Signs at Stein O' Hoff's

Thinking about all the signs outside of Steinhoff's has taken up a tremendous amount of my mental energy driving to and from work recently.

The main sign for Steinhoff's stands proudly on Rt. 86 just as you enter Wilmington. The sign screams, "Stop, you're done with work, come on in for a stein of German beer!"

The sign for Stein's Wines & Spirits is a little more discreet for those of you that just want to paper bag it.

You know, "Stein's" for short because it's only a short visit when buying alcohol as opposed to nursing a beer all night long. Oh, but wait...maybe it is Steinhoffs Liquor Store.

Are you confused? Do you need a shot of the infamous German, Jagermeister? Yes? Well, make your way to Hoff's Irish Pub. Wait. Irish?

My friend Jenny was visiting from Montana and she was the lucky gal that participated in my questioning of Steinhoff's employees. I mean, Hoff's. Whatever.

Ben proved to be the World's best bartender last night and didn't even get annoyed with my chatter. I don't think he looks German or Irish.

The new co-owner Jason, calls himself Irish, but we were in a bar and he might have been pulling my leg. Jason did talk with an Irish accent though. When asking him about Steinhoff's German-Irish partnership, he said, "Germany and Ireland are the combined forces of the alcoholic world." And with just that sentence, I understood.

Jason also informed me that he recently ordered an "O" to go in front of the Hoff's Irish Pub sign and also two leprechauns holding beers that will also be placed on the sign out front.

So, if you find yourself sitting on a rustic creation in wood (chair) on the new deck, wondering about all those signs, you might just want to go on in and ask. You are guaranteed a good time, no matter what nation you prefer.

Ms. Jenny, Montana is treating you well,

but never forget your wing lady.

Unique Blue Bird House

I always loved the red bird house my parents had hanging in the pine trees behind their house. When we bought our home, they gave it to us. For two lonely years, it hung at the corner of the house empty.

Then today, as I walked up to our home, I heard a noise and spotted a little brown bird with a blue tail fly out of the hole of the bird house. Standing in the driveway by myself, I screamed, "Oh my God! We have Blue Birds!"

Not being sure, I checked our bird book and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology site. All searches confirmed that we have a family of Eastern Blue Birds as guests.

How can it be? We didn't research how to construct a special Blue Bird house.

I thought that these birds were supposed to be picky when selecting their house and Blue Birds required specific measurements and proper ventilation. That they only ever wanted to live attached to a post in a field near a shrub with gnomes living 100 feet away.

As it turns out, our blue birds had something else in mind. They had their eyes set on a cute red house with a sloping roof and brick chimney.

What Blue Bird wouldn't want to live here?

Lost Kittens!

Yesterday, one of my fellow cat crazy friends texted me first thing in the morning about two stray kittens she found near the property she is a care taker for. Having lost a cat around the same time that our Mango disappeared, she had already been thinking about being ready for another cat even before these kittens found her. She left food and water outside for them and we made plans to get together after work to figure out what to do.

We wrangled them into safety and brought them inside. Wolfgang (Wolfy) and Junipurr were happy they found a temporary home for the night.

After leaving Emilie, I couldn't help but think about how as a kid I'd ride with my father as we transported red squirrels from the "Have A Heart" trap and drive them 5 miles from home, cross two bridges and set them free at the beach.

Is it possible someone crossed Lacy Bridge with the kittens and dropped them off up the road to find a new home? I know not everyone likes cats and even some of our own friends dislike them so much that they have even joked that cats should just be dumped in the river. I am so glad that these cats were not put in a bag and thrown over the bridge into the Ausable.

When her husband went to check on the cats later that night, he noticed two sets of eyes near the bridge and saved two more kittens! So now there are four kittens available to be loved by one of you.

It just so happens that June is adopt a cat month and one of these kittens is available to snuggle up on your lap for free!

Here are a couple more pictures to show you how cute they are.

please love me.

A possible mother has been spotted and attempts have been made to get her to the kittens, so there may be an adult cat available for adoption too! Please consider taking one of these kittens and spread the word to any family or friends that might want to adopt or has any information on lost cats in the Lacy Road area. If you do not have Emilie or my contact information, please leave a comment below to be in touch.

