A sliver of silver

A sliver of silver sun is about all we saw this weekend.
It rained most of the weekend and the river had the blues.

Blues in the Bay that is.















It was a perfect weekend for a some soulful blues and local artist Roosevelt Dean knew how to belt them.

Five Fun Facts For Friday

Did you know?

1. If Jell-O is hooked up to an EEG, it registers movements virtually identical to the brain waves of a healthy adult!

2. The jukebox got its name from jook, African-American slang for "dance".

3. Wedding cake was originally thrown AT the bride and groom instead of being eaten by them.

4. TIP is an acronym for "to insure promptness" and once upon a time was given in advance.

5. The signature line drawing of Alfred Hitchcock was drawn by Alfred Hitchcock.

Cool stuff

Just some cool stuff I like so I am sharing.















Not selfish in bed(s)

Extra overnight guests? Take em down and pass em around.















Daydream Believer



The Ryan boys could swing their legs on these chairs!










Double Rocker

Put your feet on the pegs and rock away with your buddy.











Potty Putter

For the men in the bathroom, who like to play with the putter.

We don't get these in the St. Lawrence River!

My friend Cathy just spent the weekend in the Bahamas (lucky grrrrrl)!

Nice catch Cath!

She spotted it while snorkeling, her friend Paul speared it, VOILA - 40 lb Nassau grouper for dinner - they served it blackened.

Look at that water! I want to revisit the Bahamas.

Now.

Miss you!

Two for Tuesday

Two collections!












Red handled kitchenware.

Latest addition
(Thanks Richard!)








Blue and red glass.


When I was a kid I collected stamps and stones.
When I was a teenager I collected Garfield books and memorabilia.
I had a minor Woodstock (Peanuts) collection.
As an adult, I still love to collect.
Why do we like to collect things?

Oh so lost in Lost

I was not into Lost for the past 2 years.

I am now.

Been on vacation all week and have been watching it from the first episode.

I can't stop.

Mink Island Pathway

And from that day, o'er hill and glade
Thru those old woods, a path was made.

Sailboats

Took a little boat trip into Brockville, Ontario today.
It is a pretty town with a local yacht club.
We were treated to a sailboat race at dusk.

Autumn begins early on the river....

Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower. ~Albert Camus

Two for Tuesday

We enjoyed two fires on the river tonight.

Kiss Me Kate

So darn cute and photogenic!

Life lessons learned in a weekend.

It was a work weekend at Todd and Laura's house.
Their 200 year old house.
A dirt floor in the basement dug up.
100+ year old peonies dug up and replanted.
Shingles for the barn/outbuilding stained.
(ahem, individual shingles for a barn? If there is the male equivalent to Martha Stewart, he lives in Cazenovia.)































































Despite the rain, the blisters, the sore feet and aching backs, there was quality time spent and some good life lessons learned:

friends and family help each other
lead by example
the best way to do a job you are dreading?
hit it head on with a positive attitude
ask for help
listen to good music while working
laugh alot
blisters go away
take time throughout the day to
pet the dog
kiss the baby
enjoy a good meal

Did I forget anything?

Belts, belts, and more belts

and I am not talking about the kind that goes around your waist!









The Rust Belt

The belts I'm referring to are the geographic regions throughout the U.S. that are distinctive in a specific respect.

This subject came up when it was mentioned central New York is in the Rust Belt.
Rust Belt? I was not aware that we live in the Rust Belt.
TheSnow Belt yes, Rust Belt, no.
But we do indeed live in the Rust Belt and this subject led to a conversation on other "belts".

So I did a little research.
Who knew? how many belts there are?

We've got the Rust Belt, Bible Belt, Black Belt, Borscht Belt, Citrus Belt, Corn Belt, Cotton Belt, Dairy Belt, Fruit Belt, Grain Belt, Grazing Belt, Irrigated Crops Belt, Jello Belt, Lake Erie Grape Belt, Peach Belt, Porn Belt, Rice Belt, Rust Belt, Snow Belt, Sun Belt, Tobacco Belt, and Tornado Belt.

JELLO belt? Yes. This refers to the region out west highly populated with Mormons (or Latter-Day-Saints) who love jello. Especially green jello made with shredded carrots.

FYI - Canada has a few belts as well - they have the Banana, Bilingual, Nickel, and Potato belts.

Shooting stars and other fun snippets

It's been such a whirlwind of activity these past 3 weeks.
Most of the activity has been work related with little snippets of fun added inbetween and after.

Snippets of fun like

Spending time with friends (old and new)
Seeing Niagara Falls again
Breakfast at Stella's Diner
Sunday morning flea market
Laughs at Kelly Cole's Improper
Scrabble by the lake
Pastabilities for dinner x2
Pool games won and lost
Dinosaur BBQ for biker watching
Boatrides
Shooting stars*
Sangria and swimming
Bonfires big and small
S'mores
Castle cruising
Backgammon & rain on a tin roof

*shooting stars -
you must keep your eyes glued to the starry skies in order to catch one (at least I did).
Not really a tough thing to do when the sky itself is such a light show of stars to begin with.
Catching sight of one is well worth the wait and the neck ache.
FYI - A shooting star is not really a shooting star.
A shooting star is really a small piece of rock or dust that hits Earth's atmosphere from space. It moves so fast that it heats up and glows as it moves through the atmosphere. Shooting stars are what astronomers call meteors. Most meteors burn up in the atmosphere before they reach the ground. However, once in a while a meteor is large enough that some of it survives and reaches the Earth's surface.

