Hellooooooo! Anybody out there? Is anyone reading this drivel that I keep writing? Or should I be confining it to my own personal diary, on paper, tucked into my bedside drawer? If I don’t start getting some response from people out there in cyberland, that is exactly what I am going to do! I have not had any comments except for one early on [bless you, Margie!]. No one emails me [except my Mom-in-Law, thank you!] to let me know whether or not you are enjoying any of this or not. I mostly started this blog to keep in touch with everyone, but yet I hear NADA from 95% of you! Surely you can’t all be that busy that you can’t drop me a line? And, for anyone who is not family or friends, are you reading this? Please let me hear some kind of feedback. I know someone is visiting the site because the hits just keep going up! If you like it, please let me hear from you. Otherwise, I may just take all of it offline and keep it to myself!

Tonight we experienced the worst thunderstorm that I have seen in years. Thunder boomed, lightening lit up the skies, the dogs [and cats] all ran for cover and the skies just opened up. Finally the dogs asked to go downstairs to the relative safety of their crates for the duration of the storm. I can’t say that I blame them. I was ready to run for cover too each time I saw the skies light up. We had some very close hits. The lights flickered on and off, we lost cable TV and it still is not back on by 10:00 p.m. We still have the air conditioning on tonight [though it hasn’t run in a while now] because it’s so humid and sticky outside. I guess I’ve forgotten what humidity can be like after being away for 30 some odd years. Tonight it’s not much fun. I know Rick posted to his site about having a “joyful” moment while I was gone last night. Hmm..maybe he was just joyful I wasn’t here? Because for sure, the dogs have been anything BUT good since I’ve been home. Maybe it’s the drop in barometric pressure that set them off; or maybe not. It always used to in Colorado. Or, maybe I should just leave again? Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day. I certainly hope so.

On Sunday morning Rick and I went to the farmer’s market in Warwick, New York. Warwick is not very far away, about a 15 to 20 minute drive. As I’ve mentioned before, we are very close to the New York border! We’ve driven to Warwick once before but never down into the business district. We were intrigued, however, after passing a winery, a U-Pick-It apple orchard and a creamery, all in what looked like a lovely setting. On this beautiful Sunday morning we chose to drive up the east side of Greenwood Lake since Kim and Mark had mentioned there were a couple of good restaurants on this side and we wanted to see where they were. A very pretty drive! We are going to try out at least one of the restaurants when my Mom is here this week. They both have outdoor seating with a view of the lake, and one is right on the lake. Anyway, I digress. This is supposed to be about the farmer’s market.

We found the market with no problem at all, just off the main business district [which by the way needs a lot more exploring, including a book shop]. It’s not a large market, but what they do have is all quality, organic, local goods. There were stalls selling gorgeous plants, huge freshly baked pies and tarts, goat cheese, artisan bread, fresh pesto [we bought some], all kinds of fresh salad greens [all organic], a french style bakery was selling mini quiches and pastries. My favorite stall, Bobolink Dairy, was sellling homemade cheeses and hearty breads baked in a wood fired oven. We bought some cheddar and a cheese called foret [pronounced the french way: four-ay]. People in front of use were buying huge slices out of a wheel of bread that had whole cloves of garlic baked right in. We couldn’t resist that either.

Our next stop was the Warwick Winery booth. We sampled the Riesling, Chardonnay, and a blend they call Nadia. We bought some of each. Now we had lunch and then some! There was a stall selling fresh duck, rabbit, ribs and more out of their truck and we almost bought a rabbit. Next week, maybe. We’ll be back! I have a feeling you’ll be hearing a lot about Warwick. We picked up a schedule of events for the summer and there are all kinds of festivals taking place. Here is a photo from the market and one of the old train station.

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Okay. Finally, today, the humidity has caught up with me. Ewww…sticky! Today we woke up to semi-cloudy skies. By the time I set off for the Wayne area to do some shopping and to meet up with Rick, it was kind of ominous looking. I went into BJ’s (like a Sam’s club) and five minutes later the sky literally opened up! The rain on the roof was astounding, plus thunder! It was typical of a high humidity day. Smudgy, yellowish sky with sporadic rain on and off. When we got home and sat on our deck, my first thought was that I needed to clean my contact lenses because there was a film on them. HELLO! I haven’t worn contacts since Lasik surgery five years ago! Yet, that is exactly what it looked like. It was hazy and almost foggy. Very weird. The dogs drink tons more water than they ever did in Colorado. They pant more. Ice in glasses melts quicker and the glasses bead up and drip with moisture. Coasters under glasses are very much a necessity rather than a convenience. I haven’t encountered this much humidity since I don’t know when. I think it was around 85% and the temperature was around 80 at its highest point today. The locals say “you ain’t seen nothing yet, wait till August.” At least we have the pool to cool off in then! And to all a sticky good-night!