Life in the Bristolwood

Michelle has been resting all day today. She awakened during the night, terribly itchy and miserable.  She had told the doctor and nurse that examined her yesterday that the rash hadn’t itched at that point.  Oh, what to do, what to do?  One of the main reasons I thought she should see the doctor yesterday is because I am allergic to the  diphenhydramine in antihistamines like Benadryl.  When I saw Michelle breaking out in bumps all over, I wanted reassurance from the doctor that she too was not allergic because she has been taking the medication.  When I mentioned yesterday I am allergic to said medication,  the doctor looked at me and commented that was very curious, as Benedryl is administered for allergic reactions.  Argh….

Tonight, poor Michelle has many terrible bumps all over her hands.  They have crept up her legs from her feet and now bother her behind the knees and on her kneecaps.  The bumps on her elbows have also increased.  The nurse told us to give this 48 hours and if it doesn’t begin to subside,  I think both Michelle AND I are going to SCREAM! The poor kid.

Late this afternoon,  Michelle made a little request for a pizza for dinner.  Well, after all she’s been through,  I told her it was okay.  I left and ran up to the store to grab the pizza.  As I was returning home,  just before Bristol Mountain,  a very small fawn came bolting out into the road.  As fast as it was running,  I was afraid of hitting it, as I had been going about 55 mph.  I stopped with about 25 feet to spare, and there was a car coming in the opposing lane.  I held my breath and yelled “NO”!  The little animal then stopped abruptly,  and tumbled down onto the asphalt.  Nearly as quickly as it had fallen,  it lurched to its feet and made a hasty retreat back toward the mountain, from whence it had come.

As I had applied the brakes on the Explorer,  I was glancing in my rear view mirror to make sure no one was tailgating to rear end me.   As it was, the truck which was behind me had plenty of stopping room.  Once I had slowed down to a near stop,  I kept tapping the brakes to let them know I was stopping.  After the little one had scooted off the road, I watched the couple in the truck pointing toward the deer.  They understood why I stopped as I did and for that,  I was so thankful! 

After living here in the Bristolwood for almost eighteen years,  we know to travel cautiously.  Seer abound in the area and we have become pretty much aware of the spots they prefer.   Several years ago, Mark had a close encounter with our Volvo in this same spot.  There was a buck standing in the road.  Mark came to a complete stop and the buck must have become disoriented.  He turned around and ran direcly into the side of the Volvo!  No damage was done, but we were surprised and it taught us to keep a watchful eye out for these animals!

And…

Speaking of animals!  Last night, Michelle decided to spend some time watching movies on her little laptop.  When she got bored, she asked Angus if he would like to “watch a little something” with her.  Michelle sat at her little desk with Angus propped up on her lap.

Since Angus seems to enjoy observing wildlife,  Michelle found some goodies for Angus to watch on YouTube.  The results were nearly hysterical!

Well now, if Scotties are not your cup of tea,  how about a photo I took this morning?  We had some rain during the night and my (newer) pink and purple Fuchsia had some tiny raindrops still lingering on it so I tried to get a good photo.  I liked this one best….

I am hoping and praying that Michelle will be much improved come morning.  It is no little thing to just whisk her off to the pediatrician’s office as it is located about 40 miles from our house.  We don’t mind the drive,  but sometimes it is tough trying to coordinate times so she can be seen quickly.

If there is one nearby town in which visitors could linger for hours, maybe even days, it would be the beautiful little scenic town of Fairport.  Perched upon the Erie Canal, the town is juSt a delight.  But then there is the flip side.  If a cute little town could annoy one to the point of screaming, it is Fairport! There are two reasons!

If one is heading westward into the town,  there is the liftbridge to encounter.  When the family was seeing a dentist in Fairport years ago,  I cannot tell you the number of times we were several minutes late because the liftbridge had backed up traffic halfway to Victor!  Well, almost…. Every time a large boat must cross under Main Street, the bridge goes up and traffic is at a standstill for many minutes.  Tick, tick, tick…..

