Wednesday I spent a few hours at the thrift store, got to do bagging instead of receiving because they needed help out front.  Nice work, bagging--the only decision you have to make is what size bag (or maybe a box?) to put things in as they're paid for.  I love it.

The dogs ran off one afternoon and were gone long enough to find someone else's food to eat.  It was better food than they usually get, or at least richer food because on Thursday SOMEONE (hello Bear) had explosive diarrhea in the car.  What a spectacular mess.  A real shitstorm.  Oh what a disgusting thing that was and the car still stinks because it's all over the seatbelt, carpet, seat, dashboard, etc.  I did some cleaning but it was all frozen so too tough to get everything cleaned.  It still stinks only now it smells like poopy Odoban.  I'll take the car in to be detailed as soon as I can. 

Yesterday was a day at home and a pretty productive one.  I did a ton of laundry, I closed the boat house, I tidied up a bit in prep for book group, which I'm hosting tomorrow night.  I put plastic on one window (two more to go).  I dumped some deck pots and did a little clearing of the deck.  Of course the dirt in the pots is frozen so I have to bring them in a couple at a time to thaw out.  I love me.  I pretty much have to do this every year because I don't get the pots dumped early enough.

Today I walked with friends this morning then went to the thrift store.  I only stayed a couple of hours, receiving was well staffed and I didn't feel like staying.  It's been snowing here for 3 hours but it's only just starting to stick.  This is supposed to be a huge and complicated storm with sleet, rain, ice, snow, a wintry mix.  They like that term, the weather people, a wintry mix.  It's pretty windy but not what was really predicted yet.  Maybe later.

Tomorrow I'm making dinner for book group although book group consists of 3 of us in the winter season.  That's OK, we have a nice time and sometimes even talk about the book.

It got cold and we survived

It even snowed, just a dusting and it's long gone now.  Today it's 50, sunny but windy.

I had planned to volunteer at the thrift store today but on the way home from our bog walk this morning the dogs ran off.  They were gone for 1 1/2 hours before my friend called from her house FOUR MILES away to tell me that the dogs were there.  They've never been inside her house and have only been there in the car, never been out of the car there.  Did they know it was her house?  or did they just get lucky?  or what?   I didn't know whether to laugh or cry--she lives on top of a mountain down the road from the hardtop at the end of my road.  Did they follow the power line?  Did they run down the road, which is so so dangerous it makes me crazy?  I just don't know what to think but am struggling with this.  I guess the solution is to always have a leash and put one of them on a leash on the way back from any walk.  BAD dogs BAD BAD dogs.  Poor Treasure is exhausted but Bear sill has plenty of energy.  Oh this is a big problem.

Other than that I'm fine.  I had a good enough week but went all the way to Plattsburgh yesterday to get meds which were "not ready until Monday" at the pharmacy.  Pissed me off but I did get some errands done so it wasn't a totally wasted trip.  Just partly.

So what will I do today?  Hopefully I'll get off the couch and put plastic on the windows at the back of the house.  Go to the dump.   Go to the bank.  Be productive.  I'm exhausted emotionally though.  A tracking collar would only work if I had cell reception at home.  The nearest hot spot is miles away.

I put up the suet feeder for the woodpeckers who keep hanging around and I filled the birdfeeder.  Chickadees, finches, blue jays, nuthatches.  Friends are here with company this weekend.  There were 5 of us walking yesterday morning but only 2 today.

Meeting of the historical society in Keene on Monday followed by dinner with friends.  Otherwise a quiet week I think.  But then I always think that and it doesn't turn out that way.

Run for cover! It's coming!

They're predicting a cold night and colder morning for tonight and tomorrow.  OH NO!   Wind chills will make temps in the teens (maybe) and we'll have a hard frost (maybe).  My friends are nervous because the water in their camps has yet to be taken out.  There's not much I can do to help but I check on things.  Some friends are coming for the weekend but they'll have a lot of guests so maybe I won't see them (which would be all right).

I went to Plattsburgh on Monday, haircut and lunch with a good friend.  Again, I don't have any friends who AREN'T good...

Yesterday I got chilled at work, the heat in the library wasn't working and it was a day like today, 40's with wind and rain.  brrrr.

This morning I worked at the thrift store for 3 hours, things were a mess there because it was very busy on Saturday but there was only one person working in receiving.  We got things in pretty good shape but then a bunch of donations came in plus it started to rain so we had to move everything inside where there wasn't enough room.  Yikes, what a mess.  I felt bad leaving but there were enough people working there and I had chores to do for friends.

