I Love a Parade and Other Holiday Stuff

Thanksgiving in Jville was great. We certainly missed Mariel, but we'll be seeing her in a month. In all modesty, it was the best Thanksgiving meal I've ever cooked. Mark's view of the centerpiece is worth a thousand words.

Turkey's End

Happy Family

Friday night was the big Christmas parade downtown. Downtown is 2 blocks away. We stood at the end of our block with other townies and visitors. The parade snakes through town and passes our street just before ending. We saw fire truck after police car after emergency vehicle after floats after Santas and other holiday symbols. The parade began with 3 musketeers firing into the sky, followed by the mayor's car. I've met the mayor--he's one of our mechanics. Much candy was thrown into the crowd.

Many of the vehicles are from other nearby towns, so they exit the parade a block past Maple. The other half mile's worth of diesel-spewing trucks line up along that road, turn left and then another left. We saw the part of the parade all over again.

Turbo loves Jville and Thanksgiving. It's easier for him to walk there, and he appreciates the turkey gizzards I cook up for him.

Turbo and Me on Our Block

Holiday Shoes

What to Do in Sleepyville

Yesterday, after a major supermarket sweep, we headed off to a music sale at a local fire department. WJFF, our town's music station, was raising money, selling CD's, records of many different rpms, sheet music, instruments, and anything music-related. They had thousands of old records. I didn't dare let Marty go by himself.

We hauled off 30 albums, including one by Paul Simon that was minus the vinyl. Didn't check for scratches? I asked incredulously. Marty said that for 17 cents, he didn't care. I selected a few, including a Stevie Wonder album with Braille markings on the cover. Marty stocked up on musicals, James Taylor and the Sullivan County Music Festival 1968 featuring Jeffersonville's Elementary chorus and Livingston Manor High School Band. We'll play it for you next time you come over. You don't want to miss March Mellow or Concertina for Shofar.

Today we went to the a local poultry farm to pick up our turkey. It wasn't ready yet so we enjoyed the beauty of the area on a mild November day. When the young man brought out the bird, it was still warm.

I plan to prepare for Thanksgiving a little at a time. Maybe I'll make cranberry relish tomorrow. We'll see.

A Break from a Break

I'm taking a break from life, snuggled into my little house in the country. I'm here totally alone, no humans or animals to intrude into the tranquility. I had enough of New York City last weekend, running the marathon, eating out, going to the Javits Center to collect my race bib. I do not like Convention Centers.

What do I do all day? Not much and a lot. I cook delicious meals, go to the Post Office, have a massage, go to yoga, the supermarket, and the library. I think I've mentioned that I was taking a break from Infinite Jest, substituting another but more readable tome 1Q84. When I went to the library Friday, I decided I needed a rest from that book, too, and scanned the new fiction section, looking for lighter fare.

I grabbed Chris Bojalian's latest silliness, The Night Strangers. I suppose it's meant to be a scary book, with ghosts, auras, murders, tinctures and potions. Turns out that these aging folks in a remote New Hampshire town have discovered how to tap into the fountain of youth. Mainly, it takes young blood and a lot of herbs.

The book's not badly written, and you learn more than you want to know about airplanes crashing, but it ends with the parent accepting the murder of one of their twins and buy into the fountain of youth crap. Who wants to live to be 100 or more when they know they were responsible for the death of their child?

At least it was a quick read. Break's over. Back to the bizarre world of 1Q84.

Winter Wonderland

Our little brook flows through the snow

Swinging in the snow

Sun-lit snow-glazed Catskills

We were lucky to spend the weekend in the country. Marty took these photos during and after the storm. It really was this beautiful.

Local TV said to expect power outages due to snow weighing down the still-leafy trees. The only precaution I took with trees was to shake my little red maple off. Most of the other trees were already leafless, although several branches did fall overnight.

We were prepared for power failure, but it wouldn't be fun like Costa Rica. There, temperature wasn't an issue. In the Catskills, it would be very cold but we have a lot of blankets. We also have candles, flashlights (batteries included!), and a propane stove. If you have matches to light the pilot you can cook and eat the cold away. We only had about 6 inches of snow, and we never lost power. Still, that Italian Wedding Soup was delicious, and easy to make.

I read all weekend, went to Yoga and tried to watch a Coen brothers movie with Marty (Burn After Reading) but ended up falling asleep somewhere in the middle of the craziness. We drove home in record time because so many people were dealing with power failure caused by downed trees. We were lucky. Our street in Manhattan looked the same as always.
Two or three cars had some snow on them, but that was it.