St-Rolling Along Life's Many Paths

 {this page is updated often ~ please scroll below this short intro}

hello - my name is nick; i'm a 48 y/o quadriplegic, in savannah, ga.

{i dont like using upper case letters; all letters are equal in my book (cept in special cases... in my book). and it doesn't take me as long to type, as i'm poking at the keys 1 at a time, w/my mouthstick}

i love building sentences. there's so much that's happened to me, countries i've seen, people i've met... and so much that keeps happening.  details tickle my fancy.  i love plays on words, and have an arid sense of humor (sometimes i may come off as offensive - it's always meant in a friendly way). i celebrate; i complain. i have long wanted to write a book about my 2 lives' adventures; i will start w/this...

i've been sending many e-s to the 150+ people in my e-ddress book for years; i've gotten many positive responses and suggestions of publishing.  these are e-s that i've sent since last august. i will post new ones so the latest will be on the top of the page. i will change font color every month. the other pages are on other subjects.

please send comments to www.nickinga.blogspot.com

[click on comments # after the testing 1 2 3 message, it opens a new page. enter comment, etc, etc. you'll be asked to open a google acc. pls write down username and password. and pls blog me.]

check out my videos    www.youtube.com/user/nickinga27

check out my pictures  http://www.flickr.com/photos/nickinga/

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classic snow in plattsburgh and north country  april 27th!!!

wisteria in my back yard 2010

 

check out the wisteria from all sides on youtube.

                                         http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxz6Cooe6R4 

classic mom - anne got a new digital camera recently and took many pictures of the homestead and p'burgh area for me.  she doesn't know how to send pictures over the internet, so... she sent me the whole camera via snail mail.  thanks for the pictures mom!

catch up time   4/5  super bowl 2/6

        i've strayed from writing, because frankly, it's been an uneventful winter.  i did have a houseful for superbowl wkend, but got distracted by the olympics and didn't write about it. 
        daphne, from the victoria, bc area, arrived on thurs. afternoon.  she came 3 years ago, i went to the hospital the day after she arrived, and stayed for a week with pneumonia; this trip would be much more fun.  we had some good one on one for the next 24 hrs.  that evening we relished the marinated salmon she brought from the west coast.  she made me poached eggs every morning, that she fed me at the table, me facing the window watching the birds at the feeder.  I loved those poached eggs.
        patrick and tiffany arrived friday evening from boston.  that makes 15 yrs in a row that pat has come on superbowl wkend since my fall; now that's a tradition.  saturday and sunday were non-stop.  saturday was a drive though historic savannah, and a ride out to tybee beach.  patrick bought a kite in route, perfect because the wind was a blowing.  daphne and i ventured out to the end of the pier braving the steady february wind, while the 2 youngsters frolicked on the beach.  the crab shack has been the norm when visiting the beach.  i had heard about another resto for years and decided we'd try it out.  it was quaint, mainly only fried food, nothing compared to the shack.    (on the subject of tybee island... the only reason i could think of going to see the recent movie 'the last song' is that is was filmed on tybee)  

        sunday morning we headed north across the border into south carolina to visit the savannah wildlife refuge (even though savannah is in georgia).  we followed the road along marshes looking for any local wildlife.  saturday's blustery weather was replaced by beautiful blue skies dotted with powdery clouds.  we saw many water hens and other water fowl.  the big attraction was the gators, of korths; daphne finally saw some after her handful of visits.   the sights of nature were fantastic but we had to head home for the big game, and tiffany was missing her new friend wabbit. 

        we stopped to say 'hi' to michele and mark, only to get a call from someone waiting for us at my house.  my high school friends lori and toni had notified me they'd propably stop on their way north from florida; opps, we rushed home.  what a treat to see them after 10 yrs.   the house began to fill.   3 generations were present between audrey, ashley and sandra.  uncle bob came by for the pre-game festivities.  food was plenty that afternon.  tiff made her traditional super bowl cupcakes.  eli dropped off a barbaqued pork boston butt (fund-raising for his local high school football team) which was very tender and tasty.  my neighbors aaron and david brought a bushel of local oysters.  they set up the steaming pot and we were soon slurping up very good oysters, the only i've had this season.  then the game started.   it all went well, except for me forgeting to use the fireworks i had saved for the occasion.

        the three of them had flights departing before noon on monday.  the weekend was as good as the saints' victory in the big game. 

more pictures -  http://www.flickr.com/photos/nickinga/4367428794/in/set-72157623511138112/

 

winter/hockey in savannah  1/17 

epilogue:  this is nothing compared with the real winter the north got hit with, but for savannah it was cold.  we tied a record of 13 nights in a row of below freezing set in '66; we had a few nights in the very low 20's.  it finally warmed on friday, perfect timing for a night out!
        friday evening my local high school friends eli and sam brought me to sav's annual hockey weekend.  the civic center has been hosting 4 games matching georgia, georgia tech, florida and florida state college teams for over 10 years (this yr they added a thurs night game between s. carolina and the citadel).  last year was the first time i had missed it in 6-7 yrs; i swore to myself i would satisfy my canadian blood this year.
        we parked at the civic center... and walked 3 blocks to the mellow mushroom for dinner first.  this pizza joint is the hip place for the scad (sav. college of arts and design) students, and the guys needed work on their status.   it'd be better than civic center nachos, and i could have a couple brewskis before the game.  a 5 min wait for a table on a friday evening, a perfect place for my chair with view of bar, tvs, and waitresses coming and going from kitchen.   $2 yuengling drafts and cute students - i had second thoughts about hockey.  my veggi hummus was a lil'too pureed/soft, but over-all good on it's fluffy pita bread sections.  their pizza was tastey, but i prefer a crispy thin crust rather to the soft thin crust m.m. serves.  fun time for my 1st time eating out in sav for over a year; thank eli for leaning me away from my suggestion of 5 uncles, guys, whatever burgers.  

