work and play

The summer seems to be flying by.  Since Nina and Paul left, Dave has been working on the final installation of the refrigerator and building the cupboard/pantry unit to fit beside it.

we're keeping Lowes in business these days

sizing the tray cubbies

He's tailoring the shelves to my specifications.    There are a few things we use often that just don't fit nicely in Beluga's original cupboards and these are the things I'll put into the new one.   Platters, my cookbook/binder, our gin bottle, etc.    Now they'll have a spot made just for them!

preliminary fitting before the door is attached

If Dave had a solid block of time to work, it would be in and installed by now but other things interfere.    Some pleasant things, friends visiting, a family wedding, and some things not as pleasant.

We evidently have a sewer pump alarm in the basement.   It goes off more than we'd like.   Sometimes with reason, sometimes just for the fun of it.   Working on a sewer pump is not high on Dave's list, but he finally had to get into it.    The joys of homeownership he reminds all of you contemplating buying a home.

Dave's nephew's only daughter got married last Friday and we were invited.   The reception was held in a fabulous old barn in Scottsville, New York.    It turns
out we'd been to this barn before.....It, and the beautiful cobblestone home on the property, used to belong to our old equine Veterinarian, Dr. Pierson.    Needless to say, it looks much different nowadays.

niece Lisa and her husband Chris

I didn't take any pictures of the interior of this barn I really should have.  It was stunning.   As a matter of fact, I really didn't take many pictures at all.    I did manage to capture the sweet Polish tradition of Oczepiny or "unveiling".   It symbolizes the rite of passage from a young woman to a married one.   Her veil is removed and replaced with a small lace cap while everyone stands around singing Sosnie Trawka.    This song is usually sung in Polish (song sheets are passed around so everyone can sing along) but this day we all sang it in English.  Everyone sings and sways around the couple, a really emotional ceremony.

To lighten the mood a bit, the groom gets a hat too.   It reminds the couple to laugh and have fun in their marriage.   Lisa made this hat for Andrew.   I think a fertility "reminder" is always included.   Look closely at the back of his hat when they're dancing.    Often that "reminder" hangs in the front, right down in front of his face, but Lisa was a bit more restrained by adding a cucumber and two walnuts to the back of the hat this time!    An old friend of ours, Norm K, had a hat placed on his head (some 47 years ago) with a very large piece of polish sausage and two hard boiled eggs dangling in front of his eyes.

Lisa places the grooms hat

On Sunday afternoon Judi (from Buffalo) and Barb (from Webster) came down for a sleep over.    We've been friends with these two for more years than we can count and we always have a really great time together.    Sunday was no exception.

Dave sets the table

I love a good low country boil but have never made one myself.   The girls volunteered to be guinea pigs.

Oooooh it looks so good says Barb

They each made a contribution to the meal and it turned out very well.   We all sat around the newspaper covered table and ate and ate til we ate it all up.    I noticed that Barb had the paper's crossword puzzle next to her plate so we decided to work it after we ate.

We laughed and laughed!    After a ridiculously long time we successfully completed it.   As we looked over the table we discovered 3 or 4 more puzzles but decided one was enough for the day.

In the morning we all shared the peanut stick donuts that Judi brought and they were on their separate ways after lunch.     Barb is off to England later this week. I think we'll recreate our meal and game night when she returns.

Back to work for Dave.   Lewis likes entertaining company much more than woodworking so he's bored today.

routing the door trim makes chips fly!

sigh

What we've been up to lately

Dave and Paul drove to LeRoy to pick up the new residential refrigerator and washer/dryer that were ordered and delivered to our old company there. (AIM Co.).

Dave's brother, Mike, met them there and used AIM's forklift to get the appliances inside through Beluga's side window.

With everyone's help it was a piece of cake!   They were strapped in and settled in time for a quick lunch with the rest of the guys.

The refrigerator is a little narrower than our original one because it was really the only one that would work with our not-to-be changed height requirements.    Dave is busy designing and building a narrow pantry cupboard that he will install next to the refrigerator using every inch of new space!

I've been deciding which pantry items I want to have in the new cupboard so that Dave can make the shelves exactly the right size for my needs.    Nice to have such a handy man in the house.

Nina and Paul are still away so Polly is enjoying her time here with us.   She and Lewis do most things together.

It's always more fun to play with someone else's toys says sweet Polly.....

Mr. Lobster tries to sneak away while she is occupied with the 747

too late!

help me!

Before Paul left he made us a delicious dinner of his famous saffron risotto and Cuban pork tenderloin.    He enjoyed cooking in the cottage's full size kitchen and we enjoyed his wonderful effort (AND, we had left overs for 2 more meals!),   Thanks again Paul....

master chef

the saffron risotto

Since my last post,  Dave and I celebrated our 47th wedding anniversary.

were we ever that young?

It seems like just yesterday.....and it seems like we've been together forever.

Jesse and Erin sent us some beautiful flowers and Cindy P and Walter send a box of love our way.  

Although our weather has given us some very dramatic skies lately, we're getting tired of the rain.

I'll say goodbye for now with a totally gratuitous picture of a poodle puddling on pillows....I know someone who will appreciate it.

nothing exciting

Work and visiting continues.   Nothing very exciting to show you or tell you about.    We've been enjoying some second cups and happy hours with Nina and Paul, even a dinner or two.

happy faces

We've had a few nice sunny summer days, but more cloudy and rainy ones it seems.

rain rain go away

Beluga's washer/dryer is out and taken to the recycle center, an empty spot in her bathroom awaits the new arrival.

