So, Rhinebeck.  I'm not sure what to say. It was a fun trip (mostly because I was travelling with my best friend) but not at all what I expected. 

Our adventure started on Friday when we left work early.  We stopped for snacks on the way home and then changed our clothes, put our suitcase and cooler in the car and headed north.

NJ Turnpike is usually a good ride if you want to get from here to there quickly and without a lot of fuss (plus regular places-to-pee for those of  us who take blood pressure meds with diuretics in them).  This weekend it was not to be.  They are rebuilding (or maybe adding lanes?) and the traffic was stop and go for a good bit once we got into central Jersey. 

And then the Garden State Parkway.  This is just craziness in asphalt.  It is such a congested road and maniacs drive on it.  It too was a bit slower than we had imagined.  We took it up and then went well west of New York City (we are not crazy enough to drive through the city on a Friday rush hour). 

The unfortunate part was that when we got to what would have been the scenic part of the drive, it was dark.  There were moutains out there, you could feel them in the dark, looming over you (Rhinebeck is in the foothills of the Catskill Mts-not huge but big by south Jersey standards).  We stopped at a McDonalds to use the facilities and decided to just grab something hot and keep driving.  We were afraid we'd get to Newburgh (the murder capital of NY) and everything would be closed. And besides, who goes out at night in the dark in the Murder Capital of anywhere?

Our room was a room.  Nothing special.  A bit rundown  but clean enough and no signs of bedbugs.  Pk has a real fear of bringing them home (I work with so many people that have/had them that I have lost my awe for the little buggers).  We crashed and he watched a soccer game and I read the paper and then we slept. 

The next morning, we were up early and out the door by 8.  The sun was just coming up over the hills in the distance.  In my head I kept hearing Bilbo saying "Mountains.  I want to see Mountains, Gandalf".  We headed out for the last leg of the journey into Rhinebeck.  It was about an hour and there was clear sailing until about 3 miles away from the fairgrounds.  I knew we were close when we saw license plates that said things like Y2TOG and WIPFARMS. 

We got to park really close and were inside the fairgrounds right after it opened at 9.  This was perfect.  There were people around but no huge crowds yet.  We were able to move around and see the animals (one of the largest llamas I have ever seen.  His owner had requested two stalls for two llamas but he wanted to be in the stall with his partner and kept trying to climb over so she finally gave in and put them together.  Love.) and pet the merchandise.

We bought the girls souvenirs (t shirts and caps) and I got to meet someone I only knew online.  That is always really cool.  I bought the gorgeous sock yarn you see there and some icelandic sheep roving and a lamb cookbook for Peter Kevin.  And that was about it.  I don't need anything and when we go to these festivals, I look for things that really catch the eye or I can't get anywhere else. 

We couldn't have asked for a better day.  It was cool and sunny and the leaves were turning all kinds of colors.  There were lines for the "superstars" of the yarn world but I'm not into buying something just because everyone else thinks it's special. 

The only lines we waited in were for lunch.  Pk got lambwiches and I got some fried dumplings.  He really enjoyed his lunch.  Mine was tasty and then hung around to remind me all afternoon. 

We left after about 4 hours and headed southwest toward the Water Gap.  It's the place where the Delaware River separated NJ and PA and it's absolutely gorgeous. 

The idea was a good one.  It gave us a chance to drive through some gorgeous scenery.  The trees were changing and the mountains were all around us.  There are large parts of the mountains where their bones show through the trees and we gaped at the stones/boulders hanging high above our heads (and the signs all said "falling rock area").  We stopped at a farm stand and bought some Empire apples and a huge pumpkin for carving.  They were shooting small pumpkins out of a rather large air cannon.  That was a bit odd.

We drove all afternoon, meandering down through NJ and Pennsylvania until we finally started to get tired of being in the car (neither of us had slept well and we were just plain tired) so we looked for a highway to take us home.  We drove through Princeton and right past Drumthwacket (the NJ governor's mansion-why do governors live in mansions?)

Drumthwacket



You couldn't make up that name.  But it is a pretty home and grounds.  The man who invented Latex once owned it and his family donated it and now it's on the Registry of Historic Homes and has a foundation for it's upkeep.

We finally got home around 6:30 after stopping to pick up a couple of sandwiches for dinner.  We were just too tired for anything else by then.

