From Tranquil To Trauma

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. 
    
Friday - The stairway is finished with only three trips to the hardware store. I did refit the door with a new handle and hinges to modernize the look. For some reason I only bought 1 hinge on the second trip - I don't know what I was thinking!

I'm snow shoeing tomorrow with the hiking group so that will lift my spirits. 

Saturday started out promising and pretty. Our hiking group met for an easy 5 mile snowshoe hike up in the mountains with a gently falling snow.



Putting on our gear at the trailhead.

Not a half hour after I took this picture, my friend Jim (orange hat) collapsed on the trail about a half mile into the woods. Luckily he has a Garmin emergency beacon and the forest rangers were there within 45 minutes to carry him to the waiting ambulance. He suffered a heart attack, was defibrillated four times, and is now admitted to the hospital. We were all pretty shaken up and somewhat gutted. He is our hiking leader and probably the catalyst for so many friendships through hiking - we all treasure him. Today was a stark reminder to hold your people in the light - tomorrow is promised to no one.

Wolf Pond

Comments

  1. MargaretFebruary 8, 2025 at 11:47 PM

    I admire you so much for tackling these projects; I am either inept or lazy or both. That is frightening about Jim! I hope he'll be OK.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Another Rainy Weekend

Image
Another rainy Saturday to contend with, so I decided on a Van Morrison playlist while I cleaned out the garage and danced and sang. My gardening supplies and planters and pots that need sorting and recycling  were cluttering up my space. They are now sorted and the garage is cleaned out for at least another week or so. I think the shed in the back yard needs to be a project to get it into a more useful state.  The amount of rain we've had is remarkable. May was one of the wettest months in eighty years and June is starting to look the same. I would rather have too much rain rather than a drought though.  After dropping around 3 inches of rain, the skies cleared up later in the afternoon. I loaded up my bike for an impromptu ride on the Electric Trail with the thought of dinner or ice cream at Samascott's.  The first of many turtles on the bike path. Now I see just how rough the path was and how I had no business riding on it.  The trail was very wet on the way s...
Read more

Summer Solstice

Image
Vroman's Nose overlooking the valley. Summer has begun! To mark the solstice, my hiking group held a picnic at the top of Vroman's Nose, which is a short little hike up a 657 foot hill. It overlooks the Schoharie Valley and has a beautiful rock 'dance floor' that easily accommodates our group of forty. The weather was a perfect 74 degrees with a breeze to keep any bugs away. A pleasant gathering on the dance floor near sunset. I drove Sue Ellen who had her gall bladder removed last week, and we hiked up with a guy who has spinal stenosis. As I listened to them discuss their ailments, I silently gave thanks for my health and thought about how 'mature' our group is becoming.  Once at the top, the party began with burgers and dogs, salads and desserts, and great conversation.  Most of our group made it into this sunset picture. Saturday started with me being woken up by my neighbors chatting down below in the street - it was garage sale day. I didn't join since...
Read more

Random Thoughts In My Little Life

Image
 The orchids I bought in February (!) catch my attention each day and I have to marvel at their longevity. Four months of continuous flowers? What other plant does this? I just may become an orchid collector. A new stem with buds is forming on one of them too! This long horn beetle was inspecting my snow peas. They have blooms, so peas are not far behind! I drove up to the Plateau to meet a friend for a paddle. The wind picked up for awhile so we got a nice upper body work out paddling into the wind. Then we just floated near the dock when the wind died down and the sun was shining.  This wetland was covered in yellow flag (iris) on the way to the Pond. Enjoying the calm water after the gusts. This is not proper paddling form, but it was so relaxing. This angle makes my kayak look tiny! Thursday was a nice dry day - perfect for lawn garden work. I'm diligently putting the plants I keep buying into the ground. I have a dozen sunflowers I grew from seed that need planting, but t...
Read more