I'm going up the country, baby, don't you wanna go

The Spouse and I took a ride up the country today...up to my sister's place.

This is what she sees from her front porch.


This is her eldest...Stephen and the puppy, Sophie.



The leaves have really started to turn out that way.


Not so much yet back here in suburbia.

I did something today that I haven't done in years...

....and that is...went to the Bills game. It was a little dreary out and started drizzling around half time, but hey..it wasn't freezing and snowing.



They put Bruce Smith's name up on the Wall. You can't really see by this picture, but trust me...his name is there.



And the Bills won on a last second field goal to be the ONLY undefeated team in the AFC East. Thats right...I said it...Bills and undefeated in the same sentence. That hasn't happened since 1992 or 93..one of those years

One of the funniest videos I've seen in a while....

Thanks to ChaCha for this one....



And then there's this one...

And you tell me over and over and over again my friend, you dont believe we're on the eve of destruction.

So, this is our backyard on Monday. More specifically, our pool on Monday. We've got some ambitious plans to upgrade the back that hasn't really had anything done to it in years. The pool is (was) about 16 years old. I'd say we got our money out of it. This is the pool on Tuesday....notice the railing fence has been taken down and most of the water drained.

This is the scene yesterday. Johnny Five came over to give us a hand. He wanted the scrap metal, he's got the scrap metal. Of course, in any project around here, there's beer involved.......
....and power tools. Beer and powertools...thats our motto!



And what was I doing whilst the boys were destrucing you ask? I wasn't just taking pictures, I played the part of helper and lugged all that scrap out front to JT's truck. Quite a nice job of stacking, don't you think?

This is all that's left. We just have to cut up the remnants of the liner into managable pieces and haul it out for garbage day on Monday. The garbage men are a little picky about what they pick up. If it's too heavy, it'll sit there.

When we were all done, we got cleaned up, JT went and picked up the bride and we went over to Famous Dave's for some ribs. And more beer.

Next on the agenda.....the deck. It's all coming down. That's a LOT of damn wood. Good thing there's people who are interested in taking it. We'll be having a 'deck destruction' party in the next couple of weeks.

We'll have beer.

Have you seen these things?

Those AquaGlobes that you see on tv are awesome! I just love them.

And they actually work like they're supposed to. My plants have not been happier.

I did a little work on the family room over the weekend. Hauled out my sander and my paint and my latex gloves and my cute little spongey brushes and gave the shelving unit a little facelift.

It went from this........


to this......


Ok..right about now you're thinking "B-F-D..it's the same picture". AuContraire my friends, its not the same picture. My facelift was so subtle that its hardly noticable. I painted the face of the shelves and a thin part of the crown moulding at the top black. It looks much more dramatic in person than it does in these crappy pictures that I took with my phone cuz my camera batteries were dead.

Step off, Martha Stewart...I'm here now.

Just some stuff for today while I'm sitting here in a quiet house cuz everyone is gone.

Silence is golden and I'm content.
******************
I cleaned the house the weekend before last. Moved furniture. Rearranged. Puttered. Just did stuff. One week later the house is still clean. Still smells clean too.

Way cool.

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This Empty Nest Business (ENB) isn't a bad gig . Its a dry run for ENB around here. #3 will be back in January. #4 will be back in May not counting Christmas Break. Am I allowed to say Christmas Break anymore? Did it officially become Winter Break? Can I even say Christmas? #2 prolly won't be back anytime soon. #1, well...she's still here, and I'm down with that...but she's never home very much and she'll be gone in a wink of an eye anyway. I've decided that I'm going to be practicing real hard so I get used to the new lifestyle in the short time I have right now, insuring that I'm fully prepared when ENB is for real.

******************
Offspring #4 is all set up with the dorm...she left Saturday. I went and visited yesterday after work, since I had to work Saturday and Sunday when she moved in and Monday we went out to the lake. Nice place. Brand new. She's in a 4 bedroom suite with only one other suite mate. She's lovin it so far. She's even *gasps* cooked for herself. AND cooked for the boys in the next suite. I'm thinking..."Danger, Danger Will Robinson!" dangerous precedent being set...they're gonna have her cook all the time, but no! They cooked for her last night. So thats cool.

******************
I saw an article in the News today about a couple in Niagara Falls who left their children in their car. In the sun. With the windows rolled up. On an 85 degree day. What the hell is wrong with these people???? The mother says they were just there for a few minutes. The neighbors said it was over 30 minutes. The oldest kid said it was for 'a long time'. The cops had to convice the oldest kid to unlock the doors so they could get them out. The cops said they were soaking wet from sweat. I cant believe they're not dead.

Now..here's the kicker....the kids were ages 9, 2 and 6 weeks. Ok..thats not the kicker, this is... The Sperm Donor was 21 and the Incubator was 22. Lets do math people....the Incubator was all of 13 when she first reproduced....THIRTEEN!!!

