Life in the Bristolwood

Thought I’d show my front door….I waited late yesterday afternoon for the sun to hit my door just “right”….

I am usually decorating the house with St. Patty’s Day decorations by now, but Ben is working on his bedroom and we have all sorts of tools and paint buckets sitting here and there.  Perhaps there will be no decorations this year! Ah well, ’tis always next year… At least my front door looks festive!

I will be posting another entry later today. Right now we are a bit hurried….Michelle is off to school and Mark has an early doctor appointment.

Uh oh! I took so many photos going to my hometown of Jamestown, New York, that I decided to break this up into two separate blog entries!

We had planned to visit my parents and brother, Randy, the day after Christmas to celebrate.  It was not to be, though, as my mother caught a terrible cold that really hit hard!  I spoke to her every few days and she would tell me about the severe cough that seemed to linger, making life miserable and very tiring.  Thankfully, she began feeling much better the end of last week and the coughing was diminishing! (and becoming less “deep”)

We planned  our trip for yesterday and we couldn’t have asked for a better travel day!  It was a cold start…0 degrees. (F) As the day progressed, the temperature did warm up, but it was interesting watching the frost on the trees thicken as we headed into the higher elevations, then disappearing in the valleys!

I took a few photos as we got closer and closer to our destination. These are the places that I frequented in earlier days and I love.  This feels most like “home” to me….

Now,for a disturbing sign…..the first time I saw this billboard, I truly thought I dreamed it up!  I mean, it is soooooo graphic!  If I were a smoker and ever needed a good reason to quit, I think this sign might just be the ticket.  Every time I see it anymore, my eyes ache!

And from the strikingly graphic sign to one of the most picturesque farms I have ever seen…..

You must forgive the fact that all these photos were taken out the truck windows as there are signs all along the highway warning of “no stopping except for emergencies”.  I have taken so many photos of those barns out the windows with no success, but yesterday’s brilliant sky was the perfect backdrop and somehow, the photo wasn’t too bad!  Perhaps one of the reasons I am so attracted to this farm is the lovely yellow color, which is certainly a diversion from the typical “barn red”!

As we drove closer to Jamestown,  we could see a little change in the scenery…all of the pine trees looked like they belonged in a scene with a life-size Gingerbread House! They certainly had the “frosting”,  after all!

You can also see that the snow is definitely increasing in volume on the ground!  We finally reached our exit off the highway and I was so happy to be getting closer!  There was, however, one little side trip we had planned….

Now, if you have read here for any amount of time, you will realize that I find cemeteries not to be dreadful, scary places, but rather, some very attractive and beautifully peaceful spots to find remarkable photo ops!  I had seen some photos posted by a friend on Facebook that showed Lucille Ball’s grave marker.  I had wanted to visit there last fall, but we  never found the time.  I am so glad we didn’t, as the Lakeview Cemetery was amazing dressed in its snowy shroud!  I could have wandered about here for hours, but we needed to hurry a bit, as we were on our way to visit! So, for anyone who has laughed themself silly watching the I Love Lucy Show, the small town of Jamestown is very proud to hail as Lucy’s hometown!

The roads in the cemetery were plowed very narrowly and  don’t think I would have wanted to enter without four wheel drive! I had my little netbook propped in front of me with some very vague hints on how to find Lucille’s grave.  We drove right past it the first pass, but Mark said we should try once again.  Since the roads were so narrow, Mark needed to complete going around a loop because there was no turnaround and the snow was probably at least two feet deep! Oh, and by the way, this is a huge cemetery!

The above marker belongs to James Prendergast. He wa the founder of the city, thus the name, “Jamestown”!  I wish I would have photographed the writing on the front, as I cannot read it!

We also passed some other beautiful markers…..The Lady in Glass is a most awesome tribute!  There have been so many stories about this particular grave, but the bottom line is that the young lady’s father basically had the beautiful sculpture made to honor his daughter….

The grave is also beautifully landscaped with shrubbery around it, but the bushes were literally buried!