        eli picked up the tickets at will call and toward the ice we went.  i bought the guys a souvenir puck each on the way.  i went to the entrance where the w'chair lift that hovers over the stairs is located, but the ticket lady sent me to the other side.  surprise surprise; the civic center now has a mini elevator that works much better!   but this doesn't surpass the handicap seating at their hockey games.  there's a pretty steep ramp that goes up to a platform at one corner of the rink, at the level of the boards directly behind the plexiglass; what a view!  the guys had chairs to sit on, but mostly stood as they took in their first live hockey game.

                                                                                            'enlarge' lower right corner

        last wkend some friends came over and pulled out my tree (that i made 5-6 yrs ago w/bike wheels) and decore.  well, decorating tree was set aside for playing albums on my turntable... opps.  i was rather 'ba humbug' at the time and thought music and beers would be better.   i was leaning towards saying 'screw the tree'.  on wed my sis-in-law called at 1 asking if i had put my tree up yet.   she came by and said she'd do it as long as i didn't give too many instructions.  anal me can get worked up if an ornament isn't facing the right way.  i bit my tongue 90% and let her go for it.  it was done in less than an hour, including a string of lights around a window and around dinning table bench [good thing i had already pulled out the stuff].  so it was a major change of head from down-in-the-crapper at 1pm, to 'huh, it ain't all that bad nick... ya jerk' a few hours later.    i'm not sure if that was the major turn around, but i've been in a better mood during 2nd half of the week, after 10ish days of yuck.  then on thurs i went to my meditation /exercise class... i surprised myself at my strength on a weight machine that's been kickin' my ass lately.  thanks for the christmas cheer debbie!
 

 

vinyl rocks 

        along with the house and the dog, i also ended up with my ex's album collection after the divorce.  they've been staring at me for over ten years saying, 'play us'; the collection sitting in my room at my parents' house, a 1000 miles north from me, sending vibes, 'don't forget us'.  well, it's been a long process, but things are finally spinning.  my sister nadia came down from my dear adirondacks this summer, with my 100ish vinyl discs packed in the back of her focus.  this was the first step, there was no stopping now.
        i put a want ad on craigslist and searched e-bay for a turntable worthy of playing my albums.  nothing seemed to pan out; then my friend pat showed up with a turntable he dug out of his storage.  it took a couple weeks for me to ask a neighbor to pull out my stereo from it's shelf to hook it up to see if it worked.  everything seemed in working order but sound wouldn't come out of my speakers; dang.  the turntable sat on my couch, waiting to  be brought into savannah for a check up.   then another friend said it probably needed a pre-amp; i got one, it worked!

        then i had to raise the shelf above my stereo to make room for the turntable.  a couple more weeks later i made the time to do that with allen, the aide that works friday morning.  that took about 90 min.  that evening gary, the one that told me about the pre-amp, came over for the final set up.  the 1st album i picked from my collection was a best of jerry lee lewis.  opera was playing on npr while we were hooking up wires; the phono button was pushedand 'roll over beethoven' played!  ahh, that sounded good!  (i had boughten that album before going to see mr. lewis at a club in geneva (switz) in the late 80s... great show.)   what a heartier sound than cds; the periodic bumps and scratches are even nice to hear.  one oddity: sometimes the table spins in reverse.  it has to be turned off and on until it spins the right way.

        the following week eli, the 16 y/o football player, came over to hang out.  i asked him to pick an album.  he came back thrilled to have found elvis costello's 'my aim is true'.    i love when youngsters like listening to the stuff i grew up with.  i listened to elvis mainly around 1980; great memories come out while hearing him.  eli's parents played a lot of elvis while he was growing up.  i'm ashamed to say he knew the lyrics better than i did.  in the pause before songs, he hummed the first notes of the following song on the album; impressive.  after that last song on that side, i told him to flip the album over to play the rest.  he excitingly said, there's more on the other side!'  ah, the cd generation...     'she's filing her nails while they're dragging the lake'... from 'watching the detectives'... and the long forgotten songs...  man, what a great album.   i've got a whole bunch more albums to rock to!
        
jerry lee lewis - roll over beethoven, walk right in, herman the hermit, got you on my mind, baby hold me close, hey baby

my aim is true
side 2  red shoes, less than zero, mystery dance, pay it back, i'm not angry, waiting for the end of the world
side 1 welcome to the working week, miracle man, no dancing, blame it on cain, alison, sneaky feelings, watching the detectives. 

