Merry Christmas

A very Merry Christmas to one and all. 

If you are reading this, you, like me, survived the “end of the world.” I sincerely hope you didn’t really believe that civilization was going to be wiped out.

Are we going to undergo changes? Of course. We have from the beginning of time. That’s progress. That’s evolution. I hope we never stagnate.

As a civilization goes, we have come a long way, but we have a long way to go. I do believe we can iron out our differences and become a Planet of Peace. It starts with each individual.

The Soul speaks to the Heart and together they speak to the Mind. Uh oh. There is the stumbling block…the wall, if you will. The Soul/Heart can’t always get through to the Mind. I don’t know how to change that. On an individual level, I try to listen to my Soul/Heart, but I’m not always successful. Or, at times I’m just plain willful. I hear the Soul/Heart but I refuse to listen. The results are never pretty. When will I ever learn?

Let’s try harder to be less willful and more Peaceful.

Wishing everyone a New Year filled with an abundance of all good things.

Unspeakable Tragedy Comes to Connecticut

I can't imagine there is anyone, at least in the United States, who hasn't heard about the shooting of 20 children and six adults at the Stony Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT.

I grieve for all of them, especially the little ones whose lives were snuffed out at such a young age. They were all six and seven years old. They had not had a chance to really live yet.

How did society fail them? Did we fail them by not having stronger gun control laws? Did we fail them by not having in place programs to identify and treat those who might act out and do the unthinkable?

I'm not sure either of these options, if implemented, would stop such mass shootings. I do have to ask myself if they would, in some measure, help.

The news accounts also talk about the six adults killed on that day at the school. No one wants to give voice to the shooter, Adam Lanza, or his mother, Nancy. No one wants to talk about what tortured souls they must have been. Adam's mother apparently knew her son was a threat. A man who came forward to speak about being Adam's babysitter10 years ago, told how the mother told him to never take his eyes off the child...not for one second, and to never turn his back on him.

Did the mother try to get her son help? Did she give up? Did she live in fear of her son? Had she ever tried to have him hospitalized? These are questions we may never get the answers to. We may never learn the "why" of what Adam did, in spite of our intense need to know.

Nancy and Adam Lanza deserve our prayers as much (if not more) than the 26 other souls who lost their lives that day. I ask you to find it in your heart to pray for ALL the victims of the Newtown shooting.

Computer Problem Fixed

A not so funny thing happened on the way to Cape Cod this past September! My computer went haywire. It was fine at home before I left for vacation, but by the time I arrived at the cottage something had gone wrong. The cursor was in “select” mode and selected everything in sight…whether I wanted it selected or not. I thought it was having iPad envy…since I had just bought my iPad.

Had I known how easy it would be to take notes and jot down thoughts on the iPad, I would not have disturbed MacScene.

When I returned home my first stop was my Apple certified computer guru, Mike. At the shop, my computer behaved perfectly. He spent a lot of time troubleshooting and found nothing. That wasn’t cheap.

A few days later I was back. Mike replaced the top…keys and touchpad. The keys and touchpad were pretty worn. Not cheap. The problem persisted. I took MacScene over to a friend’s house and she behaved beautifully! The computer, not my friend, although my friend behaved, also. But I digress. :)

I called Mike and he suggested I run a diagnostic and see if anything pops up. I did and as far as I knew, everything was OK. But then, when it comes to things like that I have no idea what I’m doing. Back to Mike. He ran a diagnostic and the battery came up as “failed.” Now I have a new battery. Not cheap! And the problem persists. I’m getting the feeling Mike is at the end of his expertise or patience.

I went to Best Buy…three times. Mike (a different Mike) is baffled. He suggested I try wireless mouse, which would disable the touchpad. I bought one. Not cheap! Brought it home in order to configure it to my computer and went back to Best Buy to have them do it.

I have to say here, the Boys of Best Buy not only spent a lot of time on my problem, they did not charge me!

So far I have to say this is the first solution that has actually worked! Everything else was most assuredly necessary, but all the replacing didn’t fix my problem. It still takes forever for my computer to connect to the internet, and I’ll have to wait to see if I will still lose the connection from time to time.