We made our way back up to the entrance and turned around, reentering the cemetery and Mark drove very slowly as I read the intstructions again.  We found the “Highland Section” and I got out of the truck and began looking….I was wearing a pair of very short boots and the snow came up above  my knees!  I counted the markers to the right, hoping I was aiming the right way.  When I saw this,  I knew I had found it!

This is a family plot,  listing Lucy’s father (Henry, of Scottish descent),  mother,  (Desiree),  Lucy, and her brother, Fred.

Under Lucy’s name is the  inscription, You’ve Come Home.

It was only after I had found the marker that I discovered a worn little path where others had visited Lucy’s grave!

Lucy was born in Jamestown but left as a tiny little girl. I read on the internet that she wanted to be buried in California, and was when she passed away.  In 2002, however, her children had her reinterred in the Lakeview Cemetery in Jamestown.  I was surprised that the grave marker wasn’t more elaborate, but it is much “fancier” than most modern markers.  The plot is located in an old section of the cemetery.

We made our way back out and were on our way to visit my family. 

We turned and headed south down Main Street….

Along the way, we passed S.G. Love Elementery School.  This is where I attended from Kindergarten through second grade….

We arrived and had a wonderful visit!  There is nothing as satisfying as visiting family and my mother fixed the most delicious meal!  We all ate until we thought we would burst!  

I will continue with my hometown visit in my next entry! 

Blah! Humbug!

I am fine, but I just want to rest, rest, rest.  I am tired…so tired, I didn’t hear the alarm clock when it went off at six.  I usually am awake well before the alarm, so it was quite the shock when Murphy whined and awakened me this morning!

Later this morning,  Michelle and I heard a strange noise outside.  It sounded like a bird making a weird noise, so Michelle stepped outside onto the porch.  In a few minutes, she came back in, looking rather “green”!  I looked to see a large hawk with a small animal in its clutches….the animal was what was making all the noise. 

The kids had gone to a New Years’ party over in Middlesex last night.  They went sledding first,  then afterward, went to the church for an evening of watching movies and eating tons of junk food!  I managed to drive them there and then picked Michelle up at ten, while Ben spent the night with a few other guys.  (I don’t think Ben slept all night!)

Today was just a day of hanging around the house.  The kids slept some and watched tv.  Mark and I did go out to pick up some Chinese late this afternoon.  I was starving, as food sounded dreadful yesterday.  I did eat a piece of toast and a gingerbread man.  I was able to eat some Chinese today and it tasted soooo good! I suppose part of my feeling so tired is directly attributed to lack of food!

The good news is that I didn’t get what the kids had….they had a flu with a vengeance. It seems like no matter where we go lately, everyone is sick or knows someone who is sick!  My mom and Carly are both suffering with terrible colds.  Carly had to go to the Dr and is now on antibiotics, as she was diagnosed with bronchitis.  I *am* counting my blessings! 

Now I am curious….does anyone make new year’s resolutions?  I tend to stay far from such things, as I hate broken promises!  I do intend to spend more time with my camera.  It has been sitting far too much inside its bag, feeling lonely!

Well, Happy New Year to all my readers, and I pray that 2010 will be a year of peace, love, and joy for all! God bless!

After hearing rain pounding on the rooftop the past couple of nights,  it was refreshing to awaken to a less damp start to the day! Yes, I generally grumble too much because of our lack of snow, but this morning,  the temperature had dropped after the deluge of rain and the results were quite pretty!

I walked about the yard, enjoying all the scenery….

But I just loved what Jack Frost painted on the hood of the Explorer!

The sun was brilliant and the skies a crystal sapphire blue!

As I walked the wooded path behind the house,  I couldn’t help but think how springlike everything was looking…and feeling, as the temperature rose!

In all my euphoria, I noticed a ziplock bag lying on the ground behind the house.  I walked down and snatched it up, only to realize what it was.  You might remember me mentioning here that a beautiful bluebird had met an untimely death trapped in our woodstove.  I had taken a ziplock bag and placed it inside, then placed it inside another bag.  Well, the winds apparently whipped the thing about and it ended up behind the house. (not sure where the outer bag ended up!)  Anyway,  I thought since not everyone has seen an Eastern Bluebird up close,  I would show the beautiful coloration of the bird before I took it to the dump today.