patrick's visit  late october

        i've been feeling crappie (see fish in picture) about not posting anything about my brother's 5 day visit in october; shame on me.  but i will make it short.  we did a bunch of hanging out at my place, shooting the 'crap' and watching sports.  we saw 'district 9' at the movies [maybe too many aliens but great plot (just released on dvd)].  i got up early (9am) on sunday so that we could check out a wildlife center on the other side of savannah.  i had wanted to visit the oatland island center since hearing about it 15 yrs ago; it was about time. 
        we had a crisp sunny day for the adventure; the best thing was that there was hardly a gnat to swat!  the paritially root ridden paths were pleasant to st-roll along, through the woods or along the marshes.  the trails, the ranger campsite and canoe rack brought back adirondack memories.  there are also many boardwalks, some suspended 15ft up, that were fine w/me.  there lots of critters... i didn't take pix of the predatory birds, and the pix of the turtles competing for the coin machine pellets with the catfish didn't come out.   also missing are the bobcats and panthers. 

        the morning patrick left i asked him to burn a wicker chair i'd had for about 2 years; it would've made for a better night time flameage.  i bought this victorian chair on e-bay for $15, but didn't pay attention to the $40 bus trip from l.a..  we had picked it up at the bus station when patrick, wife tiffany and mum anne were visiting, and we were on our way to another wildlife center.   the tear in the seat webbing was worse than in the ebay pix; i had to staple a wire grill on it.  i added some pipe insulation to the arm and back rests because of remarks of their discomfort.  i was proud of my patio chair, even though it needed so much maintenance.  i backed into a leg a while back and broke.  enough repairs, time for the burn pile.  back to the plastic chair my dad bought 14 yrs ago.

treatful weekend  11/3

        friday night (at midnite) my aide, donven, helped me make mushroom pumpkin soup.  it had been a long time since i had followed a recipe (well, i used baby bellas instead of reg. mushrooms, and 1.5 times as much).  it was going well until i saw i didn't have the required curry i was sure i had.  the soup finished out rather bland.  while going to sleep that night the food channel talked pumpkin soup; curry was one of the ingredients... ah ha.  well, before i got out of bed saturday morning donven went to pick up curry.  once back in my chair, i had him saute minced onions until browned, add in a lil'more curry than called for, let that cook more before slowly adding in a cup of broth.  he added that to the reheated soup and let cook s'more, and 'voila!', much better!   i don't advocate hot peppers, they cover up the real flavors; but a good curry, now that i'll do (it enhances, rather than burn the gi tract from end to end).  {soup recipe - http://www.nickinga.com/recipes }
        the soup, and ballpark franks on whole wheat buns, were for the ghouls arriving sat. afternoon for t-or-t'ing that evening.  me, being top ghoul, impatiently waited until ashley, her boy toy josh, audrey, sandra (my ex) and her beau bob arrived.    like ashley said, the soup was missing pumpkin flavor, but the consistency was pureed pumpkin fer sure.  the quartered baby bellas added a nice 'crunch' and the curry stuck out just fine. ashley's sister amanda arrived after we had just about finished eating.

        this year's costumes were pretty simple... sandra and bob came as themselves (that was scary enough), audrey was tinkerbell (this year's wings were better attached compared to last yr's butterfly's, but we forgot her magic wand on my coffee table), ashley w/long pj gown was wendy from 'peter pan', i wrapped web around myself to be a quad caught in a spider's web.  amanda made a better effort when she showed up as a hillbilly geek.  sandra and bob gave out treats while we st-rolled around the block.    afterwards sandra fixed ashley up in the french maid outfit she had made 20 years ago.  josh dressed up as her boss and they went into savannah to also be designated drivers for another couple they partied with before coming home.  my treat bowl/bag was empty by the end of the night; yahoo, no calories for me! 

        i went into savannah sunday night with uncle bob (foley) for better treats; we went to see the red headed stranger.  we had a brew at my house before donven arrived to drive us to the johnny mercer theatre for the willie nelson concert.   bob was all psyched (he loves willie) thinking we'd be in the front row seats from where he and i had seen another concert.  well, disabled persons are now sat all the way in the back; at least it's on a raised platform.
        for 76 years old... wow willie!  he plays the only guitar in the band, and he sure can pick those strings.  i could've done with a full version of 'crazy', but it only got a few bars in a medley.   he played non-stop for almost 2 hours; we heard 'georgia on my mind' and many others, including a couple i'm not familiar with.  bob went crazy at the souvenir booth; he got a couple t-shirts and a cap for each of us.   the cap has a hemp leaf brightly outlined on the front, w/willie's name embroidered on the side.  i've never worn caps much, and i don't see myself wearing that one much.  i talked to bob today; he's been wearing it since the show.  great time w/bob and willie!

