The Years To Remember

Sunday I found 2 red/pink cone flowers on sale at Lowe's and thought they'd be perfect in front of the shed. I was at Lowe's because I burned out the motor of my 30+ year old drill so I needed to replace it. I burned out the motor by wire brushing the rust off my six patio chairs. They were languishing in the shed because they were too sad looking to be used, therefore, in cleaning out the shed, it was time to get rid of them or rehab them.  Rusty, dusty old chairs. That's better - derusted, primed, and spray painted charcoal grey.  Why did I need to rehab them? One of my much loved, red Adirondack chairs finally gave out - four pieces of wood cracked to the point of being unable to hold a person safely. I want to fix it, but that will take a long time, in the basement, where I'll need to make copies of the pieces of wood. In the meantime I'll replace them with the metal chairs and a table.  My activities this week have definitely reminded me of the book If You ...

 I love a project and the rehab of my shed has taken up my time and interest this week. I'm still embarrassed about the previous state of my shed - "it looks sh!tty", as my sister put it, and she was not wrong. Maybe it's because it was the last thing my Ex built before our split and the construction is less than standard. I have just used it as a dumping ground for things I might need. That will now change. Before Now a week later I've made some improvements, but there is still so much to do on the inside.  After: Boards nailed down, trim added, power washed, and painted. I plan on adding flower beds at the front and maybe a potting bench on the other side when it truly becomes my gardening shed instead of the storage shed for things I don't use. I need to add trim to the window as well. It is so much nicer to look at, and it now matches the deck. I just need it to last another ten years. Since I was planning to tear it down and buy a new one, I figure I sav...

 BackRoads is a wonderful company for a biking trip. They take care of everything from hotels and meals, to bikes, routes, and snacks. There were 3 staff members to see to our group of 15 and they all seemed to enjoy their jobs. All of us riders got on well and had a great time. There was a family of five (all adults), the New York Six (us) then two couples - one married for many years and the other, platonic travel buddies.  There was not a difficult person in the group, which made for an enjoyable week.   One of 2 support vans.  Our little riding group, George, me, Tom, and Janice. Most of our group enjoying music in a pub. One of the typical roads we traveled on our bikes. An old castle on a coastal route. Taking a mid ride rest stop. Another beautiful vista. And another. After six wonderful days of biking and pampering at castle hotels, we were shuttled back to Galway where we caught a train to Dublin.  On the train this little dog Vida, made friends with us...

Landing at Bradley. You might think this picture shows the misty and wet green Irish landscape, but it's not. This was the view from the plane right before we touched down in Hartford CT at the end of the trip. It also was the only hard rain we saw on the trip as our 10 days in Ireland were absolutely gorgeous and filled with sunshine, warmth, and just a little bit of mist at the start of each day. We started off the trip by flying into Shannon airport and being shuttled up to Galway for an overnight in that lovely town. Janice, George, and I took a walk along the waterfront and out to a lighthouse to work up an appetite for dinner. Our group of six went to a pizza place to eat - I'm not sure how that decision was made, but I was fine with it. The best part of the evening was a visit to a really old pub that rambled on for room after room, and up and down stairs through at least 4 bars and dozens of dining areas.  The Skeff Pub and Restaurant in Galway The next morning we all w...

 The trip to Vermont is complete, and I’m currently in Galway, Ireland just starting out the biking experience. I’m also learning to post blogs on my phone since I decided I would leave my laptop at home.  So let’s start in Vermont: Theresa, Emily, and Bruce at the end of the Stowe VT Rec Trail. We took a 7 am bike ride before having breakfast out. Three days into the week, Theresa and Bruce drove up to the Canadian border to pick up my niece Emily from her 30 day solo hike of the 272 mile Long Trail. She is amazing! We filled our week with fun activities from the Balloon Festival at the Von Trapp Family Lodge, riding the Island Line bike trail, hiking on Mt Mansfield and tubing on the Winooski River. Sunset at the Balloon Festival! I was so excited, I rushed through the gate without paying or even noticing that I had to.  Day 2 bike ride on the Island Line Trail. Bruce is behind Theresa. The Mansfield hike - we drove to the nose and got as far as the lower lip. It was a ...