Stop messing with Mother Nature !!!

I'm convinced. Mother Nature is a vengeful old biddy and someone has really been getting her goat lately! We're beyond soggy, maybe even well past saturated. I've been practicing tredding water and keep reminding myself to float on my back when I get tired.

We live about a mile from the river but I'm considering hanging life jackets on the hooks by the door - just so they're handy.

My neighbor keeps two boats on trailers in his driveway. Last night, I saw him tie a bowline over the tree limb just in case they start floating. One can never be too careful.

One of our nieces took this pic on her
street. No, that isn't a river!

Another neighbor has planned a stag party at his house tomorrow - eight guys fishing from his back deck. (No, he doesn't normally live on the waterfront.)

Our niece took this pic of the walking path near their house.

There's a rumor that the Steelers are arriving in Baltimore by cruise ship for the big game against the Ravens on Sunday. It will be docked at the West Entrance to M&T Stadium. (I've also been told those purple seats can also be used as flotation devices.)

The Ravens' practice field in Owings Mills, MD!!!!

The Ravens have been busy getting ready for that game, too. They've had to alter practice a bit though. Now when Coach Harbaugh says "Give me 10 laps," they ask "Breast Stroke or Doggie Paddle?"

Our plans for the weekend ? It's a toss up between bailing water (a new local trend), mud wrestling, or, if it's warm, just laying on a raft and floating around the back yard.

What a busy and HOT weekend!!

We started out on Saturday with an afternoon at our local winery with The Big Guy's brother and sister-in-law and a few hundred of our "closest friends." There was a Jimmy Buffett tribute band playing, great food available, a cool breeze under the trees (Okay, a breeze moving WARM air but it was MOVING.) and, oh yeah, WINE!!!!


It was a good day for the first "UNOFFICIAL" day of summer!

I was up early on Sunday as we really did still have to make a choice between parties but, in either case, I needed to whip up a dessert to take with. We ended up heading to Harrisburg, PA for the Treasurer's Picnic, an annual party held by the Blues Society of PA. It's a bout a 2 hour drive for us, each, way, but well worth the trip. Let me tell you, these folks can PARTY !!!

They put on a huge spread of food that lasts all day from about noon to 7:30 p.m. They start with appetizers and nibbles for an hour or so and then put out a huge buffet. The grill and smoker goes all day and there are tons of salads and sides. Everybody who comes brings a dessert. They have loads of water, sodas and even a self-serve beer truck!


. . . And there's LOTS of great LIVE music!!! We had 7 full bands, each playing a 45 min to an hour long set and then 6 acoustic acts who did about 1/2 hour sets in between the bands. ALL were of the highest quality and totally enjoyable. One of the high points this time came with The Don Johnson Project. this is a great party/dance band and they really get everybody moving. This time, they had a real musical phenom with them. A young guy named A.J. who plays a mean guitar and he's only about 11 or 12 years old!!! (He's the guy in the red shirt, way to the right in the picture.) Look out, Eric Clapton!!

This is a great bunch of folks who really know how to have a great time! Unfortunately, since it is a long trip for us, we usually only get to about 4 or 5 events they do each year. Most happen in and around Harrisburg or Allentown. (Yes, we DO have a local blues society and we belong to that, too. They just aren't as much fun!)

I felt bad because we had to choose between parties. The other was just down the road from our house but we do see most of those folks every week or so. Still, we hated to miss that get-together. We just couldn't do both.

Yesterday, we only had to trek right next door but it was an all-day event. Again, great food, fantastic company and good day was had by all!!

I was pleased to find my little sailor style onesie also made it into, not one, but TWO, different Etsy treasuries over the weekend!! Katie at ktimages did it first, on Saturday, in a treasury showing how we wear our Red, White and Blue and, then, Tracy of Lucky 1724 featured it in her Stars and Stripes treasury yesterday. Be sure to check these out as Red, White and blue is still in style and we'll all be looking to show our patriotism again on July 4th!!

I think it's the backside on this one that garners most of the attention!

