February 7 2012

Now that the hoopla over the Big Event, PUPPY BOWL EIGHT, is finally over, we can move on to other things. As you can see, Sadie and I were wildly unexcited over the football stuff, though Brian really seemed to enjoy it


While we really are enjoying our fairly snowless winter (so far!), for those of you who yearn for the snow (and those are generally you who live where it is not) I'm including a shot of the one snowfall we've had since October, so you won't think it's a completely unwhite season. I'm just relieved that I have not had to do any shovelling thus far, and with Brian 90% healed from his knee surgery, it's a good bet I won't have to do much. It's pretty to look at, I agree, but not so much fun to live with.



And while on the general subject of Brian's knee surgery, I am happy and somewhat astonished to report that in yesterday's mail, right after last Friday's fifth boilerplate letter from FEMA informing us once again that the damage to our house (never claimed, wasn't any) did not, upon FEMA inspection (never happened) warrant any help, we got a check - no letter, no explanation, just a very welcome check. I'd love to take all the credit for my great advocacy skills, but after I had refuted all their ridiculous reasons for declining to help (not at all limited to our non-claim on the house, but ending in their stating they couldn't get in touch with Brian's doctor, whose name, address, cell phone, office phone and fax number were of course prominently on display in every bill we forwarded)I knew I needed more muscle. So we got in touch with the one state senator in our eight years here who did more than send us a generic email (shame on you, Chuck Schumer! and THANK YOU Senator Larkin) and put us in touch with someone in his herarchy that handled Federal matters. Two weeks later, voila! A check! Sometimes government works - if you complain long enough, loud enough, and have a friend...






In other news, I have succeeded in dieting off almost all the extra pounds put on by the December (and beyond) extravagances. Though I do really well on my own slurping down anything chocolate, I was helped by our generous and wonderful friends who sent very many cookies, fudge, avocados and other treats, all very much appreciated, and all eaten far too quickly. At least Brian got a few pieces of everything. Here's a few mouth-watering shots - are you hungry yet?























And we had a nice surprise this past weekend, when Lisa and Josh, and Josh's mother Laura (who is wonderful just like her son) with Hyla and Ayro, paid us a visit.

That's most the news here. Self-serving insert: I'll just take a moment to encourage all my young readers (I think there may be two or three under forty) to use that internet, twitter, facebook power to support my unofficial but very sincere run for the presidency. In light of the current slate of Republican candidates, since clearly no one is too preposterous to aspire to the presidency, I am moved to offer a genuinely independent alternative: ME! I will not be collecting any direct donations, will not be campaigning, and will not create a superpac run by my relatives. But I can balance a budget, owe no political favors (with the possible exception of the previously mentioned Senator Larkin), have way less baggage than Newt and like almost everyone else, way less money than Mitt (whose name, as Jon Stewart mentioned months ago, means "with Romney" - yiddishist all laugh now). When Newt is the moral arbiter, and Mitt represents the unemployed (and I'd be just delighted to be an unemployed person who somehow gets over $20 mil a year, and I'm betting you would too), I think I have a pretty good chance of being elected by folks with a few fuctioning brain cells and some residual memory. And wouldn't Brian be a great First Man?

Last and probably best, these are dogs adopted recently by the team at ABR that I work with:

Leah,


Mia,


RJ

January 11 2012

It's been about a year since I last posted (and I'll bet all 3 of my readers were puzzled) so this is a condensed version of life in the foothills of the Catskills. This winter is the opposite of last, so far, as we've had only one freaky snowstorm in October, right on Halloween, that was surprising but too depressing to photograph. Halloween? That's the time for light jackets, warm days and trick or treating on a mild night. Not so much in 2011, as most Halloween stuff on the East Coast got cancelled. What a sad day for the kids..

