Photo Phriday - Lawn Tractor

I fixed the lawn tractor and made the first cut of the year. Not as good as Dad...but it'll work!

Frustrating!

Had an annoying morning dealing with lawn mower batteries, credit card companies, computers, TV/VCR/new cable nonsense (it looks like I can't videotape programs anymore) and a matted cat. I'm looking forward to going to the Wine and Beer Tasting and Silent Auction this evening, though. It's a benefit for Wild Wings, a raptor rescue. Hopefully all the frustrations of the day are over and I'll have a great time tonight.

Silver Laced Cochin

I just had to stop at the feed store to look at the baby chicks. Isn't she sweet?!? This little girl is a silver laced cochin-she'll grow up to be a beautiful chicken. I so wanted to take her home...but I didn't.

Whirlwind!

Today was an unexpected whirlwind of a day. I'm home, well libated, thinking it's time for bath and bed. Tomorrow I intend to spend the day cleaning and organizing...with a stop to return my Torchwood DVD to the library...wish they didn't want it back.

Cayuga Lake Wine & Herb Fest 2010

This year things were a bit different for the Cayuga Lake Wine and Herb Fest. I actually drove down on Friday and hit the 3 wineries on the East side of the lake. Then I spent the night in Seneca Falls at the Hotel Clarence. Saturday morning I hit the West side of the trail with my friends from Ohio as well as another car filled with one friend's aunts and uncles. We were a party of 8! One of the great changed this year was the way the recipes were handled. In years past each winery just gave you a piece of paper (each one a different size) with which you struggled to keep up. This year they were all nicely printed on the same size paper with a hole punched in the corner. At your first winery you got a cover and back page and everything was held together by a clasp. At each stop you just undid the ring, put in the new recipe, and closed it up-all nice and neat. What wasn't as good this year was the food. There were some highlights-I could have eaten the whole pan of cheesy hash browns from Cobblestone Winery and Americana Vineyards had a fantastic smoked turkey with red pepper and arugula wrap. We had LOTS of pasta salads. But it was a gorgeous day (you couldn't have asked for better weather) filled with wine, friends, and fun.

Still Recouping

I'm still recouping from the Wine & Herb Weekend. I did a lot of driving...and being driven. Saw a lot, ate a good bit, and drank a lot (though not too much). It's good to be home. I've been busy downloading, then uploading photos as well as organizing and naming them. It's time for wine, pie and Torchwood on DVD.

Home Safe & Sound

I made it home safe and sound after a great trip for the Cayuga Lake Wine and Herb Fest. Too tired to write now...stay tuned for details to come.

Photo Phriday - Ready to Roll

Almost ready for our trip to Seneca Falls, NY.

Trickie

Today is tricking me. That's what happens when spring arrives-it stays light outside longer. I look outside, think, "Oh it must be late afternoon, plenty of time". Then I look at a clock-6:46 PM!!!!! YIKES. The day is almost over-how will I get everything done?!?!?! I worked Harley, chatted with my friend Kim, had a rat funeral, did some yard work, did the dishes. Now I need to plan my route for tomorrow, pack, and do a million little things in preparation for my trip tomorrow!

Vacation!

I am now on vacation! Yea. No work for 2 weeks-that is such a relief and good feeling! Today I had planned on just staying inside, but I had too much to do, and it was a gorgeous day! I had to sleep after getting home from work at about 7:30 AM, and I slept a little longer than I wanted, BUT I'M ON VACATION! I went to the liquor store-need some Andre Extra Dry champagne on my first night off-then the library where I stocked up on some good sounding books. From there it was on to Target for lithium batteries. I wound up spending almost $50-but I got much more than batteries. My great deal of the day was the Febreze flameless luminary candle. I was browsing and on an endcap saw a shade refill on clearance. Hmmm. I went to the aisle and looked for the starter kits. They were regular price, except for the Limited Edition Cherry Blossom. That was on clearance-originally $14.99 now for $7.48. Then someone was kind enough to leave a coupon for $4 off-so I got it for $3.48! Can't beat that! I also picked up a gift for my god daughter (originally $15 for $5). Then it was Wegman's and picking up some groceries. I came home, called my mom and made supper-bacon cheddar cheeseburger and salad with raspberry lemonade to drink! I'm catching up online, then it'll be time for America's Next Top Model and Ghost Hunters while drinking champagne and munching on brie and peanut butter cream pie! A great way to start a vacation, don't you think?

