Another great weekend

Wow, we had yet another fantastic weekend. Isaac climbed at the Gunks all weekend with some friends, and I did a bunch of stuff. I climbed with them on Saturday, and it was my first time at the Gunks. I can't believe I've lived here for years and hadn't been until now. What a great place to climb! Here's Isaac on the Horseman:
Once I was too tired to climb, I jumped into the car and headed off to NJ to visit Grandma for the rest of the weekend. It's been too long since I saw her last, and I wanted to spend some quality time with her. Along the way, I stopped at a great farm stand. What can I say, I have a huge weakness for farmstand produce. A bunch of cherries, blueberries, tomatoes, and corn later and I'm back on the road to Grandma's.

Lots of great catching up and of course the Yankees game - can't miss that. Grandma, my mom, and my aunt were all big Yankee fans, and they used to drag my grandpa to the game on "ladies day". They'd all get in for free? cheap? ... I can't remember the story, but Grandpa was the only one who wasn't crazy about baseball, but he went anyway. Grandma still loves the Yankees, and watches them every chance she gets. Saturday's game was tied 1-1, and although we wanted to get some dinner, we also wanted to see the end of the game. It was still tied after the 9th inning, so we headed off to Matthews Diner. Luckily, they had the game on and it was a short drive so we didn't miss much. The service at Matthews was leisurely, good, and super-friendly (as always), and the food was actually good! I wish I could say the same for the Yankees, they ended up losing on Saturday after coming so close to turning it around. Oh well, I had a nice night out on the town with Grandma. We had fun and that's what matters.

Later that evening, we went through her box of bobbin lace that she made over the years. I've always really liked the dainty borders she adds to her pillowcases and sheet edges. I finally asked her what it was, and I found out that it wasn't lace, but tatting and not hard to make. She gave me her old tatting shuttle, and I can't wait to research it and learn how to make it.

Sunday morning we feasted on oats and the farm stand fruits (so yummy), then it was outside to work on the lawn. Grandma does a great job riding around on her scooter to weed and pick up debris (leaves, sticks, etc). She's got her system down, and the yard looks great. Back inside, we watched the mens Wimbledon final and it was a good match.

Finally, it was off Matthews Diner again before I had to head back home. So, it's a blurry picture, but it's what I've got.


So this on its own would be a full weekend, but it wasn't over yet. On the way home Sunday night I stopped off in the Lake George region to try out a bunch of different composite whitewater C1 boats. Adam, who moderates the cboats.net message board, kindly offered to let me try out some boats as I try to figure out what I want. I tried out a Hornet (Mill Brook Boats) and two boats by New Wave: a Viper and a Decender. All three were great ... now I see how many people can't pick just one.

I didn't get home until late - after 11 PM - but it was worth it to have a great fun-filled weekend.