Vibe's First Road Trip

First off, I am feeling better. Thanks for the good wishes. 

Jim and I drove to Jenny Lake on Friday afternoon in the new Vibe. The car was quite comfortable to ride in and to drive. We were pleased with the 32 miles per gallon that the Vibe got on the thruway and the mountain roads. It was raining a bit when we arrived at camp, but Gram and GrandDad had a small fire going so camp was warm and dry. Gram bought the last pint of Adirondack Bear Paw ice cream in Corinth, so we celebrated the end of another summer season with a wonderful bowl of that delicious treat! We watched the presidential debate and then turned in. This is the time of year when the acorns are falling off the trees above the camp and at times those acorns can sound like rounds of artillary! Fortunately, the winds were calm, so the noise did not keep us awake.

This morning, in the misty rain, we got all the camp closing chores completed in good time. Jim had hoped to run at camp before we left for a meet-up with Corey at SU, but he forgot his orthodic inserts for his sneakers, so could not go for that run. We decided to leave camp earlier than originally planned and take Corey out for lunch instead of dinner so Jim could be home in time to get his run in before it got dark. So that is what we did. 

We got to Corey's about 1:15 and delivered a bunch of food (smoked pork chops, brownies, apple cider, and the real prize, Aunt Joanie's sauce), and a cutting from my Christmas cactus that I have been rooting for him. We watched the SU vs. Pitt football game on TV for a while and then went into town for lunch. Our plan was to eat at the Funk 'n Waffles restaurant, but when we got there, there was a sign saying that they were closed today. A guy who worked there was coming out of the door and said that they were closed down because of a plumbing problem! We walked on, ending up at the Varsity, where there were 10 TV'v all tuned to the SU game. Now SU was winning for most of the game and lost the game in the last 10 minutes! Most people think the SU football coach's days are numbered! After lunch we walked around campus, including a walk through the newest Newhouse building. See photo below. 

Before leaving, Corey took our new car for a spin through his apartment complex and gave it his approval. 

We got home about 5:30 PM, Jim got his miles in and we are now settled in for an evening of watching football and knitting (me, not Jim). I have finished knitting the body of my sweater and will seam the shoulders tonight so I can start knitting the sleeves. I am still optimistic that I can finish this sweater by Oct. 18th.

Tomorrow afternoon I am going to tour one or two alpaca farms with Pam B. This weekend is National Alpaca Farm Weekend (I cannot believe that no one has sent me a card commemorating this holiday!!!) and the alpaca farms in this area are having Open Houses, or is it Open Farms? There are more alpaca farms in this area than I ever would have guessed. 

I have a correction: In my last entry I said that Michal's wedding was 2 weeks away. Well, the mother of the groom left a comment that the wedding was one week away, not 2! Indeed, Jeannie is right-by this time next week, Michal and Elizabeth will be hitched and we will be in Tennessee to help them celebrate that occasion!

You can look forward to some alpaca photos tomorrow. Until that time. . .

Hope all is well.

Home Sick

Yesterday I started sneezing and just feeling "off." By the time I got home from school I was so tired I took a nap. By 9 PM I felt awful, runny nose and exhaustion. So I called for a sub for today and went to bed. I'm glad I stayed home because I took 3 naps and pretty much just sat around on the couch. Sometimes I was even too tired to knit! I went out late in the afternoon to get my haircut, since it took no more energy to sit in the swivel chair at the salon than it did to sit on the couch. I am feeling a bit better now and plan on going to school in the AM.

Tomorrow, after school we are driving to Jenny Lake to help Gram and GrandDad close camp for the season. The weather is questionable, but since we cannot do anything about it, we'll deal with whatever Mother Nature sends our way. We will leave camp on Saturday afternoon and stop in Syracuse where we will take Corey out for dinner. We wanted to be home on Sunday so Jim has a day to pack up before he leaves for Brussels on Monday. 

Tucker called tonight, on his way to Moab, Utah for the weekend. A group of his friends are meeting up there and planning to do some biking and climbing in the area. He also hopes to shop for a sport coat to wear to Michal's wedding in 2 weeks. Tucker reports that a cell tower is being built in Bluff so we are hoping that he will now have cell service at his house. Can you hear me now???

Time to go to bed.

Hope all is well. 

No Money, No Miles

Today was a no money, no miles day, and we think that is a good thing. We spent no money and drove no miles on our cars. Jim walked to work and I rode my bike. This is a very rare occurrence and we always feel good when we can make it happen.

The history of recognizing these 2 circumstances  goes back 26 years, to our days on our year and a half trip around the country. We were unemployed at the time and living off of our savings. We got a great deal of satisfaction when we were able to not spend any money or put any miles on our car and still follow our travel plans. 

So today was one of those days and I guess I had forgotten about the money and miles challenge for quite a while. If we thought about it more often, we may be able to make it happen more often. Tomorrow I'll have to drive because I have to be at school early for a staff meeting and I have yoga after school. Jim will drive to work because he has practice after work. Can you make a no money, no miles day  happen?

Hope all is well. 

Quick Weekend

Time flies when you're having fun. This weekend went by pretty quickly because we were doing fun things. 

Today Jim ran in a XC race at Mendon Ponds Park. There were almost 300 runners for this 100th race in the Upstate XC series. It was cool and a little misty for the race-perfect conditions! Jim didn't run as well as he had hoped, but he will have other chances to improve his times. I got there early enough to get a nice walk in on the course and then left shortly after the race. I wanted to do my grocery shopping for the week and decided to go to the Pittsford Wegmans since I was on that side of town. It is fun to go to that store and see all the things that they sell there that are not available here in Greece. 

While I was in Pittsford I also went to Chico's looking for something new to wear to Michal's wedding. I found a pretty jacket in a dark teal color that will go nicely with my fancy, black slacks. I will put a white, lacy camisole under the new jacket and be all set. An added incentive to buying this jacket is that it was on the 30% off rack-and that is always good-especially at Chico's. 

I am making good progress on the sweater that I am knitting. I finished the back and am working my way around to one of the front sections. This sweater is knit around the body, seamed at the shoulders and then the sleeves are knit down from the arm holes. I am quite pleased with the fabric I have knit so far. 

Big day in sports! The Buffalo Bills won again and are now 3-0! They won the game in the last few minutes with near perfect football. Then the USA won the Ryder Cup in golf with some wonderful shot-making.

Jim and I sat in his new car for about 15 minutes, setting up the OnStar account and learning how to use it. It is not too difficult-push the button! The car came with a one-year membership to OnStar.

Tucker sent us a couple of photos from his weekend fun. He attended the Sand Island Bluegrass Festival and was invited to play with one of the bands. In the following photo, he is on the far right, in the plaid shirt. It makes me happy to know that music is still an important part of his life. 

Corey reports that he signed a lease for an apartment for next year. He is quite pleased with the place that he and Mike selected. He also had a good long run with the team this morning.

I talked to GrandDad today because it is his birthday! Happy Birthday, Dad!!

If we can believe the weather forecasters, we are in for a spectacular week of fall weather. I may ride my bike to school tomorrow. I rode on Friday and enjoyed getting a bit of exercise before and after school.

Hope all is well.