The state of Relaxation at the Lodge

Terry and his All Star visit

And now for a special shout-out to Terry, for pulling off an All Star weekend. Two things we noticed about Adam's dad...he doesn't really sit still, and he eats like a bird. Not passing up a challenge, we gave him enough work to do around the house to keep him occupied to his heart's content, and we fed him enough grilled beef to satisfy a bear right before hibernation.

The list. We created a list of chores that kept Terry busy for about three days. We literally wrote it out, and crossed out items as we (I mean, he) accomplished them. We tried to pretend we were helping with the first item or two, but that didn't last long. Eventually we succumbed to our true nature...lazy observers.

The good news was that we racked our brains to create this list and could only come up with cosmetic "to-do"s. Terry thought the house was in great shape, and that obviously gives us great peace of mind. So the list was comprised of mostly cosmetic work...a new lock on the living room door, fixing a bunch of door knobs, hiding those ridiculous speaker wires that hung down from every corner of the house, fixed the screen doors, hung some stuff on the walls, fixed the adirondack chairs, fixed some loose steps on the deck, taught us how to use the generator, etc. etc.

In return, we fired up our new grill and never turned it off. We grilled a flank steak, burgers, brats, pineapple, peppers, and two huge slabs of bbq ribs. Rock on.

And with that, we closed out the month of May, aka Parent-palooza '09.

The Poplar's bring Christmas to May

Time to catch up on some much needed Buck Lodge blogging. Props (Pops?) go to Jack and Ebby for coming to town with more loot than Santa Claus. First and foremost, the food. Lets start off with the best sauce ever, loaded with meatballs and italian sausage that was out. of. this. world. Friday night, we had a massive pasta gorge-fest. Ebby thought she brought us enough sauce to last us for weeks, but we managed to polish it off that weekend. Also, there was a five-bean soup that was devoured before Adam could even get up here from the city. And of course, she showered us in pizzelles, one of our all-time favorites.

Inside Santa's sleigh we also found a hammock (from Kristen) which is our new favorite napping spot, a brass tub for holding firewood, some of Craig's artwork from his childhood (appropriately embarassing), his NYU Stern diploma, dishtowels and aprons, metal skewers for roasting marshmallows (Craig doesn't like using sticks), Craig's childhood animal figurine collection, and this amazing brass lantern that used to belong to Craig's grandpa Poplar. Clearly we hit the jackpot, and Jack and Ebby are encouraged to bring a U-Haul next time.

Saturday night we took a trip out to Saugerties, which is near Woodstock, NY. We took a lightning-speed hike out to the lighthouse. We beat the rain, but could not keep the bugs at bay (Ebby is a bug-magnet, don't stand to0 close). We did get a great view of the Hudson river and a gaggle of swan, which was quite cool. Dinner was at Miss Lucy's Kitchen, which we highly recommend. Miss Lucy was six years old when her mom opened the restaurant which she named after her daughter. Most of the food was organic and local...even the herbs were grown out back. Ebby's steak with roasted bone marrow and the rhubarb icebox cake were the standouts in a great meal. This place has Al and Penny written all over it. http://www.misslucyskitchen.com/

Their visit was short and sweet and we look forward to many future visits soon.

recent visitors

A glimpse of recent guests...






See more Buck Road on Flickr.

The 3 Magi...I mean, 4 Margoli

Time to catch up on some blogging! Fan favorites Lee, Stacy*, Hudson and Lola were here about three weeks ago. Hudson was our first kid visitor. Buck Lodge isn't exactly PeeWee's Playhouse, but I think it was a pretty successful weekend. High points included:

• Craig and Hudson spent most of Saturday afternoon planting herbs (a present from Matthew and Danny), as well as an eclectic collection of seeds and plants that Hudson brought from Brooklyn. Lets see, what was planted...sugar snap peas, bean sprouts, pumpkins, arugula, cilantro, dill, basil, oregano, a nectarine pit, and an old shoe. I fully expect that in six months a large Venus-flytrap named Audrey will be threatening any deer who approach Craig and Hudson's plantings.

• Lola was treated to a low-end photoshoot on the balcony. As any serious model would, she feigned disinterest, a distaste for working with 'local talent,' clearly unimpressed with the working conditions outside Manhattan. Yet, she was always professional enough to never present a bad angle to the camera.

