Ahhh Summer

Let's see...what have I been doing. School for me got out the end of May. It is now July 11th and I haven't left for New York yet.
I have been working outside around the pool, patio, and garden for six or more hours a day since school got out. It's starting to look nice. The pool is filled again and the kids are using it. I have ignored my plants and yard for so long now. I lost all interest in most everything for the last couple of years. If feels good to get something in shape. Now that I finally got water that will reach where I garden I am out watering and planting like crazy. Good thing too because it is really hot.

My car is being fixed. Three people hit it in it's first year. Hope that's the charm. I am going to drive it to New York. It should be out of the shop in the next couple of days, then I hit the road. I have to carry a carrying cage for my bunnies. I am bringing back four Satin Angora bunnies. I have told a woman I will pick up her spinning wheel in Philadelphia. I am driving a Miata. Hope the weather is good because I may just need to keep the top down from Philadelphia to New York once I get the spinning wheel.
Needless to say I am traveling light. That's not something easily done for me. At least I have a spinning wheel, circular sock knitter, and sewing machine at camp already. I have to remember to take a couple of the bobbins and some fiber, and some basics for the sock knitter. Of course I need to take a couple of knitting projects too. Clothes you say? I don't remember what I left, but I do have some there. One bag with enough clothes and toiletries to get across the country and that's that.

The kids are not going to camp this year-Summer School, though they weren't offering the classes my daughter needs to take. Paul is already in New York, about an hour away from Innisfree/Cool-Shag-Na. He got a job in North Creek as Chief Mechanical Officer of a new railroad. Start-up is next week if they can get everything done. Jobs appropriate for him just aren't available in California. He's finally got a job that he deserves and can shine. Unfortunately it's on the other side of the country. Well, he or we can visit.

Before I go I still need to get two cars registered and one more fixed. It needs some suspension work and the muffler separated on Saturday. It sounds like an airplane. It's checked out and arrangements are made except for the welding of the muffler. Still need to get to the dentist and make appointments for kids to get their whooping cough shots so they can go back to school in August.
I am essentially a single parent again and hitting the road for three weeks. At least there is another mom available. Jessica, a friend of Claire's who has been living with us since before Christmas will have her mom staying with the kids while I am gone. Justin and Audra will be checking in and hopefully swimming and taking some veggies from my garden. I think all will be alright. I hope so because I really need to get away from it all for a while. I just don't know who I am anymore and need to be away from my regular life to get a grip on where I am going. The Adirondack Park is a good place for reflection on the natural world. Or should I say real world?

Ta Ta For Now...

Been in the Woods for a Week

We are still settling in. Lots of things to do. The boys have jobs now. This is their 3rd day. They are working at a Riding Stable. This is supposed to be a busy weekend. It's rained every day they have worked so far. They get there at 8 am and have been coming home about 12ish. The people running the place are going to give them riding lessons and show them the ins and outs of being a guide when they take tourists out on the trail. I would have loved that as a first job. They are doing some shoveling too. After all they are the new guys and there is tons of "fertilizer" in a horse barn...

Went yard sale-ing yesterday. Came home with a bicycle and a boat. The boys negotiated a deal on an 8 foot dinghy which we had to carry back to camp in the Expedition. Needless to say there was very little room for the kids on the way back. Alex and Mike squeezed themselves around the boat to get home. Alex literally was draped across the bottom of the boat (it was upside down). Fun stuff. I posted a picture on my Facebook page.

Happy 4th of July everybody. Hope your adventures are as good as the ones we're having at the moment.
Love Ya!!!

We've Driven Off the Map!

