Just Plain Weird

That was what yesterday was. Yippee for weird!

And I am, once again, feeling discomfited. Why that only has one t, I will not seek to answer.

What is making me feel discomfited you might ask? Or you might not. Anyway, lots of things. And nothing. I know it is all, in the greater scope of things, not stuff to sweat, yet, here I am, sweating it. A little at least.

Mom's house sprang another leak yesterday. $3000 dollars to get the plumbing ship shape. My house in Clayton is falling apart even more - I am sure a lot of the sheetrock has to be ripped out because of water damage. And it looks like my heat exchanger has died. Yippee!

Money and I just have never seen eye to eye. I don't really understand it. Oh, I understand money - I just don't understand why we haven't seen eye to eye. I know (inside) that the world has plenty of most things to go around. There is abundance. And I do feel it. Yet in our society money is pretty frickin' important. And it just doesn't flow naturally into my life. Yet. This too shall change.

I am also freaking out about all the work I have to do down in my house today. Lots to do and I really don't want to do any of it. That and the work I am not doing on Diary of a Plate Addict. I am getting less and less motivated to work on it. One Saucer said they didn't receive their copy. Right. So I get to resend it. And none of them have sent me any comments. Sigh. And I don't know what I am going to do about book signings with my self-chosen mom responsibilities. I don't know what to do about that in general in fact. Like today. I don't know when Karl is leaving, so I don't know how long mom will have to fend for herself. I am not leaving NC until tomorrow so won't get there until the evening at the earliest. Maybe later, depending on circumstances. Argh.

So, for the happy stuff. I did have a mostly nice day, despite how my whining sounds. I got up and got out at a reasonable time. Had a dandy time at the Saucer. Cate, Daniel and John joined me. Met a nice server and had a picture with two servers. Pictures of me and servers do not see the light of day unless they ask me to post them. Sorry. Emily stopped by which was nice - though I was just heading out the door and we didn't get to hang out. Saw a few other Saucer friends.

After that, I went to the Clayton house and did a little work emptying things and packing. Still lots to do. After that, off to eat. I was going to go to J&S Pizza in Apex, but they were closed! Sad. I think they were just closed for the holiday weekend. So I opted for Sushi Tsune instead. My spider roll was delicious! Then back to my guest house to rest and relax. Yippee!

Here are pictures from May 29, 2011:


Brian and Chuck lolling around - I think that stuffed animals have a pretty easy "life."


Sarah Hays first mentioned J&S to me. For a few months, I went there once every two weeks or so. Sad I didn't get to go this time...


One of my favorite Sushi places. I don't know why, I just like it.


Yay spider roll! I also had some miso soup.

Fun Day

I think I have used a variation of this title a few times so far. Hopefully I will get to do so again and again. Fun days are, well, fun. And good. Fun is good. Good is fun. Moving on...

After my time at the Saucer, which, though only mildly productive (I got emails out to all of the Saucers asking for comments) I still had some time to kill. So I headed to a new place, called Draft. It is where Hi-5 used to be. About time they pulled the plug on that place. Goodness. Anyway, it sounded like my kind of place. Unfortunately I didn't find out because they didn't open until 5. A lot of places on that part of Glenwood don't open until five. Oh well. At least I got some exercise. And stopped in at Natty Greene's instead. Always a pleasant experience - at least so far!

Next stop, Gretchen and Kevin's pool and grill party in Cary. I am not much of a pool person, but I did take my bathing suit. And did hang out in the pool for a bit. Mostly, I slid down the water slide! woooohooo! :) Unfortunately my ears are full of water still and the world is definitely a bit on the muted side. Maybe I will be able to clean them out one day. That would be nifty.

After the pool, the party moved inside to Gretchen's house. We ate drank and were merry for a while. Nice group of people. I didn't stay long, really. I think I left around 7. Toodled back to Eric and Nancy's, watched some television and played on the computer before going to sleep fairly early. That will happen when you start the day by visiting the Saucer at 11:30 in the morning!

Then I woke up at about 1:30 in the morning! Sometimes when this happens I just get a drink of water or something and go right back to sleep. Other times, I stay up a bit and do stuff - which is what I did last night. Puttered around on the computer some and then went back to sleep. I like sleep!

And that brings us up to today. Brunch at the Saucer and then to the homestead to do some sorting and packing up. Yippee!

Here are a few pictures from May 28, 2011: (The whole lot of party pictures will be posted on Facebook soon)


The house that Eric and Nancy built (Ok, I don't know if Eric had it built...)


Ominous.


