reblogging and blogging and blogged

How does one know if one has been reblogged? I can't imagine that I have, but anything is possible. The stats continue to amaze me. I am getting visitors from all over the world. True, not many of them, but still...

More tennis yesterday. Not a lot more, but still...I like that phrase - but still...

Finished reading Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close - moved to tears here and there. I would recommend it to people who like to read. :) Whether or not I will read his first novel, Everything is Illuminated, remains to be seen. I doubt I will get it from the library before we leave. Yup, we are leaving. Friday. Lots to do before that...

I got a call out of the blue - I like it when that happens - from a professor of mine from Hobart and William Smith. She is producing an opera and was wondering if I wanted to be in the Chorus. I told her I would be interested in helping out in any way that I could - and that I was traveling around the time of the performance, so I wasn't sure what I could do to help. There is an organizational meeting on Wednesday at Houghton House. Yippee!

Wednesday is also a doctor's appointment for mom. Life is good.

Oh, I get to take another bike for a test spin today. It might be "the one." Why can't finding a relationship be like buying a bicycle? :) Hmm, maybe it is...Now I just need to find a good "bicycle shop!"

Will Kelly, my Chinese English Student call again today? Anything is possible...

Pictures from June 19, 2011:


Now, who wouldn't want a piece of that? :) I like self timers on cameras!


And there it is - the camera that I have been using for most of the past 8 years!

Good Advice?

As my nephew hopped into his rental car and headed off to Norther NY, he gave me some advice. He said not to worry about the lack of comments from the Saucer people and not to worry about not getting everyone's written release for their pictures. Just to go ahead and get the thing done without those things. Once it is done, if people complain, people complain! So, my goal, to finish my part of working on the draft by the end of the week and get it off to Heather, the designer! Come hell or high water. Grrr! Hear me roar!!

A friend found a dateable person on Plenty of Fish. Congratulations to her!! That means there is hope. Actually, though I am getting fed up with Plenty of Fish (the dating site), my hope still stays strong that I will find someone dateable. Of course, there is always the current crush of the month to keep my mind occupied. Speaking of whom, I got a book out of the library that she apparently liked. We shall see. I will read most anything that someone recommends. Or at least one thing that they recommend. If I find it atrocious or just not to my liking, I will take their further recommendations with a grain or three of salt.

Went for another test ride yesterday and liked that bike a lot more than the first one. The first one just felt hard and a little painful. And I don't like that. This one was more mellow feeling. So, the bike place has ordered one for me to test ride. If I like it, I will get it. Yippee! I forgot to ask for a time frame and they didn't offer. Hmm.

Also, I met with the Chinese woman who was interested in having me help her with her English. She only gets one day off a week from her job, so we will be meeting Mondays it seems. Nice person. I hope I can help! Like some other immigrants, she has been staying in her comfort zone, spending most of her time with people from her own country and not really immersing herself in the culture (such as it is) here. I hope I can help her change that...

Lastly, I ventured to a new to me bar. Inland Reef. I have seen it for years but have never been in. Morgan, a new friend, was working there for the last time, so I stopped in to say hello. I ended up playing two games of pool with a pool hustler - not that I got taken, since I don't gamble on pool, but he was happy to tell me how he loved to play for money.

Oh, I guess that wasn't lastly. I did want to mention that I feel a little guilty whenever I do anything not with my mom. I feel sad that she is sitting alone in the house reading one of her books, or watching television or doing whatever she does when I am not around. Then I realize that I can't live her life for her and there really is nothing for me to feel guilty about. And that mostly assuages my feelings. Yippee!

Pictures from June 13, 2011:


Next door's roses!


On my ride, I came across this yard! Looking cool!


This was the second test ride bicycle. I liked it better than the first.

Not Feeling It

Some days, I just don't feel like writing. Not a lick. Yet, when that happens, I think back to my experiences with The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron. I suck it up, and write anyway. Now if I could just do the same thing with working on Diary of a Plate Addict. There I am well and truly stuck.

Part of the reason is because I am feeling no love from the Saucer people. And without them, what is the point? The only audience, really, is UFO members and frequenters of the Flying Saucer. And a few diehard Augustus fans. But the latter really only accounts for maybe 50 books. Sigh.

Secondly, I am sick of the darn thing - as no doubt anyone who has been reading this blog for any length of time is as well.

Third, I have a lot of redoing that needs, well, redoing. Some graphics - really only ten or so, but it still seems like an arduous and daunting task (when I know full well that it will only take an hour...).

And I know there is a fourth reason - oh, right, I am worried about the pictures that I have in there. I don't have everyone's (anyone's) written permission to use their images. And I don't know what the heck to do about that...I think that there are more than 300 people's pictures in the book and I don't know if I have the mental energy or the wherewithal to seek them all out and get them to sign permission slips. Sigh.

It was a successful errand day yesterday. Mom went out with me, which is good for her. Every lick of exercise is a good thing. "Exercise" is a word I have frequntly found difficult to spell, for some reason. I think most people have a word or two that cause them problems. But I digress - how unusual. We did some banking and then headed to laundry. Laundry is so painless. There was no one else washing their clothes when we first got there. It went zippily. Next to Wegmans for some light grocery shopping. Anything under $20 is light grocery shopping. Oh, that still life of three items from a while ago -$13. Eeek!

I made omelets for dinner. And the Chinese girl called, but didn't leave a message. And she called earlier than she said she was going to call, so I didn't even see the phone ring. I will call her today. At some point. I don't have a lot of other plans for the day. Yet. Oh, make a bed for Sam and Lewis. Yippee! And work on Diary of a Plate Addict...

Pictures from June 6, 2011:


One of the signs of summer here at the house in Geneva, is changing the glass in the front door to screen!


Juliet gave mom some sheets - we put those on her bed yesterday. Excitement for everyone! :)


And there she is - one of the omelets from last night. It could have used some bacon...

Digital Age

Most of me is happy about living in the digital age. It just seems to make some stuff so easy. Like pictures. Taking pictures, sending pictures, using pictures. All much easier than with film. I was taking pictures the other day and mom kept asking me if I had enough film. I did my best not to laugh and answered carefully each time.

A Tea Place has opened in Geneva. I don't think it will last. Or rather, I will be super pleasantly surprised when it lasts longer than I expect. What is it - 120 days of newness before a place moves into the next phase. I wonder how long it has been opened. And it is a bit on the pricey side. Still, maybe mom and I will make a foray there before it disappears.

So many lunch places and so little time. Well, not really time, inclination. Unless I m traveling, I don't really want to eat out at lunch time. Weird? Yup. There are at least three places that serve only during the day here. All places I haven't been yet. Sigh.

Yesterday, the big excitement was a trip to Ling Ling Chinese buffet with my mom and Mary Gerhart. It is sort of a tradition. Mom and Mary used to go there about once a month. And mom would usually want to take me when I was in town. Just to see me speak Chinese with the servers. (And eat Chinese food) For some reason, mom is proud of my natural linguistic ability. Anyway, last night, I once again chatted with some of the servers in Chinese. One of them asked me to be her teacher - this is a typical Chinese thing to do. We shall see if anything comes of it. I don't know if she just wants me to talk to her in English, or if she actually wants me to teach her. And I don't know if she expects this for free, for exchange of services (she helps me with Chinese, I help her with English) or if she will be excited to throw wads of cash my way...

Today, more errands. Hurrah!

Pictures from June 5, 2011:


The Peonies are in fact popping! Sorry Juliet, I ought to have known that you would know when they were blooming!


Mary and mom earnestly chatting at the Chinese restaurant.