We had our annual Brian's Birthday Party in May, but this time I had to ask all my dog buddies to leave their kids at home, as Sadie just doesn't seem to like her own kind - and shows it, unfortunately. It's odd because she's so very gentle with the grandkids, and pretty laid back these days with most folks.
Oh well, I guess she's picked up some of my bad habits in this year and a half she's lived back with us.














Less pleasant news item by far for us was Hurricane Irene, which was well covered by the national news but left out our item: Brian injured himself very badly in the cleanup afterward, and wound up needing knee surgery in mid-October. We were without power for 5 long days, relying only on the generator (my very favorite appliance ever) - tolerable but not much fun. The house, thankfully, was not damaged, though we had a small leak in the basement that kept me busy mopping up and wringing out dog towels. Compared to so many folks who either lost their houses or almost did, we were lucky.
BUT (yes, there's always a "but") a rather impressive tree came down in the storm, pushed our fence back and then dangled in the utility wires until Sept. 1, when the crew finally came to untangle, cut and remove it.
They did a great job, but of course when they left there were still lots of small tree-sized branches scattered over the private road, so Brian and I suited up and began dragging them off the road.
That's when Brian went one round too long, tore out his meniscus on both sides of the knee, and then waited for several weeks for it to get better. It didn't - hence the surgery, rehab, etc. Poor Brian really suffered until the surgery was done and he began to heal; for me the 5 days he spent in the knee immobilizer and on crutches, unable to do very much at all including make his every two hours feeding schedule, were pretty grueling. But we all got through it, and once Brian was on the mend, it was Sadie's turn. I knew this was coming, but explained to Dr. Kate that I was not prepared to have two patients in stitches (insert your own joke here) and Sadie would have to wait till Brian was de-stitched and at least able to drive himself to rehab.

She had her surgery in November, and came out of the removal of several "bumps" and "lumps" like a champ, but looking like a Frankenpup. Three of her four legs were shaved for various inserts and tests, and she had three shaved spots, one on each side, and one on the back of her neck, with neat but to me nauseating stitches laced up tight. How to keep her from chewing? First I tried one of my shirts, which being such a good girl she let me put on. Nice fit, but the scoop neck was so scooped she could walk right out of it. Next, another shirt, another style, and this one worked for the entire time we waited for the stitch removal.

As for the garden, alas, the entire lower terracing was overgrown by 3-4 foot weeds even before Brian got hurt. It was a very wet season, and by the time I could even think about the gardens, I couldn't see them! I'm just hoping that the plants will be as forgiving as they have in the past, and we can slowly reclaim the plantings. I actually thought it had snowed the other night, as the moon was full, and the long piles of weeds still waiting for something else to happen looked white and silver in the moonlight. I had to go outside to prove to myself it wasn't so!

I'm still teaching my loyal students, now down to 3, as we approach the end of our second year of instruction, and they are still a joy. We all hope that the 4th woman, badly injured in an accident right after Brian's birthday, will recover and rejoin us soon. And Brian had two grants last year, one to teach another art class in Pine Bush, and the other to create a mural for the local high school. Both projects went well, and he's waiting to hear about another class this year.

So, that's enough for now. I hope to be better at posting this year than last - I could hardly be worse, as this post alone has equalled all of last year's! Here's hoping most sincerely for a better 2012 for everyone!

January 31 2011

I barely finished taking pictures of the icicles already hung from every eave on the house before we began getting the media blitz about the NEXT storm, coming a few hours from now. Our eighth since Christmas, each successive one has been billed as the worst - but this one, covering over twenty states and theoretically affecting millions, even looks scary on the maps. So once again we check the generator fuel levels, put extra wood on the porch for the woodstove, make a large pot of soup, and wait. My planned trip to visit Mom, which was supposed to begin tomorrow, has been set back a week as all the airlines agree this is no time to be charging for travel changes, and are encouraging anyone (like me) who doesn't absolutely have to be somewhere to just stay home. I'm disappointed at the delay, but Mother Nature will always trump any plans I make if She's determined enough. Snowmageddon is coming!