I love taking pictures of the sky and clouds...


A party picture.

Saucer Stuff

Heading to the Saucer in a little bit to sit, drink some beer and hopefully get some work done on Diary of a Plate Addict.

Here I am, sitting at my table. With Dara. And it is being a decent time! It is a quiet day here at the Saucer. I am getting things accomplished. I just sent off 13 emails to Flying Saucers to ask them for their feedback on Diary of a Plate Addict. Fear not, my expectations are low. I mean, commenting takes effort, time and a modicum of interest. We shall see. My guess - nada. Or silly stuff.

Meanwhile, I had a pleasant drive yesterday. I took a longer route, but one that by-passed the morass that is the Washington/Baltimore metro area. That way lies madness, sometimes. At least slowness. So I avoided it. And I took back roads down from Geneva to PA. On the way back, I hope to stop at at least one brewery/brewpub on the way home. It was very pretty taking the scenic route. Hmm, I wonder if that is why it is called the Scenic Route. :)

Got in at a reasonable time with a modicum of inclement weather - some rain around Raleigh. Headed straight to the Saucer and met up with my hosts for the weekend - Eric and Nancy! They are the best hosts. Even though they headed out for part of the weekend, they still put me up in their house! How cool is that?! And fed me last night and everything!! I hope to be able to return the favor - maybe they will want to come up to see the leaves this fall in NYS. Anything is possible.

Well, I might not make it for four and a half hours here at the Saucer. I have had two beers and it is only 1:45. We shall see. I might have to wander down to the new draft place where Bogart's used to be.

Here are the some pictures from May 27, 2011:


I am proud of myself for actually stopping long enough to take a picture of the scenic view. Yay me. Yay scenic view!


Nancy and Eric have green thumbs. Mine is a black thumb of death. Oh well.

Travel

On the road again! It is fun to be on the road. Most of the time. The trip down to NC was fairly uneventful. I did get a bit sleepy here and there - I don't know if it was from lack of sleep the night before or the monotony of the drive or eating on the road in a way that made me tired. Even sunflower seeds didn't always help - though they mostly did. Sigh. It is a really long one day drive. I would much rather break it up into smaller pieces. I don't have people to stay with along the route, though. Nor do I have the money to spend on motels, generally. Oh well, life is that way sometimes.

Welcome follower number 22! Hope you enjoy the posts! Tell all your friends. :)

Why do people think that other people are out of communication range if they are traveling? Maybe they won't be as connected, but they are usually able to communicate in some way, shape or form. And as for me, I try to remain as connected as I can, even on the road. I now have my iPhone (yay) and I almost always travel with my laptop, so I can keep in touch dandily, thank you very much. :) I try not to talk on the phone when I am driving - but I do stop occasionally - and when I do I check messages and return calls where appropriate. And if I stop for a longer period, and can find a place with free wi-fi, then I will check email and such. I haven't yet taken the plunge and linked all of my mail to my iPhone. I do like the surprise of checking my email and seeing what has appeared there.

This is actually my post for May 27th - the one I missed while traveling yesterday. So, later today, I will post another one. Yippee!

Photos from May 26, 2011:


Mom did a lot of sorting and ended up with two containers full of recycling - mostly papers!


Art photo. :)


Still life - anyone care to guess how much those three items cost in the grocery store?

Yay Hording!

The other night I was thinking about setting up the monitor in the study to also be a television. The cable was right there, all I needed was a splitter and a couple of coaxial cables. I thought I would have to buy them. Then I remembered where I was living. My mom's house - the home where things always have a home. So I went to a set of shelves and found a plastic container labeled "Odd wires." Inside I found a bunch of stuff, including a splitter and two coaxial cables. Yippee!

Had a little melt down yesterday, but I am all better now. Not really sure where it came from. Oh well. Hopefully it is passed and in the past.

Went to the Red Dove Tavern last night. Again. Third time, sort of. And it was pleasant. More than pleasant because I ran into the elusive Carol and her husband Pete! Yippee! That was a great surprise. We had a lovely chat while they ate dinner. She has a cool rag top vintage VW. After that I went to Beef and Brew for a Brew (not beef). Then home. All walking! Before you know it, I will be fitter than a fiddle. :)

Pictures from May 25, 2011:


People playing on the William Smith Green - right out front of the house. I will be juggling there when I get my juggling stuff from NC.


The elusive Carol and her husband Pete happened to be hanging out at The Red Dove Tavern.

