A Week Of Biking And Driving And Music

 I'm at the point of relishing a day at home with nothing on the calendar, so I cancelled on a hike/swim/picnic today so I can tend to my home at my own unhurried pace. I've let the lawn go for almost a month so it's time for a mow. There has been so little rain, that it's not really that long but a few tall weeds are poking up untidily. 

A stick bug showed up on the deck - late summer is when all the strange 
and wonderful insects make themselves known.

I went out to work on the shed rehab and moved an 8 foot fence panel's worth of rails and slats to the basement to free up shed workspace. When that was complete, I found a small hoard of pine cones on the floor, and a huge hoard up in the attic portion of the shed. I started removing them, but they are so heavy the yard waste bags won't hold them all. So sorry little red squirrel! You'll have to make other plans for the winter.

These filled a 44 gallon garbage can which I'll have to get rid of in batches. I don't want to give
the guys who pick up the yard waste a hernia. This job was so nasty that I wore gloves and mask.
I emptied the shed, sprayed the whole inside, then spread 2 jars of cayenne pepper and hot chili
powder up top to discourage anyone from returning. Yuck!

The past week has been full of driving up and down the Northway to Saratoga and beyond. Thursday we saw the Philadelphia Orchestra with Time For Three, a group of young dynamic string players. The show was fantastic. There was an afterparty at a small stage on the grounds where they played an informal set for another hour and we got to see them from just a few feet away. 

Time For Three having a little fun.

Friday it was back to SPAC to see Jon Batiste playing with the Philadelphia Orchestra, but mostly with his own band. We bought tickets to see Cynthia Erivo (from the movie Wicked), but she cancelled a few weeks ago so we were just as happy to see Jon Batiste. He was joy personified as he put on show that had the place up and dancing and singing with him. 

He played from the heart! His wife, the author Suleika Jaouad sat a couple rows in front of us.
Her book, The Book Of Alchemy, has been recommended for my book club. 

Suleika Jaouad was so elegant. We had fantastic seats thanks to Peggy who works at the box office.

Geri and I met at 7am Saturday morning and headed back up the Northway to Saranc Lake in the heart of the Adirondacks. We spent a beautiful summer day biking the rail trail for 30 miles past woods, lakes, and mountain views. We had a late lunch at Charlies, then stopped for ice cream at Stewarts on the 2 and a half hour ride home. 


Sunday, Geri, Peggy and I met at Peggy's condo to finalize our bookings for the trip to Norway. It's not until March, but now I can start planning a few other getaways. 

Comments

  1. MargaretAugust 25, 2025 at 4:31 PM

    It's important to find a balance between busy and quiet time. I don't feel great when I just sit around the house, but I also don't like having something every day on the calendar. Baptiste's wife has cancer, right? Were you the one who recommended that book to me? That stick bug is cool in a creepy way. I'm seeing too many grasshoppers. I find them frightening; they jump so erratically. If I had one in my house I would have to evacuate and hope that Mari would deal with it. Norway! I would love to go there. My younger daughter has been and found it beautiful (she loves cold weather too) but expensive.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Maureen MAugust 25, 2025 at 5:36 PM

    Yes she has had recurring leukemia. I'm not the one who recommended the book to you, but several people have told me about it. I'm looking forward to Norway with cross country and downhill skiing as well. We just added a short train journey, fjord cruise, and snow shoe excursion to our trip.

    ReplyDelete
  3. PamAugust 28, 2025 at 12:08 PM

    I'd love to go to Norway, and we may do so. Not this year, though. It's a bit nearer us than you!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Maureen MAugust 29, 2025 at 6:49 PM

      I'm so glad to be visiting a country with a high happiness rating - so refreshing for us here in the US.

      Delete

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