Bogieblog

Travels

WS left Thursday morning on the bike - heading for Kansas and his family reunion. That night he spent the night in PA. Last night he had made it to St. Louis for the night. Should make it to the Kansas clan and shindig today.

I am heading out with SIL (she driving and me riding) and we are headed for The Cape. She was gracious enough to invite me for a little fun, sun, relaxation (and forgetting that today is technically WS and my 28th anniversary) - and just plain time away from everything at a time share she has for the week. Work has been a bear too, so I really need this outing. It is only for the weekend (for me), but I will try to make the most of it.

So, no more posting this weekend - I'll catch you on the flip side.

Farmers' Almanac Predicts 'Piercing Cold' Winter

Farmers' Almanac predicts 'piercing cold' winter in Northeast | Weather - WMUR Home.

As long as there is lots of snow so I can make use of the snowmobile, I'm okay with this. Of course, if there is little snow, I can snuggle by the woodstove and read, which is fine by me also.

Riding Pics

I got in a couple of hours riding last weekend so am sharing just a couple pictures:

Just below Mount Sunapee - about a little more than an hour into my ride (Mt Sunapee is behind me as I'm taking the picture).

About 15 minutes down the road in Newbury.

Nothing exciting, but I'm all about non-exciting at this time. No drama, no issues, just being.

Steak Pizzaiola

Grabbed steak out of the freezer last night and thawed it in the fridge overnight. early this afternoon, I placed the thawed steaks in a marinade of worcestershire sauce, teriaki sauce and Dale's steak seasoning.

I fired up the grill tonight to cook the steaks, and saw the tomatoes and peppers I had brought in from the garden. "I should use some of those" I thought to myself. So, while the steaks were on the grill, I cut up some tomatoes and hot peppers. Mixed in a bit of salt, pepper, oregana and spaghetti seasoning. Added in a tinge of Italian salad dressing and olive oil.

Threw the vegetable mixture in a hot skillet and then suddenly realized I neede to add garlic. Unfortunately, I didn't have any, so added garlic powder instead (and that was probably 10 years old). No matter, I let everything bubble for a couple of minutes and then turned off the burner.

Once the steaks were done, I put some of the sauce on a slab of meat (which turned out to be a nice medium rare - yeah me) and then topped the whole thing with parmesan cheese.

It was so fabulous that I had two steaks. That leaves two for dinners later in the week.

Poor Gardening Year

This year there will be no canning of salsa, or freezing of spaghetti sauce. The tomatoes have produced very poorly this year, barely eeking out enough for my Greek salads for lunch. I do exaggerate though, here are my surplus tomatos after making my salad - this is two weeks worth of surplus - a pretty sad showing ofr the amount of plants I have..

I guess Christmas is officially cancelled, or at least the traditional giving of salsa. I must admit that I wasn't sure when I was going to find time to do the canning - but I would have made the time if I had gotten a better crop.

Remembering Bob

I remember this well - Heavy rain meant WS was out in a yellow slicker digging a trench behind the house to get the water to divert to the side of the property. Huge winds, but the neighbor across the street wasn't there yet, so the trees broke the wind from hitting the house. That was way before we had done any landscaping, so at least we didn't have to worry about that.

http://www.wmur.com/weather/hurricane-bob-hit-new-england-22-years-ago-monday/-/9859398/21522734/-/oirq8o/-/index.html.

Moving Out Day

 

Had a busy week. While WS was on a bike ride for the weekend, I signed the lease and steam cleaned the carpet (previous occupant had clearly had cats that didn't always use the litter box).

Saturday I did the dump run and took a peek into the swap shop. Found an entertainment center that is in pretty good condition. Cost - $0, can't beat that with a stick. I had to go back to the house and get WS's truck to transport it, and the guys at the dump were super for making sure now one else took it while I was getting the truck, and in helping me load it. That thing is HEAVY! WS and the neighbor moved it into the basement Sunday night when WS got home.

 

Tuesday, I picked up a small computer desk off the side of the road. I put two screws into the side, and now it is ready to rock. We have a spare desk at the house, but it is too big for the apartment - this smaller desk, on wheels no less, will work much better.

WednesdayI found a wood futon, with a pristine mattress on Craig's list. Cost - $75, a really good price for a $300 piece of furniture (and most people wanted around $100 on CL for similar futons). We had to dismantle it to get it into the Jeep. But since WS was back in Maine for work, and had his truck, that was the only way for transport. Sorry no pics yet - will get one when we move it into the apartment.

Still need to find a mattress and box spring. I picked up a queen size frame for $5 last month. WS power washed the frame and I painted it. The futon can be used as a bed for now, then will be converted to a couch when mattress / box spring are obtained.

We are moving WS out to the apartment today. He will stay there for the next 3-4 months (unless snow flies really early this year). Once the snow starts, and stays, I will move to the apartment and WS will come back to the house. That way he can clear the driveway. I will take the cats and bird with me - unfortunately I won't be able to take Prince because the apartment is too small, but at least WS will only have the dog to take care of.

WS went shopping Monday night and got a TV, pots/pans, dish drainer and other basic stuff. We have plenty of sheets, towels and cleaning agents to send along with him. Need to ask the dump guys to be on the lookout for a vacuum (or find one on CL). A coffee table would be nice, but not a big deal at this point. We also have some end tables, kitchen-type table and chairs that will go. WS will also take his easy chair.

Thursday I stopped at the apartment to make sure the electric was on (they turned it on Monday) and the propane service was started (they did that Thursday). WS will start cable/internet service at some point, but certainly won't have it this week. The TV I suggested he get (and he did) can at least pull in over-the-air channels so hopefully he can get channel 9 (local channel). I also ordered him a refurbished modem off ebay, for when he gets internet.

So, that has been the happenings this week. Not the happiest of occasions, but my keeping busy finding stuff for the apartment has helped keep me from dwelling on the sad stuff. It is getting easier to take, and there is the remote possibility that the time apart will change WS's mind, but I'm not counting on it.