A Few Photos

The cold weather over the past couple weeks has produced some rather picturesque river ice. This week has been a little warmer and caused the ice to recede a bit, so I'm glad I took pictures of it when it was it its peak with just a channel of water running in the middle.

One of the advantages of these extensive ice shelves is that they provide plenty of area for wildlife. In the past decade there have been an increasing number of bald eagles nesting along the river and they've successfully hatched eggs and raised offspring. It's now a pretty common occurrence to see eagles and their eaglets. The ice shelves make a perfect place for the adults to show their eagles how to rip apart the fish they might have caught. I'll spare you any of those barbaric photos, but this one just looks majestic.

 

 

I didn't take this picture but it's from a friend of John's brother. Everyone around here looks for piebald deer, and there are lots of photos sent around if anyone spies one. The snow makes a nice background for this one. 

 

 

This covered bridge is about a mile from where John grew up, so we've driven through it plenty of times. I tend to take it for granted, but snow always makes it look even more scenic.

 

 

My last photo isn't wildlife or nature, but two lovely people that I love. Justin was in a friend's wedding last weekend and both he and Jess cleaned up nicely. He never dresses up, so this occasion was photo-worthy.

 

I hope your weekend is full of fun and relaxation and a photographic moment or two! 

 

Just a Few Photos

We're getting ready for another snowstorm this weekend, along with much of the country. The predictions seem to range from 4" to a gazillion", but they all agree that temperatures will be frigid next week. I thought it was painfully cold in the middle of this week when we had temperatures below zero, but apparently that was nothing according to the forecasters. 

I've been getting ready for the storm this week by finishing all the laundry, getting all my post office and bank errands done, making a big pot of bean soup, baking bread, and making carrot cake. I'm not sure what carrot cake has to do with storm preparations, but I found frozen shredded carrots in the freezer, so of course, I had to bake a carrot cake. I think cake should always be part of preparing for a gigantic snowstorm. 

I only took a couple of pictures after last week's "dusting" (which amounted to 8-10") but it was a pretty snowfall. 

 

This is a nice view of a nearby creek, after last weekend's snowstorm but before it got really cold this week. 

 

 

And then when it got really cold, I drove to the Delaware River to check out the river ice. There is a lot of it!

 

And because many things besides scenery are delightful, here's a photo of the winter carrot cake. I wish I could share it with all of you.

 

I hope you have a good weekend, stay safe and warm, and maybe even enjoy a bit of cake. 

A Viewing Recommendation

Netflix’s has a new "series" entitled Famous Last Words. It's based on a Danish series and consists of an interview with a notable figure, but it is not released until after the interviewee's death. In the US, it begins with a powerful, honest episode - an interview with Jane Goodall that was recorded in March of this year and has just been released after her death on October 1. I watched it twice this weekend and found it to be a unique and brave format. It's not merely a tribute, but a living testament to what it means to reflect, reckon, and speak truth as your time on earth winds down. Here's why I found this episode to be exceptional and why I think others' lives will be enriched by watching it. 

• The Power of the Format

One of the most compelling aspects of Famous Last Words is its premise: the interview is conducted while the subject is still alive, but is only made public after their passing. This gives the subject freedom to speak candidly, unburdened by the fear of backlash or revisionism. Out of this raw honesty emerges something deeply intimate: a chance to let someone frame their own legacy, unfiltered.

In Goodall’s case, she approaches the interview with her full humanity, not just as a legend, but as the person who loved, doubted, fought, and hoped. Because of the format, viewers are offered a rare gift: we get to hear her final reflection, on her own terms.

• A Portrait of Integrity, Courage & Vulnerability

Goodall never shied away from speaking truth - about conservation, politics, or humanity. This final interview is no exception. She’s playful, serious, expressive, and unafraid to critique global leaders. Yet she is also vulnerable: she discusses regrets, doubts, love, mortality. That blend of strength and softness makes her even more human and more inspiring if that's possible. 

• Reflective, Not Sensationalist

Rather than sensationalizing the “last words” angle, the show gives space for reflection. The host, Brad Falchuk, frames gentle but probing questions. In the later moments, he leaves the stage entirely so Jane can have a final, uninterrupted address to the audience. It’s a quiet, deliberate choice, and it gives weight to her closing remarks.

• Wisdom Drawn from a Life of Curiosity

Goodall doesn’t offer only sweeping statements. She recounts her childhood, her early days in Africa, her relationship with nature, and small personal stories that ground her worldview in lived experience. She reminds us that a life of curiosity, of caring, of paying attention, is a life well lived.

