Funny how things turn out

It is funny how things turn out. Yesterday, I was supposed to meet a friend in Victor, NY. We had been trying to figured out a time to meet and had landed on Sunday. Then, another friend, this one from Seattle, and her husband came to Rochester for a wedding (or two as it turns out). So we arranged to get together. Which put a kink in my plans with the first person - who, as matter of fact, was going to have a busy Sunday and would have rather rescheduled anyway. So we postponed - maybe till Saturday or sometime in July, whichever works out. So, yesterday morning, I got a call from my Seattle friends saying that they had a surprise second wedding to attend so that logistically it would be difficult to get together. From getting together with 3 friends to getting together with no friends. Oh well. Life is that way sometimes.

Since all that happened, and I was planning on having an adventure, I decided I would head out into the world and try a new-to-me brewery and perhaps a winery. I invited mom to go several times (several in this case being five) to each of which she responded with some variation of "you don't really want me to come." To which I responded basically "of course I would like you to come." Which resulted in her saying that she just wanted to stay at home. Which I interpreted to mean that she would rather that I stay at home as well. But that wasn't happening. So after I gave her lunch and saw that she had eaten most of it (except for a slice or two of apple), I headed out. Alone. Mixed blessing. Being alone means that I move at my pace and do what I will. Traveling with mom means traveling at mom's pace and trying to keep her as comfortable as possible - but then I don't have to worry about being back at any particular time.

One man's weed...

As I headed out the door, I saw this plant - which I am pretty sure is a weed - but the flower is pretty! Any one know what it is?

Out and about - my first stop was Finger Lakes Beer Company, located near Hammondsport (in Hammondsport?) NY. I am not going to blog about them in my brewpubs and such blog because they don't serve food. I did, though, have a nice time and if it were closer, I would probably visit there at least once more. There were a couple of beers coming that I would like to taste. Don't know if I will make the trek out there again, though. We shall see. A Watermelon beer and a yummy sounding scotch ale. The beers I did have, in a teeny, weeny tasting glass, were decent but not very inspired or exciting. The man serving the tastings was personable - an assistant brewer - which means he generally mostly does the scutwork - is going for an interview at another brewery in Ohio! Which is where one group of tasters was from. Another pair were from PA. At the FLBC, I picked up a flyer that listed all of the beer-centric places around NYS (not including NYC an environs). I think I have been to quite a few of them already. No surprise there, really.

They are growing some hops

$3 for a tasting of seven beers - or 8 or 9...

Next stop was the Arbor Hill Grapery which got its own post. The main reason I went there was the Beer and Brats part of the establishment (which also got its own blog post). Nice places, and probably worth another visit. Someday. And suddenly, it was late in the day. So I zipped home.

Originally I had planned for dinner to be at Friendly's. But that would have entailed a period of getting mom ready for an outing. So I opted to make a dinner from leftovers again - pizza for everyone, as well as corn on the cob and a big salad. Tasty and easy, just the way I like it most days!

Mom and I ate dinner and watched a new episode of Inspector Lewis on PBS Masterpiece Mystery. Yay! Don't know if mom followed the somewhat convoluted plot (it was a mystery, after all), though I figured out who had done it as soon as s/he was introduced. (See how I did that?!)

Lastly, after a long enjoyable day, I unwound with a movie. ParaNorman caught my eye on Netflix. Fun stuff - a little predictable, but it was a kids movie. Glad I stayed up to watch it!

There you are, a day that started off with one plan and ended up with a completely other plan. And what fun was had?!

What do you do?

Or some variation on that theme is a question asked by many people of many people. Maybe they are being polite. Or maybe they are interested in just getting some information. But what the heck does it matter? "What do you do?" The question is asking, it seems to me in my defensiveness, how do you justify your existence in this financially focused world in which we find ourselves. Well screw that! Life isn't about what you do! It is how you live your life. What do you do? I live, breathe, read, write, play, ponder and none of that has anything to do with earning money. Life isn't about money. Ask the worms or the fire that consumes your flesh after you die. How much money are you taking with you when you die? How much happier were you that you worked at a job that, ultimately, was pretty pointless and meaningless? I have worked quite a few of those myself - and will probably work at more of those as I grow older. Right now, I don't really have the time for a "job." My job is to make sure that my mom has a decent quality of life in her waning days. Isn't that enough for anyone to be "doing?"

