Trip to New York and upcoming plans

I suddenly realized upon my return from yoga class this morning that I had promised to catch up here right after my trip to Cortland, NY, and it's been almost two weeks since I got back! Sorry about that.

I started from Lacombe, LA, about 40 minutes from where I've been living in Bay St Louis, right after the church service on 2/5 and drove to Johnson City, TN. The first thing I discovered, upon stopping in Slidell, LA, to get a cup of coffee and some "egg bites" for the road, is that Starbucks didn't plan on the popularity of the egg bites, and the North Shore Starbucks was completely out and had been already for several days. I thought this did not bode well for my trip, as I've become quite fond of this delectable tidbit, and I thought how easy it would be to get reasonably decent food along the way. Starbucks also now carries Emmy's Organics, a tasty cookie (with only a tiny bit of agave, and no flour) that originated in Ithaca, NY. I believe I got some cookies and a coffee, but I was disappointed and not quite satisfied.

Without the needs of another creature to consider, I pushed on and on, and arrived in Johnson City late, probably around 10:30. My friend, Nancy, is in Michigan, but she had her neighbor, Kristin, make sure the heat was up in the guest house. Kristin also left coffee and cream, and some granola and milk. She didn't know that I don't drink caffeinated coffee, nor eat granola. But I felt very welcomed. I had also discovered along the way that not all Starbucks were out of egg bites. And I had some shrimp stir fry that I had brought along from BSL. I ate that Sunday evening, and finished it Monday morning for breakfast.

I got on the road pretty early to Cortland and watched the temperatures slowly drop as I pushed northward along highway 81. Actually, when I arrived in Cortland, it was not too cold. It was rainy for the next few days, but it didn't get cold enough to snow until Thursday night. I was glad I took my rain boots!

Much of the entertainment at Abby and Adam's place is provided by Jake (dog) and Eloise (cat). Abby tried for a long time to find another suitable home for Eloise because Adam is allergic to cats, but when that didn't happen, Adam agreed to give having Eloise in the house a try. They keep the place well dusted and vacuumed, keep her brushed, and keep her out of the bedrooms. In addition, Adam has been taking Devil's Claw, and he seems to be holding up well, so much so, in fact, that he's become quite taken with Eloise.

Eloise was trying to snuggle in Abby's lap when Jake came up and totally imitated Eloise's position.

The stuffed warthog is missing its eyes, but very much loved.

Sometimes, she gets right up against the wood stove. I don't know how she stands it.

Jake can be such a flirt.

Other creatures like getting warm by the wood stove, too.

And ... the snow came back. This is Abby taking Jake out for a constitutional.

Since I've been taking so many yoga classes in BSL, I checked ahead to see about taking some while I was in Cortland. I figured four days of driving was going to be hard enough on the body, but going without my regular workouts would make it even worse. I found a place, Pure and Simple Yoga, and bought their 2-weeks-for-$25 pass. Since classes are $15 each, I figured even if I only took 2 classes this would be a good deal. My first class was Svaroopa, a style I was unfamiliar with. It seems to involved a lot of props, some of which may have been helpful. Others just got in the way. Also, I was not impressed with the teacher. The next day, I decided to try out the Tai Chi class offered on their schedule. I showed up at 4:00, the time listed on the schedule, but no one was there. I went downstairs to a little gift shop, tried again a little while later. Still no one. I left a note about having been there.

I got an email that let me know that Tai Chi classes aren't included in the pass. Good to know. Also, because I hadn't signed up on line ahead of time, the teacher didn't expect me. Apparently, s/he wasn't expecting anyone else, either. The third day, I signed up for a Kripalu class. Halfway through the afternoon, I got an email that the class had been canceled because the teacher thought the roads were too bad to drive up from Ithaca to Cortland. The director of the studio kindly refunded my money. Maybe I'll give them one more chance the next time I'm in the area -- probably not Svaroopa, though.

I had a relaxed, comfortable time visiting with Adam and Abby. Abby and I shopped in Syracuse on Thursday for a wedding dress ... and WE FOUND ONE! What a relief this undoubtedly is for Abby. She had been shopping in stores and on line since about August, so it is nice to know that this is finally accomplished. When we were out for coffee one day, we encountered this: 

Why?

Fairly early on Friday morning, I packed up the van and headed back, planning to stop halfway in Johnson City again. Having enjoyed my stay there on the way up so much, I was considered staying an extra day, and I contacted Nancy to make sure that was okay. It was.

These pictures were taken passing through Virginia. To my eye, the area along the horizon was a deep, glowing red band that got darker, while maintaining its illumination. Unfortunately, the camera only sees light - bright light. 

Since I was staying an extra day in Johnson City, the first order of business on Saturday was to get the car washed. The van hadn't experienced anything like the road mess of the north country since I got it. Here are the before and after pictures. And I found a car wash with free vacuuming, like my favorite spot in GR, so I got the front floor and seats cleaned up a bit, too.