The second annoyance comes just a bit farther down toward town and is every bit as inconvenient as the liftbridge.  That would be the railroad crossing!  Be aware that both of these roadblocks are right along Main Street!

Michelle had another bout with poison ivy a few weeks ago and after it finally dried up a few days ago,  her hands, feet, and elbows all broke out in a rash!  This morning,  Michelle was nearly reduced to tears as she told me her hands hurt from the swelling from the rash.   I got concerned and did something I have rarely done for my kids in ages!  I called the pediatrician!

I had a dentist appointment early this afternoon,  so I agreed to bring Michelle in to visit the doctor’s office mid afternoon.  The dentist visit was non eventful, which was good, as the gaping hole from having my root pulled out is filling in nicely.  The dentist merely looked and poked at it a bit, then I left!

We took Michelle for her appointment and she saw a nurse.  The nurse came to the conclusion Michelle’s problem was probably something like a viral contact dermatitis.  She wondered if Michelle babysat or came into contact with any young children.  Not that we know of!  The nurse then called one of the pediatricians to verify her diagnosis. The pediatrician looked Michelle over well and said she thought the nurse was correct.  The good news is that they didn’t give any meds and told Michelle it is likely to disappear as quickly as it came.

After Michelle’s appointment, we had some supper,  looked around a couple stores, then headed home.  Michelle was feeling terribly, so we were trying to get home as soon as possible. 

Then we came to Fairport.

As soon as we came into the town,  the railroad lights began flashing and we knew there was a train headed our way. 

We sat and Mark and Michelle counted 122 slowly moving railcars.  We sat for quite awhile while watching all sorts of cars passing with seatainers of every color.  When the last car passed,  traffic began to start to move,  only to become instantly immobilized once again!

Yes, indeedy!  The westbound train was barely out of view when an eastbound train approached with three engines in front, no less! Michelle and Mark counted about 142 cars on this train!  If the other train was moving slowly,  this train was barely crawling along the tracks! We never thought it would end!

We all kind of giggled about this sign!

As soon as the second train was out of sight,  we were off again, heading toward home!  I told Mark maybe we could be further detained if the liftbridge was up now, too!  Mark didn’t laugh, actually, but the good news is that we had no further delays!

Until we were almost home, that is!

As we traveled the highway leading to our road,  there were flares in the road.  We wondered if there might have been an accident ahead, but were relieved that wasn’t the case.  As we moved along the road,  we saw large amounts of debris that had washed out of the hills and deposited on the road! There were three separate areas where this happened.  What a mess all over the road.  There must have been some very serious downpours while we were gone! This was all about 5 miles from our home.

When we arrived home,  all of the water running on our property was behaving nicely and there were no washouts here.  Thank you,  Lord!  We did notice the water level rose between an inch and an inch and a quarter in the pool while we were gone. Good news….I didn’t have to water plants this evening!

as to *how* cold it was here in the Bristolwood yesterday!

Well, I shall give you an idea.

Yes, that is the Jotul woodstove with a nice warm fire and the screen placed over the front, rendering it as a fireplace.  It really was that cold yesterday!  Just a few degrees colder, it could very well have been s-n-o-w-i-n-g instead of raining! And speaking of rain…..have we had enough rain?  Well, mercy sakes, YES!  But I will not complain about the rain. Not me!!

The above photo was not taken early in the morning!  It was actually mid-morning and I turned the flash on the camera off just to let you see just how dark it was outside! Like a moth drawn to the light, so was Michelle attracted to the warmth of the hearth!

As I stated in my previous post,  the kids were still full enough of energy to want to hike the path that runs from one end of Chimney Bluffs State Park to the other.  I am uncertain how far this little jaunt is, but it was a nice walk for sure. Well, except for the challenges…

A nice set of wooden stairs, built from pressure treated lumber led to this sign.  I gingerly hopped up the stairs with great ease…no problem.  Carly and Madeline would meet us over in the other parking lot in Carly’s Jeep, along with Mark in our truck.  After the stairs ended, we commenced up the hill.  Did I say “hill”?   I think the grade on this incline is about eighty-five degrees. 