Deus Ex Machina

That is what I keep forgetting to write about. Literally "god from machine." This was a device apparently employed by the Greeks to end plays. A god would be presented somehow (sometimes in a cloud on a crane) and he or she would clear everything up and set things to rights. And that was what I was waiting for.

I have always been a fan of signs and portents. Not relying on them, but seeing if any seem to leap out at me. And for a while now, while I was out of work and puttering around, I was looking for a sign. Or better yet a lightning bolt, that would give me a clue or the impetus to get off my butt and do something different. And it happened. At the time, I didn't recognize it for what it was.

As those of you who have been following my life through this blog for the past little while know, back in April I had a triple play of negativity occur. My housemate and I had a major kerfuffle, my sort of girl friend most definitely fired me and my unemployment was terminated. All in a very short space of time. Like one day. So I chose to head to Geneva, where I knew I would be, mostly, welcomed. (On a side note, I do think mom resents my presence here now and again...)

Looking back, I guess that was the sign and the deus ex machina I was waiting for. If only something similar would happen where a career and a girlfriend are concerned...

Speaking of which, that is sort of what e-dating is like. Praying to the internet to drop an amazing woman into my life. Being a firm believer in "Anything is possible (most things, though, are unlikely)" this could happen. Right?

Called most of the Saucers yesterday to solicit feedback on the book. Mostly it was positive, except for from one guy who has a hard time saying anything positive at all, unless he says something nice and then turns it mean. Oh well. Now if only I can get something concrete from them all, that would be nifty as well.

Sustained an xBox injury on my left trigger, er, index finger yesterday. Ow.

I get to clean out the room I am in as if I wasn't here. So that my brother and his family can inhabit it. Sigh. Oh well - as I said, I feel like I am perched here. We shall see what I can do to change that feeling.

Oh, I forgot - I stayed up (way too late) last night watching a couple of episodes from a BBC Robin Hood series. Fun stuff!

Ok dokey, then. Here are pictures from May 24, 2011:


Walking back from the grocery store, I saw this lovely view of the Hobart and William Smith Colleges Campus.


Pre-fried egg rolls. They turned out pretty well, as did the fried rice! Yum!

Lucky 21

Hi there, 21st Follower! You will obey my every command! You are getting sleepy, very sleepy...

Despite a little rain (some of which falls into every life, I have heard) I am enjoying Geneva, New York's weather quite a bit. Yay weather! Where would we be without a climate?!

I did laundry yesterday. Mom was having a bad day - not feeling well, and feeling confused, so I went by myself. I don't think she likes to do laundry. I like to do laundry once a week. Just to keep on top of it. And since we haven't had a functional washing machine in the house in 20 years, I get to go to the laundermat. I also walked over to Wegmans (in the rain) to get some groceries. Very exciting.

Meanwhile, back at the homestead, mom tackled a box of collected junk. She put about 60 pens back into the desk. Without checking any of them to see if they worked or not. Sigh. Well, at least she is trying. That is a good thing, right?

After dinner, I drove to Seneca Falls to meet the first Plenty of Fish person to be brave enough to actually get together. We had a nice time sitting and chatting and then taking a little stroll.

Ok, just sort of limping through this blog so far. I have the feeling there is something I ought to be writing about but can't seem to recall what it is.

My pictures from yesterday aren't all that exciting. Oh well. We will survive.

Pictures from May 23, 2011:


The new McDonald's building is getter doner. :)


The Canal in Seneca Falls. Pretty!

In my sleep

In my sleep, I come up with all sorts of good titles and things to write about in the blog. And then I wake up and I forget them all. Oh well. Is Alzheimer's catching? :)

Mom was a sorting freak last night. She has the opposite of sundowner syndrome - she gets more energetic after the sun goes down. She threw away half of the recycling container worth of papers yesterday! Go mom!

Meanwhile, I puttered around. Finished the two last drawers in the desk - well, cleaned them out - now I need to put things back. That will be fun. And ought to be pretty easy. I looked for things to help me organize the drawers, but didn't find anything at Walmart or one of the dollar stores. I get all of those confused. I like the one where everything is a dollar, unless it is less expensive. Like two for a dollar, which happens occasionally. I think that is Dollar Tree. The other one is Family Dollar and things can be any old price there.

Heading to NC this weekend. That will be interesting. I have been away more than a month. I bet most things won't have changed. Karl, one of my brothers, will be here visiting with his family, so mom won't be alone. Well, not much at least. I plan to leave really early on Friday. Tuesday, I don't know when I will get out and on the road. I am going to take a newish route. Some of it will be roads already traveled, but not as frequently as I have done the 95 route. We shall see. If there is little or no traffic, I will be happy, even if it is a little longer distance-wise.

