Schaghticoke Fair

Yesterday, Judy treated Em and me to a trip to the Schaghticoke Fair. It was a great day: warm, sunny and no rain. We shoved Em’s wagon into the trunk of my car, secured it with a bungee cord, and though Em didn’t want to ride in it much, we were glad to have it for packages and bags. Em loved the animals, especially the cows. There is something special about cows. They’re warm and soft and gentle.

We spent almost 4 hours walking around, visiting with a friend of Judy’s and having lunch. Em fell asleep in the car seat on the way home but woke up when I took her out of the car. I was pooped, and for the 90 minutes between getting home and Tony picking her up, I let Em watch TV.

The pictures below were taken at the fair.

Today we signed on the dotted lines for the home equity. Ron’ll order the new furnace and equipment to go with it. We’re also getting the roof replaced, from the peak to the back yard. From the peak to the front of the house, the roof is tin and in good shape. It will be repainted. I am so relieved that we’re taking care of these things. They’ve been gnawing at me.

It’s been kind of a laid back day. I’ve done a few loads of clothes and stripped & remade the bed, but that’s about it. I’m getting the urge to paint and start fall cleaning. I hope the urge stays with me for the next few weeks.

Tonight we’re going out for pizza to the Wayside. Haven’t had one in a long time.

Today’s weather – It’s probably in the high 60s, and it’s cloudy with a sprinkle of rain every once in a while. A good day to wear jeans.

Schaghticoke Fair: 8/28/08

Em enjoying a rest the wagon


Em was enthralled with this beautiful cow.


The sheep were a favorite


The goats liked Ember's attention

Schaghticoke Fair: 8/28/08

Em making a goofball face.


Em with Grandma


Nothing like a sno-cone on a hot day

Schaghticoke Fair: 8/28/08

Happy Em smiling at Aunt Judy


Slurping lemonade

Yesterday was an Ember day. It was a beautiful sunny day. Cool enough for blue jeans and a jacket to start, but it warmed up so we took off the light-weight jacket. Em and I went to the park in Green Island. The summer program sponsored by the town has ended so the park was very quiet. We were there an hour before more kids showed up. Em, who usually wants to "fwing and fwing high in the sky" was more into playing with her new ball and climbing on the playground equipment and sliding. She had a great time; I had a fun but exhausting time. When it was time to come home, she climbed in the wagon with no complaint. Made mac & cheese for her lunch, which she scoffed down because she was “sooooooooo hungwy.” She went down for a nap at 12:30 with no complaint, and I woke her 3 hours later cause her daddy was on his way home from work to pick her up.

The home equity line of credit has been approved, and we close Friday. Ron’s deep into making a decision on what system to get for the house. Time is quickly moving us into September. We need to have heat by the end of September.

Hillary Clinton spoke at the Democratic National Convention last night. Michelle Obama spoke Monday night. I missed Obama’s speech, but DVRd it and will listen later today. I heard about half of Clinton’s speech. She speaks well, but the speech spent too much time talking about herself and not enough about Obama and there was no hint of any platform. Tonight Bill Clinton speaks. I won't watch him.

Today’s a laid back day. I ironed; started grocery list for next month; cleaned Ron’s CPAP equipment; took a few work messages for Ron; watched TV a bit. Ron has bingo tonight so I don’t have to do supper. Yeahhhhhhh!!

Gas prices – They continue to fall.. down to $3.729 in Glenmont.

Exercise – Yesterday ran after Em for close to 2 hours while at the park. Today did a Leslie Sansone walking DVD for over 2 miles worth. Felt really good.

Today’s weather – It started off chilly; about 50 degrees, but by 4 PM, it was really warm. Just beautiful.

Life lesson – I feel so much better when I exercise, though certain parts of my body feel worse, such as my knees and feet. So the lesson, that I often forget, is that regular exercise makes me feel good!