 

 

redhead rocks   10/16

        ashley and i went to the johnny mercer theatre in savannah friday night to see bonnie raitt!  i hadn't seen a concert in a long time; it was well over due.  i had boughten the pair of tickets when they went on sale, hoping someone would want to go with me.  only one person is allowed to sit with me in the area for disabled persons.  well, four women turned me down... ouch.  ashley was thrilled to go, her guyfriend would be working and it'd be our first concert together.  it fell on the same weekend as the local seafood festival.  i usually go on friday night when the crowd isn't as thick.  well, the cold damp weather was all the more reason not to feel bad about missing the big local party.  i'd passed on going saturday night, it still unseasonably cold (60-44) and the main act wasn't my cup o'tea either.  i did miss the crawfish plate and kingfish kabobs though.
        ash and i filled up on some tasty seafood rolls and reheated wonton soup before leaving.  handicappers used to get front row seats, but now we've been moved to the back row, but at least it's on a raised platform with an unobstructed view.  i was thrilled to find wayne, also in a chair, there; we'd lost contact a couple years back.  the opening band's lead singer/musician randall bramblett is from jesup, a town 50 miles away; he's an artist of many instruments; he played a mean soprano sax.  wayne told me that he'd been to a local house party at which most of the same band had performed. 
        bonnie and band graced the stage after a short intermission, during which i caught up with wayne more.  hey, for 60 y/o and a rockin' life... miss bonnie is looking fine, ...she can play a mean (slide) guitar.  even from our seats in the back of the capacity 2500 theatre we could see her fingers plucking away.   it was nice to see a female not take second fiddle to bunch of guys.  she played 'nick of time' and other of her famous songs; they all sounded great and had me rocking in my chair.  i went out to the lobby for another brewski, and saw my friend liz just before going back to my spot; we danced right there to the song being played.  (after only 90 minutes) bonnie called out randall with his bass sax, as she had for an earlier song, to join in for the second encore.  it was a spectacular night out in savannah. 

celebrating johnny mercer in the park   10/4

        on sunday audrey, ashley, her boyfriend josh and i went to a free concert in savannah's huge forsyth park.  it was a celebration of savannah son johnny mercer's music.   living from '09 to '76, this songwriter and singer had many popular hits from the mid-30s to mid-50s.  his music affected many other singers.  in a day of radio and tv today his influences are played at least once.  one of his 4 acedemy awards for best song was for 'moonriver'.  he was mentions in the book and movie 'midnight in the garden of good and evil', which shined the spot light on beautiful savannah.

             the savannah arts academy symphony orchestra played the first 90 min, followed by the sav. arts acad. skylite jazz band.  we enjoyed the variety of music and left before some singers performed.  the park was filled w/people on blankets, sipping wine, and some fancier layouts competing in a contest.  these sites had mouthwatering layouts of food on decorated tables adorned w/candlesticks.  i heard the park looked fabulous after dark.  

                             'the view from johnny's porch'

        we've devised a way to strap audrey onto my lap, so we toured around the park before heading out.  a dinner at applebees topped off a great sunday out of the house.

               

i've put all the pictures on my flickr site...   http://www.flickr.com/photos/nickinga/sets/72157622524993178/

 

 

football time!!  8/29

      friday evening we went to richmond hill's 1st football game.  it's not the same as the sat. afternoon games we have up north, those were much more animated w/the varied fall weather.  due to the heat down here they play fri. nights, when it's always dark and sometimes rainy and cold. it just ain't the same.  my good friend eli has been looking forward to this season all summer, hoping to play 1st quarterback.  last wed. he called w/devasting news... he broke his ankle going out for a pass at practice.  he'll be out 5-6 wks.  he told me he'd be up in the press box relaying info to his coach.

       ashley and i had been planning to go for wks, eli's misfortune didn't stop us.  audrey was ready to check out this event, especially richmond hill's award winning marching band's performance at half-time.  amanda, ashley's sister joined us; she used to play clarinet in that band.  the only time i've seen savannah's st. patty's day parade was when i went to see the band participate.  the school is in ear's shot of my house so i can hear the band praticing on the field wkday afternoons; it always reminds me of amanda.

       when they arrived at my house amanda asked audrey what we were going to see. audrey's sweet lil'voice replied, 'marching band'.  we got there at the start of the 2nd quarter, just in time to hear the r.h. wildcats score a touchdown!  ashley helped me get a hotdog, while amanda brought audrey to see a close-up of the band on the bleachers.  while waiting i was reminded of high school and all it's clicks; my oh my.  ashley commented on how the girls were getting away w/wearing stuff that her dad woulda flipped out about.

        the crowded sidewalk lead us to the huge w'chair accessible bleachers.  i didn't go much further then the top of the ramp; i didn't see any open baby carriage/w'chair spots so i pulled up next to the barrier, hoping that i didn't block the way much.  the girls stood beside me along the rail.  for a while audrey stood on my lap w/her hands on the rail, w/a superb view onto the field.  she was dazzled by the cheerleaders, and eventually clapped along w/them.  eli called ashley after he saw me and thanked me for coming to the game.  audrey was soon showing her tired girl side.  the 150ish member marching band did attract her attention, but we knew it was time to leave the second they finished.       ps... the wildcats won their 1st game!

