Well, it's been years since I wrote on this blog - work, home, family, life - not in that order! - took me away. I'm still living in Maine, still quilting, retired from the Library life and loving it, and now find myself in the middle of a pandemic. Not how I thought retirement would go but it's what we've got. I'm finding it easier to shelter in place than some as I've been practicing for a couple of years now, hiding in my basement studio, sewing and quilting and creating lovely things for people to buy at a regular schedule of artisan craft shows. This year, not so much - I've already had one show cancelled this year and several others are in limbo. Who knows what the future brings? I don't pretend to know beyond some wishes, like us all.

I was musing the other day that as wide-spread as the deaths have been that someone I know had not been infected. Well, word came yesterday that the husband of a cousin I was close to in my younger years has passed away after being diagnosed with COVID-19. He was not someone I kept in touch with as his wife (my cousin) had succumbed to breast cancer in the late 80s or early 90s. So, as of yesterday, we have been touched personally by this insidious disease. It makes me even more determined to wear my mask when I must be out and about and more determined to get masks into the hands of those who need them. I have been stocking my town's little free library where people can grab one any time of the day or night. I have been mailing them to family and friends. And I have been sending them to an organization at Belmont Park racetrack in New York that tends to the social and health needs of the backstretch community there. The grooms, hot walkers and exercise riders are the ones who work most closely with the horses on a daily basis and because there is no racing at Belmont (and most other tracks) right now, they have no way to augment their limited incomes to allow for even basic necessities. This is one small way I can make a difference to someone, anyone. And I don't expect anything in return. I see folks on Facebook Marketplace selling the same masks I make and I scratch my head. I see these masks as an investment in MY good health and the good health of those I care for.

So, wear your masks, social distance, stay home and stay healthy. Wash your hands, disinfect your high-touch areas and keep us all healthy. We'll get through this. Life may not ever be like before but it will be.

Curmudge - Goodbye Karl - Ithaca in all 4 Seasons

Okay, it’s 5:30 Sunday afternoon and I’ve just taken the 3rd call of the day from the “No on 1” campaign. If they don’t stop bugging me. I’m going to vote “Yes!”

Just back (yesterday) from an emergency trip back to Ithaca. The emergency was the hospitalization and subsequent recovery of a dear friend who loves there. While I knew before I left that it was no longer a dire need for me to be there, I went anyway so that I could attend the memorial service for my second boss, Karl Jaentsch. Karl owned an independent VW garage outside Ithaca and I worked for him for about 5 years as a service advisor, scheduler, parts runner and general office manager. He appreciated my organizational abilities and my desire to do things the right way. While I worked for him, I took and passed the test to become a certified New York State Motor Vehicle Inspector, one of the few women at the time who held such a position. Karl taught me so much about the world outside of Ithaca. And he was the best mechanic. I have been searching for 25 years and haven’t found one as honest and trustworthy.

I have to thank my dear friend referenced above for providing me the opportunity to see my homeland in all four seasons this year...the snows of early January, the promise of Spring, the lush green paradise of summer and the golden glow of autumn. I’ve seen them all! The view from Route 81 just south of Syracuse yesterday was spectacular!

What I don’t understand...this week.

While I believe in second chances in some cases, I cannot in any way support the Philadelphia Eagles’ decision to hire Michael Vick. The man bankrolled a major dog fighting ring and I have my doubts about his change of heart. I hope I’m wrong. Any dogs who lost their lives as a result of his actions will never get a second chance, so I hope Mr. Vick appreciates what he has.

From the Garden

I spent a couple of hours this morning puttering in the garden beds, doling out TLC to the flowers and veggies that have been neglected of late. We dug out the stump of the Mugo Pine I lopped into oblivion a couple of weeks ago. (It deserved it!) Then I dead-headed and pruned my way around the front yard. It’s been a stellar year for the Hostas and the Daylillies. Most years my Daylillies have come and gone by the beginning of August but the cloudy, wet weather delayed and prolonged their bloom this year and that is just fine with me! I also whacked back the Spring pansy pots and will transplant them into the window box that formerly held the lettuce, which has bolted and is now compost. The pumpkin seems to have succumbed to the wet leaving the Hubbard Squash to fend for itself in the back. The tomatoes were sprawling way beyond the support I had provided so I tied them to the shed. I harvested 4 SunGolds the day we returned from New York and there are several more about ready.

So far, the deer seem to have only eaten the tops off the raspberries, an annual rite of summer. We had a brood of turkeys march through on Saturday, but they don’t disturb much other than the peace, which is how I knew they were out there! The skunks are doing a number on the SO’s precious lawn, another expected but disturbing rite of summer.

I find the older I get the more selective I must be about the weather when I attempt a gardening project. Gone are the days when I can work in high heat or humidity..I just wilt like last night’s salad! And I can’t devote an entire day to any one project. Oh, that I could! Then, perhaps, my raspberries would be weed-free and well contained. My asparagus and rhubarb would be well-fertilized with Rainbow Valley Farm compost. That bed by the telephone pole by the road would be long renovated and the Hostas and Daylillies currently residing there would have found homes elsewhere. And the bed in the back would also be weed-free and well mulched. But I figure no matter how much I do in the yard, there will always be things added to the end of the list. We are dealing with living things here!

