And Then the Rains Came

 

It started coming down this morning and has not let up except for two lulls within the past hour.  Radar indicates we’re looking at another batch of heavy rain through tonight.

 

The Musconetcong has risen almost 3 feet today to 4.92 feet (gage height) about an hour ago, according to USGS Water Watch.  During Hurricane Irene in 2011, it got to 8.42 feet and breached its banks here.  (Yep, I’ve kept data on the river heights during previous storms.)  I’m thinking we’ll be okay tonight. Our “go” bag is ready, however.

 

Our front yard about 30 minutes ago.  The pond  has enlarged since then. 

 

There’s usually no water in this drainage ditch, which flows into the Musky.  That’s about 2-3 feet in the ditch.  It’s runoff from the community – streets, etc..

 

One of the parts I ordered still has not arrived at the dealership.  I wouldn’t have been going to pick them up today, anyway, so no harm no foul.

I’m listening to both Warren and Hunterdon Counties police/fire/EMS scanners on my laptop.  It’s another resource which helps me stay aware of of what’s happening in the communities around us.  Just heard about a mudslide (small compared to what’s been in the national news lately, I’m sure) near the county fairgrounds with some mud down on the road.  Pump details have been called into the fire squads; folks must be experiencing flooding of their basements.  That’s fairly common here with good-sized storms such as this.

My joints have been screaming today – aching – I’m sure due to the low pressure in the atmosphere.  Ouch.  Can’t say it’s because I’m getting older, as I’ve experienced this my entire life.  My Dad used to track the barometric pressure when I’d get a flare.  Sure enough, the pressure would pretty darn low or dropping. 

As a result of the rains, today has been darn quiet around here.  We’ve had no visitors.  Can’t imagine why, eh?

Hope you’re having a good evening and that you’re safe and dry!

Thanks for stopping by!

Enjoying a Nice Today, Because . . .

 

. . . later this evening, a slow-moving rain event will join us for the next few days.

It is finally, truly Spring here!  Yay!

 

 

Dave mowed earlier today, as I have been hanging in the office.  It’s a busy day around here with people coming and going, so it works out better that I hang in the office and he is out on the property. 

Our “front yard” after mowing

Last week I ordered a couple of parts for our rig and am waiting to hear if they arrived at the dealership.  It’s about 25 miles from here and will make a nice road trip to pick up the items.  It’s getting on into the afternoon already, so I’m not sure if I’ll make it there today.  If not, I’ll head over Friday or Saturday.  I haven’t been to this particular dealership before.  I’m like the proverbial kid in the candy store at an RV place, always taking time to wander the store aisles and then wander through rigs on the lot.  This one is a Montana dealer, so I’m looking forward to checking out the new models.  Not that we’re in the market, mind you.

The exhaust fan over our range vents to the outside via a flap that is under a hood on the side of the rig.  Turns out that flap is plastic and is held in place by two tabs at the top.  You know what plastic can do when it is subzero temperatures and pretty windy?  Yep, it can crack and/or break.  One of the tabs broke.  The flap is held in place but obviously not operational.  That’s one of the items.  The other is a new assembly for the shower.  We have a vertical pipe that has a slide/tilt attachment on it for the shower head.  Needed to replace that.  Neither is very expensive and definitely do-it-ourselves in replacing, just waiting on the parts.

We really didn’t have the weekend off, with things going on around here . . . people on the property, etc.  Perhaps just a warm-up for the activity that is supposed to be going on throughout this year.  No complaints.  Sure beats working in a stuffy building 30 miles away from one’s home.

I made a Chicken King Ranch Casserole yesterday and managed to watch The Last Time I Saw Paris via the Roku stick.  Hadn’t seen that film in ages and really enjoyed it.  Elizabeth Taylor was such a talented actress and quite lovely at that age.  Yep, I dig those classic movies.

We’re under the three-week mark until our beach trip.  Yay! 

Thanks for stopping by!

Girlfriends

 

Of course, today was the one morning this weekend/week (and I do mean the one morning as there are things work-related happening around here) I could sleep in.  What happened?  I awoke with allergies bugging me; my nose was running so much you’d think it was in the Boston Marathon.  Oh well, what else to do but get up, eh?  That was a bit before 6 AM.  Yawn.

