Bogieblog

I Don't do Pretty Toes

I was at a friend's place yesterday and her granddaughter was there (she is in her mid 20's). She had on sandals and commented that I shouldn't look at her toes as her last pedicure was a couple of weeks ago.

First, I don't look at people's feet for two reasons: I have no reason to look down there and I can't really see that far anyway for something so small. Unless she had on a screaming yellow or green, or she had her feet resting on top of the table, her toes would not be visible to me. I'm not sure I would even notice them then - LOL.

I commented that I had never had a pedicure and she was like, "OMG, why not?" Seriously, that wasn't a thing when I was growing up. I can't say I ever heard of an acquaintance getting a pedicure until the last 15 years or so (or maybe I didn't pay attention). I don't do pedi's or mani's because there is no point to it in my mind. Sure, I lop off the nails when they get long, but that is it. I'm just not a maintenance type of gal.

Speaking of feet, I had something fall on my pinky toe Friday afternoon and it is not happy with me. It is swollen as well as all black and blue, even the mole is discolored. I had to hobble around the rest of Friday, but by yesterday I can walk normally in shoes - even if I still get twinges of discomfort. Walking barefoot (which is my norm at home), I have a bit more discomfort and I've adjusted my foot position while walking to keep my weight off the outside of the foot. I've broken that toe before but think only at the worst I may have re-cracked (but not broken) that area. Nothing to do but wait it out.

Picture taken about 24 hours after the happening. For some reason it doesn't really show the darker purple, although you can just see a tinge close to the mole and on the very inside close to the other toe. Actually, now that I think of it, a lot of times pictures of deeper reds and reddish-purples (such as my deep red rhodie in the shade garden) are turned just plain red on my phone and I can never get them adjusted to what I actually see.

Watching the Big Dogs Work

Went to visit friends from NJ as they visited their property in Winchester, NH. I have gone over a couple of times in the last 2 years to help them clear and stack brush, while others cut trees down. They have been disappointed that the company they hired to remove stumps and rocks, then grade hadn't been up to do the job yet. 5 minutes after I arrived, a machine showed up and started working. The land owners were really happy with this surprise.

I don't know what algorithm Typepad uses to upload a group of pictures, but even though they are numbered, and I clicked on them in order, the order is all messed up. I don't feel like re-ordering, so it is what it is. I also don't feel like going and turning those pics to right side up. It annoys me that this is the only website that shows landscape pics sideways when they are uploaded.

FHC September 2020 G2G

Last weekend I went to an FHC get to gether (G2G) for a guy that is moving from NJ to NH (eventually). He had someone come in a clear the house lot and yard. The person did it for free as he got to keep the wood. However, he left all the tops so the G2G was to help pile those into burn piles for the winter.

Three of us were from NH - The two on the left (me and Mike - from towards the seacoast) and Molly on the right (her husband was there, but he is physically disabled so was a cheerleader). Dave, the land owner is the one with a drink in his hand (his wife took the picture). Brad, in the yellow shirt came up from CT with his wife. And Mike, next to Molly, is from Massachusetts.

Mike from NH was actually there to cut a small path to the pond for the wood and the rest of us put up 7 huge piles for bonfires. We got fed well, with a late lunch, for our efforts.

A couple of weeks prior to the G2G, Mike from MA had mentioned in the gardening section of FHC that he needed to dig up some volunteer Rose of Sharons and give them to neighbors or take them to the dump. I replied that if he was coming up north, I would take a couple of them. Well, he came thru and brought a couple with him. I was expecting smaller starts, but they were about 6' tall with the rootballs.

Dang, he saved me about $120 bucks right there (I happened to be at L*we's on Labor day and checked out the prices). Can't beat that with a stick!

GTG Time

Last weekend I loaded the truck for a dump run and then I was to head out past Keene to visit some Firewood Hoarder friends that had come up from NJ (they are building a house in NH but getting the lot cleared first). I got in to start the truck. At first, the starter barely turned over. Surprising since I had driven it a good distance the previous week so the battery should have been charged. I let off the key and tried again and this time the belt started squealing, there was a snap and smoke, then the starter started going and the truck started.

