It's getting to be like Wild Kingdom around here. First a snake in the kitchen. Then Dan found a bat stuck to some burdock while mowing. He disentangled it and left it on the swingset to recover for the day. And now Nathan's just gotten two stings, one on his leg and one on his cheek, from a wasp or bees.
Several minutes of ear-shattering screaming have now been replaced with a child happily playing in the tub. But I'm worried about that cheek. It's probably going to bother him a lot at bedtime.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Sun & Wind
I'd love to have some solar panels....
Or a wind turbine.....
But until then, I suppose I should at least harvest a little wind & sun and save on some energy bills.
I think the only reason we hadn't done this sooner was that with the pig farm next door, we weren't sure about the odors. And also, this is right next to one of Zeppo's runs, and I just haven't figured out a better place to move him to. But for now, we'll just go with it. If he causes trouble, we can always use the far half. Or hang things out while we're gone for the day and Zeppo is in the kitchen.
Unfortunately, I spent so much time working out the correct knot for the clotheslines (taut line, btw), that I got the sheets out too late. I wasn't thinking about the fact that the sun sets in front of the house, and this spot gets shady by 6:oo. Well, sheets dry fast. And the rest can go in the dryer for 10 minutes.
And just so you know, Dan's restaurant is doing great. They were serving 60-80 on weekdays, and up to a hundred on Fri & Sat. And that was before getting the liquor license. Last night was the first Sat with the license, and Dan thinks they may have done 200.
The only downside that I know of, is that they had wanted to be open for lunch, but they were having trouble getting staff. And this is impacting Dan because he has to go in earlier to do prep for dinner. If they had lunch cooks, a lot of the dinner prep would be done and Dan could go in at 1 or 2, instead of 10 or 11. So hopefully that will get settled soon. I know that he's managing the extra hours, but it'd be nice if he had some time to himself each morning instead of having to go to work as soon as he's dropped the kids off.
Slight break from typing as I went into the kitchen to get dinner and there was A SNAKE OH MY GOD WHY IS THERE A SNAKE IN THE KITCHEN BROOM BROOM WHERE'S THE BROOM GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT AHHHHHHHHH
I don't like snakes. I reaaaaallllly need to convince myself that it came in while the back door was open for awhile, and that it is not actually from a nest of snakes in the basement or in the walls of the kitchen. Please, please tell me that that is the case, and that it won't find it's way in again. Please.
Or a wind turbine.....
But until then, I suppose I should at least harvest a little wind & sun and save on some energy bills.
I think the only reason we hadn't done this sooner was that with the pig farm next door, we weren't sure about the odors. And also, this is right next to one of Zeppo's runs, and I just haven't figured out a better place to move him to. But for now, we'll just go with it. If he causes trouble, we can always use the far half. Or hang things out while we're gone for the day and Zeppo is in the kitchen.
Unfortunately, I spent so much time working out the correct knot for the clotheslines (taut line, btw), that I got the sheets out too late. I wasn't thinking about the fact that the sun sets in front of the house, and this spot gets shady by 6:oo. Well, sheets dry fast. And the rest can go in the dryer for 10 minutes.
And just so you know, Dan's restaurant is doing great. They were serving 60-80 on weekdays, and up to a hundred on Fri & Sat. And that was before getting the liquor license. Last night was the first Sat with the license, and Dan thinks they may have done 200.
The only downside that I know of, is that they had wanted to be open for lunch, but they were having trouble getting staff. And this is impacting Dan because he has to go in earlier to do prep for dinner. If they had lunch cooks, a lot of the dinner prep would be done and Dan could go in at 1 or 2, instead of 10 or 11. So hopefully that will get settled soon. I know that he's managing the extra hours, but it'd be nice if he had some time to himself each morning instead of having to go to work as soon as he's dropped the kids off.
Slight break from typing as I went into the kitchen to get dinner and there was A SNAKE OH MY GOD WHY IS THERE A SNAKE IN THE KITCHEN BROOM BROOM WHERE'S THE BROOM GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT AHHHHHHHHH
I don't like snakes. I reaaaaallllly need to convince myself that it came in while the back door was open for awhile, and that it is not actually from a nest of snakes in the basement or in the walls of the kitchen. Please, please tell me that that is the case, and that it won't find it's way in again. Please.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Sorry
Not writing much, sorry. I wasn't used to Dan being home nights for the 2 months before the new place opened. And now I'm not used to him working nights again. Plus, he now works Sundays, which he used to have off, in addition to Saturdays. I'll try to get back in the habit soon.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Dr. Horrible's Sing A Long Blog
Go watch. Right now. Especially if you like Buffy(Once more with Feeling), Doogie, Firefly, Over-emoting, evil laughs, and love songs that revolve around freeze rays.
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
Donovan's Steak and Ale
The restaurant opens tonight. They had a practice run last night.
