The Cracker Barrel at Gate 9 and Three Quarters

I vow never to use Mapquest again.

On our recent trip to P's wedding in Pittsburgh, we found out just how pathetic Mapquest directions are. In hindsight, I should have known better, as Mapquest had misled me in the past. Their strategy seems to get you CLOSE to a destination then leave you to figure the rest out on your own. Nevertheless, this time, I thought I was completely prepared. I had printed off at least a dozen maps showing us directions back and forth between any combination of points A and B that we could possibly need that weekend. "From Home to Hotel." "From Hotel To Home." "From Hotel to Church." "From Church to Rehearsal Dinner." "From Rehearsal Dinner to Hotel." "From Hotel to the Sharp Edge" (a restaurant we discovered last time we were in Pittsburgh. "From the Sharp Edge to Hotel" . . . you get the idea. Each one was meticulously labled, stapled, and placed in a nice, pressboard folder. Thanks to my obsessive compulsive planning ahead, we were all set.

It wasn't long before I realied I should have Googled.

Despite it's best efforts, Mapquest could not ruin the weekend. The wedding, as I have said, was absolutely lovely, and we also had a great time at the rehearsal and diner after. The inn where we stayed with the rest of the wedding party was beautiful and comfy! For a few moments in the car here and there, however, it was touch-and-go.

We got lost on the way to the hotel, thanks to the directions "Take the I-279 S ramp toward NORTH CANAL STREET" followed shortly by "Turn RIGHT onto CEDAR AVE." Ok. So you take the ramp and turn right. Right? Off a ramp? HUH? We "took" the ramp, alright, and as we were on it, I spotted a tiny one way road going toward the right. Not "turning" to the right, mind you, just sort of leaning to the right. I thought, "That can't possibly be it," and of course, it was too late to turn by then, anyway. Turns out that yes, that was it. That was what we determined after getting stuck getting on 279 then getting off one or two exits later, having to stop in a factory parking lot to look at the map, and finally finding our way to the hotel. S later figured out a much simpler route to the hotel. Thank goodness.

Then, on the way to the church for the rehearsal, we found this in the directions: "Make a U-TURN onto ONE WILD PL / THE HILL RD." A U-TURN. Are those legal Pennsylvania? Not that it matters, because in reality, it wasn't even a U-TURN. It was a "SOFT RIGHT" where the road continues without changing names. There is even a stop sign there. We figured it out, thanks to the directions enclosed with the wedding invitation.

The final straw came when we were attempting to go out for breakfast the morning of the wedding. I had three maps each leading us from the hotel to a different popular breakfast spot. I left it up to S where we would go, and he chose Cracker Barrel. It was supposed to be a 10 minute drive. So, we got in the car and headed out. First 8 minutes or so, we were fine, now-familiar patches of highway, exits we had seen before breezing by. Then the directions took us up a hill where there were many small houses and twisty roads (because locations like that are where Cracker Barrel usually chooses for their restaurants, right?). One road - which, of course, was one we needed- was closed by a bunch of chuckleheads having a street fair. We managed to get around that and continued along the street where the alleged Cracker Barrel was. The street ended. No Cracker Barrel. Just more houses and a different street going off in another direction. S said that the Cracker Barrel referred to by the Mapquest directions must have been a literal barrel in someone's backyard, full of crackers. My theory, however, is that it was actually like Gate 9 and Three Quarters, and you have to just clench your teeth and drive directly into a house or something, and you'll magically be transported to Cracker Barrel. Maybe that's where Harry Potter eats breakfast on the way to Hogwarts.

So . . . seeing as how I had to be back to start getting ready for the wedding in less than an hour, S dropped me back off at the hotel and wandered off on foot in what didn't seem to be the best neighborhood to get breakfast. I grabbed a muffin and some much-needed coffee and got ready to leave, all the while thinking how S was surely going to get mugged, or worse, and not only was I going to lose my dearest husband . . . but I was also going to be late for the wedding. All thanks to Mapquest and the Cracker Barrel at Gate 9 and Three Quarters.

S did make it back, incidentally, and all was well. But I've learned my lesson!

A Beautiful Bride

My friend P on her wedding day!

It's Been a Long Time

I have Blog Guilt.

I figure I better get on here and write something before I lose all my faithful readers.

July, as it turned out, was a pretty wild month. Fun, but wild! My dear friend P returned to Ohio for another whirlwind wedding-planning weekend. We shopped, we printed, we called. We got things done! We actually had time for dinner and a movie one night - and that was lovely. Then she packed up the wedding van and headed for Pittsburgh. The following week, for me, was manicures and pedicures and dress fittings. Then Steve and I packed up and headed for Pittsburgh, too. The wedding was beautiful, and P was radiant! I'd never been a bridesmaid before, and it was great fun!

I visited the Pittsburgh zoo last Monday. Took a lot of very cool pictures with my very cool camera.

As usual, none of the pictures are ready for me to put them online. So, stay tuned.

I don't know if August will turn out any calmer than July, but we're hoping. We're enjoying summer while it lasts. Our garden is now producing beautiful tomatoes and peppers. We had to put up a fence, but we're recently realized that it doesn't even slow down baby bunnies. They really love our bell pepper plants. We're not sure about the bigger bunnies. Funny, though, they leave the hot peppers alone!

Gone Digital

I've done it! A couple of weeks ago, I went out and bought a Nikon D70s, which is Nikon's mid-level (maybe low-mid-level) digital SLR!

