Putnam Lake, New York
Filed under: General, Politics, Relationships, Retirement, Vacations, Working
Putnam Lake, New York
http://www.city-data.com/city/Putnam-Lake-New-York.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Putnam_Lake%2C_New_York
Small country hamlet outside of Brewster, New York where me, Hena, and my daughter Brea used to live in the year 1999 … I also lived there for a summer in 1983 while visiting my brother during a summer vacation in high school; It’s a beautiful and serene place. Lovely place to retire, live while working in NYC, be close to hiking trails, the Appalachian Trail, and ski resorts. Art. Antiques. Countryside. Putnam Lake hamlet is located just 6 miles from the Danbury, Connecticut state line. It’s a beautiful area that is great to raise kids in. I have beautiful memories of the area. Below are a couple photos.
According to Wikipedia: ) “Putnam County is a county located in the state of New York. As of 2000, the population is 95,745. The county seat is Carmel. The name is in honor of Israel Putnam, who was a hero in the French and Indian War and a general in the American Revolutionary War. Putnam Lake is a hamlet (and census-designated place) located in the eastern part of the Town of Patterson in Putnam County, New York adjacent to the Connecticut border, which is crossed by a number of eastern Putnam Lake streets. As of the 2000 census, it had a total population of 3,855.
The community is located next to a lake called Putnam Lake.”
Stats from the web sites listed above:
Population (year 2000): 3,855
Males: 1,953 (50.7%), Females: 1,902 (49.3%)
County: Putnam
Land area: 3.9 square miles
Zip code: 12563
Median resident age: 35.2 years
Median household income: $62,695 (year 2000)
Median house value: $147,000 (year 2000)
Races in Putnam Lake:
White Non-Hispanic (87.6%)
Hispanic (6.9%)
Black (2.9%)
Two or more races (2.2%)
Other race (1.1%)
American Indian (0.9%)
(Total can be greater than 100% because Hispanics could be counted in other races)
Ancestries: Italian (31.8%), Irish (28.5%), German (15.6%), English (7.3%), Polish (6.1%), United States (3.2%).
Lakes: Lost Lake (A), Little Pond (B), Putnam Lake (C).
Streams, rivers, and creeks: Quaker Brook (A).
 View of Patterson/Brewster area from ski resort mountain outside of Brewster, NY |
 Putnam Lake across from our house, Putnam Lake, NY |
Living Stress Free …
Long ago, I was taught that the keys to surviving life were (1) stability, (2) financial security, (3) good job position. Since then, I’ve discovered those keys were wrong. As a child I was interested in many occupations that were not climated to those keys. My parents objected to my life pursuits in lieu of wanting me to go into business, medicine, law, or another more prosperous field. I followed their advice … first becoming a stockbroker, then a web developer … and where did it lead? a world of inactivity, stuck behind a desk, absorbing everyone else’s stresses. It gave me high cholesterol, mental stress, and made me gain weight. When I went back into the outdoors, and started back into my passion as an archaeologist … and world traveller, then did I find a world of limited stress. I can breathe now relaxed …
So the keys I share with you are: (1) follow your heart and desires, (2) live simply, and (3) don’t base your career choices on income.
Taos, New Mexico
Taos, New Mexico
Coming north along Hwy 68, I saw the small town sprawl that is Taos, in the horizon. Again, wishing I had more time and resources to have a lengthy visit at this mountainous retreat. I’m also very interested in visiting the Taos Pueblo again and see their ceremonies.
Taos, New Mexico
“The Enchanted Circle”
~ An Indian Pueblo
~ A Spanish Village
~ An Art Colony
~ An Alpine Resort.
Just as all the guides proclaim, the drive to Taos does really take your breath away as you meander around the curves and hills through the mountains, hills, and gorges that is “Taos”. Especially during fall as is the season I’m making my travels through this region. I have tons of childhood stories exploring this region that I’ll hopefully find time to resurrect in the future. This to me is an even more “artsy” settlement than that of Sante Fe, its nearest big city about an hour away. An incredible array of art, architecture, cuisines, and outdoor fun will greet you as you visit this lair of enchantment. From history of the Pueblo Indians, to Spanish explorers, just like Santa Fe, this city is like no place in the world … a unique blend of the first inhabitants, Puebloan art, and Spanish Settlement to that of modern art meets Southwestern pizazz. Taos county consists of several smaller communities located within a 50 square mile area. The guides state that the population density is 9.8 people per square mile. Here the forests will enchant you, the snowdrifts will dazzle you, the crimson arrays of fall foriage will mesmerize you, and the stars you can see in the clear night skies will spin you in awe. Well known for its skiing and winter sports, Taos is a place for every outdoor enthusiast.
