Photography

More Finger Lakes

~ MaryG ~ 11 Comments
Daily writing prompt
How do you feel about cold weather?
View all responses

I don’t like cold weather. I especially dislike snow. We have so many places in the Northeast that are spectacularly beautiful—in the summer. The Finger Lakes region (aka the Southern Tier) of upstate New York is one of them.

This area is a very long drive from Boston (about 6 hours), so I made this weekend’s graduation trip to Ithaca a “bucket list” sort of trip. I have enjoyed my many visits up here, but I doubt I’ll be back again.

In addition to the hot air ballooning, we visited the famous Corning Museum of Glass, which many people now know from Blown Away—the glassblowers competition series on Netflix.

Stunning glass sculpture at the Corning Museum of Glass in Corning, NY
Corning Museum of Glass

The city of Ithaca, NY is on Lake Cayuga and I’ve seen it many times. This trip, I wanted to see the next Finger Lake over—Lake Seneca. It is equally beautiful and has the cute town of Watkins Glen at the bottom.

The harbor area in Watkins Glen on Lake Seneca

Watkins Glen is also home to one of New York’s most beautiful state parks.

Watkins Glen State Park

There are many wineries in the area, but I had never been to a cidery, so we stopped at South Hill Cider after graduation for a glass of hard cider and a charcuterie board. Lovely spot and their dry, sparkling Baldwin cider was great. I bought a bottle to take home.

The view at South Hill Cider in Ithaca, NY

There’s an expression you may have heard—Ithaca is Gorges. Its deep gorges and their accompanying waterfalls are truly gorgeous, and there are dozens of them all over the region. I had seen the showstopper—Taughannock Falls—on a previous trip, but wanted to check out a couple of others before we left.

Buttermilk Falls State Park
Robert H. Treman State Park
Robert H. Treman State Park
Lucifer Falls at Robert H. Treman State Park

Related:

Summer is our glory in New England

Hot air balloon flight

~ MaryG ~ 19 Comments

Have you ever broken a bone?

I broke a toe once, really badly. I don’t even like to think about it. It hurt SO much. (I stubbed it on a futon leg while barefoot.) It was wildly out of alignment. My husband had to pop it back into place. OUCH! Doctors can’t really do anything about toes. They just taped it to the one next to it and I limped around until it healed.

Fortunately no bones were broken during our Friday night “bucket list” excursion in Ithaca. The take-off was much wilder than I thought it would be. I was holding on to the basket for dear life. But once we were floating, it was quite magical. I’ve been in a helicopter before, but this was different. It’s as close as you can imagine to being a bird. So very many shades of green. The bottom of the basket occasionally scraped on some tree tops. “No problem,” said our pilot Dar. “Basket cleaners,” he called them. And then handed us some leaves. 🍃

My husband and son got put to work on both takeoff and landing. I took pictures and videos.

Three people were already pre-loaded in the basket at this point. The rest of us scrambled in over the sides, once “Captain America” was upright.
Up we go, with Dar’s hand on the “flame throwers” (which were a bit loud, when in use)
We floated over some waterfalls in Ithaca’s Robert H. Treman State Park
The magic of floating in the air and Dar thanking his ground crew.
I really did not want to drop my phone, but eventually I relaxed enough to hand it to a fellow passenger from Pennsylvania. He took this nice pic.
Group selfie with Dar
Farms and fields and Lake Cayuga in the distance

I think we were all a bit nervous about the landing. Once he found a good spot, Dar had the heavier people, including my very strong husband, move to one side of the basket. We all crouched down with all body parts inside the basket. We dragged on the ground for a bit. My husband got out and helped hold us down, which he said was hard. (He got a rather large bruise as we attempted to “jump” the basket up and over a small ditch. Inside the basket, we actually jumped up and down.)

When instructed, I did not waste any time grabbing the bars and vaulting myself out of the basket in a move that my son described as “wildly athletic.”

My son was instructed to run out into the field and help the ground crew pull down Captain America.

The landing
My son and the ground crew pulling Captain America back to earth
Everyone helped put Captain America back in his bag.

We celebrated with a roadside champagne toast and then the ground crew drove us back to our car!

Related post:

Experiences over stuff

The Big Easy

~ MaryG ~ 7 Comments
Daily writing prompt
What’s the oldest things you’re wearing today?
View all responses

I’ve got a WEK “big easy” shirt that’s at least 20 years old, possibly 25. I’m pretty sure my mother gave it to me. Judging from the comments in the reviews, other people love it as much as me and have had theirs just as long.

It was originally a light lilac/periwinkle color. The sleeves now have a few holes. I have no idea why they have holes. It’s not made of wool (therefore the holes are not moth-made). I guess it’s just old.

I wear it on a daily basis as a sort of a house coat. It’s the perfect weight for a layer. I try not to wear it out (other than to the mailbox), but sometimes I end up wearing it to do a local errand.

My oldest shirt in portrait mode.
Deep post, huh?

My Advisors

~ MaryG ~ 7 Comments
Daily writing prompt
List the people you admire and look to for advice…
View all responses

#1) ME! I pay attention to my instincts and tend to value my own wisdom. I’ve got 58 years worth of life experience. Sometimes great revelations hit me late at night, frequently after smoking marijuana. Weed and writing both help me gain clarity.