I have no words for this.
*******************
Well, slap me in the ass and paint the barn red. Not 3 minutes after posting this, what do I get?? Offspring walking thru the door. I guess practice is just going to have to start slow. ;-)

How I Spent My "Last Day" of Summer. A Photo Essay

We were invited out to the Sis-&-Bro-in-laws for the day. Couldnt have been a nicer day. I forgot to bring my camera dang it so these are all off my phone.


From my perch on my chair..this was the view to my right..

This picture down below here is my current desktop.

From my perch in my chair, this was my view dead ahead....

Alternate view dead ahead...

From my perch in my chair, my view to the left.....much later in the day.

Last night we had plans to go to the Bison's game. Last home game of the year...fan appreciation day with fireworks and all that.

The Spouse and I headed downtown early and we stopped at Dug's Dive for a beverage before the game. As it happened it was 2-4-1 happy hour from 3 till 6, so we had two. We're sitting there on the deck.....

....very peaceful and picturesque little setting, located right in the small boat harbor. Food smelled fantastic and we should have had a little dinner, but considering the game was going to start in an hour, we just stuck with our liquid diet. We'll dine next time we go....

For some reason....the windmills weren't working last night...none of them.


There was a sailboat race going on just over the breakwall....kinda hard to see in this picture down here....

So, anyway...we're sitting on the deck, having a couple, relaxing, talking....

When all of a sudden, The Spouse lets out this belch....not a loud one, mind you, just a little beer burp...and out of the corner of my eye, I see it....this toxic cloud...coming right at me. I had no time to react. My eyes were watering and I think I threw up a little in my mouth. Gross! After he gets done laughing at me while I'm gasping for breathable air, he says..."oh, yeah, that reminds me, I went to lunch today with Joe Head of the Ice Rink and got the rink back...with a 3 year service contract". Apparently, the noxious fumes triggered his memory of the burger he had for lunch. To which I replied..."Nice. And you and your digestive system just made my blog, pal".

Nice night for a ball game, tho...and some interesting cloud color just as the sun was setting.

Too bad they lost, 3-2.

Shakin' Hands and Kissin' Babies

A few pics from our favorite Congressman's event last night. It was a family oriented little gathering at his favorite restaurant. What can I say..he loves us..we love him.

There he is...waving to someone over there....


Oh, look..our favorite State Assemblyman. We love this guy too!

Quite a few people showed up for this shindig....

Wow...check it out...Eddie Murphy was there too! Ha! Not really, that's His Honor the Mayor. A dead ringer for Eddie...

Plenty of food..not that you could tell from this picture...all you see is rolls.

Holy What Happened to August, Batman

Dang!!! it's been one busy month. In addition to the regular everyday hours at work (10 to 3 everyday...no biggie, and don't get me wrong...I love my job) we had 16 parties booked for August. Two or three, sometimes four parties during the week and the last two weekends have been back to back Saturday and Sunday, so, we haven't a day off in 24 days. All we have to do is get thru tomorrow and we have TWO WHOLE DAYS OFF IN A ROW!!!! So close..yet so far away. Friday lunch is always a zoo and there's already almost 100 reservations for dinner. A few hours of controlled chaos and the weekend is MINE!! Here's the plan...I really really need to clean my house and Sunday looks like the weakest weather day so housework on Sunday after a complete and total slugfest on Saturday. I'm thinking on a raft in the pool.

I get a ton of this stuff from ChaCha...

I wish she would just come out and tell us how she really feels!!!!

This is what I woke up to this morning

Double helix.... I love when that happens

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, Its Off To Disney She Goes....

Offspring #3 took off this morning for a 6 month stint as an intern at Disney.

How cool is that? I'm gonna miss my little festival companion.

And Miss Em....this is what happens when you give me a goofy face when I'm taking your picture! The Evil Mother side of me slaps it all over the internet!

Why did the chicken cross the road?

from The Buffalo News today...




A Canada-bound truck carrying 9,700 chickens tipped on the ramp to the northbound Niagara Thruway this afternoon, creating a fowl mess that stopped traffic.

The truck tipped as it left the Mainline Thruway to head north.

Authorities at the scene in Cheektowaga said early indications are the cause was unsafe speed or lane change; the driver suffered minor injuries.

The accident occurred at about 2:30 p.m.

Many chickens were killed in the wreck. There also was evidence of broken eggs.

The ramp from the Mainline Thruway westbound to the 190 northbound was closed during the cleanup; it was reopened by 4:10 p.m. The scene was expected to be cleaned up by 4:30 p.m.

The truck driver, Stanley P. Chesney, 47, who drives for Ontario Inc. of Walkerton, Ont., suffered abrasions on his left arm and left leg. He was taken to a local hospital.