Monday Monday

Quick post. Nothing much happening. Boring day. Did laundry and ran errands: to get milk, to Bryant’s to bank. Ron’s working at his brother’s resort putting a new compressor in the walk-in cooler.

Woke to rain but it’s pretty much cleared.

I’m so sore and achy: hips, knees, ankles, feet, even toes. I assume it’s the negative effect of all the trailing walking/hiking I did Saturday. I hope so. I’m not ready for the arthritis to crank up to where I’d feel this way every day. Ice packs and Tylenol have eased the pain a bit.

Exercise – Not yet today. Maybe a Leslie Sansone DVD later.

Today’s weather – Woke up to rain. It’s been partly sunny/cloudy since b’fast. The temp isn’t supposed to be above low 70s.

Bish Bash Falls, Massachusetts

The top of the trail along Bish Bash Creek, New York State, ending at Bish Bash Falls, Massachusetts


Bish Bash Falls, Massachusetts



Bish Bash Falls, Massachusetts

Columbia-Greene Trout Unlimited Activity at Taconic State Park

Ron had a Columbia-Greene Trout Unlimited activity yesterday at the Taconic State Park over in Copake (not to be confused with Lake Taghkanic State Park nearby), right on the MA border. It was a picture perfect day: sunny, warm (low 80s) and decent humidity. While Ron and “the guys” did their thing demonstrating fly fishing and fly tying, I took a couple of easy hikes. The first one I took was up the hill from the old iron ore foundry, where the guys were set up, to the reproduction of the charcoal making area. It took 600 acres of forest to make enough charcoal to use in the foundry for just a year. Obviously, all the trees around this area are new forest.

It is so beautiful in the Taconics. There is lots of water in the form of ponds and streams, and it’s all woods and old rock. Just lovely. I did the 1.5 mile round trip “hike” (it’s a steep but manageable trail) up to Bish Bash Falls, following the Bish Bash Brook. The falls are in Massachusetts, but when coming from the west, as I was, most of the trail up to the falls is in New York State. The trail is canopied with tree tops which, in addition to being pretty, kept me cooler than walking in the sun.

Above and below are some pics I took yesterday. The equipment in front of Ron, as well as on his head, is all used to tie flies for trout fishing. Ron’s very good at it and gets a lot of compliments on the final product. The other pics are of the surrounding area around the park but still on state land, including the Bish Bash Falls in Massachusetts.

We finished the day by driving to the lookout on Route 23 going up to Windham for a picnic supper. It’s nice to do things that the tourists usually do but that we take for granted.

Exercise – I did enough hiking up steep trails yesterday to make up for a couple of days of no exercise.

Today’s weather – It’s another boooooooo-tiful day. Rain is predicted for late tonight into tomorrow morning, but that’s then and I’ll be sleeping!

Life lessons – I don’t have to travel across the country to see beautiful landscape and scenery. After all I live in the foothills of the Catskills as well as live about an hour away from the Taconics, where we went yesterday.

Taconic State Park: 8/23/08

Ron tying flies at old iron ore foundry, Cokape Falls, NY, Taconic State Park.
He's a member of Columbia-Greene Trout Unlimited.


Ron tying flies at old iron ore foundry, Cokape Falls, NY, Taconic State Park.
He's a member of Columbia-Greene Trout Unlimited.

Taconic State Park: 8/23/08

The Bish Bash Creek, Taconic State Park, New York State


The Bish Bash Creek, Taconic State Park, New York State


Path along the Bish Bash Creek, Taconic State Park, New York State, leading to Bish Bash Falls, Massachusetts


Path along the Bish Bash Creek, Taconic State Park, New York State, leading to Bish Bash Falls, Massachusetts

Taconic State Park: 8/23/08

Pretty flowers on the upper level of the area around the old iron ore foundry by the reproduction of the charcoal-making area.

Pond of water just beyond the reproduction of the charcoal-making area.

Today...

OK, so "Today" for a title isn't exactly eye catching, but I'm plum out of ideas for titles. I much rather look at the pics of Ember that are below this post.