After spending in the neighborhood of $400, I have my fingers crossed that MacScene is back to mostly normal. I can live with a balky internet connection…I couldn’t live with my cursor sending my emails before I had time to thoroughly proof read them. Talk about living dangerously! :)

Kitchen Talk

 I’ve been spending a lot of time in the kitchen lately…cooking and washing dishes. Yes, I wash dishes because the dishwasher that came with the condo stinks. That’s ok, I don’t mind washing dishes. It’s like ironing…mindless.

Anyway, I have been spending a lot of time making soups, cakes, cupcakes, and muffins. That, in addition to my regular meals.

I have come to this conclusion: other than regular meals the rest of it might not be worth all the fuss and time. Mostly because it takes a lot of time to do from scratch what can be done by opening a box or a can.

Let’s start with soups.

The cream of broccoli and cream of asparagus that I make is good and worth continuing because I like them. If I had use for them as a cooking sauce, I would buy Campbell’s. My cream of mushroom is best left to Campbell’s and used as a cooking sauce. It’s good, but…

Today I made what looked like a great tasting soup, actually a bisque, but it was a great disappointment. It was a butternut squash and sweet potato bisque and after all the work it took to make, I don’t like it. I have packaged for freezing what is left in the hope of finding someone who does like it.

My cream of tomato and chicken soup is worth making. Easy to make and really taste good.

Cupcakes, etc.

Sure they taste good! But…why go through all the mess and clean up when I can open a box and be done with it. Homemade from scratch doesn’t have all the preservatives...point for that. But…

Coffee

My cup of coffee in the morning and another in the afternoon is very important. I want my coffee to have some body to it. I don’t want anything weak and watery. And I want it to taste the same cup after cup.

With the two Kitchenaid coffee makers I had (in two years) it seemed that no two cups were alike. I wanted something I could count on. I made the decision that when my Kitchenaid went squat I would look into getting a Keureg. However, I did not expect my Kitchenaid to go squat so soon.

I did buy a Keureg and two refillable filters. I will not pay all that money for the pre-filled K-cups. And so the search begins.

I tried some of the K-cups that came with the Keureg. Thank goodness there was a book giving the strength of coffees available for the Keureg…some of them were in the complimentary pack. I soon weeded out the weak and totally unacceptable from the dark roasts and bolds. Dark roast and bold…ahhhhh!

I figure I’m saving a lot of money, water and coffee by using the refillable filter. 

I measured the coffee today and found that in the Keureg refillable I use 3 tbsp of coffee. With my old coffee maker I used two 2-tbsp measures...rounded. So I'm using one tablespoon less coffee now.

With the water, instead of using 5 cups (which was the minimum) and throwing away a cup of coffee because I didn't drink it...I now use only the water it takes for one cup...in the case of what I used this morning...I used 14 1/2 ounces. I use a BIG mug! Because I use a refillable filter I am not throwing the K-cups into the garbage!

So in the long run, I am saving $$ and the environment with the Keureg.

Computer Heebe-Jeebes

When I took my computer with me to Cape Cod it was acting up to the point where I was unable to use it!  After spending $300, it still has the heebe-jeebes.

It seems to have a mind of its own...opening files, closing files, selecting text or photos. The most fun is when I open a file and my computer sends it to the "dock"...for safe keeping I suppose.

The top of the case has been replaced (the touch pad and keys); the battery has been replaced having been shown by diagnostics that is was failing. And it's still acting on its own!

I am wondering if perhaps what is acting up is the router and/ or modem!

I have a MacBook that is 6 or 7 years old, and so are the router and modem. I have a problem having to wait for one of them (or maybe both) to connect to the Internet. Hmmmmm!

I will take MacScene over to Barbara's house to see if it acts up over there. If it doesn't (it doesn't act up at the fix it shop), then I think I have found the problem.

I just love electronics. Right now..Thank goodness for my iPad!!!!

The Day After Sandy

I was lucky…no loss of power or cable so my coffee pot, phone, TV, and internet all worked when I got up.

The day dawned with wind and rain on their way out of our meteorological nightmare. As the morning wore on the clouds occasionally parted to allow full sun to come through. At other times the clouds took over.

Thick clouds, in layers, continue to stream northwest at mid afternoon. At times there is complete overcast and at other times, there are varying amounts of blue sky…at times not even enough to make a pair of Dutchman’s britches.

