my mom
my brothers
my niece and nephews
my cat, Einstein
Utica Firefighters and EMS
Kunkel EMS
St. Lukes ER
The wonderful people who have stopped to hold my mom's hand, call 911 and take care of her.
My wonderful friends - Brenda, Shelly, Melanie, Kelly, Abeer, Deb, Jim, Shibu, and so many more that their names escape my brains...
GTC
Utica PD
my neighbors - Toni, Curtis, Kelly, Leah, Tony & Connie, and Ann
my FB friends - it's weird - so many I haven't seen in decades - but yet we still connect...
my health, my love of biking
my belief in God
And I'm thankful to be alive...
Friday, November 27, 2009
Thursday, November 19, 2009
This Holiday Season
I realized awhile ago that I couldn't do gifts for people. The going to the store and shopping for gifts type gifts. That being said I am not being scrooge.
Cookies, fudge, truffles and chocolates. From my kitchen, from my heart. I love to bake, I love to make special treats. And handmade cards....
It was a hard decision to make and in some ways I feel bad because I'm not 'buying' stuff but at the same time I'm trying to think about what Christmas is about. It is about Giving and Love and Hope and the Birth of Christ. (not in that order!).
I'm rambling...I'm tired I guess. But as the baking and making continue I'll put the recipes and hopefully pictures too. My favorite cookies to make are nut cups, nut balls, peanut butter balls, peanut butter kiss cookies, sugar cookies (thanks to my mom these are the BEST), chocolate truffles (different flavorings), and fudge (pumpkin, chocolate, and I don't know what other kind).
Ah well - I am very tired...and have to get some sleep!
Cookies, fudge, truffles and chocolates. From my kitchen, from my heart. I love to bake, I love to make special treats. And handmade cards....
It was a hard decision to make and in some ways I feel bad because I'm not 'buying' stuff but at the same time I'm trying to think about what Christmas is about. It is about Giving and Love and Hope and the Birth of Christ. (not in that order!).
I'm rambling...I'm tired I guess. But as the baking and making continue I'll put the recipes and hopefully pictures too. My favorite cookies to make are nut cups, nut balls, peanut butter balls, peanut butter kiss cookies, sugar cookies (thanks to my mom these are the BEST), chocolate truffles (different flavorings), and fudge (pumpkin, chocolate, and I don't know what other kind).
Ah well - I am very tired...and have to get some sleep!
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Reminiscing about stuff...
Camping on Seneca Lake - watching the sun go down. Warm breeze blowing off the lake, the smell of the water, trees, grass, campfires and food cooking.
This picture reminds me of my canal rides...I love to capture the clouds
and trees in different ways.
and trees in different ways.
And these roses and the purple flowers (that neither mom or I can remember the name of right now). They are now gone - they went with the old garage. Well - I say that, but the wild roses are coming back up...
Good by old garage! But the pretty new shed is in place!
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Beautiful
I took a drive and then for a short walk to catch these pictures.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Painting Part II
Well - I'm done - at least the major parts are done and I've cleaned up quite a bit of it. That being said - here are a couple of pictures to wet your whistle and I'll add more when I get it all cleaned up.
The white cabinet is now "Mahogany Library" and the walls are a "Mulberry Blue". The baseboards are the same as the cabinet as is the molding at the ceiling. I did not paint the ceiling, it actually needs some work first and I have to get into the plaster fixing mode.
I had the towels and the shower curtain and worked really hard to match one of the blues in them...Doc at Home Depot was instrumental in that.
It's not perfect - but it is pretty!
The white cabinet is now "Mahogany Library" and the walls are a "Mulberry Blue". The baseboards are the same as the cabinet as is the molding at the ceiling. I did not paint the ceiling, it actually needs some work first and I have to get into the plaster fixing mode.
I had the towels and the shower curtain and worked really hard to match one of the blues in them...Doc at Home Depot was instrumental in that.
It's not perfect - but it is pretty!
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Utica - Makes the National News
Utica was in USA Today! "Ten Great Town with International Flair" How awesome is that!