But first... today was supposd to be a lazy day for me. Best laid plans of a busy woman don't often come to fruition. Strip made; make bed; clean bathroom; run to the grocery store; the dollar store; and the post office; do dishes; go to library; have b'fast, lunch, and of course, shower and get ready for the day long before I did any chores. Did some walking; made a nice supper; and did get to sit on the swing and read for a while.

Anyway, it was a long day. A good thing happened in that my computer is again reading the memory card from my camera. Have no idea why last week it wouldn't recognize it.

The pictures below are mostly from earlier in the month. Em was down here August 7-8. She got into washing dishes and had a ball.

On August 16, Ember went to Hoffman's Playland with her mom and maternal grandparents. She wasn't always convinced she was having a good time, but she hung in there.

The trees in our backyard are starting to show their age, as evidenced by their green in the pics below.

Exercise - I walked the cemetery today.

Today's weather - It was wonderful. Temps in low 80s and lots of sunshine.

Em Having Fun: 2-1/2 years old

Em washing dishes at Grandma's house, Greenville, NY: 8/14/08


Em working with beads at her house: 8/19/08



Em working with beads at her house: 8/19/08

Em at Hoffman's Playland

Em "driving" the green truck, Hoffman's Playland, Latham, NY: 8/9/08


Em "driving" the fire engine, Hoffman's Playland, Latham, NY: 8/9/08

August Scenes

Our backyard from swing: 8/23/08


Our backyard from swing: 8/23/08


Back of Natural Museum of the Adirondacks, Tupper Lake, NY: 8/15/08

Back of Natural Museum of the Adirondacks, Tupper Lake, NY: 8/15/08

I'm Here...

My intention of writing a little bit every day has again fallen by the wayside. I just want to be able to keep track of what it is I do that keeps me so busy. It’s been over a week since I wrote, and I don’t feel like writing a lot of details but do want to put down some highlights.

We went to the Museum of Natural History in Tupper Lake on the 15^th. It’s nice, but it alone is not worth the 4-hour trip. I’m glad we met Maureen and Tom and after went to visit them for a couple of days.

So we were at Maureen’s from the evening of the 15^th until the morning of the 18^th. The weather was iffy. It rained soooo hard Saturday we could barely see across the river. Sunday was nicer and Ron, Maureen and I went into Watertown for shopping and supper. Monday was a beautiful day and we had a nice drive home.

Tuesday was an Ember day. It rained in the morning so we stayed inside. She slept a long time and with the sun up, we took a long walk after she woke up.

Wednesday… hmm… what did I do Wednesday? Stuff.. errands, store, spent an hour with Ron and the rep from the medical supply store as the rep gave instructions on the care and use of the CPAP, vacuumed, did laundry, ironed. It was a busy day; it was a nice day

Thursday – today – was an Ember day. She’s been willful and today was no exception. It’s fascinating, though, to see her mind work as she learns how to live life. A nice surprise for me was Michele leaving work early. Yippee!! She was happy to get out early. I was happier to get home early.

Gas prices – They’ve been falling. Down to $3.759 in Glenmont Cumberland. Sunoco in Greenville still has it at $3.899.

The weather – Today was gorgeous. Sunny and mildly warm. Warm enough for Em to be in shorts cause she ran all over the park playing, but I stayed in jeans cause I’m cold unless the temp is 80, and it wasn’t 80 today!

Life lessons – It’s been a difficult week for me. I’m feeling out-of-sync with “regular” life.. my new life. I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about my apartment in Niskayuna and how much I liked living there. In less than a year I’ll be 60 years old, and though I know what makes me happy, I, once again, listened to my heart and not my mind. This time, if/when things change, I will not ignore what I know is best for me.

Great Day!

It’s a beautiful day and much deserved, IMO, because we’ve had a lot of rain the past three weeks. While t-storms may occur later today, right now, they are only a maybe, and I’m living in the right now.

