Oldies - further adventures

I'm sitting up in Montreal reflecting on and resting after a packed fortnight. It's been wonderful to have a house full. Thanks to both Mums, Tom, Gill, Liff and Gill2 for the pleasant company. We both hope you come back soon. Here is the gang under the watchful gaze of Christopher Columbus. We were waiting for the boat to take us up the Hudson as far as West Point.



In the second week we took a trip to visit West Point. They were getting ready for the next intake. The Bus carried us around the various buildings and locations of interest. I hadn't realised the emphasis placed on engineering skills. The place is really a military university although our tour guide seemed mainly interested in the sports achievements.


It's a lovely setting with gorgeous views of the Hudson. You can see why the location was so sort after during the War of Independence. The view is looking North.





Evenings were a study in outdoor living. Dinner on the rear deck after drinks on the front porch. Of course there were more drinks with dinner ......... the local wine shop know us well now!

Mum and Gill sample the Margaritas.







Of course no visit would be complete without a trip to the outlet centre (unless you are Rob). A good shopper can do it in one day. A really good shopper needs two!!

Niagara Falls is only 350 odd miles away and I let Rob take the oldies out for a trip. They arrived in time to see it at night and went back for a daylight view. By all accounts, the road trip was very scenic.

The weather behaved very nicely to give two rainbows.

The excitement was a little too much...........









So ..... at the end of the week, Rob drove the oldies down to the city for the a weekend of sight seeing before cruising back on the Queen Mary (the oldies, not Rob). Rob dropped off the rental and journeyed back on the train and I met him at Beacon station. We went off on our own trip to Connecticut and Rhode Island. Friday night was a gig with the Doobie Bros and Chicago. Well we are getting on a bit. They were very good especially the last 20 mins when they all came on stage together to do a medley of their best numbers.

On Saturday we visited an old mill site that is supposed to be the birth place of the industrial revolution in America. Rob said it was really interesting to see all that pirated textile machinery (yawn). He took lots and lots of pictures...........

On Sunday we took a leisurely drive down to an area called Mystic Seaport. It's a site devoted to remembering boat building and life on the coast. Rob was in charge of the camera again but took no useful photos ......... what's he like?

Golden Oldies Week One

It's been a great week. A house full of oldies! just time for a very quick blog update. I have been trying hard to juggle work stuff to allow me some time to be with them and we've had a good time. Lots of tea, lots of talk, catching up and laughs. The local super market and the wine store want some advance warning of the next visit!

Right on queue, the wild life came out to play and we now have two sets of turkey chicks. The humming birds really don't worry about us being around and just come to feed when they want ..... all the time. New arrival this week has been a plague of Japanese Beetle!




Two notable excursions were taken. The first to the home of former President FD Roosevelt. The home was surprisingly modest and something of an old Victorian style interior. The Library is in a separate building and houses an exhibition that could keep you interested for hours.


Later in the week we took a boat ride down the Hudson from the Newburgh waterfront, past the George Washington HQ, Bannerman Island and down as far as West Point. A very relaxing time.



Very sadly I had to say goodbye to Mum at the airport on Saturday. It was so lovely to see her xxxx

Golf, Memphis & more .......

The thing I've been most worried about, for the last month or so, has been an invite to a corporate golf event. I don't often get invited to things where I am the customer so I like to take any opportunity I can. The only snag with this event was that I was expected to play!

Eekk! It's been a long time since I last played properly so I had to take it seriously. Luckily there is a driving range in the town (Pine Bush - more like a village really) and a resident pro to give some lessons. Anyway, after three or four sessions and having Rob caddy my clubs around a couple of courses, I was ready for the big event.


It was held near Memphis in conjunction with a round of the FedEx Cup so I also got to see some of the worlds top players in action. Our host had organised a team event (shot gun scramble). 36 golf carts all taking off together in 96f heat. I was a bit nervous as I didn't want to let the team down. It turned out great with all my practice paying off. My ball saved the day quite a few times. We didn't win, but I was really pleased with the way my game is going.