Outside of my locale it’s been all over the news: Connecticut shoreline is torn up again; the mid-Atlantic states had lots of rain and wind; heavy, wet snow is falling in the Appalachians of Virginia, Maryland and West Virginia; New Jersey shoreline was ground zero; lower Manhattan (New York City) is flooded. With all the tunnels and subway tubes flooded I have a question that has nothing to do with transportation: What happened to all the rats and occupants of the homeless communities that live down there? Just asking!

After lunch I took a ride down to the boat launch to check on the river. It’s still there and it’s still low. In the parking lot, my car was immediately surrounded by the flock of geese that lives down there. They were definitely looking for food. Then I saw the sign that said not to feed the wild water fowl. These guys are wild, but they weren’t always wild. I think they were domestic at one time and founded an independent community.

From the boat launch I headed to “the place” where I can look across the river at the eagles’ nest. I was told, recently, they built a second nest just a bit north of the one they have used for at least two years…and there it was. I have to get on the bike path one more time before it’s closed for the eagle nesting season. I want pictures from the canal path to go with the ones I took today.

Do these geese look domestic or wild? They came running to my car looking for food.

The dot in the trees is the old nest.

This is the new nest. Frankly, I like this one better. Let's see which one the eagles like!

Hurricane and Tag Sale

 

I will try to get this posted before I lose power. At the moment we are 2-3 hours away from the beginning of the worst of Hurricane Sandy. I have been watching the speed of sustained winds and gusts increasing.

Halloween Tribulations

And right now, for the second Halloween in a row, Connecticut is experiencing a major storm. Last year it was winter storm Alfred (we name our winter storms in CT). This year it is Hurricane Sandy.

How lucky can we be? Stick around to see what next year’s weather will be.

My cell phone  and iPad are charged; I know who has propane for cooking so I can make a cup of coffee if I have no electricity…which will most likely be the case; my friends know I will have water should they need it; I know who has a wood stove so I can warm up.

Nothing to do but wait. I hope you are safe and dry.

Next to New Sale

I was in Maryland a couple weeks ago as a volunteer worker at the Next to New Sale. This is a “tag” sale that fills a gym to overflowing and goes for 4 days. The proceeds go to financial aide for the students. Everything that is left over is picked up by charities and distributed locally. This year’s sale was a huge success and raised a substantial amount.

While I was at the airport waiting to go to Maryland an earthquake struck New England. Didn’t feel it!

        

This Year's Cape Cod Vacation

The photo above is of sand, but the pattern could well be that of a sea shell, too.

Driftwood art.

Cloud beasties. I see some pretty fantastic things in these clouds! :)

 

I did my annual trip to Cape Cod recently. I’ve been going to the same cottage, the same week in September since 1990…with hiatus of five years from 2005 thru 2009.

This year I had the opportunity to arrive at the cottage in North Eastham a day early (thanks to the owner, Paul D.).

My days would normally have been filled with bike riding and walking beaches, but with most days being either windy or stormy, I rode only one day and walked only one beach.

I did get to Provincetown for my fudge and a walk on MacMillan Wharf. I enjoy strolling Commercial St. and looking in all the store windows. I stopped in at Cuffy’s and bought a nice fleece jacket for $15. And a hamburger at Tatiana’s on Lopes Square. It was warm, and sitting in the shade for me was a must. Lots of interesting people to watch, conversations to over-hear, and squirrels and pigeons to shoo.

The storm that came through on Tuesday night had winds up to 60 mph and lashing rain. The whole day had strong winds. Being alone in a cottage…at night…in a howling gale…not fun. I was expecting the power to go out at any moment and pleasantly surprised when it did not. By Wednesday noon the storm had cleared the Cape but the winds never quit until Thursday.

In the meantime, the water heater decided it had had enough and went out. It probably went out on Saturday night or Sunday morning, but it wasn’t until Monday I realized I had only cold water.

As luck would have it, Paul D. and his wife were out of town and would be back on Wednesday. I left a note on their door and proceeded to heat water on the stove for washing up and doing dishes. Paul came over around 6:30 Wednesday night and restored the hot water. The pilot light had gone out and even Paul had a problem relighting it.

