Croton 9/25/14 - Evening Update

Today, I blinked twice and here it is 6:15pm. (It surely will be awhile later before I close and publish). Where did the day go? I awoke, as usual, around 6:30 am and, yes, it was a crappy day but the sun did try to make its way out and did for a little while but right now things are quiet, clear, and dry.  Once again, I'm outside on my picnic table adding to my blog.  It's been a productive day:  I ran my four errands, two of which were unsuccessful because of issues outside my control.  Then my...

1. First accomplishment was "baking" my breakfast (lunch); Pillsbury cinnamon rolls with a cream cheese topping.  The big deal?  First time cooking in a convention/microwave oven.  There is no "bake" setting so experimenting with "convection" setting did the trick. It grills, roasts, and microwaves so little adventures await me as I go about my travels.
2. Emails, finances, and blog writing was taken care of as the rain fell.  Afterwards, I visited Ray and transferred his 577 travel photos from his iPhone to his external drive.  Now he has the fun of sorting, cropping, enhancing and saving them in the Picasa program and the appropriate album to capture their experiences traveling the country over.  I had the opportunity to look at some photos of the Grand Canyon and Santa Fe and they are outstanding.  Kathy and Ray are extensive RVers.
3. Next, a trip next door to VC and problems both she and George were experiencing was my next task.  I was 99% successful there....but forgotten passwords got in the way of progress.  G found a way to change his and I think VC will now be successful in installing  a Microsoft product she's paid for.
4. Dinner, after a couple of glasses of wine along my route, consisted of a hot bowl of minestrone soup followed by a dish of vegetable risotto, perfect for a day such as this...and a white wine, of course.  A 2013 California Chard called "Butter."  Taster's notes:  "Delivering on its name, this wine has an ethereal creaminess on the palate, woven with smooth vanilla scented oak.  Tropical flavors of pineapple and honeydew intertwine delicately on the mid-palate and linger on to the finish."

     5.  Noticing that my awning was scraped above the door as it opened and closed, I mentioned it to Ray and poof, that's been taken care of.  The awning extension and/or tilting is managed simply my adjusting the extended arm to the desired position.  Thank you, Ray.

The sounds of the night surround me.  No other noises except for the occasional passing airplane reach my ear.  It is soothing, relaxing, and with tonight's choice of music (classical) playing in the background and reaching me through the outside speakers of the coach, all is right with the world, my world.  That's right, the world is not right.  Although my news is a mouse click away on the laptop, I avoid it like the plaque and just skim snippets. Why be aggravated, annoyed, angry, and frustrated with the constant, depressing headlines they choose to inundate you with?

As I walked VC to the dumpster to dispose of our garbage...oops, "trash"....we walked by a huge fifth wheel motor home and I took a double take noticing the two women sitting out on their deck.  The older was a classmate I've known from Franklin Street elementary school, Drum Hill Junior High school, and Peekskill High School helping her daughter close down the rig for tomorrow's departure.  The last time I saw her was at our 50th class reunion (4 years ago).  Her name, also Vicki, recognized me and we spent some time bringing each other up to date on our situations.  The daughter and her husband were driving their rig to Southington, CT, t0 trade it in for a bigger RV...another fifth wheel. When the daughter heard my last name, she asked about my children and, lo and behold, she remembered my daughter, Marybeth....who played soccer at Panas.  She played for Peekskill.  It is indeed, a small world.

VC and I received a text invitation to drop by R&K's coach for some dessert and coffee.  Too chilly to have outside, we enjoyed the warmth of their huge Phaeton.  Delicious snacks, good coffee, good conversation with lots of laughs thus ending the evening on a comfortable and cozy note.  Here it is nearing midnight and I must stop.  I'm putting myself to sleep....goodness knows what I must be doing to my readers....whoever, they are.  Nighty Night!