Peaches for me. Millions of peaches, peaches for… well, not free, not in this economy!
Espen and I went to Wellwood Orchard today and had a lovely day picking peaches and petting goats. I never knew they had peaches there, so we were pleasantly when we asked what was ready for PYO.
It took a few tries to determine how to find the perfect peach. Apparently you have to just “fondle them all” (to quote Espen). We picked a bushel (or a peck? or a half-bushel? I can never remember the size names) of peaches, then peaked into the country store for some maple cookies and cider donuts.
We put everything into the car, then headed back to the petting zoo. There were very loud roosters, vivid peacocks, tired cows, and baby goats. So many baby goats! Three of them were born yesterday evening. They were adorable!
When we got home we made blueberry peach cobbler and attempted raspberry peach jam. Unfortunately we don’t have any pectin and our substitution efforts were less than successful. Unrelated to peaches, I also made cornbread and black beans for dinner. We were eating well today!
Lest you think I had a computer-free day, never you worry. In between this summer-time fun, I also worked on the school district welcome back newsletter and on fixing this very blog that some evil hacker had the gall to infiltrate! Fortunately the hacker was obnoxious, but not too destructive. Also, most fortunately, I have Alan on my side!
Primary elections were this week and Espen cast her first vote! Welcome to democracy baby girl!
We then got ice cream to celebrate. :)
I dropped Espen off at the library for a “Plantasaurus” event, that she loved.
I brought Huxley along when I picked her up and we did some whimsical exploring along the way home. We stopped at a neat little park in Hanover called Nathan’s Garden. Other than the bugs, it was a very cool place.
Then we explored along the river and under the bridge, but there were too many bugs and too many people, so we went home.
Have I mentioned lately that I love my youngest? She makes my heart happy. <3
We have a lot going on at home and I have a list of blog posts to make, but I have so much computer work to do these days that I can’t stand it much longer. My job, normally pretty computer heavy, has become even more so these past few months because our office manager is out with leukemia, so me and a few others basically divided up her job and I got all the ordering/accounting parts. In my side hustle job we just launched a whole new suite of websites for the school district, which has taken a lot of my time. Add that to the normal back to school website updates, and the communications role I took on (side side hustle?) for the district that involves sending out a monthly newsletter — I’m on the computer all day and all night. I feel like summer is flying by and I’m spending it staring at a screen. :/
Anyway, some day you’ll visit this page and find lots of new updates, but for now… my job is computer and I’m ready for no more jobs tonight!
We took a weekend trip to the country to celebrate Mema’s birthday! It was a beautiful weekend. We hung out in the back yard, had a tasty Italian dinner, cooked s’mores over the firepit, and went mining for diamonds!
Also, I got a haircut last week. It is WAY shorter than intended, but I’ll spare you the rant here.Happy Birthday, Mema!!A beautiful and tasty cake from Katie (from Goldbelly, apparently)FireVery toasty s’moresMore fires
Diamonds
On the way home we stopped at the Herkimer Diamond Mines, in Herkimer, NY; home of “one of nature’s most magnificent gemstones. The Herkimer Diamond Mines are the home to an abundance of double-terminated quartz crystals formed almost 500 million years ago. Their diamond-like geometrical shape closely resembles that of a true diamond, thus lending its name to the “Herkimer Diamond”.” (https://herkimerdiamond.com/about/)
It was a fun experience, but probably not one I’d do again. It’s definitely missing the color and scenery of our favorite Ruggles Mine.
River let us borrow his pickaxe.The place also gave us mining hammers.We spent a lot of time banging on rocks.The pickaxe proved difficult to use.But we had fun anyway.They also had panning available, with purchased sluice bags.Everyone say diamonds!Mema found a good one in a rock!
We came home with bags of rocks and small pieces of Herkimer Diamonds.
4th of July
The 4th of July was this weekend. I had a three-day weekend, but it was interrupted by the fact that I had to (agreed to) work the parade. For the past few years the library has been walking in the parade, wearing summer reading t-shirts and throwing candy. I got out of it last year, but this year managed to get myself talked into it. LOL. We also had a few library sponsored activates on the green after the parade. The children’s’ department had a shoebox parade, the teen department did tie dying, and we gave a way a ton of free books. I helped at that table. :)
Espen came along and was an AMAZING helper. She helped with all the transport and setup, wore the dinosaur costume in the parade, entertained children on the green afterwards, and helped with all the breakdown and cleanup. She was a rockstar volunteer!