              (darn cheerleaders kept obstructing my view of the game)
     i've added this pic for the game atmosphere and also to show some of the decore on the back of my chair.  i get many comments on the blue sticker.   there's a shark sent from jersey, the center bike bell is from a bike shop in geneva and an eyeball bike bell.  click bottom right of pic to enable zoom. 
        

nick goes to town!  9/21

     thurs. evening ashley, a friend of hers and i went to city market in savannah to celebrate robbie's 27th b-day.  i hadn't been to this 2 square pedestrian zone in well over a year, it was time to hang out downtown!  the handicap spot was free for no trouble parking right next to the squares.    i saw a new rev-oltionary war monument in the little park for the 1st time (hats off to soldiers, but the fountain was nicer).  next stop was checking out the bicycles at the bike rack.  what a selection!  there was a good ol'peugeot 10 spd, a techie 18 spd, a bunch of mt bikes (1 w/a funky clip-on frt fender i'd never seen before), a pizza delivery bike, and 2 european mopeds (ah, the days of zipping around geneva).

        next we sat down at an outside table at vinny van gogh gogh's, the best pizza joint in town.   a blue moon was quickly ordered for me.  no problem waiting for the pie, it was time to people watch.  everybody from an old couple beside us, the young 'hippie' scad (sav college of art and design) students, and families were all over.  from our table we had a great view into the sav. candy co. shop next door, where taffy was being pulled on one of those funky machines.  while they ate i strolled into the shop to have a smell around: hello goodies!  the variety of chocolate clusters pleaded to be boughten.  i got a sample of the newly made pecan clusters from the marble table... too sweet for me.  then the lady brought me a warm soft nugget of fresh peach taffy!  i held it in my teeth and rushed out to share it at the dinner table... peachy good!

        into all life a rain must fall.  while at the table i turned my chair to look at something (probably a scad student), but when i tried to turn back... nothing.  my w'chair didn't respond in a way totally new to me.  i turned it off hoping that would help; after 3 min i turned it back on... hoped... nope.  i had ashley put it into freewheel to turn me to face the table again.  we finished eating while giving it time to recuperate.  i tried it a few times; nothing.  it wouldn't move and it wouldn't tilt back into my fav 'chill out' position, even though the display on the joystick was lit, getting power.  shucks!  i'm in town for the 1st time in so long, and bang, i'm immobile.  there was live music at the other end of the squares; i dreaded the thought of being pushed into my van and heading back to the house...

        robbie offered to push me to the party!  after passing a waiting horse-drawn tour carriage (aromas included), we were soon in close range of the tunes being played by bucky and barry; another brewski please!  this duo is classic sav. entertainment; i've danced to them many a time.  more people-watching w/music added; yoopie.  not far from us a middle aged man was dancing w/a younger woman; he was doing fine, but even though she was giving her best, it was hard not to giggle.  i tried the chair again... bingo!!  mobility rocks!   i was able to move to pose for a picture w/a famous movie star.

        b & b mentioned that this was the 1st thurs. of the summer it hadn't rain on them; good day to have a b-day robbie!  after another song, the guys threatened that they'd soon be backing up; bummer.  the crowd chanted, and the guys remarked on how sad the tip jar looked; they weren't playing until it was refreshed.  a weak percentage of the crowd made their way up w/bills in hand; bucky and barry gave in and started the last song... bto 'taking care of business'!!  it had me moving, as it did the gal that started dancing solo in front of the guys.  well, i had to fix that.  i made a b-line for the music and partnered up w/her.  i did my best to keep up w/this mover; she could spin and shake!  we had a blast; it sure felt good to dance again!  at the end i was rewarded w/a warm sweaty hug; ahhhh.  i'm looking forward to my next trip to party in town.

              {my new b-day shirt that arrived same day - thanks mira}
   

summer wisteria  9/12 

    my wisteria, that gloriously blooms every spring... keeps giving all summer.  this hybrid, called 'the pride of augusta', shows off smaller versions of it's purple blooms through out the summer.  they're a lil'hard to see in this pic;   use the zoom in bottom right corner of pic...

   spring 2009

speaking o'purple  8/12

    last week lil'miss audrey came by sportin' a new (purple) handbag.  she loves playing in the fine dirt of my backyard 'pace track'.  both combined to show her 2 loves... daintiness and dirtiness. (her sandaled feet were just as 'pretty')

the swiss blow their own alpenhorns!  8/8

      switzerland turned 718 yrs old on aug 1st.   i have celebrated 10 national day holidays while living there, mostly in geneva, from '83 - '93.   they have a custom of hanging paper candle lit lanterns all around.  my mom's cousin, from geneva, sent me a collection of'em; time to pardy like the swiss.

         another 'high' point of the festivities in geneva are the fireworks!  moneybags geneva didn't hold back loading up the 6-7 barges lined up in the city's end of lake geneva/leman.  the best spot was on the closed-to-traffic-4-lane-bridge that spans over the rhone that starts back on at that end of the lake; the whole bridge would sway adding even more special effects.  

         last year i found a video of some of the spectacle....    
         http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJrMy3nOmP8

      on thurs the celebration continued with some swiss treats.  while at lunch in savannah, at a fancy sandwich shop, a treat surprised me on the desserts display.  i bought a few of the 'pains au chocolat'; these simple pastries are light bread buns baked w/2 strips of chocolate in them.  i used to tear'em up while living there. 

      that evening fondu pots were the dinner plates.  debbie, heather (deb's niece), audrey and ashley were all that showed for the swiss evening, but they filled the kitchen just fine.  debbie worked on her white and dark chocolate creations... white choco covered strawberries and a dark choco fondu.  i kept ashley and heather busy by having to constantly stir the heating gruyere and emmentaler cheeses in white wine on the stove.  i had tried making this fondu months ago, but it turned out a big flop; this time i was determined to have it done right.  we tranfered it into my new fondu pot; 'lemme at it'.   i was thrilled to finally see the cheese coat the pieces of french bread perfectly, and the only solution for the strings of cheese was spinning the forks.  ah... flashbacks of alp chalets evenings!!!