I’m grateful that it is an absolutely gorgeous morning and that we have a washer/dryer set here in the office so I don’t have to go straggling off to a laundromat.

So.  Girlfriends. 

Over the past week I have had phone conversations and/or email from four of my close girlfriends, each encounter warming my heart, granting me laughter and enriching the bonds we share.

You know, Dave is such a sweet, fun, funny, intelligent and easy-going guy . . . I so enjoy and treasure our time with each other. 

But . . .

He’s not a gal. 

Girlfriends know you and can relate to you in a way your male spouse, partner, significant other or friend will never understand, no matter the depth of your being soul mates.  Ladies, you know what I’m talking about.  I mean, c’mon, when was the last time you talked with your male other half about the joys of making a day of prowling thrift stores, finding that incredibly cute, stylish, like-new item for a dollar?  Yes, men do experience changes as they progress through Life, but it doesn’t hold a freakin’ candle to menopause.  Just sayin’. 

I remember my Mom telling me about the importance of girlfriends.  She said that over the years relationships will come and go and there is the likelihood that one will outlive one’s husband.  In the end, what is left?  Well, relatives, of course, and children if you have them, but . . . girlfriends.  She said that the older one gets, the more important and treasured those connections will become. 

Once again, Mom was right.  I knew it then and know it now.

Thinking of that girlfriend you haven’t talked with, laughed with, in what seems eons?  Give her a call.  Take the time to indulge in a yap session.  It’s good for the soul.

Thanks for stopping by!

Springtime!

 

Yes, I think it is finally Spring.  Yay!  Saturday was my first mow of 2014, and I really enjoyed it.  The temperature was just right – not too cold and not too hot.  Sort of felt like Goldilocks.

 

Yesterday I had my first digging in the dirt for 2014.  Remember the tulips Dave surprised me with recently?  They had grown so much I had no choice but to plant them outside in a big pot.  Also repotted one of my indoor plants; it had outgrown its original home over Winter and needed more room.

Purple Waffle

We recently got a Roku stick, and yesterday I finally had time to set up and organize channels.  We have a Netflix subscription and can get that on the Roku.  From what I’ve seen, there are three levels of channels:  no-cost/ad-free (public domain channels fall in this category), no-cost channels with ads (like broadcast TV) and then subscription/ad-free channels such as Netflix.  I love Turner Classic Movies, so public domain channels are a good fit for me.  I also added some news channels, PBS, the History Channel and the Smithsonian Channel.  All in all, we have just under 30 channels in our list, so that should keep us content for a while.

Prior to Sandy in 2012, we could get good reception on a few broadcast channels here such as PBS, MeTV, Accuweather and RetroTV.  Well . . . ever since Sandy, reception has been quite poor.  There’s nothing wrong with our batwing on the roof; we think the towers took a hit or their alignment went a bit wacky during Sandy.  Add to that the fact that it is windy here a lot and MeTV (which we did watch quite a bit) is no longer carried by the station . . . we simply don’t raise our antenna any longer.  The company tech guru told us about the Roku a while back.  I waited until the stick came out in April (much less expensive than a Roku box and takes up no space whatsoever) and got one.  So far I’m pretty pleased with it. 

Hard to believe April is just about out the door and May will be upon us soon.  May is shaping up to be pretty busy with work, vet appointment for Maggie (vaccinations), my mammogram and then our holiday.  Whew!  I really am looking forward to our week at the beach.  It is so relaxing and will be our only getaway this year.  Can’t wait to see the horizon again!  Less than a month and I’ll be blogging from our “home away from home.”  Whoohoo!

Hope you all had a lovely Easter weekend!

Thanks for stopping by!

Two Words . . .

 

Da beach!

Dave and I had been talking the past couple of days about returning to Cape May and Dolphin Watch (the beach house we rented for holiday last year) again this year.  We went twice in 2013 (mega extravagance for us), but plan only one week of vacation this year.  A week seems an eternity there, as it is so peaceful, quiet and relaxing.  We are definitely on “beach time” when down there.  We prefer going off-season when there are not tourists everywhere and rates are lower.  I’ll tell you, this little gem is quite the bargain.

