You Know Who

Paula and I have read all the Harry Potter books, and watched all of the movies, so we were very excited to finally get the last book and find out how it all ends. We got to the bookstore around 10:30 PM Friday night and got in line. Many people were dressed as their favorite character and we were no exception. I dressed as Nigel Longbottom and Paula dressed as Luna Lovegood. We waited for the big grand opening and -- just kidding.

We went out Saturday morning and picked it up before heading to Chicago. There was no line at all. She did read a few chapters out loud while I drove, though. We managed to read a few more chapters, but we didn't have much time to get very far.

We stayed with Rob and Wendy Saturday night, then went to Paula's cousin's daughter's birthday party on Sunday. It was a fun trip, but we've already been on the road a lot this month. Next weekend we're heading to Illinois to visit her grandmother.

Another of Paula's cousins is coming to town tonight and staying with us through Wednesday morning. We have some cleaning to do, and not much time for reading. Paula will probably finish the book before I do. Hopefully I'll have a chance at it Thursday or Friday evening. I really don't think we each need a copy -- I can wait.


-- C.

Oh, and Happy Birthday Dave!

I missed it on Saturday. Hope you had a good one.

On Writing Well - take two

I posted about this book before: On Writing Well by William Zinsser. Now I have the whole book instead of just a couple chapters online. I haven't read much yet, but it's a good book so far. Just the few chapters online are helpful. Unfortunately the two images aren't showing up. These show an early draft of a couple pages in his book, and several things he edited out.

This book focuses on non-fiction, and is a great resource for all writers along side E. B. White's "The Elements of Style." I'll probably write more about it as I get further into it.


-- C.

Chicken tikka masala

Mmm, Indian food. Good stuff!

'Nough said.

Happy Friday the 13th!

I didn't realize today is Friday the 13th until I came into work and looked at the calendar. Usually I see these coming from weeks away.

Have a great day and a great weekend! I'll be at the lake all day tomorrow, probably kayaking, boating, and maybe fishing. We plan on making Sunday a lazy day, including a movie at the theater.


See ya
-- C.

More notes from our trip

Why the ^#@& can't I write in the title field any more? Piece of crap blogger. (Ah. Apparently you have to click on the word "Title" and not just in the text field. Stupid UI.)

Anyway, as Paula and I were driving from NYC to Rochester we saw a sign for a local attraction, a winery called "Montezuma Wine."

I'm sorry, but that just brings in all sorts of connotations I don't think you really want to associate with your food product...

And just down the road was the "Montezuma Refuge." Probably for all the people that just drank the wine.

We also noticed that in Pennsylvania they have mile markers every tenth of a mile. Sounds like a waste of resources to me. I could see a little more often than just every mile, maybe half or quarter, but every tenth of a miles seems excessive.


-- C.

PS: Many new pictures have been added to my flickr pages.

(Why can't I write in the "title" field?)

Back home, safe and sound

Well, mostly sound. Hmm, where to begin. So many stories to tell! Sorry if this post is disjointed and out of order, I'm just going to tell stories as I remember them.

As I mentioned, we had a great time with Gavin and his parents. NYC was fun, but I didn't really like going into Manhattan this time. Kaitlyn can really throw a fit when she wants to (she's nearly two). It's the full-body type where the legs kick and arms flail and back arches. She didn't do it often. Usually she was just her cute little self.

It was great seeing John, Carrie, and the "qrew." The kids were excited to see us. Mary drew some pictures for us, made rings for us (from pipe cleaners) and gave us little toys. Keith was showing us how fast he can run and how hard he can stomp his feet. Izzy... well, Izzy ran around, jumped, shouted, and complemented Paula a lot ("I like your teeth. Do you like my teeth? I like your eyebrows. Do you like my eyebrows? I like your neck. Do you like my neck?") She's just too cute for her own good.

John showed Paula and me around Rochester and we stopped by the Visitor Center for a quick tour. They had some photos and art work from some locals on display. John pointed out one interesting piece... a photo of ridged (ruffled?) potato chips, sitting on a paper towel. Yours for only $100! Yeah right. I think I can manage that photo myself, if I were so inclined, and save $95. If I'm going to buy a photo, it's going to be of something I'm likely to never see in person or a very clever angle or arrangement of a common item. But chips on a paper towel?

