The highlight this week was a visit to the Reeds. It was a low key visit. There was a birthday party commitment. The weather was very hot, limiting outdoor activities. And there were scheduling conflicts. The biggest mis was the demolition derby. We had localized thunderstorms every evening while we were there. We decided it would be unwise to try to attend. In spite of all that, we had a good time being with each other. And you know we were able to do some (indoor) minigolf. Here are some pics.
Elizabeth is an expert at crochet. She made this shark bag.
We gave home renovation a high priority this week. We started with an in-home visit from a company that advertises bed & bath renovations. We had an in-house meeting, followed several days later with a visit to the company’s showroom. We picked out cabinets, counter tops, shower tiles, and much much more. It sounds simple and fun, and it was kind of fun. But there are about 1 zillion details to be discussed. We started at 9:30 and ended mid-afternoon. We were both stressed and exhausted. I think Danita was affected more than me.
At the end of the showroom visit, we were supposed to get a list of all the work to be done, all the models and colors we selected, and the project cost. Unfortunately, when we came to the point of receiving the file, the salesman got extremely busy and said he would Email the document in a couple of hours. That was a day ago. Also, there was a 10% discount available only if we signed a contract immediately. The salesman warned us this was coming. I thought I was prepared. I wasn’t. It felt amazingly sleazy. Why is the company so afraid of us talking to someone else? Maybe they’re on the up and up. We’ll see how this all shakes out. We started discussion with a second contractor and have an appointment with a third. It would be nice if we had this done before Thanksgiving, but it’s not like we are obligated to do anything.
House renovations ended up dominating our week, Hopefully the rest of the process will offer more fun and less stress. One thing is for sure, We will have fun visiting Jul & family next weekend. Our first activity is a demolition derby. What can be more fun than that?
It’s been a nice week. We went to Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar”. The venue is an old woman’s college that failed shortly after the civil war. They stabilized the ruins and built a stage. Performances are outdoors without a sound system. It’s a unique experience. After all, how many Shakespeare companies offer free bug repellant? The actors and audience were largely young folks. Even the grand dame of the company looked like she was under 40.
Our other major entertainment was the Solstice party at Charlestown. We went with Mom, of course. They did a bang-up job. Kids has face panting, pony rides, inflatable bouncers, and more. A live band provided music. A half dozen food trucks provided just about any kind of fast food imaginable.
It wasn’t all fun and games here in Columbia. We are starting to plan some upgrades to the house. Danita has long said that we should have a larger dining area. We wondered whether we could just get rid of the pantry and store food in the kitchen cabinets. We spent a day on a rampage of removing, discarding, donating, and reorganization the kitchen. Now when I want to get my breakfast or lunch together, I have to walk around opening cabinets at random until I find my food. It was all worthwhile. We learned that the pantry can hold lots of stuff. We need a pantry, but we can make it much smaller. That will create the additional table space that we want.
We spent last weekend visiting Ryn. We hadn’t seen her since Thanksgiving, and hadn’t ever seen her house. Ryn planned a wonderful weekend and made us feel totally at home.
In the kitchen
The area has had record rainfall. The creek behind Ryn’s house was quite high. Fortunately, measures taken by the local government for flood management worked.
Creek is high
Purchasing a house means inheriting some strange objects. Ryn says this is an outdoor space heater, but that isn’t nearly as much fun as a robot or an artifact left behind by an advanced race of beings. We all agree it would make a really great marker for the entrance to her driveway.
Alas, a quite prosaic heater
Saturday we spent a lot of time at the Walton music fest. The music was mostly quite good, but when the Beetles tribute band started playing obscure music from their origins, it was time to move on. It rained on and off, but tents provided rain-friendly venues. Walton has many other interesting attractions, including the best ice scream in this part of the county. We had raincoats and umbrellas, but it we were lucky. It didn’t rain while we were waling around Walton.
Music Fest
Sunday was spent largely at the closer town of Delhi. Danita’s favorite was the Rip Van Winkle Put Put Golf. This was a tremendously fun and original course. The owner leaves putters and balls out 24 x 7. There’s a jar if you want to donate. The owner is quite an interesting person. We enjoyed a half hour of conversation after we finished our game.
My favorite was the Arkville Rail Road. These days, most engines are diesel electric. A diesel engine turns a generator. Power from the generator turns the electric motor. The concept has been refined to the point that our hybrid car uses exactly the same architecture. This engine was one of the first diesel electrics, built in 1947. There is a selections of passenger cars, including a refurbished passenger car pre-1947, an open air car, and an observation car with hints of an art nouveau design. The dining car offered quite a sense of opulence.
They have a wonderfully simple way to offer rides. They run the engine backwards, pushing the train uphill. When they get to the end, the let the train drift back downhill. Of course the engineer can’t see what’s behind the train. So a conductor sits in the observation car and reports the status of the track through walkie talkies. Both enjoyed their jobs, and offered stories and answers to all our many questions.
It take two
The rail was shut down during Covid. They just re-started rides on Mother’s day this year. The conductor offered us the most interesting story. Between the tracks and the river, there is a house with a rather large plastic sheet greenhouse. They never specified exactly what they grow, but they complained loud and long about the presence of so many tourists. If they are growing what everybody assumes they are growing, it’s legal these days. But these folks don’t appear to be the type of people that would apply for a permit.
