Rainy Days and Sundays, Mondays, Tuedays....

Please note the juxtaposition of the verdant growth of raspberry canes outside of the window and the roaring fire in the woodstove. Another rainy day in the 50's in northern New England and we have only FIVE pieces of wood left in the barn--I guess we'll have to start burning books and furniture soon. I try to recall summer, but the memory is proving elusive.

So, we do what we can.

Molly just finished a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle of sunflowers and I gave into an impulse purchase and bought 8 yards of fabric at Walmart without any idea of what to do with it. But, you see, the fabric contains outlines of all of the states with their attendant flowers and birds. Ideas are welcome. So far I have come up with curtains for the bathroom and placemats but that still leaves me with about 5 yards of unplanned fabric. I'm thinking about a skirt and matching handbag--is it really tacky to wear a skirt that matches your bathroom curtains and your placemats?

Yesterday, Molly and I decided to brave the weather and head off onto the trails in order to climb Mt. Willey and check another 4000 footer off the list. Our original plan was to hike to a mountain called Bondcliff--that one is an 18 mile hike and so we needed to get going really early in the morning in order to get out of the woods by dark. When I woke Molly up at 5, she suggested that perhaps another shorter hike that would allow her a few hours more sleep would be a better idea. I was happy that she gave me an excuse to change our plans, hiking to Bondcliff in questionable weather with high water at the river crossings was probably not a great idea. So, Mt. Willey it was.

Mt. Willey is the southernmost peak in a range of three 4000 footers at the eastern edge of the Pemigewassset Wilderness in New Hampshire's White Mountains. The day was rainy and the rocks were slippery and wet but there is no place that I would have preferred to be.