Date: September 2, 2010
Location: Plattekill, NY
1000
Lazy is as lazy does, to paraphrase the old sage Forest Gump. Connie and I had a couple of days off and we took the days off and accomplished almost nothing. We have been in Newburgh for the whole summer and most of the spring and this was our first real week-end experience. On most days that we were not scheduled to work we traveled to one end of the state or the other, or at least explored the surrounding area with sort of dedication. On the last two days we did not act true to previous form. Instead we were lazy with a capital L. Into each life a little laziness must fall.
Our week-end, or days off, did not start as calm and restful as one might desire. On our first morning of leisure we received a call from our daughter relating a voice mail she had received form our credit card company to our granddaughter’s phone. This awakened our alarm instincts, because no one has our granddaughter’s phone number. When I called the number that they had left and some lovely young girl started asking me a lot of questions about our account numbers, my social security number and the like I became quite rude. This pleasant lady asked me to look on my credit card, call the number on the back of the card and ask for the fraud department and I would then be referred back to her department. It was shades of “An American President.” I have seen to many movies.
I did call my credit card company. I did get referred to the fraud department. And, I did apologize for being so rude. To make a sad story short, our credit card had been hacked. Someone had tried to purchase a thousand dollars of stuff from Home Depot and a couple of hundred dollars of liquor from a store in Buffalo. I guess it was the Home Depot purchase that the company flagged as not normal. Two stores in the Buffalo area are out nearly twelve hundred dollars, I am receiving a new credit card, and did I mention that I apologized to Merrill Lynch for being rude. It is very scary how close Big Brother is watching and even scarier how necessary it is that he keep watching.
The rest of our first day of laziness consisted of buying a few necessary items from Wally World and then playing in the large fresh vegetable market and meat market across the street. We try not to buy too many food items at Wal-Mart. There is a good chance some of the food might actually end up in our tummies and we would rather not take the chances of eating anything purchased at that hovel of an establishment. Adam’s Fairacre, on the other hand, is a precious gem of experiences and food offerings. The prices are reasonable, the atmosphere bohemian, and the choices out of this world. It is a really cool place to shop. It is also very dangerous to shop there. Many times we find things we did not even know we wanted until we saw them on display. How can we pass up garlic infused olive oil, or fresh peach pie, or a warm beget of French bread? Isn’t it great that they have these homemade noodles and we did not even know we wanted any.
A few hours later, a fine glass of wine and an afternoon of beating a flank steak Connie and I sat down to my new favorite meat dish. A braciole stuffed with homemade pesto with onions and green peppers. Place this tantalizing collection of flavors on a charcoal grill, paint it with a lot of Jim Beam bar-b-que sauce and you have a pretty great meal. Ad to that meal some fresh sweet corn just from the farmer’s field and you have a little bit of heaven. Our day started out being hacked and hassled and ended being full and satisfied.
Our second day was not quite as exciting. We still went shopping and we still had a decent meal. The shopping was at Woodbury Commons, a premium outlet mall and the meal was at a fast food Mexican restaurant. Can you sense the excitement? Connie now has a new pair of sneakers and a nice set of measuring cups. I have a new cutting sheet to replace the one I destroyed while beating the hell out of my cheap slice of meat for my braciole. And, oh yes, we both have a case of indigestion form our taco, burrito offering from the Desert Moon or what ever the fast food, gas inducing, cafeteria style Mexican restaurant was called.
It was surprising to see how many people with shopping bags were strolling around this large outlet mall. It is that time of year and this mall is the gathering place of the world for supposedly good deals. With the weakened dollar international visitors fly into New York City, travel to this mall, fill new luggage with purchased items and fly home with enough bargains to pay for their trip. At least that is the story that is told in these parts. Did I mention that Connie got a new pair of sneaks? The money she saved would not pay for our gas to get to the mall. But it was a day off and what else did we have to do?
It is time to prepare for another day of work and the onset of the final big week-end at the campground. We are expecting a lot of guests for the final holiday hurrah called Labor Day. Nest week it is back to school and the routine of family life for our campground visitors. But first we are gearing up for an onslaught of visitors, including one without a reservation. Earl is heading up the coast and may make it here just in time to say good-bye to summer and hello to fall. Then again he may take a cruise to the North Atlantic. I am urging he take a turn to the east and cruise the Atlantic, but he will do whatever it is he desires to do. Stay tuned, weather updates to follow.
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