Kyle, Sarah, and Ben seemed to mount the grade with ease and gracefulness.  Thankfully, I didn’t feel totally defeated as little Erin confided that she has “bad knees”.  Thus,  Michelle and Erin followed behind me, never complianing that I was moving too slowly!  As we climbed (and climbing on hands and knees would have been a VAST improvemnent), I could hear the sound of my heartbeat gushing in my ears. Every joint in my hips, knees, ankles, and even my toes were burning! Just a few feet from the summit, I was sure my eyeballs were going to pop out from their sockets.

Fortunately, the end of the climb came and I was victorious!

At the highest peak, it was scary looking down!

Ben had to strike a cool pose….

We sauntered along the pathway enjoying all the beautiful sights.  However, many times along the pathway the path changed from a hard packed surface to “muck”!  Icky, sticky, gooey muck. We would walk through prickers, briars, and bramble to avoid the rich black muck.  Oh, did I mention it was also slippery?

Erin was thrilled as she observed several varieties of moss growing in te woodland and on rocks.

The boys sometimes cantered off ahead, and other times meandered behind.

As we walked the pathway, there were times when the path ended. Abruptly! See the tree below?

Now envision that tree right along the path just a few months ago! See the rich black soil where the tree once *was*??

Perhaps Erin will grow up to be a Botanist.  As I said, she is enamored when it comes to moss.

Where did Michelle wander off to?  Hmmm…..

And on we hiked, the six of us.

Many times we walked across logs to avoid the muck, while other times, it was just, well…fun!

When I decided to go on this hike, I switched out my cameras from the Nikon to the little Panasonic.  Drat…Sarah had struck such a lovely pose, looking out over the lake below.  By the time the camera fired, she caught me!

I can see how trees tumbling down the bluffs could easily take away three feet along the top!  These trees that fell were very large!

Another fail was when I tried to capture Ben up on top of this tree stump.  Of course, by the time he was in focus and I was prepared to snap, Ben jumped down.  Another drat!

And on and on we wandered.  At this point, we had encountered what looked like a huge bog along the path.  I led the way as we made a detour.  Erin looked bewildered and asked if I knew where I was heading?

See this log?

*If* we chose NOT to balance our way across it, guess where the “real path” was?

Uh huh!  Now who would mind walking in water who knows how deep with sneakers on our feet?  And, of course, if that muck was beneath that water, how far **down** would we sink?

Well, Erin walked across the log with her walking stick….no problem.  Sarah and Michelle gracefully crossed unassisted.  Kyle also had a walking stick and was surefooted.  Then it was my turn.  I began walking out, placing my feet carefully on the log.  As I took my third step,  I realized that were I to slip off the log,  I would land in who knows what?  And if I fell and landed on my camera, or the camera landed in the mud…..

“Kyle! Can I use your walking stick?”

Kyle came back with two.  His stick as well as Erin’s.  He gave me his, the more hefty stick.  Ah, now to cross.  I couldn’t believe how easily I walked across with that stick giving me a little more balance.

Shortly after crossing the most challenging part of our hike, we could see a clearing ahead! Yes, we were finally out of the woods! Hurrah!  This was the view…

We made our way back to the others waiting for us.  What an adventure, indeed!  We laughed and had so much fun, it really was a good time for everyone…challenges and all!

Michelle called hysterically from upstairs the other morning. 

Mom! Come quickly! There are bugs in my bed….bedbugs!

Oh come now.  We live in a clean house and are clean people.  I calmly mounted the stairs….

Yes, I had an idea she was talking about something like this.  This was the morning we had awakened to the “big” snow.  Michelle thought the boys needed some warm shelter so she basically buried them in her bed!  Angus, ham that he is, loved the attention,  while Murphy immediately squirmed out from under the blankets.  If he could speak ,  I am sure he would have been muttering something under his breath about his “sissy-pants” brother….

Yes, as I said, Angus *is* a ham!

The photos above were meant to be included in the previous entry, but my Dell laptop keeps telling me that all my SD cards are write-protected and cannot be copied nor deleted!  I managed to get the photo of the boys with the tent when my little netbook I was using died because the battery had run too low.  I was too tired to fiddle around any more last night, so I just went to bed and then when I plugged in the netbook, just uploaded the post this morning! So, here are some photos taken the past couple of days. 