Last of the BBQs

Okay, so maybe that "getting back to my regular routine" didn't quite go as quickly as I'd hoped. I've had to recite my "flexibility" mantra a lot these last two weeks!
Things have leveled off a bit and Saturday was somewhat "normal" for us. We judged a BBQ competition and had an opportunity to see some friends that we won't catch up with until Spring and the start of the 2011 competitions. Today, we simply stayed in and watched the Ravens' game. (I concede. Staying "in" on a Sunday is NOT normal in our household!) The Big Guy will go back to work tomorrow as scheduled and, hopefully, things will be a bit calmer this week.

Saturday's judging was the last of the year for us. We'll just have to savor the memories, smells and tastes for a few months. The new season will begin in April which sounds like a really long time away. So much can happen in between.
This last event for awhile was, thankfully, a great one. The Mt. Airy Smoke'n BBQ (in Mt. Airy, MD) was a fantastic KCBS competition combined with a terrific community Fall festival that included music, entertainment, a car show, spaghetti and wing eating contests and even a yo-yo demonstration and lessons by a representative of the Duncan Yo-Yo Company! This was the first spaghetti eating competition I ever witnessed. they could use their hands but no utensils. I only thought spaghetti could be messy before this!

The weather was ideal (I even got a little sunburn! Last of the year I guess.) and a good time was had by all.

The Ravens topped our weekend off with a strong win over the Denver Broncos.

All in all, we had a good weekend!!

O.K.,, I can't always pick 'em!!

Another busy weekend! (So, what else is new?)

Lately, we've been making a big night of it on Fridays. This is unusual for us. Normally, we're settled in the house by about 8 p.m. on Friday evenings. I think I like this new wild lifestyle!!

So, after that late night on Friday, Saturday dawned a gorgeous day. The temps had moderated back into the mid 80s (We came close to 100 degrees on Friday!) and the humidity was low (a rarity around here). The sun was shining and there was just the slightest breeze blowing. It was just too beautiful to stay home all day. Of course, we both had a bit of trouble waking up and getting moving in the morning!! (That'll teach us to "trip the light fantastic" on Friday night!)

After a bit of discussion, we decided to head to Spring Grove, PA for a day of music at the first annual Roosterpalooza. The event was a fund raiser for breast cancer awareness and was headlined by two bands we were familiar with - Tom Larsen, known for his hard rocking blues, and Kashmir, a Led Zepplin tribute band. We were not familiar with any of the other groups listed on the flier. Altogether there were 18 or 19 bands involved.

The band that was playing when we arrived was Headshot and did some great covers of some good solid rock. They sounded good and we were quite pleased.

The park was a fantastic venue with a nice pavilion with a solid concrete stage and wiring which made set-up easy for the bands. There were plenty of picnic tables, both in the pavilion and spread around the lawns which were well shaded by some humongous oak trees.



The bands changed every hour. We had missed the first two completely as we did get a slow start. The next band came on and was the epitome of an 80's hair band. They call themselves Grind (not THE Grind, but they did pattern themselves after them.) While not our choice in music, they performed it well with lots of loud screaming and a truly choreographed stage performance. They were extremely high energy and made quite a few leaps from the stage. They then proceeded to traipse around the table tops between our food and drinks.




The lead singer liked pouring a bottle of water over his head and then flopping his hair at folks as he trotted among the crowd. (This I could have done without. We had several things on our table we'd have preferred to keep dry.)

Well, my tolerance for this sort of performance runs to an hour or two (at most). The Big Guy can appreciate it for about four songs or so. We were glad to see their time run out.

Or so we thought.

Turns out the next four bands were all trying to be wild hair bands from the 80s. Most did their thing fairly well but screamed lyrics quickly became screeched lyrics. We moved a little further from the stage area. We eventually discovered the acoustic stage and did enjoy some of the music there for a while.

Turns out the bands we actually knew and wanted to see, were the last two to play. We had a long trip home and ended up leaving before Tom took the stage at all.

