Cat's not in the closet

DH called to me to "come look" one night when we were re-arranging boxes and stuff.
Look where the cat got!
I think she might be able to medal in a balance beam competition.  She leapt from the lower wood rail (which over-looks the stairs to the basement) to the top of the movable folding doors of the hall coat closet.

Maybe she really wanted to play table tennis with the ping pong balls, paddles and net that was in the box with our extra light bulbs.

276 Forrest Street, a photo by Sultry on the road and on the move on Flickr.

Today we saw a house that I liked, but that wasn't "right" enough. Even though the Realtor says that if you get 85% of what you are looking for, that is probably a good percentage.
I liked the neighborhood, amenities, colors and especially the openness and biightness of this house.
BUT: no basement, no workshop (in spite of a detached, OLD building that could serve as a garage. A neighbor walking by said that the previous resident was "not a good person." Apparently he was a contractor who delivered SO much less than he delivered that he ended up in jail. A realtor bought the home and has invested quite a bit in cosmetic stuff.
Reminds me of Sarah Palin's line about a pig wearing lipstick is still a pig.

The grass (and bulbs) really ARE greener over the septic tank. (Thank you Erma Bombeck)
I can imagine painting in this room... although it would be a shame to get paint on the wide-pine planked floors.

It was the only house we had to look at today. There is one other to look at tomorrow.

We met a Private Mortgage Lender. He seemed optimistic and well informed. We'll see.

David is following an AAA Tow Truck Driver to the Mazda dealer in a nearby town so that he can get his truck repaired. I don't know what auto-transport trucks DO to cars, but ours had NO oil pressure and began "ticking" (tapping?) on the way from daughter's house to our hotel.

He said he almost went straight to Toyota to buy himself a NEW truck. (But we'd really rather not have two car payments right off the bat... especially while we're getting pre-approved for a mortgage.

Almost felt like we were back in Texas.

Lots more pictures and adventures. Yesterday for the Patriots' Day festivities and Boston Marathon it was 91 degrees.

Hard to believe that it is ONLY Tuesday.

We discovered a local Coffee Shop with interesting historical warning signs.


The bottom framed sheet is about the "Lawrence Calamity" which is when the Pemberton Mill in Lawrence collapsed (1910). If you saw the special on the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory you will know the time and conditions at the time.

Lots more photos at my flickr account

Quintessential upstate farm, a photo by Sultry on the road and on the move on Flickr.

The drive from Albany to N. Andover was only about 260 miles. Most of the time we were on either the NY Thruway or the Mass Turnpike so the driving was straight, fairly flat and definitely easy. The rain held off and the sun shone brighter as we got into Massachusetts. This farm needs to painted, don't you think?

We found an antique mall directly in front of the historical Old Sturbridge Village. There didn't seem to be any obviously rules about what could be displayed for sale. This case had the plate and the lion. They wanted $18 for the lion.

What are the chances that YOU would have a flimsy acidic cardboard box in which a 1950's or '60's toy Mixer came in? The pink one was priced at $85.00.The OSV has a sort of conference center adjacent the entry to the Village. We declined to pay the $24 entry fee because we didn't have time to do the exhibits justice. I was glad to see that after you paid the entry fee you had another days' entry included as long as it was within 10 days. The shop keeper said they were "only" having about 600 children visiting the day were there. sometimes it is in the 1000's. I would need to be there a different day!

Border Crossing
To Canada to see the American Side of Niagara Falls

On Monday we went to Niagara Falls. We had our passports ready. Since we had no weapons, tobacco, less than $1000 and no pets, there wasn't much trouble getting into Ontario.

The Canadian Coat of Arms: From sea to sea


This is the "near" (Canadian) end of "horseshoe" falls. When I first approached the ample and adequate stone wall and fence, I had a definite sense of vertigo. The water looked SO solid (even as it moved) that it seemed as though I must be moving rather than the water. The wind was at least 30 knots, so the mist was especially diffuse. The rainbows moved and shone beautifully.

If I understand correctly, water falls down 350+ feet from Lake Erie the Niagara River on its way to Lake Ontario. I need to check whether it goes North or South from there... That is, does it go towards the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers? Or to a Northwest Passage to the Atlantic? Isn't it amazing what one doesn't know sometimes?


The Welcome Ccenter was well and truly monetized. It would compare well to the most crass examples of American commercialism. However, the poster above, explaining the changing shape of the falls over 300+ years was very informative. We had been lead to believe that the "maid of the mist" boat tours wouldn't start until later in April, and skipped the additional tours, 3D movies, etc. (Plus there is SO much information on line!!)Rhe view north toward the appropriately named Rainbow Bridge.A wider angled view of Rainbow Bridge, including the area where an entire power station eroded/fell into the Niagara River (Where the cliff is flat and there are power vents just above the river.)

People watching was fascinating both inside and outside the Welcome Center. There were so many older folks, tourists and extended families, I forgot that Niagara Fallas was a Honeymoon destination until I caught this couple with my camera. There were people from Europe, the Middle East (Arab and Israeli given their head wear), Japan and India. there were some who were speaking Spanish sounding languages, but they could have been from Brazil, Portugal or the Caribbean for all I know.A disused power station.
This bridge is between the City of Niagara and Grand Isle. I think it pivots to let boat traffic go by. I can imagine developing a fascination with bridges if I were in this area for long. The trusses vary, the colors vary, and the methods for making room for ships varies.
Human ingenuity is quite amazing.
You can see almost all 185 photos I took here.