Yesterday, when I awakened, I suddenly felt this strange feeling.  As I looked outside, the trees looked as though they were closing in on me and I realize it was claustrophobia I was feeling!  Much of the snow has dropped from the trees, but they still have clumps in them that remind me of cotton!

We’ve had a lot going on the past few days with lots of shoveling involved!  I was taking photos but not even looking at them!

Sooo…..conversation this morning.

Me: Wow! There’s a lotta snow out there!

Mark:  Nah, the snow is drifted, but it doesn’t *look* like there is much.  Just drifts here and there.

Ah, famous last words….

What Mark did *not* see was the snow the Scottie boys and I encountered early this morning before the sun came up. We three hopped down the steps only to witness snow that far exceeded the height of a wee-legged Scottie Dog!  I tried to push the snow aside with my boots, but it was so deep and heavy,  I could barely move it!  Seeing the frustration in my companions, I more or less “forced” them under the front porch where there was little snow on the ground!

As Mark and the kids did some things they needed to do,  I took a few photos of visitors to the suet feeder out back. The birds have been visiting with greater frequency the past few days.

This little Titmouse patiently awaited his turn atop the railing…..

And look at the lovely pose he struck just for the camera!

When Mark was nearly done with his chores, I went outside and shoveled off the back deck and part of the ramp.  I convinced Ben to finish the job and we had it cleared just as Mark was ready to wheel out the door.

I teased Mark the other day that the wheelchair ramp looks like a luge course.  Now that we have shoveled, it looks even more so!

Michelle took Murphy out to the front of the garage where she was about to shovel. She set him down and he more or less paddled his way through the snow to me.  He wasn’t the least bit impressed by this massive-to-him snowfall!

Both the truck and the Explorer are relatively high vehicles with a generous ground clearance. You can see that the snow in front of the garage was pretty deep!

Michelle and I worked at shoveling out the front of the garage as well as around the perimeter of the vehicles.  We always hand shovel these areas as Mark cannot get in tight enough with the plow.

The snowstorm last night involved snow that fell very finely.  Were it not for the fierce wind, we probably would have had a much deeper snowfall.  What did fall was not like the light, fluffy snow we had previously experienced this year, but heavy, wet snow.  As Michelle and I worked,  huge snowflakes began to fall.

Before Mark could plow with the ATV, he needed a bit of help to remount the two rear tires on the ATV.  He had removed them because when we had the inspection of the truck done yesterday,  he also had those two tires reseated on the rims as they were having some trouble losing air.

When Mark pulled forward to begin pushing the snow,  I couldn’t believe the snow was almost the same height as the ATV!

That ATV is worth its weight in gold.  It did indeed push through that enormous blockade and handily removed the snow from the driveway!

I tried to take the Scotties in the house, but Angus the Brave would not budge.  He wanted to linger outside, watching Mark plow the driveway.  Poor little fellow….he looked like a frozen Teddy Bear as he observed from the porch!

Murphy, on the other hand, bounded into the house with gleeful abandon as soon as the door was opened.  And still, Angus watched over Mark….

Michelle and I continued to work our way through that nasty pile of snow in front of the garage.

Mark worked on the driveway for a good two hours.  There was so much snow; this was a snowfall more like the “old-fashioned” ones we remember.

We were all thrilled with the mechanical advantage offered by the ATV! The only assistance Mark requires is a hand changing the blade direction on the plow from time to time.

As  soon as we finished clearing out the front of the garage, Michelle went inside the house to warm up.  I stayed outside a while longer, then as Mark was finishing  up, I shoveled the close to two inches of fluffy stuff that fell as we were working outside.

Ben helped Mark get things put away and then they came into the house.  Or, so I thought.

Mark kept hollering for me to grab a camera.

I raced to see what it was causing such a ruckus, only to find the boy like this…

Yup, that is how deep the snow is behind the house.  The disgusted look is because Ben claims he hates the snow.

