He took my bait when I throwed my line..when I got him to the bank, Lord, he sure looked fine! (Watson Doc)


My cousin Shane Burlew with one of the MANY bass he caught during his week of bass fishing here on the river. Although Salt and I didn't get a chance to join him this year he was able to take our friends the Adamsons out for a day.
Ellen proudly displays her best catch.
And if you get the chance to sit it out or dance....I hope you dance!

I am finally getting a chance to go through some of the pictures I took over the last 10 days. Above is Janna at her 10th dance recital. It seems like only yesterday we were going to her first one. For Salt it was her first one....he is loving the fact that he can now participate in some of the family functions.

BUS, BUS, THE MAGIC BUS....

Well, after two trips with the motor home (both to Endicott for family functions) I think we have it down pat! We LOVE it. We have had Emma with us for both trips and Matthew on the way home yesterday. It will be a "honeymoon" when we actually get to go with just the two of us!

Our lives have been complete bedlam the last two weeks. I didn't even bother to take my laptop with me on any of the trips knowing I would never get a chance to post.

The foundation is complete and we are hoping FINALLY the construction on the new house can begin. The forecast is 7 days of thunder storms....Thankfully, Peter and Frances have allowed us to stay in this house until ours is completed!

I am NOT going to give this post a song title...Because my mind is overworked and warped, the only thing that comes to mind is "Another one bites the dust". Even though my new daughter- in- law is a great sport and well aware of my dry sense of humor I am sure she wouldn't appreciate that.

Although Mike and Robin were married last October, I have not been able to post any pictures. Finally after weeks of transferring pictures from discs and from my other computer I am caught up. This downsizing becomes an "issue" when it is time to figure out what to do with all the photos. Thank fully, CDs are a tremendous help in storing quantities of them.

My life has been absolutely BORING the last three days (hence no posts). My eyes are popping out of my head and my mind is SO on overload. I have spent hours either on line or on the phone trying to tie up all the loose ends on ordering everything to finish the house. I forgot how time consuming all of that was! If I wasn't working on price comparisons and decisions on appliances, I was changing insurance policies or trying to get satellites installed on the motor home. I am gung ho to make sure every i is dotted and t is crossed before we pull out of the driveway on September 1.

Speaking of pulling out top the driveway, Salt is cracking me up with his new toy (GPS). He couldn't believe it actually could direct him to all the roads on GRINDSTONE. He tried to confuse it by taking a detour and it immediately detected his going the wrong way and rerouted him on that route. Technology......

We will take possession of the motor home on Thursday and Friday we are headed to our first campsite. We will be at Pine Valley Park which is a campground about 6 miles from my brother Joe's house. I am sure I will have a journal full of entries after this. I have already started calling Salt "Griz"; short for Grizwalds...As I suspect our adventures may end up somewhat like theirs.

My Girlfriends are back and there's gonna be trouble!!


The island is coming to life. I have received either phone calls or e-mails from 4 of my friends that will be returning "home" within the next week. This means "Bitch Night" will resume soon. You all know, of course, that the title does not refer to the gals that attend, but rather what we are allowed to do for a few hours one night a week.....complain about anything and everything that is on our minds. AND...."whatever is said on the decks, stays on the decks"!

Most of the time there is not as much complaining as sharing our busy and diverse lives. This should be a particularly interesting year since Weezie is returning from Africa where she is sponsoring an orphanage and Lauren has just returned from France where she visited her daughter. There will also be grieving for the loss of Fran Purcell's sister, Sissy Danforth. Sissy was a dear friend to all of us and a true "River Rat". She will be missed!

June Augusbury will be able, this year (after extensive chemo treatments) to spend her summer on Grindstone. She and Frank will be medivaced in this coming Monday and will spend the entire summer on their beloved island. Frank will require 24 hour care but has been blessed with a loving crew to not only take care of him but to enjoy his company. I have committed to work one day a week and am looking forward to spending time with both Frank and June.

It is another dreary day ( however, the work crew did show up for more foundation work) so I am using the inclement weather to try and organize pictures and get them scanned to photo programs or transferred to CDs. When I came upon the the one above, I couldn't resist. The picture was taken a couple of years ago when Ellen Adamson and I went to Las Vegas to see Celine Dion. We were also able to get into a couple of other shows, one of the best being The Thunder from Down Under . We had SO much fun....Gosh I hope I never grow up !

Salt went to "Coffee with the Boys"; a Friday morning Island ritual. He is loving the fact that he finally has time for his friends. Actually he is enjoying his "time off" so much I have threatened to buy him underwear with the days of the week on them so he can remember what day it is. I personally LOVE having him available for all those little odd jobs. Especially with all that is going on in our lives. He is over in the gravel pit today, trying to resurrect Stub Lashomb's dump truck which nearly blew up the other day. Karen,

IF I HAD A HAMMER, I WOULD HAMMER IN THE MORNING....

