Keeping Busy

Yesterday we managed to get in a 2hr hike in the Rochester woods along the Haskell Swamp around an old mill site. It felt really good to get some oxygen into the brain.  The walk was wonderful.  Not only was it good to see folks again (we have all been shut-ins with the weather) but it was like walking through a winter wonderland.  We were fortunate to have a wonderful guide who shared her knowledge of what was here back in colonial times. And, as if it were planned, just as we emerged back into civilization the snow started up again.

It continues to snow or rain or just blow here.  I walk around in my heavy Alaska sweatshirt - not only is it warm but I might as well be there! On these snowy days, you have to find stuff to do inside to keep you from going nuts.  January is always a busy month for me anyway.  I have our bike club's roster and schedule to put out, which always provides a challenge.  There are the taxes, which I like to get a handle on before we leave. And the general preparation of house stuff before leaving the country.

But there are still long afternoons where you have to be creative - when you get tired of reading or sitting at the computer. I would be very happy playing scrabble everyday but Geoff doesn't like losing so much.  So for diversion, this Christmas my brother gave us a jigsaw puzzle of our house.  It is  an aerial shot with our house (a little speck)  in the center and a whole lot of blue ocean.  We sort of chuckled when we opened the gift but as the snows continued, we eventually got around to pulling it out and working on it. Although he will refuse to admit it, Geoff was immediately hooked. We set it up on a board and every chance he got he was right back at it.  He graciously left me the final piece to put in.  I have to say it looks pretty cool.  Now it is time to take it apart and save it for next winter.

The other  project we took on this winter was opening up every computer we have in the house - and there are several.  I bought a new mini bare-bones desktop with a bit more power so I can work on my books without crashing.  After we finished building that, we took my old computer apart and set it up for my brother's  media center.  Then we found ourselves with all this spare memory.  We opened up all the laptops, netbooks, anything else we could find, to see where we could squeeze more memory into what.  Now we are currently in the process of rebuilding and organizing our TV media computer.  Geoff is also toying with replacing the fan in the Acer which is my traveling blog machine.  However, ever since the fan arrived, the thing has been darn quiet - I think it's scared!  This has all been great fun, but I do hold my breath when I see every last screw come out and all the parts on the floor.  "How is he ever going to get that back together?" and somehow he always does - every last screw.  No wonder he likes jigsaw puzzles!

Next time....TBA