    (it thickened up eventually... man, that's some filling stuff... more please!)

                         how fitting... red and white desserts!

 

         don't forget the fireworks ....                                

              http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJrMy3nOmP8  

happy birthdays mick n dwayne  7/26 & 7/27

          it started on sunday when the tour de france ended in paris and we celebrated mick jagger's (66th) b-day.  things got even better when audrey and ashley showed up around 4; they'de be spending the night!  we bbq-ed tuna and beef tenderloin kabobs... ah.. rare beef!  audrey took a bath in my claw foot tub at 7pm, showing me her newly learned swimming and other splashing techniques.  they retired to the guest bedrm.  ashley reappeared around 11;30 and watched the last half of 'me, myself and irene' w/me; too much swearing but classic jim carrey body twists.   

           monday i turned 48!  {as did dwayne...  he works at the local beer store and when first checking my id last year he informed me that he was born the same day as i; just goes to prove... cool folks work at beer stores}  about 8am i heard the  pitter patter of audrey's feet.  she sang the song of the day for me; ashley said it was the 1st time she had sang 'happy b'day' to someone on her own!  after drawing me a card, she laid down beside me.  my special day started out w/it's high point!  i was even able to play gobble monster w/her as she repeatedly sacrificed her arms to my mouth; she laughed and laughed. 

           i was in my chair around 10:30,  better able to watch the girls hangin' out at opa's.  about 11 we went to the local park to feed the ducks and geese.  they drew quite a crowd as soon as they pulled up.  i had a blast breaking up the honking party after they ran out of bread.  those fowl cried fowl as i chased'em, i was too big to bite.  after that we enjoyed lunch at jen and andy's 'what's the scoop'; my turkey reuben hit the spot.  i should've seen the delicious strawberry ice crean scoop w/the candle and singing waitresses.

       the girls headed home while patsy and i headed to cvs, to find a nascar magazine.  i've been looking for one to send to napcar fan friends working at glacier nat. park.  it's amazing how all the magazine racks i've been too lately are loaded w/car magazines, but never a single nascar mag.  cvs was no diff.   we headed back home where i laid under my ceiling fan, in the ac, to recupe from getting my butt kicked by the hot humidity.

       it was 3:30 when sis-in-law deb and hubby richard came in w/ballons and munchies.  then audrey, ashley, freeman and gordon walked in.  the party was on!   the next pleasant surprise was when jennifer walked in w/the kids, drew and jaqueline; i hadn't seen them in a long time.  my artist neighbor teresa came by to give me a lovely wooden plaque dedicated to audrey.  

         the party lasted through 2 dvds; led zep's 'no quater' and a neil young concert at red rocks!  i enjoyed at few shots of my present bottle of patron; i also got a flask w/my name engraved on it!  we opened up a box my parents had sent me; it had 5 4-packs of coffee crisps, a huge bag of pine nuts from the co-op where mum volunteers, and a great book of cartoons in french that my grandfather would read to me on his knee when i was just a young whipper snapper.  and i got a card from glacier nat. park w/a 'i'd rather be hiking in gnp' sticker, and, and... an official gnp jr. park ranger badge!!  the party was high-lighted by a delicious white cake, w/lite white frosting and the top covered w/a homemade blueberry syrup.  freeman doesn't bake much, but when he does... super wow!

            the party wound down and neighbor david stuck around to keep me company.  i wasn't ready to turn on the boring reg. tv so i put on vh1 classic, hoping for a prize.  a prize i got!  mick and the stones in concert from the 90s.  'play some stones!'  it lasted until 11pm!  i couldn't ask for more.   i tried starting to write about my day, but the patron said 'no'.  i had to find more entertainment.  how low could i go...  i started calling up mainly plattsburgh friends to remind them to wish me happy b-day.  i left a lot of messages but did have some great live conversations.  a lady-friend and i had a nice up-dating time, and uncle bob was thrilled to wish me happy b-day.  i even called up the bar we grew up in, the monopole, and spoke w/dear friend gail; i finished by asking her to 'play some stones' for me.  that evening richard sent me pictures of his son's geo all painted up for that wkend's wet demolition derby at the clinton county fair.  they had sprayed my initials on the car, and got a prize in the consolation smash'em-up!   i was well represented that day in good ol'p'burgh!   well, when 11:00 showed up i was ready for some local news; they screwed up by not mentioning the biggest news of the day... my eventfully satisfying birthday!

