We've Moved

I packed the cart, straightened the joint up, and moved over to the new place today. Hope you'll come visit, and hope you'll adjust your bookmarks accordingly. I'm now over at www.smallpines.com.

Hiding at The Pines

I have big news. I mean, BIG news. But I can't tell you here. Shhh. Follow me - http://smallpines.com/.

There to Here, in Photos

Hey, friends! 

We're happily tucked in at our favorite motel in the Adirondacks, we've visited our neighbors, we've eaten at our favorite restaurant, we've dodged black ice, we've helped a drunk guy get his car unstuck in the dead of night (long story for later), and we've been to several RV dealers. 5 to 10 degrees this morning, about 20F most of the day today. I'll post a more proper update later, but in the time being, I snapped a few pics from there to here. 

Leaving Manhattan

Quickly reaching Connecticut with no traffic!

Arriving in Vermont

Cutting the Ice aboard the Ferry to NY

From the top deck

This is the Winter view down our our street in the Adirondacks. 

Who wouldn't want to live here? It's cold ... but it's awesome!

The View from Here

Just before you pass the roadside ice cream stand, you begin to notice the sweeping view - cloaked in mist if you catch it in the morning. The green and purple mountains are seen three or four towns distant, an unbroken view straight across our valley and over to Whiteface. Our cemetery looks out on those mountains - the most beautiful resting place ever. 

You'll pull past a few farms, edging the road for generations, cows to the right and the Fall Corn Maze to the left, Friday Flashlight Night being a favorite local attraction. A wood and stone church announces your arrival in a little tumbledown village. It's the kind of place you pull through on your way to somewhere else - "Wasn't there a store back there?" 

It's not quaint, it's a little ramshackle, and it's made more for function than form. But it's clear that lives are being lived here, that there is pride in ownership. New trees are always being planted. Annual flowers are plunked down each Spring. Holiday lights are hung out. In late Summer, the blueberries along the edges of the town park are for anybody that wants to bother. You'll see us out - There's almost always a project going at each house. 

Sure, there are a few examples of true local beauty, but those are tucked back on side roads and behind homes - the gorgeous private park built over a decade, the house that used to be a Presbyterian church, the old foundations of a once grand hotel, an old grange hall full of antiques lovingly restored. If you stop at the store, you'll likely find a few of us hanging around chatting about the weather, how business is, or that junky house down Easy Street. 

Spring is almost here, and folks will soon be passing through. If you can't stop, be sure to wave or honk when you pass through - we all do. Especially in good weather, the old gents will probably be outside the store, Tom and Jake will be 'round and about the woodshop, Gus and the ladies will be in the diner, and those city transplants we adopted a few years ago are always out - forever sticking their head down that well and fussing with things in the yard. 

We'll see you this weekend if you're around.

Dishwater Items 2.24.09

Mercifully, I'll have some real dish to post after this weekend - it's our "check out RVs trip." Maybe I'll post from the road. We're driving up through Vermont, so that should be fun and different too. and In the time being, here are today's Dishwater Items. 

• We're off to the mountains early Friday morning.

• We went to dinner with a friend the other night, who asked if I was practicing "getting my badass on," preparing to deal with RV dealers. In response, Jonathan said that I hardly need any practice when it comes to being unreasonable and tough. Who, me?

• I am losing Blogger "followers" faster than I can count. Um, g'bye? Was it something I said? One or two now and then makes sense, but seven in a weekend? Ah, well. My follower fretting will soon be moot. More on that later. 

• I went to the store wearing Crocks this morning, and was perfectly comfortable. When I got back and looked at the temp, I realized it was 21F. No wonder I like the Adirondacks.

• I am twittering a little. Can't decide if I like it. I like the conversational aspect of it, but a lot of people just use it to make others aware of their blog posts. 

• My new phone still hasn't arrived. Today, I hope. I need to sync it and set it up before we leave for the weekend. Irritating that it broke, but I'm still a dedicated Palm Treo person. (Palm platform, of course. None of this Windows Mobile nonsense.)

• I am reading Eat This, Not That.