• A Call to Action & Hope

Despite the gravity of the topic, Goodall’s outlook is not despairing. She emphasizes that every life matters and that we all have a role to play, even when challenges like climate change and species loss loom large. Her final speech is a plea to not give up, to do what we can while on this earth. It’s moving, earnest, and dignified, exactly the tonal balance that turns introspection into motivation.

Famous Last Words: Dr. Jane Goodall is not a conventional documentary, nor a sanitized biopic. It’s more like a final letter, layered, honest, intimate, and deeply human. For fans of Jane Goodall, conservation, or human stories in general, this episode offers something rare: the chance to hear her voice one last time, full of passion, humor, clarity, and hope.

I believe many will walk away from it changed, more reflective, more inspired, more resolved and hopeful. It’s a tribute, a farewell, and a challenge all in one, and I hope you get a chance to watch. 

A Conglomeration of Photos

I didn't do anything too exciting or blog-worthy this weekend so I was at a loss for anything to write about today. I did wind all twelve of my Wollmeise mini-skeins along with a full skein of sock yarn, but none of them are terribly impressive, even wound into balls. 

So I went through a folder of photos that I have saved for occasions like this. I'm not sure they will be interesting to anyone else, but I had some fun reminiscing. First is a screenshot of my character from Guild Wars II when I reached Level 80. Ryan played this game and it sounded like fun so I gave it a try. It was fun but I was terrible at fighting, so I basically wandered around the worlds and did things that would help me level up. Level 80 seemed like some sort of milestone, so I quit playing after I reached that. By the way, this looks just like me. (Insert uproarious laughter here!)

The next one actually does look like me, or how I looked in 1978. I was in my dorm room at Juniata College, playing my dulcimer like all the cool college kids do. I had just cut my own hair because my boyfriend had broken up with me and I wanted a change. I'm pretty sure there was beer in that refrigerator behind me and I think I might have had one or two. My roommate thought my hair looked surprisingly good given the circumstances and wanted to capture the moment.

 

 

 

But enough about me. Justin worked at a ranch in TX for a year or so. It was at least an hour away from everything, but there were lots of ponds and waterways on the ranch and Justin loves to fish. He called us one morning quite excited because he had caught two fish at the same time on the same lure and they weren't little fish. I'm glad he was fishing with a co-worker so he could record this momentous occasion.

 

 

When we visited Glacier National Park I was enthralled by the color of the water. I asked a ranger what made it that distinctive turquoise color, and he told me all about "glacial flour". Glacial flour is the smallest size of sediment (much smaller than sand) produced by the grinding of glaciers against rocks. It is responsible for the milky, colored water in the rivers, streams, and lakes that are fed by glaciers. Glacier waterways can have a wide range of beautiful colors that arise as sunlight scatters when it hits the sediment particles in the water.

 

 

I'm beginning to think about starting seeds indoors so the plants will be ready to place in the garden in six or eight weeks. I won't be starting carrots indoors but this anatomically correct photo reminded me that there are always things to provide entertainment in the garden. 

 

And one last picture:

 

 

Ten Things ...

... I've been doing to avoid anxiety over the election. 

I consider myself reasonably well-informed, and I usually read the news in online form once a day. For the past several weeks I've stopped doing that because it makes me:

A). Angry
B). Fearful
C). Both of the above

I also used to listen to NPR when I was working in the kitchen, but I had to stop doing even that the other day. When we're not involved in a contentious and consequential election, NPR often provides a good mix of news, human interest stories, music, and interviews, but now it's all just dire headlines. When this happened last week, I stopped my dinner prep, went to the CD drawer, and put on the first CD I grabbed. It has made a huge difference in my mood, so I started thinking about other things that are helping me avoid anxiety. Here are 10 of them.

1. Listen to music - The CD I grabbed was The Goat Rodeo Sessions with Yo-Yo Ma. It was exactly what I needed and I've listened to it enough that John is almost sick of it. But then I just used Bluetooth with my hearing aids to stream it directly into my ears. I think it's brilliant, and when I tire of it, I'll look for more Yo-Yo Ma or something else. 

2. Dance It Out - I'm not much of a dancer, but I've watched enough Grey's Anatomy to know that this seemed to work for Meredith and Cristina. I can hardly listen to Attaboy and Fiddle Medley from the CD above without dancing. There are plenty of Dance It Out playlists on YouTube and Spotify, so choose one and let yourself go.

3. Take A Walk - This is a good one as it can be long or short, a relaxed saunter, or a walk fueled by rage. I can almost guarantee that you'll feel better by the time you're done. 