Rochester, ElderMares, Malls, and Massachusetts

I just returned this week from a trip to upstate New York. (Yes, ANOTHER one. I’m ready for my “Frequent Driver” miles rewards from the Mass. Pike!) This was a trip to attend the wedding of the SO’s niece in Rochester. While there, we took in the Saturday races at Finger Lakes. My last trip to this track was many moons ago when I was barely a teenager and the track was fairly new. Things have changed since then...slots, simulcasting, many more claiming races. But my love of watching the horses has not changed. For me, racing is still about the horse. Do I bet? Sometimes. (Do I win? Seldom.) I was struck again this time, like my April trip to Tampa Bay Downs, how many people attend races just for the betting aspect. And it was very evident that New York needs to revamp their system to increase purses. Payouts were abysmal, fields were short.

One of the bittersweet high points of the day was seeing one of my ElderMares (mares 10+ years who are still racing) win the 3rd race. Congratulations to Ava Marisa! I hope your connections realize you have earned your retirement soon. One of my other ElderMares, Prospectforme, was a scratch in the same race. I only hope it was because she has finally found her forever home as she has been listed on the Trainer’s Listings from the Finger Lakes Thoroughbred Adoption Center. This wonderful organization has been the model for retirement programs at tracks around the country. I am an irregular supporter of theirs, simply by virtue of geography. Having grown up with Finger Lakes as the closest track to Ithaca, I consider them “local”, even though I no longer live in Ithaca.

My other entertainment for the weekend, while the SO was golfing, was shopping. Sounds silly, I know, and I am usually not much of a recreational shopper here at home, but put me in the vicinity of a great mall and stand back! Rochester is blessed with 2 such centers of commerce and consumption. I spent time at Greece Ridge Mall and while I did not spend much money, I was impressed. A few observations:
Larger city mall stores have more space but seemingly the same amount of merchandise, making the shopping experience less frustrating. You can actually SEE the merchandise!
How many athletic shoe stores does anyone need?
Marshall’s and TJMaxx really are the same store, yes?
Memo to Mallwalkers--a circuit around the mall does not benefit you if you then buy all the crap food at the food court.

Our drive to Rochester was accomplished in one 10-hour marathon stretch. Our return was very pleasantly broken up by an overnight stay in North central Massachusetts with my college roommate at their weekend house. Old cape-style house by a pond and mill stream, old trees and just very comfortable. Thanks for the hospitality and a big hello to Petey, the best watchdog in the state!

Happy Birthday to ME!!!

Yep, it's my XX birthday today. The SO took me out to dinner (always a good thing!) and I have received good wishes from some unexpected sources.

A 93-year old gets it! Why can't Congress?

Driving home from Ithaca yesterday and I was barely out of Ithaca when Elton John’s “Your Song” came on the radio. As I wound up, down and around the gently folded hills of Central New York, I reflected on how fitting that was. When we were all at IC, we often found ourselves at the Fall Creek House for liquid refreshments and played A104 on the jukebox every visit. A104 was (and may still be!) “Your Song.” So, here’s to JBH, who was an integral part of those evenings.

A bit further along on my trip I passed through a little wide spot in the road shortly before reaching I-88. At this intersection lives a man known to horse welfare advocates as a killer buyer, although he probably refers to himself by the more romantic title of horse trader. He buys inexpensive horses at the local auction (Unadilla) and gathers them up until he had a full stock trailer load. Then he drives them North up I-88, up I-87 and across the border into Canada, where slaughtering horses for human consumption is legal. When I passed his house both ways on this trip, there were no horses outside. However, on my trip back at Easter this year, I saw approximately 2 dozen very sad horses in his muddy, filthy paddock, all with white auction tags glued to their rumps. I’ve never seen a sadder sight in my life. And that I why I keep working to get Congress to pass the legislation that will outlaw the transport of horses to slaughter. I want people like this killer buyer to have to find another line of work. And I know that passage of the laws will not be the end. I know that after the laws are passed I will have to work even harder to educate law enforcement officials that there are laws and to get them to recognize the importance of enforcing those laws. I’m hoping for that cultural shift in my lifetime, the one that means all people value animals lives. Am I a dreamer? Yes!!

One of the true bright spots during my weekend was the few hours I spent Saturday evening with my friend Barb and her family, a group that includes Barb’s 93 year old father. He is a delight of a person who upon hearing of my interest in horse racing, told me stories of playing golf in Florida with a retired trainer who he said would bet on anything and everything. Later in the evening, he brought up racing again and asked why I was so interested. My answer was about my lifelong love of horses and that I just loved to watch the thoroughbreds run. Before I could get to the Barbaro part of my story he said to me “You know, I think they are beautiful, but the most beautiful was that one who won the Derby and then broke his leg in the next race. He was a beautiful horse.” 93 years old, not even a horse racing fan and he gets it! (And this man is a wonderful artist, so he knows “beautiful”!)