We May Need This Recipe

Are You In Or Out?

Jo is in.





Are you?

The other day when I was picking up golf balls I thought it would be fun to have a contest. Let's see who can come closest to guessing the number of balls that I find this year. I pick them up in the yard and in the woods that separate us from the golf course. So far this is what I have found.





Remember golf season is just beginning so pickings right now are slim. Also, because everything is brown and bare the balls are easy for the golfers to spot in the woods. Things will pick up (get it, pick up) as summer approaches. There will be more golfers and it will be much harder for them to find the balls they lose. For some reason they aren't that eager to go through the black raspberries to retrieve balls.

Take a closer look at what has been found so far this spring.





Now I can just hear you saying, "What's in it for me?" For the person who comes closest to guessing the number of balls I pick up this summer will win a package of cookies delivered by the US Post Office (assuming they are still in business!). You can choose the cookie of your choice or I will surprise you, the choice is yours. If that isn't enough for those that care I will also include a few of those golf balls.

Jo is in and has been busy counting and coming up with her guess.




So are you in or out?

American Idol

In case you missed last week here is the 60 second recap by MTV.

MTV Shows

Poor Alexis Grace was sent packing. Jolene was not kind to her. We are down to ten. From now on even if they lose, they will win because they will get to go on tour this summer.

This week was Motown. All in all I thought they did a pretty good job. There were a couple clunkers that I thought would put them on the bottom. I ended up being right about one of my guesses but wrong about the other one. How Matt ended up as one of the bottom two I will never know. Last week he was at the top and this week ended up at the bottom. Luckily he was sent back to his seat and Michael was sent packing. Megan, step it up because I thought for sure you were going home this week.

This was my second favorite performance of the night. Is she really sixteen years old?

Hey, what is with with Fox this year? They aren't allowing videos of the performances on youtube. I had this video saved this morning and now it has been disabled. This has been happening all season. I am not happy. OK, off to find another video of her performance.

Here is the deal. They have all of the videos disabled so all I can find is a video with still pictures and sound. Boo to you Fox.





Luckily I have just found a video of my favorite performance. He also is the one I am rooting for to win it all. Last week's performance by Adam was "Ring of Fire" by Johnny Cash. You either loved or hated that performance. I still don't know how I feel about it but I know how I feel about this week's performance. Quoting Randy, "That was hot, baby!" By far the best performance of the night. Watch fast because who knows when this clip gets disabled.





Did you like this week's performances? Who are you rooting for? I know there must be at least one other American Idol fan out there.

G out

Sandy Creek Trail

Biking season has started in Western PA. Sunday found Dave and I contemplating where we should take ourselves and our bikes for the afternoon. The weekend before we had been out to the Moraine State Park both Saturday and Sunday so we were looking for a change of scenery. With that in mind we decided to drive up to Sandy Creek Trail which is a little bit north of us. It happens to be one of our favorite places to bike.

We drove to Belmar where we unloaded our bikes. It is an interesting place because three bike trails intersect at this spot.

After we unloaded our bikes we decided to take a short ride on the shortest trail. This bike path runs south from the parking lot along the western shore of the Allegheny River. Last year this trail was under construction so we were pleasantly surprised to find that a lot of work had been done since our last visit. We rode about 3 miles south and decided to turn around so we could get to the trail we really wanted to ride on that day. We think it only goes maybe another mile or two before it ends and on another day we plan to explore that further.

We were back at our starting point and the beginning of the Sandy Creek Trail.





Immediately we have to cross the Belmar Bridge which spans the Allegheny River.





Of course, Dave is all about the structure of the bridge.









While Dave is fascinated by beams and bolts I am looking at the view. The Belmar Bridge is 1385 feet long with a wooden deck. This is the view looking north from the bridge.





If you were paying attention you remember I said there are three bike trails intersecting at this point. After crossing the bridge one has the choice of continuing east and staying on the Sandy Creek Trail or getting on the Allegheny Trail. To get to the Allegheny Trail bikes must be carried down a winding stairway down to the bank of the river. That bike trail runs both north and south from that point for many miles. That bike trail has two tunnels to the south, one which requires a flashlight. We have ridden that trail and is a beautiful trail to ride as it follows the river but it was not on today's agenda. We were going to stay on the Sandy Creek Trail and head east for eight miles. This is probably the prettiest trail we have found so far as it winds through the hills, valleys and forests of Pennsylvania. We will encounter one tunnel, no flashlight required, and six more bridges. There is very little development so the only people we will see will be other bikers and walkers.

