Life in the Bristolwood

Yesterday’s mild, September-like temperatures were the icing on the proverbial cake as we were off to meet my parents and brother at Sprague’s Restaurant.  It was such a beautiful day!  We were meeting to celebrate Michelle’s birthday, as well as Mark’s.  (November is a very busy birthday month here, as Carly and my mom also celebrate November birthdays later in the month!)

We arrived to meet at 11:30 in the morning and the restaurant held no shortage of patrons, even at that early on a Sunday morning!  We always ask for a certain table….it is round and sits in a corner, out of the way of mainstream traffic,  so we waited.

We enjoyed visiting with my parents and seeing their brand new car! which they never told us they got! (It was purchased in late September)  Little Fritz the Dachshund was thrilled to see us and enjoyed romping about a bit on the lush green grass.

As we waited,  Randy spotted some old cars that had parked together in a row, so we went down to have a better look at them…..

Yes, I saved the best car for last….the one that really caught my eye…..

Yes, hahaha,  I really did not save the best for last….it was the last car parked in the line!  I am not sure if it caught my eye because of the bright yellow color,  or the M&M’s  decorating the sides!

One of the fun aspects of visiting at Sparague’s,  aside from their consistantly good food,  is seeing “what’s new”!  As we pulled into the new winding drivway leading to the restaurant,  we noticed an interesting addition…..

The two wooden carved horses used to greet folks as they walked up the path leading to the Sugar Maples high on a hill behind the restaurant.  Now, they are pulling a plow,  with the addition of a man guiding them!  And all this on a delightful display.  We noticed  vehicles pulling up and people getting out to take a look! 

The restaurant also has a new planter which uses the same stone as that on the base of the horse display. The planter is huge,  housing several bushes,  a small fountain,  and this adorable topiary bear!

We went inside and ate and afterwards, we lingered on and on outside in the parking lot.  The warmth of this November Indian Summer day was so conducive to lingering…..we noticed there were many people also talking and walking about outside.  It was one of those days that sends a twinge of sadness as the darkness closes in and one realizes the day really is coming to a close!

We did promise to try to make it to my parents’ home for Thanksgiving and that is something to look forward to in just a couple of weeks. That took a little of the edge off he bite of ending the “perfect day”!

Before driving home,  we rode to Cuba Lake, a few miles away.  The truck was needing a fillup and Mark thought we might find cheaper gasoline at an Indian owned  station located on a nearby reservation.  Sure enough, the price was about $.17 less per gallon,  *and* there was an attendant to do the filling!

As we passed the lake, we noticed the water level was way down.  We figured they must take it down for the winter months ahead.  This tiny lake,  by the way,  is manmade.

As you can see, the water was startlingly calm!

We arrived back home early in the evening.  Uncle Randy brought Benjamin two Lego kits to put together.  One is a fire station that is so cute!  The other is an adorable little toy shop with a Christmas theme.  I had seen that one in a Lego catalogue and thought about getting it.  I nearly fainted when Randy gave it to Ben!  (Shortlyafter arriving home at about 7,  Ben began working on the Christmas kit,  finishing it up at about 10:15!)

I am so glad yesterday was such a relaxing day, as today was wildly the opposite!  Our camper needed to be winterized,  we still need to get a “pillow” (inflatable) in the pool to finish its winterzation,  and we had firewood that needed to be stacked. 

After doing a load of laundry this morning,   I planted about 20 various flower bulbs.  Then I stacked firewood.  After that,  I climbed up on the railing of the pool and proceded to remove about 300 gallons of water and leaves….bucket by bucket!  We didn’t get the pillow inserted under the winter pool cover,  but we did winterize the camper and I am so happy to have that done.  Most all of our fall tasks are now complete……let the hibernation begin soon!

I had some trouble uploading photos last night, so waited for Mark to take a look today.  It was, (of course!) operator error.  For some reason,  I goofed up.  Might have had to do with being tired!

I wanted to share a few photos from around the campground where we stayed.  This campground is fantastic and about the cleanest place we’ve ever been!  People were mowing and cleaning the grounds every day.  This is a state park and they have sites available for “dry camping” or tenting closer to the lake that are just beautiful!  The biggest testimony to just *how* great this park really is were the number of vehicles parked in the sites with Canadian license plates. 

Here is our little camper…..

And as you can see,  our “yard” was nearly the size of a city house lot!

We enjoyed this trip and the kids did as well. 

One day, Michelle was playing with Murphy inside the tent.  As the sun intensified, Michelle came out of the tent and grabbed a bottled water.  She called over to me to have a look and I just had to catch this…little Murphy “sipping” water from the bottle!

The kids and I wandered down to the beach early one afternoon.  They have fun finding smooth shards of glass along the beach, always on the lookout for highly valued (in their economy, anyway)  blue glass.  We had fun walking along the beach and looking around a bit.

 The above was carved into a big piece of driftwood along the beach. 

I really miss this place.  It was fun being there and seeing the Sabres camp.  I didn’t have much time to miss anything today, though, as the kids had ten young people over today!  It was another busy day…I made Beef Stroganoff, green beans with butter and garlic, and a salad for dinner.  We had a lot of fun but I am so tired!

Greetings once again from the shores of Lake Ontario!

Yesterday, we went to the Sabres development camp and did a little sightseeing afterwards.  There is so much to see and do in the Niagara Frontier area!  But the grandest part of arriving home was yet to be discovered.  As we looped around the circle to our site,  we could see that the sky was really putting on an impressive display! (no more words required for this set) 

The setting sun had caused quite an audience to accumulate along the banks leading down to the lake.  People had brought along blankets, chairs, and anything else that they might “plop” down upon. 

Early this morning,  I was drawn once again to the water….there is something so poetic about the splashing of the waves upon the shore.  It almost sets the rythmn for composing verse!  Instead of writing, however, I walked along the shoreline,  breathing deeply and just enjoying the fact that I was the sole “soul”  there.  It was fairly early, but I was somewhat surprised there was no one else exploring or discovering.

I nearly found myself captivated in a new world of my own….just me and the slowly moving water lapping up along the shore.  The water seems to have a personality all its own…yesterday, it appeared angry or tomented, as though lashing out at the shore, then drawing back only to thrust forward once again with even greater force.  It was a vast contrast to today’s calm and mellow attitude with the water barely visibly moving near the shore.

Walking along the smooth lakeside pebbles,  it is difficult not to keep my mind from straying….oh, if those pebbles could speak, what kind of stories would they tell?  And the tiny sticks and even large sections of trees…have they traveled a great distance?  Possibly here from Canada, across the lake?  Did they arrive amidst a tumultuous, raging storm, or did they gently deposit themselves after a calm and peaceful  journey fom far away?

Camping, bathed in the luxuries from home hardly seems like “roughing it”,  but oh what fun it is to be able to (still) be surrounded by the necessities as well as some “extras”.  I have resolved in my own mind that I could easily grow accustomed to this lifestyle of “hellos” and “good-byes”,  hearing tales of faraway places, and just enjoying the great outdoors!

If I knew what was facing me this afternoon, I think I would have stayed in bed today!

I had mentioned that we really needed to move the little camper from in front of the garage to its niche down the driveway.  With a weather report advising temperatures rising to near 40, Mark suggested we try to move the camper today.  He wanted me to keep an eye on the thermometer and let him know if it really warmed up like the weather report said.

A little after noon, I went outside to look at the driveway, as the temperature was nearing 40.  My heart kind of sank, though, upon seeing lots and lots of icy snow on the driveway.  Ben came out with me and he tried to shovel the snow,  but he was only able to remove the top layer.  It seemed there was a think layer of ice underneath the snow.  He worked so hard, then I had an idea.

I went into the garage and grabbed out a short-handled shovel that was straight across on the bottom. I wasn’t sure what the shovel was created to do, but with a few sharp blows, it became evident that the shovel was a jewel for breaking the ice and making it possible to clear the driveway! The *only* problem is that the driveway is about 200 feet long! Lucky for Ben, though….I found another shovel just like the first one!

Here is a photo when we started. You can see the ice that we chopped.

We had a snow shovel, and Ben began to remove the mess we were making.  I told him not to bother, because I was pretty confident Mark could plow it out of the way with the ATV.  We kept working, and I told Ben when we got to the halfway mark, we could take a 10 minute breather!

We went inside to warm up a bit and Mark said he was sure he could plow when we finished the driveway.  We rested a few minutes, then it was back outside to continue on!  We worked a total of almost 2 hours, chopping away at the nasty ice that was over 2 inches think in many areas.  But, (don’t tell anyone) we found the thicker the ice, the more fun it was to break apart!

