GOOD LATE MORNING TO US ALL!
Holy Cow-----it's rare that I sleep after daylight, and here it is 8:30! The sun is out, so far, and the temperature is a VERY humid 56 degrees! Supposed to get thundershowers today, however, and I never look forward to those!
My daughter, Mandy, spent the day with me yesterday, and we had one of the neatest days I can remember. We walked and talked and walked and debated and walked and tried to solve the troubles of the world and walked some more! It was so good to have her with me for so long in an unhurried amount of time! She is most certainly one of my most favorite people in this world. Her exams at her college are over, and she has tons of grading and reading to do, so it was a good break for her, too. She helped me lift that heavy canoe into the pond, without having to drag it, so I could paddle out and unclog the overflow pipe which had a lot of beaver-chew debris on it----it's a wonder I didn't get sucked down the drain when I freed it up!
We discussed her plan for getting family together with an estate lawyer (she has a grad student at school who is majoring in this field who has volunteered to come and sit with us and help us out----steer us in the right direction----so that was very good to hear. We need, as a family and future family members, to deal with land titles, wills, trusts, power of attorney, and more. I will be very glad to have these legal things over and done with.
We discussed possible uses for this property down the line, such as a family wilderness campground, or a luxury camp (after getting some major work on the log cabin at the pond) dealing with very wealthy city-dwellers who might be willing to pay big bucks to have a true "Adirondack wilderness experience" with a cabin at the pond to stay in with meals , chosen by them, cooked by a real chef, laundry service, etc. etc. while they hike and climb our mountains and visit our native attractions. And on and on our discussions went! It gives me real pleasure to know that my kids are so appreciative of their 'inheritance' which is land, not money. All I need is a little space for me and Molly and enough money coming in to eat and stay warm or cool, as the case may be! I can live in my leanto for all summer long and be in heaven!
Alice, I cannot BELIEVE your rig is needing even more shop work! I am thinking you really might be jinxed! But, as you said, camping in it at the lot might be a viable option, and will help Abby start to think of it as 'home', too. Keep us udated as you ride herd on the repairers!
I have a cookout to attend today at Mandy's boyfriend's (Joe) mother's house this afternoon, so that should be a good time. Joe used to be a student of mine, and his sister, too. Many friends of theirs will be there, also, and they were all my students over the years. I like to catch up on their lives.
The news this morning is filled with gloom, from tornadoes to oil contamination to floods to a car bomb found in Times Square. At the top of our priorities list should be that underwater oil well. If a bill allowing more off-shore drilling passes through our government at this stage of the game, I will know that those we elect to represent us are totally oblivious to safe global practices.
So, to keep my spirits up and on a postitive track, Molly and I will walk again, and appreciate each and every little piece of life out there from teeny little plants to huge grey herons, and breathe in the so-far clean air, and bask in the sunshine. I promise to also be mindful of my carbon footprint on this earth, and contaminate as little as possible for me to survive.
May we all find something to be thankful for today, and try to make our Earth a bit more life-sustaining.