Niagara Falls

"Onguiaahra"
Thunder of Waters

Want something to do this Sunday?

art by Charlie Beyl


Come down to Armory Square on Sunday, August 6
for Baseball! The Syracuse Skychiefs Illustrated.
Artist's reception 3-7 at
The Company Gallery
110 W. Fayette Street
One Lincoln Center
(food and cash bar)
Artwork done by students in the ISDP Illustration Program

A new favorite toy

I bought this toy on one of my trips.
thought I might give it to my nephew.
or keep it for myself.
so I kept it for myself
and my nephew plays with it here.
as do all the kids
and all their friends.
it is the new favorite toy.
it spins and hums (loudly)
and you can pretty much balance it
anwhere.

Follow up to grrrrrls weekend.

I've had several questions from the "menfolk" regarding the grrrrrls island getaway.
Thought I would answer to all.

Question - if this is a grrrrrls weekend, why are there photos of guys at the bonfire?
Answer - They were our island water taxi service and the hosts of the bonfire. While these men were not actually part of the grrrrrrls getaway, they were kind enough to taxi us from Mink Island to Little Fox Island and provide us with fire, beverages, and laughter.

Question - Why did grrrrrls weekend get to take place during prime summer weather (conducive to swimming and bonfires) while men's weekend took place while the ice was still floating around Mink Island?
Answer - ummmm, we planned our weekend when the weather was balmy and the river warm.

Question- Did the grrrrrls accomplish any projects on the island, as the men did, during their work weekend?
Answer - Why yes, yes we did.
When arriving at camp you will now notice the lovely party lights hanging above the slider off the front deck.
This project was no easy feat, and similar to projects done during the men's weekend, it involved TOOLS and ELECTRICAL SUPPLIES.
We acccomplished this project as a team.
I will be glad to share how we divided the work:

Project designers (choosing optimum place for lighting)- Lisa, Tammy, Jen
Party light technician (hanging of lights with clips to gutter, on ladder) - Lisa
Electrical technician (arranging of extension cord) - Tammy
Electrical adjustments (rearranging light bulbs as needed) - Jen
Blender control - Vanessa
Music/sound control - Karen
Safety operator (making sure lights were hung according to specifications)- Barb
Electrical wiring control (placing mat over cord) - Jane

Please understand that being the multi-taskers we are, we were able to accomplish this with beverage in hand at all times.

Grrrrrls Island Getaway

Bonfire on Rita Rock















Mimosa or Coffee?
Both, of course.


















"We cannot tell the precise moment when friendship is formed. As in filling a vessel drop by drop, there is at last a drop which makes it run over; so in a series of kindnesses there is at last one which makes the heart run over."
-- Samuel Johnson


It was the first fun filled grrrrrls weekend on Mink Island.
No men allowed at camp (even Bailey the dog had to stay home).

Friends

"A friend is one to whom I may pour out all the contents of my heart, chaff and grain together, knowing that the gentlest of hands will take and sift it, keep what is worth keeping and with a breath of kindness blow the rest away."
- Arabian Proverb

David reads

“So please, oh PLEASE, we beg, we pray, Go throw your TV set away,
And in its place you can install, A lovely bookshelf on the wall.”
- Roald Dahl, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

No TV at camp.

Boldt Castle

a small section of Boldt Castle

Weekend at the river

Had a wonderful weekend with family for 3 days at the river.
Came back and hit the ground running with work
Finally got a chance to look at my photos
and thought I would share a few throughout the week.











Seaplane at Alexandria Bay











Early morning Kayaking

Let's Jive

Don't you love how there are so many different meanings for the same word in the English language?

Jive - jazz or swing music

Jive - lively dancing style







Jive - The jargon of jazz musicians and enthusiasts.
"Dig those real gone cats. They totally send me."

Jive - (Slang) Deceptive, nonsensical, or glib talk
"I don't believe that jive"

Jive - To be consistent or match up
"That boa doesn't jive with those pants"

Jive - Colorful form of speaking, sometimes hard to follow
Can you figure out what I said below?

am feel'n a shawty bit tired today sho nuff. Boom bam as I step in the jam, God damn. i wish i had sum-m sum-m interest'n ta pizzy but i D-to-tha-izzont n no one really wants ta hizzle `bout W-to-tha-izzork . Ill slap tha taste out yo mouf. slizzay me witta big hug keep'n it real yo.


Try the jive translator - Gizoogle

New Music Thursday

I first heard Poe about 10 years ago
with her songs Hello and Angry Johnny.
Here she teams up with Rhys Fulber
on his latest project Conjure One.

Push me, spin me

And when we're done swinging
and spinning
we'll climb high in the tree
and tell secrets.

(tree swing at Todd and Laura's)

An idyllic retreat

This went up on the island last year.
I have yet to see anyone use it.
It is so peaceful and inviting.
I want to see someone take a book and chair and go read in it for the afternoon.
Or hang a hammock in it and nap.
Or sit in it at night and watch the moon on the water.
Or watch fireflies from it.
On the other hand, maybe it is a special secret meeting place
and that is why I haven't seen anyone there.
What is the story behind this idyllic retreat?

Did you know?

30 is the number of places nationwide with "liberty" in their name. The most populous one is Liberty, Missouri (26,232). Iowa has more of these places than any other state: four (Libertyville, New Liberty, North Liberty and West Liberty).

Eleven places have "independence" in their name. The most populous of these is Independence, Missouri, with 113,288 residents.

Five places adopted the name "freedom." Freedom, California, with 6,000 residents, has the largest population among these.

There is one place named "patriot" — Patriot, Indiana, with a population of 202.

And what could be more fitting than spending the day in a place called "America"? There are five such places in the country, with the most populous being American Fork, Utah, with 21,941 residents.