Late September/early October was so pleasant there last year, we decided we would return during that same timeframe.  Well, on checking availability last night, I saw that it was booked solid from late May through the middle of October.  We had wanted to be there for the lunar eclipse on October 8.  Bummer.  So we talked and thought about it, deciding on a week in the middle/latter part of May.  This will probably work out better, as we can get away on holiday before activity peaks here on the property and we are needed more on station than when it is quiet.  Going in May also means our holiday will be less likely be affected by possible hurricanes, and that’s a good thing.  Checked with our boss just to make sure the dates were okay, and now all I have to do is book Dolphin Watch for the week.  I’ll do that today.

Beach!  Oh how I love the beach.  Living within an hour’s drive of Galveston, TX, for a good chunk of my life,  I really miss the beach, a lazy little beach town, the air . . . everything about it.

Dave is much the same way, having spent most of his life in Scotland.  A loch or the seashore was never far away.  He also misses being by the water and enjoys our time at Cape May as much as I do.

It’s a win-win-win situation!

This weekend . . . we were at Wallyworld Friday evening for a few things, going our separate ways in the store.  When we got home and I came into the office, this was waiting for me . . .

 

My sneaky husband . . . how he hid this in the truck . . . I have no idea!  Lovely Easter tulips! 

Saturday we had a late lunch/early dinner at Perkins and then prowled our local mall for a while afterwards.  Malls are not part of our lifestyle these days, except around Christmas, and I had not been in this one since the holidays.  Sadly, this mall was recently sold and occupancy appears to be down about 50%.  JCPenney is one of the anchor stores and is closing.  I guess the good news is every store seemed to be having dynamite sales; Dave was able to finally find a pair of shoes he had been after for some time.  At any rate, we had a nice outing. 

I had been in search of a couple of simple, solid-color, cotton, sleeveless shirts for summer and another pair of shorts, as all of the above have definitely seen better days.  Cotton is preferred here during Summer as it does get hot and is very humid.  I tell ya, I was in every store in the mall and found nothing.  Nada.  Zilch.  Zip.  Polyester, rayon, horrible styles in colors and patterns my mother would wear. Blah.  This morning I went to Wallyworld and – as much as I am almost embarrassed to admit it – bingo!  Mission accomplished!  Was also looking for another pair of shorts and found a denim skort, which I believe will be even cooler and looser-fitting for Summer. 

It has been very warm and sunny here this weekend, but no complaints from this kid.  Dave is off on a bike ride and I’m cooking an early Easter dinner later.  I just got back from a 2+ mile walk, getting my walking routine kicked back in after a dreadful Winter.  Feels great!

We’re having a rather decadent, “party” weekend; after this (excepting our week at the beach), Dave will be in training for the racing season.  Guess we’ve been making the most of it!

Hope your weekend as been awesome, too!

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Moving Along

 

Today has been an absolutely gorgeous day out.  This morning I cleaned up the flowerbeds a bit.  It’s still a bit dicey to chance planting stuff, but at least I can get things ready.  The lilies are progressing nicely and I do believe I saw tulips peeking out from the soil.  This will be their third year.  Cool.

Working in the yard and digging in the dirt is always therapeutic for me, and it helped pass the time until my surgeon appointment this afternoon.

I saw a rabbit this morning!  Yay!  We have bunnies on the property again this year!

Arriving at the surgeon’s office this afternoon, they didn’t even give me time to sit down in the waiting room before calling me back.  Heading to the exam room, one passes the doc’s private office.  He was in there with someone (turns out it was a medical student), but looks up and gives me a smiling “thumbs up” sign.  Whoohoo!  Okay, I could breathe again!  We talked a bit when he came the exam room, but all’s good.  Did I happen to mention I really like, trust and respect Dr. K?  He literally saved my life twice in 2012 and is a caring healthcare provider. 

“No evidence of metastatic disease.”

That’s what we want to hear! 