Yesterday we did the chores and talked about what a good time we had.  I kept thinking of all the superlative adjectives I had heard describing Rhinebeck and while it was fun and interesting, it was just not all that.  We may go back another year but Pk would like to get to see the Aerodrome so we'll try to work around that.  I guess fiber festivals have their place for people to congregate and take classes and to see some fibers in person that they only see on line (like Quivit.  I touched some actual Quivit roving and it was the most amazing and soft stuff but not worth 55 dollars an ounce).  I doubt we will go every year but it was nice to say we've been there once. 

But now reality is settling in and it's time to go and answer the ringing phones and the emails piling up in the In Box.......

Happy Monday.

Look at that handsome face.  Even after 32 years of marriage (and 6 years of dating before that), he can still manage to surprise me.

Tuesday night I mentioned in an offhand way, "this weekend is the NY Sheep and Wool".

"What's that?"

"Rhinebeck"

"Oh".  Now, he knows what that means because we had vague plans to go this year.  There is an aerodrome in Rhinebeck that he wanted to see and we were going to make a weekend of it.  But family takes precedence and Em and Jim got married and Kate and Patrick are planning a wedding for next year so I put it out of my head.  Really not a big deal.  I knew we'd get there one day.

30 minutes later, as I was cooking dinner, Pk comes down and opening his ipad says, "So, it's 190 miles, about 3 and a half hours.  We can leave from work on Friday, drive to Newberg, about an hour away and stay somewhere and then get up early on Saturday morning and hit the festival.  We'll walk around until we're tired and then make our way leisurely toward home".

You could have knocked me over with a feather.  We discussed it a bit more and the upshot is that we are going to Rhinebeck this year.  We'll put some clean clothes and toiletries in a bag and some snacks and drinks in the cooler and off we go.  An adventure!

I am really looking forward to it.  I am hoping if we get there early on Saturday that while I know there will be crowds, maybe it won't be unbearable.  I am not into the status yarns so I won't feel the need to push my way into all the popular kids' booths. 

And in November, another adventure!  This time with the receptionist at my dentist's office.  She and I have been talking for years as I waited for the kids or Pk to get their teeth taken care of.  She mentioned a wood carving show near Annapolis Maryland in November and asked if we might like to go.  We said yes and so in a month we will pile into her car and go look at decoy ducks. (well, probably other things too but wooden ducks is what comes to mind when I hear "wood carving").

 

This is what happened to the leftover tomato sauce with meatballs and sausage.  I made a deep dish pizza.  it was absolutely delicious.  I like pizza from the pizzeria but there's something really good about making your own.

I've been in a cooking/baking mood since the weather turned.  There have been chocolate chip cookies (made with Andes mint chips) and an apple pie with homemade crust.  It was so good with frozen yogurt on top.  Good thing we eat mostly salads for lunch.

But I'm at work now and I have to go write three treatment plans before clinic this morning and I have a meeting at 9 so I'll say goodbye for now. 



We are in the middle of a predicted stretch of wet, cool days.  I don't mind them.  They're conducive for getting indoor chores done.  We have a tendency to blow off chores on weekends that are nice and to go out and play.

But, with the weather cooling down, it makes me want to start to batten down the hatches and get ready for the winter (which as we all know is coming).  It's time to put away the garden and collect all the green tomatoes and put them into brown bags to finish ripening.  We have some mushroom soil left to mix into the beds so that come spring, we'll be ready to plant them all over again.

Last night for dinner I used a quart bag of tomato puree from the tomatoes that we grew this year.  Romas.  I  emptied the bag into a large, heavy pot and let it boil for about an hour.  This reduced it by half.  It was still thin but getting thicker so I put the meat balls and bits of sausage into the sauce along with some seasonings and let it finish cooking down.

By the time the pasta was ready, I had a thick, dark red sauce studded with meat balls and sausage and bits of herbs.  It was delicious and I found myself sorry that we didn't have more.  (there's one other bag in the freezer).  Next year, a whole bed of Roma tomatoes so we can have a freezer full of bags of puree.  I'm turning the leftover meatballs and sauce into deep dish pizza for dinner tonight.