We drove into camp early this morning after driving most of the night and taking a nap at a service area about 20 minutes from Utica. We didn't want to get to the grocery store too early and get hassled by security waiting for it to open. Besides, I was really tired. Nobody was at their best when we did get to the grocery store before 6 am and found that it was open 24 hours a day. Anyway, we stocked up and headed to camp a bit more than an hour from there. It rained on the way, but not hard. It is such a heady experience driving closer and closer, the smell of the balsam and pines perfuming the way. My eyes dilate to soak in the green. I LOVE trees! We don't have enough of them in Southern California. They aren't lush like these either.
I guess we are now officially off the map until we come into town to get on the internet. Through Otter Lake and after Old Forge our GPS signal failed. Our cell phones don't work here either. So I guess, we are officially off the map for the summer. You may see me sporadically here. If you don't, Have a Great Summer!!!

Our Expedition Begins..

Off we go!

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We got as far as Flagstaff tonight. Had dinner at In-N-Out in Arizona. Snacks in the hotel. Looks like the Rock Slide State Park is towards Sedona. Planning on doing that tomorrow... good night.

Prepping to Leave for Camp!

It's getting close. The car is getting it's last touches/repairs for the trip. I am procrastinating getting my laundry done. I guess we'll all be trying to get everything done at once. Today is the planned day for getting the car carrier and Swing-Away out and ready. The kids are starting to get excited. I guess my oldest daughter will get to join us this trip too. It'll be good to spend some time with her. Lots of catch up work around the house to try to get to. Some more driving practice on the freeway in the Expedition with loaded weight for my son. We have a birthday party for my youngest daughter to get through Friday, Father's Day and Summer Birthday dinner Sunday, orthodontist appointment on Monday then ON THE ROAD!
I wish everyone was going but Paul needs to work and Justin has other things going on. Besides someone needs to look after the house. Hopefully they'll come out before we leave. Paul will probably fly in to drive us home. It's usually quite a haul on the way home. It's strange to be starting out without them.
I finished knitting a bag for the trip. I just have to felt it now. I need to get what I want to work on this summer organized. I would so like to work on some glass flame working but that is just too much equipment to have to take along. I don't know what Jewelry making stuff would be appropriate either.
Time to start packing...

Wow, It's been a long time since I last posted...

Here it is almost the end of my summer already. We've finished a lot of what we needed to do in the kitchen at Innisfree. The dry-wall is finished and painted and the floor is almost completely finished. Only one or two more coats of polyurethane to go. Here's our progress.


We found a pretty great mountain-man builder/plumber/finisher/manager/hunter/farmer/you get it, he does everything. Looks like a number of projects we can't finish will be done this fall. Yippee!!!
I finished 3 pairs of socks, two on the needles (two more started before June 21 so they don't count for Summer of Socks '08.) Then my friend Leigh Ann came up and got me started on string bags... Two down, one started.
I spent my birthday visiting my aunts in Malone and Plattsburgh with my family and cousins. It was a pretty nice day.

The Glow continues

Went back to work today, but am still remembering the beautiful Fall colors. Really tired, but happy. I did catch my husband's cold while we were gone. Hope I kick it quickly. Almost finished my purse version of a water bottle carrier bag while I was gone, but ran out of yarn for the strap. Hoping to finish in the next day or two.

Images of the Woods in Fall

I've been told this isn't typical for Fall. It was very warm this weekend.
I am home. Happy we made the trip. Born and raised in California, I have never seen the leaves change before. It is spectacular. I can't get over the depth of color. Every leaf is different.

Isn't Innisfree beautiful with the stairs and door stained. My son and daughter did it after the rest of us drove home in August. This is the first time I've seen it.

I went around today taking close ups of leaves. Every time I looked again I wanted to take more photographs.
DH was great shutting down camp for the year. Talking on the way back down the mountain to the airport I described what it felt like to go for the weekend. It was like visiting an old friend, or like touching the roots of my existence. It is primordial and familial all at the same time. I love it there.

Oh, and DH had fun playing with his friend in the leaves.

Visit to Sagamore and more boating safety.

Today we drove over to take a tour of the Great Adirondack camp Sagamore. It is really impressive. It's being maintained for access by the public. It boasts a tennis court and a bowling alley. Not bad for camp over 100 years old. There are oer 27 buildings on the property, though the State of New York owns most of the original property around the camp. I took a lot of pictures.

