July Rainbow
Once thunderstorm season comes our way, we get rainbows. Late in the day, the sun slants low across the fields. When scattered showers fall, the light shines through the falling water and it glows. A rainbow arcs across the sky. Last night as the children were falling asleep, rain fell through the sun. The rainbow lasted a half hour or so. It was one of the longest lasting I have seen. We will have more. This is a perfect spot for rainbows.
Some of the Puzzle Books I'm Taking On
There was a recent article in the Guardian, The Lifestyle to Beat Alzheimer’s, about what one can do to keep dementia at bay. The headliner was about coffee (this New York Times article has more details about that). Coffee drinkers, it noted, “will be clinking mugs in a toast to new research suggesting that just two strong cups of the black stuff a day can reverse the effects of Alzheimer’s disease.” I’ll make sure to keep sipping the dark roast.
The article mentioned several other things that research suggests can keep one’s brain sharp enough to avoid slipping into forgetfulness. To summarize:
Other than speaking multiple languages, I’m doing pretty well on this list. I am working on the puzzle thing especially right now. I’ve got multiple books of them going at once, in fact. I have been tackling crossword puzzles, sudoku, kenken and new to me, kakuro.
My parents gave me five new books of puzzles for Father’s Day. My mother sees dementia every day, since she works in an elderly care facility. I guess she wants to keep me sharp for longer than other people. I’m good with that. My parents really do love me. Puzzles: the gift that keeps giving, even when you become an old codger.
I am afraid I could use some help with staving off dementia. Already, I forget crap all the time. If taking the time to do some puzzles will help, I’ll do it. It may get in the way of other things but that is the way of it. “Sorry, honey, can’t paint the house right now; I’ve got to prevent Alzheimer’s right now.”
Hinesburg Firetrucks on the Way
There Were Old Cars...
...and Old Tractors...
...and a Pinkish Tractor.
There Were More Firetrucks, Including This One from Huntington
A Horse (with Graduate) of Course
A Motorcycle Type Jobber
Hardware Float...
...and Hippy Float
That's All She Wrote
Le Biodome
How Do We Get to the Metro Station?
We took a trip up to Montreal the other day. It was just a day trip. That is a benefit to living here. We can zip and cross the border and be in a large city in a few hours. The idea was to expose our children to the city and to some things they just won’t see in their typical days. It took about three hours to get up there. The border crossing on the way there was cake. They are pretty laid back in Canada. A few questions, a peek at our ID (we all have passports now) and off we went to the great white north.
We went first to the Biodome. This place is pretty amazing. It hosts several ecosystems, complete with plants, animals and birds. Capybara, monkeys, beaver, penguins, lemurs–there is a lot to see. That would make the trip worthwhile in itself but we were not there long. The children lasted less than an hour inside. So we split for the city center. Signs are in French and getting on the Metro isn’t intuitive. We asked for directions and paid in US cash. We had meant to get Canadian dollars but never got around to it. They took it, as seems to always be the case. Since the US dollar is worth 1.15 Canadian right now, why not?
The Metro was probably the best part of the trip. Our kids had never ridden a subway before so they got a good slice of city public transportation–lots of people, a musician, the fun of figuring out which stop is yours. Once we got off at McGill, we wondered for a bit. Montreal off was showing off its urbanity and we walked through it a bit before stopping at a shop to buy candy and toothpaste. We covered the bases.
And then we headed back. We were in the car more than we were out of it, but we were happy with our trip. Seeing the bridge over the Saint Lawrence River, driving through tunnels, reading road signs in French, they all added to the experience. Unlike Customs on the way into Canada, where we waited about ten minutes and were greeted with a smile, we waited maybe 45 minutes to talk to Mr. Stern Face at US Customs. But he did let us pass unmolested.
The children were tuckered by the time we got home. And hungry. After a late dinner we headed right to bed. We dreamed of living in a big city, and woke up to celebrate the birthday of our own nation. It does have some major issues, and isn’t as progressive and free as Canada, but overall, this nation of ours is a great place to live for most people. If only we could get the health care thing down, we might be as hip as our northern neighbor. One can hope.
I had this crazy idea of putting in some shelves in the garage today. The previous owners had planned to do that and graciously left some boards for the purpose. They never got to it. Neither had I. Today was the day to make it happen.
I had all the materials I needed and I gathered all my tools. I pretty much just needed to measure and cut and assemble. Great. But I couldn’t find a level. A level is pretty much a must have tool when installing shelves. I guess I could have just eyeballed it, but I would likely be ruing that decision every time I went into the garage. Cockamamie shelves just won’t do.
I searched the house to find one of the two levels we own. We have a newer one and we also have an old one that belonged to my grandfather. Neither was where it should have been and I looked every place either of them might be. I looked and looked, searching places two or three times. I even looked in places it probably would not be found, but where it just might fit, like in with my pants. You never know.
I was unsuccessful in my quest. I was even going to try the mini level on our square, but I couldn’t find that. I kept going out to the garage and looking at the shelf that is there, a makeshift particle board jobber. That thing is crooked and falling down and unsturdy and ugly. We keep crap on it anyway. I want that gone and some solid shelves instead. I’m not looking for perfection here. I plan to use the lumber I’ve got on hand. If I can make this happen, however, we will have more shelf space and stuff won’t slide off every time I shut the door too hard. Apparently, however, my tools to get the job done have disappeared.
So I have no new shelves. I did manage to install some hooks to hang our snowshoes. They have been piled on a shelf (a different one, way up high over the firewood) the past couple of winters, so that at least feels like something. Summer is well underway and the year, as of today, has entered its second half. I need to get cranking if I want to get much done this summer. But first I need to round up all my tools. I would prefer not to spend the next couple months searching for them.
Mercury on the Move 