Our anniversary presents to ourselves are twofold.  The first is purely decorative.  We are going to buy some rose bushes to put under the front window.  I am looking into which variety would work best for our soil and climate and I think we're getting floribunda in a range of yellows, oranges and reds.  I love roses but have never grown them.  Pk said he likes the idea of giving me flowers that won't die in a vase.

The other present?  Dvds of the entire 11 seasons of MASH.  Out of all the television shows we've every enjoyed together, that is one of the very very few that I want to own. 

Do you get a flu shot every year?  I wouldn't but it's a "condition of  employment" since I work with patients all day.  I got my injection on Wednesday.  My coworker decided to write his protest on the bar coded paper they have us sign to indicate we've gotten the shot.  They wouldn't give him his injection because he altered a legal document and now he's on HR's radar.  They told him if he refuses, he could be moved into another position where he wouldn't have patient contact (scrubbing toilets perhaps). 

I understand standing up for what you think is right but Pennsylvania is what's called an "at will" state.  This means they can fire you without notice and without cause.  You are employed at their will.  I am a 55 year old social worker who doesn't want to be job hunting in a very tight job market so I let them give me the injection.  I've heard all the arguments about "protecting the herd" but I still think it should be an individual decision. 

I think I may be turning into my grandmother.  I have been listening to people walk here in our hallways scuffing their feet.  One of my strongest memories of my grandmother(s) was to "pick up your feet!" if I was scuffing around.  They were adamant about it.  I just assumed it was the proper way to walk but as I've grown, it's obvious that not everyone subscribes to that.  When I hear someone scuffing their feet, I want to say loudly "Pick up your feet" but I refrain.  I am not the world's etiquette and deportment enforcement officer.  I also want to tell people not to yell down the hall way but I think that's a lost cause......

Autumn has finally arrived here with all the gorgeousness that comes along with it.  What makes some leaves turn before others?  Why do some leaves cling to the branches while others quickly give up and fall to the ground?

Inquiring minds want to know (and will probably have to spend some time later looking it up).

This has been a toothfull week for me.  Last week, I got a call from Kate asking if I could take her to the oral surgeon.  One of her wisdom teeth broke and they all had to come out.  Thursday afternoon I sat in the waiting area while they pulled her teeth and then took her home and gave her some smoothie and frozen veggies for her face.  I couldn't take her home to her house because the dog is there and I think she would have punched him in the head if he had tried to give her some love.

She was in some pain and sick from anaesthetic but otherwise fine.  She's even better today.

I took Pk to a different oral surgeon yesterday to have a wisdom tooth pulled because the tooth next to it had a cavity and our dentist couldn't get to the cavity.  His surgery went much quicker and he claims not to be in any pain today.  I think sometimes he's just stoic.  I've had teeth pulled and while it's not the world's worst pain, it's not nothing either.  I made him a smoothie as well (pineapple and coconut-our new favorite) and some eggs for dinner.  He's at work today.

These are goose neck squash.  Aren't they cool?  We saw them in shop rite last week while doing the grocer shopping.  I thought it might be fun to put a recording of geese buried somewhere in there.  It would freak people out! 

Saturday, we went to the flea market at Allaire State Park and rode the Pine Creek Railroad (a narrow gauge railroad that looks like a giant's train set). 

While at the flea market, I found some friends.  Remember these guys? 

They were (and continue to be) two of my all time favorite cartoon characters.  That's Rocky and Bullwinkle.  The dealer had the whole set (Boris and Natasha and Fearless Leader.  Dudley DoRight, Nell Fenwick and Snidely Whiplash.  Sherman and Peabody).  Sadly, my budget wouldn't allow me to bring the whole gang home so I settled for the Moose and Squirrel.

We also bought some new additions to our cookie cutter collection.  Our tyrannosaurus now has a triceratops for a friend.  And now we can have a Christmas Chicken as well.  I almost bought an axe shaped cutter but Pk thought it might be a bit much.

There were so many interesting and desirable things!  One man was selling a spinning wheel from the 1800's which worked and was very sturdy but a bit out of my price range at the moment.  And then there was this sewing machine.  It's a Singer cast iron machine but not electric.  It's the first one I've ever seen that works with a handle.  It moved so smoothly that you know it was recently oiled.  The needle moved up and down so I assume it worked.  It also had a wooden case (you can just see it in the photo there).   I was fascinated with it but the dealer wanted a bit more than I wanted to spend.  Pk was trying to enable me but I already have 3 sewing machines and really don't need another one. 