I love riding through the Deep Valley Tunnel. In the middle it is very cold and very dark. Even though one can see from one end to the other it is amazing how dark it can get in the middle.





This bike trail ends in Van and here comes Dave. He made it.





Now all that is left to do is turn around and ride eight miles back the other way. No bike ride is complete without food and today was no exception. Who knew Subway was in the middle of nowhere?





There are lots of sights along the way. In fact, this is the trail where Sarah and I ran into that BIG, black bear last summer. But today it was all about the views,





nature's artwork,





and a little man-made artwork thrown in for good measure.





The best part about this trail is riding east away from the Allegheny the trail has a slight incline which means going from Van to Belmar (and the car) is a little bit easier. I like to end my day of riding going downhill. It just makes it a little easier that way. All in all we had a good time though by the end we were both cold. What little sun we had was gone and the wind had picked up.

We ended the day at 25 miles on the odometer. Not too bad for the first trip out. We plan on riding again Sunday but have't decided where. I will keep you posted.

Stay tuned because I have an exciting contest coming in a couple of days. You won't want to miss that.

Three Weeks Ago

Three weeks ago I was in Florida with Dave, Sarah, and Dave's sister Judy. Three weeks ago it was the first day to call in to reserve a wedding day for the Basillica at Notre Dame. Three weeks ago the condo we were staying in became Command Central.

Sarah's computer was up and running.





Spreadsheets were ready.





Three phones were charged and waiting for 8:00 AM to arrive.





Let the games begin! We had three people dialing three phones.





Some of you may be wondering where Dave was. He conveniently had a baseball game that morning. What some people won't do to get out of required wedding business. I can't think of anything more fun that to be in a room of women frantically dialing phones.

We had a lot of this that morning.





We dialed those three phones for two hours. Most of the time we had busy signals. Occasionally we would connect and there would be great excitement only to hear the words, "all of the lines are busy, please try again". You must understand there is one person answering the phone and taking dates and hundreds of phones busily dialing in frantically trying to get the "perfect" date. After two solid hours of dialing the unthinkable happened.





Judy gets the credit for finally connecting. It was Sarah's turn to pick her day from the remaining dates.





After much back





and forth,





Sarah had a date. It was her 26th choice but she had a date.





Needless to say we are all very excited and can't wait for October 23, 2010 to arrive.

What's a Girl To Do

when she wakes up to a dreary, rainy day?





Why stay in bed, of course.

In case you were wondering, I dragged her out of bed at 8:30 because I needed to leave the house to go to the dentist.

I Think GM May Be In Trouble

New cars jam the dockside at the port of Valencia in Spain.





Imported cars stored at Sheerness open storage are awaiting delivery to dealers.





Imported cars fill the 150-acre site at the Toyota distribution centre in Long Beach, California.





Sales of new cars in the UK have slumped to a 12-year-low and production of cars at Honda in Swindon has been halted for an unprecedented four-month period because of the collapse in global sales.

American Idol

If you were listening to me in a recent post you know I was in Cincinnati last week which is why I didn't do my weekly American Idol post. So first a little catching up and then this week's review.

My favorite performance last week was Adam Lambert singing "Black and White" by Michael Jackson. This was the best video I could find of his performance but I think you get the idea.





Here is MTV's 60 second recap.

MTV Shows

Now on to this week. I have to say this is one of the music weeks that I really look forward to, Country. As much as I look forward to it I also dread it because some of these kids have no idea how to sing a country song. This week was no exception but it also revealed a couple of surprises.

First, here is my favorite performace of the night. When I heard that Matt Giraud was singing a Carrie Underwood song I was really sceptical. Come on, how is that going to work? But, I have to say, as does Randy, he worked it out. Here is Matt singing "So Small".





This is the most interesting performance of the night. It is Adam Lambert singing "Ring of Fire" by Johnny Cash. Do I like it? Do I hate it? I don't know. All I do know is that it was the most memorable performance of the night.





Are you cheering or jeering? I would like to know what you think. I am still trying to decide.

