Sunday, August 14, 2011 - Family Reunion Day

Well, today is the big day to meet all the first cousins we haven’t seen or heard from since 1963 and other relatives we’ve never met. Turns out I had so many mosquito bites from wearing Capri pants Friday night that I looked like I had measles or something, so we ran over to Kohl’s to grab some long pants. I wanted white jeans or cotton pants, something that wasn’t blue jeans. We managed to find a pair of light pastel green jeans that looked great, and also found another pair one size smaller in a pretty lilac/lavender color that Hubby liked, and miraculously they fit beautifully, even though it’s a smaller size than I thought I could fit into! Losing weight is a great excuse for buying new clothes, and I love it when it goes to another size smaller! We also discovered that Hubby’s shirt had some kind of coffee stain on it, so we had to buy him another one real quick as well. Anyway, fully decked out, we headed across the street to North Ponds Park where the reunion was being held. We quickly met up with our first cousins (four sisters that were my mother’s nieces), with all the physical characteristics of her side of the family (barely five feet!) Met the young man who started it all by searching for his lost family (when his grandfather died a few years back, they thought he was an only child, turns out he had two sisters, my mother and our aunt.) Anyway, there was enough food for an army, and the barbecue grill keep churning out more stuff, even through a rainstorm that chased us all indoors. It was an interesting and pleasant day, with a few stories we hadn’t heard before, and a few memories rekindled that we had forgotten. We stayed until about 5:00 before it started to break up, and stopped to get frozen custart at Abbott’s (a local delicacy) on the way back. After dropping off Hubby, I eventually went out to the cottage, since one of my goals was to play some Euchre (a card game that is best played with two teams of two, for the uninitiated) with my brothers. Hubby didn’t have any reason to sit around, and it left me open to carouse in the way only my family can. I arrived about 7:00, and after getting my Florida brother out of bed (napping), we played cards until about midnight, when the same brother turned another year older (so I gave him a card I had picked up earlier), and we had a good laugh over that. Then I headed out, finding Hubby in bed with the light on, a perfect welcome at the end of a long day!

Saturday, August 13, 2011 - Ride Plan Scrapped Again

All the best laid plans... We had intended to take the horses out to the beach today, having scouted it out yesterday on our way out to the cottage, but once again we were thwarted. During breakfast, I received a call from the vet saying one of the blood tests on the dogs had come back positive for the presence of Lyme disease activity. Apparently that doesn’t necessary mean it’s still present, just that it had been in the past, and the only thing to be done is to either have an expensive test done, or run a course of antibiotics as a prophylactic. Either way it meant a trip to the vet, 35 minutes away. So I packed up Marina, whom they told me was the one with the problem, left Hubby to transfer hay from the horse trailer to the pickup (a necessary chore that had been planned for the day, as we needed to clear out the hay in order to use the trailer), and headed out to the vet’s. Once I arrived, the lab tech took Marina away to draw blood. Several minutes later, the doctor came out, and informed me that the file had been mislabeled, and it wasn’t Marina that needed the test, it was Billy! Great! I had to pack up Marina, drive all the way back to the farm, pick up Billy (though I brought Marina along again, just in case), and drive all the way back into town again, a full hour out and back. So Billy got his test, but by the time I got back it was 4:00, and way too late to consider riding anywhere. Hubby had managed to transfer all the hay from the horse trailer to the pickup, so at least that job got done. We decided we needed to have a night off anyway, we haven’t had a day off in a while, and weren’t likely to get one for a while either.