Building materials

The Crow's Nest is a one bedroom little cottage in the woods. It is on top of a garage and has a screened in sleeping porch. We are trying to get it habitable as something more than just an extra bedroom with no facilities.
Today and Robert headed to Utica for materials for the bathroom. The kids worked on emptying the garage while they were gone. They are now digging and jacking the building up to get a support moved into the right place to hold up the middle of the building. They have the materials for a sink, shower and toilet to be put in, along with some flooring and something to cover the walls. I forgot we probably need a light, but that is the least of our worries right now. I am waiting to hear from the excavator to get the engineering done for a well and septic system.

June 24 = at Innisfree and Cool-Shag-Na

We spent the day settling in and visiting with my cousins. I decided to add one more New York row to the afghan.
Innisfree is beautiful. I didn't think I liked the new siding from the pictures, but it is just terrific.

June 23 = Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania & New York

We arrived! More in a little while.
It was crazy getting to camp along this stretch. We had a 3 hour drive through Chicago, then a 4 1/2 hour stop on the Interstate 90 because of an 18 wheeler taking out a stretch of road. Then we attempted to drive through to New York. We stopped for a couple of hours at a service area for a nap, then onward we went. We traveled a lot at night and I did a fair amount of driving so I didn't stop in Ohio or Pennsylvania for yarn. I stopped in Ohio last year, does that count. I did pick out yarns that matched the colors of Ohio and Pennsylvania as I drove through and I did crochet a row for each state.
Here's the afghan in Chicago.
Here we are at the traffic stop in Indiana.

Here we are at a rest stop on the New York Thruway.

More New York pictures

Having trouble loading pictures right now. Will add them in a little while, maybe the glitch will solve itself...

Waiting to head Home

I am sitting at the Hancock International Airport in Syracuse, New York. My flight leaves in about an hour.
Well, it's been a quick trip. I am so glad I was able to come though. I have missed Justin so much. I finally got to hug him. He was a great host. I stayed at his house and he drove me around. He took me to Innisfree on Seventh Lake near Inlet, NY. We've had some work done on the place and I really wanted to see it. I couldn't see the roof for the snow, but the stairs to the lake are GREAT! Here's Justin leading the way down the driveway. The snow was 3 feet deep. I didn't think I would make it down the driveway let alone back up.

I had a hard time getting around so Justin went down on the dock to take some lake pictures. That's part of Seventh Lake behind him.

This was the sunset last night on our way to dinner ouside Watertown. Check my flicket account for more pictures...

Off to New York!

I am off in a few hours to see my son in New York! It's about time. I decided to give JetBlue another try. They had always been excellent before. Of course I still have to finish packing, do a load of laundry, wash my hair...the kids are all farmed out and have a way to school tomorrow. I hope I have what I need for the weather. It's been beautiful here the last few days. I'm starting to get used to it.

Here's a hat I made yesterday from the book, Exquisite Little Knits. It's not blocked, so I shouldn't be too down on it. I am not really happy with it at all. It doesn't look very elegant. I tried 3 times to match the accent yarn i bought a couple of years ago. I swatched 5 times before getting a gauge that worked. The pattern called for size 6 needled and I finally ended up using 10.5s. This was with Pastazza, a chunky weight yarn. I was starting to worry that to get my gauge, hair would show through the knitting because the stitches would be too big. Well here it is and I look like a bag lady wearing it. Oh well. Not everything works out the way you want it to.

Time to pack

This is Innisfree. This time next week we'll be here. That is if it stops snowing in Upstate New York long enough for us to get there. Of course it won't look quite like this with the new roof and stairs. The siding may be off and insulation on. There will be no green to speak of in the middle of winter. I am hoping to get our other cabin on the property, the Crow's Nest, ready to rent this summer. There are some little things...like water and septic, a bathroom, and a food prep area to be done still. No little task.
The main reason we're going is to see my son Justin. Can't wait to hug him. I am so glad he is out of Afghanistan. It's been more than a year since we've seen him.