4. Read - This usually works for me, but I've had to make some adjustments. I've tried reading outside of my usual genres because I was finding that I just couldn't concentrate on literary fiction. I tried some short stories and cozy mysteries but they weren't much better. I'm now listening to Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas (a gothic mystery/thriller). After a strange beginning, it has at least been interesting enough to keep me listening, but we'll see. I'm also reading The Tree Collectors by Amy Stewart. Subtitled Tales of Arboreal Obsession, this work of nonfiction has 50 illustrated vignettes of people whose lives have been transformed by their obsessive passion for trees. I didn't know there were even five people obsessed with trees, but it's great so far!

5. Knit - I didn't choose the hat pattern I'm currently knitting (Rows and Arrows) for its ability to distract me, but it is serving that purpose well. It's just a hat, so it's not overly complicated but there are cable crossings every other row, and I'm at the part where I'm trying a modification to make the hat longer. More complicated than plain garter or stockinette but not too difficult is working for me. 

6. Clean - I dislike cleaning a lot, but I've found that scrubbing my toilets, cleaning the whole bathroom, or mopping the kitchen floor have been productive ways to curb anxiety and think about how two people can spill so much stuff on the floor.

7. Play A Game - John hates games, so I've been playing Scrabble on my Kindle. I've adjusted the settings so I'm playing a difficult game against the computer, and having to try my hardest to think of words to beat the computer keeps me from focusing on other things. I've also dusted off my Switch and spending half an hour on Utopia (my Animal Crossing island) is enough to calm me down. 

8. Watch Something - I've been immersed in The Lincoln Lawyer and The Great British Baking Show. I love listening to Manuel Garcia-Rulfo as Mickey Haller and I've learned what frangipane is. For some reason, I thought it was a fruit, but it's really a creamy mixture of ground almonds, butter, sugar, and eggs that can be used to fill tarts. Bruce Springsteen's Road Diary documentary on Hulu is also definitely worth watching. 

9. Connect With Others - This might mean leaving a comment on someone's blog or an email exchange with a commenter (I love these and have enjoyed many email conversations with many of you!) It might mean a conversation with your neighbor or maybe calling your sister. I hesitated to call my sister because I love her dearly but her political leanings differ greatly from mine. We avoid talking about politics and just talk. 

10. Nap - I realize that not everyone can take naps, but I'm retired and have been learning to appreciate the restorative power of a good nap. Being well-rested is good self-care. 

So I'm wondering if you are feeling apprehensive about the election (or really the results of the election)? If so, what have you been doing to ease your nervousness and dread? We are all in this together, and I'd love to hear the ways you are coping. 

100 Days!

I managed to stick with my Duolingo German lessons for 100 days. 

I do better on some days than others but it did start to feel more like fun than just something I had to cross off my list, probably around Day 75. 

I'll probably stick with it for a while, but I'm not sure I'll be so conscientious about doing it daily. That owl is persistent in his reminders so I may not be able to resist his persuasive powers. 

And I would miss important German sentences like these where the bear tells me about his clothing preferences.

These will surely be important if I ever go to Germany and speak with clothes-wearing bears. 

Ryan told me that he hopes the next unit is more useful for real life. Depending on the election outcome, I could learn how to say, "Help, my country is a dumpster fire," and "Excuse me, I would like to apply for political asylum."  In German, these are "Hilfe, mein Land ist ein Müllcontainerfeuer" and "Entschuldigung, ich würde gerne politisches Asyl beantragen." I'm going to be practicing!

I'm Brave!

I'm not sure that's true, but I was brave enough to get my flu and covid shots at the same time last week. I was admiring all the cute stickers that CVS had for kids, and the pharmacist gave me a bunch of them. 

So if a turtle, unicorn, owl, and narwhal have all documented my bravery, then maybe I really am. 

If I was really brave I would get my pneumonia, RSV, and shingles shots, but I think I'll be brave for those shots another day. 

One Vote and Counting ...

I got my Vote by Mail ballot on Monday and I returned it on Tuesday. 

I thought about taking it to the Board of Elections and handing it directly to a person, but there are twelve of these special drop boxes located throughout our county, so I walked a block to the nearest one and dropped it off there. 

The ballots are collected every day and the drop boxes are under video surveillance so I made sure to wave to whoever might be checking the video. I think the black or white thing on the wall might house the video? I live in NJ so I don't worry too much about my vote not being counted; I'm pretty sure that Harris will get our 14 electoral votes as NJ has voted Democratic since 1992. It's those other swing states (like PA, MI, GA, NC, WI, and AZ) that are my biggest cause for concern. 