We got everything secured and settled in to an afternoon of watching Team USA beat Team Finland in hockey.  One more game to go and we are assured at least a silver medal! Of course, we are so excited because our favorite team (the Buffalo Sabres) is represented in the form of TeamUSA’s winning goalie, Ryan Miller! What excitement!

The snow stopped falling, for the time being, and we were treated to another beautiful Bristolwood sunset.

We are told that the system that blessed us with this round of snowfall has stalled out and will now remain with us the next few days, causing flurries on and off.

We were off to an early start today.  It is Ben’s birthday, but we had lots of running around to accomplish.

While Mark headed off with Michelle  to drop her off, Ben and I headed to Kost Tire where I was to get new tires, an inspection,  an oil change, and an alignment on the Explorer.  I had forgotten to mention that Mark got the window all fixed this past weekend.  He had to replace a part called the regulator.   When I saw the door hanging open and parts sitting all over the garage,  my heart nearly sank, but I have seen Mark take things apart before and I knew all would end well! And so it did!

Before leaving the house, I wanted to get a photo of the little congregation of Goldfinches outside the bedroom window….

That photo is a funky color and that is okay because I took it well before the day had broken this morning and there was a fine snow falling.

After dropping the Explorer off for its work,  Ben and I climbed into the truck and we began making our way to Mark’s mom’s house.  We made a few stops along the way.  An interesting thing happened along the way, though….the blower fan on the truck quit working! Meaning, we spent the rest of the time in the truck freezing!  Although the temperature outside was right at the freezing mark,  it got so cold in the truck!  Time for another repair job!

We made it to “Grandma Cookie’s” house.  Yes, that is what Mark calls his mom and in so doing,  he nearly causes Angus to go ballistic!  Angus adores Grandma Cookie, after all!

While we chatted with Mark’s mom,  Ben tried to teach Murphy how to exercise on the treadmill….

Yup, as long as I held a carrot treat in front of Murphy’s nose, he would stride along on the treadmill for several steps! It was pretty funny!

Now, Scotties are known for their Braveheart disposition.  I would say on a scale of 1-10, my boys rate about 1.5 in the Braveheart category!  Particularly Angus who hightails it whenever he hears any device that makes a vibrating noise! Thus, the treadmill caused him to panic, so he jumped up on Grandma Cookie’s chair and watched a Western on television instead!

And just for Angus’s good name, he did dutifully bark those wild horses when they got out of control and began running!

Here is a natural ice sculpture outside my mother-in-law’s house…

We visited for a few hours, then it was time to go.  Back we went into the cold pickup truck.  We went to Henrietta, where Ben and Mark went into the Guitar Center to look at “stuff”.  Mark ordered Ben a bass guitar for his birthday but it will arrive tomorrow.  Bummer for Ben, but he was okay with it.  Ben has been having so much fun learning guitar and he wanted to learn bass as well so Mark figured we should let him learn as long as he is so willing.

We left and went back to Canandaigua so I could pick up the Explorer.  Mark dropped me off and he and Ben picked Michelle up at school.  I had a few minutes before meeting them at a restaurant for dinner, so I took the Explorer for a spin up the road.  Oh my! I had been driving on “slicks” so long,  I forgot that tires actually “bite” the snow!

We met up for dinner, then came home.  The fire in the woodstove had gone out and I quickly rebuilt a fire!  Now, I am finally warm for the first time today! Ah, it does feel good.  No more freezing toes!

I think Ben enjoyed his birthday and although the day was long, we had fun too!

Happy Birthday, Ben!

Run, Katya, run!

Argh….I am by no stretch of the imagination “lazy”,  but there are times when I wish that I had a house that, when cleaned,  stayed that way!  Having a husband and kids home 24/7 with me is sometimes overwhelming!  Well, it isn’t quite that bad, perhaps, but every time I walk into the kitchen, it seems the counters are actually growing dirty dishes!

Okay, I’ll stop the kvetching!