It wasn't all hard work though. We were fed and entertained really well. Giant buffets, an Ice Bar and lots of FedEx logo golf goodies. We even got treated to an evening on Beale Street in Memphis with all it's live music and street entertainment. Work can be tough sometimes!

Rob told me to look out for this place. I think he said it had something to do with Elvis Costello .... or was it Elvis Presley?

Health care in the USA is very different to the UK. You have to pay for it. That is, you pay an insurance company and they pay the bills. Don't get Rob started on the subject, he'll end up with a heart attack. I guess I'm one of the lucky ones as my insurance is paid by the company. I had to go to the doctor because I have been getting a bit of sciatica after a long drive (in the car .... not golf). They were very nice but once you are on the books as a new patient (guinea pig) they want to find out if you are healthy. Or as Rob puts it "how much money they are going to be able to extract from your insurance". I've been examined and tested for everything you can think of. I've been prodded, probed and poked in pretty much every crevice.

The final examination was a screen for colon cancer complete with rubber gloves and endoscope. I had to fast for 24hrs prior too. I get grouchy if I haven't eaten and it's not made any better by the mixture you have to take the night before. Rob dropped me off at the clinic at 6.30 in the morning with instructions to return in 2 hrs. I was wheeled in and the nurse connected me to every conceivable monitor device. She gave me something and said that I would feel a little drowsy. The next thing I knew I was looking at photos of pink inner bits and being shuffled along to the reception to meet Rob. I'm pleased to say that I'm fit and well ....... except for the sciatica which they can't do much for. I have to sleep with a pillow between my knees????

We have had two new critters in the garden. One big and one small. Both Turtles, the big one was 10" across the shell and the small one about 3". The heavy rain must have persuaded them to travel. The big one was crossing our drive in the woods and the little one was wandering across the back.

The front garden is starting to look good now that the grass is growing back. Rob is remembering to water the hanging baskets and it's a real treat to come up the drive after a day at work. We are nearly ready for summer visitors.

Needle work ........ but not my kind!

It's been one of those rare weeks when I've been working in the local office. Very fortunate as we both had a trip to a local doctor to get a medical for the green card process. It was actually three trips in all, what with x-rays, TB tests, blood tests and shots. My arm is looking like a pin cushion. Rob says I'm a wimp.
I've been able to get home and enjoy the warm evenings with Rob, admire the new landscaping and watch the birds. Talking of which, we spotted our first humming bird. They are tiny, iridescent green and flap their wings faster than a fast thing. Rob scoffed when I bought the humming bird feeder and now he has to eat a hat or something else made of felt. He claims that the bet's off because they were attracted to the new plants and not the feeder. It's great to see them, whatever bought them to the garden.

Monday just gone was a holiday here in the USA. It was Memorial Day. It's the day that they remember the servicemen lost. They take it very seriously over here with parades and everywhere decked out in (even more) flags. So we took advantage of the long weekend and went to southern Vermont. It's a mainly rural state with a big history of independence. The home of the Yankee! Naturally, everywhere you turn, there is a reminder of how they kicked out the British. Charming. Farming isn't really viable any more and things are mostly geared up for the tourist trade. They do a great job at keeping up the traditional look with red painted barns and well managed land. A lot of very hard work must have gone into clearing the trees and rock to create fields. There are lots and lots of both! And ......... I finally got to see a moose.

We made our base at a cosy B&B in the small town of Bennington. On Saturday morning we were able to wander down main street, closed to traffic for a fair. Stalls had everything from arts and crafts, chainsaw carvings, hand made furniture to complete tat. The town was displaying the life size sculptures of a local artist. Placed in locations around town, the life size figures depicted people going about their daily lives. The tourist (below), the window cleaner, the little girls sharing an ice cream etc. They'd be vandalised in a moment in the UK.

We then went is search of covered bridges ...... a bit of a speciality in Vermont. There were five or so in the area and we saw them all. The locals must have thought we were a bit mad to be taking photos of an old bridge. It didn't distract them from their fly fishing though. It's very popular in the area with dozens of people of all ages in just about every stream.



From Bennington we travelled north to the town (village) of Manchester. They've turned it into a tourist/retail destination. The old part is quite small but dotted around the centre are factory outlets and craft stores. There is also a major fly fishing centre there.

