Moving Day

Hello!
I have moved to a bigger closet.
Check out the new address:
50000wordsinamonth.wordpress.com
Change is good.

Vertigo

Iron filings, magnetism, polarity. All is energy. Even in this recycled picture which is the only thing that Blogger will allow me to post right now. These swirling electromagnetic forces make me dizzy. I'm going to lie down now and close my eyes.

Occupy Blogspot

There was a photograph waiting to be taken.
It was a little red truck carrying a pumpkin worthy of enrollment in the state fair. The pumpkin occupied more than half of the truck bed. Surrounding the truck were various sizes and colors of pumpkins, accompanied by a large handwritten for-sale sign. We drove around the traffic circle twice to take pictures from each side.
You would have been able to see this photograph here if only the picture memory had not exceeded 1 GB.
Another photograph might have made it onto this page too, that of the rescued green ditty bag, recaptured at 2744 feet, 1.5 miles up, during a rehiking and rehashing of Old Speck .
Perhaps it is time to move on to another blog site, this time on Wordpress. Or maybe the 50K-words-in-a-month site will be just that. Words. You'll be the first to know.

Spur of the Moment

Taking the Downeaster to Boston.

It's raining. Going to see the regatta on the Charles River, the city lights, the hustle and bustle of the subway, the Commons. Drive on, James, and don't spare the horses.

Closing the Circle

Having completed Flume and Liberty twice, I have come full circle. These mountains were the first two. I wanted to see if it was any easier with the conditioning that comes from all that climbing.This time the leaves were covering the trail

and bare trees showed more of what was ahead.

Remind me when I talk about climbing the Flume Slide again, that I don't want to. It was just as difficult the second time as the first. The beginning of the slide was not difficult. But stuck in the middle of the slide, with water all over the rocks, no place up, no place down,

I remember that rock where I just couldn't imagine how I was going to move on. Finally spotting a tiny bump where I might be able to place my boot two feet up on the wet rock, I looked for a handhold. Nothing. No way to circumvent the ledge, no tree branches to clutch, no way off the rock horizontally. This required more study, but my legs were already tired and shaky.

Allison's picture of dry slide back in August

Finally, I just placed my boot on the half inch notch and hugged the rock inching upward. Gloves wet, pants scuffed, heart pumping, no slips.

Only 1500 feet up to get off this part of the trail.

Book time was an hour faster than I was. I blamed it on my short legs. Mt. Flume, 4328 ft.

Getting to Liberty from Flume was easier than climbing that one rock.

Mt. Liberty, 4459 ft.

Give Me Liberty

Today Mt. Liberty, left, and Mt. Flume, right, are on the hiking agenda. Three years ago I started the 48 in NH with Liberty and Flume, and it seemed like a death march back then. I'm betting it will be easier today. Too bad I left my bandaid ditty bag on Old Speck last week.

Shake, Rattle and...

 It was scarey until it was over and there was no damage to the house. It lasted just seconds.
My very first experience of an earthquake. It was unsettling, duh.
The epicenter was about 25 miles away, magnitude of 4.0, 4 miles underground. The whole house shook.

 

Today it is exciting.

Does Transparent Mean Naked?

After deciding that I would like more transparency and simplicity, this book shows up at the map store. I buy it with a credit card. Evidently, that is the first mistake, according to the book.

Don't blog. Don't post pictures on the internet. Take back all your identifying information. Spread misinformation. Buy disposable cell phones and prepaid credit cards. Put all your finances under the umbrella of a corporation.
The whole idea teases the international spy persona harbored in my psyche. But I don't really want to disappear. Given a choice, I'd rather be center stage singing Swanee, how I love ya, how I love ya. Simply and transparently.

Sugar, Caffeine and Alcohol

How much breath will it take

for the candles on the cake?

Time to dye my hair.

 Already gone spare.

I can't remember my wish.

Happy Birthday

Yesterday was perfect for a hike...

at 300 feet above sea level.

It was a little iffy above 3000 feet.

Old Speck is the southernmost mountain in Maine above 4000 feet.

The touristy spots are still open until tomorrow.

The mountains are closing down early to fair weather hikers.

 Old Speck Mountain, 4180 feet.

 Today is my birthday.

Things I Love

Yesterday morning before the rain, the sky was red. Warning.

I baked two cakes while it rained all day. The first was a pudding cake, not very cake-like, disappointing.
So the second was slathered with brandy and covered with whipped cream.

That one will have to wait until tomorrow. But it appears to be a bullseye.

Today I planned to hike Old Speck near Newry, Maine. But the back, bothering me since yoga class on Tuesday, twinged shockingly as I walked down the stairs. And now I'm not so sure.

Hike, then cake.

First Freeze

Jogging took me past two wooly bear caterpillars.

And to remind myself of the type of winter to come, I reviewed a blog entry from back on Aug 9.

reminding me that we are in for a mild winter.
There appears to be some discrepancy or conflict, judging by the webcam on top of Mt. Washington. There, it is snowing, the winds are blowing above 60 mph, and the wind chill is below zero.

 One needs a conflict to have a story to tell.

Driving took me to the Yarmouth Delorme map store in search of a NH tyvek trail map drawn on a yellow background. They have a two-story revolving globe, but no NH trail  map. Sold out.

Up the road to LL Bean where they are also sold out of those maps.

Home to bake cake.

Hiking Postponed

 Winds blowing today at 50 mph above 5000 feet.

 Looks perfect outside the window here,

 and perfect on top of the ridge two days ago from a borrowed hike. 

It has been raining and with the damp, fallen leaves, and the steep pitch on the Flume Slide, the hiking day has been postponed for another. Hopefully the leaves will stay on just a little longer for my own photos.

Meanwhile Jim reads to me out of a catalog while we sit in front of the fire. We both laugh at the T shirt we know belongs to me.

Hiking brings me into a finer focus. Hope to go soon. Hi.

Stream of Consciousness

A little squash goes a long way.

Is it time for a sweet, spicy, faux pumpkin pie?

Back to the drawing board.

Back to the recipe books.

Back to the salt mines.

Gymming

Expecting to walk into a usual yoga class, starting on the floor in a cross-legged pose,

it was a surprise to find chairs on all the yoga mats and older women sitting on the chairs.

My first chair yoga for the older set. I fit right in. Two years ago I was learning aerial yoga. Now, chair yoga.

The best part of the gym price for the day was the steam room before tai chi class.

 I'm goin' in!