Michelle’s college studies resumed today and we were off early this morning. Yesterday’s temperatures rose well above freezing, melting all the snow we had on the ground.  This would have been serious enough to cause flooding in low-lying areas, but add to that a driving rain and flooding did indeed become the big headlines across New York and Pennsylvania today.  When we left this morning, however, it was snowing somewhat briskly and the roads were not in very good condition!

I drove up our road and it had been narrowly plowed with a small plow on a pickup truck…I found myself gripping the steering wheel tightly.  I thought that the county and state roads would be in better condition, but they were snow covered and I was concerned about black ice.  Fortunately, as we came nearer to Canandaigua, the roads were in much better shape.

Since I was in no rush to head back toward home with the roads in less than good shape,  I took a little drive, then filled the gas tank.  After that,  I headed to Wegman’s and bought groceries.  While I was driving,  I came upon a lovely farm and the sun was trying to poke through the seemingly endless cloud cover…

By the time I started back home at about 9:00, the roads were greatly improved.  I got home, took all the groceries in the house, put them away, did four loads of laundry including drying and folding and putting away,  then made some great soup for dinner.  By the time I finished making the soup, it was nearly 4:30 and time to run back to Canandaigua once again!

I left late to get Michelle, but that didn’t stop me from taking a photo along the way….the sunset was impressive! (too bad I wasn’t near the WalMart parking lot as I think this would have been so pretty)

I was late picking Michelle up, but only by a few minutes and she was with her friends, Jacob and Jeffrey.  After picking her up, we headed over to WalMart and grabbed a fresh loaf of Italian bread.  We got back home and ate….the soup and bread were a real hit and when Michelle brought out the football-shaped Snickers ice cream cake we found at WalMart, everyone was thrilled!

I forgot to mention a text message I got from Michelle this morning….she explained her statistics professor was from India and has “quite an accent”.   She went out to say that when the professor said “checks and balances”, all she heard was “chicken bottoms”…..she hoped the professor wasn’t upset with her giggling!  Oh my…perhaps this semester will offer a bit more of a challenge to the girl, eh?

Chicken bottoms, indeed!  And Michelle? She was sprawled out and sound asleep by 8 pm!

as I can imagine, here on this corruptable planet!

My friend, Kim, called a couple of days ago, wanting to know if we could get together to “shoot”. (Photos, that is! We are both shutterbugs!)  I was so thrilled, I jumped at the chance.  And, it happened that Carly told me about a public park  a day or two before.  The park is located not far from the city of Rochester, New York,  and it has trails where one can feed the birds and they will actually land on your hands.  I don’t know about you, but I find that remarkable!

The weather could not have cooperated more wonderfully, with the temperature rising up above freezing.  Thankfully, Kim knew the way to the park and we hopped out of her car.  The next question was Where do we go from here?  There happened to be some women going into a nearby building, so I asked.  Follow the path in front of you!

And so we did.

We wandered along a wide snow-covered path and it wasn’t long until a tiny Chickadee landed in a tree branch above our heads and called out Chick-a-dee-dee-dee!  We figured that translated to something like Feed me!  Kim and I both had brought along some seeds, so we placed them in our hands and waited.  Within seconds,  the birds came.

Feather along the path….

Bird taking flight from Michelle’s hand…..

Nuthatch feeding from Michelle’s hand…..

Timothy Titmouse posing (quite nicely, I must say!)….

Chickadee resting on Michelle’s glove before grabbing a seed….

We found that as the birds excitedly announced our arrival,  some other critters became very interested as well.

After that little squirrel nearly climbed into my ziplock bag of seeds, Kim generously left him his own little offering before we moved on!

We chatted with a very nice couple along the path and shared bird stories.  And, Michelle just kept loving the fact that the birds came so freely and willingly to rest upon her hand for some more seeds!

We passed several more people who were also quite taken by the birds.

Then we began working our way along the path towards Kim’s car. As we moved along, we suddenly came upon a lively flock of bright red birds! 

Yes, there were Cardinals! They didn’t come to our hands, but they were certainly much tamer than the Cardinals found in the Bristolwood!  They actually sat still enough for long enough so I could get some fairly nice photos of them!  I was over the moon!

I didn’t take the 200mm lens with me. I should have because I could have done much better.