Espen in the brown and another librarian’s daughter in the green.Selfie with a dino!Inflatables unite!The Howe Library, representing!Brown dino was very popular with the children! (Green dino disrobed and helped at the tie dye tent)Everyone huddled under tents when the skies opened up.
It was all fun and games until the rain came. Everyone huddled under any available tent, but the rain came fast and hard so most of us got drenched. We quickly pulled dino skins and parade banners over the book tables, doing our best to keep them dry. The tent started leaking, the rain blew sideways, we all got wet. Eventually a drenched event planner came around and told us all they were closing down the event. We packed up, the rains let us a bit, fortunately, and we got everything back into the library.
Espen and I got home home and passed out on the couch for awhile. We were exhausted! Lex worked all day, and when he got home we made a group decision to bail on fireworks. It was still a little rainy and yet, somehow, still so friggin’ hot! None of us were motivated. None of us except River, who hadn’t done a thing all day and was eager to hang out a the fireworks with his friends.
Lex, Espen, and I ended up climbing up on the roof at 9:30pm and watching the fireworks from the comfort of home. It was a perfect way to end the day!
This weekend Espen and I had a little adventure to find some furniture and stuff for her new apartment. There was an “estate sale” in town, which sounds much fancier than it really was. We knew the realtor running it though, and got a good deal on some furniture. We then went to check out a new thrift store in town, and then a consignment shop across the river. So much shopping for us! LOL. We had to go back to the estate sale after Alan got here so we could pick up the furniture in his bigger vehicle. Between the two Teslas we got the job done!
Here’s one thing we found at the estate sale that we did NOT buy!
In the afternoon we went to have some fun at the science museum. Lex is working at the Montshire again this summer and he gets a free family membership as a benefit. We haven’t been there in many years, but it used to be a standard in our life. It was fun to revisit the museum, see the new exhibits, and meet Lex’s coworkers. :) We probably embarassed him a bit, but that’s what family is for!
I made them pose for the standard “all done” scene. I have fond memories of finding them sitting on the bench, leaning against each other and watching the perpetual ball machine. That was always the sign that they are done. They were done this time too, but unfortunately Lex had to work for another hour. Fortunately, he really likes the job. :)
Just a few short days after we brought home our new (to us) kid car, Espen was driving back from Long Island and blew out a tire! Fortunately her and Alan were caravanning, and they were only about an hour away. She called me from the side of the road, shaken but ok, with the doggo whining in the seat beside her. Alan circled back to pick her up while I called a tow truck. We got lucky on this one, but it made me realize I really need to get emergency kits in all of the cars and sign up for AAA!
Several days and a thousand dollars later, we’re back on the road again!
Number three! That’s crazy. Even crazier, we’re on the lookout for number four! I guess that’s what comes when you’re financially comfortable with three young adults.
It took us awhile to find a good car, and awhile longer to get all the paperwork finalized, but we picked it up just in time! We got the car last night, and today Espen took the other kid car to Long Island for the weekend! I’m happy that the remaining three of us won’t have to share my car. :)
She left today, with Alan and Huxley, to move her stuff into her new college apartment. Her and her roomies used a storage unit to hold their stuff after moving out of their dorms, but their apartment lease started June 1st, so they are all meeting at the apartment to empty out the storage unit and set up the apartment. She’ll be back home for most of the summer afterwards. I’m glad she’s not moving for the whole summer! I like having her around. :)
He didn’t want a big party, of course, or even a first drink, but we had a nice day of board games, pizza, and oatmeal raisin cookies.
Just some books and Legos. Some things never change! LOL
Alan has a watch that has been inscribed and handed down for generations. Four, I think. He had it inscribed and gifted it to Lex this year. I’m going to send the picture of the two of them to Grandpa Don too. I think it will make him happy. :)
I’m super proud of Lex. (of course) He is home this summer, working at the science museum, working on an Android app, and enjoying his summer. He has a college apartment and one more year of school. He’s funny and happy and kind. I love him. <3 I’m happy to have him home this summer.