As you can see from these photos, it's not as if we need any more snow hereabouts. But it's coming anyway, perhaps another foot, and with the promise of three or four inches of ice by Wednesday, I thought I'd take advantage of the late night calm (before the storm!) to post this. It may be that, if the ice actually is as bad as predicted, we'll be on generator power for a while, and unfortunately that does not include the computer.


Unlike me, Sadie loves the snow, whether to bounce around in, or eat - and she eats snow like I go through a box of chocolates! She continues to be such a joy in the house, nuzzling us for pets, waiting patiently until I'm ready in the morning to let her out, and being generally adorable. It's been five months since we broke her out of doggie jail, and I've yet to have a serious inquiry about adopting her. I'm surprised, as this is the longest I've ever had a foster dog - good thing she is so undemanding, with the winter as brutal as this one has been, even standing in the glassed in porch waiting for her to come in from the dog run is bone-chilling. And having fallen on my fortunately padded derriere last week on my way to the mailbox, I am increasingly leery of ice and consistently weary of snow! Spring will be extra welcome this year, surely.

I did manage to get in all four January classes for my band of hearty calligraphers. In fact, one of them took this photo of me and Sadie, as she now happily bounds down the formerly scary stairway to get her after class petting and socialization.
We were all pretty surprised that although most of the month was cold and terrible for travel, our Thursday nights were clear and everyone got here and back home with no problem. We are now on our third alphabet, Sixteenth Century Tudor, and the women are just as enthusiastic and dedicated as when we began to work together last March. What luck for me to find four other people who will trek through feet of snow for the joys of calligraphy! No photos yet, but when I get back from my trip and we reconvene, I should have some interesting things to share. I'm insisting that they all try to do a circular layout this time, and it is much more challenging than the others they've done. But isn't that what good teaching is about, challenging the students? We all long for warmer weather when we can treat ourselves to well-deserved ice cream at the Pine Bush local place after class. Surely spring will come eventually - even in this deep freeze I can still see the hopeful buds on the trees and shrubs. I just wish I shared their optimism - and faith!

No other news of note here, weather obsession, calligraphy and dogdom pretty much covers it for me. More when the season changes!

October 31 2010

It's Halloween! And here for your viewing pleasure are some shots of Sadie just barely tolerating my improvised photo-shoot.


















Did someone say "Cookie?"


















Must we?


















Enough!

















Have you no shame?

It's given me a whole new appreciation of animal photographers, if nothing else (and to judge from Sadie's mostly disgusted expressions, there was not much else. Apparently she and I are not going to duplicate the Weimariner dog/photographer success story, much as I would love nothing better than to have Sadie be a self-supporting member of the family).










As you can see, it was a lot more fun for me than for Sadie.
















In other news, my calligraphy class continues to be a real joy. Once a week my four loyal students carpool to the studio and work their little hearts (and fingers) out under my careful scrutiny. We are now beginning to learn the capitol letters of our second alphabet, Fractur, and as always they exceed my expectations by many a country mile.















I am so happy to have found them! We'll finish up soon, and then I think will take a break for the winter snows - but maybe the weather will be mild enough to get a few more lessons or workshops in.


















I know I will really miss the weekly sessions, not just for the calligraphy, but also because these are such kind, funny and inspiring women. And that goes for my single private student too, diligently at work for at least an hour's practice a day on the nuances of Old English - I just haven't made her pose for me - yet!

We've had almost a week of 70 degree weather, which was the final confusing blow to several plants (and me!). I just harvested the very last of the chilis and eggplants today as it will begin to be below freezing by tomorrow night. The eggplant are the size of chilis, and the chilis are so small that the one other harvest I got a few weeks ago, after grilling, had many of them just disintegrating when I tried to peel them. There wasn't enough chili to have anything BUT peel!