In the meantime, am I happy with the photos I got?  Yes, yes, YES! 

Paradise, I tell ya.  Okay, so not everyone dreams of a snowy Paradise, but in my mind…..P-E-R-F-E-C-T!

 When I went downtown Jamestown to have a look at the city “proper”, Michelle rode along with me.  We had brought the Scotties along with us and they stayed in the truck while we visited.  Michelle thought she would ride in the back seat with the “boys” so they could have a little company!  They are such good travelers!

I decided to take Michelle on a little tour of my world from when I was a child.  We drove down Spring Sreet, which is where my parents moved when I was only three months old. 

We lived at the bottom of this hill, on the next block.  As I drove down the street,  I looked and looked…a bit puzzled. 807 Spring Street seems to have disappeared!  Yes, our apartment was no longer there, but had turned into a parking lot for S.G. Love School, across the street!  The big green house on the corner next to ours was also taken.  I remember the names of the people who lived there….Mabel and Earnest S.  Mr. S. was a grouch, extraordinaire, and Mrs. S. insisted upon calling me “Katherine”.  My parents and family all called me “Katie”.

When we lived on Spring Street, we were within walking distance of downtown.  We walked a great deal and I remember loving it so much!  As we walked up the hill, I remember “the house on the corner”; the corner of Spring and Fifth Streets, to be exact.  I thought it was the most beautiful house I had ever seen and aspired to buy it someday when “I was rich”!

We circled back around and I parked the truck right in the center of town.  Michelle and the boys waited patiently as I walked the streets of the city.  Even though Jamestown is considered a city, it is fairly compact.  I love all the hills though!

I walked up to Fourth Street and took photos of some of the buildings  I remembered from the past. When we lived on Spring Street,  Nicky and Albert Erickson lived in the apartment upstairs.  Albert was a lineman for the Jamestown Telephone Corporation.  This is one building that never changed much, although it now sports the name Windstream.

I spent many happy hours at the YMCA, learning (or not) how to swim!

To the west of the “Y” is St. Luke’s Episcopalian Church.  This church looks the same as always! The church has a set of Westminster chimes that play every quarter hour, then strike the time on the hour.  I have wondered about the true color of the church….many years ago, the Jamestown Public Library had a similar appearance to this church.  After a sandblasting, it “suddenly” turned gray with a pinkish color trim! Who knows?  Perhaps the church really is this color!

On the next corner to the west of the church is the YWCA, where I took sewing classes and learned the fine art of sewing! This building looks the same as always!

Across the street from the church, there is a row of beautiful Victorian houses that look the same as always.  I think they are actually offices with apartments upstairs, perhaps.

I walked south down Main Street and was surprised to see Benson’s Ladies Apparel. That store has been around for ages and ages.

As has Lander’s Men’s Store, also on Main Street.

I stopped near the corner of Main and Second Streets and took a picture looking down towards Brooklyn Square.  I am not even sure if the area is called that anymore.  There used to be a large green area at the bottom of the hill where a huge Christmas tree was lit every year.  That custom has long since been aborted!

One of my fond memories of Brooklyn Square was of the store, Noah’s Ark.  I am not even certain what was sold there, as my attention was on the Chadakoin River which literally ran under the store!  Noah’s Ark and probably all of the stores that were in that area are now long gone!

I was surprised to see that Lisciandro’s Restaurant still remains!  Many kids used to stop by there on their way home from high school.

On the southeastern corner of Main and Second Streets is a huge office building.  This building looks the same as I remember, but I noticed Chautauqua Music Store is no longer located there. Upon searching Google, I found they moved from that location, but are still in business.  This was a huge music store, located right at the main entrance.

Looking eastward down Second Street, the light colored building at the end is Jamestown High School, where I attended grades 10-12. 

Turning 180 degrees for an about-face,  the large light colored building is the home of The Post Journal, Jamestown’s daily newspaper.  This location was a Sears Roebuck Store when I was a little girl!  I remember shopping there with my parents.