I was recently honored to be nominated for my church’s Standing Committee. It’s the 6-member executive team that is responsible for all of the organization’s business affairs, including the annual budget and managing the staff. It’s validating, because it shows that other people respect my wisdom and judgment too.

#2) MY HUSBAND. He’s smart and he doesn’t panic. He’s very good at giving advice on medical concerns (i.e. it’s fine; you’ll be fine; I’ve had that; it’s nothing, etc) and occasionally gives good input on fashion (i.e. I like the red one better). It took him awhile to learn this, but he usually knows when the best advice is just to listen and not give any advice. IF I wanted advice on how to get physically stronger, I would ask him, because he knows a lot about it, but I’m way too lazy for lifting weights. He’s also a reader. In my opinion, people who read books tend to give good advice.

Some years ago, I would’ve put my parents on this list, but I don’t typically seek their advice these days.

My kids are getting better at advice-giving as they get older, especially my daughter who is basically a professional advice-giver through her astrology business.

My son is good for one-off tech tips like “try turning it off and on.”

The Standing Committee is also responsible for managing our beautiful, historic church building, erected in 1841.

Inside is an absolutely stunning, classic New England sanctuary in the Greek Revival architectural style. Services are online every Sunday at 10am (EST) here. Check us out, especially if you’re not “religious” and think traditional church is not for you. Atheists welcomed. We are a member congregation of the UUA. 🌈 ☮️ 💓 🌎 🎶

Eclipse

~ MaryG ~ 17 Comments

We had a good eclipse! We headed out to the back yard about 2:15pm with some wine, weed, and snacks. We put Alexa in the window and asked her to play “eclipse songs” which she did.

We could clearly see the eclipse with our special glasses on, but we discovered that it was very difficult to get a picture of it, even with the glasses covering the camera lens, but we tried.

Failed attempt, but weirdly you can kind of see the reflection of the eclipse in that tiny green dot to the left of the sun

The temperature dropped noticeably as the sky darkened more and more. It was strange.

We could still clearly see our shadows, but the light was eerie. A sunset from above.

We decided to shut off Alexa at the point of maximum coverage (about 94%, I think). The last song she played was “Walking on the Moon” by The Police, which was perfect (a GenX classic). The animals got really quiet too. But then suddenly, a Barred Owl hooted really loudly. It startled us. And then another owl answered. It was pretty wild. I pointed my video camera towards the woods and I caught the sound when it happened again. Listen:

The owls really added to our eclipse experience, making it quite magical and mystical. I thought about how this is a time of transition for us.

All in all, a fun afternoon. Something different. It was also fun getting pics from the rest of the family in various locations and seeing all the posts online.

My daughter and her boyfriend managed to get this nice pic about an hour southwest of us:

About an hour after the eclipse, our woodchuck appeared for the first time this season. He’s been living under our shed for several years now. Hello friend.

Saying yes

~ MaryG ~ 6 Comments
Daily writing prompt
How often do you say “no” to things that would interfere with your goals?
View all responses

I was good at saying “no” to things for many years, especially volunteer roles in my church and in the schools. I had too much going on with the kids and work. I did my part for various fundraisers and events, but I wasn’t one to get roped into running the whole thing. In fact, a woman once told me she admired my ability to say “no.” (possibly a backhanded compliment)

Now that I’m retired (there, I said it) I’m ready to say “yes” to more things, especially if it’s something fun. Kudos to my husband, who is still working, but says “yes” to quite a few of my proposals. He doesn’t agree to everything I want to do together, but I’d estimate that he says “yes” 75% of the time. For example, we went and saw ALL TEN Best Picture nominees before the Oscar broadcast. And he’s been especially good about visiting museums with me. (He likes museums too, but it’s a bit more of a sacrifice for him to make the time to go.)

On Saturday, we went to a very cool exhibit at Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts about Hallyu (Korean Wave)—the surge of popular culture from South Korea that started with K-drama and cinema in the 90s and then spread across the globe with K-pop and its massive fandoms in the mid 2000s. K-beauty and fashion has also been a huge cultural export and Korean designers’ work was on display. After that, we went to a Korean restaurant to round out the K-culture experience.

A K-pop idol’s costume at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Reconstruction of a set from “Parasite,” the 2019 film directed and co-written by Bong Joon-ho. It was the first non-English language film to ever win the Academy Award for Best Picture.
The costumes from Squid Game
Fashions by South Korean designers
Korean “sticky ribs”

Related post:

Are you retired?

Tall (for Boston)

~ MaryG ~ 13 Comments
Daily writing prompt
What is one word that describes you?
View all responses

If I were describing myself to someone who doesn’t know me, but had to pick me up at the airport, I’d say: I’m a tall woman with a red (or whatever color) shirt or jacket.

I’m 5 ft 8.5 in, so I’m not WNBA tall, but I’m taller than most women and some men. I usually avoid wearing heels, wedges, or stacked shoes. I don’t like towering over people.

Two places I’ve visited where I did not feel particularly tall are Chicago and Helsinki (Finland). Are they taller in the Midwest and Scandinavia? Maybe.

Me in very cold Helsinki, January 1987
Frozen harbor in Helsinki, January 1987
Women were tall and fur-clad in Finland. It wasn’t unusual to see a woman in a fox stole with the face and paws still attached. These pelts were for sale on the street in Helsinki. I didn’t buy one.