We had a bit of wind today and into the evening. A few of us at work braved the elements and tried to go for a bit of a walk at lunch. Didn’t happen. It started to rain a bit, and it was driven hard into our faces. Not much rain, but it hurt. We went in and were lucky to find that there we were allowed to hit the buffet that was provided for a meeting. So today I got a free lunch. Can’t say that every day.

Anyway the wind and rainy conditions made me think of book and a video “Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day”. As a family we would watch the video, and I remember reading the Pooh books to my daughters many times. Now, the Disney movie “Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day” was taken from the book “The House at Pooh Corners”. Other Disney Pooh movies were made from other chapters in this book and the first Pooh book “Winnie-the-Pooh”. My daughters, wife and I read the original books and some of the Disney versions based on their movies. Always fun to read and watch. And I think I can still get my voice into Eeyore every now and then. I tried to add voices to all the characters in the book, but the girls had the video voices to compare mine to. I think they liked my ‘Eeyore’. Maybe one daughter will comment?

So on this cool and blustery evening, I just have to say “Oh bother’.

I am in a quandary.  Next week, opening week of You Have the Right to Remain Dead, is audtion dates for WCCT’s production of Miracle on 34th Street, a show I dearly love.  However, I do not see much in the way of a possibility to try out when there is rehearsal each of the three nights.

However, the next production of the Village Players is another holiday classic, It’s a Wonderful Life.  I’m not entirely sure when auditions for this show will be; since Travis (director for IAWL) and Mare and are both in Little Shop of Horrors at the same time as my show, I do not see them being held until after that.  Maybe when our time-strapped tangenteer has time to read this post, she might be able to provide a bit of insight or I may be able to ask at our next gathering.

But I think either show would be fun to be a part of.

I think I could use a Tivo.  That way, I could Tivo Dr. Phil and watch it when I fold laundry – that would certainly be better on my ears and more entertaining than the screaming parrot.  Well, actually, I don’t know how Tivo works – I could probably only watch what I tape record (I grew up in the 80’s – we “taped” our movies and our music) on the tv that has the Tivo, right?  But anyway, I could pause it when someone needed a diaper change or help with something or a snack or a drink to be able to watch more tv instead of just never getting to commit to watching shows (except really good ones like The Office) because of my lack of time and my lack of Tivo.  I wonder how much they cost; I have no idea.  It occurred to me that I don’t watch much tv anymore; a hobby I really liked as a kid.  It’s not a bad thing, really, I’m busy doing other more worthwhile things.  But I do miss getting to watch Dr. Phil – my tv has been hijacked by the likes of Dora, Diego, and Max and Ruby in the morning when it’s on, and I don’t like not being able to watch the Office until it’s available online.  We try to watch The Office when it airs on Thursday night and without fail, all hell always breaks loose with the kids even though it’s on at 9 and they should be in bed.

I got the movie Mr. Mom from the library for the kids to  watch.  I figured since my husband and I liked the movie as kids, we should show it to our kids – after all, they loved Annie (the 1982 version, the update is awful).  But apparently Mr. Mom came out before the MPAA came up with the PG-13 rating – there were a few scenes (funny how neither one of us remembered they were in the movie) I would rather not be in the type of movies my children enjoy.  At least we were able to skip over the strip club scene without them even noticing, yikes.  I surely don’t remember that from watching that movie as a kid.  Maybe there was an edited-for-television version…  Anyway, all this got me to thinking that they should have a function for dvd players where you can edit the movie to play while skipping certain parts of your choosing.  Maybe this already exists, but I don’t know a lot about the latest gadgets and such.

Well, anyway…  sorry for the randomness, just had a little time to blog for a change, so I just wrote what was on my mind at the moment!  Maybe I’ll check into that Tivo…

Yes, according to our calendar’s autumn officially arrived last week.  Today is the first real sign that it has indeed come.  The blustery wind, the grey skies, the falling, blowing leaves… AH… love it… evn if I had to put a jacket on to walk up town this morning.  I had to stop at the post office and as I was making my way home, I decided to go back up (after getting my wallet) and get a can of tomato soup for lunch.  Grilled cheese and tomato soup on a wonderful fall day!

