In one week, at this time, I will frantically be throwing together last minute details, trying to keep at least one brain cell on everything that needs to be done and everyone who is involved at all times, corralling wedding party, and immediate family together and generally losing my cotton pickin mind as I get ready to go to the rehersal for the wedding.
I've had to completely cut caffeine from my diet because I was screaming sentences comprised of words that made no sense in the general direction of my bewildered and frankly annoyed fiance. Over seating charts. I would shake and rock back and forth and generally flip my lid.
No more diet coke. At all. Until after the wedding.
Friday, July 30, 2010
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
check in
You try stuffing two functioning households worth of crap, including a rather impressive collection of yarn, work out equipment, and collectibles into a one bedroom suburban apartment and then come and tell me how you feel.
I bet you'll feel a little overwhelmed.
Cause that's how I'm feelin'
I bet you'll feel a little overwhelmed.
Cause that's how I'm feelin'
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Curb appeal
Brett and I are now down by two giant heavy cumbersome couches. Hooray!
We each had a pretty comfy couches when we moved to NY, and we kept them both through the last move. Now that we're downsizing to a small apartment, though, we don't have room for two couches and neither are particularly amazing. When we have a little bit saved up, we'll probably buy a nice new one.
So to get rid of the old ones, we asked around work to see if anyone wanted one, but were planning that we would need to pay the dump to take them. The nearest salvation army that takes furniture is all the way down in O town but just tossing them (and paying to do it) made me feel sad.
Brett's was a sleeper sofa, which meant it was HEAVY and old as something really old. Still, it was in really good shape and we found some one at the Hall who was in the market for a sleeper sofa so that took care of that.
Mine was super comfy and, once upon a time, it reclined, but one of the springs had since broken and it doesn't lay back like it used to. As a 50 dollar thrift store buy, it has served its purpose and I wasn't especially attached to it emotionally, so we pulled it out to the curb and put a big "FREE!" sign on it.
Not 15 minutes later, a guy with a truck pulls up, knocks on the door and asks if he can take it.
So that was easy.
Two couches down, two tvs, an entertainment center, a queen mattress left to pawn off on someone. Anyone interested?
We each had a pretty comfy couches when we moved to NY, and we kept them both through the last move. Now that we're downsizing to a small apartment, though, we don't have room for two couches and neither are particularly amazing. When we have a little bit saved up, we'll probably buy a nice new one.
So to get rid of the old ones, we asked around work to see if anyone wanted one, but were planning that we would need to pay the dump to take them. The nearest salvation army that takes furniture is all the way down in O town but just tossing them (and paying to do it) made me feel sad.
Brett's was a sleeper sofa, which meant it was HEAVY and old as something really old. Still, it was in really good shape and we found some one at the Hall who was in the market for a sleeper sofa so that took care of that.
Mine was super comfy and, once upon a time, it reclined, but one of the springs had since broken and it doesn't lay back like it used to. As a 50 dollar thrift store buy, it has served its purpose and I wasn't especially attached to it emotionally, so we pulled it out to the curb and put a big "FREE!" sign on it.
Not 15 minutes later, a guy with a truck pulls up, knocks on the door and asks if he can take it.
So that was easy.
Two couches down, two tvs, an entertainment center, a queen mattress left to pawn off on someone. Anyone interested?
Wednesday, July 07, 2010
Revolution!
Brett and I arranged to have a day off together today so we could try to do a little day trip traveling while we're still in the area.
There's a ton of great stuff within a day's drive that we never felt we could afford to do, but knowing that it's either spend the $40 on gas now or $600 on a pair of plane tickets in another week, it's hard not to take advantage of our proximity. I'd really love to go to Boston or Philadelphia, but those may be too much for us to do right now with moving costs and the necessity of getting everything packed up.
Today we drove up to Rome to visit the battlefield at Oriskany where General Herkimer's Tryon County militia and Oneida Indian allies were ambushed on their way to aid the rebel soldiers besieged in Fort Stanwix. Most of the militia soldiers were fighting very close to their farms and families; Herkimer himself lived less than thirty miles from the site of the ambush. The story of the battle reads like a movie script: General Herkimer and his soldiers march through the early August heat to try to raise the siege on Fort Stanwix. They are about six miles from their destination where they expect to fight Barry St Leger and his forces: a mixed bag of British soldiers, Hessian mercenaries, Iroqouis allies lead by Joseph Brant, and Loyalist rangers including Herkimer's own brother, Johan Jost. They come to a marshy ravine with a small stream running through the bottom. Tired and thirsty, some of the poorly seasoned troops break ranks to run to the stream to drink. As they put down their muskets and kneel on the bank, a group of Iroquois attack from the forests around them. Stories say that the stream ran red with blood by the end of the battle.
Joseph Brant, the Iroquois commander, lead a group of Loyalists and Iroquois to set the trap, intending to catch all the rebels in the ravine where the military road crossed the stream. Though the trap was sprung prematurely, what followed was the bloodiest battle of the Revolution. General Herkimer was wounded in the leg by a shot that killed his horse. His men tried to insist he leave the field of battle but he refused saying, "I will face the enemy." He sat down under a tree, smoked a pipe, and directed the battle. A rainstorm forced a delay during which both sides regrouped. Herkimer changed tactics to limit the effectiveness of the Iroquois skirmishers and wound up in possession of the field, but with heavier losses. The British claimed victory, but were thoroughly demoralized when, upon returning to their camp outside Fort Stanwix, they found the soldiers of the fort had raided their camp and taken or destroyed supplies, maps, letters and strategic plans.
