Friday Night Spelling Bee

Last week was a long one filled with lots of work and a stomach virus that lasted a little too long.  So Abe and I were pumped when Friday rolled around and Colleen and Kenny invited us to dinner at Isamu.  After dinner we came back to our house for a few drinks and my Dorm Rock play list on Pandora. 

We also pulled out this old 1940's parties and games booklet that belonged to my grandparents.  Abe found it in a side table I inherited and it's full of weird games like "Cracker Eating Content" and "Gay Nineties Party" (and they mean 1890's - suggestions include taffy pulling and polka-dot ties).

The four of us attempt board games often and it usually ends in argument.  However, Spelling Bee sounded like it could be fun so we whipped out the ol' dictionary and gave it a whirl.  We stil argued.

Behind the Scenes at Wicked Mint

No fabric is safe when Mr. Paws is around.  

 

Parents Weekend

This past weekend my mom and dad came to Beacon for a little visit.  It seems every time they've been here we've had something to do - wedding planning, or helping me fix plumbing problems - but this time we just got to hang out and relax. 

We took all the dogs to Walkway Over the Hudson for some leaf peeping and exercise.  Then we ended up back home for a big late lunch, magazine reading, football watching, naps, and a trip to Alps Sweet Shop for chocolate.  It was Second Saturday in Beacon, which means all the galleries stay open late and have openings.  We did some browsing, stopped off at a bar where Colleen and Kenny met us for a drink, and rounded off the night at Max's for dinner and live music.  All in all, a pretty solid weekend!

Lily Climbs Mount Beacon

Hurricane Irene

Saturday night we were partying until the wee hours as we celebrated the nuptials of Margot and Matt.  Little did we expect to be woken up at 8am Sunday morning with word that we had minutes to evacuate town before the bridge was swallowed up by the overflowing river.  Some people from our crew fled and made it to surrounding towns, but about 10 of us decided to stay put at the Emerson Resort.

No one really expected Hurricane Irene to have such an impact on upstate New York.  All attention had been on the coastlines, Manhattan, Long Island, etc... but it turned out that those areas did better than expected.

In the Catskills, roads and bridges were wiped out by overflowing rivers and creeks, trapping people in their homes and leaving towns cut off from help.   People lost their houses, cars and businesses to floods and raging rivers carrying entire trees like battering rams.  it was really scary and sad.  Luckily we were at the Emerson and they continued to treat us like guests despite the hotel running on a generator and being used as a shelter.  Not to mention, it's not the worst thing in the world to be stuck in a lovely hotel with 10 of your close friends, crappy movies, bottles of wine, and lots of snacks.  

It wasn't until we were finally able to leave Monday that we saw the ongoing destruction.  It took us almost 8 hours and over 350 miles to travel home in what normally would take 1 hour and 50 miles.