The landscape also brings back wonderful memories of Autumn’s past of high school football games, baseball playoffs on the tube, bonfires, hay rides, a sudden chill, and a sense of creepiness that makes its presence known as we close out September and enter the month of October.  Last year was the first season for years that I have been REAL Haunted Attraction scavenging with friends.  Let’s hope that this continues although my next 2 weekends are once again pretty full.  It’s much more fun as the season progresses and more people come out to be given a fright and those that do the frightening are more seasoned as we found out on our multiple trips to ScreamAcres (my favorite of the bunch) last year.  We were there so many times that the ghouls knew we were coming as we approached and one very memorable escapade that I hesitate mentioning at the fear of becoming a real member of the walking dead.

So… whether you are 8 or 108 there is plenty to do during the fall in Northwest Ohio.

All of this talk of hideouts and outlaws (see my previous post about Robber’s Cave) makes me think about a really fun card game we’ve recently discovered – it’s easy to become a Bandits junkie!

Bandits is a card game by Buffalo Games, and it’s fun for the entire family.  It accommodates 2-6 players and is recommended for ages 10+, but we’ve found that our 9-year-old daughter and her friends can learn it and play quite easily.

Basically, a player begins with a hand of six cards, and he has 3 options on his turn: start a gunfight, draw a card, or stash loot in his Hideaway.  Many shoot-outs and much thievery ensues until the deck runs out of cards, and players count their stash in their Hideaways to determine the winner.  Those are the basics – there are many other fun cards that offer various twists on the game play (double-crossing lawmen and outlaws, booby traps, backfires, to name a few), and I’m just skimming the surface of the game; you really should play to appreciate it.  I don’t know that I’ve ever played such a fun card game (I like Pit a lot, but it’s another type pf game altogether), and each game of Bandits is unique dependent upon the number of players – a 2-player game plays out much more differently than does a 4-player game.  I’d like to try it with 6 players, but we can never haul it out at game night since we always have more than 6 players.  However many players there are, Bandits is definitely worth playing and highly recommended by this game collector!

Yes, another weekend full of things to do.  and one more thing after finishing this post… rehearsal… the first at which EVERYONE is to be off book… less than 2 weeks to go, I should think so, although there have been times… but we won’t go there not that I would ever be on book with less than 3 weeks to go.

Friday was another long work day followed by another wonderful night of games and friends.  But why does everyone assume that I am Mafia all the time.  I felt something tickle my leg and I jumped… so NATURALLY that would make me a member of the mafia (ok, the fact that I was that round is beside the point entirely).

Saturday was another birthday for a little princess who is about to turn 2 and is going to be on her way on a flight to Florida in the same less than two weeks.  I have never seen such a haul but there were a lot of relatives and well-wishers so…  I was told that my gift went over really well.  I found a mermaid doll that I thought that any little girl would enjoy.  So, I searched for a card.  I am particularly fond of the cards with sound so for a little more than a traditional birthday card, I found one with Ariel that played “Part of Your World” one of Lauren’s favorites.  I don’t do clothes, so I had to be creative for my little cousin.  Apparently, the parents did not know that the Buckeyes played a 3.30 game because most of us were surprised at the late start (at 5 o’clock).  But since Ohio State handily defeated Illinois 30-0, it was not a great tragedy.  But the menu was delicious and ALOT was to be had (chicken noodle soup, Uncle Delton’s fabulous chili, nacho dip, homemade rolls, not to mention cake, cupcakes, and ice cream).

All this food the day before the church’s annual chicken festival.  Elizabeth (more on her in a bit) told me that it was very warm in the church basement where the dinners were served.  She should have been around when the dinner was in the middle of July with fans blowing nothing but hot air.  My sister asked when this was and honestly, I could not remember when it was changed to the last Sunday of September.  Mom informed us that they used to have two chicken dinners annually.  I don’t remember that.

Speaking of Elizabeth, apparently her joy of getting the role of Mulan was premature.  She told me that she was asked to come for a call back for the part.  The title role was given to another girl and E-beth is a mother/dressmaker.  Oh, well she didn’t seem too upset.  I believe the dates are either the first or second weekend of November.

Ok… off to rehearsal.  Good Luck BEARS… The Yanks are playing for the  AL East title tonight.

