Aftermath Irene Margaretville

I can't believe the water is all gone after only a matter of hours.  Unbelievable - the amount of damage.  Waiting to hear from friends about their house in Fleischmanns - have not been able to see any photos or videos yet of the aftermath in Fleischmanns.  HWY 28 is apparently clear but traffic in and out of the two towns is limited to Emergency Vehicles only.  They had just finished remodeling this grocery store this year.

Irene Devastation in Delaware County

Poor Margaretville, Fleischmanns and Aarkville and other surrounding towns devastated by Hurricane Irene.  Fleischmanns is probably the worst from what I can see.  One 70 year old woman killed in Fleischmanns caught in hotel that was flooded.  Really horrible. Haven't heard from friends in Fleishmanns about their home yet - really concerned about them as well as friends in Roxbury who have no idea how much damage has happened to their home.  Very sad.

Great Weekend!

Two of our friends, N and B, took friday off along with Tim and myself and we drove up from the city together.  This allowed us to have an extra long evening for cocktails under the stars and Cha Cha Hut BBQ for dinner. As we sat chatting and laughing at the dining room table - we couldn't decide what BBQ sauce was hotter  ….Thundernagi or the Facemelter?

Saturday morning, we drove over to Round Barn and shopped for goodies… sampling chocolate covered bacon - not so tasty but the Chocolate mashed potatoes were interesting.  Then, we drove to Delhi to check out a couple antique stores and had lunch at our friend Stephanie's place, Blue Bee Cafe.  Saturday afternoon, N and B were incredible help in the garden, harvesting all of our onions, potatoes, picking tomatoes, zucchini and blackberries.  Then, B spent an hour weeding - he is hired!  N and B had brought this incredible mix of cheeses and appetizers and we sat on the deck oohing and ahhing over the aps with cocktails..  For dinner, we grilled peppercorn crusted steaks with grilled red onions and Tim made a salsa verde to pour over the steak along with corn on the cob and grilled zucchini with a lemon and scallion marinade.  We sat out until it got too chilly and then came inside, watched movies and had homemade ice cream sandwiches for dessert. N was a little tasmanian devil cleaning up behind everyone.  Have to love that!  

Sunday, we had quiche and cherry scones from Amy's Bakery on 9th Ave for breakfast .  We went for a hike and then N and B drove back to the city.  Tim and I took a long walk down HWY 6 enjoying the scenery with a couple cocktails.  Our new hardy hibiscus shrubs which we just planted this year bloomed and are beautiful.  We got back just in time for the rainstorms to start.  Leftovers for dinner and old episodes of Soap from the 70's.  It was a great weekend, Thanks N and B for being such wonderful guests - you are welcome anytime!

Fleischmanns - Mi Lupita Restaurant - Things To Do

Things To Do - Fleischmanns -

Mi Lupita 

I grew up in Texas and I am particularly fond of Mexican food - however - it better be good.  Tim lived in Mexico as a kid and his entire family is crazy for anything hot and Mexican.  Whenever we need a fix upstate, we drive east on 28 to Fleischmanns and stop into a smallish Mexican grocery store with a tiny cafe in back called Mi Lupita.  Don't let the exterior fool you, the food is really good.  Authentic but on the spicier side which is the way we both like it.  Very casual and a nice mix of interesting dishes along with the typical fair you would expect but all good.  The service is a little slow and there is no alcohol but the food is worth it.  Great for a late Sunday afternoon lunch on the way back to the city.  

Mi Lupita 967 Main St. Fleischmans NY (845) 468-0150.

Weekend In The Country

Pardon the Sondheim reference. Tim had a huge project at work to finish launching this weekend...so...I invited a couple friends up for the weekend to babysit me.  D, an ex-co-worker and J, an ex-neighbor, his two dogs and myself crammed ourselves onto the Metro North train and wedged ourselves into my pickup and drove upstate for the weekend.  Weekends with friends gives me the opportunity to play tourist in this part of the world vs. the city. Saturday, we shopped for antiques at Fisk House, got ice coffee at Blue Bee Cafe, picked blueberries at Country Perennials, had delicious curried egg salad at Lucky Dog, came home and grilled London Broil and had Slab Peach Pie for dessert.  Sunday, shopping at Delaware, Kabinett and Kammer, Tay's teas and a long lunch of green chili enchiladas and tamales at Lupitas in Fleishmans.  Then, home to Tim, Sookie and Burns.  Thanks J and D for keeping me company!

No Time Like The Present

It's been a busy but productive summer. In between our gardening, cooking, entertaining friends, Smurf Village games, Plants and Zombies games, Words with Friends games - Tim and I occasionally stop to take long walks in our neighborhood. The two of us get our Monster Coffee Mugs and head out in our very granola Timberland walking sneakers and take a couple hours to just enjoy the countryside.  I take my camera because we live in a world of social media.  We spend a couple hours just walking and talking and re-connecting.  No IPads, IPods, Facebook, IPhones, email and other assorted time-zapping technology.  We live in such a beautiful place and although it was misty this morning, the walk was so peaceful…the surrounding hills and pastures so serene.  No time zap, just living in the present. 

Blackberry Season

Blackberries

We have gaggles of wild blackberry bushes all over the property and it's time to pick!  We will have a couple weekends to harvest before they go bad.  Time is of the essence.  We buy all three sizes of Ball jars in order to store and freeze.  Even if we pick a small bowl-full, we take the time to put a pot on the stove to boil and add sugar and make jam.  We will do this all summer with a host of veggies and fruit.  However, don't do what I do and go picking with just tee shirt, shorts and flip flops on.  You will come back to the house a bloody mess like me.  Make sure you wear gloves, long pants, and a long sleeve shirt.  The thorns are small but deadly.  However, we will have our own jam all winter.