Less Than 12 Hours

One more night at work, and then I'm on vacation. Yea! I have lots of stuff planned-including one overnight stay. I get to see my friends from Ohio, do some wine tasting, and, generally, relax and have fun. The countdown begins...I have a feeling work may drag on tonight.

Summer Coat

Harley is still shedding, but I can start to feel his summer coat. He'll look so sleek once its in. It'll be nice if I can ride him more and get him really fit-he looks good-but he can look better. The dentist couldn't read his tattoo-but he thinks Harley is about 21. So, a little older that I thought. Still looking great though. I'll try and do more research on him and see if I can really discover his history-at least when he was born!

The 11th Doctor

Last night was the premiere of the new season of Doctor Who with its latest incarnation, the 11th doctor. It was with some trepidation that I began to watch; from the pictures I'd seen of Matt Smith (the actor now playing The Doctor) I wasn't too impressed. Too young, not at all attractive, could he live up to the part? I adore Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant was brilliant, how would the new guy do? I'm happy to say that I enjoyed his first outing. I'm still a bit put out that he and his companion look sooo young. I know, I know, Rose was 18 when she went off with the 9th doctor, and this Amy is 21 (met him at 7, returned 12 years later, then another 2-you can check my math) but she looks 15! And Rose, though young seemed older, if a bit common (sorry-love you, but it's true.) I guess as I'm more mature (ahem) I prefer a more worldly doctor. He is 907 now, after all. He can be young, but should at least have old eyes (which I believe Tennant did. Plus he's only 4 years younger than me while Eccleston is 4 years older. I don't know how old these new people are.) But...I did enjoy the story-and I do like the new Doctor and new companion them together. I'm not sure I'll be running out to own them on DVD, but I will be tuning in to every episode.

Almost Midnight

It's almost midnight and I almost didn't blog in time. After sleeping and doing dishes I was watching the last Dr. Who special that I missed, then a special about the upcoming series with the new doctor. The I saw the first episode of Dr. Who with the 11th doctor. (More on that tomorrow.) Then my Brit Coms-and now it's almost midnight. Time for bath and bed. Another day whizzing by.

Photo Phriday - Asiatic Lily

My new Asiatic Lily. I'm not sure where I want to plant her, but need to decide soon!

Active Brain

Currently my brain is too active. I have so many ideas and projects I want to start...but I haven't started anything. I need to do the dishes and clean litter boxes before I do anything else!

Pre-bed time Eating

I know "they" say to lose weight don't eat right before you go to bed, but when I get home from work I need a drink...and a snack to go with it. Sadly, right after I eat, it's time for bath and bed. Maybe the saying doesn't hold true if you're sleeping in the daytime, like I do.

Taxes

How is it that I made less money last year-but need to pay the stupid state 3 times what I had to pay them last year? At least I'm getting money back from the feds. However, I'll have to redo it all once I get my adjusted W2 with the workman's comp stuff fixed. We'll see.

6 Word - Heating Checkup

Heating checkup done-ready to cool.

Missed Again

I did it again. I missed another day. I guess I am having issues lately. I have several daily things I do...and when my schedule gets wonky, I leave things out. I actually woke up in the middle of the night realizing that I hadn't posted. It was after midnight, so it was too late then. Saturdays are always tough-that's when I usually forget to do my daily brain age training. I get home from work a little later than usual as I generally fill the car up with gas (it's cheaper near my work), but I then get right to bed. Then, in order to switch from a night shift schedule to a day shift one, I get about 4-5 hours of sleep. I try to go closer to 4, but my body generally refuses and puts it closer to 5. I like to just stay at home and accomplish things around the house, as it's getting late already, but if I have plans on Sunday-I need to get things done on Saturday. After catching up online (alas NOT writing in my blog) I went to pick up Seneca's prescription. That took some doing as I had to renew her coverage and then deal with some issues with my prescriptions (automatic plan is refilling too often and I want to switch from 1 generic to another on a different medication). Once I sorted that out I went home and put the additive into my car to hopefully stop the oil leak. Keep fingers crossed that this $5 treatment will work instead of the $510 repair! Then it was time to visit Harley. I cleaned him up then lunged him. I guess he understood me when I was talking about the Kentucky Derby prep races being run that way as he decided to show me that he was indeed a race horse. At one point he started galloping so fast I was spinning, he was a blur, and I was rapidly becoming too dizzy. I told him "easy" and he immediately slowed to a fast trot. After I slowed him more I decided to let him off the line to run it out. I knew he was wanting to buck. So I let him go, when I told him it was OK he took off like he had wings-running, bucking, getting all that energy out there. After cooling him out for a long time, I still had to remove his water bucket from his stall. I told the owner what was going on and that I'd be back to replace it in a bit. So then I went to Best Buy to get a new memory card (til I have time to make sure I have back ups and can delete the old stuff) and the grocery store to pick up supper and a few other things. Back to the barn-Harley was fine, returned his water and hay. The other horses voiced dismay that THEY weren't getting more hay, but sorry, they finished theirs earlier-Harley didn't. Finally back home, a call to Mom, heat up of my $6 meal from Wegman's, uncork the wine, just in time for my Brit Coms on PBS. Yes, it was a busy day!