In the foreground of the next photo, The Post Journal,  with the huge Jamestown Furniture Exposition Building a short distance away.  Jamestown was a premiere furniture manufacturing center in the early 1900′s.  Many companies remained through the years, but slowly died out.  Every year, city furniture manufacturers displayed their goods at the exposition where buyers from all over would choose what to carry in their lines.

I headed back north toward Third Street.  I smiled as I saw this sign in the window…..

Jamestown is known for a large Swedish population.  Growing up, I was always surround by Carlsons, Andersons, Swansons and Johnsons!  In school, the Lucia Queen celebration was explained year after year. Jamestown even has a Swedish sister city, although the name evades me.

If Jamestown’s Main Street didn’t run north and south,  I think busy Third Street would be named Main Street!  This is Third Street, looking west.

And east…..

I walked around Third Street just a bit. The big building below was a Lerner’s Store (clothing) years ago.  It then became a downtown mall, and is now called Willow Bay Commerce Center.  In looking online, I was impressed at the current offering. There is a banquet hall for weddings and receptions and such, as well as office spaces available for really incredible prices!

The next block to the west is where the Lucy Museum and gift shop are located. (shown in the previous post) I remember seeing Jamestown looking like a ghost town, but was happy to see that most of the buildings have businesses now. 

The next photo is the Hotel Jamestown.   I believe it is now senior housing,  but am not sure.  It really is a very beautiful building.

Right next to the Hotel Jamestown, westward, is the building shown previously that was Bigelow’s Department Store.  Around the corner, to the north, on Washington Street is further evidence of Jamestown’s Swedish population, in the form of The Vikings Lodge.  Nicky and Albert took me there as a child several times.

I will never forget the corner of Washington and Fourth Streets, where my life was nearly taken at a very young age.  Carly and I were walking across the street, chatting away. She was a youngster of about five or six and I was looking down at her as we talked.  Suddenly, she forcibly jerked her hand from mine and ran back to the curb.  This happened so quickly, I turned to look back….only to look up and see a pickup truck stopped within an arm’s length of me!  A foolish man apparently was daydreaming as he motored along, passing right through the red light.  Instead of stopping to make sure everything was okay, he took off, leaving me feeling quite weakened and frightened!

Across the street from the Bigelow’s building is this building, which was the former Woolworth’s Store when I was growing up.

The daylight was drawing to a close, and I needed to hustle back to my parents’ home.  I drove down Third Street, making just a few short stops.  Perhaps one of Jamestown’s big businesses that has breathed life back into the downtown area is the Jamestown Savings Bank Ice Arena.  Boy, when I was a kid, my parents drove way across town to take me skating outdoors at Allen Park!  Of course, with many years having wimpy winters,  I guess outdoor rinks have some problems keeping operations going!

As we drove further west,  I stopped to snap a photo of  Jamestown’s electric plant.  The plant is located on the Chadakoin River, and was coal operated.  I haven’t looked recently, but believe it still is run on coal.  Jamestown residents were fortunate for many years, paying a fraction of what other statewide consumers paid for electricity. Only in recent years have rates gone up to more competitive amounts.

And just before the Third Street Bridge,  I was totally shocked to see that Pace’s Pizzeria was still in business. This was a little shop we frequented many, many years ago while attending Lincoln Junior High School.

 The school is located across the bridge not too far away.  I didn’t photograph the school, which is now an elementary school.  An interesting thing happened at this school while I was in attendance.

 I belonged to the band, playing clarinet.  One evening, we were to have a concert.  After school that day, and before the program was to begin,  the ceiling of the auditorium where we were to perform let loose and fell to the floor.  Talk about Divine Intervention…

By the time we were ready to leave for home, it was dark outside and my parents lit their beautiful outdoor lights.  Everything was so beautiful with the heaping  sparkling mantle of snow!

My family has traditionally taken down Christmas decorations around New Year’s and this year, they left everything up so we could see and enjoy them.  Thanks so much, Mom and Dad!  And thank you for the wonderful day!

I realize that reconnecting with my past isn’t necessarily what I want to do, but seeing the town firsthand was a fascinating experience for me.  Even though so much has changed with the times, so much has remained the same!