Em was a charmer yesterday. Full of energy; full of chatter. We went to Colonie Center cause I had to do some shopping. I rented a mall stroller with a steering wheel which kept her happy for a longer period than if I was holding her hand walking her around. I had enough that I needed to do that the cost was worth it.

Sears was having a great sale on kid clothes, and I got her 4 pair of pants and 2 tops for less than $40. After going to two more stores, we got to the kids’ playground where Em played for over an hour. “Munch” was at Friendly’s. Em’s so tall that she can sit in the booth and eat fairly easily. She’s very well behaved, but she also knows that if she acts up and is in appropriate (such as bothering the people in the booth behind us), she goes into a high chair. She likes being a big girl in a big girl seat so she was very very good.

After a 2-1/2 hour nap, she was ready to start all over again so we played with her little doll house and fed her babies.

Ron and I are meeting Maureen and Tom on Friday at the Natural History Museum of the Adirondacks (a/k/a The Wild Center http://www.wildcenter.org/) in Tupper Lake. We’ll spend the day and then drive back to their place in Antwerp for the remainder of the weekend, coming home Monday. I’m so looking forward to this trip. The summer’s been so busy that we haven’t been away at all. Actually, we don’t do many “fun” things, or so it seems to me. Mostly we’re content being at-home people, but sometimes I need something different; something fun.

Tonight, though, we’re going to the Altamont Fair. It’s a big one, representing three local counties, and though I used to go to it every few years, Ron’s a big fan and goes every year. Truly county fairs don’t change much from year to year: animals, chickens, quilts, demolition derby (my favorite!!), but it’s somewhat of a social event too because we always see lots of people we know. I love fair food. Fat French fries made from fresh potatoes and fried dough will be my supper tonight, with a late-evening ice cream cone for dessert.

The fox: Don't know how well it shows in the picture below, but the red fox was in our backyard two nights ago eating apples. Each time I snuck out to take his picture, he ran into the woods. He returned two times after his initial visit.

Gas prices - They continue to fall. I paid $3.80 at the Cumberland in Glenmont yesterday.

Exercise - I haven't been.

Today's weather - So far, so good. It's sunny and bright and the temp is in the low 70s. Good day for jeans and sneaks. Rain is predicted for later on, though. Hope it doesn't get to Altamont!

The Fox

Summer is Fading

All the signs are here of a summer that’s fading. By 7 PM, the entire backyard is in the shade created by the house. By 8 PM, I no longer am comfortable walking through the woods to cross the crick to walk the cemetery because it’s dark in the woods. By 9 PM, it’s downright dark in the open backyard. The nights are cooler also. That’s not to say we won’t have warm nights again, but more nights than not will be in the 50s and low 60s. All things green are less vibrant. I’m getting the urge to paint and redo the house again, a sure sign that there is a change in seasons coming.

The deer have been bringing out their babies for a couple of weeks – finally! The fawns are not so little any more, but they still have their spots, and Em got to see one of the twins last week when she was here. Below are pics I took this morning as they grazed on the back lawn. I love seeing the babies.

Today’s kind of a blah day. I’ve been waking up for a few days with a sore throat and soreness in my glands. Today was no exception. Mix into that today' rain, dampness and chill, and it’s a blah day. It’s been chilly for a couple of days with me wearing blue jeans the entire time.

Blah days are good for reading, playing computer games and eating. I did wash floor today, something I don’t do often. Old wooden floors don’t show dirt, and some of these floors are 200+ years old. And of course Ron never ever wipes his feet so all dirt outside ends up inside. It’s a never ending battle in which I won’t participate. I wash when I feel like it.

Today’s weather – Rainy, thunder storms, chilly. Not nice at all.

The Deer

Momma and her Fawns

Another Weekend

Can’t believe it’s been a week since I’ve written.

I haven’t been sleeping well. Things on my mind, from the cost of heating oil to Ron’s health. Some nights I'm awake at 3 and that's pretty much it.