I'm on my way to visit my SiL so I'll be back here next week. See you then!

In Person!

I feel like I "know" quite a few of you virtually. Between comments and email exchanges I "talk" to many of you several times a week. But it's an even greater pleasure when I get to meet some of you in person, and that happened on Saturday. 

After they drove across the state of PA from Pittsburgh, we (Dee, Vera, and I) met up with Sarah and her daughter Mo in person. Of course, they are even lovelier than you might have imagined. We all had beverages, chatted, knit, and Mo crocheted. She's wearing a sweater that she crocheted and Sarah has on her first Rift tee. 

I truly appreciate Sarah and Mo taking time out of the TwinSet Retreat that they were attending to meet up with our little group of knitters in the eastern PA/NJ area. Now John can't tease me about my "make-believe friends" because of all the knitters I've been lucky enough to meet in person. 

If anyone else is ever in the area, please let me know! We can meet at the Three Birds coffee house and be watched over by a friendly caribou.

Thanks again to Sarah and Mo; it was a lovely way to spend Saturday morning with all five of us in person!

Remember This?

Of course, I don't expect you to remember this mural I wrote about nine years ago, so I'll recount the story. This mural was painted on the side of our abandoned Agway building and in one of the Friday Letters I used to write, I had a small rant about it because the building was due to be demolished. After much discussion and arguing about what to paint, a local artist just took matters into his own hands and painted Big-Headed Music Boy for just the cost of materials. This is what it used to look like:

Much the same, but a lot brighter. It has definitely faded in nine years, but so have many other things. 

But back to the story. The owners of the lot had plans approved for a small complex with apartments and a few shops. But then the mayor and town council thought maybe they could come up with a better plan. Again, there was a lot of discussion and arguing, but also the mayor and members of town council changed at least twice. This served to reset the discussion and arguing all over again, which is why the abandoned building and its fading mural are still standing nine years later. 

So I've learned a lesson; it's not worth getting upset about things that are not important in the scheme of things. (This is something I need to be reminded of again and again.) I ranted about painting a mural on a building slated for demolition, but here it is still standing. 

Besides, we've got something new to discuss and argue about. This is an abandoned train station not far from the mural building. It was going to be demolished because it was falling down, unsafe, and kids were playing in it. The bulldozers were all ready but then someone cried, "Hold on there; it's historic!" I'm thinking of starting a betting pool on whether it will fall down all by itself in the next nine years. 

No One Is Above the Law

I know that all of you have heard the news from yesterday, and while it was exactly what I had hoped for, I also know that it may not change what happens in the future at all. But my own reaction surprised me a bit. I got a little teary-eyed, and when I thought about why, I think it was because I imagined him hearing "Guilty" 34 times. I think it's the first time he's been held accountable in any way for all of his chaotic and illegal actions. Did anybody else have a reaction to the verdict? 

I wish I could find a mug that said "I just want to do some
 knitting and pretend like Trump won't be President."
I'd use it every day between now and November.

Michael Tyler, the Biden campaign's communications director, wrote in a statement:

"In New York today, we saw that no one is above the law. Donald Trump has always mistakenly believed he would never face consequences for breaking the law for his own personal gain. But today's verdict does not change the fact that the American people face a simple reality. There is still only one way to keep Donald Trump out of the Oval Office: at the ballot box. Convicted felon or not, Trump will be the Republican nominee for president. The threat Trump poses to our democracy has never been greater. He is running an increasingly unhinged campaign of revenge and retribution, pledging to be a dictator 'on day one' and calling for our Constitution to be 'terminated' so he can regain and keep power. A second Trump term means chaos, ripping away Americans' freedoms and fomenting political violence – and the American people will reject it this November."

I can only hope he's right. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and maybe take the chance to celebrate just a little.

A Lovely Meetup

I met up with Dee and Vera yesterday and we had quite a nice day. We began with coffee, bagels, muffins, and plenty of chatting at a nice coffee house. (It smelled delicious and I may have to return someday for one of their cinnamon rolls). We started out chatting about doctors, medications, and hearing aids, but we did get out of old lady mode and moved on to discussing cats and other fun things. I did manage to knit six or seven rounds of the toe decreases on my sock and I think Dee knit quite a few rounds on her sock. I got to admire Vera's gorgeous Shakerag skirt and it's even prettier in person. Vera even remembered to take a photo. We each took one, so you can see three different photos of two of us if you visit each of our blogs. 