Kudos to Nikon for lenses that are spot on! The color of this bird is perfect…I did nothing to “doctor” the photo.  I am sorry if the photo is disturbing…I know Mark and the kids would probably balk if they knew I showed this. These birds are fairly hard to find.  Their natural habitation is open fields and orchards.  Their population had fallen so that people were encouraged to build Bluebird nesting boxes.  The last I heard, their population had been increasing because of the boxes people placed on fences and poles.

I will leave you with something far more pleasing!

Yes,  I baked a small army of Gingerbread Boys!  I have never made these before and it was fun! Ben looked at them and asked if I was really going to let people *eat* them!  He must have thought they looked more complex than they really were….thank heaven for the wonderful tubes of Wilton’s icing for decorating!

Wouldn’t it be nice to curl up into a ball on a soft little bed and sleep the day away?  No bills to worry you. No appointments to keep….Your only concern is when the next round of kibble will hit the bowl!  Ah, the life of a dog!

Today’s weather was miserable.  No, it wasn’t a blizzard or even a snowstorm. Instead, we were pelted by hours and hours of rain.  Yes, I can hear my Scottish readers chuckling.  Chuckle if you must,  but this is the northeastern part of the US, where we have traditionally enjoyed winter sports and fun *with* snow!  Rain?  Ugh!

I shan’t persue the murmurings caused by this ugly weather, as it is no use to grumble.  I will tell you, however,  I have not acquired a wet suit for my camera, so there was no opportunity for photos today.  It really was *that* wet,  so much so that I would not remove my camera from its cozy little nest in the camera bag!

And so….I will share two photos I took yesterday. (I have already shown these on Facebook)

Yesterday, as we did the gift unwrapping around the Christmas tree, the two Scotties were roused to come join us.  Now, these Scotties are as different as night and day.  Angus is just downright intense, while Murphy….well, he is just happy to “be”! I must make note here,  though, perhaps some of Angus’s anxious behavior can be attributed directly to Mark.  After all, every year, the Scotties get a little something. And, every year,  Mark teases Angus to rip the paper from the package!

Mark wanted to have Angus open a box of “cookies” I bought for the boys, but I pleaded with him to wait until we were nearly done.  Mark decided to wait.  But did Angus “get it”?  Well…..

Angus randomly sat upright, begging as we opened presents!  He figured if he looked really cute, someone would take pity on his soul and open up the treats and pass them out.  Yes, he figured correctly, as Mark just had to open the box so Angus and Murphy could have some goodies.  And yes, Angus performs, and Murphy reaps the bennies!!!

After all, Murphy just wants to look cute so everyone will give *him* some goodies!

Okay, so this might not exactly be a self-explanatory photo….

When we arrived home from our shopping trip,  Angus was thrilled to be home with his family.  His little doggie bed somehow wound up in the laundry basket.  Well,  although that basket stands a good twice his height, Angus thinks nothing of making like an aardvark and hopping straight into the air and landing inside the basket.  Once he was inside, he propped his head up on the side….exposing his “gooshie” (as Michelle calls his nose!).

I’m not sure what Scottie visions involve, but perhaps a good squirrel chasing…certainly not sugarplums!

Merry Christmas!  *** I hope you will take the time to peruse my previous post as well!***

Mark and I went out to do some last minute shopping in Canandaigua late this afternoon.  As we drove into town, Mark inquired what I wanted to do first.  Why, head down to the City Pier, of course!  After all, I had some cracked corn to feed my web-footed friends. 

As soon as we stopped the truck, this little fellow looked as though he was running toward me! How did he know?

He was not alone, after all….

Awesome little duckprints!!!

The building that is boarded over was a good Italian restaurant. Behind it was a rather run down, dismal trailer park.  Both restaurant and trailer park have been vacated as new buildings will be going up there.  As I recall,  I think they are going to be either apartments or condos with upscale stores on ground level.  Should be interesting to see how this all plays out!

After enjoying watching the ducks eat,  we headed over to Wegman’s where the parking lot was full to overflowing.  Mark finally found a spot far away from the store and I walked. And walked. And walked some more!  Fearful of what I might face upon entering the store,  I was pleasantly surprised to see that not only was shopping less than stressful,  but getting through the checkout was a snap!  Kudos to Wegman’s for a job well done! I must comment, however,  I have never seen so many employees in the store at one time!

