Ever since we moved to State College, all the locals we have talked to have mentioned this Grange Fair thing in the top things to do in the area. It only comes once a year. So Jeff and I decided we wouldn't miss it this year. Apparently it is the next big thing after attending PSU football games and the summer Arts Festival. So we were thinking that it could be interesting. One thing that I had always heard about this fair is the fact that most locals "camp" at this fair for a week. In fact, most of the tent plots are passed down to generation after generation. I even heard of a story from one of my new clients that her neighbor had to write in the divorce papers who was going to get the Grange Fair plot. So we knew it was serious. Anywa, we enjoyed the day with a few friends from J's program. There were animals, carni-rides, VERY good Monkey bread, philly cheesesteaks, and even a tractor pull. Ladies and Gentlemen, we attended our first tractor pull. All in all, it was a good time. I even surpassed my yearly allotment of mullet/mustache combos and rat-tails. It was glorious. But both J and I loved the bunnies most of all.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
New York again with Stan and Tanya
We were able to squeeze a trip into August before J started school again. We brought our friends, Stan and Tanya, from State College, and had a great time! We stayed with our friends Liz and Tim and had a great time visiting them and a few NY sites. We went to the Union Station area on Saturday, played a few games of Settlers of Catan with everyone Saturday night, and a toured Brighton Beach on Sunday, the Russian neighborhood near Coney Island with our Russian/Ukrainian friends Stan and Tanya. We got some good pics.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
New York Three of Three
Staten Island Ferry with Statue of Liberty in the background
Crazy game of Settlers of Catan (why the hats, they were apparently good luck. Notice I didn't need luck) :-)
Remember this? It was the cross at the World Trade Center site. It is now across the street from T&L's apartment at the neighborhood Catholic church. Inwood had the most firemen that died in trajedy.
New York Two of Three
Actually something to check off the list, Grand Central. I've always wanted to come here. In fact, I have a photo in my mind that I want to take when we have kids. Us in the middle holding the hand of a small one, the little one looking around, with the brush of people walking by. So I've got to come back sometime....with a little one. But I love the feel of the place.
This left J smiling for days. We got into The Colbert Report on standby tickets. It was glorious. J's cousin, Amy, who lives in the city, got to come too. J even won a hat for getting a trivia question right before the taping. If you are ever in NY, this is a secret must.
Cousin Amy (Don't they kind of look alike?)
We packed a picnic dinner, and enjoyed the best pitas ever from Wegmans in Columbus Circle (next to the Time Warner building and Central Park) with Tim, Liz, & Amy
New York One of Three
J needed a break from writing a paper, I had the time. So we decided to go to NY to visit our friends Tim and Liz. It was such a great time! They are like family to us. We went during the week. So it wasn't anything fancy. A little touristy things in the morning and afternoon while Liz was at work, and then a home-cooked meal and Settlers at night. Every day. For four days. It was glorious.
Tim & Liz live in Inwood, at the very tip of Manhattan. We really like the area. There is a park nearby here the Harlem canal comes in from the Hudson. Is that right, Liz?
Personally, not only do I love these people, I love the cool light from dusk mixing with the warm light from the pedestrian lights on their face. Did I mention they were my one and only successful match-making endeavor? Liz is my best friend from HS (Texas), and Tim was J's best friend from HS (Colorado). They met in our wedding, and now live 4 hours away. It is nice.
Not something you do everyday, WiiFit in Rockefellar Center
I love this. You have to insert the LOUD sirens going by and imagine the people trying to cross the street in front of the ambulance not shown in the picture. Totally NY.
Larry Dodds
I hope to write more soon about the funeral we attended for Larry Dodds. Honestly, J and I felt so blessed to be able to attend. Lois and Larry Dodds are long-time friends of J's parents. They met while J was very young living in California through Wycliff. Lois and Larry raised their kids in the remote jungle of Peru while they were medical missionaries to the indigenous peoples of the area back in the 80's and early 90's. In the mid-90's they started a restoration ministry for missionaries in Liverpool, PA after experiencing their own time of burn-out from serving in the jungle. About 10 years ago, Larry was diagnosed with ALS and continued to bless those around him as he was always known for his positive attitude even through his disease. He passed away because of an unexpected heart attack. His funeral was last weekend here in PA, and it was nice to attend to represent the family. His funeral was also a blessing and so inspiring. Hope to write more about that soon. For now, here are some pictures from the cemetery in Liverpool, where he is buried.
View of the Susquehanna River and town below
What's in the garden?
This is my first year gardening. Since we live in campus housing, we get a 10' x 10' plot in the community garden. It has been a fun way to keep myself out of trouble. Unfortunately, I did not know the first thing about gardening, though my Granddaddy was a Horticulture professor. I guess I never really paid attention when we use to visit my grandparent's orchard/farm in East Texas growing up. And my Dad always said he played football and baseball to get out of working the farm! My mom, like us, grew up in Dallas. So I didn't have a clue! But thanks to my helpful Chinese neighbors, Barnes & Noble, and the Internet, I have, at least, learned enough for my spinach to have grown through to harvest. Since I'm an engineer, I enjoyed the planning part the most. How do you fit in the most plants into your space, while starting the seed at the right time to have a continued harvest, placed away from other plants that might stunt its growth, and spaced away from each other correctly? That is why I decided to do a raised-bed format. I could get the most out of the plot. Note the "unorganized" look. Don't worry, there is a method to my madness. Most of the other plots did row planting. So we shall see! So far, so good.
Jeff doing a little weeding. We have the Southwest corner of the quadrant.
Jeff doing a little weeding. We have the Southwest corner of the quadrant.
I have a second tomato that will harvest later, two green beans between them. The two on the mound are cucumbers. I started a mound for canteloupe between the spinach and carrot/spinach patch. The tall plant is a sunflower. :-) Underneath the sunflower is coriander. Coriander doesn't like the heat, so it is nice to have the big leaves overhead from the sunflower.
Down towards the bottom is spinach and lettuce again.
Finally, on this side is a patch of Blue Bachelor flowers (about to bloom!). The little guys to the left are Zinnia and TEXAS BLUEBONNET! I will most likely pick them since it is legal. I've always wanted to. So now is my time. Then along the edge is okra, bell pepper, more okra, and dill. (Don't tell my neighbor that dill stunts the growth of corn) Yikes! Hopefully it will be okay. Anyway, I kind of feel this is like those description papers you had to write in 2nd-3rd grade. The tomato is left of the pepper. Underneath the sunflower, though, I just recently planted a lot of sunflowers to harvest in the fall. YAY!
We have enjoyed getting to know our garden neighbors and to see the different vegetables everyone likes to eat.
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