 

We had a nice lunch just a bit down the road before we headed home. I'm not sure we solved any of the world's problems but I had a very nice day. Big thanks to both Dee and Vera for the invitation!

Reflection/Looking Ahead

I came upon part of this Mary Oliver poem in the epigraph of a book I just started. I love the imagery and all the beautiful ideas that the words conjure up. It's not about the New Year but somehow it still conjures up that sense of reflection and looking ahead that I'm feeling. 

In Blackthorn Woods

by Mary Oliver

Look, the trees are turning their own bodies into pillars   of light, are giving off the rich fragrance of cinnamon and fulfillment,   the long tapers of cattails are bursting and floating away over the blue shoulders   of the ponds, and every pond, no matter what its name is, is   nameless now. Every year everything I have ever learned   in my lifetime leads back to this: the fires and the black river of loss whose other side   is salvation, whose meaning none of us will ever know. To live in this world   you must be able to do three things: to love what is mortal; to hold it   against your bones knowing your own life depends on it; and, when the time comes to let it go, to let it go. ====

I hope you are having an enjoyable New Year's Eve whatever you are doing. I'm knitting, reading, and beginning as I mean to go on. May the coming year bring you health, joy, contentment, and a renewed sense of purpose. Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!

Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas, a wonderful Friday, a peaceful winter season, and whatever else you might be celebrating!

The Power of Persuasion?

I'm not saying that Vera's struggle to get her washing machine fixed had any power to affect my appliances, but I am letting you know that mine is the second washing machine in our corner of blogland to fail. 

It happened last week when I went downstairs to get a completed load of laundry and hang it out, but instead, I was greeted with a washer full of soapy grey water and no lights on the display. It seems that something involved in the pumping out of the water (pump? transmission? computerized control board?) has failed. John is fairly handy and has often attempted to fix our broken washers and dryers, but this one may be beyond him. I don't know if it's even worth calling a repair person as a service call will be at least 25 or 30% of the cost of a new washer. We'll probably go to Lowe's and get one of the cheapest washers we can find since we entered the age of disposable washing machines at least one washer ago. We were both surprised that this one was seven years old and had lasted two years longer than our last one.

I had to go to the laundromat with the sopping wet, half-washed load of clothes and it is a different kind of place. There is one nearby, and when I went it was clean and not crowded at all. The washers take $4.00 in quarters and I dug plenty of change out of our basket before I went. It's just the people that were different. There was one older man who sat down near me and it didn't even seem like he was doing laundry. Maybe it's just a fun hang-out for him. Every time my washing machine drained, spun, or filled it made some noise and he was compelled to say, "Houston, we have a problem," and chuckle loudly. 

He did ask why I was taking pictures at the laundromat and that seemed like a fair question. I explained the blog to him and he wondered if "those people on the internet" who would be reading would really be interested in my saga of a broken washing machine. I assured him that you would all be enthralled, and after shaking his head, he said to be sure and tell you that I spoke with a handsome older gentleman who made my visit to the laundromat more pleasurable. So now I've done that and can tell him about it if he's there when I go this week.

I will probably go to the laundromat again tomorrow and then make the painful visit to Lowe's and maybe pick out a washing machine. I'm sending good vibes for all of your washing machines and hoping that these things don't fail in threes.

Rickett's Glen (for old people)

We finally got to Rickett's Glen State Park last week, saw a few waterfalls, and had a nice time. 

We got there Monday morning and had some conflicting information from friends on the best way to approach the trail, but after some time standing in front of the sign and asking a photographer for his advice, we decided to approach the falls from the bottom. 

There are 22 named waterfalls in the park, and you can see quite a few of them by hiking in from the top. This is also the steepest and more difficult approach. We decided to start at the bottom, especially after the photographer told us that the trail was like a nice stroll through the woods (and he was right). 

We hiked about 2.5 miles in and then got to a steeper part of the trail with 25 or so steps cut into the stone walls but no handholds. That's where we decided to call it good and turn around and hike back. 

The waterfalls are lovely and the trail through the woods is very nice, with interesting stumps and textured tree roots. 

We stayed the night at our friends' cabin and then fished at a nearby lake the next day. 

The photographer that we initially saw at the map told us that the USPS is issuing stamps of waterfalls throughout the US on June 13. There are 12 different ones, including one from Ricketts Glen. These are some of the prettiest stamps I've seen in quite a while.

I'm glad I had started PT as that made this an enjoyable hike. We probably could have gone farther but we were all a little concerned about climbing up steep rocks without handholds. Aside from that it was quite a nice trip!