I was in and out of there swiftly today.  Didn’t even get the chance to sit down in the waiting room, had a brief (but not rushed by any means, he always makes sure we cover everything I want/need) visit with Dr. K and bingo!  I was out the door again! 

I’ve felt like I’ve been “on hold” the past couple of weeks.  Last year was one year out from diagnosis and I wasn’t this nervous.  The overall 5-year survival rate kinda sucks for this type of cancer; this was year two, so I experienced a bit more of the “what if’s.”  He said that’s to be expected.  For now, however, Life is Guid indeed! 

I phoned Dave from the parking lot to give him the good news.  He declared it a “party night” to celebrate, so after work we picked up pizzas and some beer for him.  He is so patient, strong, loving and supportive . . . such a man in every sense of the word.  I appreciate him even more after having just the opposite in a partner when I was going through breast cancer back in 2001.

With that behind us, it’s back to our regularly scheduled programming. 

There are a couple of time trials Dave would like to do this Summer, so this will probably be our last “party weekend” until after the racing season is finished.  Dave will start training soon for those events. 

Activity is already picking up here with regard to work now that Winter is finally over.  A natural gas pipeline is being replaced in the area, and some of this runs on the property.  The dam upriver is being taken out; access to it is from the property, so there will be lots going on with that once it starts.  Things are greening up and growing, and we’ll be mowing this month – probably next weekend, if not sooner.  I have some things I would like to do with the interior of our rig – remove headboard and replace with something more to our liking, remove the cornices over the windows and replace with curtains, etc.  Well, I guess there may not be an “etc.,” to that.  If I accomplish both those projects before Winter comes ‘round again, I’ll be happy.  I’ve mentioned to Dave what I have in mind and have been told decorating our home is my department, and I’m to go for it.  Sweet.  Well, I guess he’s lived with me long enough to know what’s in store.  Ha!

We have a few minor repairs to the rig; for instance, our porch light needs replacing, as does the external flap on the oven exhaust fan.  It’s time to remove the skirting from around the base of the rig; that may be happening tomorrow.  Our door side scare light needs a new bulb; even something as simple as that is impossible with two feet of snow and ice on the ground.  I’m even looking forward to giving our home a good bath.  We’ll pick a nice warm (but not hot) day and exercise the rig.  That consists of hitching up, rolling down the street a ways and then putting it back in place here. 

 

Rig therapy – June 2013

We have the military simulation event scheduled here in June, and this year’s CERT class will have their graduation drill here again that month.  I went through CERT training last year and participated in the drill here back in May 2013.  This year I can watch.  Should be fun!

CERT drill at mill – May 2013

We’re hoping to get back down to the Jersey Shore at Cape May for a week in September or October and stay at the beach house (Dolphin Watch) where we went last year. 

Dolphin Watch in Cape May – September 2013

Gee, by that time, Winter will just about be rolling in again!

Thanks for stopping by!

Another Busy Day, Especially for a Sunday

 

Unlike yesterday, today I had a plan and actually accomplished it! 

After breakfast, I took the company truck down to the self-serve car wash and now it looks much more presentable after yesterday’s mud bath.  From there I was back to Wallyworld, where I had a spare key made for it, picked up more coolant and then scored us a Roku stick.  These just arrived in stores this month. 

Another couple of guys authorized to fish on the property showed up and were here for around an hour.  Sure was a nice day for it.

Back home, I tackled  cleaning and vacuuming the office in preparation for a meeting to be held here in the morning.  Not that the place was icky or anything, but one wants it to look spruced up when the owner of the company will be here.  Got chairs set up for the attendees and generally made things ready today, as they will be here early tomorrow.  The cleaning really consists of wiping things – conference table, etc. – down just to freshen up the place. 

After that, I had a bit of time to set up the Roku and played with it a bit.  There are quite a few free channels, some on-demand/pay-per-view channels and then others which require a subscription.  We can play our Netflix through it if we want.  I started watching a movie on one of the free channels while making dinner.  Yes, it is free, but there are commercials every so often, like watching regular TV.  Kinda breaks up the movie but, hey, it’s free.  I’ll try some other channels with different formats (news and so forth) to see what the program-to-commercial ratio is.

