I’ve got lists upon lists. A list of things I have to do today.
A list of things I have to do tomorrow.
A list of all the dog and cat needs for the road. (Water, food, crates, crate pads, sun screens for the crates, water buckets, toys and chewies, leashes, poop scoop bags, dog food bowls, cat litter box, cat box liners (for easy clean up in motel rooms), cat litter, litter scoop, cat food bowls, water bowl, old sheets for protecting motel bedspreads, old towels in case of accidents or muddy feet, flashlight for walking dogs after dark. I’m sure I am leaving out something but, well, you get the idea. We are old dog show people so we are used to the drill.
A list of what to remember to take with us.
A list of things we need to turn off or on before leaving the house.
Little piles stacked here and there of things I want to go to the cabin. Books, magazines, and puzzles. Embroidery project. Big road map atlas. Game Cube games. A few movies. Some things we found while cleaning out the upstairs hall closet that really belong at the cabin and not here. All my camera gear. Rick’s fancy camera gear borrowed from work. The video camera and all its components.
The kitchen sink ... (just kidding!)
Maybe we need something bigger than our Suburban with the pod on top??
... we’ll be here:
and possibly doing this:
The Cabin. The last time we were here was June 2008. That’s a long time considering we were up there every available weekend when we lived there (weather conditions permitting). It’s partly why we chose the house here in New Jersey that we did because it’s a combination of the best of both worlds. Sure we have woods and bear, turkeys, deer and lots of other wildlife visiting our yard but it doesn’t compare to the cabin.
At the cabin we are “off the grid.” For those that don’t know what that term means, it means we have no services such as electric, natural gas or phone. No one plows the roads past a certain point in the winter and all the roads drift over. Our electricity comes from solar panels whose energy is stored in batteries. So, in a sense we have a battery powered house! Normally we would have the energy provided by our wind generator too (which where we are located is a huge amount of wind) but we have dismantled the wind generator as we come so infrequently. So we really have to watch our electric usage. Or should I say Rick watches it and I just keep on using it! I drive the man crazy. But I digress ...
We have a septic system and a well. (The well pump is powered by the electricity that we generate.) We have a furnace, range, and very small refrigerator that run off of propane (and a 1,000 gallon propane tank). We prefer to heat with other means than the furnace when we can. We have a wood burning fireplace and—my pride and joy of which I am the Queen of—our wood burning range.
Once fired up this beauty can heat the whole cabin and keep it toasty warm. In fact there are times we had it so warm we had to open windows! We don’t use the top for cooking but we do use the oven in the winter months. It’s not old, just a modern day replica that we bought new when we had the cabin built. Rick plans to take a few hardwood logs with us and see how long they will burn in it. (All our wood there is soft: pine and aspen.)
Our refrigerator is very small so we have to plan meals accordingly. In the winter we have use of Mother Nature’s fridge for cooling the wine and such in the form of the snow that slides off the roof and onto our front porch.
It used to be that we did not even have a radio up there; only a phone. No TV either. We were cut off from the rest of the world. We were enjoying a week-long cabin visit during 9/11 and we had no idea what was happening until I called my friend Piper just to chat. When she told us what was going on Rick rushed out to the truck to listen to the radio reports. In a way, we feel like we missed the whole thing. We felt like we should cut our visit short and go home, but what good would that have done? We did end up going home a few days earlier than we normally would have.
Now we have all the modern comforts thanks to these two discs:
We have satellite television and (we hope!) internet. Not like last year when our internet was such a problem. I think we resolved that problem—finally. We also have our Sirius satellite radio that we’ll take with us. The only thing we don’t have reliably is a phone. My old analog phone through AT&T worked liked a charm up there with a booster on the cabin roof. Now that analog technology is not supported anymore that phone does not work. Neither does Rick’s fancy iPhone. The phone I have now sort of works. It hardly ever rings through to the cabin but we can hear it taking a message. Or you might get a signal if you take it and stand outside in a certain spot. Maybe. It’s annoying! It’s really just for emergencies anyway since neither Rick or I are big phone people. Not like some people who are constantly texting away.