Espen and I got to see The Late Show with Stephen Colbert today!!! It was sooo awesome, and sooooooo loud!! LOL The guest was Tom Hanks, and a video of Barak Obama taking the Colbert Questionert. His final show is one week from today, so we got in just under the wire!
According to the ticket they have a pretty strict dress code, so I totally overthought the whole thing. We got there early to find the place (like finding your gate at the airport) then had some very expensive lunch at an Italian place next door. Definitely overpaid, but we enjoyed it anyway. Then we were right near the front of the line when it opened.
There was a lot of waiting in line, but we made some friends (thanks to Espen’s flair!) and had a good time. It had a real party vibe. Once inside we waited for longer. They gave everyone a chance to use the bathroom (thankfully!), then we went into the Ed Sullivan Theater!!!
They require you to turn off cell phones in the theater, so I have no pictures of that. It was actually kind of interesting to just experience it without taking pictures. I REALLY wanted to take pictures though!! There were a few women standing in the aisle chatting and it reminded me of local theater. They stood out because they seemed so comfortable among all the wide-eyed tourists like myself. Turns out, it was Evie McGee!!! They chatted for awhile and then she left. I couldn’t take my eyes off her. LOL. Today is Stephen Colbert’s birthday, so Evie was there and they went out to dinner after the show.
The show has an opener named Paul Mecurio, a comedian tasked with pumping up the audience. We “practiced” being very loud and he reminded the audience that they bring the energy and Colbert feeds off it. We yelled and clapped and cheered until our hands and throats hurt. He also brought people up on stage to make conversation and joke with them. He brought two women up that we had been talking with in the line outside. They were funny and really liked all the pins on Espen’s bag.
After the opening act, the band came out and played some music for awhile. Finally, finally!!, Colbert came out!! It was exciting. But, of course, he stands right in front of the camera and we couldn’t even seen him. LOL. We watched the monologue on the TVs hanging around the studio, but I really enjoyed watching the behind the scenes part. The camera guys, the stage manager (Mark McKenna, who is adorable) handing him props, the band off to the side. It was all just super fun!
When he sat down at his desk the cameras moved with him, continue to block our view a bit. I bet the view is better from the top deck. I bet pro audience members already know that. We were newbies. Our first and only time.
The guest was Tom Hanks, who was funny, of course. He brought Colbert a gift (typewriter, copy paper, and Hanks coffee) and they talked about his new documentary about WWII. There was also, of course, lots of joking around, content creation for the socials, and plain silliness.
The other two bits were the prerecorded Obama questionnaire, and a prerecorded Broadway performance. They mentioned the Broadway performance, but didn’t show it. Instead Colbert sang a song with Lewis Cato and the band. Just before he left the stage the audience started singing Happy Birthday. Colbert stopped, laughed, sat on the desk and swung his legs. LOL. Then he left to have dinner with his wife.
Colbert is funny and the show is fun, but it’s clearly a job for him. It was interesting to see how much goes into making the show. It was also funny to see the transition from the camera men (all middle-aged white guys) to the social team that swooped in, all young, diverse women. They recorded some outtakes and other clips you see on the socials. Watching Tom Hanks joke about “content creation” was funny.
When it was all over they funneled us right back out the door. They handed out bookmarks and stickers along the way. E and I were hoping to get to use the penny machine (we both brought lots of pennies and quarters!) but we were told it was out of order. Sad. I got the feeling it was out of order a lot. I was actually surprised at how uninteresting the lobby area was. It’s just a big white hallway, with a few TVs playing clips from the show. No big posters. Not warm and inviting. Just a big L-shaped hall with Colbert staff moving people along. It was interesting.
We left feeling happy, over-stimulated, and completely exhausted. LOL. We grabbed a slice of pizza in Grand Central, then took the train back to the island.
Then I stayed up late to watch the show on cable! LOL. Just to see how it crops together, and, of course, to see if we’re in it!
This is a long and rambley post, but I’m going to leave it as is because now I need to go to bed and sleep for many hours.