To get ready for that, I have to get the house ready to be visited. Well, at least the room I am in. Sigh. That is one little issue, I do feel a bit like I am camping here, not living here. Not sure how to change that feeling. Yet.

Anyway, I hope that you are all well and happy!

Pictures from May 22, 2011:


One of my early accomplishments - making the pathway clearer from the study to the back kitchen!


Sorry for the non-rotated picture. I just don't understand how Firefox and iPhoto communicate (or don't, as the case may be) and I am too lazy to save it to the desktop, rotate it in some app and then bring it back in here. Sue me. Anyway, this is the pile of empty boxes that has been created thus far. Many will be recycled!

Tackled One Desk

The work to clean up the house continues. There is a desk in the dining room that used to be quite valuable. Until the big leak in the attic demolished it. My brother Ernst somehow managed to bring it back to life! Go Ernst! Anyway, it has always been an accumulator of disorganization. The intentions are good, but the results are scary! Last night I got in there and did a little spring cleaning. I actually have two of the drawers left to do, but neither of them is too frightening. I found, literally, 8 rolls of scotch tape from various eras. And I can't count the pens and tops of pens and capless pens that I found. Testing those is for another time as well. Something I do look forward to. In amongst the stuff, I found the second of mom's Camera batteries! Huzzah! I might just have to "borrow" mom's camera. Especially if I can find the cable that links it to computers. My camera, though I love it dearly (I have had it since 2002) is not optimal. Not bad, just not great. Mom's is only a little younger - I think 2005 or so - I bought it for her at a now defunct Circuit City in Raleigh. We shall see. She might feel it is another kick in her independence and usefulness for me to use her camera.

I had another little epiphany. Well two. First, if I am caregiving, which I think I am, sort of, then that is sort of a job. Now, I am not bathing mom or washing her hair or dressing her. Thank the Universe that she is still capable of all of those things. But I am doing a few things for her. So, although not gainfully employed, I am employed. In a way.

The second is that, if I can't find anyone to stay with mom when I go to sign books, which I hope to be doing in July it looks like at this point, maybe August (sigh), I will just take her with me. She traveled pretty well to Atlantic City. And I can work it so that none of our drives are much over 6 hours. That gets us up and out at a reasonable time and then shacked up in time for dinner and an activity if we want one. She doesn't need to do 500 miles in a day - and I will be more apt to stop and smell the roses. And who knows, she might garner me a few sympathy sales! And I will take all the sales I can get.

Speaking of sales, I have lots of sale ideas. I am working on the website so that people can pay with pay pal if they want to. I had an idea to give UFO members and MOU members discounted prices. And of course bundle pricing. We shall see.

Today is Sunday and I haven't thought of any plans for the day. I might do some neatening here and there. I think I will do laundry tomorrow. Oh, it is trash night here in Geneva. And I might pop up to Walmart. And get a chicken for dinner - which reminds be - I need to go through the refrigerator and clean it out again. And look in the freezer and see what all is in there.

Not looking forward to cleaning out my house in NC. Luckily, not the entire house, just my room. Still, I think I need at least 10 plastic containers to do that. Maybe I will buy a few of those today.

Here are the pictures from May 21, 2011:


Our local movie theatre was obviously excited about the Pirates movie...


Dessert at Friendly's. Yum!

Bikes are expensive!

Using the internet, I found a site that gave me a feeling for how much a decent bicycle would cost. Eeek! I mean $500 seems like a lot to me. Does it to you? True, one gets what one pays for, but still...well, maybe in the fullness of time, I will come to the decision that it is worth it. Until then, I have feet and I have a car. Though Geneva is a neat place to ride around.

The study is getting closer to livable. I don't really know what to do with mom's old (ancient) iMac. I mean that thing is huge and heavy. For now, I just moved it off of the desk and onto a little typewriter desk, which doesn't really work at all. Sigh. The biggest outstanding thing I need to do is move the modem somehow and somewhere. Not far, it is just that the cords are conflicting - the cable cord comes from one side and the power from the other, so that it can only sit in the middle of the desk. Not great. Oh, and I need a small monitor or tv for the xbox. That is the main reason for me taking over the study. So that I can let mom stay in her nest in the living room and still play when I want to.

Next on the book parade of things to do, is to call all of the Saucers and follow up with the mailing. Still on the list, work on the website and find someone who is willing to design a shirt. So far, the local people have not responded and it has been at least two weeks. I guess they just aren't interested in the business. Sad.