I thank my parents and my husband for giving me birthday money early to help me make this purchase. I'm happy with my decision to go with the D70s, as higher-end cameras (the ones that do everything but make coffee and drive you to work) are quite a bit more expensive, and it would have taken several birthdays to make one of those possible! I can learn with this camera (and I have a lot to learn), plus it has more than enough features to make many a portrait customer very happy. All my old lenses work on the new camera, so it was really easy to narrow it down to Nikon. Plus, I simply don't speak Canon.

Slowly warming to digital photography, I have been using a little Nikon CoolPix point and shoot for the last year or so, really only sticking my toes in so far. But now I've jumped in, and I love it. I love the convenience of uploading photos to online printing services and getting prints in the mail. I love the fact that I can change settings as I shoot (and on the D70s there are SO many settings!). I'm really excited about being able to put photos online and let friends and customers order straight from the printers. Yes, I know some of you have been into all of this for a while now, but give me a break. I was very attached to my film camera and was waiting until digital could prove itself to me. Incidentally, I'm keeping my film cameras and might even use one once in a while. Though I haven't encountered one yet, I have heard that there are situations where digital just doesn't cut it. So, alas, until digital is perfect, my camera bag will probably still have at least one film camera in it.

I got to try out my new camera over the 4th of July weekend when Steve and I went to visit our friends C and J again near Cincinnati. In the photo above is a kestrel housed at The Raptor Center at Glen Helen Preserve, which is part of John Bryan State Park in Yellow Springs, Ohio. We also went to the Newport Aquarium, and I got some pictures there, which, honestly, turned out better than I had hoped! When I have time to put them on, more photos will follow.

Weekend Update #2

I'm still running about two weeks behind, but a couple of Fridays ago, I took the day off to spend it at Cedar Point with my family. It was great fun! The "biggest" ride I went on was the Raptor. I love that ride, but as it is, I have to work up to it. It was my last ride of the day.

My brother, however, is more or less fearless. See if you can spot him.

Some baby seagulls. Can you see them?

This is the Wicked Twister. I rode something similar at another park. I screamed the entire time, except for a couple seconds where I took another breath so I could scream some more. During that couple seconds, Steve thought I'd died.

And this is just where they start. Whiplash for everyone!

The newest ride: The Skyhawk. Um . . . no thanks.

I've always thought amusement parks were cool at night.

Weekend Update #1

Two weeks ago, Steve and I went to an Irish Festival.

We had no idea that Irish food could be so varied.

In case you don't know where cabbage and noodles come from . . .

And our favorite . . .

There was also a Mexican trailer and someplace sporting Texas-style cooking, whatever that is.

We didn't see any corned beef and cabbage.

Anywhere.

Incidentally, we didn't eat there. We went home and made Italian sausage sandwiches.

What Can I Say? I Just Don't Give a Darn!

My manager and the V.P. of our division are big Michigan football fans. This has created a schism in our department, as most others here are die-hard Ohio State fans, and everyone (on both sides) has decided that this is a way to get the V.P.’s attention one way or another and kiss some serious corporate butt (one pastime in which I refuse to participate). On one side of the room we have a gentleman with season tickets to Ohio State football who bleeds not only crimson, but grey. On the other side, we have my manager, who has a framed photo of the Michigan stadium in his office accompanied by a stuffed doll of Ohio State’s coach (complete with crimson tie) dangling from a noose. (What’s the coach’s name, anyway? Nevermind, I don’t care.)

Often (too often), I’m asked on which side of the fence I reside.

I absolutely hate football.

Well, let me qualify that. If it’s huddle in the stands at a high-school football game with a cup of hot cocoa while talking to your friends and watching everything but the game football, that can be fun. Also, on one or two fall Sundays each year I enjoy turn on the game with the volume low but not look at the T.V. at all because the sound somehow befits an Autumn Sunday football. And though I do it less these days, I’ve also participated in I turn on the SuperBowl so I can see the commercials, then I mute the rest including the insipid halftime show football.

But in general, I hate football.

So, what can I say to these people who want to know if I’m a Buckeye or a Wolverine?

1. I’d have to try really hard to care less about your football team.

2. Oh, that silly little rivalry!

3. You don’t read much, do you?

Or how about . . .

4. Do you think your precious little team would let you play on it? Why not? If you’re half as good at playing football as you are at rambling on about it, you’d be an asset. Maybe you should get up off your couch and actually toss a ball around once in a while.

5. How can I support organized college or professional sports when public libraries and schools all over this country are failing? You think one of these geniuses on the football team is smart enough to be President someday?

6. How can you watch that stuff? I bet you watch the draft, too. I can’t imagine anything more boring . . . and irritating – since I bet that for each professional recruit drafted you could find a public school teacher . . . or two . . . who will be laid off this season.

Or maybe . . .

7. What’s a Buckeye?

Having said all that, I must admit, every time Ohio State loses (no matter to whom), I have to smile just a little, because I know that . . . somewhere . . . a certain someone is literally writhing in agony.

Happy Birthday, Toby!

Toby just turned one year old!

That's certainly not a pizza

My latest crochet project currently resides in this California Pizza Kitchen bag. A couple nights ago, George decided that, due to the crinkly nature of the paper wrapped around the unused yarn, along with the extra crinkly nature of the plastic grocery bag tucked into the bottom, the CPK bag would be a nice place to take a nap.






He left the bag for some time, then returned to take yet another nap. Problem was, the sides of the bag had fallen in a bit. He struggled for a while (making me wish I was filming him), then the bag tipped ever so slowly over onto him. Steve and I laughed and laughed, which of course made George even more upset. If there is anything more important to a cat than napping, it's his dignity.

Ahh . . . memories . . .

The Evolution Of Dance