The wounded Herkimer was taken back to his farm, but a delay in treating his wound and a botched amputation took his life ten days later. But his march had given the defenders hope and demoralized the British forces. A short while later, Benedict Arnold marched to lift the siege and the greatly exaggerated rumors of the size of his force eroded the Iroquois support. Without the Indians, the British didn't stand a chance and retreated without a battle.
It was the first real confrontation where American forces engaged each other, Rebel against Loyalist and the extremely high percentage of casualties on both sides made Oriskany the bloodiest battle of the Revolution.
So why all the fighting right here?
Fort Stanwix was built during the French and Indian war to protect the strategically important portage route from the Hudson River and the Atlantic to Lake Ontario and the Great Lakes. The Fort was a sleek, super modern fort for its time, a collection of hills and angles that all come together to be a pretty bad ass position to defend.
Brett and I actually went to the fort first, but it was an afterthought to the battlefield. We were pleasantly surprised at how much well funded information there was at the site, which is technically a National Park.
We got their in time for a guided tour that filled us in on some of the information we didn't know.
We had a great time poking around the reconstructed fort.
Defending the Sovereignty of the Colonies from those nancy British redcoats!
The spiky things are a French invention apparently. I think Paul and Steve could have a couple of these whipped up in no time to defend the 1850 farm from Ioway Indian attack.
Can you guess who took all the good pictures?
There's a ton of great stuff within a day's drive that we never felt we could afford to do, but knowing that it's either spend the $40 on gas now or $600 on a pair of plane tickets in another week, it's hard not to take advantage of our proximity. I'd really love to go to Boston or Philadelphia, but those may be too much for us to do right now with moving costs and the necessity of getting everything packed up.
Today we drove up to Rome to visit the battlefield at Oriskany where General Herkimer's Tryon County militia and Oneida Indian allies were ambushed on their way to aid the rebel soldiers besieged in Fort Stanwix. Most of the militia soldiers were fighting very close to their farms and families; Herkimer himself lived less than thirty miles from the site of the ambush. The story of the battle reads like a movie script: General Herkimer and his soldiers march through the early August heat to try to raise the siege on Fort Stanwix. They are about six miles from their destination where they expect to fight Barry St Leger and his forces: a mixed bag of British soldiers, Hessian mercenaries, Iroqouis allies lead by Joseph Brant, and Loyalist rangers including Herkimer's own brother, Johan Jost. They come to a marshy ravine with a small stream running through the bottom. Tired and thirsty, some of the poorly seasoned troops break ranks to run to the stream to drink. As they put down their muskets and kneel on the bank, a group of Iroquois attack from the forests around them. Stories say that the stream ran red with blood by the end of the battle.
Joseph Brant, the Iroquois commander, lead a group of Loyalists and Iroquois to set the trap, intending to catch all the rebels in the ravine where the military road crossed the stream. Though the trap was sprung prematurely, what followed was the bloodiest battle of the Revolution. General Herkimer was wounded in the leg by a shot that killed his horse. His men tried to insist he leave the field of battle but he refused saying, "I will face the enemy." He sat down under a tree, smoked a pipe, and directed the battle. A rainstorm forced a delay during which both sides regrouped. Herkimer changed tactics to limit the effectiveness of the Iroquois skirmishers and wound up in possession of the field, but with heavier losses. The British claimed victory, but were thoroughly demoralized when, upon returning to their camp outside Fort Stanwix, they found the soldiers of the fort had raided their camp and taken or destroyed supplies, maps, letters and strategic plans.
The wounded Herkimer was taken back to his farm, but a delay in treating his wound and a botched amputation took his life ten days later. But his march had given the defenders hope and demoralized the British forces. A short while later, Benedict Arnold marched to lift the siege and the greatly exaggerated rumors of the size of his force eroded the Iroquois support. Without the Indians, the British didn't stand a chance and retreated without a battle.
It was the first real confrontation where American forces engaged each other, Rebel against Loyalist and the extremely high percentage of casualties on both sides made Oriskany the bloodiest battle of the Revolution.
So why all the fighting right here?
Fort Stanwix was built during the French and Indian war to protect the strategically important portage route from the Hudson River and the Atlantic to Lake Ontario and the Great Lakes. The Fort was a sleek, super modern fort for its time, a collection of hills and angles that all come together to be a pretty bad ass position to defend.
Brett and I actually went to the fort first, but it was an afterthought to the battlefield. We were pleasantly surprised at how much well funded information there was at the site, which is technically a National Park.
We got their in time for a guided tour that filled us in on some of the information we didn't know.
We had a great time poking around the reconstructed fort.
Defending the Sovereignty of the Colonies from those nancy British redcoats!
The spiky things are a French invention apparently. I think Paul and Steve could have a couple of these whipped up in no time to defend the 1850 farm from Ioway Indian attack.
Can you guess who took all the good pictures?
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