Soon we will start our trek westward with three dogs, two cats and all the necessary paraphernalia. Two of the cats (Vincent and Pookie) will stay here and be tended by their new pet sitter. Do you think we’re crazy? Really, they are all good travelers (except for Bella they’ve all done it before) and it’s easier than you might think. We don’t stay in fancy hotels along the way, mostly Motel 6’s and Red Roof Inns because they are pet friendly. There is a really nice Ramada Inn that takes pets just over the Indiana border that we are aiming for for the first night that is just a perfect place to stay. Although the cats preferred a motel we stayed in last year where we had a below ground level room. They could sit in the window that was ground level and watch the world go by.
I’m not really looking forward to spending three days on the road but we have books on the iPod and plenty of music and podcasts to listen to. The miles will go by quickly, and every mile puts us closer to our goal.
The Cabin.
Can’t wait.
We went back to the Ren Faire. Again. I guess we just can’t get enough. Our reasons for going were twofold: (1) because we wanted to see more silly acts and (2) because the puzzle ring that Rick got there for his birthday ended up at the bottom of the blender while making pina coladas last weekend. oops. Too mangled up to put it back together so we went to see what our options were. We think the gold can be heated up and made new again. Good news!
It was hot and humid again (but thankfully not very sunny) and had rained pretty hard the day before. Rick didn’t want to dress up again in full regalia, so he opted for cargo shorts, his flowy shirt and belt. I thought he looked cute but he did get some razzing from the people working the booths there for not having proper pants on. When you dress the part you get more interaction with the people that work there and it’s more fun. Lots of good humored bantering back and forth and bawdy comments. Why, one gentleman even wagged his dragon’s head in my direction. Oh my!
I dressed up again but this time I had bought a short sleeved peasant blouse to wear under my bodice instead of the heavier long-sleeved one I normally wear. Much cooler! I added a layer to my costume too—a pretty hunter green overskirt. I swear I could wear that outfit all the time! I would get some pretty strange looks around the Shop-Rite I’m certain. People might even think I was weird or something. Can you imagine?
Due to the rain there was lots of medieval mud around. And lots of muddy puddles. Ladies’ dress hems dragged through the mess and I thought how appropriate it all was. Just like it was back then. Pretty messy but somehow is just added to the experience.
The shire is in a lovely setting and it’s pleasant to stroll around and take in all the sights. I love all the different buildings.
Yes, very pleasant indeed.
A little taste of typical faire food: Rick’s turkey leg and dragon chips.
The Ren Faire is also a good place to people watch. Just take a look.
This gentleman is a regular. I remember taking his photo last year. He’s quite congenial and will talk your ear off if you let him. I listened to the story of how he was stung by a bee on the roof of his mouth one year. Thankfully he said he had consumed so much ale that it made it alright somehow.
Now Warrior Princess here ruins her whole look by texting her minions. Great costume though. Next time leave your phone at home Xena!
I think one of these finely dressed men was trying to get Robin on the phone.
These two have never seen the show What Not to Wear. They give belly dancing a whole new meaning. (Sorry girls, you were too good to pass up.)
A mushroom is a perfect seat for a little princess!
And talk about a bad a**. Here is Xena again only this time seen from behind.
Nothing like a muddy jousting field. (and yes, that threatening sky did rain on us!)
There are other things to do besides watch people. You can take in any one of the many shows and acts. This is my favorite theater, The Sherwood Forest Stage. Here we saw “Hey Nunnie, Nunnie” a comedy act by two nuns. Very entertaining!
You can get revenge on this evil looking man hurling insults at you by pummeling him (or trying to) with tomatoes.
You can laugh at the antics and watch the juggling act of Two Stoopid Guys.
All this makes for a very entertaining day. If you let yourself go a little bit you’d be surprised at just how much fun it really is. An escape from the day-to-day reality. A chance to be someone else for a day. A wench. A lady. A pirate. A knight. A fairy. You see them all here at the Faire.
But alas, it’s time to unlace my bodice and hang it up until next year. Fare thee well, Sterling Forest, until then!
I don’t normally take photos of people but this woman selling flowers spoke to me. I like the shallower depth of field allowing the focus to be on her, yet the man across the street adds additional interest.
Since there is no blue, either now or predicted to be in my day today, I am posting this photo from San Miguel. I loved the color of this house. Somehow I don’t think it would look right here in New Jersey.
