Why Tanning Isn't Good for Us...

Just a quick share today. I found this at http://coolshade.tamu.edu/gallery/pages/pigs.htm

I Came Across Some Memories Today

The full moon picture was taken from my deck on September 8th (this year) at 2:21 a.m.
The flower letters were taken at 7:23 p.m. the same day. I was on my way to John's house and decided to stop and take this picture. Why, you say? My friend Cindi will understand. I'm not really sure who gave me the name originally--probably Cindi. The story behind the name "BW"... For several years, several of us "Women On Wheels(R)" members got together at Americade(R) (the world's largest motorcycle touring rally) in Lake George, NY. For several years, we rented a cottage for the week and shared much more than the cost. I'm sure this is where our friendships became cemented. We were a group larger than could be accommodated by the bedrooms (3) in the cottage so some of us slept in chairs, on couches, and on the floor in the main room of the cottage. I was known to be a loud snorer (later to be remedied by a CPAP machine). I tried to warn everyone and maybe even offered to sleep on the porch (I can't remember that clearly). One of the ladies that was new to sharing the cottage (Betsey) said my snoring would be no problem--she could sleep through anything. Guess who we found sleeping out on the porch the next morning! I felt badly, but I couldn't help it...and I did warn her. Anyway, we ended up having a lot of fun and laughter over that. There were two of us in the cottage named "Wendy" and the other Wendy was quiet and sweet and studious, so to differentiate between us, the snorer got nicknamed the "Bad Wendy" and the other was nicknamed the "Good Wendy". Bad Wendy got shortened to "BW" in the WOW chatroom and among my close motorcycle friends I am still "BW". The "BW" in the picture actually stands for Borg Warner, but I couldn't resist.

So now I have to explain to you the pic of the woodchuck. The quality of the photo isn't great because I had to take the picture quickly and knew I couldn't go outside to get it because he(or she) would be gone in a flash if I made any noise. I took the pic through my livingroom window, which also has a screen in it...and it was raining to boot. "Woody" broke through the mulch and plant fabric that I had laid down to keep the wood chips from tracking into the house. I have since found the entrance to Woody's abode. Woody has burrowed under the cement pad of my garage. Guess he thought he was hidden behind the long stems of the Golden Glow flowers planted at the backside of my garage. My sister and I were doing some clean-up work after the flowers had pretty much died off, and she had cut the stems down to just a couple inches revealing the entranceway. I am assuming the woodchuck will remain there into the winter and perhaps I will see him/her again in the spring.

Life Since Last Monday

Thanks, Cindi, for not getting after me about being behind on my blog! Love you.

My sister came over Wednesday and we spent a few hours together. We shopped at Lowe's because I needed some materials for the renovation of the roof on my back deck. The original roof was not properly designed and built, so I had a lot of damage due to wind and the snow from the last couple of winters. The other days of the week (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday) I spend a lot of time on the computer editing and printing photos (and sleeping in, of course). I did spend one day (Tuesday, I think) with my three-and-a-half-year-old granddaughter, Jaden. She entertained herself quite well with some marker pens and an old packet of dollar-store inkjet photo paper (which doesn't give me the print quality I prefer, so that is why I let her use it). She had fun with my cat Onslo and "playing" my piano. After all that fun, however, we went outside in the sunshine and she had fun jumping on my trampoline. When she arrived, she informed her mom and me that she was staying until tomorrow. But after about six hours she decided to go home after all. Mom had to come pick her up because I didn't have a car seat for her. I was actually relieved not to have to make the trip (even though it's just a few miles), because it was early evening and I was feeling tired (not having the energy I had when I was younger). Oh the joys of being a grandparent! You get to have all the fun with the kids and then send them home. When mom arrived to pick her up, she also had one of the family dogs with her (Shady Lee). Their dogs are almost grandchildren too, so I had to get a pic of her before they left. It took a few shots to finally get a good one, but finally got it.

My weekends are spent with my boyfriend, John. He is gigging with an additional band now. Saturday night was their first gig together. The gig was at the Red Rooster Pub in Skaneateles Falls. The band is an acoustic instruments band (two guitar players, a bass player, and a mandolin player). John is probably the main singer, although another guy in the band also sings a few songs. The gig was also in remembrance of a friend and member of the band who passed away recently. After the gig was over, John and I went to Doug's Fish Fry in Skaneateles for dinner. Then we drove back to Auburn and spent several hours at the Bunkhouse (home of our friends Dave and Sheila). The guys jammed and we girls sang some harmony and had fun with some percussion toys (spoons, tambourine, an old cheese and veggie grater). It was a fun evening. Jasper was a big source of entertainment as well. He is smart, fast, and seemingly tireless as well as being extremely gentle and friendly (one of the nicest dogs I've ever seen). He kept playing with all of his toys...bringing them to someone to throw for him to fetch or to play tug of war with.

Tomato Fest and Knobby Acres Motorcycle Race

This was a great weekend. I'm happy to know Ralph "Bucky" Phillips is back in custody and won't be hurting anyone else. I don't understand why a guy who had only a few days left of his sentence that escapes and basically ends any possibility of a decent life and chance for his family to be proud of him. Enough said.

John's band, Roadside Traveler, played at the annual Tomato Fest in Emerson Park, Auburn, NY, on Saturday, September 9th. They were great, of course! (Left to right: Jim Andrews, John Reilly, Mike Burns, Bill Leonard)


Sunday morning I got up early (for me!) and drove to Cortland to attend my grandson's hare scramble motorcycle race. He didn't do as well as he had hoped, but 8th is not that bad for a kid who doesn't get a chance to practice (or ride!) except at each race. There are usually at least a dozen kids in his class. This is his first year racing with a motorcycle with manual shift and a bigger bike than he raced with previous years. Hopefully, next year his dad will make sure he gets more time to practice.

Ralph "Bucky" Phillips

Today, I will just share this link with you. Ralph "Bucky" Phillips--what a disgrace to the American Indians!

http://www.amw.com/fugitives/case.cfm?id=39219

What a Dreary Day...

Today is such a dreary day. I hate dreary days. I know we can't have sunshine everyday (at least in upstate New York), but that doesn't mean I can't hate it when we don't! It's hard to get motivated on a day like today. I am thankful for yesterday though. John had an outdoor gig at the Polish Falcons in Auburn last night from 5:00 until 9:00. (Sorry, pics didn't turn out good.) The temperature was perfect and we didn't get rained on. Attendance was very slow at first, but picked up as the evening went on. There was a lot of competition for attendance--the biggest being a FREE concert with FREE parking at the lake (Owasco). The "Blue Lights" were playing. We checked it out after John's gig was over. The band was really good, but it was so crowded, you could hardly get through the door and even hard to get onto the dance floor--let alone room to dance! But the wine cooler tasted good, and John got a chance to see some people he knew and chat a bit so it was worth going. I'm looking forward to Monday (wow, haven't said that in a while--on yeah, I'm retired now so I have a reason to look forward to Mondays!), as the weather is supposed to be like yesterday's--partly cloudy (hey, that's better than a downpouring rain).