I walked to a local pub/tavern last night, went inside and left almost immediately. It was way too crowded. Looked like a nice enough place, and I will certainly go again. The place was the size of my mom's living room. Maybe smaller. Eeek!

Pictures from May 20, 2011:


Spa day for mom! That is Jessica working on mom's tootsies!


I like evening light...

Couldn't go back to sleep

And I tried. Seriously. No luck. Not that I really need to go back to sleep. I woke up at 7 am and thought, hmm, this is too early. And just couldn't go back to sleep. Oh well. Life goes on.

Here we are, May 20 already! Eeek! Time for me to update the Facebook album of one a day pictures. Still not a day missed. That is a good thing. There are some pictures I haven't taken that I would like to take, so we all have something to look forward to.

More errands yesterday. We went to meet mom's new financial advisor. (My computer is telling me that is misspelled - but I don't think so...) Nice woman, though I felt a little odd talking with her about mom's financial matters. Found out just how little I knew about them. Knowledge is a good thing. Next stop, Center of Concern. Mom let go of 16 pieces of clothing! Go mom!! We also went to Wendy's for lunch. Mom does like her occasional Wendy's repast.

Then we drove to Honeyoye Falls again. This time, the beer place was open. Custom Brewcrafters makes beer for lots of different groups and organizations - even a brewery that says that they make their own beer. Remember a while ago when I went to the Three Brother's Winery? Apparently their beer is made by Custom Brewcrafters. Anyway, I tried six of the 14 or so beers that they had going on tap just then - all dark and pretty good. I ended up buying two 22 oz bottles - one Imperial Breakfast Stout and one Baltic Porter. Both were yummy!

By the way, for those of you who are curious, Honeyoye is native American for Little Finger, apparently. Or at least, that was what I was told. Heck, I will believe just about anything.

I managed to finish putting together 7 more copies of Diary of a Plate Addict. Yippee! Today they will go in the mail. Next step, contacting all of the Saucers and getting their feedback - if any. Sigh. Pulling teeth, it is just like pulling teeth! Grrrr.

Today - mom gets a haircut and a pedicure thanks to Juliet, Paul, Ernst and Betty (I think). And I get to mail packages. Yippee!

Pictures from May 19, 2011:


Mom could have made a living as a florist. This is her lilac arrangement.


One set of taps at Custom Brewcrafters. They had two more sets but the beers repeated in them...


Dinner was good, not very spiced. Baked cauliflower (yum), a rice mush-up and a little pork.

6 Dollars

As I was walking home last night, I chanced to look down and saw a soggy $5 bill lying on the sidewalk. I naturally picked it up and discovered a sixth dollar inside! Yippee! Rich, rich, rich beyond compare! Woo hoo!! Oh, wait, I have to buy more black toner today for my printer...

Yup, I went through an entire black cartridge already in the printer. And I still have a few cover parts to print out today. Yippee! Then the Saucer mailings will be accomplished. Life is good.

Made a mush for dinner - it was yummy mush, but still mush. Lots of leftovers again, all mixed together. With rice. And artichokes. Artichokes continue to be inexpensive, so I buy them. And eat them. Yum!

Ran more errands yesterday. Mom and I decided that she is not going to get the Sunday Finger Lakes Times anymore. The price went from $75 for the year to $135 for the year. Eeek!! She is learning to use her ipad for tv listings. I hope.

I went to the beef and brew last night and had a lovely time. I presold a few copies of Diary of a Plate Addict. I think drunk people will buy anything that is pretty! And this book will be nothing else if it isn't pretty. Met a bunch of locals - we shall see if I run into them again. Oh and Facebook friended one - we had three friends in common already! Weird.

Welcome follower number 20 - DSM! Hope you enjoy it!

I need two more things to make me uber comfortable here in Geneva. A bicycle and a small TV/Monitor thing. They will happen eventually.

Mom and I have an appointment with her investment counselor today. How exciting is that? Other than that, nothing big happening.

I love this time of year in Geneva. It is light late, the weather is pleasant and the students are gone. Don't get me wrong, I like the students, they keep Geneva alive - they are just, well, very young, generally. I know I was young too, once, long ago...

Pictures from May 18, 2011:


Downtown Geneva - well, one part at least.


I was just struck by the juxtaposition of the dandelion and the bright flowers.


I met the owners and the general manager of the Beef and Brew last night - Troy, Mike and Steve.

Sometimes the title is challenging

Good morning! Well, at least it is morning as I start this blog post. I guess it might not be when you read it. Or maybe it is...anyway, time is weird.