On the up side, it was a beautiful day with fantastic scenery. We met and chatted with quite a few really nice folks. The food vendors were excellent and very reasonably priced. While we found out coolers were allowed into the event, we never bothered walking back to the car to get ours. Beverages were cheap enough. There were REAL bathrooms, well stocked with paper goods and soap and with running water (always a plus in my book!)


There were a few crafters present but I don't think any sold very much. I know one sold absolutely nothing. She had a variety of items for sale, ranging from fabric dolls and animals with colorful yarn hair, potholders, aprons and fabric purses as well as quite a bit of crocheted merchandise.I felt bad for her as her work was great and reasonably priced but it just wasn't that kind of crowd. She did close early and packed it in.

I did see a jeweler sell a number of inexpensive earrings and pendants. I was not close enough to the others to see how their sales were going but I did not see folks carrying any of the merchandise around. The tattoo artist (real tats, not airbrushed) and body piercing stand did do fairly well.

Oh well, I can't pick a winning experience EVERY time out!! (No offense to you readers who do enjoy this style of music, please. It just wasn't our style. My age must be showing.)

I figured I'd have trouble selling The Big Guy on another "new event" today, so we simply went to breakfast and then came home to watch the football game. At least the Ravens won!

Hope y'all had a good one.

A fairly quiet and laid back weekend -

So, like so many weekends, it didn't go exactly as planned.

Friday fizzled a bit when we went to a local annual festival where we've always enjoyed the food and music. The food wasn't quite as good as in past years and the first of two bands definitely fell into the "not ready for prime time" category. For the first time in 12 to 15 years, we actually left because we weren't happy with the music. We were not familiar with the second band for the night but we just couldn't sit through another hour or so of that first one to find out about them. We came home, ordered up a movie On Demand and settled in for the evening.

By the way, I highly recommend "Inglorious Bastards" to all who may not have seen it yet. I can fully understand why it got nominated for so many awards.

We had a full day planned for Saturday but I got up and turned on the memorial service for Flight 93 up in Somerset County. Just as we could not peel ourselves away from the news coverage for days back in 2001, I could not bring myself to turn this one off either. I was impressed and moved by the comments of Pennsylvania's Governor Rendell, Laura Bush and Michelle Obama. All spoke from the heart and I was, in fact, moved to tears once again. I then watched the replay of President Obama's speech at the Pentagon. To be honest, it did not compare. I chose not to watch any of the New York coverage.
Quite a few hours later than our original plan, we returned to the park for more of the festival. (We knew the bands scheduled for Saturday.) We made it in time for another 9-11 ceremony by the local American Legion and a touching dedication of a new American flag for the park. A local family chose to donate the flag from their father's military funeral to the cause. It was raised with much pomp and circumstance and then lowered to half mast to honor those lost on 9-11.We stayed for a bit of music following these events and then moved on to a friend's home nearby for a short visit, refreshments and some great conversation. We then moved on to another rendezvous with yet some other friends for the evening and didn't make it home till the wee hours.

Sunday dawned rainy and gray. The light rains continued throughout the day. Again, we made adjustments to our plans. Instead of outside activities, we went to breakfast and then spent the day watching football. It was just prep for our team's game on Monday night football this week.

Hope y'all had a more exciting weekend than I did.

Yard work, family reunions and the blues!

Well, it was another busy weekend. (Aren’t they all?) It seems we’re running out of time and we need to rush to squeeze it all in. Before what? I’m not sure. Maybe we just hate to lose the longer days of summer although a little cooler temps might be welcome.


The Big Guy was plum worn out!

We followed Friday’s concert with a bit of car, yard and home maintenance on Saturday during the day. Yep, we’re prepping for another trip, gang. The yard and housework were routine and those that stay behind will need to keep that up anyway, while we’re gone. The car bit was definitely a form of vacation prep.

Starting with a fairly early dinner at a nearby restaurant, we met up with about 40 or so of my husband’s cousins and their offspring for a casual family reunion in the evening. The restaurant is a microbrewery. We hadn’t been in for a while (It used to be a regular haunt for us.) and the Brew Master made a point of coming over and spending some time chatting and catching up with The Big Guy and I since he hadn’t seen us in so long. So I guess it was also an “old friend” reunion for us, too. Once we had all milked dinner for all it was worth and felt the restaurant really wanted their space back, we migrated to one of the cousins’ homes nearby and spent another few hours just “catching up” with everyone.