Hmm, turned it off, lifted the hood, let the smoke clear but couldn't see anything amiss. Got back in cranked the key, and the truck acted like nothing had ever been wrong - cranking easily and starting smoothly. EXCEPT, the battery light went on. Argh, the battery is less than 2 years old. Decided to drive to the dump and found my power steering was out. So, drove back home, unloaded my cooler (water and juice - it was to be hot), lawn chair and other things I was to take to the get together (GTG), and put them in the car. Then, drove the truck to the dealership that is two miles away told them they could have it as long as they needed it. They got me home and I went on my merry way to my original destination.  A few pics from the GTG.

Long distance hug to the gang when I got there

The dealership called while I was at the GTG. The alternator had seized (never had that happen before - other issues yes, but not seizing). It required an alternator and belt, and it would be best to replace the tensioner while it was apart. I approved all the work and they said probably be done on Monday. Good to their word, late Monday morning they called and it was done. However, there was a crisis at work (the 2nd one in as many weeks - the first of which I was still working), so I was in meetings virtually all day every day, so didn't get to pick it up until Friday (now you know why I like to keep two vehicles).

Friday, after working a couple of hours (it was supposed to be an off-Friday), I started walking to the dealership. It was pleasant temperature wise, and nt too humid so I enjoyed the walk. I was surprised to hear the river roaring before I got to the bridge. Sure, it had rained almost an inch the night before, but it has been extremely dry the last couple of months (except that 4" in a couple of days several weeks back).

Dam under bridge close to my house

Bridge to nowhere next to the dealership. This was the original bridge on that side of town and the town decided to keep it as a "park" or bike path when the new bridge was built. It can't be a bike path since it goes nowhere (literally, it ends in the air to the right of the picture) and who has a park that is all concrete topped?

Love the huge flag the dealership displays. Saw a crow getting ready to go by, so waited until it was in the frame.

The truck is all wel again and steers much easier with the power steering back!

Another Loss

Our Chapter Director, Michelle, who is also a personal friend lost her granddaughter today. Her daughter wasn't home, and found that she had lost both her baby and her husband. The daughter lives in the apartments catty-corner from my house.

New Story

My heart breaks for both Michelle and her daughter.

 

Final Goodbye

Friday evening I went to Eileen's Calling Hours. Although the calling hours were spread over 4 hours, there were at least 100 people when I got there (about 1 hour into the event). As I was walking from where I had to park the truck, I saw loads more leaving. She obviously touched a lot of lives. I learned that she was very involved in the community thru different societies (Daughters of the American Revolution as well as groups supporting women, children and homeless families as a couple examples). She obviously touched a lot of lives. I know her partner, Jim (who works at the dealership) so I exchanged a hug and some words with him.

Yesterday, after dropping off the truck to have the tires changed over to winters, I caught a ride homr from one of the dealr's salesmen, and waited for HOG/LOH member, Darlene, who had recently moved to Hillsboro, to arrive at my place. We took my car to meet the HOG Chapter at the dealership to convoy to the Catholic services. Many Chapter members rode their bikes, but I am too much of a wimp to ride in temps of the mid 20's.

The Mass was lovely and had some moving tributes to Eileen. Then it was the procession, led by the motorcycles, to the cemetery.

After that it was to the Harley dealership for a Celebration of Life. Unfortunately I did not get to stay very long as where my truck was being serviced closed at 3, so I collected Darlene and we headed back to Hillsboro. We dropped off my car, picked up her car, and she delivered me to the Ford dealership to pick up the truck.

I got home and realized I needed to get to the dump (which I normally do Saturday mornings), so I gathered everything up real quick and managed to get there before they closed. When I got home I raked up the leaves from under the ramp to the back door, but decided to leave them piled up - that will be a project for today.

Resting the Shoulder - Not

Thanksgiving day I read all day so the start of resting my shoulder seemed to start out well. Then Friday morning Rita didn't show up for breakfast, or to be let out. She always wants out in the morning so that was a bit concerning. I looked everywhere for her, but she was nowhere to be found. Late morning I went to the dump and got a few groceries. When I got back I could hear her crying in the basement. It took quite a while for me to find her; she had gotten herself wedged underneath on of the pallets of pellets in the basement. As far as I can determine there aren't any mice in the house (never seen any sign of mice inside since I moved here) so I have no idea why she decided to crawl under there. I left her for a couple hours with a bowl of food sitting just outside the pallet, but she didn't move and just kept crying.