Tomorrow I'm working in the Archives and I volunteered to stuff envelopes at the Adk Land Trust.  Why did I do that?  I need to save time for my friend who has company coming tomorrow night, we need to make beds and arrange furniture.  I'll get it all done but I'll be tired.  whew.

We have some yellow leaves left but there sure is a lot of brown in the hills now.  I think I'd rather have winter than this weather, it's just damp and chilly and uncomfortable.  In January I'll remind myself that I wrote that.

Brighter woods

I forget how much brighter the woods become when they're naked of leaves--I can see Silver Lake Mtn. (sort of) now and can look into the forest in a way that I haven't been able to for months.  I like that.  Yes, I miss the bright green of spring, the warmth of summer and the brilliant fall colors, but I do enjoy change and change is what's happening now.

It was 33 this morning, up to 42 4 hours later and expected to be 50 today.  Bright fall sunshine, a blue blue sky.  Just wonderful.  I walked with my friend and my dogs, such a nice visit with her and fun watching the dogs.

I have a good fire going--have yet to turn on the heat.  That's amazing and wonderful and totally unusual for this late.  I'll take it!

Dinner last night with good friends (summer people), dinner tonight with another couple of summer friends, then it will officially be the end of the season.  I'll put my lawn mower in the shed down the driveway, I'll start feeding the birds, I'll start closing the boat house and this week I'll order my snow tires and have them installed.  SNOW TIRES???!!!  Yes, it's time for that.  There was snow in the mountains yesterday, just a dusting for effect.  We always have that in October, just a harbinger of winter.

Life is good.  No, life is VERY good, I'm happy and enjoying the days.  Do I wish summer would last longer?  Not this year, we had a long extension of the season.  I live here because I like having 4 different seasons (well, that's only one reason I live here, there are more).  It was time for a change and that's what we have.

Uh-oh, past peak today

I think maybe yesterday was peak (boy do I sound obsessive about this).  Today there are way fewer leaves on the trees and the mountains are starting to have the purple-gray they have when they're empty of leaves.  I had a really nice walk yesterday in the warm oh-so-warm weather of these 2 days.  I went to work yesterday, that was easy and nice, and the drives there and home were truly spectacular.  Some fog, cloudy but that helps deepen the colors in a way that bright sunshine does not.  Today it's 76 with bright blue sky and hot sun.  I was at the thrift store for a while but came home sort of early.  Had coffee this morning at a friend's camp with others, our final gathering on the porch.  Man was it nice, what a gorgeous morning.

Here are images from my walk yesterday.

Naturally the camera doesn't do justice to the brightness of the colors but you get the idea.

Must be peak by now

It's hard to tell, there's heavy fog out there.  Can't see the far shore or the mountains.  I was hoping to go on a photo-taking tour today but nooooo, there's not a view to be found in the fog.

It's been a relatively quiet Columbus Day weekend, not as many people visiting Hawkeye as in some years.  I had visits with friends, cooked a dinner for friends, and tonight will go to a pork dinner with friends.  The weather has been less than ideal but that doesn't upset me.  I'd like to take the dogs for a bog walk but there are 4 cars at the bog right now so I won't do that.  Maybe later on, dinner tonight isn't until 6 so I can go in the late afternoon.  maybe.

Meanwhile my pump/well is not behaving well.  Last night the pump was acting strangely so I showered at a friend's house and shut off the pump.  Today I turned it back on and it spit and sassed and finally spit out dirty water so I'm conjecturing that we've hit the bottom of the well.  Rats, why did I insist on doing a lot of dishes AND doing the laundry yesterday?  I've been being very careful about water use lately.  I suppose it was inevitable anyway, there's just been very little rain this year.  I'll leave the pump off for a while (days) and see what happens.  I have access to the Holts' house where there's unlimited water and that's great consolation.

My week looks pretty quiet.  Yes, the Archives and the thrift store, plus a meeting of the Cemetery Association one night.  Maybe a trip to Plattsburgh (ugh) to pick up meds.  Lunch with a friend tomorrow after the Archives.  The weather is supposed to improve, 70 degrees on Wednesday.  If one can believe the forecasters.  I have to close the boat house one of these days.  I usually wait until it's cold and unpleasant but maybe, just maybe this year will be the exception to that.  Maybe, I said maybe.

The dogs are fine.  They wanted to run off this morning but I managed to corral them.  Now they're sleeping soundly in the warm living room, where there's a hot fire in the stove.  THEY don't care that there's no running water.