My dish
NYS
Grilled Dry Aged New York Strip
Bacon, Cheddar and Scallion Baked Potato Pie,
Brandy~Mushroom Sauce, Haystack Onions
Janet's
Pan~Roasted Atlantic Salmon
Vegetable Couscous, Cucumber Salad
Roasted Pepper & Tomato Sauce
George's
Grilled Sirloin Steak
Steak Fries, House Steak Sauce
I didn't take a picture of the kid's hot dog and chicken fingers, although the steak fries were artfully arranged. Everything was wonderful. I barely recognized the place from our last visit when chairs were piled everywhere and the floors were covered with drop-cloths. Last night was all white tablecloths and attentive waitstaff. And food that fires off all your taste-buds.
Monday, July 07, 2008
Dark skies and quiet walks
I wish I could take you all out with me when I walk Zeppo at night, it's so amazing.
After I put our house to my back, there's only one house in my sights. They're far up the road, and don't turn many lights on, so my eyes adjust to the dark pretty quick. I get past our trees, and there are fields to either side of me for 2/10 of a mile. Tonight, there was still some straggling fireflies floating around. The field on the left has new bales of hay scattered all around. I think once they bring those in, they'll put some cows to pasture there. A small sliver of a moon was there tonight, a bit orange as it was rising.
That's the only direction that I get a "city glow" from Potsdam, and it's not much of one with only 10,000 residents. Sometimes there's some more glow to the north from Massena, but that's 30 miles away so it's not very strong either. Looking to the right is always totally black. There are no towns between us and the Adirondacks in that direction. Even though I can't see the mountains, the dearth of human activity is evident at night. Because the moon was just a crescent tonight, and there were no clouds, it was a fantastic night for stargazing. I've never seen as many stars anywhere else I've ever lived or visited. And the milky way stretching over it all.
We usually walk for 10-15 minutes, and hardly ever see a car or hear any sound of humans or machines. Dogs, yes. And coyotes a few times, they call them coy dogs here. Last week, at dusk, a car did come by and scared out a deer that had been hiding in the field as we passed. Poor Zeppo really wanted to chase it back down to woods.
That's where I live. And why I live here.
After I put our house to my back, there's only one house in my sights. They're far up the road, and don't turn many lights on, so my eyes adjust to the dark pretty quick. I get past our trees, and there are fields to either side of me for 2/10 of a mile. Tonight, there was still some straggling fireflies floating around. The field on the left has new bales of hay scattered all around. I think once they bring those in, they'll put some cows to pasture there. A small sliver of a moon was there tonight, a bit orange as it was rising.
That's the only direction that I get a "city glow" from Potsdam, and it's not much of one with only 10,000 residents. Sometimes there's some more glow to the north from Massena, but that's 30 miles away so it's not very strong either. Looking to the right is always totally black. There are no towns between us and the Adirondacks in that direction. Even though I can't see the mountains, the dearth of human activity is evident at night. Because the moon was just a crescent tonight, and there were no clouds, it was a fantastic night for stargazing. I've never seen as many stars anywhere else I've ever lived or visited. And the milky way stretching over it all.
We usually walk for 10-15 minutes, and hardly ever see a car or hear any sound of humans or machines. Dogs, yes. And coyotes a few times, they call them coy dogs here. Last week, at dusk, a car did come by and scared out a deer that had been hiding in the field as we passed. Poor Zeppo really wanted to chase it back down to woods.
That's where I live. And why I live here.
Sunday, July 06, 2008
Country-style wedding
Just got back from the wedding of Dan's cousin Meg down in the Rochester area. I think this picture captures the mood of the reception pretty well. Meg got out of the dress and into a tank top pretty quick. The cake is layers of cupcakes with sugared violets. The father of the bride is just out of the shot and wearing a John Deere T-shirt. And we've just finished our ribs and are about to start the square dancing.
All this was at Uncle Norm and Aunt Mar's house. Norm had built a barn a few years ago to house some vintage tractors, so that gave us plenty of room for dancing and the bar. And the side yards had some lawn games for the kids. At the time we left, they were firing up the tiki torches and I think there was going to be a firepit going. Aunt Mar must have started planting flowers and planning the gardens since the engagement announcement last year. The yard looked absolutely beautiful.
I know Dan has been looking forward to this visit for a long time. Even though we're not separated by many miles, it's still an ordeal to get the kids down, so we haven't seen many of his cousins since we moved back. In fact, there were two other weddings in the family this year that we missed. But he got to see a lot of the family the night before the wedding when they had a boat cruise on Canandaigua lake. I missed out, but I'm not dissapointed to be spared the 1 1/2 traffic jam leaving the fireworks show.
But I must say, having a 3-4 hour trip take 6 1/2 hours is really making me rethink the camping trip to Maine next year.
Thursday, July 03, 2008
Feeling Hot Hot Hot
We just got our hot water back on today. Part of the delay was that we decided to go with the tankless. Here she is.....
It's very small, only about a foot wide and two feet tall. The water is instantly heated by propane as we need it, rather than having a tank being heated constantly. Our electric bill is going to plummet this month. Now I can finally give the kids baths, which I must to soon because we have to get ready for a weekend trip to a wedding near Rochester. Happy 4th!!!
It's very small, only about a foot wide and two feet tall. The water is instantly heated by propane as we need it, rather than having a tank being heated constantly. Our electric bill is going to plummet this month. Now I can finally give the kids baths, which I must to soon because we have to get ready for a weekend trip to a wedding near Rochester. Happy 4th!!!
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