Dinner was chicken quesadillas, something which I have not prepared in quite some time.  They turned out pretty good, actually.  Yay!

Not sure exactly what I’m going to do this evening.  I may just join Dave and watch some TV.  We just watched another episode of House of Cards, a Netflix series, starring Kevin Spacey.  We have watched 25 of the 26 episodes and really enjoy it.  Dave also started watching House again last night from the very first show.  That’s always a good one, so I may just kick back, have Maggie snuggle in my lap and zone out this evening.  I certainly won’t be staying up late, as my alarm will be set earlier than usual due to the meeting here.  I’d like to be able to have time to grab some breakfast before things start hopping.

Well, that was my day.  Hope yours was great!

Thanks for stopping by!

Freefalling Saturday

 

Having basically a free day . . . laundry done, etc., I wasn’t sure exactly what I was going to do today when I got up.  Okay, get to the market for groceries, but there’s no time constraints, right?  There’s nothing happening here, right?

Right.

Dave was down at the other mill putting up new No Trespassing signs, as the old ones were ratty and faded and today was opening day for trout season.  He was gone a bit and then called, reporting . . .

No harm, no foul, just got a bit muddy

Oops . . he pulled off to check on/put up a sign at one of the gates and the ground under the company truck gave way a bit, leaving him deeply stuck!  Part of the asphalt actually gave way, too; winters and snow are tough on the roads and ground around here.  I gathered some orange cones and went down to get him.  Called our handy electrician, who helps out with stuff around here; he would come around 2 PM or so to extract the truck.

So . . . I figured I had just under a couple of hours to run my errands.  I was not only looking for groceries but perhaps an indoor electric grill and a big pillow for my office chair.  The chair is one of those older huge executive desk chairs and is really too big for me.  A pillow will help support my back so I can sit more properly.  Well, the grills in stock at Wallyworld really didn’t appeal to me and would you believe they did not have a suitable pillow?  Sheesh.

Back home, groceries put away, our electrician picks up Dave and before ya know it, Dave is driving the truck back onto the property.  Really didn’t take long to extract it; it just needed a wee bit of help. 

In the meantime, we had decided to go to Zeek’s Place for a burger.  It was a fave little roadside café of ours a couple of years ago, but last year when we went the food wasn’t up to their usual standards.  Decided to check them out again, as it had been over a year since we’d been there. 

Of course, in the meantime, two of the folks who are allowed to fish on the property showed up wanting to toss lines in for a while. 

Okay . . . that’s fine; it just seems like the one weekend we actually want to go do something, it gets crazy around here.  Comes with the job, though, so no biggie.

The guys fished for a couple of hours and then we went to Zeek’s.  I’m pleased to report things are good again!  Yay!  Such a decadent meal . . . bacon cheeseburger, some fries and a soft ice cream cone (small, chocolate).  Dave had homemade chicken noodle soup, plain burger, some of the fries and a vanilla cone.

Such a piglet!  I haven’t eaten that much at one sitting in a while!  Was fun and yummy.  It’s a bit of a drive in the countryside, so it was a nice outing.  We rarely dine out, so it was even more special.

I also got an email earlier giving me a heads up there will be a meeting here Monday morning early of folks from the office, so tomorrow will be spent vacuuming and getting the office ready for that gathering.  Need to wash the company truck, too, after today’s adventure in the mud.  Ha! 

So it looks like my Sunday is planned out for me.

That’s okay, really, as the weather really was lousy today.  Spring?  Ha! Not really around here.  It was extremely windy and cold today, although there was sunshine this afternoon.  We’ll dip below freezing tonight.  Tomorrow is supposed to be a bit warmer and not as windy.

Had my CT scan this past week, too.  It was with contrast, which is always interesting.  That dye flowing through my veins gives the mother of all hot flashes.  Wowwhee!  The scan itself doesn’t take long and, again, the folks at the hospital are great.  I continue to have nothing but positive experiences.  Not that interacting with a hospital is a positive thing, but the folks there are professional, kind and caring.  That makes a big difference.  I’ll see my surgeon this coming week for the results.

Hope you’re having a great weekend!

Thanks for stopping by!