Maybe a better question would be - what are your creative outlets? Or do you define yourself as a human being and if so, how? Though, I, for one, tend to not define myself if I can help it. Definition smacks of judgement to me - and since I try to be accepting, this sort of sits wrong for me.

Interesting study I read about on Facebook - so it must be true - researchers found that just thinking about money makes people jerks. Which is why when I see someone write that they are looking for someone who is "independent" or "financially stable" on their profiles, I immediately click off of them. And if possible hide them.

On a completely other note, mom and I came to the same realization at about the same time - that she could easily take over the task of cleaning up the form-feed paper. It is fairly straightforward, fairly mindless and gives one a sense of accomplishment. Yay for all of that. Then again...she did one little stack and thought she was done. Then I watched her try to do some more. It was actually quite humorous. Not very quick or effective, but I did get a giggle out of it. Gotta find giggles where one can!

I had a plan yesterday. I did. And then it got a smidgen changed up by a call from The Smith. David wanted company and a little help with resetting the lighting for an upcoming show. I am glad he called. I do enjoy working on things at the Smith. And they are almost done with their air conditioning install! How awesome is that?! David and I hung out (a lighting joke) for about two hours getting color in the lights and doing some rough focusing. Yay!

After that, my plan continued on its merry way - with David coming along for the ride. Part of my reason for driving down Route 14 was to check on the progress of the new beer place (20+ taps) that is supposed to be opening soon. Two weeks ago they said two weeks to go before opening. Oops. Maybe they will be open after we come back from Maine.

In my on-going quest to go to all of the Wineries around Seneca Lake, I had decided that I would do at least one on Friday. White Springs Winery was the winner of the opportunity to impress me. Read my thoughts on my Brewpubs and Such blog, if you would be so kind...After that, we made a quick stop at Leaf Kitchen to visit with Cassie and friends. We each had a beer and then David headed off into the Sunrise (East) while I went into the Sunset (West) to get some groceries at Wegman's. When I got home I discovered that my wheat pizza crust was a tad moldy! Eeek! So I nipped that bit out and went on with my life.

Mom had salmon, asparagus and corn on the cob for dinner. I had pizza. We both had yummy food! Yay!

After dinner, mom watched Now Voyager. I didn't so I can't review it. She seemed to enjoy it, which is always a good thing.

Grace the barber!

Who knew that Grace, amongst all her other interests, was also a closet hairstylist wannabe? Well, I had an inkling when she asked to braid my hair the first time on Friday. Then she dropped a hint by asking if she could trim my hair. Never being one to say no if it is in my power to say yes (without causing me pain), I said heck, why not. So, early yesterday morning, I lost a few inches of hair. Eeek! But it will grow back. Hopefully healthier and happier.

Somehow, in this house currently, it is something of a challenge to do much before noon. Well, that isn't strictly true. Lots gets done, just not "out of the house" stuff. Mom, for one, doesn't seem to be at her best before she has woken up naturally, and had some food (and for her, some coffee). I too like to awaken naturally like I did this morning. At 6. Ok, maybe a smidge earlier. I will probably take a nap at some point this morning. (I did. Yay!) Anyway, Grace pointed out that lots gets done before noon. And she is correct - we just don't get out of the house until after noon. This morning was no exception. I try to include my mom wherever and whenever I can. In outings, in innings, in conversations, in decisions. Yesterday was no exception. I tried to get her interested or excited in any sort of excursion. I had thought that Sonnenberg Gardens or the Corning Glass museum would tempt her to venture out into the great outdoors. Alas, they were not large enough draws. She opted to remain at home, recumbent. Which did mean that Grace and I were at liberty to do anything our little brains could conceive!

Amongst our options was a trip to Watkins Glen to visit Watkins Glen (State Park). I know I have done this before, but the last time was a loooooong time ago - at least 40 years. God, that always freaks me out a little when I write that sort of thing. Grace likes to exercise, so that seemed like the most bestest choice. After mom was fed and watered, Grace and I took to the road. The trip to Watkins Glen isn't that long. I am glad we went, as I wanted a refresher on just how many wineries there were along the road. The answer - lots. We saw one that Grace was interested in, so we made note of it for a possible visit on our return trip.

