Little Miss Sunshine

If you haven't seen this movie it's about some folks taking a trip in an old yellow VW bus. John & I (thanks to Bridge) just happen to have one almost like it so of course we had to drive it to the theater when we went to see the movie. As chance would have it, a parking space opened up right in front of the theater. As chance would have it again, Chuck, the theater manager was there to take our picture. In fact to get this angle of the bus with the marquee in the background he had to lay down in the street. On Broadway this might have been a problem. In Hamilton it was no problem. Did we get free tickets to the movie? Well, nooooo - the theater is trying to break even. However, Chuck was nice enough to send us photos. Should you see the movie if you haven't already? Rent it & pop some popcorn would be our suggestion. It won't win any awards but it's not a bad way to pass a couple of hours. Is John "Invincible"? Only in his dreams.

Tomorrow John & I are leaving in Tillie (the VW in the photo) heading south to North Carolina to visit friends & work on a Habitat project for a couple of weeks. This blog will not be updated during that time. If you would like to follow our trip south go to www.ontheroadinthevw.blogspot.com Traveling in Tillie is always an adventure.

Hair

Like most folks I get my hair “done” every so often. Earlville may be small (population under 1,000) but we do have a salon. Debra & Diana do a wonderful job for a VERY reasonable price compared with what those of you in the city pay (cut, color, dry/style $35 plus tip in case you’re wondering). Diana, the person who does my hair, is amazing. She not only does hair a couple of afternoons a week but she raises a few chickens & sells their eggs; has a pet sitting service; does catering; has a real eye for landscaping; is a wife & mother; & knows how to drive a backhoe and a bulldozer. Apparently money really does go further in the country as she also drives a brand new Hummer (do NOT think my tips are THAT generous!).

Right across the street from “Hair’s Desire” is Norm’s Barber Shop. Once Around Norm, as he’s affectionately called, earned his nickname because of his reluctance to visit any part of your head more than once. Does John go to Norm? No - he’s been using my “in-house” services for years. I must admit that there are some parts of John’s head that don’t even get one visit these days although John continues to say his hair is just baby fine. John thinks he’s saving money. He might be surprised to learn how often I’ve justified buying something in exchange for cutting that hair.

And in case you were wondering what that other little building was in the first photo - that's our local bar, the Huff Brau. If you give those old guys a push down Norm's ramp they can just about make it in the front door.

Laundry & Birds

I love to hang clothes out to dry - they always smell so great at the end of the day. However, I hate to have my clean undies visible from the road which is why my clothesline is in the trees (of course here I am posting a picture of it on the blog - go figure). Anyway this time of year when days are short, timing is everything. You need 1) a full day of sunshine predicted 2) a light breeze is helpful 3) dirty clothes 4) daytime temps above freezing (I'm a wimp) 5) tell the birds to avoid that area (well, you, I'm sure, can figure that one out!). And walla, at the end of the day you have clothes that smell better than anything that ever came out of the dryer.

Now for the REAL story of the day... My friend Helen was snoozing the afternoon away a few days ago when she heard a loud noise at the door. Since she didn't hear it again AND she lives in a VERY low crime area AND she was enjoying her nap, she decided to stay where she was. When she finally did get up, she found the screen from the door on the floor. It was bent badly enough so she couldn't get it back in the door but that was about all she found. Her yellow lab, Susie, who had also been snoozing, found nothing to indicate further investigation. The next morning when Helen got up (since it was a looooong nap I imagine she got up fairly early) she went to the pantry and a grouse flew up. Low crime area or not, it's a wonder she didn't land on my doorstep she jumped so far. Being a quick thinker, Helen immediately shut the pantry door and called her neighbor who came and caught the bird in a net and took it to the local conservation center. Now, be honest, did you think this neighbor was a man? Well, it wasn't, it was Gert, a GREAT neighbor to have in such emergencies. The end of the story is that the bird had a broken beak so had to be "terminated". (Wonder who ended up having grouse on their table for dinner?) Since then, Helen has had a couple of swallows come down the chimney into the wood stove. Helen says she's not worried. She just builds a fire and they seem to go away.

The Wood Cook Stove

John cooked breakfast this morning. That in itself is not too unusual (he does this every couple of weeks). What was unusual was that he did it on the wood cook stove and, although it wasn't his best effort, everything was edible (it usually is in case you were wondering).

Remember the grate we needed and got last week? Or perhaps you remember the pig hats better? At any rate the grate fit perfectly in the stove so it's now "fired up" and working - the first time in the 15 years we've had it. Perhaps more comforting is we're now sure the "spare" parts John had left (he took it all apart to clean and restore it) were not necessary.

Cooking on a wood stove does mean that breakfast takes a bit longer (a bit being defined as anywhere between 30 minutes and an hour). But that also means the kitchen gets warm in the process. With heating oil so expensive we've been reluctant to turn our heat on so this is VERY pleasant. So far what I like best is that I can set the teapot on a trivet on the stove and it stays nice and hot all morning. Only 4 more years and the stove will be 100 years old. By then we should be experts in cooking on it.