Catching Up,...

Today I met a former co-worker for lunch. It was time to renew old friendship and catch up on children, grandchildren and life in general. Halfway between our homes is Baxter Mountain Tavern. It was an overcast day with a steady wind. The flags on the restaurant sign were whipping back and forth. It felt like snow would start falling any minute!





A welcome sight was the cheery fireplace!
Over the fireplace is a wonderful photo of the Adirondacks by noted photographer, Carl Heilman.

Moving on past the fireplace, sofa, and through the inner dining room,...

We arrived in the second diningroom with windows giving every diner a mountain view...

Looking out from our table...

The walls are decorated with interesting Adirondack items. What could be better than a wonderful view of the mountains, a fireplace, great food and service while lunching with a friend? Thanks for a such a nice visit, Deb!

An Evening at Home,...

What a comfy bed a mandolin case makes! Introducing "Peanut"... who's not really very small, in fact he's a very big boy now that he's all grown up!

Here's the mandolin in action!

Friends, music,... a relaxed evening at home!

Thanksgiving Wishes for You...

More than a year ago I shared this picture of wild turkeys in my back yard. Today is the traditional time to roast a turkey,... I think that most of these have escaped the oven. Unlike our ancestors who hunted turkeys, now we usually buy a specially grown turkey. We add all kinds of yummy side dishes and have a feast.

I will be doing that today at my daughter's home. My three grown children and my four grandchildren, as well as some people that my daughter invites to join our family dinner will be sitting down around 1 p.m. My contribution is always the home made rolls. Also my daughter has me make the gravy when I get there.

So today as we watch parades, eat huge meals and watch football, I wish for all my blogger friends, your families, all our neighbors far and wide, and our fellow residents on this planet, ...good health, warm clothes, a home, friends and a few moments to think of all that you are thankful for. For me, it's all of the above mentioned things plus my good fortune to have a job I enjoy, a camper to travel with, and especially this computer to communicate with all of you good people!

A special "Happy Thanksgiving" wish to you from the hill!

Fiddling Fun,...

Those that have known me for a while know that I enjoy bluegrass and old time fiddle music. On July 18th I went to Wilmington, NY to an evening of fiddling and fun. The Food Stamp Ramblers were performing. One of the band members laughed saying they named their group that because they get so little for playing they need food stamps! All kidding aside they are a great group of very accomplished musicians.

Check out this video taken by Mary Winchell and published on YouTube:


That tune played in the video is "Skillet Lickin' Breakdown" written by the late Ken Bonner. If you are in the area of Wilmington, join the fun at their next concert there on September 26th, 2009 from 7:30 to 9:30. You won't be disappointed!

On The Way Home,...

This evening I drove to Lake Placid to attend a gathering of Adirondack bloggers and tweeters. It was certainly nice to finally put faces with names on blogs I'd been reading. A great idea, a great party!

On the way home the light was at a very nice angle so I pulled into a favorite view. The cemetery in Keene, NY. It is situated high on a hill with a commanding view of the high peaks. Over the years trees have grown so the view is now not as wide. Somehow I think these old Adirondackers are enjoying their final resting place.

As I drove down the hill from the cemetery this old barn was keeping watch as the evening light fell.


The mist was settling over the pasture here,...can you see the cows in the distance?

What a nice ending to a nice day!

A Pickin' Good Time,...

Thursday morning I left the Adirondacks and traveled west to Stone Mills, NY. The 1,000 Islands Bluegrass Association held its spring festival on the grounds of the Agricultural Museum.


We settled our chairs into a nice spot in the 8th row,... Here "Lost Time" entertains.


Many great groups performed on the stage and there was plenty of good music happening all over the parking lot.

The gentleman in the red cap will soon celebrate his 92nd birthday. Let me tell you,.. his fingers just flew on that mandolin and his singing voice was strong.

I enjoyed the camping weekend and even had time for a side trip on Friday morning. Stay tuned for that later this week. For now,... it's out the door to work!

It's Purple Day!...

Spring is here, in some areas of the country tulips are in bloom, (although not yet here in the northeast!) and it is "Purple Day."

Cassidy Megan, 9 years old last year in 2008, founded Purple Day to bring increasing awareness about epilepsy. Over 50 million people are affected by the challenge of epilepsy. One them is my friend, Michele of Rocky Mountain Retreat Photography.

To lean more about epilepsy, to better understand what is true and what is myth, visit this excellent epilepsy website. The more we understand the better we can be of assistance if someone near us has a seizure. Living with epilepsy, Michele has to walk to work every day! This young woman is amazing, check out her stunning photography of the mountains of British Columbia and also learn a bit more about epilepsy today,...Purple Day, 2009!

A Sunday Drive,...

This photo is dated 1931, Lake George on the back. Pictured are my mother on the right, my grandfather in the middle and my mother's school friend on the left. A Sunday drive at that time in history meant getting dressed up in your finery! Perhaps a dinner out in a restaurant.





Here are my grandparents and my mother's friend Anne. At the same location in Lake George, NY.

A few years pass and by the mid-1930s my father, (on the left), was now part of the Sunday outings. This was taken at Ausable Chasm, a tourist attraction in a nearby town. Everyone is still dressed up and looking very formal.