We went with John to pick up the kids and took them to the Strong Museum of Play. It’s like Science Central times 100. The kids had fun running around, doing arts and crafts, and playing on the equipment. It's a very cool place, and we didn't even get to see all of it.

Saturday we all went to Niagara Falls. It was quite an eye-opener riding in a minivan with three young kids like that. Trying to arrange potty breaks for all of them is pretty challenging. We were just passing a rest area's ramp as Izzy stated "I have to go potty!" Ten seconds earlier and we could have taken the exit, but because of her timing she had to wait about 30-45 minutes for the next stop. But it was a fun trip.

One evening we were sitting around watching television and stumbled across some concert (LiveEarth or something). Anyway, The Police were on stage and Sting sounded great. It was nice seeing them perform live. Then half-way through the song some punk got passed the security guards, grabbed a microphone, and started trying to "rap" along, adding in various grunts and "yeah" whenever he thought it would fit in. It took a second before we realized it wasn't some punk from the crowd, but a real rapper. I never did find out his name, not like it matters. A group like The Police has a very well established career, they don't need some wanna-be ruining their music. Blah – it was horrible.

Overall it was a great trip. We had fun seeing all the kids and the new homes. It would be fun to get all the kids together sometime (I can just imagine the conversation Gavin and Izzy would have, "Hi!", "Hi!", "Hi!", "Hi!", "Hi!", "Hi!", "Hi!"...) Every few years I get out there to visit John and the Q-Collective, and each time he has a new kid. How long can they keep that trend going? Do they have their own kids or just assimilate them?

We got back in town around 8 PM on Sunday. Paula was sick of snack food and fast food, and thought Thai or Indian food sounded good. I called Keith to get the phone number of the Thai place we usually go to. He told us it was closed for a few weeks, but there was a new Thai place not far away. He gave us directions, but as we walked up to the door we found it was also closed. Grrr! Fine. Indian food then. We got back in the car and drove to our usual Indian place, walked up to the door, and it too had a sign saying it was closed that evening for a private event. By this time poor Paula is starving to death. I wasn't hungry when we started searching for dinner, but my stomach was beginning to rumble now. I saw a wings-and-ribs place across the street, which mercifully was open.

When we finally got home, the cats were indifferent. They made a mess of the litter box, which was a pleasant surprise after spending 30+ hours in the car this week. Stupid cats.


Hope to see you all again soon! I plan to post pictures on flickr tonight.
-- C.

I thought I sent in a mobile post earlier, but it didn't come through. While in Ohio visiting the Schellenbach's, we went to a wonderful German restaraunt. I was surprised to see Gavin actually enjoy sauer kraut. He's also getting around very well. They have a great house, too.

Our first day in NY, Monday, Paula and her friend Jen went into the city while her huband and I took their daughter to Jones Beach. We walked about 1.5 miles down the boardwalk, stopped for ice cream and walked the 1.5 miles back to the car. It was great weather, and it's always fun being near the beach like that. It's a great state park.

More later...


-- C.

Half-way through the vacation

We had a great time in Ohio. So far, New York's been fun, but the weather is looking rainy, so we aren't going to the fireworks. Paula and her friend are watching "Beaches" and I'm doing my best to ignore it. I may have to shove hot metal skewers in my ears.

We went into the city yesterday. It was fun, but I'm getting a little tried of it. Maybe it's just because I wasn't feeling well, but I don't really like all the noise, the huge crowds of people, the smells, the chaos. We took the LIRR in to Penn Station, then walked about a mile to Central Park and stopped in FAO Schwartz. We got back to Penn Station and found the trains were running late. They ended up cancelling one of the trains just before the one we were going to take, so there were tons of people trying to pile on. It was packed and people were complaining, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be.

Despite all that, if you haven't been into NYC I recommend you do. It's quite an experience, with sky scrapers for blocks in all directions.

Tomorrow we head out to see the Q Collective.


-- C.

Update from New Jersey. Been

Update from New Jersey. Been on the road for 9.5 hours including rest stops. Probably less than two hours left.