Living in Lincoln Nebraska was really cool; it was interesting to be in the western part of the midwest and away from the Great Lakes region – there are differences both in culture and in topography.  The story of Robber’s Cave in Lincoln interested me for a few reasons, but especially for the wild-west themes; sandstone bluffs, outlaw hideouts – ok, so I’ve eaten dinner at one of Al Capone’s old hideouts in the Chicago area which is now a steakhouse, but I was talking Jesse James-type outlaws…  Hmmm, interesting, old Lincoln had outlaws, and old Chicago had gangsters, there’s one comparison…

Back from the minor tangent and onto Robber’s Cave – the entrance is a now a sandstone bluff located behind a Subway restaurant.  We did get a chance to visit it and found it quite easily, but by 2002 when we were there, it had been sealed.  In the 1970’s, there was a little old lady who would open up Robber’s Cave for explorers who paid the admission fee.  You would then follow her down a small rickety staircase and be on your own to explore the cave.  I’ve read various reports on the internet about people who grew up on Lincoln and used to go down into the cave all the time –  one person even talks of having kids’ birthday parties down there!  There are tunnels, rooms, a well, and even a natural fireplace with a chimney!  There are also legends of western outlaws (like Jesse James, supposedly, though his presence at the cave hasn’t been proven) that used to use Robber’s Cave as a hideout to count their loot and evade law enforcement after robbing trains, stage coaches, etc.  Before the outlaws took over, it’s said that Native Americans used the cave for spiritual ceremonies.  Robber’s Cave also carries legends of being a stop on the Underground Railroad, an underground brewery, and a tunnel that connected the state penitentiary with the State Hospital for the Insane.  Hmm, that almost sounds TOO haunted to be true – supposedly patients and convicts would use the tunnels to escape.  Then again, when we were there, I did note the State Penitentiary within view of the entrance to Robber’s Cave.   And speaking of Nebraska’s death row, I’ll note that NE is the only state in the country to still have the electric chair as the exclusive means of carrying out the death penalty.

But anyway, Robber’s Cave is a neat place, steeped in many decades of history.  And the reason I’m bringing this up now?  Robber’s Cave is for sale! Well, at least the lot that includes the sealed entrance is for sale – I’m not sure if that then entitles the owner to free roam of all the caves or not if they continue onto other parcels underground.  If you’d like more details about the legends of Robber’s Cave, this is an interesting read.

Now of course there are the many tangents’ bloggers here and I really like to visit their sites, but I want to call my readers attention to a blog listed under Widows/Widowers. Check out SHR Images and Photography. The pictures are just stunning.

I will be the first to admit, I know very little about the art of photography. I enjoy taking pictures now and then, but it is now more for the technical side (thank goodness for Digital cameras) than any artistic drive. I take lots and lots of pictures, delete all the bad ones and keep a precious few. If I happen to take any with artistic appeal, it was all luck. I tend to see something I like and take pictures.

On the SHR site, I don’t think the pictures are taken in quite the same fashion. They touched me deeply. I thought I should share this with other readers of my blog. Enjoy

I just got caught up with the news for today (All the news I need to know anyway) and I noticed an article about Gmail being down today. The article stated that there was some anger directed toward Google for the outage. Really anger? Wow, it’s free email folks get over it….

I’m wondering why people would complain when something was free. I’ve heard complaints and more when the ‘free’ wi-fi is down at the coffee shop. People have complained in the supermarket when the free sample isn’t big enough, or not the right flavor. That free hotdog at the car dealer, comes with its very own car salesman?

I’ve been told that nothing in this life is free. We always have to pay something for it. Free TV, you get a lot of advertisements or in the case of PBS fund drives and commercials (usually between shows). You also get ‘product placement’ in the shows. Was that character really drinking that famous soft drink? Free email — Check the ads attached.

Even then, the price is usually something we consider inconsequential. But some people complain anyway. And you still get exactly what you pay for.

Of course this is a free blog too, unless, of course, there are ads attached… 😉

I’ve been using my GPS in a rather mundane way recently. I know the route I want to take, but I turn the GPS on anyway. Even though it never takes me the route or direction I normally go, it does keep very good track of my arrival time. That way I know if I have time to make a stop before I get to wherever I am going. Neat trick that.

This morning on my way into work, I noticed that I wasn’t getting yelled at as often. Wow, did this thing learn my pattern overnight? Then I noticed it wasn’t telling me when the turns were coming up. The only thing I heard from it, was “re-calculating” every time I deviated from its intended route. The route would show up mapped, but I would only “hear” about it when I made at least a 90 degree turn from the intended route. Something strange was happening.

Then I noticed something odd. My little blue truck on the screen was not driving on the mapped road. In fact, it looked to be about 0.2 miles off the road. If the GPS was correct, I was driving through fields, houses, trees and over creeks (all at 55 or so). No wonder it didn’t talk much, it didn’t really know where I was.

Apparently, I’m having some trouble getting satellite reception. This is the second time this happened in a week. I can’t find any news articles on GPS disruptions, so it may just be a local thing. I wonder….