Here is what the mess looked like when we finished the job…

We helped Mark outside and onto the ATV.  Within just a few minutes, we were the envy of all our neighbors! We have no ice on the driveway anymore!

Mark got off the ATV and into the truck….within seconds, a BLIZZARD began;  tiny little snowballs that looked like styrofoam began pelting us and making it nearly impossible to hold our heads up!  Thankfully, the blizzard lasted only about two minutes!

Ben and I hitched the camper to the truck and Mark tucked it neatly away OUT of the way! What a good feeling that was! We always move it long before this late in the year, but with Mark having trouble with a nasty sore,  we were unable to place the camper in its winter home!

The net result of this activity is I got really cold! Even though the temperature was fairly warm (well, for this time of the year!)  it felt as though the cold ground was emitting a bone chilling icyness to my feet!  I was thrilled to go back in the house to warm my toes! 

I didn’t get much time to warm up as I had laundry to finish and some orders to pack!  I hustled and Ben helped me with the orders.  I finally was able to sit down at about five-thirty! 

Phew! Another busy day that I am SO glad is coming to a close!  The Sabres play tonight, so I will watch the game. It should end around 10….wonder if *I* will last that long!

Since the weekend was dedicated to the kids’ activities,  I decided I needed to take a bit of a breather today.  We were going to move the camper back to its “pad” down the driveway, but as soon as we made our way outside this morning, the snow began to fall! Mark has never driven the camper in snowy or icy conditions,  and wasn’t about to check it out today!

Instead of moving the trailer, we worked a little in the garage, freeing up one of the bays so we can now pull the Explorer inside.  That gives us a lot more space at the top of the driveway in front of the garage.  It will make plowing much easier,  but we still need a little break in the weather so we can move the camper!

After getting the Explorer tucked neatly into the garage,  we piled the recyclables into the back of the pickup and Mark and Ben went to the dump, then on to Canandaigua.  Michelle and I stayed home and did a little picking up, straightening, and putting away.  I made a couple of batches of soap….I have not made any in such a long time!

Mark and Ben reurned home and Michelle and I decided we would watch a new movie I picked up at Sam’s Club yesterday.   Every year, I try to find a new Christmas movie to buy to add to our collection.  I love seeing some of the old classics, but one of my favorite all-time Christmas movies is The Muppets Christmas Carol. Michael Caine was such a great Scrooge in this version and I see something I hadn’t seen previously with each viewing.  The kids now think it is infantile,  so I guess that is further verification of my resistance to grow up!

Oh, the movie Michelle and I enjoyed today was called The Christmas Card . It is about a young man in the army in Afghanistan who receives a Christmas card from a young woman stateside…it would probably be best described as a “chick flick”,  but I also think a real he-man might just enjoy it as well! It features Ed Asner and I have always enjoyed his acting.

We did a litle bit of decorating around the house, although I am not given to a great deal of elaborate decorating.  I love all the pretty colors and decor, but just cannot get myself to going “overboard” with all the stuff involved.  Call me Mrs. Grinch.  I did get out the little Scottie Christmas tree!  I have it displayed in the bedroom as I am afraid it would be broken if placed in the living room!  I really enjoy turning it on in at night and it gets too warm in the living room, anyway.

We used to always buy a fresh Christmas tree every year. Oh how I love the scent of the pine! However, it has gotten a bit harder to secure a fresh tree, so Mark bought a little “skinny” artificial tree last year at Wegman’s.  The tree is prelit and ready to put together, so it alleviates some stress of setting up a real tree. It also fits into most any room because of its petite footprint.

I spent over an hour securing LED lights onto some artificial greenery for around the front door….

As Michelle and I were absorbed in the movie this afternoon, Mr. Murphy (also known as the Murphinator or Doodly Too) squawked and complaned until we lifted him up onto the bed where we were lounging.  Poor Murph.  He had no idea Michelle would torture him! She loves to squeeze his nose and kiss his head.  As she placed him into a trance while tickling his belly, we giggled and laughed as he raised his nose high into the air!