I treated myself last Sunday to an early-morning cheese omelette and coffee, while Ron slept. Spent the rest of the day reading (paper and book); cleaning the car; watching TV; and running a few errands. In late afternoon, went to Elsie’s for supper. All-in-all, a nice day.

It appears Ron is going to convert the oil burner to propane. Though it takes more propane to burn to the same temp as oil, it’s cheaper by about $2 a gallon and overall will save us money. He may actually keep the oil burner connected, thus giving us the ability to burn either propane or oil, with the flick of a switch, depending on what’s cheaper. Sounds confusing to me. I like life to be simple. This will work fine as long as Ron is alive and well.

Tuesday was an Em day. She had a bit of a cold so wasn’t as active or full of it as usual and asked to go night-night at 11:15 for her nap! A first. Sleep is a natural healer and after 3 hours napping, she woke up feeling and looking better.

Wednesday Ron had an appointment with his kidney doc. The results of his most recent blood work were not good. The creatinine count is high. Not much we can do about it considering that Ron is in chronic kidney failure. He’s feeling fine, though, and the doctor thought the spike could be a temporary phenomena.

Thursday Ember came down for an overnight with grandpa Ron and me. She wasn’t 100% yet from the sniffles and wanted to do quiet play more than running around. Again, she took a 3-hour nap in the afternoon and as usual went to bed at 7:45 with no problem.

Friday Em woke up feeling great and by 8:30 was wanting outside! She swung, played in the sandbox, kicked the ball and caught bugs and ants for her bug cage. Running after butterflies was high on her list too. She had no interest in going to the town pond to feed the ducks, going to the bank for a lollipop or going to the park to play with the kids. She was happy with all there is to do here. She didn’t easily take a nap. There were no complaints – she climbs the stairs to “my bedwoom” happily, but Ron and I listened on the monitor to her singing and chatting to herself for over an hour before she fell asleep. She did a sweet sweet thing before going down for her nap. She picked out the lullabye she wanted me to sing and I gave it two rounds, rocking her on my lap. When done, she took my face in her little hands and said, “I wuv you, Gramma,” and gave me a big kiss.

While she was here she saw deer three times in our backyard eating apples and once there was a fawn with its mommy. Em decided to name the baby deer Fawn… LOL

I love her but as usual was glad to see Tony pick her up. It made me smile to see Tony pull out his cell phone to take a picture of a deer under the apple tree and say, “Hey, mom, there’s a deer out here.” Well, yah! Being he lives in a city, he never sees deer. Being I live in the country (now), I see them all the time.

Today – Saturday – I rented the studio apartment! Seems that when Ron is away, as he is today doing an event with Trout Unlimited, I rent an apartment. I am so glad. Between tenants skipping on rent and damage caused, Ron has lost a lot of money this year. He needs to be more business-like and stop listening to sob stories of why people can’t pay rent. I’m willing to be compassionate for a month or two, but when the amount owed is $2,000+ and the tenant is drinking and doing drugs, my compassion goes out the door as the bills get higher.

The 2008 summer Olympics started yesterday. I’m not as into them as in previous years. I have a couple of things I like to watch, swimming and diving in particular, but the usual favorites such as gymnastics don’t interest me as much.

Gas prices - They're going down! Petrol in Glenmont had gas for $3.929.

Exercise - Worked out a couple of times this week to a new (for me) Leslie Sansone DVD.

Today's weather - Today is nice! Low humidity; high 70s temp. This week, though, we had high humidity and lots of late-afternoon storms come through.

Life lessons - I was watching Em yesterday pull dead buds off perennials that have long since past their prime. It struck me that perennials are a prime example of reincarnation. They bloom; do what they're supposed to do, including propagate; and then die. But they return next spring or summer, to start the cycle again. I think people are like that.

