I think it’s a good thing that we are more aware of germs. I’ve always been a big fan of thorough handwashing. But…I went shopping today at the local food market. You know how you can never find the plastic bags for produce when you need them? I thought I was reaching for a plastic bag for my shallots and instead got a dollop of Purell from a little dispenser. Then I had to figure out how to rub it in without getting too much on the shallots. I rubbed it on the plastic bag dispenser.
Caddyshack revisited
We have a mole problem – oh yes and cluster flies. But back to the moles. They dig little mounds all over the place. Tim tried some repellant that didn’t deter them in the least so now we are getting a refund and the company is sending us a thumper. When Tim made a Dune reference to large worms, the salesman didn’t know what he was talking about.These mounds appeared only hours after a new snow. Hello Mr. Mole, it’s only me Mr. Squirrel!
Fiber First
I am still sorting through my pictures from New Zealand. The landscape was so amazing, even though I never saw a rainbow, that Chelsea and I took over 400 pictures. She took the good ones. So here are a few fiber shots. We were in the land where sheep outnumber humans by about 10:1 and hobbits abound. I deferred taking pictures of the sheep until the last couple of days. Here is an example of what a flock of sheep does when you get out of the car and say, “Yo, sheep.”
We traveled south from Christchurch to Ashburton where I could visit the home of Ashford spinning wheels and looms. I saw the biggest spinning wheel and bought a loom which got home about the same time as me. I can hardly wait to set it up and start working but I have a few hundred pictures to work with first.
Now that we have a new home, Tim is encouraging me try new fiber adventures because he wants a quilt. I saw a beauty at a honey store but my computer is having a brain freeze and won’t let me upload more pictures. Maybe it’s a bit too much for the first (actually second) attempt but…
Back at the cabin, it snowed today but not enough to break out the new snowblower. The fireplace and wood stove kept us cozy and I broke out my spinning wheel for the first time in months. Time to get back working on the fleece I washed in a bucket at the lighthouse.
Hot Tubbing?
I’ve returned home to paradise. A new neighbor stopped by with banana bread. Another had picked up our papers when we were away from the house getting the boat ready for winter. Here’s the real clincher. I was walking down the street and passed a teen on the other side of the street walking with earplugs in. He paused and made a point to wave!! I think we’ve found the place for us.
But what about our hot tub. I was dubious when I returned to find this tub in our yard but after two soaks, I’m almost embarrassed to say that it was pretty nice. I hear dueling banjos in the background but at the same time, I look up at the sky and see stars and mountains around me. The debate continues. We’ll probably get the real thing but in the mean time, this isn’t too bad. You should see our couch!
Thanksgiving Pigeon?
We are on the west coast of New Zealand. Yesterday we toured the Franz Joseph Glacier in the mist and then it poured rain and presented the classic views of the clouds over the mountains. I woke up today, Thanksgiving, to see Mount Cook, shrouded in clouds, outside my bedroom window. Now the sun is coming up and I hope the clouds burn off.
I asked about the likelihood of finding a traditional US dinner and was told the best they could do was shoot us a pigeon for dinner. I’ll pass because all the meals throughout the country have been outstanding. Today we’ll take a long drive south along the west coast and arrive at the alpine town of Queenstown where Chelsea hopes to get her yayas out. I’ll be contentedly knitting and taking photos.
We visited Ashford, need I say more for the spinners out there and I bought a loom!! This will round out my foray in the fiber world but I have to make a quilt for our new home first…or at least get it underway.
Happy Thanksgiving to all!
Skinny or full fat?
Full fat of course!! Chelsea and I are traveling through New Zealand and I was surprised when I checked into our first motel and that question was posed to me. Every suite has a hot pot for tea – coffee is definitely second choice here – and you get a container of milk for tea upon check in. It’s funny to be in a country where English is the language yet you still don’t understand what is going on. I think I have figured out how to order coffee – flat white thank you very much.
Chelsea showed me a great time in Sydney, which is probably the most beautiful city in the world. Now we are winging our way through the South Island of New Zealand. Yesterday we crossed the Cook Strait in gale conditions and noone blinked an eye. Then I got into what I consider a backwards car and drove off. My two biggest challenges are to get in the driver’s side of the car and to think very carefully before making right turns. I’ve only bought a little wool so far but tomorrow we’re going to visit the Ashford spinning wheel company south of Christchurch. I’m still marvelling at all the sheep and countryside.
Settled in and leaving home
Now that most of the boxes are unpacked and rooms are pretty much set up, I am leaving for a couple of weeks. We’ve met our 2 really nice neighbors, learned about the coyotes, minks, bears, porcupines, fox and deer that inhabit this area. We’ve bought a snow blower and chainsaw and have been looking at pickup trucks and couches.