By Thursday it was much calmer and I was able to do my usual walk out to Nauset Marsh inlet. It seems every year it gets closer to Coast Guard Beach.

I also called a childhood friend of mine, Betty, who lives in Dennis and left her a message.

Because there is no wi-fi connection at the cottage my need for electronic connections caused me to be somewhat creative. In the morning when I went for my Cape Cod Times at the Eastham General Store (4.5 miles), I stopped in front of the Eastham library where they have a 24/7 wi-fi service. Then, around 3 p.m., I would head for Wellfleet and the Dunkin Donuts (about 10 miles) for coffee and munchkins. I would use their wi-fi while I had my afternoon pick-me-up.

On Friday, I had planed to ride the Cape Cod Rail Trail. It was supposed to be the first day with much calmer winds. But Mother Nature had other ideas. The day was windy and heavy overcast with a threat of rain.

No sense hanging around. Packed up and headed home. Stopped to visit Betty on the way out. We haven’t seen each other in a few years. We grew up together as kids and then we went separate ways, but in my mind, have always been close friends.

So ends another vacation. Since I’m retired, lets call it a week spent in another place doing different nothing much. 

Weather to Shout About

Today's weather is worth shouting, yelling, jumping up and down, and maybe even doing cartwheels about! I'll shout, yell and jump...but forget about me doing cartwheels! :-)

Right now it is 70 degrees with a dew point of 45 degrees, and it is just about 2 p.m.

Then what on earth am I doing sitting in my woman cave posting to my journal? Well...the wind is blowing at 15 to 20 mph from the north. Not the best conditions for me to go bike riding.

When I got up this morning I just knew I had to do some serious house cleaning. Upstairs, downstairs, even my cave got a good vacuuming and dusting. By this time of year my mother would have had all her fall cleaning done!

I put an extra blanket on the bed last night and, for sure, I'll need it again tonight...it's going down into the low 40s.

I don't like cold/cold or hot/hot and today falls right in the middle that I label Ahhhhhhhh.

Electronics and Me

In 1983, I had my first experience with a computer…a friend’s TRS-80. If I remember correctly, the word processing was semi-colon delimited. I was terrified by this “electronic monster”… so sure the “delete” key would blow up the world. :) From the time I entered high school, at age 13, I had used typewriters.

Since those days, I have had several computers beginning with a Victor 9000, leading to two or three (I’ve lost count) desktop Apple Macintosh computers and currently, my MacBook. I am a Mac devotee. I’ve used PCs where I’ve worked with no problem. Mercy me! I even used a Wang at one temporary job! I quickly realized that all computers do the same thing…software does the same thing…just differently from computer to computer. I never looked back.

At one time I was proficient with Page Maker desktop publishing software. I even had my own part-time, home-based desktop publishing business. The Mac made that possible and Page Maker was a sweetheart of a program. I retired Gemini Word Pro about the time Page Maker ceased to exist.

Since then, most technology has passed me by…or has it. I look around and realize I have so many cords for recharging electronics that I had to label zip lock plastic bags to put those cords in, otherwise I wouldn’t know what went to what…digital camera, cell phone, MacBook and now my iPad. I also have a whole new bunch of “log-ins” that I have to remember…not. I wrote them down.

One app I downloaded to my computer and my iPad is CLOAK. This app gives me the ability to surf in an unsecured wi-fi spot. On my computer, it’s automatic and on my iPad, all I have to do is turn on VPN in Settings. It gives me 2 hours a month of free, secure surfing. I rarely use unsecured networks except when I’m on vacation, and I certainly don’t spend 2 hours in a weeks time on the internet.

I have managed without Page Maker, but I miss it. I still use Excel and, of course, I could not do without email and browsers for the internet. As much as I dislike Facebook, I guess I’m stuck with it if I want my photo albums to be accessible from this on-line journal. Ah! Nothing’s easy.

I certainly do remember the simplicity of life before all this electronic stuff, but I like knowing I can call someone if I get into trouble when I’m out bike riding, or have a thought I want to share with a friend by email…right now…before I forget it.

It’s exciting to think about what’s next, but I wonder...will I let it pass me by.

