March 11th, 2010
In honor of today’s 55-degree temperature and the daffodils poking up in front of City Hall, I thought I’d take a moment to make a list of all things I want to do (for fun) this spring and summer. I’ve been meaning to do this for awhile as it will give me hope during the tail end of winter.
- Drive to Bennett Beach after work and swim until the sun goes down.
- Get up early on a Saturday or Sunday, pack a picnic lunch, ride bikes over the Peace Bridge and to Crystal Beach, Ontario. Spend the rest of the day lounging on the beach, swimming, and feasting on the picnic food. Ride back and take pictures of the Buffalo skyline atdusk.
- Eat ice cream from the Porter Avenue ice cream place. Hatch plans for the 2nd Annual DIY Triathalon.
- Sit around the fire pit in my dad and Terrie’s backyard after eating a delicious dinner with them. Admire the plants they’re growing.
- Take Crashers swimming in the lake at Sean’s family’s cottage.
- Also Canandaigua related: drive the boat over to Kershaw beach, throw the anchor overboard, and hang out in the water all day while listening to soft rock on the boat radio.
- Enjoy my mother’s backyard with her beautiful patio, twinkle lights, and pool.
- Slow, lazy nights out with friends, preferably on the patios/porches of Left Bank, Fat Bob’s, or fish-fry dives.
- Photo adventures along the Bird Island Pier with my brother. Also at Amherst State Park.
- Visit Brynn in Long Lake and swim in the mountain lake.
- Grill, lay around, play basketball, entertain, drink beers, and relax in our courtyard/backyard/whatever it is.
- Fall asleep around the campfire at the cottage after singing folk songs.

Tags: buffalo, cottage, dreams, fantasies, spring, summer, warm weather, wishlist
Posted in blog posts | 8 Comments »
January 29th, 2009
I don’t know if all of you have seen Linda Aldredge’s treehouse yet but hurry up and visit the slideshow at Domino before it too is closed.
Looking at the treehouse photos again (Linda’s is to the left) makes me long for my own land on which to build a small, woodsy retreat. I’ve been on and off pining for something like it for years. At this point, the idea is only a dream but it’s fun to get lost in a fantasy, right?
Back in September some friends and I drove to Alleghany County, about an hour or so from Buffalo, and stayed the night at Jen’s Uncle’s cabin. The property included a one-bedroom log-cabin with a giant living room and a nice front porch, as well as a little sleeper cabin a ways up the hill. There was also a pond full of leeches and a platform off which Steve and Sean fished.
The little sleeper cabin, pictured at right, added to my retreat-obsession. I’ve imagined a cabin totally
devoted to my writing practice–books on the wall, a Southern-facing window, a quiet view. I’ve imagined a small but sufficient weekend house for my non-existent children and me. I’ve imagined some version of this in my non-existent backyard.
Since I see myself living the next couple decades in a city, I don’t think a backyard treehouse or writing cabin is really an option (do you like how seriously I’m considering this “fantasy?”). I think the realistic option would be to buy property in Alleghany County and build my dream from scratch. Like Linda Aldredge and her treehouse.
Sigh, dreams.
Anyway, I’m going to find Michael Pollan’s A Place of My Own at the library and stoke the fires of my obsession a bit more.
How about all of you? Anyone out there want to share their dreams of a cottage by the sea or a cabin in the woods?
Tags: A Place of My Own, cabin, dreams, fantasies, Linda Aldredge, Michael Pollan, retreat, treehouse, wishes
Posted in blog posts | 5 Comments »