Sadly I must leave this behind for the next couple of weeks But it’s for a good cause, I will be my daughter’s Sherpa. I think she has accumulated more things then she can travel with so I am bringing an empty bag with me. I am meeting her in OZ and then we are traveling through Middle Earth. Photos to follow.
I am only bringing wooden knitting needles on the plane and I hope to procure more wool in either Australia or NZ. I have my IPOD,Kindle, paperback book, surprise knitting project, sock knitting project and antihistamines to help me sleep. I leave Saturday and arrive Monday. Happily I am meeting up with my good friends Carol and Steve during a layover in LA and then I’m off to see my darling daughter Chelsea who I haven’t seen since July!!
Hold on though, I need to check my mega millions ticket before I go because we still need a wood burning stove, hot tub, awd car and lots of wool.
Caumsett Fall
Well we did it. We moved to the Adirondacks and we’re dealing with all the fun that comes with a move — where is the…? After several lovely days anchored in the unnavigable waters of the Sand Hole at Caumsett State Park, we headed east to Setauket and Port Jefferson. The night before we were to move off the boat, a gale moved in. I didn’t sleep too well because I kept waking and chanting, “gale go away”. it didn’t and there we were with the last of our stuff, 6 bags, and the two cat carriers. The harbor was too rough to get ashore in our beloved port a boat and we had to be rescued by a sea tow launch. Very embarrassing and a little unsafe. We knew weather was coming and employed mystical thinking – bad idea. But we made it ashore.
Is this a dried shark?
Water Tank
My Favorite Tree in the World
False advertising at Brad and Angelina’s
This could be the view from our front porch…but it’s not
This is
I took a real shower the night we moved in and didn’t have to think about water or electricity. I haven’t been able to put away my head lamp yet because we can’t find any of our lamps. Photos of the house to follow. I think the real reason the sellers moved was that they couldn’t get internet here. People rely on satellite and it’s slower than dial up. We have been using an ATT usb modem for years but we don’t have any coverage here. Our Verizon cell phones have been working so yesterday we drove an hour to a Verizon store in Plattsburg and bought a MYFi. Naturally it set up easily on my Mac. But….DH has a Windows Vista computer and that took about 5 hours to set up. It wouldn’t recognize the wifi broadband until I found new drivers for it. What a pain. I realized I am a Windows enabler. Arghhhh.
Cats Looking for the boat
Caumsett Fall
Well we did it. We moved to the Adirondacks and we’re dealing with all the fun that comes with a move — where is the…? After several lovely days anchored in the unnavigable waters of the Sand Hole at Caumsett State Park, we headed east to Setauket and Port Jefferson. The night before we were to move off the boat, a gale moved in. I didn’t sleep too well because I kept waking and chanting, “gale go away”. it didn’t and there we were with the last of our stuff, 6 bags, and the two cat carriers. The harbor was too rough to get ashore in our beloved port a boat and we had to be rescued by a sea tow launch. Very embarrassing and a little unsafe. We knew weather was coming and employed mystical thinking – bad idea. But we made it ashore.
Is this a dried shark?
Water Tank
My Favorite Tree in the World
False advertising at Brad and Angelina’s
This could be the view from our front porch…but it’s not
This is
I took a real shower the night we moved in and didn’t have to think about water or electricity. I haven’t been able to put away my head lamp yet because we can’t find any of our lamps. Photos of the house to follow. I think the real reason the sellers moved was that they couldn’t get internet here. People rely on satellite and it’s slower than dial up. We have been using an ATT usb modem for years but we don’t have any coverage here. Our Verizon cell phones have been working so yesterday we drove an hour to a Verizon store in Plattsburg and bought a MYFi. Naturally it set up easily on my Mac. But….DH has a Windows Vista computer and that took about 5 hours to set up. It wouldn’t recognize the wifi broadband until I found new drivers for it. What a pain. I realized I am a Windows enabler. Arghhhh.
Cats Looking for the boat
It’s been real but…
We’re moving. To a house! Our plan hadn’t been to remain on the boat in the northeast for November. We were headed to the Bahamas and then the real estate market beckoned. DH found the dream home in the Adirondacks. If we continued on with our original plan, we wouldn’t have spent any time there until Spring 2011. So we changed course so to speak. We’ve hovered around our home port waiting for a closing date. It has been a beautiful crisp fall with the emphasis on crisp. While hiking yesterday – and taking advantage of free hot showers at my alma mater- we got the call that the closing date is set. We’ve become very efficient at paperwork first without a printer on the boat and now from only our cellphones. From the park, we contacted PODS, who won’t deliver to our new address, and arranged for our mover to get our stuff. We called the insurance company and got a binder faxed to two attorneys. And I think that is that. I’m looking forward to seeing the house for the first time. The kitchen has to be better than the boat’s galley and I hear the views are stupendous. And there aren’t any acupuncturists in the community at the moment. If I can warm up my needles, I’ll be set.
Island and North Country Life 