However, I must also say that the half-cup of baba ganoush I made from the first four tiny eggplants was delicious, and the chilis that could be peeled were hot enough to make my eyes water with the tiniest of strips put on my lunch bagel. Our chard is still going strong, and the spring lettuce that I let go to seed right in the garden cage, and then buried the seed stalks, has resulted in many tiny but also delicious red and green lettuce babies. We ate the first of the thinnings this week - so much better than that tasteless green roughage at the store.

That's the sum total of my news from here - not a word about the upcoming elections as I'd rather not add to the impressive but completely unwelcome amount of opinion/polls/attacks/etc making the rounds these days. We got a robocall from The Big Dog himself today. Hope you have a happy Halloween and get only GOOD candies!

August 18 2010

We just had our second annual American Brittany NY/NJ/CT Picnic this past Saturday, and while once again Brian and I came dogless, we had plenty of doggie pals to keep us busy. Unfortunately, the CT contingent, consisting entirely of Arley the Adorable and his parents Helaine and Bob,could not join us because: a) they are packing up and hitting the retirement road in an RV with Arley and his soon to be brother Joe in a few days; and b) because I recruited Helaine as the only other CT contact I had to help me bust Sadie out of doggie jail and get her back here (more below). But we still managed to be a two-state picnic, as Baby Missy was kind enough to bring her folks, Marianne and Joe, up from NJ.
As you can see, we had perfect weather, great food, beautiful dogs, good company, and all one could want in an outdoor event. This is especially significant since it's been raining/pouring in 5 minute intervals for weeks now - so an entire sunny day that was NOT 104 (yes, seriously, we hit 104 for several days in a row, of course while our air conditioner had died)was a real treat.

Other than Baby Missy and senior (10+ years old) Rosie
getting a bit growly when they were introduced to dogs while on leashes, it was very congenial. And the growly girls were easily managed by their devoted folks.


Thurman, the liver and white dog who is part of Tracey and Lynn's ever-growing pack, was the only male in the entire group. He is a sweet and fairly goofy, deaf, beautiful boy that was just astonished when Missy did not appreciate his friendly overtures (everyone else did!).

We had such a good time that although we had agreed to leave by 5, it was 6:30 before anyone headed out. I just LOVE this group, once again the picnic was the highlight of my summer.

And as for Sadie, who arrived here the day after the picnic, the story is surprising and sad. Apparently the vigorous exercise rollerblading several times a week, and the dog-friendly but very busy neighborhood where she lived was just too much for her.
After months of friendly and positive calls and emails, with absolutely no hint that things were anything but fine, I got an email with the subject line "Sadie needs to be returned", informing me that my little angel dog was currently in quarantine for a dog fight which resulted in someone allegedly getting bitten. Yes, I was shocked, it was as if someone just informed me that my Tante Annette, a tiny and petite woman who lived to be almost 101, had just ax-murdered someone.

As I scurried around trying to wrap my head around the horrible attack dog that was now being describe, and find out just what doggie jail she was in, and get a transport in place, I reviewed every single document I ever got about Sadie, from the very first NC contact. No one, and nothing, indicated anything other than she was "skittish around other dogs" and a very shy girl. Now in my world, skittish and unmanageably aggressive are not the same thing. Over the week and a half I had to get everything done and prepare for Sadie's return, I got more information from Helaine, who had graciously volunteered to dogsit Sadie when her adopter left for a vacation he'd planned prior to adopting her. She "went for" Arley the very first time they were introduced (both on those extendable leashes I now have another reason to loathe). I guess Arley came up too fast for her comfort. She lunged at him and fortunately grabbed his harness instead of himself; Arley shrieked (Arley shrieks at the lighting of a match as well), Helaine inserted herself, stuck her hand in Sadie's mouth, and Sadie let go. They all went inside, Helaine agreed to still keep her, and for four days and nights, when the adopter was absent from the scene, she had not one more problem. Sat on the floor with a dog on each side getting pets, walked them one on each side of her every day - does that sound like a ravening wolfish killer dog? Not to me either. This was the first "episode", and I can almost understand why no one told me. But what about the second, third, etc?