A Full Morning Starts Early

Yesterday morning I got up at 5:00, coffeed up and walked down to the boat launch to (hopefully) see a pair of ospreys and a pair of bald eagles that have been hanging out there. No luck. So this morning I’m awake at 5:30. Coffee and down to the boat launch. Another no luck trip. Oh, well.

Time for breakfast and a bike ride. This morning had to be one of the 10 best mornings ever. Sunny and cool and no humidity. I hit the road at 8:05 and rode to the cemetery to visit Philip’s gravesite (today is the 6th anniversary of his death), then off to the farm stand for some veggies. After a  stop at Paul’s house I was back home and it was only 10:15.  A total of 21 miles.

Have I told you I lead a charmed life? I don’t know who watches out for me but...

When I got home, I put my veggies in the house, then rode down to the back of the house to bring my bike in. Just as I got to the back door I heard psssssssst that kept going until the rear tire was flat and green slime (from the tube) coming out all over the place. Someone was keeping their finger on the problem until I got to my back door.

A similar incident happened about 4 months ago when I rode the bike one day and the next morning the rear tire was flat. Something about rear tires.

Tomorrow I’m taking the bike to the shop: two new tires, 2 new tubes, slime (not sure). And, since I’ve taken two spills since I last had the bike tuned, I think I should have it checked over.

After a shower, I went to Home Depot for deck stain and rollers. From there I went to Target and bought an iPad. What I need now is whoever has been looking out for me on my bike to start looking out for my lack of technological ability. I can’t get the darned thing to connect to my wi-fi. It’s MY wi-fi! It’s MY password! Why won’t the iPad accept it? Why did I think I would take it out of the box and be on my way? Because that’s the way I am.

By the time I got home it was still morning! After lunch and endless messing around with the iPad that won’t connect to the internet it's time for another coffee and relaxation.

Family

I was able to touch base with my three younger kids this morning.

Paul and Andy went with me to Home Depot to pick out the decking and pickets I need for fixing my deck. I never could have done that alone. The pressure treated wood is drying out in Paul's garage. Once dry, it will get stained. If it doesn't dry before I go on vacation then it will have to wait until I get back. I don't think Kurt (master carpenter) is in any kind of hurry.

Then it was over to the other side of town to visit Kathy. We've spoken on the phone and emailed, but this is the first time we've seen each other since Jessica's wedding. We will be going down to visit Jess next Saturday, and look forward to splitting our time between a mall and a beach...if time gets short forget the mall. :)

I know Kathy will drive the S2000, which means I'll either burn to a crisp or blow away before we get there...she will never put the top up if the weather is nice. I'll pray for rain! :)

Anne is too far away for casual visiting, and besides, she's away this weekend.

I have no plans for the rest of the day, or the holiday weekend for that matter. I'll check the weather and if there is a cool morning coming up I'll go for a bike ride.

King's Island Wildlife Management Area

I took these pix this morning when I went for a short walk down to the boat launch at King's Island Wildlife Management area. I tried to link this post to the photos on facebook, but the page wouldn't come up. One more thing to thank FB for! :-))))

I'm standing out in what normally would be the river. I'm looking back at the parking lot.

Many shades of green. You can see some fall colors starting to show through.

Look how low the river is! Enlarge the picture and look across the water at the large piece of driftwood. Doesn't it look like a river monster?

This is a school of geese. Not a gaggle! Look at the teacher at the front of the class. :)

This is not a submarine! :) It's either part of the rapids or something that snagged on a rock.

The island is also known as Terry's Island. Both families occupied the island a very long time ago but I'm not sure if it was the 1700s or 1800s. I would have to do some research.

Facebook is Holding Me Prisoner

I had quit FB for good. I was fed up with the way they cram changes down my throat (and everyone else).

However, FB has the last laugh. In order for the links to photo albums I've put on FB to be available to my on-line journals, I HAVE TO BE ACTIVE ON FB! Crap!

OK. I give up. I have activated my FB account just so my photo albums will be available to this blog. 

Grrrrr!

History Disintegrating

I have lived within three miles of the Connecticut River for 70 of my 76 years. I have loved the river through flood and drought, pollution and pristine. One of my favorite bike rides goes south along the river’s east side from Warehouse Point (East Windsor) to South Windsor, across the river to Windsor and then north on the west side to Windsor Locks. It’s the bike ride I call Ride the Four Windsors. Another favorite ride is the Windsor Locks/Suffield Canal State Park Trail. It is the Canal that I want to discuss in this essay.

