Cat, Corvettes, and other red cars

Martin is just here to show off his mandolin case pose. He was a bit exhausted after helping Charlie and me in our chemistry lab (the kitchen) doing our creek water testing. Martin very much enjoyed chewing on the sulfuric acid bottle cap. Thankfully he was not able to remove it.

My closest neighbor, Don, passed away in January. His house on the hill overlooking the lake was our favorite place to visit with the dogs.

Because Don's relatives live hours away, his buddy Mike and I have been going through his mountains of stuff. We both heard the stories (more than once) about this red Corvette being stolen (more than once) in the Bronx, and him getting it back.

How funny to know 2 folks up here with the same sad story with a happy ending. Another friend, Terry, also had a little red Corvette that was stolen in the city (in Brooklyn). Feel free to read his book about the ordeal, Corvette Odyssey.

My little red Kia (actually it's Mars Orange) is crying because it is going away. I had the same problem with it that had me crying last year. I had to drive an hour and a half to the Kia dealer in Syracuse (twice!) to get it fixed, because I refuse to ever go back to the jokers in Utica.

And, because I do not enjoy driving such a distance to get my car repaired, I am trading it in on a different not-so-little red car—a Toyota RAV4. It's still being built. I will miss the fun little Kia Soul, but it stopped being fun last year.

Painting, reading, and sorting

Mother Nature was doing some wall painting for me the other day. She just missed painting over TW's landscape painting of one of Mother's own scenes.

The reading nook has been rearranged 3 times since its creation. The chair is the only bit that stayed in place. It works great, but the table wasn't working well for holding my big mug of tea. You may or may not get an updated photo if I ever get it to be exactly how I want it.

Then there is Martin, my biggest helper, sorting through lots of STUFF that has been in boxes in the basement since we moved. The View-Master reels (https://www.ebay.com/itm/327028974789) in the Round Hill box, are most likely worth more than the Noritake plates in the Smirnoff box. At least they will be cheaper to ship if anyone buys them on eBay.

Emerging

The flowerpots and firepit are emerging from the snow. We have had about a foot for at least a month, but I am finally seeing some spring-like weather in Siri's forecast. 

Those whiners in New Jersey who have been begging for snow the last few years are now whining that it won't go away. I personally am quite happy with our snowy landscape, especially now that I am an old retired lady who doesn't have to work till midnight on Ugly Tuesdays.

And now that I have all that time on my hands, I am finally getting around to rearranging the furniture, something I used to do all the time before we moved up here.

It is hard to believe we have been in this house for 15 years—and I still have a basement full of "stuff" I need to sort through.

So what do I do? I buy more stuff. I just bought this nice little wicker chair and a new rug from friends Tom and Roberta. Now I'm all set to start my new book "Trajectory", by one of my favorite authors, Richard Russo.

Cold dogs and local music on sunny Sundays

Even on the frigid days, short-haired part-hound girl Jessie will still stay outside most of the day, and Cyrus will be true to his probably part-husky self and go out and roll in the snow.

Here I have actual photo evidence (not AI!) of some real musicians, the Fair Winds Trio, playing in beautiful downtown Schuyler Lake last Sunday afternoon. And, we had some real friend musicians playing in our sunny Schuyler Lake living room the Sunday before that. Jessie was interested enough to sit with us and even sway to the music a bit. Cyrus was bored.

One of these days…

Yes, it is still cold and there is not much chance of it improving any time soon. We still have about a foot of snow.

No, Ms Jess has not given up going outside and shivering for most of the day. At least she has consistently come inside every night for several months.

And, at least someone is still making good use of Woody’s favorite big red dog bed.

 

In the frigid air (Frigidaire?) and the snow

This is one of my favorite birds, from the BirdBuddy cam, at 7:30 this morning.

According to Siri, we got 24" of snow yesterday, and another 6" today.

I think those estimates might be a bit high, but either way we have plenty. I am SO happy that we are both old retired people who don't have to go anywhere.

I am also happy that the extreme cold (29° below average on Saturday) and heavy snow are working on the crazy girl. Jessie is just starting to get used to staying in the house all day after 2+ years here.

You go girl! Red-bellied woodie would be happy to take your place!

Happy Birthday Alice!!!

 

Art for My Sake

The news for the first week of this new year has been truly frightening. So I am focusing on my personal good news—I finished my big collage. This was a project I started in August, or even before that if you count the time I spent repainting the studio and reclaiming my drawing table from the basement. It was down there disassembled since we moved here in 2010.

I had a large (3' x 4') poster of apples in a bowl that was hanging on the back porch. It was so faded you could barely see that they were apples. I got this brilliant idea that I would create a collage image of Lester's Flat, and use the mounted poster as a base since the frame was still in great shape.

I started with magazine pictures and other scraps of paper, but I didn't even have enough to do the sky. Then I switched to using my photos and printed them out on good paper. Luckily it was a good time of year for taking extra photos as needed, and I needed a lot.

There were very few blog posts during this time because it was just so much fun. It was sort of like recreating the blog on paper. My kitten helper nearly destroyed it more than once, and there was some cursing involved, but I was addicted. I spent a few hours a day, every day, for a few months.

Now this masterpiece is hanging inside. It reminds me of Grandma Moses, but someone else pointed out that David Hockney did a photo collage series in a similar style. Either way, I admire them both, I am in good company.

I hope to continue creating, avoiding the real news, and making my own good news.

Snow. No snow. More snow. And the Herkimers.

We had about a foot of snow. Then it rained and went away in time for a not-white Christmas. There was enough wind to scare the scaredy girl, Jessie. Then another foot of snow, followed by more rain yesterday. Then more snow and too much wind tonight. 

This is why we love Central New York. At least the snow looks prettier here with mountains in the background. And being retired makes life a whole lot easier. Especially because I forgot to get the Kia inspected in November. It’s hiding in the garage until January 2.

And in my lazy day at home, I discovered a gentleman who posted a pic on Facebook of the house at the end of our driveway back in 1901. He is related to the Herkimers, and the house and barn and our portion of the property are all part of what used to be the Herkimer Farm. I think it goes back to the 1700s, but still checking on that.

And just a few minutes ago I discovered that the current owner of the house out front is also related to the Herkimers. Interesting!

Christmas dinner

We had goose for dinner. Husband did all the work. His goose was cooked (perfectly). And dinner was pretty good too.

Merry Birdie Christmas!

I am baling on the real Christmas cards this year. If I get the cards tomorrow, I MIGHT mail a few to my local friends, otherwise y’all are gonna have to wait until next year.

This year’s offering is my little tufted titmouse, all dried off after the rain the other day, and dressed for the holidays by my magic BirdBuddy.

Our sincere wishes to friends and family that you all have a happy holiday!