As I drove into Taos, I stopped off at the first rock shop I saw and inquired about the Faerie crosses. Apparently I missed the Gem and Mineral guide’s hunting location along 68 by the horseshoe bend … just 33 miles north of Pilar. Apparently the internet resource I had for hunting locations mixed up highway 64 and 68. Geesh. So I bought a few of the enchanted “X” crosses. The celtic crosses were too much. I’ll come back sometime in the near future to go hunting.
Holiday Inn Express (Santa Fe, NM)
Holiday Inn Express
3450 Cerillos Road
Santa Fe, NM 87507
505-474-7570
naashley@hotmail.com
www.hiexpress.com/santafe/
Decided I needed a luxurious stay and have a night of relaxation in Santa Fe, New Mexico before heading off to Taos to collect Faerie Crosses (Staurolite) so I thought I’d give one of Santa Fe’s newest hotels a try. A well taken care of hotel with 76 guest rooms and suites, deluxe breakfast with eggs, waffles, french toast, yogurt, muffins, cinnamon buns, cereal, fruit; free high-speed wireless internet (signal wasn’t very strong during my visit, kept getting knocked off), refrigerator, microwave oven, coffee maker, business center, and outdoor heated pool (closed during my stay). I thoroughly enjoyed my stay (except the internet reliability) 4 1/2 stars out of 5. Visited 11/8/05.
We Need Answers…It’s High Time We Get Them
We need answers. Who can we turn to? We have a world of technology at our fingertips and yet there are still things we agonize over, with an anxiety that seems overwhelming in our society.
In the Bible, God tells us in Jeremiah 33:3 “Call to Me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things you do not know.”
Call to Him? He will answer? Show me things? Great and mighty things I do not know?
It is high time we admit we have no one else to turn to, and call to Him, the God of the Bible, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The Almighty Living God.
It is high time we cry and in our anger and in our human frustration we honestly go before Him and repent of our sin, of our attempts to go our own way, our failures in doing it on our own.
It is high time we admit that we need a guide, not just happy thoughts to get us through our day. It is one thing for someone to tell you the way, another for one to go with you, to guide you, to show you the way. He has promised to show us the way.
It is hight time we stop settling for the empty life, and we begin living the abundant life that Jesus promises us. The work Jesus accomplished for us on the cross at Calvary was great and mighty, conquering sin and death, delivering man from sin and bondage. If you do not know of the saving blood of Jesus, seek the face of God, cry out to Him, repent of your sin, turn from your own ways and run toward the cross, toward the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. He is the Way, the Truth and the Life, and no one comes to the Father but through Him. Find a Bible believing church, and get into His word.
It is high time we fall on our faces and seek His face and cry out to know Him and to be with Him and to be in His presence.
Living With My Choices
Filed under: General, Marraige, Relationships, Retirement, Working
Our daughter was 4 years old and our son was 6 months old when I was laid off from The Boeing Company nearly 14 years ago. Our daughter, now a senior in high school, and our son a freshman, seem to be needing me at home even more than ever.
Back when I was laid off I was thrilled for a while to stay home with my youngsters, reading stories, going to the zoo, playing at the park. But soon the urge to get back into the workplace really took hold of me, and I fought for my right to go back to work. With the steep competition of the others laid off in the same season, I formed my own business and worked around the needs of my children not yet in school.
The years went on and they eventually both went to school all day, freeing me to work full time. Nearly ten years ago I went to work for a hospital in our community, five years of which I worked night shift, at times working nearly 60 hours per week, due to staffing needs and high census in the hospital. The money has always been good and the job security very stable. However, each year I longed to be home with my kids, as it grew harder and harder to take a day off to chaperone field trips for school, meet for parent conferences, or just be there when they were ill at home.
I recently took about two months off work for a medical leave of absence. The closer I got to going back to work, the more I began to realize, “I don’t want to go back. I want to be here for my kids.”
I had settled into a routine of making them breakfast, making their lunches, keeping up with the laundry and relaxing in the evening to have family time. Although my current work schedule is day shift, often the stress of the job and the fatigue of getting older cause my home life to have less quality and I lean toward being in bed closer to 8pm, versus the nights when I stayed up well past midnight playing Monopoly with the kids.
It is settled, I must work, in order to maintain ownership of our home, our vehicles and our lifestyle. I have great purpose in my role at the hospital, and am thankful to work in a capacity that I find to be truly fulfilling. It is a hard choice to have made and be forced to live with, though, when I long again for the days of snuggling with my kids in front of the window watching the rain pouring down outside. I yearn for the times we ran through the park and played until we were exhausted and ran home for popsicles.
My stepdaughter recently gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl. I long for the day when I am retired, and can be home with them, read to them, play with them, and cherish them. Of course I can do this now, but to give my undivided attention, is the longing of a mother’s heart, a grandmother’s heart. I have told my children over and over how much I love them, and they know I’d rather be home for them more than anything. I trust that they will cling to their time home with their children one day, and know the priviledge it holds.