The Connecticut DEP website for the Windsor Locks Canal State Park Trail relates some of the history of the canal.

The Windsor Locks Canal was constructed between June,  1827 and November, 1829 to skirt the Enfield rapids in the Connecticut River. The continuous water connection from the Connecticut River valley farmlands above   the rapids through to Hartford and points south provided farmers with expanded markets and investors with  freight fees in this business venture. Today’s paved surface lies atop the towpath, the actual walkway which animals, often mules, hauled the freight barges by rope north and south along the water way. Author Charles Dickens was a notable visitor who passed through the canal on February 7, 1842.

Because of the rapids, the canal was necessary to get boats between Hartford and Springfield without carting their contents overland between Warehouse Point and Enfield. This once necessary and beautiful waterway is rapidly decaying because no one wants to take responsibility for it.

Back in the day, the canal was drained every year to make necessary repairs. It seems that since it is not used any more for floating pleasure boats around the rapids no one cares. The “new” bridge over the canal is not high enough for boats to pass under, nor is it a bridge that can open,

There is so much dredging that needs to be done I suppose it has become cost prohibitive. Continuing to do it every year would have made more sense. A lot of debris has fallen into the canal. Recent storms have dropped many canal-bank trees into the water.

Up at the Suffield end, the single lock has completely disintegrated.

How can the State of Connecticut allow such degradation to the canal when it parallels a State Park Trail?

The trail along the canal is the old towpath. Unfortunately, it is paved and the pavement is deteriorating rapidly. I suspect that by next year I’m not going to ride the trail because of its condition. How sad!

What is happening is that too many of the paved trails are deteriorating and there isn’t any money for upkeep. One solution is to stop paving and make these trails hard packed dirt and stone dust. Another solution is to do what they did on the Cape Cod Rail Trail. Plastic plates were sunk on both sides of the trail where tree roots could cause upheaval of the pavement. The plates went deeper than the roots, which eliminated the problem. At least that was the theory. I’ll know better when I ride the CCRT in mid-September.

Look at the accompanying photos of the Windsor Locks Canal and weep (taken Aug. 18, 2012).

Mud swallows on the wall of the canal viaduct over Stony Brook

Shows how the lock has degraded

Another view of the lock

The water gates where river water enters the canal. However, in the past few years not enough water has been let in to flush the canal of accumulated silt and debris

Shows the surface of canal water just south of the water gates

The canal looking south from the water gates

A bench placed so you and I can sit and contemplate the degradation...how lovely

Thursday, August 30, 2012

Today is my oldest daughter's birthday. She is also my oldest child. My, how time flies.

The Day After
Today is the day after my magnificent toss from my bike. Even though I got the arnica gel to the damaged area pretty quick, I seem to have missed part or all of the area that hit the ground. I do have an ugly black and blue. Other parts of my body also hurt and show signs of brusing...places I didn't now were involved in the accident. So...I'll be colorful for a week or so. :)

Compromising 

I have certain brand name products that I buy all the time. In most cases I have tried the store brand, but those products just didn't taste good. What's the sense of buying cheaper foods if they will wind up being tossed.

Today I was in desperate need of mayonnaise. I happen to like Hellmann's with olive oil.  When it's on sale, I will buy at least 2 jars and hope it lasts until the next sale. It hasn't been on sale in a while and this morning the cost was $4.59. No way will I pay that much for mayo.

The compromise was I did buy the store brand. It doesn't have olive oil in it but at least it was only $2.49 for a 30 oz. jar...which is the same size as the Hellmann's. It had better be good because I can't afford to toss it out.

Another compromise was bread. My preferred brand name hasn't been on sale for a while either. I was going to scout the bread aisle to see what was on sale when I came across a package of onion rolls on sale...right in front of the deli counter. This is a substitute I know I will like. Some days you win and lose. :)

Norwottuck Trail Bike Ride

 This is a story of the bad, the good, and the ugly.