Naturally, she picked the pallet of pellets that I had not been heating from. There was nothing to do but unload 69 bags of pellets (50 bags is a ton). The left pallet is the one she was under

 

I was able to move most of the pellets over to the right hand stack

24 bags of pellets had to be moved out into another part of the basement, then re-stacked on the original pallet after I got Rita out.

The green/yellow bagged pellets put out less heat and more ash than the white bagged paellets so I have been using them for the relatively mid weather. The white bags are being saved for Jan-Feb. Well, I wasn't un-stacking the pellets on the right pallet again, so I brought in 31 bags from the garage. So yeah, I moved 69+24+31 = 124 bags; 2.5 tons in my cat rescuing mission.

I then blocked up all the holes so Rita could not get into mischief like that again.

Saturday, with the temps supposed to be climbing into the 50's, I was planning on going for a last ride for the season (I have less that 5k miles this year - least ever). However, about 10 am I got an email from the HOG Activities director asking me to contact LOH to see if anyone could help him empty out a storage unit for the woman who had lost her SO. I sent out an email to all of LOH, but everyone was shopping or not in town. So I took the Explorer and went to help. The Activities Director was pulling up with his Explorer, and a trailer filled with boxes and furniture when I got to her house. I helped unload that, then followed him to the storage unit where we filled both our trucks and trailer. That emptied most of the unit. After unloading his vehicle/trailer and my truck, I went shopping (since I was in Concord anyway).

Since then, it has been quiet so I haven't had to strain my shoulder anymore. I spent Sunday and my weeknights reading.

Newport, NY Trip

The HOG chapter I belong to schedules several group rides a month. There is always a ride after the monthly meeting, and several other rides - both closed and open (closed = only Chapter members allowed). I haven't been on any of the rides as I'm not really into group rides - or at least not large group rides, and most of the time I'm not really interested in the destination. Add to that all the work I have been doing on the house and landscaping these two summers, and planned rides that take up most of a day just isn't something I feel I can do.

However, I noticed there was a ride to Hoosick, NY on June 28. This interested me as I was thinking of doing an overnight trip to the VT/NY area, and one of the Queens (QOTR) that I had ridden with last year lives in NY. Jessica lives near Utica, NY and has beautiful gardens that she has shared pictures of on FB, so touring them would make that a good destination. Add to that that there was another HOG ride for charity scheduled for that day, so chances were that the Hoosick ride wouldn't have a huge group participating, and I started thinking about it.

I contacted Jessica and she said to come on out - in fact they would put me up. So I joined the HOG ride last Saturday. It was a smallish group; 10 people total with one other gal riding her Shadow, and the rest were guys. We had a meandering ride (not direct by any means) with one rest stop.

When we got to MOK, I ate a great lunch with the group then headed on my way. Oh, did I mention I was heading straight into rain? In fact, the forecast was for rain from Saturday afternoon all the way thru Sunday - on my entire route. Hey, but I'm nothing if not practiced at taking my trips in the rain, I was just glad it was fairly warm (most rainy trips I take are in the 40's).

I made it to Jessica's about 5 PM and she ran out of her house with camera in hand.

She then commenced to preparing the finishing touches on dinner that she had prepared - a gluten free, vegetarian dinner (I'm wheat free and she is vegetarian), that hit the spot - while her husband showed me to my room so I could get all set up.

Jessica and Steve are great people; we conversed late into the night hitting all kinds of subjects. I toured the gardens between bouts of heavy rain and just loved the fountain they had set up.

We went out to breakfast the next morning at the local diner

I left their place about 10:30 - trying to beat the heavy rain that was headed in. I took a more direct route than the HOG group took and was on highway for about 60 miles in NY. It rained most of my way home, although I did hit a few dry spots. Of course the temps had plummeted and I was riding in the 50's and high 40's. Still, my gear kept me dry and the rain was much better than the times I hit dry sections. In the dry sections there was massive wind. I stopped to rest in Bennington, VT at the school. The wind was so strong it was actually moving the handle bars of the bike. A few times the bike lurched and I thought for a moment it might go over despite it being blown toward the kickstand.

