DESULTORY AND CIRCUITOUS: A LAW FIRM IT'S NOT

Oh back in Brewster now.

Louise, Erik, and I had a kind of lazy day in Rhinebeck; well, Erik worked on the syllabus for his class, and Louise did some gardening, but it felt lazy. I sat and watched the Olympics desultorily (and why don't more of you use that word? you know it's a good one. I mean, you can let me corner the market on using it, but I think you are passing up an opportunity there ...) while I played solitaire (still at it, three years later) and snorkled around the net. Louise made lobster salad using the cubanelle peppers I had brought along as she was out of celery. Worked pretty well. There was a short and crazy rainstorm, but this photo doesn't show it well. That dark-leafed tree is quite beautiful. I should have snapped a shot in the morning when the light was better.

Zucchini and tomatoes from Louise's garden.

I drove home via a highly circuitous route. Very beautiful. I have so often promised myself that I would drive around upstate New York that I saw no compelling reason to put it off any longer. Well, my extreme depression did dampen my enjoyment, but it was great scenery. I didn't have the enthusiasm to stop and take many photos, but I did get a few. Imagine a SallyAnne who does not brake, stop, nor turn-around for tag sales and antique stores. So is my state these days.

For those of you who are interested and handy with google maps, these landscapes were on Route 22 in eastern New York, not far from the Berkshires and the Connecticut border, between Amenia and Dover. Farmland dotted with many historical markers. Maybe I will shoot some if I ever take such a drive again.

 After stopping at a farm stand to buy an oregano and a marjoram plant, I cruised by the Big W Barbecue in Wingdale only to recognize two humans getting out of the car and heading in. One of the B's and her daughter, AJ, regularly stop there on their way home from their summer rental in Connecticut. Just remarkable timing that I happened to drive by as they were getting out of the car. I couldn't quite see them, but as there was a pretty good chance it was they, it was worth turning around. AJ's face dropped in astonishment when I pulled up. 

Back at the ranch, I hung out with J while he prepared penne with vodka sauce. The kitchen and family room are air conditioned and it was sticky and stifling up in my room. As the doors were closed off to the rest of the house, I thought perhaps it was a good time to try to get Cooder to hang out downstairs and perhaps get a bit more acclimated to Albert. She didn't fall asleep or anything, but she did tolerate it. I made her watch True Blood and The Newsroom with me, too.

So, trying trying trying. CB and Yoda say, "There is no trying, only doing." Yeah, right.

The title comes from an ad in the LA Times for Crosby, Stills, and Nash in the early 1970s. I just repurposed the tag line.