Chesney told State Police at the scene that he was distracted while attempting to change lanes and lost control of his rig.

Several police cars and crews from the state Department of Transportation were on the scene.

Surviving chickens were to be taken to the Erie County SPCA in the Town of Tonawanda, where their conditions would be evaluated. The SPCA also was to do a count of the chickens that were killed in the accident.

I am so sick of hearing about Brett Favre.

What time did he take a shit today? Was that on the espn favre ticker?

Thats all.

Check this out...

I won this last night in a raffle at the annual JohnnyP. Golf Tournament Dinner. No..I havent taken up golf...that'll never happen...I was working.




Thats right..its an actual autographed drumhead...signed by all the Goo Boys. Pretty cool, huh?

Whats with people???

I just dont understand. Seemingly normal people gather for a celebration of some sort at a nice place and turn into friggin manner-less morons.

Why, yes...even tho this is the buffet table, we really love it when you move stuff around in order to position your glasses and beer bottles and purses and the occasional ass. Clearly, the flaming sterno and steam coming from the chafing dishes shouldnt interfere in your comfort.

Why, yes...we love it when you bring your attention deficit, over sugared, smart ass little children to what is clearly an adult affair. You just get comfy at the bar or your table with your beverage and gossip about this and that while the spawn run rampant and unsupervised.

By all means...please extinguish your cigarette on the patio, or the well manicured lawn, or just throw them into the bushes. Those ashtrays we have positioned around are just for decoration.

And don't forget...when the dessert is served, make sure you're first in line to pile up as much stuff as you can. Dont worry about those people at the end of the line...they dont really need anything sweet. They're just standing there to see how much you can put on your plate. We'll dispose of all the leftover sweets you leave on the table when you roll your lard ass out of the joint.

Can you tell we had a nerve wracking party today? This little red headed monster wasn't in the place 10 minutes and she caused over $150 worth of damage. She broke a statue, tipped over a small marble topped table, nearly knocked out the lattice while trying to climb the gazebo, and broke a plant. I blame the parents. "oh, Skyler, say you're sorry....tell the man, you're sorry for breaking his statue"...and she stands there with her finger in her mouth not saying a word. 5 minutes later, mommy is back with a drink in her hand and the little red wrecking machine is tearing up the place again. I mean, c'mon...offer to pay for the thing!!! Show some class!! Show some balls and teach your kid some manners. Better, yet...leave them home. And no...perhaps we shouldn't "move this stuff so the kids don't ruin it" Do you believe that?? Someone actually said that to me today as I was picking up the aforementioned marble topped table that little Jason ran into for the third time.

"Maybe you should move this stuff so the kids don't get at it".

To which I replied, "Perhaps the kids should be watched"

"We are watching them" he says

"Humpf....Tell that to the statue with the broken arm over there" What an asshole. Move the stuff my Aunt Fanny! Do us a favor and dont reproduce anymore, k?

I've been mulling this one over for a while..

...when I was in NJ, I stepped out to have a smoke during the reception and this woman says to me... (in a thick NJ accent) "Thaaats a vaary attraaactive ooouutfit you're weaaaaring. I wouldn't have tha nerrrrve to weeeaaar it myself but it looks vaary attraaactive on ewe"

Ummmmmm...ok..thank you I think?

Showers

Why cant shower heads in hotels be installed higher? I'm tall but I'm not a contortionist, thank you very much. Its rather unsafe to be doing the limbo whilst trying to wash my hair.

Thats all

On New Jersey

Ever drive in New Jersey? How 'bout that roadway system? Nicely laid out, ain't it? Ummmm.....I don't think so! Took us all of 10 minutes to get lost. And we followed the directions from the hotel website, the car rental guy, the 'let me show you your car' guy, and the attendant at the gate. It took the nice 'can you fix me up with some food so I gave him a couple bucks' crackhead guy at the gas station in the middle of the ghetto to get us where we needed to go. Maybe it was cuz he repeated the directions so many times...or perhaps it was the hopping around and waving that let us to the Garden State Parkway...I dunno. By the time we get to our hotel in Toms River...its l:00ish. It should have been 8ish but we didnt take off from Buffalo until 8:30...almost a 2 hour delay due to weather on the coast. Then, funny story, I'm checking into the hotel and the guy says...'sign this, its our no smoking and no party policy'. Being a little punchy from the flight, which by the way only lasted 45 minutes, and the fun ride, with The Maternal Unit as my navigator...(thats a whole 'nother story in itself) I say...'yeah, its me and my mom, she's, like 70 something..and her twin is here too...we're gonna party lots!' He kinda chuckled...the polite chuckle you give when its not really funny and you wish the person would just be on their way.