• The agenda for the weekend included naps, naps, and more naps. Treating pregnant ladies to naps is our specialty. Lee on the other hand...

• It shouldn't be possible, but Stacy's apple pies just only seem to get better and better. She made one for Craig's birthday and we devoured it. We took what was left back to Brooklyn and finished it there, not offering the Margoli any of what was left. 

• The swingset, which has yet to be picked up by the previous owners, was a huge hit. More so with the adults than with Hudson. That structure is strong! and the swings are class A1. Warning: the slide is a thousand times scarier than it looks.

• We used our outdoor firepit for the first time. Homerun! All I can say is more Smores for me please.

• Hudson's plans for two connecting treehouses with a zipline is most exciting. We plan to rent it out to wayward lost souls from Manhattan looking for a Central American-esque retreat. Complimentary applie pie included, of course.

Felt great to have family up here, especially the best godson ever!!

* Oddly enough, this was not our first pregnant Stacy at the Lodge.

new Buck Lodge photostream

For visuals, visit our new Flickr photostream!

A Buck Lodge Guest Post: Rita.

Hi everyone, Greetings from Buck Lodge.

     Well what can I say....it's just wonderful.  I must admit my major disappointment at not being the first one to see the house my boys own, but I'll get them back for that.  I intend to live here.  Now wouldn't that put a crimp in their style!!!!!   HA!

     All kidding aside this is no longer a house, but a wonderful warm home.  It shows Adam and Craig's sense of style and comfort.  The furnishing are certainly comfortable and I just love 'my' new bed.   I did the Jewish mother thing and made chicken soup for dinner on Saturday.  I also made chocolate chip cookies.  So now it's officially a Jewish touched home.

     Craig took me on a tour of the woods behind their house and showed me the 'farmer's wall' that marks the property lines.  It's really kind of neat.  Craig has all sorts of neat ideas .  They also have a Koi Pond.  The water and the fish freeze over the winter and then come back to life in the Spring.  I'm not kidding, I saw them swimming around this weekend.

      It's so nice up here that I really don't want to leave.  There was a lot we did in town too and of course we went to Mohonk Resort.  Very nice place but nothing to compare to Buck Lodge!!

Love Mom 

Two photos we love...

The first was obviously taken here at the Lodge, by the esteemed Matthew Doering...American Gothic redefined. The second was taken in Brooklyn, and has nothing to do with Buck Lodge, other than it was taken by Janey Ridge whom I wish could visit us here at the Buck. Alas, it's a long flight from Aww-stray-lee-ah.

We moved to the country...

...to live in a sea of styrofoam. Setting up a new house brings with it tons and tons of packing materials from items like new furniture and kitchen utensils. So much so, that it almost consumed Rita! 

Craig and Rita have literally spent the last hour breaking down all of the styrofoam and getting it ready to leave out with the trash. I've been busy "working" upstairs...which means blogging for you!

And our first guests were...

...Peter and Colin of course! The proximity of Colin's house in nearby Sullivan County made it easy for a neighborly "swing by." 

Using the new stove, we served our first guests lentil soup, a fritatta, and salad...a lunch we'd duplicate for the D'Obst's in a pinch a few weeks later. Yes, Matthew and Danny were our next guests, stopping by a few weeks after Peter and Colin. The D'Obsts swung by from neighboring Columbia County. Having all these friends near the Lodge is pretty great for us.

Now, do housewarming gifts reflect on our friends personalities? You be the judge. Matthew and Danny brought us gardening tools (check out the American Gothic pic we'll post soon), seeds to plant, gardening books, and cookbooks. All useful stuff we'll use for years. Peter and Colin on the other hand brought us classic union suits, alas without the butt flaps. These will also be useful for years to come. But trust us, you won't find us using the gardening tools in our union suits.

Special guest-star Wally, Colin's dog, confirmed that Buck Lodge needs a dog to make our home complete. Theo, Carlo's dog also confirmed this. Both dogs made use of the full acreage Buck Lodge is nestled on, although I don't think used the pen the previous owners built, nor the zip line attached to the house.

Carlo's visit was about a week ago. While Adam was off in Texas for a conference, Craig convinced Carlo to come to the Lodge to do all the cooking and laundry for the weekend. Carlo made great use of the new stove and gave us some great decorating tips for the Lodge. One tip was to purchase the dining room chairs we had been eyeing for about a month at the Mercantile (local furniture store); another was to purchase not one, but two pairs of wooden antlers we had been stalking at Lounge (yet another local furniture store); another tip was to lower some of the lighting in the kitchen and dining area to minimize some of the poor lighting and shadows we're dealing with...the list of tips goes on and on. As I write this though, I'm sitting on one of those chairs, and the antlers are hanging right above me.