Photo Phriday - Hyacinths

My hyacinths came up. They're not very robust...but they bloomed!

Windy!!!

It has been so windy. My poor new Asiatic lily is being buffeted around by the wind. It's potted and I have it on my little outside table. At least that's where it starts. I usually see it laying on the ground-with or without it's pot. A few times the pretty wrapper on the pot has blown off-and a few times the whole pot has come away. I guess I need to plant the poor thing soon!

Missed

Living alone I do have some worries. No, not about burglars and such...but the fact that I could be laying dead for days and no one would know. I just discovered that this blog can help. Things have been hectic here and I didn't blog yesterday. This is only the second day I missed blogging since I began in September 2007! That miss sent out red flags. A good friend e-mailed to check in on me, since she hadn't seen me blogging, knew that wasn't like me, and wanted to make sure things were OK with me and my family. I really appreciate that. Things are OK, a tad hectic and stressful, but I am fine. Thanks for checking on me, and thanks, blog, for letting people know that something may be amiss!

Last of the Season

Today was the last day of the curling season for the Monday Morning league. I'm so glad I joined the Rochester Curling Club and started this new sport (Yes, sport!). Everyone has been so friendly and helpful and really welcomed me to the group. As for my curling today...When I'm good I'm VERY good, but when I'm bad...I'm AWFUL! The first end was a disaster for me. Then I'd get some good shots-and lots of bad. I think I was throwing with my arm today-and almost everything was headed to the left. Then came the final end. My last 3 shots of the season. (My group was playing 3/3 instead of 4/4-so I had an extra stone each end.) The first one finally went exactly where it was supposed to go-but I gorilla's it and it went through the house...and out of play. Next shot-I was supposed to take the other team's stone out. I did it perfectly and got shot rock! My final stone-landed exactly where the skip pointed. We wound up with a tie game-but a great way to end the season for me. Then it was time for soup. I was responsible this week and made my spinach soup. It was a big hit with many people having seconds. I also had a beer! Although I started at the end of the season, I'm sure glad I started to curl. I can't wait for the fall so I can start curling again!

Wesołego Alleluja!

Happy Easter! This years Easter was a bit different from Easter's past, as my Dad is in a rehab hospital. I left for Buffalo super early to get to 9AM mass at Assumption Church. Mom was already there, as she sings in the choir. After mass they had Swiecone at the rectory. That's the Easter Breakfast for those unfamiliar with Polish traditions. It's basically a cold buffet of wonderful goodies. Then Mom and I met back at her house, packed up a picnic and went to see Dad. We chatted and snacked-Mom even got chocolate covered strawberries from Condrell's...mmmmm. Then back to Mom's where she loaded my cooler with fresh Polish sausage, beet horseradish, ham, deviled eggs, rye bread, spiced apples, a bottle of champagne and the butter lamb. By the time I got home-I was ready for a nap-so I had one. I think both my folks did too! After I catch up online I'll pour more champagne and start the eating process again. I hope you had a blessed Easter!

Cats & Boxes

What is it with cats and boxes? A package arrived the other day and I put the tall empty box lengthwise in the living room. Both Callie and Seneca are having a ball going in and out of it!

Photo Good Phriday - Easter Past

Me and my parents in front of my Grandmother's house on Grand Island, ready for Easter!

April Fool's Day!

I've never been one for pranks-so April 1st has never been a "special" day for me-still I will wish everyone Happy April Fool's Day and hope that your day was fairly uneventful!