First the bad: the condition of the surface of this trail. Lots of root heaves. Many miles of this trail is surfaced with a combination of melted (recycled) tires and crushed (recycled) glass. What no one thought about was that the rubber would erode leaving the glass. I leave the result to your imagination.

Then the good: I was told that next year “they” were going to start ripping up the offending surface in order to re-do it with a better material and make it wider in some sections.

Lastly, the ugly: At the eastern end in Belchertown, there is a chain link fence with openings on either end to allow users to go through, yet prevent banned vehicles from accessing the trail. I (being a determined genius) thought I could ride through the opening. Let it be known…I cannot. My handlebar caught one of the posts and tossed me, and my bike, to the pavement. Luckily I landed on the…shall I say padded…upper thigh. I’m sure the black and blue will be magnificent, in spite of the arnica gel I generously applied after my shower. More arnica will follow later this evening.

I made two new friends at the site of my magnificent flop. I didn’t get their names, but their concern for my well-being was appreciated.

I made two more new friends on the way back. I stopped at the swamp where the blue heron was. Phyllis and Karen (ladies I hope I remembered your names correctly) were a delight to talk to.

I stopped at the little restaurant hoping to get a dish of frozen yogurt, but there were about a dozen noisy people in there and I couldn't concentrate on the menu on the wall. I had to leave without my yogurt.

The ride was just over 20 miles total. I hadn’t ridden that many miles in quite a while. I will be taking ibuprofen and a muscle relaxer at bedtime to ensure I can get out of bed tomorrow.

Enjoy the photos that follow (click on photos to enlarge).

The welcome sign at the beginning of the trail in Northampton, MA

Bridge over the CT River heading east

Tunnel of trees makes for a cool ride even in warm temps

This is not graffiti! This is how the bumps are marked so riders can use caution

A detour because of work being done on a bridge

This was the detour...I hate hills! :)

Blue Heron. I think it was working for the Chamber of Commerce the way it was attracting onlookers.

Location! Location! Location! A small eatery right on the path about 2 miles east of the trail head.

My Recent Adventures With Food

Grabbing the wrong ingredient could go horribly wrong, but the time I’m going to tell you about, I lucked out. 

Potato Salad

I come from French Canadian stock, which means I grew up on meat, potatoes and a vegetable…fresh or canned depending on the season and simple desserts. One of my aunts was a super cook…she knew how to make a salad and fantastic desserts. Needless to say, my culinary experiences were with substantial food, but not very imaginative. That pretty much describes my potato salad. Diced cooked potatoes, diced onions, maybe celery salt if I have some, and mayo. I like to sprinkle a little paprika over the top for color.

Last month I reached for the paprika and grabbed curry instead. I noticed my mistake too late. For sure I wasn’t going to throw out a whole dish of salad, so I dug in. Well, well! What do you know? It was really good. The curry gave the potato salad a sort of smoky flavor.

Just to be sure, I repeated the error a couple of weeks later. Same result. I now have a new ingredient in the recipe…curry.

Crusty Bread Pizza

Now this is no mistake…I did it on purpose! Have you seen those ads on TV by Pizza Hut for crusty, Italian bread pizza? When I saw that, I said to myself, “self…you can do that, it won’t cost you what they’re charging and you'll have what you want on it!” So this is what I did…

I got a loaf of crusty bread…not sure if it was Italian, but it was long and fat, as opposed to long and skinny. I don’t think it makes any difference.

I cut the loaf in half crosswise. I took one half and sliced it in half the long way. I put both pieces side by side on a cookie sheet and started the process.

*Pre heat oven to 350° or 400°

*Brush the top of the bread with garlic butter (make your own)

*Spoon on spaghetti sauce…any kind will do as long as you like it

*Top with whatever you want. I used crumbled cooked ground beef, crumbled cooked sweet Italian sausage meat, canned mushrooms (fresh if you want), and finally - shredded mozzarella cheese.

*Put in oven for about 10 – 15 min, until the pizza is hot and cheese is melted.

*Remove from oven and enjoy!

Improvements on the above the second time I made it with the other half of the loaf…

*Cut the bread crosswise to make circles

*Line the cookie sheet with parchment paper for easier clean-up

*Place the bread slices close together to make it easier to place the toppings.

I think I’ll be making my own pizza from now on…unless I get lazy, which is quite possible.