The Years To Remember

Sunday was cross country ski day at Prospect Mtn in Vermont. The weather was gorgeous at 33 degrees and the trails were well groomed. Afterwards a few friends stopped over to use the hot tub and share the pot of chili I made for dinner. It was a great day! Happy ski trail. I just wanted the sign, I don't know these people. Some of my Hiking Mates. I have noticed that I am rather linear in my 'getting things done' strategy. Multitasking has never worked well for me, so I take things one at a time.  Since I got my passport, my next task was to apply for Global Entry which includes TSA Pre✅ as well. It took a few days to apply online and get approval, but then I needed to attend an in-person interview to complete the process. There were no appts. near me, but I could drive up to the Canadian border (3.5 hrs away) in Plattsburg NY. The first appt was not until mid March and I'm not a terribly patient person. Looking further afield, I found plenty of open appts at Niagara Fa...

I'm getting tired of the weather dictating so much about my daily activity. I'm going cross country skiing tomorrow and though the gearing up process is daunting, it's good for my soul to get out there.  Another week of subfreezing temperatures.  I don't see any temperatures above the freezing point until next week, so the ice coating on everything won't be going away any time soon. I thought the cover of the hot tub was cracking, but it was just the ice coating it, that cracked. The ice is so heavy that I had a hard time lifting the cover back in place. The trees are still coated with ice, and as the sun was setting yesterday, it lit up the ice in a firey red orange color. The camera didn't capture the color fully, and it only lasted a couple of minutes. Ice coated trees. Oops, I already removed the wing tips before the photo. I can count on one hand the number of chickens I've roasted in my life. Yesterday was an indoor day so I spatchcocked a chicken for ...

I kind of knew something was not going to go well with my passport. Informed Delivery let me know it was at my Post Office and would be delivered on the 14th. It did not arrive, and the app showed that it was sent to Petersburg, NY which is about 15 miles away. Then later on,  it was sent on to Springfield MA! I took myself over to the post office as soon as it opened on the 15th to try to get some answers. I was told it was misrouted (no kidding!) and would probably be here the 19th due to the Monday holiday. The postal worker took one look at my face and said she'd be working Monday, and if it arrived she'd call me so I could pick it up. That is now the plan, but I have very little faith in the USPS. I drove to the garden center from the Post Office and bought some orchids  to soothe my frustrated nerves. Two to three inches of snow with sleet and rain on top left a disappointing mess outside this Sunday morning. I took a swipe at it with my shovel before my back said "O...

 The craziness coming out of Washington DC is incredibly disheartening so I've been working on tasks at home to keep me busy, distract me, or plan for my exit from this country. My new passport with my new name comes tomorrow assuming the Post Office can manage that without losing it. 🤞  The cellar stairway walls have been painted along with the landing at the halfway point. Railings reinstalled and all the tools that were hanging from the walls have a new home in the newly reorganized pantry. The plaster around the rain shower head failed and was crumbling apart. I scraped off the loose stuff and have just applied the second coat of plaster. Then I will sand it, paint it, and be done. Job finished! It took almost 2 weeks to get the heel strap repair kit from the Tubbs snowshoe company. Drilling out the old rivet and installing the new black strap took less than 30 minutes, and saved me about $200. I just don't snowshoe enough to justify a new pair - especially since I don...

On my way to a lunch date just 15 miles to the south and there is no snow on the ground. I guess they missed the last snowfall. I met a friend for lunch a couple days ago and mostly listened to some of the troubles she has been facing. I planned to walk afterward, but an iced over parking lot and howling winds put an end to that idea.  A stop at the thrift store netted me 4 of these leftover dishes. I'm trying to replace plastic with glass, even though the lids are plastic.  Thursday - The past couple of days have been too quiet for me. Friends are traveling or busy, weather is dismal, or a low mood on my part led me to start another low impact renovation - the cellar stairway. It was a dismal color with poorly utilized wall space. Every time I headed down to do laundry I thought about giving it some attention and yesterday was the day.  It was mainly a painting job, which is a great way to use up some of the leftover paint that is cluttering up the basement.  ...

 Cross country ski day at Brookhaven Winter Park on Saturday. Well groomed trails at beautiful Brookhaven. It was mostly flat with a few fun down hills. It's hard to believe, but I was too warm in my jacket at 19 F (-7 C). Geri, Hassan, Peggy, and Danielle. The crew having a late lunch at the restaurant. Waxing crescent moon and Saturn - sky report from the hot tub. Sunday morning was spent training to be a docent at the Pine Bush Preserve. It was a weird feeling to be in a formal meeting again after 5 years of retirement, doing whatever I want. This is what I want, but it felt odd just the same. There were eight of us training to assist visitors to the center. I hope it becomes a part of my routine as I really like hiking the trails and I'm looking forward to doing some citizen science once again. The atrium of the Visitor Center where I'll be volunteering. This pine tree is the namesake of the Pine Bush Preserve. This wood turtle is a permanent resident of the Pine Bush C...