After Wegman’s, we hopped over to WalMart for a few items.  What came as a total surprise was seeing the parking lot with spaces open!  Once again, many employees working made for a smooth and painless passage through the store. The big difference between Wegman’s and WalMart  was the fact that Wegman’s was restocking and WalMart looked as though the store had been ransacked!

Another stop at Lowe’s and we were done! We picked up some food for the kids and were on our way when I told Mark I would like to stop for a few minutes in downown Canandaigua to take a few photos.  This is your lucky day as I shall now bore you to tears with photos of Canandaigua late afternoon, early evening! Enjoy!

This is certainly not an all-inclusive look at city businesses.  I merely walked around Main Street a bit, snapping some of the *blingiest* windows.  There were many others!

The dome building in the next photo is the Ontario County Courthouse, as Canandaigua is the county seat.

As you can see, there were many vehicles on the road….shoppers rushing home with their treasures, just like the song Silver Bells portrays!

Have you noticed everywhere you go, people are wishing everyone “Happy Holidays!” instead of Merry Christmas?  Yeah, I know….don’t get your knickers in a knot…right?  It is just that it seems with every year that passes, Jesus is becoming less and less the center of the celebration. I guess the name of Christ is just so offensive, no one wants to utter it.

And, speaking of Jesus.  Well, when my father-in-law passed away,  we inherited his nativity set.  The nativity is beautiful but it takes up a good bit of real estate.  When one lives in a small house, it is hard to find empty flat surfaces to place such things.  This year, I found a cool solution when I really wasn’t looking!

I love this nativity! Yay! Takes up little space AND as an added bonus, it adds the element of fire!!! Yes, there is a place for a votive candle in a cup in the center.  This makes the fire gently wash upon the faces of the wise men, angel, and shepherds.  It really is pretty.

You might wonder where I have been and to tell the truth, no where in particular!  I have just been busy.  The other day, we took Michelle to school and dropped her off.  We then headed to Rochester.  On the way to Canandaigua, the skies were so pretty.  They looked like watercolor paintings.  Sorry about the smudges….those are Scottie snuzzles on the glass!

Michelle has completed her first semester of college and I am pleased to say she has done very well.  It is always a bit of a relief, as a homechooling family,  to get a good report from school.  Michelle will have her final grades the day after Christmas, but she is sure she has made the dean’s list.   She was excused from the final test in one class, as her average exceeded 100%. 

On Monday, I had to visit the dentist for three (argh!) fillings.  The dentist gave me two shots of novacaine in the upper front and then proceded to work on a small cavity on the bottom. When I nearly jumped out of the chair, he gave me one more shot.  I have a tendency to close my eyes and look as though I have stopped breathing, causing both the dentist and hygenist to keep questioning whether I am okay!  Of course I am….I am just *trying* to relax.  By the time I reached the receptionist,  I was so numb in the face,  I could barely talk!  The dentist came up behind me and massaged my neck. They all laughed,  saying he should have relaxed me BEFORE I got the work done!  Ah well….I smiled and told him “Another dental visit survived”!

Now, why I took the camera with me to the dentist is beyond me,  but when I came home,  there was a pileated woodpecker right behind the house.  These birds are so flighty, it is impossible to ever get a photo.  This time, the bird stayed put for awhile, but  I only had a short lens on the camera.  If you click twice to enlarge the photo, you can see the bird right in the center of the photo.

Ah, one more story about the shopping trip… As I awaited Mark and Ben to pick me up at Sam’s,  I heard an elderly woman ask one of the guys gathering carts for help unloading the heavy items in her cart.  Unfortunately, the wind was blowing and the guy didn’t hear.  I pushed my cart over and told her I could put her heavy items in the trunk for her.  She was glad for the help and told me about how her son and daughter-in-law were flying out today to China to pick up a little girl with Cerebral Palsy that they are going to adopt.  They have four children of their own, but wanted another child. She also told me her granddaughter had been accepted into the pre-med program in Syracuse.  She confided she was so excited….and so blessed, this year!  As I finished up,  she grabbed me and gave me a huge hug….