If you have not guessed from the pictures...The foundation crew showed up today! Now if the weather just holds (which it is not supposed to) we may have a chance of getting the house up on time after all.

It seemed that everything was at a standstill and now it feels like a freight train is coming right at us. We take delivery on the motor home on Thursday next and the following Friday, immediately after Emma's Kindergarten graduation, we will leave (with the "magic bus") for Owego. Our niece Janna will be performing in her 10th dance recital. It is also Strawberry Festival which is always a lot of fun (and a perfect excuse to overeat).

My brain has gone into the overload mode! It's time to start making lists and remembering where I put them after they are completed.

Country Road Take Me Home.....

This morning, as I took my 3 mile walk, I came upon the Town of Clayton workers grading our old dirt roads. As I looked down the tree lined paths, I was reminded of how fortunate I am to live in a place where nature is unspoiled, where people still display the American flag with pride and every neighbor is a best friend. It reminded me of this poem (author unknown) that was sent to me a few years ago.

Dirt Roads

What's mainly wrong with society today is that too many Dirt Roads have been paved.
There's not a problem in America today, crime, drugs, education, divorce, delinquency that wouldn't be remedied, if we just had more Dirt Roads, because Dirt Roads give character.
People that live at the end of Dirt Roads learn early on that life is a bumpy ride.
That it can jar you right down to your teeth sometimes, but it's worth it, if at the end is home. . . A loving spouse, happy kids and a dog.
We wouldn't have near the trouble with our educational system if our kids got their exercise walking a Dirt Road with other kids, from whom they learn how to get along.
There was less crime in our streets before they were paved.
Criminals didn't walk two dusty miles to rob or rape, if they knew they'd be welcomed by 5 barking dogs and a double barrel shotgun.
And there were no drive by shootings.
Our values were better when our roads were worse!
People did not worship their cars more than their kids, and motorists were more courteous, they didn't tailgate by riding the bumper or the guy in front would choke you with dust or bust your windshield with rocks.
Dirt Roads taught patience.
Dirt Roads where environmentally friendly, you didn't hop in your car for a quart of milk. You walked to your barn for the milk.
For you mail, you walked to the mail box.
What if it rained and the Dirt Road got washed out? That was the best part, then you stayed home and had some family time, roasted marshmallows and popped popcorn and pony rode on Daddy's shoulders and learned how to make prettier quilts than anybody.
At the end of Dirt Roads, you soon learned that bad words tasted like soap.
Most paved roads lead to trouble. Dirt Roads more likely lead to a fishing creek or a swimming hole.
At the end of a Dirt Road, the only time we even locked our car was in August, because if we didn't some neighbor would fill it with too much zucchini.
At the end of a Dirt Road, there was always extra springtime income, from when city dudes would get stuck, you'd have to hitch up a team and pull them out.
Usually you got a dollar. . . Always you got a new friend. . . At the end of a Dirt Road!

Author Unknown

Salt and I just returned form the BEST Chinese dinner. The river was so beautiful, we took the long way home. We passed the old cottage on Hay Island where Bill and I raised our children during the summers. The new owners are erecting a new boathouse to replace the one Bill and I built so many years ago. It was kind of sad but on the other hand made me chuckle to remember the tenacity Bill possessed. Our dear friend and neighbor, the late Walter Pullaw, came over right after we finished putting the cribs for the new docks in. He looked at them for a few minutes and turned to Bill and said..."Those are WAY bigger than you need; there isn't enough rock in the St. Lawrence River to fill those! Well....Bill never said a word(while he was seething inside) but took me, and a 12' aluminum boat and we started lifting rock from the bottom of that river. We worked non stop for 3 days and before we left for home guess what
those cribs were FULL. Of course, Bill did invite Walter over to "check it out"!

After returning from our boat ride this evening, the sun was just setting...Another spectacular Canadian sunset. We had actually never watched a sunset from our new building lot so we hopped on the 4 wheeler and scooted over. What a treat...The view is spectacular. We can't wait to get the house up and view it from our deck!

We ended the evening with a quick trip to Betty and Frank's so Pop could have one of Emma's homemade ice cream cones.

I want to ride my bike...I want to ride it where I like!!

After much trepidation, Emma agreed to let Pop take the training wheels off her bike. As you might have guessed, she was riding on her own on the very first try. I guess this means that Pop and Grandma will be purchasing their new mountain bikes earlier than planned. It will just be a lot easier to ride beside her than to run after her.

Betty and I went to American customs yesterday and purchased our I68 passes. The I68 is a pass which allows boaters to cross between the American/Canadian border with much less difficulty; it allows us to check in from home as opposed to going either to Clayton or Alex Bay to a customs phone. Since Gananoque, Ontario is a stone's throw from our dock Salt and I enjoy buzzing over to one of the restaurants, bookstore or "White Mountain" ice cream shop several times during the summer.