New Philadelphia adventures.
As one drives to the center of town, this big sign sits atop an imposing (but not especially official) building. What struck me that it was NOT about branding, or advertising or the typical Chamber of Commerce speech... but welcome to OUR city. It resonated with a sense of community that we have sensed in almost all of the "natives" we have spoken to.

I went to the motel breakfast area for coffee and a piece of fruit this morning and noticed that rest of the breakfast crew seemed to have Irish or Scotch accents, that they were extremely lithe, limber, fit and young. Turns out they were the entire touring Riverdance cast and crew! The same bunch that was at Bass Hall (Fort Worth) last week, will be at Detroit this weekend and Boston next weekend. Small World.

The Tuscararwas Welcome Center, was closed (all the lights were out) but the door was open. We picked up a few brochures before going next door to Michael's diner.

Mitt Romney may have made lame jokes about never having had grits before, but it was no joke that I had never had fried mush. Have you had fried mush?
Michael's mush was light, HOT, and excellent with a little butter and syrup.
A "regular" came and commiserated about how busy they were, but how much she liked it. We traded partial life stories. Before she left, she introduced herself as Betty Morgan and wished us a happy Easter. We felt warmly welcomed.

I had read about Warthers Museum. The Warther family has made knives for three generations. The progenitor (who may have been kind of obsessive) was said to get up NO LATER than 3 am and begin wood carving. He worked on model trains until breakfast, then switched to knife making. By three pm or so, he gathered his children (he had 5) and would take them swimming, swinging, hiking or just playing.
He had a little workshop separate from his house. It was about 10 x 12' and had more files than I've ever seen. Stay tuned for me to load photos of what he did with them!

His wife, besides being a beloved mother, collected buttons, and planted thousands of bulbs for spring, and annuals in the summer.
Warthers Museum: knives, trains, woodcarving, buttons, tulips

Later we visited the Dutch Village Farm and Bakery, headed to Sugarland, Walnut Creek and Berlin. There is definitely a tourist industry here... but it was SO different from most of the others I've seen, that I didn't mind!
We had dinner at an Italian Bistro right next to our hotel. ENORMOUS portions!

Off we go! Into the Wild Blue Yonder!

Preliminary thoughts on New Hampshire Expedition

I've had so many thoughts and taken so many photographs that I hardly know where to begin! So I thought I would at least transcribe some "talking points" for now. Who knows if or when I will get totally caught up with my travel journal, but at least this way, if that is NEVER, I'll be able to reconstruct what was when. (I can't believe we ONLY LEFT YESTERDAY). Or only left Texas. We HAVE been away from "home" for 10 days, which explains why we feel like such

Tuesday, April 3

• Packed up and headed north.
• "Breakfast" outside Little Rock @ IHOP. We offered the cat a promenade, but she wanted nothing to do with leash. She doesn't seem to mind the car, even without the anti-anxiety pills the vet gave us. About every two hours she mews a few times, Hubby says "NO!" and it's quiet for another two hours. We are grateful that there has been minimal squeaking.
• 
• Road Repair and heavy truck traffic
  
• Facebook queries about whether we were safe... Took us a while to realize that a huge, horrible storm system spawning tornadoes had blown through Arlington, Lancaster and other parts of Dallas.
  
• Drove through to far side of Memphis. Grateful to get off the road. Logged 480 miles.
• 
• Pizza Delivery.

Wednesday, April 4

• Clear in Memphis. I drove. Names the Highlander SIGRID... because she's such a Sweedy.
  
• Loretta Lynne's Kitchen for breakfast based on a just in time recommendation from my friend in Estonia
  
• Nashville music highway full of sheriffs and police. Don't know if they all sing.
  
• Flat, green, swampy
• David attempting to make reservations in Louisville ahead of time using my Droid and his portable wifi hotspot. Not working very well.
• Just said no to $250 non-refundable pet deposit
• Hills, farms, fences for horses, no horses
• Louisville:
• Microtel: "Not what I'm used to." 2 stars, max.
• 
• Poor construction,m squeaky floor, thin walls
• Off to Fresh Aire Laundromat. When did the price go to $.25 for 6 minutes of dryer time?
  
• Dinner at O'Charley's
• Cat sleeping IN her cage of her own volition. What a surprise.

See all the pictures here.

“Memphis is growing.
They have great BBQ and great live music.”
Tony Massenburg

Initial Destination: Memphis (or not quite, or beyond)

I had kinda hoped to get to Crystal Springs Museum in Bentonville, AR. It's the new multi-million dollar museum of American Art built, funded and collected by Wal-Mart heir, Alice Walton. But if we stay mostly on HWY 40, it is about 3 hours out of the way. And there are SO many museums in New York and Massachusetts that I should still have plenty of destinations.
In general, the itinerary seems to be:

• TX
• AR
• TN
• KY
• OH
• PA
• NY
• MA
• NH