Don’t you wish everyday was Christmas?

This is our “Christmas 2009″ garage wreath.  One needn’t squint too hard to see that we now have larger LED lightbulbs decorating the greenery.

We bought this big wreath in clearance at Lowe’s several years ago.  I believe it came with those pretty white miniature lights carefully and meticulously woven throughout the greenery.   The lights lasted one season, then came the frustrating job of removing the lights.  They had little dark green plastic ties to hold them in place, and while they worked fantastically,  there was no way I could rewire to the original specs.  So, we chose a colored set of lights and yours truly carefully wove the new (much prettier!) string into the wreath.

One year later,  the lights refused to work.  Bah humbug!  We store this wreath upstairs in our garage, hung on the wall where no one and nothing disturbs it.  A *bit* annoyed,  but really liking the look of the huge wreath on the front of the garage, I dutifully removed the old and strung in the new light set.  I think that set actually worked when we plugged it into the outlet the next year,  but as time progressed,  I found several of the tiny bulbs on the sidewalk beneath the wreath…

This year, true to form,  we plugged in the wreath and nada. Nothing.  Becoming more than frustrated, as I searched the aisles of stores for light sets,  I happened across the larger “C6″ LED set.  Thrilled at the notion I would “only” be wiring 80 lights into the wreath in lieu of 150,  I merrily bought the bigger set!  Fortunately for me, Michelle did the wiring this year!  Joy to the world!

Now, for those of you who have light sets that you have kept over the course of many years, HOW in the world did you keep them?  The last set I bought that lasted “almost” two seasons was from WalMart and I think I paid all of $1.88 for them! 

Anyone want to venture on how long these snazzy new LED’s will last?

Today we went on a little unexpected day trip!

The phone rang shortly after 10:30…it was my mother. 

Today’s my birthday. Do you want to meet at Sprague’s?

Of course!

And so we were out the door and on our way!  The temperature was nearly balmy considering the time of year it is.  I remember so many snowy and blowy Thanksgiving Days in the past. Warm sunshine and breezes are a sharp contrast to driving rain and snow along with bitter blustery weather!

We arrived and I was happy to see a thermometer hung outside the restaurant….

(nice thermometer, providing an easy read in both Fahrenheit and Celsius)

We waited for a few minutes for a large corner table that we always like.  Soon we were seated and our orders were taken.  As we sat waiting for our food,  the “Sprague’s Moose” who makes some appearances from time to time entertained customers as they ate.  The moose disappeared,  then reappeared outside the restaurant, dancing about, much to the delight of the tots eating at the tables inside….

The food was as terrific as always.  This restaurant never fails to amaze us, as the food is consistantly consistant!  No matter what one chooses, the food is good!

Our waitress was absolutely phenomenal….she served us with more than a smile! She was so attentive and offered a song when I discreetly confided today was my mom’s birthday!  As we were eating,  the waitresses and waiter came over, offering a round of “Happy Birthday to You”!

We brought along a cheesecake for dessert, as that is one of Mom’s favorite desserts.  Our waitress not only brought small dessert plates, napkins, and clean forks,  but a candle for Mom’s piece of cake!

After finishing our meal,  Ben called to me to go over and “see the birds”.  The restaurant has three large birds in a big cage and they were quite interesting. Two of the birds seemed to be involved in an exceedingly intimate discussion…..

while the third looked like he was flossing his beak!

I snapped a photo of the pretty gift shop as we were leaving….

This gift shop is so cozy, offering not only a vast array of maple products (made there) but all sorts of lovely little gift items as well!

After leaving,  I had to take a little jog (literally!) down near the road to photograph the bear family that graces the lawn….

Aw, look at little Murphy sitting with the bears!

and Michelle and Ben hung out with the Pilgrims and Indians as well!

As we hopped into the truck to head on home,  I took a shot of the beautiful sky and Enchanted Mountains…..

What a lovely day this was and I am so fortunate to have such a wonderful Mom to celebrate her special day with!  Happy Birthday again, Mom!  Thanks for such a fun day!