I’m not sure I could get used to a life of little activity,  but this leisurely day really was a nice break!I will probably be receiving payback….it has been precipitating freezing rain this evening.  It is supposed to warm up during the night and turn to just rain, before getting more snow tomorrow night!  Yes, we do enjoy some WILD weather!

A few days ago, when we got freezing temperatures,  we carried a little electric heater out to the camper to make sure the plumbing wouldn’t freeze and break.  We normally would have had the camper winterized by now, but this year has been so busy! With Mark not feeling well for several days,  the little heater kept the camper toasty inside.

Last night, as I was lying in bed (feeling so miserably sorry for myself, but don’t tell anyone!)  the weather forecast was using phrases like “lake effect rain and snow” and “rapidly dropping temperatures”.  This struck a note of urgency in my  sickly body, making me promise that today we would surely blow out the water lines in the camper and winterize it.  And, so we did! Great sighs of relief!

After finishing the camper, I wandered back upstairs and rested in bed. Last night,  I kept seeing myself as a French White Corelle casserole dish….that is, being taken from the oven to the  freezer.  One minute, I was burning up, the next, I was shivering like a leaf!  I decided to take it easy  today! I have discovered that by resting more than usual, I can usually shake bugs off quickly.

I did take a few photos, just outside the bedroom window. As you can see, the trees are still sporting some pretty color!

After resting a bit, I got up and decided to remove the leaves off the cover of the pool.  They make such a mess, decomposing on top of the cover with the help of water from rain.  I got all the leaves off, then removed most of the water as well.

When I was shopping yesterday, Mark asked me to pick up some cough medicine, as he was tired of having a headache from constantly coughing.  While I was at the store,  he looked online and found a recipe that is supposed to help reduce coughing and decided that might be better than taking the medicine. We had all the ingredients, except apple cider vinegar, which I picked up.

Last night, Michelle played chemist, mixing up the concoction, comprised of cayenne pepper,  ginger, honey, apple cider vinegar, and water.  After reading the benefits of all the ingredients, I decided to take some of the wonder cough reducer.  WheeeeeeHAW! The cayenne made me feel like Puff the Magic Dragon, and the other stuff just tasted really STRONG  hideous!  I have been taking this stuff, 3 teaspoons at a time, and have not had any coughing.  Could it be?

Viewing this photo of last night’s campfire made me realize that our time spent at the Buffalo Sabres’ training camp seems like a distant memory now….In fact, the time flew by so fast betweeen early Wednesday morning when we left and this evening when we returned!

On the way home, the realization hit hard that we will not be seeing these players again as we did these few days,  but rather,  on the television screen.  There is something about seeing the team “in the flesh” that makes one feel as though they “know” the guys.

As we bustled off this morning to see the practice,  as we came closer and closer to Buffalo, I grabbed the Nikon camera from its bag. Mark asked why I was getting my camera out, and all I could think to answer was “for some drive-by shooting”!  However, with Buffalo being “being on the map”, so to speak,  for its high number of crimes,  I told Mark I was going to take some pictures.

Please understand that some of these were taken going 30 miles per hour down the streets of Buffalo! That Nikon is pretty fast! The first photo was dark and “muddy”, so as I lightened it, the sky turned this light, almost aquamarine color. Trust me, it was much more dismal, almost gray!

I don’t think I have ever seen a building with a three-dimensional Fleur de Lis before! And, HOW does that thing stay in good shape with the wind, rain, sleet, and snow pounding on it? (Yes, Buffalo is the capital of “bad snow jokes”.)

Apologies for being totally ignorant as to what buildings bear this beautiful detailing, but, it seemed a bit hard to decipher names as we whizzed past….

This last bit of architectural extravaganza blew my socks off….

The entire buillding is trimmed in these pretty ladies with their bonnets!

I *was* going to keep hockey strictly from this last entry concerning our little adventure. But….how could I not show just a couple of photos. They are architectural, I prommise!

I showed a photo of one of the entrances to the HSBC Arena depicting buffaloes above it. Well, the buffalo relief and this one of a “flying” goalie are interspersed at the entrances. I really liked them both!

And here is a photo of the HSBC Arena.

As soon as we arrived home, we brought a good deal of our “stuff” from the camper to the house. It hit me like a ton of bricks…..

What now? Goodness, I miss Buffalo, our camping experience, and the Buffalo Sabres!