Still not peak yet

Colors are coming along but still haven't reached peak.  Someone at work today said "When do you know it's peak?"  The answer is easy: once it's past peak.  There's a dramatic change just after peak color, the leaves fall and only the yellows and golds are left.

It's been an easy and good week, nothing very dramatic.  I volunteered at the thrift store yesterday, stayed until noon (which is longer than I usually work) because there were only 2 of us in receiving and I didn't want to leave the other worker alone.  Well, I DID leave her alone but only for 1 1/2 hours.  Luckily it wasn't busy with droppers.  There were enough shoppers but we fared well in receiving and were able to keep up with the traffic.  I was thinking of staying home Saturday but that would really be unfair--it will be busy busy busy because of the holiday weekend.  It's not just an American holiday, it's Canadian Thanksgiving as well.  Yikes the region will be packed.  Sort of like peak color, it will be peak tourist season.

Work in the Archives was just fine today.  We did some scanning, laughed a lot and I messed around with images we had emailed to us from a summer person.  Some nice images.

Tomorrow I head to Plattsburgh, get my flu shot in the morning then have made plans to visit with the new director of CEF, where I used to work.  It just felt like a nice thing to do--I'm not eager to meet him, nor do I dread, nor do I particularly care, it just seemed right.  There was a reception for him a while back.  I was invited but didn't go, it was in Plattsburgh one night and I didn't feel like seeing the people who would be there.  This way I can just show that I'm friendly and pretend to care about what happens at the System.

We walked to the mailbox and home with the dogs this morning--that's nearly a mile so we felt pretty righteous.  Too wet to walk in the woods.

Life is good, very good.

Waiting patiently

We're still waiting for peak color, unusual for the 1st of October.  Friends are coming for Columbus Day--some years they get a muted showing because it's past peak, some years they hit it on peak color but this year it looks as if it will be pre-peak.  But beautiful nevertheless.  Not, maybe the brilliance of oranges, yellows and reds we sometimes have but you can't argue that fall color in Hawkeye is a thing of beauty.

I've been busy but winding down my social activities (though someone at book group just asked me if I EVER eat a meal at home)(the answer is yes but not often recently).  Most people have left/are leaving.  I had a delightful and wonderful evening with one of my favorite relatives, my cousin's son and his wife (blonde-haired Betsy) on Saturday.  We always laugh a lot when we're together.  We usually see each other only once a year but we can easily pick up where we left off.  They LOVE my dogs (who wouldn't?).  They were in camp for the weekend so I took the dogs down to see them but OH NO the dogs ran off together.  My fault, I was distracted and having a nice visit.  Turned out the dogs went down the lake and visited with some friends at their camp.  Only Bear wouldn't leave.  Treasure went back to camp but Bear refused to leave.  Of course, their feeding him biscuits and letting him in the camp to play with their dog didn't encourage him to come home.  I waited too long for him to show up at our camp, finally came home 2 hours later to find him in my living room--they left me 2 phone messages and ended up driving him home and letting him in the house.  I'm sure he appreciated the ride.  Anyway I was embarrassed but thankful, now will do something nice for them to repay.  They are nice people and have a wonderful male from the same breeder so we share that.

I'm heading to Plattsburgh today for a doctor's appointment and lunch with a friend (see?  I never really DO eat at home, alone).  This is the doctor who tried convincing me that I do indeed have a soul (this was last year).  No, I do not believe in an afterlife.  But you MUST, declared the doctor, we all have souls.  I KNOW this.  I've FELT the soul of my dead daughter leave her body.  blah blah blah.  Not my circus, not my monkeys.

I worked at the thrift store but only briefly.  People working there seemed to be pretty grumpy so I stayed 2 hours then left, feeling guilty because of the stuff that was piled up outside of receiving, waiting for sorting, cleaning and pricing.  Too bad, I don't volunteer there to be among a bunch of grumbling and suffering fellow volunteers.  I'll return on Wednesday unless something else comes up and one of the grumblers will have left town by then.  We usually have a good time working together, we laugh, we tease each other, we talk and I enjoy the companionship and sharing.  Hopefully that will work out this week.

I'm going on morning walks pretty regularly now, we've been walking on an old logging road with a gorgeous 180-degree view of the mountains.  That only works if my friend can go to work late because it doesn't get light as early anymore, rats.  Today we're heading back to the treadmills at the gym at 7:15.  I think I walk faster on the treadmill.  or maybe not, I can't tell.  Anyway the view isn't as nice but the conversation is still good.