Ron washed the garage roof of sticks and mold.
I gave up on a crowded group walk at the Boulders in Dalton and did a half mile solitary stroll on the Healthy Heart trail.
On the way back, was thunderstruck by the magnificent views from Stafford Hill Road in Cheshire.
Stopped at Racine’s for potatoes.
Bell dropped by, played frisbee with Ron.
Peeled apples for a dessert and potatoes, carrots, beets for a veg lasagna while we watched the Ravens/Bengals game.
Found that Ron had repaired the picture frame that’s been on his to-do list. Came out pretty well. I was able to reassemble it easily; he hung it back up.
He also removed the incorrect pivot bars, installed the new ones and rehung the upper window sash.
I praised him and brought back some of his favorites from Stop & Shop: Snickers bars, Mexican “crackers” (chips) and ice cream. Also peanut butter, Dave’s bread and coffee.
We found that a software renewal had been processed on Ron’s PayPal account. Got an upgrade that cost less and a refund for the renewal. Great installation help from the software company’s tech support.
Made sauteed vegetables – leeks, tomatoes, red pepper, mushrooms – with eggs and steamed green beans for supper. Intestines were a mess today, hope the healthy meal squares them away.
Finally, the transfer of Ron’s loan proceeds came through.
Over the last two days, I watered the gardens. One of the soaker hoses split on the garden next to the deck so that one didn’t get thoroughly watered. Need to figure out a fix or workaround.
I attended a drawing session this morning at the Clark; it was tiring but worthwhile. My inspiration was a red chalk drawing “Cows at a Watering Hole” by Charles-François Daubigny. Signed up for the next two sessions in October and November.
I left a little early to meet Ron at The Log for the weekly vegetarian lunch. We missed each other in line but at least got to sit together.
After lunch we did two trips to the transfer station with three weeks worth of disposables. I should say that we had only half a bag of actual trash; the rest were recyclables of one kind or another: food scraps for compost, weeds for compost, brush, plastics and paper.
We pretty much collapsed after that. Ron went to bed very early. I got to watch the littles create and chase after giant bubbles.
Meanwhile, the source of the claim that Haitians are devouring family pets turned out to be a Facebook post by a woman who heard a story third or fourth hand about someone’s cat. She didn’t verify the story; she doesn’t even know the owner of the cat.
Visited Greg and Irene yesterday so Ron could pick up his guitar.
Got back to Williamstown in time for writers group.
Discovered that Cal is paying our Delta Dental premium in full!
Claim for reimbursement for Harvard plan premiums was approved.
Finally, the truck: home after three weeks at the shop.
We split the cost but Ron used a debit card for his share, over-drafting. Greylock approved him in less than half an hour for an emergency loan. We considered an EFT for $25 then realized I’d already set up transfers between banks so problem quickly solved.
I sent off the radon gas test kit.
Finally, we attended a splendid reception for UMass/Boston alums at the Miraval in Lenox. Could not have been nicer.
Ran the furnace and the mini split on the heat setting. Both seem to work.
Changed sheets.
Ron went to the dentist, got a cavity filled, said it was easy.
I checked out Progressive for insurance rates; not good, keeping things the same.
Trying to find a good Aesop’s fable to reflect MAGA’s rage at the “elites”, but the fables all seem to be about only greed and deception. Simpler times.
The other night at the Linde Center, it struck me that the crowd looked a lot like the attendees at WHOI/MBL lectures or performances at the Clark.
That is to say, older. Dressed in dark or muted colors. Glasses-wearing, bearded, balding or if not, a little shaggy.
Picked up pastry at the A-Frame this morning, then groceries at Stop & Shop.
Ron did two loads of laundry.
Signed us up for this Friday’s Log lunch, first of ten.
Ron meticulously raked the back yard.
The Congregational church finished up its tag sale with a free day. I picked up three nice drinking glasses, a couple of picture frames and wooden hangers for the wardrobe.
Some people made quite a haul; I saw one woman stuff a small frig in her hatchback.
On the way back, I picked up a Fiskars rotary cutter and a frisbee from a giveaway in front of a house.
Washed four windows including the two front ones which really needed attention.
Finally got around to measuring the broken pivot bars and comparing their dimensions to the one in the SWISCO catalog that was recommended by their tech support rep. Looks like a good match, so I placed an order.
We got almost an inch of rain yesterday.
The stinking compost in the big elevated bed is still a mess. I tried breaking it up and mixing it. Put compost starter on it and hoping for the best.