 A day’s worth of photos.  Sorry if you don’t care for hockey, but the training camp was so exciting! There wasn’t a huge crowd so spectators were afforded terrific seating. We were so excited to watch our favorite team in training practice!

One of the toughest parts about this practice was that one needed to read the small(ish) numbers on the backside of helmets to identify players.  This was hard to do….some players, however, stand out either by stature or mannerisms.

At the end of practice, it was clear that Maxim Afinogenov is all about hockey. He lingered on long after all the other players were gone. It was fun watching him hit slapshots into the net.

Ben was thrilled that the ushers allowed him to search the seats for a puck….

We ate LaNova pizza and wings and were satisfied for the evening. Upon returning to our tiny home on  wheels, we were happy to see that we had some new neighbors.

When we pulled into the park this morning, the building where we normally sign in was abandoned.  No one was to be found. We stopped at a site where three women were camping and asked….they said they hadn’t seen anyone around at all. We continued driving until we came upon some men working with a small backhoe.

One of the guys there is in charge of the park, so he signed us in and took our payment.  The campground only has a few campers here and there….it is so quiet and nice! The only sounds are the many raspy tree frogs and the sound of trains running through every now and then in off in the distance.  Such a peaceful setting!

Buffalo Sabres training camp began this week and we have decided it would be fun to go and watch for a couple of days.  I love these camps, as one can sit  wherever one desires and they are open to the public with no charge!

 Unfortunately, the home game tickets are so expensive this year, I don’t think we will be attending any of the games in Buffalo.  That is okay, as we have the big screen television, and it is fun to watch and hear the commentators.  It is true that the air in the rink is filled with such excitement at a home game, but sometimes it is nice to just snuggle in a warm blanket and watch the game! (can even wear our jammies!!!)

Hopefully, I can catch some good photos of team members on the ice.  This is going to be so much fun!

I spent some time today playing chemist….adding chemicals and testing the water in the pool before closing it for the winter.  It is such a good feeling to have this done before the  leaves start falling! There was one year that we were closing the pool in November! That was the pits…..it was snowing as we worked! (remember  that, Carly?)

I also got the truck hitched up and ready to take off tomorrow.  That is a good feeling, too. No stress as we get ready to leave!

Perhaps I will have some photos tomorrow! Goooooooooooo, Sabres!

My entries to this blog might be a tad out of sequence of when they actually happened, but that is okay…

We left home on Thursday afternoon and went camping at Allegany State Park. We camped there last summer, and it is a fabulous destination for those who love camping.  It isn’t that far from our home but is just so wonderful. Because we went after the Labor Day holiday,  the number of campers has greatly decreased and made it all the more fun.

Some of the highlights were that my brother, Randy, took off Thursday and Friday to join us. He tented with Ben and Randy has boundless energy….he and the kids would gather in the tent to watch videos and play games until late. The kids love Uncle Randy so much! He is like a big kid with all his energy and good fun!

I managed to sneak off one morning when that “oh-so-terrific” sunlight was pouring out its goodness and bathing everything with glowing golden light! The following are from those shots…

On Saturday night, I prepared a spaghetti and meatball meal….LOVE those crockery cookers!!! My parents joined us. My mother brought a basic salad, with tons of goodies in small dishes. The end result was that everyone was able to choose what they liked, just like a portable salad bar! Mom also brought a loaf of good Italian bread to go with the spaghetti. I tried to bake a cake in the teeny-tiny oven, but could only bake one layer at a time. One layer was fine and the other….well…it kinda “bit the dust”.  Thinking quickly, I spread cherry pie filling over the chocolate layer, then topped it off with whipped cream! Pseudo Black Forest Cake! It was pretty good.

 When my parents left, Mark and I escorted them to the park exit. On our way back, we caught sight of eyes in the headlights. We pulled off the road and were treated to the cutest little family of seven “bandits”! It must have been a mother raccoon and her six “children”. We finally left when they came in closer to the truck!

Today, we went kayaking on Cuba Lake,  located about 30 miles east of the park. We pulled up our tents and camper and headed to the lake where we spent a little more than an hour paddling. The lake is small, but so pretty; we had  fun on the lake, then stopped at one of our favorite spots for pizza and wings.

We parted ways with Randy at about 3:30 and Randy headed west, while we went east. It was hard saying our good-byes after having such a fun mini-vacation!