New England

It's evening.  And it's supposed to get freezing cold tonight - below 0 degrees F.  When I woke up this morning in Connecticut, it was minus 15 C outside, but still 10 degrees F, which doesn't seem as cold.

I went up Friday afternoon, no traffic.  I got started in a snow shower, which scared me, since it looked like another blizzard.  But it was short-lived, and the rest of the trip went uneventful and fast.

It was cold, and sunny, crystal clear sky above, I do love that about winters on the East Coast.  Up the Garden State Parkway, to the NY Thruway, over the Tappan Zee Bridge, onto the Merritt Parkway, which switches to the Wilbur Cross Parkway after crossing the Housatonic River.  Who wouldn't love those names?  Doesn't sound like any old highway or motorway or Autobahn, does it?  And so much a part of my life, I can't imagine not driving those roads again.

And I was in New England.  As I remembered it in the winter, icy cold, you could see as far as the horizon, with the most amazing blue sky above.  The roads I choose parallel the highway running along the shore, a bit further inland, and are all used and usable by cars only.  Everyone drove very fast, and everyone seemed to totally ignore the speed limit.

I was visiting my friend Linda.  Linda is the one who taught me to be totally independent after I found myself alone with three children.  She gave me the courage to drive into NYC (no easy feat), go on loooong drives, explore by myself, buy big appliances, and injected a confidence I am still grateful for.
I was also making a delivery of wood to her Dad Teddy (90!),  who turns wood bowls on a lathe, he does wonderful work:

 One of Teddy's bowls above and below.  The one below is turned from what Teddy calls 'rotten wood'.  Almost deteriorated to the point were it would be useless, he finds these pieces, takes them home, and tries to make something from them.  He finds the texture and colors amazing, and loves the surprise of finding it/them under a not so promising exterior.

  the one above has a crack I'm not showing on the other side, it cracked when it dried more.  

 Above is the poplar wood with the blue section.  Isn't it amazing?

I was delivering chucks with those color streaks in them, but had to bring them back with me,

because the wood is still too fresh and wet.  I'll bring it back after it had a turn in a wood drying kiln, which is being built.  We can't wait the two plus years it would need to dry naturally.

 Sunrise from the kitchen window of Teddy's and Linda's house.  Looking down on a snow covered lake.

And the romantic looking house across the street below:

And some of the ride home:

Look how high the snow is when you look at the mailboxes on either side of the road!

Merritt Parkway

Looking down from the high span of the Tappan Zee Bridge, looking at Nyack, NY.

And after the 2 hour ride, it is nice to see this sign:

And so the fun doesn't end, we are expecting snow again on Tuesday night.  Possibly a major snow storm.

Fun!