So Sadie is back here, just as I remember her but with a bit more pulling on the slip leash (I'm guessing the rollerblading sessions had Sadie in the lead). She looked so sad when we finally met up with Helaine and Bob, and didn't much react to either Brian or to me at first. But when we got home and got her out of the car, she seemed to recognize the place, and relax a bit. Now, three days into our next chapter of life with Sadie, she's been to the vet, had any physical reason for her strange behavior ruled out, and I am composing paragraphs in my head to post on the net that will be fairly accurate but not scare off any and all potential adopters. Suggestions welcome!

As for the garden, you might guess by the lack of photos just how poorly the vegetables are doing this year. 4 zucchini, 2 cucumbers, 4 tomatoes, lots of basil and of course hysterically happy sunflowers are what we've eaten so far. The eggplant and chilis are still tiny and I have yet to spot an eggplant, though I can see the flowers are setting. There are 4 tiny chilis, about 3 inches long, on one of the six tiny plants. I have no explanation for this. However, the goldfinches are wildly enthusiastic about the sunflowers, no doubt because they are so color-coordinated, and regularly swarm the vegetable cage except of course when I head out with my digital camera - poof, they're gone! And the squirrels too are having a great time climbing up and down the chicken wire, pulling off wilted sunflower heads and sitting on the top of the cage throwing out what they don't want to eat. That too would be a great photo if I could ever get it - but I am just not dedicated enough to set up and wait, so you'll have to use your imagination.

That is the up to date report. Having a dog with a rap sheet is a new experience for me, but thankfully Sadie is oblivious and just wants to sleep, eat, and get some affection, all of which can easily be managed. And your news?

July 28 2010

For the first time I can remember, I'm deliberately growing sunflowers (as opposed to the appreciated but unplanned sunflowers the birds plant) and I'm impressed! We got two kinds of seed last year. Our neighbor George was growing some three-foot bright orange sunflowers in a planter, and we gathered some of those really tiny seeds in the fall. And the monestary had huge yellow sunflowers in their garden, and, as always, was very willing to share. So I carefully kept the seeds separate, and tracked where I planted what.


As you can see, they are all beautiful, but not one single short orange plant in the bunch. This same thing happened to me with white marigolds, seeds of which I got at my sister's place years ago. The flowers from which I got the seeds looked just like regular marigolds, except they were creamy white. The plants I got at home were three feet tall! and in some cases, instead of marigold petals, they looked like pinwheels! I guess all this cross-breeding and such make it hard for an amateur like me to know what to expect. Maybe that's the point?

The other garden news is that tonight we ate the first tomato and it was spectacularly sweet! Our plants, alas, are skimpy, but the few very big tomatos that are on them look good.


While the sunflowers, ecchinachea and hydrangea are having a decent summer, the lilies are all dried up, and the vegetable garden (aside from it's completment of boisterous sunflowers) is struggling.

We've gotten a few zucchini already, but two of the four plants rotted at the ground line, and I'm not quite sure why. Five of our six cucumber plants had a close encounter with something awful early on (I'm thinking skunk or cat pee) and died overnight, leaving just one frail survivor. The basil is growing, and I've gotten some batches of pesto cubes done, but the plants are much smaller than last year. And the peppers look about the same as when we planted them months ago.

The month's nicest surprise was when Lisa and Josh called from the road, on what they thought would be a day trip with the girls from NYC, and ended up being an overnight stay with us. Chef Brian sprang into action, and we all enjoyed the result.

And the next morning, most of us went frog hunting down at the pond. Hyla came prepared with her own net! Too much fun!




Not quite everyone went on the hunt; they also serve who sit and watch!