My only regret is I never remembered to pull my camera out - not even when we were passing a bunch of photos around for all to see!! You would have thought those pictures from the last reunion would have triggered the thought, but, no, they didn’t. I’m not sure anyone took pics this time. We were all too busy talking!!

If your family doesn’t hold big formal reunions, I highly recommend this approach if there are still a number of you in the area. Just book space at a local restaurant and invite everyone to join you. Make it clear they are financially responsible for their own food and beverages. We purposely pick a place that offers everything form sandwiches right up to fancy formal dinners and the orders throughout the crowd reflected that variety.

After such a late night, we were still up bright and early on Sunday so we could get on the road for a trek to the Lehigh Valley in Pennsylvania for a little blues festival in the tiny borough of Fleetwood. For a small little town, these folks throw a terrific event to benefit the Recreation Council and, specifically, to maintain and improve the great city park (where they hold the event) and the pool there.

They charge no admission and ask only for a parking donation as you enter the park. The fire department provides great traffic and parking assistance throughout the day. The Rec Council runs a food stand for additional money making and they hold guitar raffles throughout the day.

This year there were 8 instruments raffled off in addition to a grand prize raffle at the end of the day. Where else can you take a chance on a Les Paul guitar for only $1 and have a chance of 1 in 300 or so of winning? (Um, we didn’t, incidentally, win anything. But we did try.) Last year, they raised $8,000 for the Rec Council at this little event.

They feature 7 or 8 bands each year and every one is excellent. We can never stay until the end (the last band takes the stage at 7 p.m.) as we have quite a long journey to get home and The Big Guy does get up early on Monday for work. By the time we left this year, the crowd had swelled to about 1500 folks.

One word of caution should you attempt to attend this one in the future. When planning your trip, Mapquest nor your GPS will make time allowances for you ending up behind Amish buggies on little one lane windy roads that don’t allow much room to pass. Be sure to allow LOTS of extra travel time!!

You will, however, travel through some beautiful countryside to get there. Despite all it’s bad qualities, a field of healthy tobacco plants is a beautiful thing to behold. At one time, you saw such fields throughout Maryland but there are only a few tobacco farmers (almost exclusively Amish farmers) left growing the product here anymore. You can find a few fields in Cecil County (MD) and just across the Pennsylvania line (the ones we passed this week) and a few in Southern Maryland in St. Mary’s and Calvert Counties. Unfortunately, I was driving and couldn’t photograph the countryside at the same time. You’ll have to drive through and see it for yourself.

*** Pictured bands:
Blues Factor
Blues City Blues Band
Friars Point
James Supra Blues Band

Perfect Night for a Concert by the Sea

Today was absolutely beautiful!!! The temps moderated to a normal range of the mid 80s and the humidity was reasonable. The sun was shining and there was just the slightest breeze. We knew the concert in the Park would be great as we're quite familiar with the band, Big Cam & the Lifters.I knew it would be a great day. Our saucer magnolia tree that normally blooms once in the early Spring is blooming again!!! Most years the blossoms burst forth over the course of two, maybe three, days in April, only to be hit by wind or cold rain or just very cold temps the next day or two and we only get 3 days to a week of beauty out of it. Thank goodness it is a pretty green tree for most of the year. Every year, we find two to three stray blooms from time to time in the off-season but nothing very interesting.
This year, the tree was gorgeous for about a whole week in April. (I think I posted a few pics back then.) Cold days appeared and the blossoms died off as usual. Well, lo and behold, after weeks of triple digit temps and very dry conditions, it is suddenly in bloom again. At least a third of the tree is in full bloom and there are still dozens of buds ready to open! This is so unusual that we've had neighbors calling to ask what we did to get it to bloom again!! (Absolutely nothing!)