We rode the train and had a picnic lunch (right next to the man selling Fried Oreos--a BIG mistake).  The weather was perfect if a bit humid. 

And after a ferocious rain storm yesterday, today feels all washed clean.  The humidity is gone and the sky is brilliantly blue.  I can't wait to finish work so I can go outside.  The temps are low enough that it's time to wash the winter woolies and take the coats to the cleaners and make sure everyone has mittens, gloves, scarves and hats.  The Old Farmer's Almanac predicts a frigid and snow filled winter for us.  They've been wrong before by why take chances? 

This Thursday Pk and I are celebrating our wedding anniversary.  32 years (plus 6 years of dating) we've been together.  And he's still my best friend and the love of my life. We'll celebrate next week after his mouth has finished healing and we can go out for dinner.  I think we'll head down to Atlantic City and walk the boardwalk and have dinner before the weather gets too cold.



"To be beautiful means to be yourself. You don't need to be accepted by others. You need to accept yourself."

~Thich Nhat Hanh

Easier said than done, no?  I can't tell you the number of times I've said negative things to myself that I would never think of saying to someone else.  I wonder why we can't be as good to ourselves as we are to other people? 

Things around here have been quiet (this is not a complaint!).  Our mornings are darker and we are leaving the house just as the sun comes up.  This is painful but it allows us to see some beautiful sunrises.  There are bits of yellow and orange appearing on the tips of the trees and bushes. 

Fall is well and truly here but today and tomorrow our temperatures are supposed to top out at 85 F (29C).  The mornings start out around 55 F (12C) so the difference is around 30 degrees.  I was going to make the clothing exchange last weekend and put the summer clothes away but it suddenly got too nice to spend the day inside.  We didn't spend nearly as much time outdoors this summer as we have in the past. 

Work has been busy.  We have a new crop of interns just come in and they are settling in all around us.  They are easy to recognize due to their tattoos, facial piercings and brightly colored hair.  MSWs!  They will soon graduate, take their licensing exam and go out into the world as newly minted counselors.  I like to think of the impression they'll make on potential clients.

I had my annual gyn appointment last week.  Last year she was telling me "hormones keep you young" and not to fret about still getting a regular period.  This year she is telling me the sooner the hormones stop, the better due to the increased risk of breast cancer.  "I want you to come back next year and tell me you are done with all this".  yeah, I'll work on that.  I have to schedule the mammogram.  I hate doing this because more times than not, it leads to a follow up set of images due to "an area of concern" which turns out to be nothing.  I've been having periodic bouts of insomnia and some days I feel like a zombie walking around and not paying as much attention as I'd like.  It's probably a good thing I don't operate heavy machinery for a living.

And speaking of stressfull?  Kate has to get her wisdom teeth pulled tomorrow.  I'm taking the afternoon off to drive her there and take her home.  And then Monday, Pk is having a wisdom tooth pulled and I am his designated driver as well.  At least it's not me getting the teeth pulled.  I don't mind being the driver.

Pk has been truly enjoying watching soccer games.  We went to watch my nephew play.  He's 8.  The ball rolls down the field and there are all these legs kicking at it and nobody actually makes contact with it.  It's so much fun to watch the youngsters and see who has come into their coordination and who has not.  My nephew was in the goal and was sitting on his butt watching the game at the other end of the field.  We were trying not to laugh so we alerted the coach (who was watching the action at the other end of the field, too) and she verbally encouraged my nephew to stand up.  They won 3-2.  The teams don't have names, just colors.  I love that the colors are hot pink, aqua and lime green. 

We are heading to Allaire State Park this weekend to have a picnic and walk around the flea market.  Last year, there was a woman selling spinning wheels and I bought the old Singer sewing machine.  At least it's a state park and not a federal one, 'cause the federal parks are closed.  It's terrible to see the Liberty Bell's pavilion shuttered and Independence hall closed.  Lots of folks come to Philadelphis specifically to see these things and they can't this week.  Who allows the govt to close down?  How lame is that?  These folks need to get their act together. 

Happy Hump Day.  I hope things in your world are moving forward.  Say something nice to yourself today.