Salt and I were headed out to launch my boat when we got a call from our son-in-law. He was headed to Day Care to take Emma to the Emergency Room. She bumped into another kid on the playground and ran her front teeth through her lip. Fortunately just as they were ready to take her one of the other children's mother showed up. She is a dental hygienist so examined Emma on the scene and felt there ws no serious damage. The tooth is loose so Betty will take her in for X rays this morning.

We did get the boat launched...so we are off to Canada for Chineese food tonight!

We Shall Gather at the River.....

Many thanks to Rex Ennis, coordinator, Joan Flint, organist and Toby Schilling, visiting minister, for our first church service of the season. It was so good to connect with all of our friends and family who have returned to the island after a long winter.

Monday morning we finally woke up to sunshine. Betty and I headed off to Watertown for a long delayed shopping trip.

I finally purchased a new digital camera. I have one of the first Sony digitals which still uses the floppy disc. As much as I love the camera I have come to the realization that the floppy disc will be obsolete before long. I purchased a new Cannon that is so slim I can put it in my jeans pocket. I am going to start playing with it today.

I also purchased a new Garmin C330 Street Pilot (GPS) system for Salt for Father's Day. The sales rep claims it is "Idiot Proof"....That sure puts the pressure on.

IT TOOK ME BY SURPRISE....YES IT DID!

Thank you to all of our family and friends for the wonderful "get together" in honor of Salt's dedicated service in delivering the mail over the last 23 years. He was very surprised and very touched by the event.

It was no easy chore getting him to leave the dinner table with friends to go help Brian with paperwork! Next time someone wants to surprise him it would be much easier if they said they had a mechanical problem.

Emma was SO proud of herself when Pop walked in. She had known about the party for almost 12 hours and did NOT tell him. It was the FIRST secret she has ever been able to keep. Perhaps she is growing up!

Oh NO don't let the rain come down!
Why is it every time Pop and I plan an outside day with Emma it pours?? Pop promised her last Saturday that he would take her training wheels off her bike her bike today. She certainly came prepared for the worst. When she hopped out of the car decked in all her knee and elbow pads we couldn't help but laugh.

Grandma and Pop bought her a new pair of Nike sneakers since she was the ONLY kid on the bus without a swish (swoosh)????? Whatever!

It has done nothing but rain since she got up this morning..... and she keeps reminding pop of his "promise". I think Pop is about ready to take her biking through the mud puddles. Emma is an "only" child for a reason! We made homemade icecream which occupied her for awhile but after that was done we all had cabin fever so bad we went up to the Acorn Studio (the ONLY shopping on the island) for some new shirts for Pop. I guess it is now tic tac toe and coloring.

Patsy Parker is planning a surprise "retirement" party for Salt this evening at the Community Center....Let's see how easy it is to get him to it and still have it be a surprise. Jim and Laura Adamson will be here having dinner, so at least he will not have on his mud clothes. We have set it up for Brian Parker (the new mailman) to call Salt and ask him for help. We all know Salt would never turn down someone in need.

Wacha gonna do with all that junk?...all that junk inside your trunk!

Well, two weeks ago both of my kids came home to claim or reclaim the "stuff" that mom is NOT taking to the new summer house.

First of all Betty said going through everything made her feel like I was either dying or dead....she also said she polished the silver enough when she lived here and wanted no part of it.

Their dad is probably turning in his grave to think that neither of them want all those trapshooting trophies we won over the 10 years we shot competitively. Mike went back with some of his dad's guns, decoys and duck prints. Betty took the rest of the guns (except for the ones Salt and I will use for trap or hunting), a few prints and after twisting her arm, the rest of the decoys. I guess it's going to be a REALLY big lawn sale.

Well, since I wrote that last papagraph, Emma came to the house and is going through the stuff and she wants EVERYTHING....sorry about that Betty...make room!

Hey, Mr. Postman look and see....
Today is truly the first day of the rest of our lives. After 23 years of delivering the mail to Grindstone Island (6 days a week, 52 weeks a year) and 3 additional islands during the summer months, Salt has resigned from the post office.

Although he enjoyed his job (most of the time) the schedule made it most difficult to get any time off. It was next to impossible to find a qualified substitute when you are not feeling well and the temperature is -20. Thanks Betty and Frank for the times you picked up the ball over the years!

Although he will not be able to officially retire...He will be changing jobs. I told him he could work for me for 3 months overseeing the construction of our new house...Working for me will put a whole new meaning to "going postal".

Somewhere around the first of September, we will head out in our 40' motor coach and traverse the country, ending up in California, for Christmas, with our son (Mike) and his family. As of June 19, they will be in Lake Arrowhead, CA. After a visit with them, we will head for warmer climates and stay until the first part of April. When we return to the island, we will complete the house and Salt will work for 6 months, here on the island. By then we hope to know in which warm climate we will want to spend our winters. If not, we will keep looking!!