Stored the extra bag of soil and peat moss in the outer shed until the stench goes away. Supposed to rain in a couple of hours and I didn’t want to leave the wheelbarrow out. Moved the good tomato plants and the basil to the table.
Ron had a minor mishap with the downstairs toilet. A1 took care of it. Ron didn’t seem to mind paying a premium for emergency service. I’ve been wanting that drain looked at for a while so offered to share the expense but he wouldn’t have it. At least not for now, we’ll see.
Drawer fits perfectly in the end table in the “guest room”.
Yesterday the basement cleanup person messaged to let us know that because of travel time, they’d be charging around $500 and did we still want to go ahead. We didn’t and thanked them for letting us know.
I wish Em/Bennett were here to help me with wall decorations.
Rain began around 4. Luckily, Ron finished mowing front and back beforehand. Bell and I made bubbles until it started to pour. Didn’t do much of anything after that.
Yesterday we met with the Housing people in Pittsfield to sign paperwork, one set of which was notarized.
Before that we visited the ReStore outlet, which is huge and impressive. Found a little medicine cabinet for over the toilet which Ron and I installed today.
We stopped to look at plants at Home Depot. I bought a nice phlox and planted it today.
Worked on the larger raised garden bed which is on the deck. Today I added some soil and the rest of the stinking compost that I put in a bucket last year. Letting it air before adding more soil.
Started transferring from the little bookcase to the “new” medicine cabinet, ended up dusting areas I haven’t been able to reach in the bathroom. Unbelievable amount of dust – not dirt, dust.
Roofer came over to check things out this morning and pointed out some things to be fixed unrelated to the deteriorating shingles, like bad flashing and another architectural problem that is probably causing leaks when it rains.
Heard from Matt, he will add us to his schedule.
Bought tickets to a jazz event at the Clark next month.
Got to Tanglewood very early, at 4, strolled around for a bit. They are not officially open, just for the Lenox Jazz Stroll so most of the campus and all of the venues except for the Linde Center were closed.
The tickets weren’t available until 6, the hall didn’t open until 6:30 and there was plenty of parking next to the venue so we didn’t need to get there so early. Considering that none of this information had been provided by the organizers, good to know for the future.
We ended up going back to Lenox center for snacks and a bottle of wine.
The concert was terrific: Bernstein & Bop: A Saxophone Colossus featuring Ted Rosenthal’s All-Star Sextet with a special opening set by Wanda Houston & The Convergence Trio.
I could have done without the lugubrious piano solo of “There’s a Place for Us” but the rendition of the otherwise cloying “I Feel Pretty” was a masterpiece, especially as performed by the formidable, youngish (32) alto saxophonist Erena Terakubo.
Up at 5, thought I heard a rotating sound in the house but couldn’t find the source.
Around 9 I picked up a good amount of nutritious food – eggs, produce, wheat bread and extras – at the Williamstown Food Pantry and stopped at the Senior Center afterwards to sign up for the pasta luncheon in two weeks.
No signup yet but Sarah asked if I wanted to try out the chair yoga class. It was excellent, terrific leader/teacher. I hope to return.
I finished loading up the raised planter on the deck with soil, worm casting compost from last year and peat moss. I planted the mums and grass that Ron bought yesterday at Stop & Shop. What a treat: planting without pain!
Later I steamed the kale from the pantry run and sauteed peppers and eggs for supper. Picked up this week’s produce at Wild Soul River; traded kale for an eggplant.
Arm is a little sore from the Covid19/flu shot. Ron got those and Shingrix but he’s not feeling any discomfort.
Peter is working today and I am laboring around the house.
Yesterday, though, I took the day off. I suggested to Ron that we not make the bed or cook but instead go for a joyride to see the Harriman reservoir in Vermont.
It was a pretty trip but Google Maps led us to a chained off dirt road so we never got to see the reservoir. Ron is having trouble with his right leg so walking, even a short distance (2/10 of a mile) was not an option.
We did come upon a Serenity Garden in Whitingham that has the biggest, most beautiful butterfly bush I’ve ever seen.
I finally figured out how to use the sound bar with the TV: what a difference! We indulged in several jazz videos.
The boys came over looking for a laser pointer and had fun making Pustefix bubbles.
This morning I moved things around the bar in the sunroom and brought the guest bed platform upstairs. It is in two parts and folds for storage!
I installed the liner and one of the bags of soil in the smaller elevated bed.
Picked a bouquet for us.
Made a vegetable tort of summer squash, peppers, tomatoes with basil, garlic and the mushroom/onion umami seasoning; a salad; and biscuits for supper. The mandoline saved time.
Ron bought wine and did a gigantic laundry.