The refrigerator is out also.  Paul and Dave will drive Beluga to our old company next week to take possession of the new refrigerator and washer/dryer.   We had them delivered there because they have a forklift to aid in the lifting of these two heavy appliances!

lift with your knees Paul!

The side window has been removed and reinstalled, just to make sure all will go smoothly (finger's crossed) next week.

Dave and I took an afternoon off and went to the Hemlock Fair to see the Mounted Police Horse Competition.   We always enjoy watching the horses negotiate a homemade obstacle course designed to test their ability to remain calm and biddable in emergency circumstances.     Some do better than others!

These horses are all owned by the officers and come in all sizes and shapes.

One of the obstacles was designed to approximate an construction site with fluttering tarps, cones, various poles and pots, manhole covers.

One they had to push a "cart" forward a certain number of feet, using their chest or nose.

Pushing through hanging strips of rubber didn't give many of the horses a second thought.

At one point they were to stand with their nose directly on a huge, idling fire truck.    The truck driver would then blast his horn right in their face....didn't phase many of them either.    Spectators jumped though!

We ran into the fabulous Fred and his wife Jeannie and we enjoyed the competition together.  

It's always interesting to see the different approaches each rider used to coax, cajole, convince, or command their mounts to complete each obstacle.  

My favorite, and I think all the horses favorite, was the last one.   A police cruiser was sitting on the track in front of us with a crowd of "rioters" surrounding it yelling and rocking the vehicle.   The horse was to ride up to it and peel the rowdies off each side and move them away from the car, then canter along side it, escorting the flashing and wailing police car from harm.   The horses rose to this job with pricked ears and determined movement.   I think they loved being able to move forward and assert themselves.   Fun to watch.

Nina and Paul are traveling right now and we have sweet Polly in our charge.  She misses them very much and is slightly confused by their absence, but she is settling in nicely as the days go on.

Dogs that spend a fair amount of time in the lake (as Polly and Lewis do) eventually get a little - well - stinky.   It's because they never really get a chance to dry.    Before Paul left he gave his girl a quick bath.   She didn't particularly like it, but evidently he did!

Lewis got his bath too.   He was fishing with Dave after dinner one night and got so excited that he fell off the end of the dock, upside down,  and sunk like a stone.    He's never done that before, he's usually pretty surefooted but there's a first time for everything!    I only saw the splash from the window and by the time I got down to the water Dave had been able to show Lewis the way to the shore and he was swimming along strongly.    His hair was so long, however, that it was completely over his eyes, poor guy, he couldn't see where he was going!

We took the opportunity to lather him up with his lavender baby shampoo and dried him off before he knew he'd had a bath.    We clipped him yesterday so if he ever falls in again, he'll be able to see his way to shore.

all sweet and clean

visitors and a bit of work

We continue to enjoy friends and family visits.

Cousin Bill and his wife Patty

Cindy and Norm K

We continue to stress our friendly and patient post office employees with numerous packages.    Now that we're in one spot for awhile we've both been ordering things we have held off on while on the road these past few years.

Dave bought a new grill and he's getting the hang of it.   Last weekend he grilled with overhead entertainment provided by Geneseo's National Warplane Museum.
The burgers were only slightly overcooked, it was hard to keep his attention focused you know.

We bought a new kayak and returned Lisa's with our thanks.   Dave slips away often for a quiet glide along the lake's shoreline.

Nina and Paul et al have brought "the beast" and settled into Beluga's driveway spot for a few weeks.   Both motorhomes fit nicely in the driveway and it's so pleasant to visit with them on a relaxed schedule.   We haven't seen them for a year so we have lots to catch up on.

Our buddy sites with a view

everyone likes sitting in the ivy, even Taggart

Lewis is enjoying his visitors enormously (they've come specifically to see him, haven't they?) and it's fun to see how he and Polly relate to each other as adults.  They play a bit but mostly just walk around and sniff things together. Occasionally they lift their heads and bark (in unison) at nothing in particular.      Mostly Lewis wants to go inside the beast.   It has kitties.

In their younger days they were insane, playing and romping and running together.    They kept us in stitches!

in Quartzsite, Polly would wait outside Beluga until Lewis noticed her and came out to play

Nina had their attention at White Water Draw

they used to be darn hard to photograph, just a black blur...

Sometimes Polly will come into the cottage on her own, if I leave the door open.  She knows where the treats are and enjoys receiving them but politely waits until someone notices her.

She also enjoys her daily swims.   When Paul swims, she races him.  He lets her win, she likes that.

he's gaining on her!

Lewis participates by flying along on the dock next to them, or encouraging from the shore.    Different strokes for different folks.

Dave and Paul have kept busy working on their mobile homes.   Dave really has a great time with Paul and they get lots of work done together.   Later on I think they'll find some time to play some golf.

this day they're taking Beluga's washer out and tomorrow the refrigerator goes, oh dear....

Dave and Paul kindly allow Lewis to help

Thursday night we had a good dinner at the Rabbit Room and have shared second cup and happy hours together most every day.

Life is good when friends visit.