                          (both cars were rick jr's rides)

sister nadia's visit   6/25 - 7/1     

      my sister nadia stayed w/her h.s. friend in va. then came here after an 18 month absence.  my morning aide had done a fine job of cleaning up my guest room, which i thought was in tip top shape.  good thing i remembered to buy flowers for the room (that way when we brought them in the room, we saw the mess) or else it woulda been unwelcoming. 

       so nadia was pleased at the shape of the house; i had added many art objects and wall hangings.  she finally got to meet fluffy (not fat) wabbit.  they started a good relationship during her visit.  wabbit made her way into nadia's room twice to say 'hi' and inspect.  after her first visit nadia showed wabbit the door and closed it behind her.  she said there was scratching at the door until wabbit finally got the message.

        friday was high-lighted by a delightful visit by audrey and ashley.  that evening we went to andy's resto for some great salads and so live guitar music.  nadia then drove us to mark and michele's property where we hung out on their dock.  among a lot of nature, we watched 2 lil'birds dive bomban eagle who was too close to their nest.  on our way out we met m&m who were working in the huge garden who hadn't been there when we first drove in.   

      saturday morning nadia went to visit sandra, my ex and my siblings' half-sister, who lives an hour north of here, just outside hilton head s.c..  they spent the morning at a friend's shaded pool.  the mid-90's weather called for cooling off.  when they came out in their bathing suits, nadia and sandra had the exact same suits!   saturday evening we went to michele and mark's to participate in a 2nd mum's day for michele's mother.  garden fresh gazpacho and fancy pannis were on the menu.  a magnificent red ball of a sun setting just on top of the trees was the major attraction of the ride home.

        sunday was a home day.  nadia pulled out her art supplies and proceeded to make a series of prints from a flattened piece of clay w/the imprints of some odd metal objects she had recently come across.   she spent some of the afternoon at my neighbors' dicussing art w/art teacher teresa and hubby danny.    that evening she got a bug up her sleave and we were soon on the road headed to a nature reserve she had read about in a richmond hill magazine.  the harris neck national wildlife refuge is a lil'over a half hour south down highway 17. 

       first we went to the boat launch w/it's grand view over the river and marshes.  it was so refreshing to see endless green marsh grass; around developed savannah the majority of the marshes are mainly darkened.  a local vulture waited for us on the rail of the dock walkway.  while going through bushes, nadia was surprised by a frantic bustling at her feet; hundreds of fiddler crabs scampered for another cover. 

        the nature trail ride follows a 4 mile 1-way car accessible road through 2500 acres of varied marsh, grassland, forest, and even an abandoned airfield. 

         we got out of the van once, to check out 50 acre woody pond w/it's mass rookery of egrets and some wood storks that hung around from their spring breeding grounds.  the bird cries echoed off the trees and water.  we saw a gator floating w/just his upper head sticking out.  then it was back in the van for more exploration.  i now have a new destination to bring visitors!

        it was a lil'after 8pm; the next project was food.  we had seen a rather trashy sign for the 'old school diner' a couple miles before the refuge.  we pulled into the short street which had a couple trailors on it.  on the right at the end of the st. was the o's'diner... the parking lot was the 1st eye-opener... it was covered w/pieces of carpet of diff. colors, but all faded from the sun and rain; it surely was a solution for a mud pit of a parking lot.  the resto was a conglomeration of lil'buildings made of scraps of ol'materials.  surprise, it was w/c accessible.  fateous greeted us and guided us through a maze of small dining rooms to finally come to a wide open room.  the walls are to my likin'... hardly a spot not covered w/momentos and signs (there's a pacino/scarface collection).  most noticable are thousands of pictures that include fateous, jerome (the chef) and happy customers. 

         we ordered catfish nuggets and the shrimp sampler platter.  we had plenty to do while waiting... there's so much to see.  nadia read out loud a review posted on a wall, being her informative self not worried about the only other 2 people there (ben afleck is a regular).  we put quarters in the jubebox and heard wilson pickett, the stones, willie and 6 others in the r-n-r soul taste.  the nuggets were fab and fried, marinated and       shrimp filled us up along w/sides of slaw n fries.   we got an order of ribs to go - promising 'go to heaven w/out dying'.  it was 9:45 when we pulled back into my driveway; nadia and her drop-of-the-hat ideas; success.  

http://blog.hodnettcooper.com/2008/12/31/chef-jeromes-old-school-diner/

          monday morning nadia returned to see sandra pool-side.  they did some afternoon chores (sandra rounded up a chainsaw for yard maintenance), and nadia returned late afternoon.  quiet night at home eating from a reserve of a mixture of okra, portabellas, onion, rosemary and tomato i had made up w/an aide.

       tues morning i treated nadia to a massage where i go for meditation and exercises.  she ended up stay 2.5 hrs after treating herself to acupuncture and something called 'cupping' that sucks baddies out of parts of the body (both were 1sts for her).  that afternoon we had planned on going to see 'cherri', a movie about a 19oo's courtesan in france w/michelle phiffer and kathy bates.  bummer, savannah wasn't classy enough to be a 'selected city'.  we settled fro denzel and travolta in '....pelham 123'; good choice. 

        she left wed. morning and picked up uncle bob to give him a ride to plattsburgh for his yearly summer visit.  their good times ride compared well w/nadia's visit here.

debbie-do's present 4 audrey  6/27

     a few weeks ago deb (my sis-in-law) dropped by, dragging this rocker into my house.  she had found it that day and figured leaving it here would be the simplest.  it is, as chez audrey it's all carpeted.  audrey named it 'daisy'  and she's always ready to hop on!