Why do so many people choose "no" over "yes?" Fear over love? Very sad. Not that I never choose no - I do. I just aim for more yeses. What a weird looking word that is!

My toner arrived yesterday. Yippee!! Then I ran out of paper. :( Then I found a box of continuous feed computer paper. Yippee! Then I started ripping it apart so that it was just paper. There is a lot of it! Enough for all the copies of the book that I want to print and send. I have four ready to go and three that are close. Huzzah!

Much of my day was spent working on the book in one way, shape or form. I got a good bit down - now I need to get a magenta cartridge for my lovely color printer. I will do that as soon as I get finished with my morning ablutions. Staples ought to be open at that point.

Mom did a lot of sorting yesterday. She still isn't very good at it, but that is ok. She feels useful. I neatened the study a good bit. Is there any use for electric typewriters? And I still don't know what to do with old computer equipment. Sigh. I guess it is all attic bound for the time being. I do plan on having a garage sale at some point - or rather a yard sale. After the kids come back in the fall. College kids that is. My next project, once it is a smidge warmer, is to clean off the front porch. I am tired of it being a repository - and I would rather shift the stuff than continue to have to look at it!

Mom also did her civic duty and voted in an election about library and school costs. Go Mom! I couldn't vote because I am not registered here in NYS. I haven't decided where I want to be registered. Sigh. (I sigh a lot - at least on paper)

We had left overs for dinner. Trying to empty out the refrigerator. I did clean out a little bit. Yippee!

After dinner, we headed to Canandaigua to go to the movies. I found the place on my GPS and programmed it in. Um. No. The computer took us out to the middle of nowhere. So we opted to return home. But I managed to glimpse the theatre out of the corner of my eye. When we got there, no one was watching the movie - so they turned it on just for me and mom! Not a great movie, but ok. I felt that the acting was sub-standard. Oh well. Glad we went.

All in all, quite a day!

Pictures from May 17, 2011:


Mom walking into the high school to vote.


One of several piles of detritus from the paper separation project!

Got a little Done

And a little is better than none. I went through the book twice or three times last night - mostly looking for graphical things that needed changing. But I noticed some text that needs to be excised. Too whiny still. I think the book needs to be as Rah Rah as it can be. Wider appeal I think. Still not ready to send off my comments to Heather, though. Maybe I will get more work done on it today. No toner as of yesterday, so no more copies have been printed. Poop.

Photo crush! That is one of the things that happens with me when I am doing a dating site. I get crushes on women because of their photos and their profiles. Most times, nothing comes of it. I send an email and guess what happens. Go ahead. Guess. Yup, they don't write back. At all. And they are probably right. I figure if they don't write back, it wasn't meant to be. A variation on sour grapes. Gotta love Aesop!

We successfully accomplished most of our errands yesterday. We even got mowed! How exciting is that!! Carl seems like a nice laid back guy. Yippee! None of the other three companies I contacted have bothered to return my calls or contact me in return. Oh well - their loss! After the errands mom was tuckered out, so I went and did laundry by myself! Yippee! I also did some work in the study. It is feeling better already in there. Mom is freaked out because she wants the space for her use - even though she hasn't been in there in at least 6 months. Sigh. I hope to have it 90 percent done today.

We might go to the movies tonight. Has anyone heard of The Conspirator?

Pictures from May 16, 2011:


The lilacs are in bloom again...they always seemed larger and more profuse when I was little...


A tulip doing an impression of an iris. :)


Seneca Lake looking foggy!

Little Epiphanies

Yay for little epiphanies. They are always enjoyable. I had a few yesterday. One was that I really need act as if mom were a kid. I know that I have said that before, but it just keeps resurfacing as an idea. Another was that I can clean up the study and use that as a space for me as well. Mom doesn't go out there at all, as far as I can tell. And I need another place to hang out that isn't in the living room with her, or in my bedroom. This will take some effort, the study neatening project, that is. Maybe even a lot of effort. I don't think we have enough good boxes for book storage. Argh.

Stayed up way too late last night watching movies. I rented two from Redbox and watched them both. One was Tron Legacy which was fun. And the other was Love and Other Drugs, which was enjoyable as well. Anne Hathaway did a credible job. Now, though, I am dragging a bit. And we have a lot of errands to run today. Sigh.