So, anyway...the wedding was nice. Unbelievable food. The buffet during cocktail hour could have fed an army. And then they bring out the dinner buffet. You name it, they had it.

Best part was going to Sea Side Boardwalk Saturday night. I love beaches and boardwalks. In fact..I could be a beach bum. Seriously. Its my ambition. I just need to win the lottery so I can have the expensive condo on the beach.

Here's a little slide show, mostly of the boardwalk. I didnt take too many pictures. I dont really know why..I just didnt

Got food??? or Festival Time, Part Deux

My Festival Companion a/k/a Offspring#3 and I just got back from The Taste of Buffalo. We went earlyish again to avoid the crowds and the heat. We escaped neither!!! Thankyajeeesis for the breeze off the natural airconditioner that is Lake Erie. In the words of my companion .. 'whewwww its hot out here'.

With food tickets purchased we start out on our culinary journey. Deep Fried Ravioli seemed like the best way to start things.

We were there, like, 10 minutes and one of the first stops we made was at Ms Goodies stand(also where we ended our trip, but more on that later)for an ear of roasted sweet corn. There's nothing like an ear of corn roasted over an open fire...love it love it. Anyway...#3 opens up the husks of her corn, takes one bite and this guy comes up between us with this news camera and starts taping her whilst she's munching on the corn...too cool."We just want to get you eating the corn" he says. And she's trying not to laugh while she's eating and she's got this little string of corn silk hanging off her lip and I'm having this Roseanne Rosannadanna moment with the 'little bitty corn silk just hangin' right there on her lip. It just wouldnt fall off...I thought I was gonna die!!" Now we have to watch Ch.7 News to see if she made the highlight reel. We continued down Delaware sampling a little of this and a little of that...all of it good.

Now back to Ms Goodies....when #3 was getting her ear, one of the other items being sold at the booth was a "Junkyard Dog". It looked really good and smelled even better, so I thought that perhaps I'd get one after we made the rounds and saw what the other wares were up and down the festival. Well,,,dontcha know, the Junkyard Dogs was on my mind the whole time and I decided that I had have one. Try this on for size.....



A piece of deep fried fish...done to perfection, I might add...topped with french fries, coleslaw and hot sauce, wrapped up in a lightly deep fried pita.

DING DING DING!!!!!! We have a winner!!! Unfreakingbelieveably DELICIOUS!!!

That thing pretty much did us in.

I'm going to take a nap

What??? A softball field in my backyard???

Either that or some cosmic crop circle from some unknown alien who swooped down. Is swooped a word?



This is the aftermath of last weeks mudbowl grad party. It looks like 1/2 an infield....and the grass looks dead. A couple of days ago it looked like mudcaked grass...and now, not so much.

Captain America!!!

It just wouldnt be a holiday without Johnny Five wearing a hat



For more pics from the Festive Fourth at Lynn and Al's out at the lake go here

I finally went over to the Apple store

So, yeah, ever since I had to have the computer reformatted I was hesitant about reinstalling Itunes cuz a bunch of people told me that I'd lose all the tuneage I purchased from the Itunes store. Thats a couple hundred dollars worth of music people!!!

I told the guy at Apple my predicament and he explained that if I do this and that then this, then all should be well. Well...I got the Itunes program back on my computer and VOILA!!! All the music was still there!!! I was esctatic!!

Remember, transfer and sync...not erase and sync.

Wish me luck...I'm goin in.

Happy Independence Day!

The Spouse and I and 10 of our friends went to the Bison's Game/July 3rd Extravaganza last night. Good times, good times.



Too bad the Bisons lost....down 6-2 in the 9th and they come back to tie it, but lose it in the 13th. Yeah...thats right the 13th inning. It was kind of a long game.

The BPO played all their patriotic music and then the fireworks started.


I was a little diappointed in the fireworks....they werent as spectacular as in past years...I couldnt even get a decent photo of them. Well...I got a couple of so-so ones but we were sitting behind home plate, and we had that protective netting above us, so all the pics I took look like I took them from a camera in my knee while I was wearing fishnet hose. So I lifted the fireworks pic above from google images.

We did seem to enjoy quite a few of these....

Girls night

We went to see Wicked last night. My Maternal Unit, 3 of the 4 Offspring and #4's best friend...(who is actually an Honorary Offspring).

What a fantastic show!!! I had high expectations...after hearing all sorts of good things from numerous people...and my expectations were surpassed. I laughed, I cried. It was amazing. Katie Rose Clarke, who played Glinda (aka Galinda with a 'Ga') was freakin hilarious and played the part perfectly. Carmen Cusak as Elphaba, equally amazing...what a set of pipes on that woman.

The restoration at Shea's is beautiful. That grand old theatre looks divine.



I took this pic with my phone...its not the clearest picture but I had to throw it in here.