In case I hadn't mentioned it, Kristin, Nancy's neighbor, has 17 dogs at her place. Some of them are hers, and some are fosters. All but Clyde are medium to large dogs, so not really my cup of tea; but hey! They're dogs! And I enjoyed meeting all of them. They have a huge, fenced-in yard to run in, and they know how they fit in each other's lives. 

The fellow with his paws up on me is Turner. He's a foster. He was very sweet and friendly.

You can see a few more of the guys here. The one in the coat is Clyde.

Kristin asked if I'd like to have Turner keep me company. She wanted him to have more socialization opportunity, and I agreed that I would enjoy his presence. I did, but we didn't click to the point where I wanted to keep him.

One of the reasons I wanted to spend the extra day in Johnson City was that the local UU church had a posting on their website that they were looking for a choir director, and I wanted to check the place out. I went to their completely delightful Valentine's service on Sunday morning (11 a.m., like most UUs, I've discovered), so I didn't hit the road back to BSL till after noon. 

The drive back was uneventful. It was nice to feel the temps getting warmer again as I drove. 

After feeling so appreciated in Cortland, and in Johnson City, I realized that it would be necessary for me to leave BSL before April 10. It was time to plan my exit. When I got back, after a couple of days of fretting, I spoke to Rick about it. I decided the best thing to do was simply to tell him what I'd decided and see how much money he'd expect from me to keep us friends. Ultimately, that's what it comes down to. So now I'm planning to leave March 12, much as I did on this last jaunt, after church at North Shore UU, only this time I'll be preaching for the service. 

I had considered driving to Auburn, NE, to Hearts United for Animals, to see if I could adopt a very cute young man named Buster, or possibly Ricky. I was prepared to have either the sanctuary or me decide that it wasn't a good fit. But this morning I woke up with a realization that I didn't want to drive to Nebraska before going back to Johnson City. It didn't feel right. So I will leave from Lacombe on March 12 and go straight to Johnson City. I will stay there for at least 2 weeks, work around the house and garden trying to do things that Nancy would do if she were there, helping out, and getting to know Kristin and her dogs better. She has a lot of contacts in the dog-fostering world, so I may find a companion while I'm there; but I've realized I'm not in a hurry, and I'll know when it's right. 

So, here's what I've been up to since I got back to BSL: working on my version of a T-shirt quilt. I have lots more to go, but luckily it's the kind of thing that I can easily start and stop. 

I've been knitting a shawl for Abby for her wedding. No photos. It will be a surprise. But I'll tell you this much, I was probably 3/5 of the way through it when I took it all out and started over. I had taken it to the knit shop to get help with a mistake. When we laid it out on the table, I could see so many mistakes. I was going to let them go, but the more I thought about it, the more I wanted it to be nicer than that. I'm now almost caught up to where I was.

This was taken just over a week ago on a very enjoyable bike ride along the coast. It was warm enough for me to be tempted in for a swim, even though the locals stared at me like I'm crazy. Heck, the air temperature was in the low 70s, and the water was only a couple of degrees cooler. Sometimes Lake Michigan doesn't even get that warm the whole summer!

This photo is from a women's restroom at Zea rotisserie restaurant in Slidell. I took it because I am bewildered by the extremely low placement of the toilet paper dispenser, not only here but everywhere in handicapped stalls. It seems to me that anyone sitting on the toilet, no matter their physical ability, would find it awkward to lean over so far to get at the paper. Anyone have any insights about this?

Fog again. Condensation on the windows. This is the norm here.

Last Saturday, I began having trouble with my left lower back and hip area. It seems to me to be a bladder meridian, and if I were in Grand Rapids, Jock Smith would have me back to normal in no time. Here, however, I've been trying to figure things out on my own. I finally had a fabulous Reiki session yesterday in Diamondhead, with Debi Lynn Juhl. She postponed leaving on a short trip in order to see me, and I was very grateful. I haven't done yoga since Tuesday -- and that class was very difficult because of the pain -- nor ridden my bike much. The session didn't have the immediate and miraculous effect I had hoped, but I feel much better.

I went to yoga this morning, and though I had to modify some things to keep from setting off the twinges, I made it through class, and I biked there and back. I will probably ride a little more this afternoon. I also started packing yesterday, which feels good. I'm a little concerned about hauling things to the car and putting them in, but I'm sure Rick will help if I ask him, and that's not for almost two weeks. I expect to be doing much better by then.

Long range plans: return to GR after Johnson City, possibly by way of Cortland; spend the rest of April in GR, including Daedal & Karla's wedding on 4/22; go to NC for Keaton's graduation from ECU on May 5; return to GR; go to Cape Vincent Memorial Day Weekend for Abby's shower; return to GR; take Mom and Dad to NC at the beginning of June for Cooper's high school graduation; get back in time to go to Joan Baez with Sue in GR; go back to NY to help prepare for the wedding on June 30; return to GR and house sit for Elianna and Jeff during July while working at BLFAC. 

After that, who knows? Thinking of LA for next winter, but I'll just have to see which way the wind is blowing.