There was a line to get into the parking lot for the Glen. There did turn out to be enough parking - plenty actually - mostly nearest to the Glen entrance. Weird. Grace and I put on our sneakers and started our adventure. It really is a lovely place with nice trails and pretty views. We ended up going up one way and down another - up the Indian Trail - exploring our native American roots - and down the Gorge Trail (because we were full?). Lots of little twists and turns exposing different bits of nature. And it was heavily attended by people of all ages, sizes and shapes. We did our fair share of taking pictures of other people and had our picture taken once or twice. And no, we weren't on our honeymoon! All in all, a great hike - despite the heights that Grace whipped me into scaling!

But time was evaporating. I needed to get back to the Smith to run a movie. We did, though, make time to stop at a winery - an organic winery, that Grace had noticed. Nice enough little place, but I don't know that I will stop in at the Four Chimneys Winery again anytime soon.

The movie, From Up On Poppy Hill, was a Japanese animated feature about a young woman who falls in love. Nice story, decent animation - though the Japanese didn't, for the most part, look very Japanese. Not sure what that is about. Mom got confused (which isn't surprising because a) well, you know and b) it was a little confusing even to me) and Grace enjoyed it. If you like Japanese animation or pleasant romantic stories, this is a decent movie, for mostly younger audiences, I would think.

Dinner was a walk across the street into Pure, our only Indian restaurant here in Geneva. The faces there change, so I wasn't surprised to have a new-to-me server show up at the table. Kip was very personable and put up well with my "humor." We ordered two entrees, an appetizer, and naan. Everything was great. We all ate a lot and were quite content. Yay!

After dinner, we drove to Rose Hill for a quick look-see. Not all that much to see since it was closed, but still happy we went. It was, though, sad to see the state the building was in - needs a lot of paint, soon!

What a nice day!

Tax is taxing

The day turned out to be a rainy one, here in lovely Geneva, NY. Not what had originally been forecast. But Karl wanted to go on his adventure anyway. Before time, though, we got a call from the Nursing place saying that they couldn't come at their scheduled time. What? Karl set that up a month ago, at least. I had spoken with someone at the service and Karl had also spoken on the phone in depth with someone and at 9:30 in the morning they discovered that they couldn't make their 10 am appointment? Karl told them that was unacceptable. They eventually came to a compromise of 3 in the afternoon - which gave Karl time to do his adventure.

When the whole group, Karl, three kids and mom, headed off to Wagner's Vineyard for lunch, I had the house to myself! What did I do? Walked naked to the bathroom! Yay! Then I went to the bank. Fully clothed by the way. And that was about all. Didn't really take advantage of, but did wallow a bit in, the silence and solitude!

The visit from the VPN (whatever that stands for) was ok. At first she had the wrong idea that we were looking for services from her - which we weren't. When she finally got the idea, she did a walk-through of the house with me and gave us some good suggestions. These were for when mom gets a little further down the slope into the abyss. I think I need to find a good carpenter!

As we were touring, I got a call from The Smith asking me to come in for a bit - which I did - to do some neatening and sorting. More today, actually, but got what I needed to get done yesterday. Yay!

Dinner was all me last night - we had chicken, corn on the cob, orange glop (sweet potato) and green beans. I think everyone enjoyed some parts of the meal. Well, I enjoyed the whole thing. As did mom. And Karl. I guess it was the kids who only enjoyed parts. Orange glop disappeared into Jenna's maw as quickly as it was put in front of her.

After dinner, I had my regular night out downtown. It was raining quite a bit and not as toasty as it could have been, so I drove down. Red Dove was pretty empty! Eeek! Good for me, but not good for the staff. Had a nice time chatting with the bartender. Sadly, I am not going to be going back for a while. There have been some shake-ups there. Manager stepping down, staff leaving, and most irksome, raising prices of their beer by adding tax. I knew the tax was there before, but it was invisible. A $4 beer was $4. Now, a $4 beer is $4.30. How is that good for the bartender? And why make people deal with change? Just short sighted and silly. If they want to raise their prices, just add $.25 or $.50 to everything - there would still be change, but it would be quarters only and the bartender could still get tipped easily. Whatever. There are other places for me to visit.