 

I was happy when I got out of Bennington. It had started raining again but the wind abated some so it was better. I was disappointed though that Hog Back Mountain was to foggy, in addition to the rain, to see any of the view. That is the 3rd time I have been thru that route in the last couple of years, and that is the 3rd time the weather has been foggy and rainy enough that you couldn't even see the end of the parking lot. One day I will go thru and have a reason to stop!

I got home about 3 so had plenty of time to see to the animals and get groceries for the week. Wish I had had more time with Jessica and her husband. If I had gone by myself I would have left much earlier (the HOG group met me at 9:30) and taken a more direct route (going by Hog Back, which may have been clear at that point - LOL), but I still had fun with the group, so it all balances out.

Americade 2014

Left 6 Am Wednesday morning to meet a bunch of gals I know on a motorcycle forum in Chatham, NY for breakfast. Met some Blue Knight riders there (retired police officers), and they bought us breakfast - great way to start a trip! 

Then we rode to Lake George, NY to experience a bit of Americade (a biker rally). Yes, I know I went backwards to get there - I could have gotten to Lake George in just a little over the time it took me to get to breakfast. We spent some time walking around and shopping before finding our hotel for the night.

Thursday we left to go riding thru VT, taking the Essex Ferry from NY to VT. We stopped at the Dutch Mill Restaurant in Shelbourne, VT where the owners took great care of us. Mary (owners wife and hostess) was great. She had a fantastic sense of humor and was very friendly. The owner ran out to move his van when we arrived so that all 10 bikes could sit on fairly level ground. The food was very good and I heartily suggest stopping by there if you are ever in the area! She took pics with us - and this one really captures her spirit and personality (she is in the dress and the cook is the guy in back):

 

We ended up in North Conway, NH about 8 PM to spend the night. Then on Friday we rode thru the White Mountains. Some of the gals braved the Mt. Washington auto road even thought the weather was sucky (very foggy and fairly cold). I didn't go, with my fear of heights (and no gaurd rails on the road), and opted to do an alternate ride on the Kanc and thru a few of the notches. We got to Bentley's in Maine about 6 PM, where we spent the night.

Yesterday morning we road to the beach to walk the sands, then we all started the trip home. Some of the gals came from TN and GA, so they still aren't home now. There were several NY gals, who made it home shortly after I did - about 3 PM. I had a great time with the gals - I had never even met 8 of the 9 women. The one I had met, it was just for a short time 2 years ago, so I was unsure how the personalities would work out. But we did great together and I look forward to another ride together - perhaps next year.

Here are  a few pics from the ride: Americade, ferry ride, VT, Kanc, Bentley's

 

Relaxing Sunday

Yesterday I went adventuring with a friend. I left the house at 5:30 AM as we were to walk Wildcat Falls in Merrimack and take photos shortly after sunrise. Even though it was cloudy and cool, and the sun didn't make an appearance as it was supposed to (per the weather-guessers), the hike was worth it.

Then we went and saw Captain America at a place where you sit at a table in comfortable chairs and they serve you lunch (or dinner if you are there later). They had very good burger (no bun for me) and their fries were awesome. I haven't had fries for a long time but these were obviously fresh made and not overly salted.

Then we headed out to walk the old canals in Nashua to MIne Falls. I never would haave thunk there is such an extensive walking trail system in the heart of Nahsua - NH's second largest city. By that time the sun had come out and it was starting to warm up. It ended up being a beautiful day to discover Mine Falls.

At that point I had to get back home to let Prince out, but it was a wonderful day full of fresh air, new sights, great hiking and never ending discussions. Oh, and I scored a planter box (sans the bottom) from the early morning walks - someone had left it in the middle of the trail so I carried it out (you know, leave the trails better than you found them). And, my friend had an extra weed wacker that he didn't use because it hurt his back, so I brought that home too.

Couldn't have asked for a better day!