nuthin' like a trip to the dump   6/24 

    i had been wanting to do this for a while; i didn't have stuff to leave there, i had stuff to pick up!  i tried calling 16 y/o eli twice w/no avail.  i called his mom to ask if his phone wasn't working; he had been grounded phone-less for being a unresponsible teenager.  he showed up at 3pm; still lots of time to go to the local dump.  after a few popsicles from my freezer he was fired up. 

       my sis' nadia would arrive the next day for a long-week visit.  i thought about waiting a few days to see if she would like to join us.  her mind finds art in junk and so i would've asked her to pick a piece of metal to create something for my yard during her stay.  but i couldn't wait... all the other factors were happening now, no risking it for another day.          here's a sample of nadiart.....       check out'er site   http://nadiakorths.com/ 

        we circled the big heap of ol'friges, vacuums, etc spotting a bunch of the desired stuff.  eli pulled out the pieces of the puzzle that i wanted and left them in a pile ready for loading into the van.  as predicted, i found a few things i had no idea were waiting for me.  we checked out an old stand-up piano that had been left standing beside the big heap.  eli tapped the off-key keys after a long life of filling rooms w/who knows what variety of tunes had been played on it.  no room for that in the van.

i've posted a video, w/sounds, of the piano on youtube... 'last of many notes'      http://www.youtube.com/user/nickinga27

         this was the van when we arrived home!

      i wanted ol'bikes to complete a yard-art project; i'm pretty sure i have all i need now.  (stay tuned for the final project...)  i also found a john deere riding lawn mower engine cover, unfortunately it's plastic; who knows what'll become of it...   eli spotted 2 baseball diamond bases; we took the better looking 1.  {i can now claim having 'stolen' 2nd base... even better.. 3rd base!}  we also loaded up the chair of an old school chair/desk combo, and a 6 ft piece of 3in. alu tubing for nadia, and her artistic creativity.

       our adventure wasn't finished yet; 1st stop was for refreshments.  when he came out of the quik-stop, eli's eyes expressed childhood joy; they had multi-colored popsicles!  we proceeded to judy and john's house, for another reason that had been thought of a while back.  john is a carpenter and i've wanted a wide piece of wood to use as a inside table top on top of wabbit's cage.  when he opened the big doors to his shop, we were flooded w/the unmistakable scent of freshly cut wood.  i worked in such a shop when i lived in switz; it was so nice to smell/see a woodshop again.  john pulled out a perfect board that was made of 4 boards of soft pine glued together, and nicely planed.  it was left over from an old job.  i also scored a piece of plywood to use as a roof for wurtle's cage.  i noticed a stack of plexiglass; john told me he was planning on throwing it out.   i've been searching for sheets of plexiglass for months (i want to put posters on my ceiling); i'd given up on it cuz of the high prices... well, i found the motherload.  john told me that he had landed another window replacing job, for a county courthouse.  with another likely courthouse job lining up, he's fortunate for the work.

         then we went across the street to visit audrey, ashley and co.   audrey was soon requesting her pool be filled.  we took the spray nozzle off the hose; audrey loves not being the only one getting wet.  gordon passed sweet tea to all, and eli's fix was quelled w/6 popsicles.  we all made nice conversation as she splashed away.   there was still another over-due stop on the way home.  we stopped at mark and michele's to find mark working on his lil'speed boat motor.  i vanished for a while while i went to say hello to his neighbors.  i came back to find eli helping to tighten bolts on the motor.  michele set me up w/veggies from their massive garden.   we finally got home after a very successful ride out.  eli unloaded my treasures, i also thanked him finacially. he headed back home saying he'd have time to disassemble the bikes tomorrow, because he wasn't going anywhere else for a while.      

audrey's old new dress  6/16

      i lived in my grandmum's house during most of the time i lived in  switz-erland from '83 to '93.  there were many treasures in that house.  one was a dress i'd like to think my mum and her sister may have worn when they were young.  i've kept it since, and today a lovely girl wore it...

more pix of it on my flickr site...  click on the 'audrey 6/16' set on the right...  http://www.flickr.com/photos/nickinga/

friday nite's party  6/12

saturday pix  6/6

we saw this chevy beauty at the hardware store... 

we got back just before the sky opened up; this is who we found out back.    the wet wabbit only moved when we picked her up; silly wabbit.

later, in between rain falls, i went to visit my neighbors.  lois (lulu), who i have known since moving in 14 yrs ago, was visiting her parents.  i got to hold her precious lilly!!!

friday storm  5/29 

            while we were hangin' out friday evening the darkening skies made it clear that a storm was working it's way toward us.  the internet radar showed that it was quite a large orange cell heading eastward, but it looked like it would pass just south of us.  the sun was setting behind us, in the north; rays found their way under my big oak tree.  they landed on the bambo fence i have attached onto the chain link fence around my back yard.  the setting sun light  gave it an orange hue.  i asked aaron to take a picture; the 2nd try (w/out flash) came out very representing of the actual scene, including the rich red petunias hanging from the fence.  with camera in hand, and finger holding the trigger half-way down, aaron sat back and got nice shots of the storm's fireworks.  (use pictures' bottom right side zoom button)