Shoes often drop

After one shoe drops, the other one often drops also. I do tend to keep my eyes, ears (nose and throat?) and heart open for that occurence.

Such was the case yesterday. I stopped by Ravines to tell Monty's mom that I wasn't going to be able to taste that day, and I swear, after seeing me, she literally scurried away before I could talk to her and hid in the back somewhere. So I headed off to work. I guess I won't be visiting Ravines again for a couple of years. Oh well. Moving on.

Good thing that I am communicating with some nice people on POF. Will anything substantial materialize from those contacts? Only time will tell. Hope springs eternal. Seriously. I am seriously in need of a romantic relationship. And I am really, really tired of being jerked around, not meeting anyone or meeting women who just aren't interested. This is getting really old. Ok, so I am getting really old, too, but I think you get the point.

The Smith performances went smoothly, which is good. Mom got fed twice, great. I do feel guilty, a smidge, for leaving her alone. Maybe 4 hours a day at Staples would be easier, since it would at least be routine, for the most part. Mom's routine being messed up makes me feel bad.And somehow, two bees ended up in her room. Weird that they are there and not elsewhere in the house.

I go back to the Smith all day today - and was asked to come run spotlight for two shows tomorrow. Yay. More work. Huzzuh. This does mean that again, my plans are thwarted. I hoped to get a lot done in the house and on paying bills and such on Monday. Guess all of that will have to wait until Tuesday. And maybe, egads, laundry.

Sorry for the weird post. It is what it is.

Practice makes as practice does?

I am sure I am not the only person to practice conversations in one's head. Like my plan to ask a local bartender to be my facebook friend. I had all sorts of excuses for why we ought to be FB friends and cute rejoinders all prepared. The actual conversation? "Hey, are you on FB?" "Yes." "Can we be FB friends?" "Sure." Sigh.

My mind is fairly squarely behind my decision to start reviewing local wineries and their associated tasting rooms. The decision is multi-folded. I was going to say two-fold, but I think there are more twists and turns in my tiny cranium regarding this than two. The ones that leap to mind are - I like having some sort of project to spend time and energy on. Another is my desire to learn more about the area - the other day, a couple were asking about wineries in the area, and I realized that I have only been to four out of the 30 or so around Seneca Lake. Not a good percentage. A third reason is to get me out and exploring and possibly meeting people - increasing my surface area is the way I like to think of it. And there are probably more, but I can't think of them just now.

Oops, I did it again. I bought the wrong size labels. Glarp. I need to go back to Staples and get bigger ones. The ones I did get are teeny - an inch by a half inch. Can't see those with a magnifying glass the size of my head! I need bigger labels! What I want to do is slap one of those bad boys on each box that I have touched - write the date touched and a brief synopsis of the contents. That way, when I get around to doing more sorting of the boxes in the attic - which might happen in my lifetime, I will know which boxes I still need to do. That would be nifty. But with these teeny tiny labels, that isn't going to happen. I don't have a pen small enough to write the pertinent details on such a petite label. Glarg.

By the way, I did find the linen for the porch. I had seen it. Frequently. Last Fall, I did something crazy. I washed the stuff. I know! Absolutely bizarre thing to do. But I did it. And instead of putting the things in the basement with the rest of the crap from the porch, I left it in its basket, dried (and I think folded) in the red room. Where I would be sure to see it and remember it. Which I didn't. Until the other day. After the porch got set up. Sigh.

I have replaced the glass front door with its screen counterpart. I am so excited!

Operation Empty(ish) Rooms has sort of commenced. I have more than a week before Karl and kids descend to accomplish it. My goal is to have it done by mid-week next week. Easily doable.

Good day yesterday, though I didn't really accomplish much of anything, except the door and buying new, larger labels. And got a call asking me to work at the Smith tonight and tomorrow - there goes my free weekend. But it does mean a few dollars coming in. Yay.