This picture is in the article - yes, I copied it from their site. Thornberry's is behind the Stanley Theatre and is a great place to eat. I didn't even realize that they were part of the Utica Monday Nites - I guess I have to pay attention and go next summer. UMN is a fantastic thing.
There are multiple music venues - the Oneida County Historic Society has talks, the Stanley Theatre has tours. It's just amazing and it happens every Monday night in the Summer.
So...come to Utica - visit Munson Williams Proctor Arts Institute, the Saranac Brewery, the Utica Zoo and all the other wonderful things that Oneida County and Utica has to offer. Hey - bring your bike (or cross country skis in the winter) and go on the Canal Trail!
This picture is in the article - yes, I copied it from their site. Thornberry's is behind the Stanley Theatre and is a great place to eat. I didn't even realize that they were part of the Utica Monday Nites - I guess I have to pay attention and go next summer. UMN is a fantastic thing.
There are multiple music venues - the Oneida County Historic Society has talks, the Stanley Theatre has tours. It's just amazing and it happens every Monday night in the Summer.
So...come to Utica - visit Munson Williams Proctor Arts Institute, the Saranac Brewery, the Utica Zoo and all the other wonderful things that Oneida County and Utica has to offer. Hey - bring your bike (or cross country skis in the winter) and go on the Canal Trail!
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Painting
With my mom in Texas more than 1/2 of the year I decided that I would like to paint some rooms and mom told me to just do whatever colors I want. I hope that she's okay with what I came up with for the bathroom! :)
First - "Doc" at the Home Depot in New Hartford was AWESOME. I thought that I had a good color picked out - I was trying to match a towel - not exactly but close so I could match other stuff that I have. So - Doc showed me how to better match the color using the special light. The Home Depot lights are nothing like my home lights and when he showed me the color that I did pick under the incandescent lights - not pretty. So he helped me find the right color and he was an absolute sweetheart...he helped me find good brushes, a good roller and told me how to use them. What great guy!
I also looked at new vanities - the one in our house was a $70 - prefab white fake wood. It's tired and I was going to buy a new one but the ones I liked were VERY pricey. I went back home figuring I'd just deal with the old one and then it hit me - I'll paint the old white one! So - back to Home Depot. Doc wasn't there anymore, but a very nice young lady helped me find the color that I wanted and then another gentleman helped me find new handles for the cabinet doors and new faucet handles. I figure I'm going to try and make this thing look like it's brand new.
I'm painting a little at a time and I'm sooooooooooo excited by the colors! I don't want to give them away yet - I have some before and during and will have after pictures. And I'll give it away then! Woo Hoo!
Urbanik's Paint is a great place to go for paint as well - I don't want to convince anyone to not go to a local place. I just needed a lot of things and going to multiple stores wasn't what I wanted to do.
Well - off to continue on my painting!
First - "Doc" at the Home Depot in New Hartford was AWESOME. I thought that I had a good color picked out - I was trying to match a towel - not exactly but close so I could match other stuff that I have. So - Doc showed me how to better match the color using the special light. The Home Depot lights are nothing like my home lights and when he showed me the color that I did pick under the incandescent lights - not pretty. So he helped me find the right color and he was an absolute sweetheart...he helped me find good brushes, a good roller and told me how to use them. What great guy!
I also looked at new vanities - the one in our house was a $70 - prefab white fake wood. It's tired and I was going to buy a new one but the ones I liked were VERY pricey. I went back home figuring I'd just deal with the old one and then it hit me - I'll paint the old white one! So - back to Home Depot. Doc wasn't there anymore, but a very nice young lady helped me find the color that I wanted and then another gentleman helped me find new handles for the cabinet doors and new faucet handles. I figure I'm going to try and make this thing look like it's brand new.
I'm painting a little at a time and I'm sooooooooooo excited by the colors! I don't want to give them away yet - I have some before and during and will have after pictures. And I'll give it away then! Woo Hoo!
Urbanik's Paint is a great place to go for paint as well - I don't want to convince anyone to not go to a local place. I just needed a lot of things and going to multiple stores wasn't what I wanted to do.
Well - off to continue on my painting!
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