Thank you!

p.s. Emilie has first choice

Morning Running

Early morning runs are the best. I've been missing out on them due to a few minor medical issues this Spring, but man oh man, I love them and they're back! I also love the comfort of my bed, but once I put on my running shoes and walk out the door, I slip into the stillness of the Au Sable River Valley.

I pass a couple pick up trucks on the road and raise my hand to wave. Slowly these vehicles remind me that I'm not the only one moving around. I say good morning to the cows in the pasture and they blink back.

When a couple sleepy miles have been completed, I start running a little faster and singing a little louder. I must be quite the site at 6 am belting out "Empire State of Mind" with one hand in the air, "Everybody say yeah, Come on, Come, YEAH!"

Thoughts run through my head and a quote I recently saw was stuck in my head this morning and feel that it describes me pretty dang well. "People who say that I'm not nice, don't know me. People who say that I am nice, know me. The people that say I am crazy, are my best friends."

I'd love a morning running partner, but of course you'd have to be okay with getting to know the craziness that goes along with me.

His and Hers

While summer television is le suck, I have turned to my other obsession and have been house focused lately. We are in the home stretch with only one room left to renovate and 100 little projects to complete. We just did another purge of unwanted items and "stuff" is finding a place to rest. I can't help but notice how divided by sex our items are.

For instance, in one corner of the mud room, there is a pair of girly rubber boots coordinated next to a chair with a box full of rainbow colored hats and mittens.

In the other corner is a collection of vintage climbing gear next to a bin of mud toned hats and black gloves.

I like to cut fresh flowers to have around the house.

My husband likes to hang sharp, scary "objets de art".

I'd like to think that our books are separated by topic, rather than by his and hers.

Perhaps the outdoor guide book shelf is more unisex, since my use of that shelf is frequented more so than Drew's use of the pottery reference books.

We share the bed together, but I'm always on the left and he's on the right. Our clothes hang together in the closet, but on opposite sides. We use the same roll of toilet paper, soap in the shower and don't have assigned mugs in the morning, so we're not all that separate. I'd like to think of us as a well balanced team that lives well together and yes, loves each other too.

Okay, enough of the OCD talk, does anyone else have an imaginary line of separate but equal happening in your home too?

Allergy to City Living

I think I am allergic to cities. The second I crossed the Mid-Hudson Bridge and headed for Poughkeepsie, my body started freaking out.

My pulse quickened, my body temperature rose, and I started to break out into hives. I was experiencing sensory overload after being along the Au Sable for so long.

After picking up my registration materials for the conference I was attending, I immediately searched out a quiet spot. I wandered down the road in the opposite direction and found myself in Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt's rose garden.

It was in the middle of these historical gardens, my breathing became steady again. Then, after seeing my old running buddy, M.M., I smiled. The sight of a high school friend combined with lovely gardens was the perfect prescription for a country gal like me standing on the outskirts of a city.

I have discovered I can handle visiting cities, but living in them just isn't for me. Sorry Charles and Thames, I won't be moving back to your river banks anytime soon. I prefer living on my quiet little lane along the Au Sable.

Moving on Up!

After closing on our first home two years and four months ago today, we are finally moving into our bedroom upstairs. As we have had the time and money to do so, rooms have been done one by one. We started with the living room first because sadly, I needed a comfortable room to watch television in and decided the smaller bedroom downstairs would act as our temporary sleeping base.

The room upstairs would some day be ours, but not until we did some serious work. We relied on our fathers electrical engineering skills to re-wire the entire house and in February my father installed the last outlet! With long, grey winters we needed to brighten up the room and cover up the cold, dark asbestos tile.

Last week, the carpet installers came and we stared in amazement at our transformation.

(happy cat on the new carpet)

Not wanting to wait for the trim, we set up our bed and are still working on getting our clothes upstairs. Right now I am trying to air out an old dresser and rid it of the mothball smell.

I am contemplating whether or not I should prime it with kilz and then paint it a cheerful color because I have no idea how to destroy the smell and there are a lot of scratches on the wood with mismatched knobs.

So, fellow readers, do you have a cure for the smell of mothballs or what color should I paint the dresser?