Friday, August 12, 2011 - Work and Clambake

Slept later than we expected, then did some chores to do in the morning before finally heading out to the cottage. Stopped to pick up a few things along the way, then spent some more time socializing. Enjoyed the clam dinner with new potatoes and sweet corn before lounging around the campfire. A neighbor shot off a few fireworks just for fun. Then it was decided that some of the family wanted to go to a local bar and listen to some music, and I got picked to be the designated driver. After promises that we’d only be there for an hour, we headed out to a club a few miles down the road. Not a bad place, with a restaurant, bar, deck, pool and hot tub right on the water, and the band wasn’t bad, but when I suggested to Hubby to appease himself with a coffee and brandy, we discovered they didn’t have coffee or brandy! We listened for awhile before heading back, arriving back after midnight. By then most everyone else had gone to bed our home, and Hubby and I headed back to the ranch.

Thursday, August 11, 2011 - Family Reunion Precursor

It was decided that we would pick up my oldest brother at the airport today, and pick up the clams for the clambake planned for the weekend. He arrived at about noon, we headed to the famous Palmer’s for two bags of clams, then north to drop him off at House of Guitars so that he could look through their vinyl records, looking to add to his collection. Meanwhile, we went to an Ear, Nose & Throat doctor for Hubby. He’s been almost deaf in one ear since our flight to Atlanta last week, because we ended up getting relegated to the back of the plane behind the engines and next to the galley. Turns out that after his examination, the doctor concluded it wasn’t due to fluid on his ears, which was the first conclusion, but that in fact it was due to dehydration and weight loss! Apparently there are fat pads that help keep his Eustachian tubes closed, and because of his recent weight loss, they aren’t fully doing the job. The doctor said he just needed to give it some time to settle in, and to keep drinking fluids. Seems like a strange thing, but it makes sense, and we’ll give it a go! Afterward we picked up big brother and headed out to the cottage another brother has rented on Sodus Bay, stopping at Orbachers for ice cream along the way, as well as stops for groceries, and, of course, beer for the boys. Hung out with the family and their friends for a few hours before coming back home. Clambake tomorrow, expect it to be a long night!

Wednesday, August 10, 2011 - Vet Day

After getting some paperwork done in the morning, we took the pups to the vet today, to get them tested for heartworm so that we can put them on a medication regime now that the mosquitos are out. Also wanted to get something to get rid of the fleas we’ve been fighting for so long. Finally decided on a once a month pill that is supposed to do both. Stopped at a nearby Friendly’s for our lunch of ice cream before heading back.

Tuesday, August 9, 2011 - Flea Day Again!

After sleeping till the ungodly hour of 11:15, I spent most of the day on the computer trying to solve a bunch of problems, then finished off the day trying to get rid of fles which have managed in five short days, to completely reinfest the dogs. Bath for Billy, vacuum for Marina and the carpet, spray for both dogs, and an appointment with the vet tomorrow to get flea pills, as I’ve had enough of this struggle. These Florida fleas just seem to be unstoppable! Relaxed for the evening, though there’s a lot of work still staring me in the face!

Monday, August 8, 2011 - Travel to Rochester Day-I Hate Delta More!

Car arrived right on time (ten minutes early), and we headed straight out to the airport in light traffic. Had breakfast at the Atlanta Bread Co. in the Atrium, then headed down to our gate for our final (forever!) Delta flight. Not surprisingly, we encountered yet another challenge on the plane. As we were seated, we started to buckle up, and discovered that there was some kind of black, sticky stuff all over the blade of the seat belt insert. Hubby noticed it first on his, though at first he thought is was grease of some kind, then I found the same thing on mine. Perfect! I was wearing a white dress! We pointed it out to the flight attendant, who handed me a couple of wetnaps so that I could clean them up before putting them on. Turns out it was gum, that had obviously been there quite a long time to get that dirty. Yuck! Doesn’t matter what Delta does, our relationship is cursed, and we’re never flying Delta again! In fact, when we were walking through the Atlanta airport, some young man tried to flag me down to apply for a Delta credit card, and I pointedly said, "After this, I’m never flying Delta again!" Even if it’s the only non-stop flight, I’ve had it with them! Anyway, we arrived safely, which is the most important thing, drove home with one stop for groceries, glad to be back to the critters! Going to bed fairly early, as these travel days always wear us out!