"Saint Patrick's Day Is An Enchanted Time -

a day to begin transforming winter's dreams into summer's magic." Adrienne Cook





I took the picture of the flowers on Aran Island when I was in Ireland a few years ago.

The following photo is a house that was abandoned during the famine. If you look closely you can still see the potato furrows in the background. This was taken near the town of Galway where some of our relatives lived. We had stopped in this spot to eat our lunch. I think it is important to remember where we came from because we owe a lot to those who came before us.

Spring Is Here

Spring is here and so am I. You didn't know it but last week D, Jo and I took a little trip to Cincinnati. He to do business and me to visit with family. It was a quick visit but well worth it. Of course, Jo doesn't care where she is going as long as she gets to ride in the car.

Here are some signs around these parts that spring may finally be here.

Our bikes are on the car.





My wellies are back in the garden.





I found my first golf ball of the season in the backyard.





Jo refusing to come in the house because she wants to stay outside.





Best of all, Shmily's is open for the season.

I Was On a Mission

It was our last day in Florida and we had a few hours to kill before we needed to get to the airport. I had a mission. There is a city in Florida that I had heard a lot about but had never seen. Luckily this town was nearby and D was up for a little exploring. Can you tell by this picture where we are?





Yes, we were in Celebration, Florida. It is a town that was developed from the ground up by Disney. It is supposed to be Disney's vision of what a perfect town could be. What I saw I liked. It had sidewalks and walking paths everywhere. There are all kinds of housing styles and sizes available to live in. It also has a downtown and town center where many local activities take place. After driving and looking around for awhile we decided it was time to stop for lunch. This is where we decided to go to eat. Mainly because we could eat outside and who knows when we will get another chance to do that.





As soon as I saw the menu I knew what I would be ordering.





The salad was good but that was not the focus of my attention. This is what I was so excited about.





Do you know what it is? If you guessed a Cuban Sandwich you would be right. They are very popular in Miami. They are similar to Key Lime Pie as it seems every restaurant has its own version. The classic sandwich has ham, pork, cheese and a pickle sandwiched between cuban bread. It is then grilled on a press. This sandwich was very close to the classic except it also had salami and mustard. Even D enjoyed one.





I have had them before in Miami and won't hesitate to order one again when I am back down that way. They are good!

After lunch I spotted this of all things.





I was shocked and there was no way I wasn't going in. There is always room for dessert. I enjoyed my Up North ice cream on our way to the airport.





Like I had said before we had a really good time and may be doing it again next year.

I Lied

Well, only a little. I know I said our week on Florida was all about baseball but that wasn't entirely true. We did make a couple of visits to this small local attraction.





Our final destination was here.





This is the part of Disney that is free. It the "downtown" part of Disney that is composed of shops and restaurants. On our first visit D, Judy, Sarah and I were in search of dinner. We found it here. Would you believe that we all had either fish or seafood?





A couple of nights later it was only D and I and we were on a mission.





mmmmmm......





Whatever could we be buying tickets for? Patience, people. First, we walked around for awhile and took in the sights.









My not that much younger sister would like this little shop.









We found this guy in Legoland.





By now we were hungry and decided to stop here for dinner. I know this chain is immensly popular but really you don't go there for the food. We were looking for hamburgers and that is just what we found. One can't live by fish alone.





Now it was time to use those tickets we had bought earlier in the evening. This was our destination for the night.





Yes, we were going to see Cirque du Soleil also know as The Circus of the Sun. The show is a mixture of circus arts and street entertainment. It was founded in Montreal by two street performers. The circus has continuous live music and the performers not the stagehands change the props and there are no curtains. It is nonstop and sometimes it is hard to know where to look. Each show has its own central theme and storyline and the show we saw was called La Nouba.





Here are some photos I found on the website taken from the La Nouba show. These were my favorite acts of the night.

The German Wheels were fun to watch.





I loved the aerial ballet in silk.





These young performers stole the show. They are juggling a diabolo also known as a Chinese yoyo. It was incredible what they could do with this yoyo.



Lucky you, I just found a video on youtube showing these girls doing their tricks with diabolos. This was the show we saw. The girls were dressed the same and were just as cute. This was my favorite act of the night.







Thank you, Minnie and Mickey for the wonderful night.