July 3 2010

Dog News: Just in time for Independence Day, Baby Missy went "home" forever this past Tuesday. Her new family, Marianne and Joe, already think she's the best dog in the world - and of course, for them, I agree! She's our seventh rescue, and while every dog has been very different, each one has brought such joy (and, I must admit, occasional moments of chaos bordering on hysteria). Little Missy was by far the youngest dog we've fostered, as our vet put her age at no more than 3, and probably closer to 2.
She is such a baby girl that even I couldn't resist putting a bow on her for the going home trip - which is quite unusual for me. Last time I had such an impulse must have been decades ago when Day Rose K. was a baby herself - and she's now a married woman in her 30's.

Missy's new dad is wheelchair bound from an old motorcycle accident, so Baby Missy is going to learn a few new helpful tricks, and be a semi-service dog. I'm sure she can do it. She bonded instantly with her new mom, as you can see by the photo. Marianne was ready to take her home from the very first meeting, but wanted to take a week off work to settle her in with Joe, who works from home, so we all had to wait another few weeks till she could get someone to cover for her. And in between, they drove up for a visit (2 hours each way, this couple was REALLY committed to adopt this dog) which was lots of fun for us all, even though Joe had to patiently wait in the driveway by his van, as our house is not wheelchair friendly. But Missy graciously checked in on him whenever she was walking by, and stopped for friendly pets as well.
It's still a bit weird and too quiet here without a tail-wagging, nails-on-floor-clicking little furry pal around, but I am using the time to good purpose (the War on Weeds, which is longer than any other war as it is endless) and will be ready for another foster soon; just not till I get a few more mornings where I don't have to get up at 6 a.m. and let Missy out.

Garden news: After several weeks of too much rain, we've hit a dry spell. The formerly soggy terraces now have weeds that seem cemented in, despite my best mole imitation efforts to pry them loose. But some plants are happy in the heat - just look at our yucca! When we first moved to West Virginia all those years ago, I was astonished to see yucca plants along the sides of the roads, as I thought they were only desert plants. But much to my surprise, they do well there, and equally well here, as you can see. Our bergamot (bee balm) is also bursting with joy in the heat, and apparently is going to continue to grow straight up to heaven unless I intervene. Each year the plants get slightly taller - and this shot is AFTER I topped off quite a few to bring in the house for flower arrangements.
They have what I think is a very nice garlicky smell, but the deer disagree and won't eat them. Thus, along with the peonies and irises, these are the ones we dare to leave down in the lower terraces. Unfortunately, not so with our sunflower starts. We got some seeds from our neighbor, and also from the monastery, and planted them liberally all over the property. The pots on the front porch are fine, and the one stand next to the back door is too, but all the rest are just sadly truncated stems. Having not seen deer for a while, Brian and I made the wrong assumption that they were not here. I guess they were just waiting for their favorite buffet treats...

Other new: Yes, there is a bit that is neither dog nor garden related. In March of this year I began teaching a beginning calligraphy class in Middletown, about half an hour away. The class was only scheduled for 4 weeks, which I told my coordinator could not possibly be long enough to teach an entire alphabet, but she said to just start and see what happens. So we did, and at the end of each 4-week session, I had enough folks really wanting to learn the entire alphabet to continue!
So for 12 weeks I have been teaching what is essentially a secret calligraphy class, as none but the first of four sessions ever made it into the official calendar. At the third week of each session, my happy calligraphy ducklings promised to go on line to register for the next four week session - and did! So we are now in our 13th week, and will finally finish the Old English capital letters by the end of this session. It's my first calligraphic employment in New York State! And while the pay is predictably disappointing (less than half what I used to get in SB), I have never had a more enthusiastic or hard-working group. They are just great, I hate to let them go and am plotting to recruit them for yet another secret class of perhaps Fractor or 16th Century Tudor, if I can keep them coming back. I dream of creating a calligraphic community here, with all the great things we used to do in SB: fairs, picnics, meetings (okay, not everything was so great, but at least at the meetings we all got to see each other).
And here are a few happy faces sharing their works - these were done after only the first 8 weeks, when we hadn't yet begun the capitals. Their final project will be the same quote, only this time with ALL the letters properly done!