Clean floors

On July 18, the movers came to move us out of the upstairs, and the floor men ripped up the old carpeting and sanded and varnished the floors. It was a huge undertaking. We chose not to worry about it until it was time to pack up, which took a whole weekend. The floor sanders worked for four days - the last 3 applying 3 coats of polyurethane. The kitties were moved into the den, with food and litter. They took it like little troopers, and didn't cause any problems at all. Our bed was moved to the living room, where we slept like kings in the middle of a large suite - actually enjoying that part of the process.

Hell came. On Friday, July 22, the movers came back again to move all the furniture back in (we kept it in a UHaul truck in the driveway). It was 103 degrees -- the hottest day in Boston on record since the 1920's. It was a roaster. We put a case of water and Gatorade on ice. The freezer wouldn't even freeze drinks it was so warm outside. We know. We tried. The movers were great, and worked very hard and I tried to keep everyone hydrated. George and I sat in lawnchairs in the shade when we could find any, and helped organize where the boxes went. Somehow, it all got put back into the rooms, but we still had a big mess of boxes and furniture and clothing that needed to be put away. It was 90 degrees in bedroom, and that is WITH a window air conditioner cranking the whole time.

The good news is that we survived this. The floors upstairs are beautiful. The old stained rugs are gone and we are enjoying more space since we gave away carloads of furniture and clothing. I know where everything is, and most all of it is unpacked and put away. The kitties were great about the move, and never made a peep through the whole process. George didn't have a heart attack and I survived the heat and lived to tell the tale.

All good.

Have a great day.

A loon swimming near the dock

The lake

Vacation at First Connecticut Lake, New Hampshire

We always have a great time, but this year our vacation at the cabin was spectacular. We had beautiful cool sunny weather, and lots of time to fish, swim, sightsee, take pictures of critters, play cards and I made a couple of beautiful beaded bracelets from a complicated pattern I was eager to try. It was a splendid vacation, and I only got two bug bites -- and that is a big deal since I am allergic and they can be really troublesome to me.

We didn't find the Pileated Woodpecker I sought, but we did see a beautiful young male moose with velvet brown antlers standing in the middle of a small out of the way road called East Inlet Dam road. It was breathtaking to see him standing there calmly, and before I could reach for my camera, he ventured off into the dark woods. The side of the roads are covered with wildflowers. The sun shines brightly and still the woods are dark as night. We saw lots of loons and had a particularly wonderful loon concert at 2:30 a.m. on two separate occasions. The loons call back and forth across the lake when everything else in the world is quiet and dark. Amazing.

The cabin is comfortable and welcoming. The swimming was cold, so we ventured into the lake only once, but it was fun. Fishing was..., well, fishing wasn't. We had only a couple of nibbles, and George caught a fish that only a loon would be proud of, about 5" long. We didn't really try hard to catch anything. It was more fun to play cribbage by the lakes and rivers, and just enjoy the scenery.

Can't wait until next year!

No fish, but lots of fun with worms.

George is in the background - fishing off the dock.

Our kitchen table at the cabin...homemade apple pie - yum.

Wave goodbye to the cabin until July 7, 2012