Our latest guest was Adam's mom, Rita. We'll let her tell you about her visit in the next post.

We're going to continue using this blog as our digital scrapbook of all the visits to Buck Lodge. So be prepared to find pics of yourself on the world wide web!

The Lodge in Winter

(these shots were taken back at the end of January during our first couple of weekends)

We used this photo in our masthead above, but here's the whole thing:

Lots of snow.

Here are a few shots of the trees that surround us.

We're talking deep freeze. Our koi pond-sicle:

Had to shovel a path to the house for the delivery guys...

Bucky and the shakers!

totally self-indulgent, but here's some video footage taken last week of me giving a guided tour of the back woods behind The Lodge. Special guest appearance by The Sheds!

Our new set of knives courtesy of Marcy and Roberto. They are the most incredible knives I've ever used. It really makes all the difference to have the right tools in the kitchen. Like our new range with the middle bridge burner (with optional griddle for those pancake breakfasts!)

The experts at Sears were working with only half of a "stove bag" (their term not ours) so they improvised. With a few propane-conversion orifices missing, Wally fetched a few from his truck. One bridge burner is kind of turbo-charged for the time being until our new kit comes in and can be properly installed. At least they hauled away that old busted original stove from 1994.  

Here's a snapshot of Sears' appliance technicians Wally and Adam (not our Adam!) hard at work:

Time to come clean

Okay, I broke the stove, our first day in the house. There, I said it. I was trying to clean it out for all of you. Yes, you! because believe me, it was disgusting inside. Dog hair in the stove, I kid you not. So I sprayed it down with Easy Off, to the point I had to step outside to clear the chemicals from my brain. I pulled the "magic oven door lock lever thingie" to the right, set up the self-cleaner and left it alone for 3 hours. Then, when the buzzer went off, in my haste to wipe it out, thinking it would wipe clean easier while it was still warm, I pulled that magic lever back to the left. And well, it wouldn't budge. So I pulled harder. Stacie's mom Yvonne always says, "ya just need a little elbow grease." Well Yvonne, too much elbow grease and that lever snapped right off! Hence, the picture...of the oven door lock...detached from the stove...and the oven door is still locked.

Fast forward: New stove being delivered next week! My plan all along? You decide.

"You ready for guests yet?!"

Almost! Here's an update:

• The kitchen is set up, and the new, working stove (more on that later) will be here on Saturday. We are fully stocked with dishes and glasses (again, more on that later). A dining room table would be nice though, so you can have somewhere to eat. Hopefully we'll remedy that situation today (still, more on that later).

• The guest bedroom has a new Sealy Moonscape bed and a new sisal rug. Next weekend we'll put up some blinds in the windows so you won't be creeped out in the middle of the night when Jason Voorhees is watching you through the window. And I'd love to find a dresser, a luggage rack, or simply something for you to put your stuff on. Perhaps a small nightstand with a lamp. Maybe a chair to sit on. You can determine what level of comfort you're willing to put up with in this regard, but by spring it will be super-comfy.

• Next weekend our new Samsung LCD television is being delivered so we can watch movies! No Friday the 13th though. And no Deer Hunter. Still searching for the perfect DVD player. Yes Nick, it will be blu-ray. Yes Mom, it will play regular DVDs.

• Almost all the bathrooms are clean...alas, the guest bathroom is not. But it will be! Thank God for CLR...those hard-water stains are a bitch. And the new Aquadyne shower head we bought for all of you? Still sitting in a bag we left at the Home Depot checkout. Promise we'll pick it up today and install it next weekend.

• Booze. We have no booze yet. Soon to be remedied.

This blog post is dedicated to PowerPoint's corruption of America. The bullet-format is just for you.

I need a Fix!

Alright, it's only the 3rd post, and I'm already veering from the Buck, but while composing that last post I found a Youtube video about our dear friend Marc Galucci (the Gallooch!!) and his new coffee shop, Fix, in Echo Park. If you like coffee, go carts, Los Angeles, or anime, you should check it out. So proud of you Gallooch! Check out the clip by clicking here.