The juicer is much easier to clean when the cleaning is done immediately after the juicing! I made some apple juice yesterday. And then I ended up doing a lot more cooking. Oh, more epiphanies. After cleaning up the shelves in the pantry a good bit - throwing away most of the questionable stuff, I decided to eat through what was there and replenish where needed. I have been knocking things out. Finished up some pasta. Finished up a little rice. Now I need to go through the freezer and finish up some of the stuff in there.

Oh, yet another - stealth cleaning - cleaning things that aren't surfaces. The other day I cleaned out mom's medicine cabinet. I don't know when last she opened it, but I would guess at least 4 years ago, based on the dates of the youngest medicine (expired in 2007). There are lots of places I can do some of that. And I also have decided that I can help mom with the papers by doing a preliminary sort on them. We shall see how active I get in that pursuit...

The list of errands today is fairly extensive. I am aiming to get out about 1 pm to do them all. Laundry doesn't count as an errand. That is a task. And it will be done after all of the errands have been accomplished. Yippee!

Ok, finally, after lots of words, pictures from May 15, 2011:


One bag of apples produced that much juice. What else ought I to juice?


I made spinach and artichoke dip. Yum! I also make chicken scallopini - sort of.


Does liquor go bad? This bottle looks like it dates from the 50s! Another of my closet cleanings - the liquor cabinets in the house...

Fullish Day

That's the way I like them. There aren't a lot of them, recently. But enough. Most of the day was spent on the Opera. Mom and I went to see Die Walkure simulcast up in Victor. I hadn't realized that it was 5 hours long! Eeek! Good show, though it did seem like there was a bit of filler in Wagner's music. Too many notes. :) The production was entertaining as well. Lots of machines and projections. There weren't as many people there for this one as there were for the other one we attended there recently. We had some insanely priced corn dog nuggets for lunch. $10.25 for a drink and fourteen little corn nuggets. Eeek again!!

After the opera, we drove to Honeoye Falls, NY to look for a beer place. It was found, after asking directions (the address wasn't in the GPS). Looks like a place I will go back to visit, since they were closed for the day.

Headed back to Geneva, and stopped at MacGregors for dinner. We got a combo platter that had shrimp, clams, fish sticks and fries on it. Mom enjoyed it more than I did, but that made me happy which made up for it. We had a very personable server named Kathy Jo. Deanna was there as well and actually said hello and apologized for not returning my email. Whatever.

Home, we didn't do much. Mom read and I futzed around on the computer happily. It was a banner day for email! Lots of people wrote, all with good news or at least happy communication! I love that!

Here are pictures from May 14, 2011:


This is the audience for the Wagner Opera.


Mom and me and our combo platter!

Atlantic City Day Three-Ish

Can't really call this an Atlantic City day, but I am going to anyway. My GPS did make us drive through downtown to get to the AC parkway. Whatever. Most of the day was spent driving. We got up at a reasonable time, got packed and mom went to get some coffee at the continental breakfast. I packed the car and went to get her. But wait, what were those nifty machines? Yes, they were "make your own waffle" machines!! Yippee! I made a waffle and put some cream cheese on it! And butter and syrup of course! Yum city! I don't usually eat much in the way of breakfast. I wait to eat until after I have done my yoga. And that sometimes gets me a late eating start. I also don't like to eat too much before I drive as it makes me tired. But I did anyway. I love waffles! (Not every day, but once or twice a month, woohoo!)

Did I mention that blogger was down for a while? It was. Which is one reason my post was so late yesterday. And the six hours in the car put it further in the day. Hard to blog while driving. Though I swear some people I pass are attempting to do so - from their phones!

The drive was, happily, uneventful. A bit of traffic going through Philadelphia, and a bit of traffic on parts of 476, but other than that, pretty smooth sailing.

Mom was getting peckish, so we stopped in Ithaca for a bite to eat. We ended up at The Mahogany Grill. Good food, interesting beer. A bit pricey, though. I don't know if I will end up there again, despite the pleasant decor.

Then home and nothing too exciting to report. I didn't do any work on the book. At all. I did read a little bit of it and thought about making notes. I did. Really. But I didn't do anything. That will be left for tonight and tomorrow, if I am to get my notes to Heather on Monday. Sigh.

Ok, pictures from May 13, 2011:


Waffle machines!


We stopped at the NY State welcome station South of Binghamton. They had wifi!


Goose Island beer - never heard of it before today, I don't think. The ESB I had was pretty good.

More pictures will be (or have been) posted on my Facebook account!

