Not Related Pictures

I finally got inside the Garage Mahal across the street from our house.  We've been on friendly terms with the neighbors since we moved in, but we never got to see the inside of the garage.  We've heard reports of million-dollar cars and a building with construction features that few garages have.  It's all true.  David last raced this car in the 80's and smacked it up a bit, but now it's almost fully restored and retired from racing.  I'm pictured next to an Alfa Romeo TZ (I think it's a TZ2 but I might be wrong, I can tell you it's red).

He's also got a Ferrari Lotus Elan

And there's an Alfa Romeo Duetto (1967).

I'm not sure which one he was talking about, but he said he's done more work on it since COVID than he had in the previous 30 years.

Look who got the fiddle out and remembered a few tunes!  We even sounded pretty good on a couple we played together.

I spent an afternoon with some of the college kids, then we all had take-out at our house.  Nice way to spend a day.

 I did another 2000-piece puzzle recently and learned the subject isn't what makes a good puzzle, it's the pattern and cut of the pieces.  I see no purpose for hardly any of these shoes, but I think it is my favorite puzzle I've done.

Happy Birthday, Connie

It was great to celebrate Connie's birthday- with other people not wearing masks, sitting together on a porch.  Some semblance of normal life is so welcome.
 

Other Developments

There has been an infrastructure project in progress along State St/MLK Boulevard/Route 79 at the bottom of East Hill since last fall.  A retaining wall along the sidewalk is being replaced before it collapsed into the parking lot below, always a good idea.

The parking lot is conveniently empty thanks in part to this small factory along Six Mile Creek being sold and closed down.

The crane is visible from the pedestrian bridge upstream.

 The factory was sold to make way for this: another monstrous building being squeezed in downtown.  The view from the bridge is going to look quite a bit different in a couple years.  This might even obstruct part of the view of the last two or three large buildings added to that small area.

Big Changes for Beck

 An old friend from downstate is heading for retirement and working on a move to become another Upstater.  Jim has lived north of NYC for several decades and commuted to Queens to teach at a BOCES, including summer school.  That's about to change, and perhaps by next summer he will be living in his new house in Ithaca.  I believe he's completed the land purchase in a new development just outside the city limit: Amabel should be a good match for him.

Warming Up

 

The lake is warming up, you can tell because it's raining instead of snowing and there's no ice.  I've been told actual swimming has taken place in the past couple weeks.