Through the Ausable

When I saw the one lane road sign ahead, I was prepared to see some water on the road. I never imagined it meant I would be driving through the Ausable River as opposed to along the Ausable.

Yikes!

Wild Water

Water. Lots and lots of water. That was the scene today.

After a heavy rainstorm last night, we woke to the sound of the river's rushing water from atop our little knoll. We knew it had to be wild. Fields were flooded and so were the roads.

The roads surrounding us were closed and so we decided to stay put for a bit and take care of a little flooding of our own.

Cascading Waterfall From Basement Pump

We made good use of the basement water given to us and hosed off our metal garden chairs and washed off our muddy "gardening" shoes after digging in the dirt this afternoon.

I'm definitely not complaining because you know what? It wasn't SNOW and April's showers will bring May flowers! Am I jinxing myself by writing that it is finally feeling like Spring? Exhale.

Grocery Store War

The recent excitement in Lake Placid has been the opening of Hannaford in the old Grand Union location. This has created some buzz because now Price Chopper has some competition and it's even on the same side of town.

Recently I went grocery shopping at Aldi and bragged to everyone about how I bought the bulk of our groceries for a week and it only cost 40-some dollars compared to the usual $90 at Price Chopper. However, Aldi doesn't have everything I need and I always end up going to a few different stores to complete my list.

I was interested to see how the prices compared between Hannaford and Price Chopper and so I began my investigation.

Hannaford VS. Price Chopper

I selected three random items to compare.

1. Toilet Paper - Charmin, 6 pack, Ultra Strong Mega Roll

Hannaford wins! On sale, $5.99. Regular price, $7.49

Price Chopper - Regular Price, $7.99

2. Frozen Pizza - Freschetta, Naturally Rising, Four Cheese Medley

Hannaford Wins! Regular Price, $5.69

Price Chopper - Regular Price, $7.79

3. Beer - Budweiser, 6 pack

Tie!

Hannaford and Price Chopper - Regular Price, $5.99

After this investigation, it was clear that Hannaford was the winner based on prices. Of course when you want real savings, you need to shop around for the best deal and that might mean going to both. The savings off gas from Sunoco with your Price Chopper Advantage Card is

worth gold right now, but a couple dollars off on gas could also be saved on a frozen pizza from Hannaford.

I am not a paid employee of Hannaford and their complimentary gifts of Sparkling Soda and Belgian Chocolate didn't determine the winner, but it certainly made my day.

Bday at the Adk Cafe

My husband treated me to a birthday dinner at The ADK Cafe in Keene last night. It being mud season, there weren't many other people dining out, but three of the four tables that were there also shared the same birthday. Weird.

The ADK Cafe is located where Cedar Run used to be and we were curious to try it out. The first thing we noticed was how great the napkins were. Yes, for real. Drew piped up, "for paper napkins, I have to say they are really nice paper napkins." They come wrapped in a little paper sleeve with the ADK Cafe stamp and they are heavy duty napkins, cloth like. Okay, enough about what we wiped our mouths with and onto the food.

Drew started off with a salad. I don't remember the name of it, but from what I got to taste, it was delicious. Field greens, shredded carrot and cucumber, red onion and sunflower seeds with a really tasty vinaigrette.

I didn't order an entree, but pieced together my meal with the Caribbean Black Bean Soup and White Bean Bruschetta. Drew ordered the Earth Plate that came with roasted root veggies, savory beans, grains and greens. Wow, I just realized we ordered completely vegetarian.

We took bites from each other's plates and liked everything. It all tasted fresh and our selections were hearty, we definitely didn't leave feeling hungry. We actually had leftovers and to top it off because it was my birthday they gave us complimentary cupcakes to take home!

Next time we go we'll have to go as carnivores and order the meatloaf we've heard such good things about. That bacon, cheddar burger with homemade cafe chips sounded pretty awesome too. Or maybe we should try them out for breakfast and lunch. Ugh, I'm making myself hungry. We'll definitely be back!

Wax On, Wax Off

WARNING: Potential to read "TMI" about the author

I'm a little lady and during the winter months I need extra help keeping warm. I usually stop using the razor some time in November. My friends like to monitor the growth on my "manly" legs and laugh. Maybe it's an urban myth or in this case some kind of North Country myth, but I like to believe I'm warmer because of it.

The change in temperature recently made me think it might be time to shed my werewolf style. Driving by "Town & Country," I saw it. Wax Room.

There it was, the quickest most efficient way of getting myself smooth again. Don't worry, I didn't go to the front office and ask about their new wax room because that's part of their ski and stay package. The only hot wax there is going to be dripped on skis, not body parts. There are spas in town for the kind of waxing that I need done.

I will spare you the details of how my legs got back to looking like they actually belong on a lady. As for my upper lip, that's another story. Kidding, totally kidding!

Spring Sunshine

Is it just me or is everyone smiling today because we finally have some sunshine?

Missing!

Something was off this morning. I knew it the second I woke up. I was expecting the roads to be blanketed with snow, but the storm hit East of us and we were spared. I was happy to put my running shoes on and head out 9N without the slush, but I forgot my ipod and so I had to actually be inside my own head. Do you know what that's like? Usually my tunes distract me.

However, I had no music and I started getting nervous as soon as I hit the curve after the first "Parking Area" and saw a grey, Tacoma truck pulled off to the side of the road. Immediately, I thought about my upcoming abduction and how I should have told Drew my route. There were plenty of cars passing by, but I wondered if any of them would remember seeing my black leggings and reddish pink jacket, if I had gone missing.

I cautiously approached the vehicle and saw no one. This made me run faster and my eyes searched the woods next to the truck for signs of life, but saw nothing. I decided I was safe and kept running. I know I am pretty crazy, but like I mentioned before, something was off. I came up to the Gargoyles of 9N and indeed something was off. In fact, one was gone!

Nah, just kidding, APRIL FOOLS! Both Gargoyles remain happily perched watching over the activity of Route 9N. As for the owner of the Toyota Tacoma, thank you for making me run just a little bit faster this morning. :)

note to self: