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This is exterior wall of our kitchen after I scraped and sanded paint and exposed wood. |
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This is exterior wall of our kitchen after 1 coat of paint. |
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This is paint I used for first time. No primer needed. |
Commentary about photography, classical guitar, life and surviving in the North Country.
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This is exterior wall of our kitchen after I scraped and sanded paint and exposed wood. |
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This is exterior wall of our kitchen after 1 coat of paint. |
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This is paint I used for first time. No primer needed. |
Saturday September 27, 2025
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Evelyn Saphier, owner / curator of Iva Smith Memorial Gallery of Fine Art |
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Wood sculpture by Carmen D'Avino at Iva Smith Memorial Gallery |
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Wood sculpture by Carmen D'Avino at Iva Smith Memorial Gallery |
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Wood sculpture by Carmen D'Avino at Iva Smith Memorial Gallery |
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The Iva Smith Memorial Gallery, Hammond, NY |
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The Iva Smith Memorial Gallery, Hammond, NY |
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The Iva Smith Memorial Gallery, Hammond, NY |
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The Iva Smith Memorial Gallery, Hammond, NY |
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The Leap, painting by Dawn Oman, The Iva Smith Memorial Gallery, Hammond, NY |
Got up at 5:30 this morning. Was at Lowe's at 6:30 bought a water supply line for new hot water heater I was installing at daughter S' apartment. at 7:30 I dropped our 2019Kia Sorento off at Cheney tire for troubleshooting noise emanating from rear of car. I thought maybe a wheel bearing is going bad. Walked from there to our rental house on Franklin St. Went about the business of installing the hot water heater. It went pretty smoothly. Was done about 1:00. At 2:00 I walked to Watertown Savings Bank n withdrew $700.00 to pay for car repair. Turns out the noise was caused by bad, worn tires. I had the replace all 4. From the bank I walked to Cheney Tire and picked up the vehicle with new tires. That was at 2:40. All that walking took 40minutes. Nice. It was windy and warm, perfect for a walk. Got home and grilled some chicken and some sausage. A productive day. iPhone app shows I walked a total of 13,578 steps today.
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New Rehm 30 gallon hot water heater installed at Franklin St, lower apartment. |
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Apple on a tree at my Celebrity Brother's house. |
Anyhow, he is living in the house that we grew up in having inherited it from our mother, Margaret Walts. I'm sure my father planted the apple tree many many years ago. The weeds photo is the house across the road from Al's.
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Apples on a tree at my Celebrity Brother's house. |
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Apple on a tree at my Celebrity Brother's house. |
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Weeds across the road from my Celebrity Brother's house. |
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Firewood delivered September 11. Most years we get it in June. |
Snapped this photo on September 11, 2025. This is firewood being dumped into our driveway in Chaumont, NY. Everything has been screwed up and off this year. We normally have the wood delivered in June, maybe as late as July. Anyhow, it is 6 cord (face cord) mostly hickory. We buy from Rob Joanette in Dexter. Price was $480.00, very nice wood. We may have enough wood left from last year year to get us through most of the upcoming winter. That will give the new wood more time to season.
Weather recentlyhas been warm, dry, windy. Temperature a couple days ago went above 80 degrees here in Chaumont. Tomorrow we drive to Painseville, Ohio for a memorial for the Better Half's sister Cheri.
photo copyright Gary Walts August 205Interesting formation of paint pigment that settled in bottom of can.
I snapped this photo today as I was cleaning my paint brush with paint thinner. It is paint pigment deposits that settled to the bottom of a coffee can that I poured used paint thinner into. The deposits created an interesting, display of soft looking mounds in the can. Very interesting. The paint was Rustoleum oil based green paint. Anyhow, It's what caught my eye today after I finished painting a section of lattice for the side porch of our house in Chaumont, NY.
We spent yesterday (Sunday September 14) in the emergency room at Samaritan hospital in Watertown. The Better Half had some lumbar injection tests done on Monday the 8th at the Spine and Wellness Center, Syracuse, by a Dr Trasilo. Her pain got steadily worse with each passing day until finally we had her checked out at the ER. They did a number of tests and images and ruled out the most serious and worrisome things we were concerned with. We arrived at the ER at 11:00 and left there at 9:30pm.
Saturday September 6, 2025
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Ukulele group playing at Sackets Harbor Art Gallery |
By the time I got home the weather had cleared, was windy, cool. I lit up the grill and out on some Hoffman Snappy Grillers hot dogs. Had home grown tomatoes and green beans too.
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Lit up the grill for some Snappy Grillers |
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Hoffman Snappy Grillers |
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Tomatoes and Jalapenos from our garden |
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Scarecrow Fishing at Hayes Bay Rd, Three Mile Bay NY. copyright Gary Walts 2025 |
It was a warm, windy day here in Northern NY. I worked on the side porch for a good portion of the day. Then ran some errands at 3:30. Back home at 5:00 and we decided to go to the lake, Wilson Bay in Cape Vincent to be precise. On the way there we encountered this scarecrow fishing from n easy chair. It was where the Hayes Bay Road meets the Isthmus Rd (CO RT 57), Three Mile Bay. Couldn't resist snapping a couple shots.
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Scarecrow Fishing at Hayes Bay Rd, Three Mile Bay NY. copyright Gary Walts 2025 |
Today I sent a stool sample off to Cologuard for for routine screening for colon cancer. Then I went to a Samaritan Hospital Lab on Coffeen St, Watertown for routine blood work testing. At 2:00 I was at Northern Nurse Practitioners for a full body skin exam. That revealed a spot on my back that the nurse said looked like a squamos cell cancer. Need to get a biopsy of it.
City of Watertown viewed from a State St parking lot behind Sportsmans Barber shop.
Friday August 22, 2025 was a busy day for me. About 9:00am I dropped some return packages at the UPS Store for the Better Half. At 11:30 I got a haircut at Sportsman's Barber Shop. At 1:00 I was picking up some items at Sam's club and saw a display for Halloween merchandise. That seems really early to me. Around 4:00 I put a coat of Olympic brand wood stain on new side porch porch floor. The area is about 5 feet by 12 feet. Took 45 minutes for that job, then had to clean my brush with mineral spirits. at about 7:00pm I grilled some cheddar Jalapeno sausages.
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Grilling sausages in evening. |
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First coat of stain applied to side porch. |
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August 22 Halloween display at Sam's Club in Watertown. |
What I did today, Saturday August 23, 2025.
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Aboard the wine cruise on the St Lawrence River at sunset. |
The evening we spent on a wine cruise of the St Lawrence River. That was by Coyote Moon Winery and Clayton Boat Tours. It was great fun. Ticket purchase included bottle of wine and a snack box. Beer and wine slushies were also available during the cruise. Most of the passengers were affected by the spirits and the atmosphere became very festive. It was great fun and entertaining. We were back home about 9:00pm.
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Brother Al, left, and Ron at our house in Chaumont. |
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Sunset on the St Lawrence River . |
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The village of Clayton, NY, on the St Lawrence River. |
Saturday August 16, 2025
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Boy playing on dock, Cape Vincent, NY. photo copyright Gary Walts |
Sunny, hot and humid today. Oatmeal for breakfast. 10:30 I was at the Saturday Farm Market in JB Wise Parking Lt, Watertown NY. Played 2 hours. Back home a little before 2:00. THEN, I discovered I missed a gig. I was supposed to be at The Strand Theater in Watertown to play at 2:00 for an art auction to benefit the Lions Club. YIKES! I thought the job was for Sunday. Anyhow, all was not lost. I was to play 2:00-3:00. Instead I played 3:00-4:00. It was a nice event. Afterwards the Better Half and I drove to Cape Vincent where I went for a swim and then snapped the above picture of a boy running on a dock. I used a Sony a6600 camera and a Minolta 500mm f8 mirror lens to grab the photo.
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Guitar tips received at Saturday Farm Market |
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Art auction at the Strand Theater in Watertown |
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Art auction at the Strand Theater in Watertown |
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Art auction at the Strand Theater in Watertown |
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Completed framing deck yesterday, August 13. |
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Side porch repair, Chaumont, NY August 2025 |
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Side porch repair, Chaumont, NY August 2025 |
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Side porch repair, Chaumont, NY August 2025 |
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Side porch repair, Chaumont, NY August 2025 |
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Side porch repair, Chaumont, NY August 2025 |
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Side porch repair, Chaumont, NY August 2025 |
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Side porch repair, Chaumont, NY August 2025 |
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Side porch repair, Chaumont, NY August 2025 |
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Side porch repair, Chaumont, NY August 2025 |
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Side porch repair, Chaumont, NY August 2025 |