TheCapeBlog

I gave our neighbors a bunch of Lizzie things, including blankets and her bed. We got a report that their dog Millie loves it!

Plus, I received a beautiful thank you note from “Bell and family”.

The boys and their Mom visited briefly today. It was raining and I tried opening the big umbrella but popped it the wrong way. If only I could have taken a picture of Bellamy carrying the upside down umbrella: priceless!

Ryan has made tremendous progress and finished the framing today for the driveway side bedroom.

Met with Bruce and James this morning to go over last questions.

Ron is meeting with our new eye doctor today. Luckily I spotted his hen scratching on the calendar this morning. His Beltone follow-on is on hold for now.

Ordered PRIDE shirts from Target today. They’ve been forced to pull or relocate PRIDE merchandise in their (guess) Southern stores.

https://www.berkshireeagle.com/sports/columnist_sports/lauren-stevens-walks-and-hikes-column-in-williamstown/article_a8fb3960-d552-11ed-8043-ab0e3b739dbb.html

The Money Brook Trail

http://berkshirehiking.com/hikes/the_cascades.html

Civility is manners, politeness, saying “please” and “thank you.” It greases the wheels of social interactions, or so it is claimed to do.

Diplomacy is tactful and far more difficult and nuanced than mere civility. Diplomacy is empathetic whereas civility is rules-based and mechanical.

Drove to the top parking lot and climbed Stone Hill to the pasture and fine views plus two Jack-in-the-pulpits.

I dropped off compost before it got too late.

Ron made a pasta supper; good, too.

I’ve been trying to clean the glass on the doors, with only limited success.

I’ve had slightly better luck with the upstairs bathroom. It looks much better.

Changed the sheets, and otherwise have been catching up on email. A so-called GoDaddy “messaging guide” punted in broken English when I asked how to download images in Outlook. Works on the server, not on my client; go figure.

Ron’s disgusting gas is filling the whole downstairs. Gag.

Cooler today. Guess there was a frost in some areas last night.

Peter fixed two more delinquent electrical wirings: the 3-way second floor hall light and the floor-level pantry outlet which also controls the electricity in the sunroom.

Ryan checked in for his downpayment.

Ron and I trimmed a little off the forsythia. Awkward place to work. I did some weeding.

Yesterday I tried cleaning the siding with the bleach-based solution from Home Depot. It didn’t seem to work but I did get rid of dirt and insect webs. That chore did provide an excuse to hook up hoses to both outdoor outlets, so I guess it was a good use of time.

This morning Ron and I pruned the very top of the climbing rose from the second story window. Much easier than a ladder!

I brought home pizza from Cumby for lunch: two slices for $3. Can’t beat it.

Did an enjoyable medicinal/edible plant walk at River’s Edge with Wild Soul River and HooRWA.

Norman finished up the bathroom piping project.

In the meantime, we went to Beltone in Albany for a hearing test and fitting of new top of the line hearing aids for Ron.

We enjoyed the ride, took a different route home than planned and it brought us past a couple of landmarks, including a restaurant we’d been told is outstanding, Giovanni’s.

Unfortunately, we can’t eat most of what’s on their menu and anyway there was a 45 minute wait, so we didn’t stay.

We skipped attending Town Meeting in person and opted to watch at least part of it on WilliNet. I’m disappointed in the low quality of the discussion and glad we didn’t go.

I’m feeling a little more optimistic about the progress everyone but us is making on the house. I’ve got the yard pretty well under control except for deciding whether to get rid of the pile of clippings in the corner or use it for compost.

Pruned the poor hydrangea, which was mostly dead wood, leaving about a dozen canes that look like they might have blooms. The small-headed pruners bought last year worked beautifully.

Spread the eighteenth bag of mulch, thus finishing the back garden. Saved two bags for later fill-ins.

Roses look promising. Hollies have tiny flowers.

Treated us to lunch from Water St. Grill: big salad, fried green beans, ciabatta rolls.

Norman started work on the plumbing and drained several cups of horrible-smelling, noxious fluid.

Met with James and talked with Ryan about plans for the second floor bedrooms.

Cindy is a new grandmother! Baby girl arrived today.

Peter messaged that everyone is doing well, including him.

I haven’t been outside at all today, have been working on the ZAI trust application. Sent it off end of day. Almost as bad as a tax return.

Also ran 3 hot water washes – bleach, vinegar, plain water – to deodorize the washing machine.

Beech in the neighbor’s yard has leafed out.