Atlantic City Day Two-ish

Ok, no "ish" about it. We spent the whole day in AC. Got up, puttered and then headed to the Boardwalk. My plan (I am a planner) was to go in early, figure out what was what and where was where and then eat something and see how much time we had before the show. Got in, got parked and found the box office in a timely fashion. Except they were closed. Oh well. We went out on the boardwalk and had some lunch. A yummy Philly Cheesesteak. The fries were too steak fry-esque for my taste. Good, but too potato like. Went back inside to discover that the tickets wouldn't be there, but up with the Maitre d'. Since the doors didn't open for a while, we went to another Casino for a change of pace. We didn't really do much there except help a 93 year old WWII veteran find his wife. Who it turns out, was waiting for him where he asked her to wait for him and not in the bathroom that my mom and a cleaning woman searched. Oh well. He was in amazing shape for 93! I hope I am half as hale at 70! During the search, I got a text from my niece Kristen saying that the tickets were now at the box office. Back we went. Got the tickets and still had half an hour to kill. So I sat at a penny slot machine and lost four dollars. But I had fun doing it and mom and I both got to sit down for that half hour!

Upstairs, we got into the theatre and got situated. Not bad seats. The show was enjoyable, Kristen was great. It was a little odd to see someone I knew up there on the stage. Fun. Afterwards, we went and had some onion rings together. Kristen couldn't eat much because she had another show that evening. It was great seeing her!

After that, mom and I headed to Tun Tavern. Not an optimal experience. The beer was boring, service was slow, the spinach and crab dip was dull and it was a little pricey. Oh well. I now know one place I won't have to revisit, should I ever return to Atlantic City.

All in all, a good day.

Today, was spent mostly in driving. I got home and didn't find my toner waiting for me on the porch. :( So I guess I will have to look at the book and figure out if there is a way to make it good and interesting. Sigh. I am at the point in the process where I think the whole thing is crap and think I ought to toss it in and start over again. Grrr.

Here are a few pictures from yesterday, May 12, 2011:


On the Boardwalk - I think we were facing Park Place. A gentleman took this picture of us.


Kristen and mom looking arty!


Mom and me at the Tun Tavern.

Atlantic City Day One-ish

We got up and out at a reasonable time. Mom had packed the night before for the most part. Heck, we are only going to not be in the house for one full day! How much does anyone need for that amount of time? I must admit to packing light in most instances. Especially since most times one can make do with much less than one thinks.

Before we left Geneva, we stopped at the post office and I mailed three copies of Diary of a Plate Addict out to three Flying Saucers. I chose Raleigh, Nashville and Austin as the first three. I hope that the toner is at the house when I get back so that I can print out the rest and get those in the mail. Meanwhile, back on the home front, sort of, I am planning on going through the book this weekend and sending my thoughts and comments to Heather. Lucky woman!

The drive was pretty easy. We took 476 for quite a bit of Pennsylvania which was much better than taking 81! I dislike 81 for some reason. Not vehemently, but a bit. It just seems to have more construction than any other road. My GPS also sent us through downtown Philadelphia at rush hour which wasn't as terrible as it could have been, but also added about 30 minutes to our journey. Mom only slept for about half an hour of the 5.5 hours. And we stopped so she could "rest" once. All in all, as I said, it was pretty easy.

The hotel was quite noticeable! A huge older building that could do with remodeling. Our first room was waaaay down a corridor, so I got one that was closer to the elevators. Not the greatest place, but inexpensive, which makes up for it. :)

We almost immediately headed out to dinner. Dock's Oyster House is an establishment of great repute in Atlantic City. In fact, I recalled that I had been there once before a few years back. With Daniel and Stephanie. Weird. Anyway, mom wanted a meal to make up for the teeny little lobster tails she had had at the Cobblestone. She ended up with Fluke - which was pretty tasty. I had tuna. A fun time. There was a guy next to us who ordered two lobsters for himself - eeek! And not little ones - one was 4.5 lbs. and one was 5.5 lbs. He had wanted a 10 pound lobster, but there wasn't one. Goodness! I went over and asked his wife if she was getting even a piece of claw. She misheard me and gave me a potato chip. It was a good potato chip! (Well, pommes fritte)

Today is the day we are going to see 42nd Street. The plan is to head into town around lunch time, suss out the situation, have a little food and see the show. Yippee!

Oh, and on the Plenty of Fish subject, I have actually gotten a few nibbles, though most of them have seemed to slip the hook. (To continue the metaphor by someone who knows almost nothing about fishing...)

Pictures from May 11, 2011:


Mom's stuff in the trunk.


Our lovely hotel.


Our dining location.

More pictures will be posted in an album on Facebook devoted to this little adventure. Now, don't be too excited!