By the early 1940s my grandfather had passed away, my mother and father were married, and with friends, would still go on Sunday drives, but in a much more relaxed setting. Note the picnic basket and gallon thermos jug in foreground. My grandmother was often invited along on the picnics. Clothing was more informal. But my father was still wearing his hat. That hat hangs on a peg at our camp and my son, his grandson, always wears it when he goes out fishing. I still have that picnic basket!

They would find a back road, pull off for a picnic, and the men would read the Sunday paper while the women would spread the blanket and set out the picnic lunch.

Families and friends enjoying time together, a simpler time. Long before the shopping mall, video games or the internet. Perhaps even a better time?

Photo Tag,...

Today my friends Laurie and Chris tagged me in a photo game. Not being one for games like this I sort of uttered an "oh no,...".... and tonight thought well, I should do the post for that game. Much to my surprise I followed the instructions and found out it was a photo I could do a story about!

This photo appeared in my blog several weeks ago, back in the early fall. I was waiting for a friend to come out of the mall. I had already gone out to the car and she was to come out when she finished shopping. In front of the car was a very small tree and it was full of birds having a feast on some berries or seeds there. It was a bright sunny day and even the birds are enjoying the last good weather of warm days before they slide into the cold of fall and winter.

The rules are that you open your fifth folder of photos, and select the fifth photo in the folder. Then you tag five more blogging friends to do the same.

Sorry, but you are "IT"....

Shelley

Diana

Carolyn

Michele

Mountain Woman

I thought it might be a good chance to introduce some old friends and also some new friends that I've recently discovered in the blog world. If you aren't already reading their blogs I think you will find them very interesting.

"One Shovel Full at a Time",...

One of my favorite North Country musicians is Roy Hurd. Roy has a great tune called "One Shovel Full at a Time" where he tells the story of shoveling snow during Adirondack winters. If you want to check out Roy's music go to CDs from his home page and the sixth one down on the display contains that song. The cd I own and play often is "Backwoods at Daybreak" which contains Roy's well known songs of "Dads and Daughters" (with his daughter Meadow Merry when she was little), "Backwoods at Daybreak" and "Adirondack Woman"...


This is my task for today... one shovel full at a time!

I choose to use an old shovel that belonged to my father. It's actually a scoop and I just push it along the deck floor like a snowplow.

Yesterday I received a tag from my Adirondack neighbor City Mouse-Country House. The game is for 7 weird or random things about yourself. I had received a tag last week so check this past Friday's blog entry here for my 7! And don't forget to visit City Mouse's blog, it's great reading. Also if you are looking for some dandy gift ideas, City Mouse's Etsy store, ADKknits has a great selection of scarves and hats.

Happy Thanksgiving!...

Good Morning! On this Thanksgiving Day I hope that you all have a wonderful time in whatever way that is right for you.
I have counted the things that I'm thankful for, and my new friends here in the world of blogs are high on the list. Now I'll head out to the kitchen to make another batch of rolls to take to my daughter's today. At last count she expected to have 24 for Thanksgiving dinner. See you tomorrow!

Our Blogging "Family"...

Since I began publishing this blog back in June this year, I have been so fortunate to "meet" many people in the blogging community. Some blogs I read once and never return to. Others have become favorites and are part of my morning routine. Today I want to share with you one of these:

http://logcabininmichigan.blogspot.com/

Check out Shelley's world!

Picnic at the Lake,...

Many years ago back when I was in highschool,... (yes, many years ago!) a group of girlfriends used to spend time at one of the girl's family camp. Over the years this old camp has changed very little which is a comfort to me. So many happy and funny memories were made here.




This week my high school chum has been in town visiting with her family. We always enjoy a lunch at the old camp by the lake. She makes a delicious lunch and I bring a bottle of "bubbly"...

After lunch I enjoy walking down onto the lake shore, this view is looking south along the NY shore of Lake Champlain.

Here a sailboat under motor power is heading south. That is Vermont across the lake. The lake gets much wider as you go farther north.

Cedar trees, my favorites, grow along the rocky shore.


Any little crack in the rocks shows grasses and wildflowers


Can you spot the small piece of driftwood that is caught in this bush? It was at least two feet above the rocks, apparently washed into the bush at the time of spring ice-out and high water.
It was a grand day, a wonderful vist with a life-long friend!

Fireworks for the Fourth!...

Last evening a group of friends gathered at the boat launch area to watch the village's 4th of July fireworks display. The sky was not completely dark at 9:30 p.m. when the fun began, but as the show went on the sky got darker.

Little ones ran with sparklers and the crowd cried out the usual choruses of "oooooohhs" and "ahhhhhhhs."
A tripod would have made the photos better,... I'll do that next year. But for now these give you an idea of the sky over Lake Champlain last night.

Morning Coffee and Lake Breezes....

Ten miles east of my home is Lake Champlain. Yesterday morning a good friend invited me to go out for a light breakfast and coffee. We stopped by a deli near a local marina where she and her partner keep his boat,… coffee and danish in hand, we boarded the boat and sat and munched and sipped and caught up on each other’s news. Most of the boats are much larger than their 1939 mahogany beauty. But none had the charm as his nicely restored boat.

Looking up and down the docks finds boats from Canada, Vermont, and Florida. Some are full-timers aboard their cabin cruisers. Others, like my friend, use it mostly for peaceful evenings on the lake. Sailboats were heading out for a day’s relaxation.

It was a brilliant morning at the lake ….