Sunday we travelled north east taking in part of the very scenic route 100. It winds it's way gently through the Green Mountains. It was a very pleasant trip up to the small preserved town of Grafton to fetch some really good cheddar cheese. Some rich philanthropist decided to put lots of money into the town to ensure that it would not be forgotten. It was once a very important place when sheep were the big thing.



We were able to pick up some water and delicious sandwiches at the village store. This would be our lunch following our climb to the top of Bald Mountain in the nearby Townshend state park. A 2 mile climb up alongside a babbling stream and through the trees to the top. Unfortunately I was followed by a pack of hungry midges that wanted to make me their lunch so we didn't hang around too long. It was a lovely walk though. Steep, hard work but worth while. Dang midges. Bitten several times. We took a gentle drive back to base, even finding a quilting shop on the way. ....... result!

Monday was travel home day trying to avoid the major roads and taking in the countryside. On the way we stopped off at Saugerties to walk the short distance to the lighthouse on the Hudson. It's all automated these days but you can stay there on a B&B basis. It was names as one of the best lighthouse breaks in the world (The Telegraph or Guardian). We arrived home to find Tony the landscaper irrigating his handy work (with a hose). The grass seeds had germinated and gave the dirt a green tinge. It's nice to go away but lovely to sit on our front porch with a nice cup of tea. Back to work tomorrow............

It's May Already

We can't believe it's May already! We've been in our new home nearly 6 months and a lot has happened since the last post. Winter has gone and spring time is is rushing into summer and temperatures have been up to 27 degrees (80 in old money). That said, there was a very sharp night frost late in April that upset a few fruit growers. As you can see, the trees are full of leaves now and the grass is a lush green. Rob has had lots of fun on the lawn tractor.

Not the one in the picture though. He's not allowed on that toy. Work is nearly complete on the landscaping. Most of the hard work has been done, the planting is almost there and the new grass shoots will be up before we know it.



It's also great that we have had visitors out to see us and have re-stocked Rob's essential Euro food store. (Branston, Cheddar and Tesco Muesli - No Added Salt or Sugar). He gets (even more) grouchy without his regular fix.



Work has been keeping me busy with trips to California, Nevada, Florida and also Montreal in Canada. The next big trip involves golf. That means I've been trying to get back into the swing (hehe) of things. I've got a good caddy to carry my clubs around the practice course! He needs a little training to stop him trailing the trolley across the greens and to stop giving advice ...... but he's not bad!


There has been lots of animal activity in the garden. We have regular visits from a group of wild turkey (now that Thanksgiving is a long way off). The old male shows off to three or four young ladies each morning.



Yesterday we got our selves sorted and went out for a long walk. We are so lucky to have a mountain in our back garden. We took a circular walk from "Sam's Point" for around 9 miles through dwarf pine trees, past lookouts that gave us terrific views of the Catskills and the surrounding area. We were both pooped at the end of the day and collapsed on the sofa. We had a really good day though.

17th February 2008

A journey to work NY style

Tuesday of this week we had lot's of snow again and the temperature dropped to below freezing. I spent the day at the office and then prepared for the long hike on Wednesday. I left the office at 9am on Wednesday with Rob one of our sales guys and we drove across Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire, We got to the client site at 3.30pm, after a lengthy meeting we booked into the same hotel that Toni and I stayed in 15 months ago when we visited Boston for leaf peeping and quilting material.

A little visitor in our garden

While I was away we had a little visit from some of the local deer. I travelled back on the Thursday retracing our route and arrived home at 6.30pm totally exhausted! Saturday morning we left the house at 6.45am and 8.15am we were buying our lift pass at Belleayre! not a bad life lovely blue skies, plenty of snow and so close to home. The only downside at all was the temperature; it was about -10 degrees. We skied all day and left at 3.30am.

On Sunday morning we drove over to Beacon and cleared the apartment. Then off to Poughkeepsie to do some shopping, bought some additional furniture for the lounge, some lamps and for all our American guests, we bought a coffee machine and beans grinder. So Ruth we are ready and waiting! You will be our very first guest