Life in the Bristolwood

After yesterday’s somewhat miserable happenings, today was much better, albeit a very busy day….

I was up at about 5:30, as usual. I took the Scottie boys outside and then began a recipe of sourdough bread.  The recipe called for 1 and  1/4 cups of sourdough starter. After spilling some on the counter yesterday, when I measured out the required amount, I was left with only a couple of tablespoons, so I will begin a new starter. Here is a photo of the finished product…..

Mark was on the phone this morning, talking to another Chevy garage about the brakes. He found out that if I could take the truck in by 2:30 this afternoon,  they would have it back out the door before closing at 5! I told Mark I could hang out for 2 or 3 hours while they serviced the truck.  Michelle wanted to go along, so we headed out shortly after noon.

As it worked out, I had to travel a few miles out of my way…..I had a return at Wal Mart, (for which I had to stand in line for nearly half an hour!)  a delivery to a store in Canandaigua, and a quick stop at Country Max to buy food for the Scotties. This made for a lot of running about before the Chery garage.

Michelle and I hustled and bustled about and we finally turned into the garage at about 2:15.

 Our next assignment was to keep “occupied” for a couple of hours while the brakes were replaced. Michelle and I decided to hike on down the road for a cool ice cream cone despite the fact that  the blazing sun and hideous humidity were nearly intolerable…..

So, if I had to walk, why not take some photos? I liked the colors and textures in this one….

Our destination netted two HUGE “small” soft-serve cones and a terrific porch, complete with a divine breeze! Those overhead fans provided such a great air flow, Michelle was convinced we should just spend the next couple of hours sitting right there!

 At about 4:15, Mark called to inform me the truck was nearly done. Michelle and I once again set out, braving the sweltering elements….we kept encouraging one another to continue on with silly promises….such as turning the air on high once we were in the truck again. At one point, I tried to coerce her to “go on without me” as I was convinced I was going to drop to the pavement and melt onto it. I told her she could scrape me up later, but she grinned and pushed me onward!

We arrived at the dealership just as the truck was being returned to the parking lot.  We went inside, paid up, and raced to be the first inside. As soon as we were on our way, we cranked the ac and drove homeward.

Driving along a country road, Michelle exclaimed there was a “chicken” sitting at the edge of the road ahead. As I cruised on past, I realized it was actually a male Ring-Necked Pheasant.  Fully appreciating the new brake job, I stopped and backed up a little to snap a photo. Of course, being a typical guy, the fellow raced off as soon as I poised the camera for a good shot. Too bad I didn’t have the Nikon with the long lens on it!

Michelle and I arrived home about 5:30. She raced into the house and began getting ready to leave….again! She and Ben had made plans to watch a friend play baseball at 6! And, (Mark believes in “optimization”) we had to stop by our pastor friend’s house to drop off his laptop.  Mark wound up doing some diagnostics regarding wireless connectivity in the driveway. Since our friend owns a greenhouse, he told us to pick out a couple of hanging baskets or flowers for our porch!

We dropped the kids off at about 6:15, then went for a small ride. Mark had not seen the new wind generators near us “up close”, so we went for a little ride in the hilltops! Forgive me for (once again) posting about these huge generators, but they fascinate me and just really pique my interest.

The “bush” next to the generator is actually a tree!

The size of these things cannot be totally realized unless they are placed into a proper setting…..such as a serene pasture, complete with cattle! (which suddenly appear as specks!)

Mark captured this crane used for setting up the generators, with a generator off in the distance. Good shot, Mark!

We ordered a pizza and wings, which we picked up at 8:30, then we picked the kids up at 9.  We were all settled inside once again at 9:30.  Thank heaven, not all days are a repeat of this one!!!