Slow Day

Not a bad today. It was threatening rain this morning so I ran errands first thing. It didn’t rain until after lunch, and it was only a light shower. I cleaned the bathroom, picked up a lot of stuff that was just sitting around, which took a long time, and ironed. Not a very busy day, but I planned it that way by doing more earlier in the week.

Supper was simple: fish, beans, cole slaw. It was dinner time when the storm hit. Lots of lightning, thunder and rain. Dropped the temp about 10 degrees.

Our oil supplier sent “the plan” for the upcoming heating season. Basically there are two plans with the cheapest plan offering oil at $4.699 a gallon for up to 1377 gallons from September 1 to May 31, 2009. Gallons of oil in excess of 1377 would be charged the going market rate at the time. We’ve chosen this plan -- $4.699 a gallon -- which requires an up-front payment of $6,470.52….. by August 12! We just got the notice Thursday, July 31. A home equity line of credit will do the trick this year with an additional amount so Ron can buy a new boiler for the furnace. Hopefully the new system as well as additional conservation measures on our part will keep us at the 1377 gallon mark, rather than the over 1600 gallons we used last year.

It’s difficult for me to live behind the 8 ball, so to speak, when it comes to money. I’ve never had a lot of money, but I’ve never felt like a hamster in a wheel, running, running, running, trying to catch up. Saving for a big acquisition, whether it be oil to the tune of $6,500 or a vacation for $3,000, is what I’ve always done. Ron has lived his entire life differently, pretty much paying after the fact, and it’s not to my liking. Though I’m able to save for expensive necessities, because I came into the marriage with Ron behind, I too am now on the catch-up wheel with him.

Exercise – Huh? LOL

Today’s weather – A cloudy morning gave way to a sunny afternoon which gave way to a stormy late afternoon, early evening. It was warm today, mid 70s, but temp dropped to mid 60s after the storm.

Life lessons – I thought I had my life planned. Pretty much I thought if I was careful with money, I’d be ok what with my State retirement now and Social Security when it kicks in. Certainly I’d not live an extravagant life but that’s fine with me. Now I find myself worrying about money as I never have before. I really do need to revisit how to live in today and not worry so much about tomorrow.

End of Week

I had Em Thursday. She wasn’t quite herself, feeling a bit tired and lacking energy from being sick. We did go to the park where she swung for a while and then played with a couple of kids, one of them being her friend Bella. We went early before heat of day came and were home at 10:15. An hour later she asked to go night-night and slept for 3 hours. She was “vewy hungwy, Gramma,” when she woke up and ate a good lunch.

Tony was home at a decent time – shortly after 4 – so I was back in Greenville by 5. We ate a quick dinner and Ron met the Orkin guy at the Vaughn house at 6 to show him where to deflea.

Today was monthly grocery shopping day. I was actually in the mood and drove out of town up to the Albany area at 8:50, returning at 1 PM. In between I went to PetSmart and the gas station in Glenmont; BJs, Hannaford’s and Brueggers (for lunch ) in Colonie; Price Chopper in Slingerlands; and stopped at the veggie stand on the way home for tomatoes and corn on cob. I spent a lot of money but also cut back on optional purchases so I am fine with the monetary outlay.

Shopping is one part of the task of getting groceries stocked for the month. Gotta schlep them into the house, unpack bags and put stuff away on shelves or in the freezer. During this I started laundry and made a couple of phone calls.

Ron cooked bacon for BLTs for din-din. Yummy!! BLTs, corn on cob and potato salad. I love summer foodies. The clean up for the bacon, though, is a bitch. It takes a great deal of effort to get the grease off the stove top and all parts shining.

The weekend is void of activities. Works for me!

Gas prices – I paid $3.979 at Cumberland in Glenmont. BJs had gas for $3.929.

Exercise – Walking around three huge stores is a lot of exercise.

Today’s weather – It was hot (about 82 degrees) and sunny.

Life lessons – Is there a lesson to be learned every day? It is said there is, but honestly most days I don’t know what it is.