So after an afternoon of enjoying my tree and my yard (It was actually comfortable to sit outside.), we headed off to the park by the marina for the concert. We always make a picnic of it so we go a little early. We were shocked at the crowd already gathered when we got there. It was the largest audience this year. I believe there had to be at least 1000 folks there!!
We always sit with the same people - a couple we've known for over 30 years. The Big Guy and I were both friends with these great folks since before we were a couple. Luckily, they had gotten there a little earlier and staked out our front and center location.
The band was fantastic, as usual and they really got the crowd on their feet. Couples of all ages took the floor (er, "the grass"). The view of the river and bay (they merge at this point) was beautiful tonight and there were plenty of sailboats floating by. What a night ! this is what summer is all about in these parts!

Where did the weekend go?

Another busy weekend has simply whizzed by as we quickly approach the end of July and what I consider the "downside" of summer.
Although the sweltering record temperatures of this summer of 2010 have been a bit much, summer remains my favorite season. It depresses me to think it's speeding by so quickly. So, I desperately try to squeeze more into each day - to get "it all" done. All those things that are summer to me - outdoor music and festivals, walks on the boardwalk, enjoying the smells and sounds of the beach, corn on the cob, fresh tomatoes,just sitting along the shoreline enjoying the long days and evenings, and so much more.
We did our best to do it all this weekend. Friday evening found us at the park above the marina listening to a band we've been trying to catch up with for over two years, Bottle of Blues. Believe me, they did not disappoint us!! The heat was stifling in our front yard as we left for the concert but in the park along the river only a few miles away, a gentle breeze blew and we were actually comfortable. What a beautiful evening!!! As the full moon rose and reflected on the water, it was absolutely mesmerizing.
The same band was also playing at another outdoor event on Saturday and we had planned to see them again for a longer show but the morning dawned with miserable, sickening heat and humidity. The heat index reached 110 in the afternoon. It did not seem healthy to be out in it if given a choice. We didn't venture out until late evening when we met friends for dinner at a restaurant in the local casino. It turned into a very late night for us. The temp had actually cooled to a very sticky 86 by 2:30 a.m. It is extremely rare for us to be out that late these days!!

Obviously, we didn't get a very early start on Sunday. Instead of going out for our usual weekend breakfast outing, we did lunch. (It actually turned out to be an early dinner as we never did eat another meal that day.) We had planned to catch some outdoor music again in the afternoon but by the time we finished eating, it was actually too late to go! Instead we made a grocery run and stopped at a local farm for produce which pretty much shot the rest of the day. The Big Guy's regular crowd shuffled in for their weekly pinochle game soon thereafter.

Suddenly, the weekend was over!!!

Hope you had a good one.

The Lost, Found & Dearly Departed

Another busy day!! We attended the 8th Annual Lost, Found and Dearly Departed Reunion Picnic in Harrisburg, PA. This event began 8 years ago when Rick returned to his hometown from Pittsburgh and attempted to reconnect with old friends and family. Some were already gone, some were simply lost and some, he was able to locate. In an effort to keep the friendships going and to honor those no longer with us, he called his friends and family together at a picnic. They began to bring their friends and so on and so on.

A couple years ago, the Blues Society of Central Pennsylvania got involved and started hauling in some fantastic musical entertainment. Rick and the BSCP opened the event to the public. An admission fee is charged and covers not just the great music (7 or 8 bands from noon til 10 p.m.) but also all-you-can-eat fried chicken, fried catfish, hand-cut fries, salads and much more. As with all family picnics, everybody brings something for the buffet table - often a dessert. Salads and sides are also welcome. There's almost always a birthday cake or two floating around. This is a BYOB event.

Mikey, Jr. (from Philadelphia)carried his mike and harmonica out

into the crowd, even serenading one of the youngest attendees!

They don't run out of food and everybody gets along. You're greeted with hugs. They take pictures of everybody that attends and post them on large picture boards. You can take a gander and see how you change from year to year. There are separate boards for the lost and departed. You're welcome to bring pictures of your own lost folks. This year the bands ranged form local groups to those from Philly, Norfolk, Pittsburgh and even Chicago. The mountain rocked!!

The Altar Boys from Steelton, PA got the day started with music

for everybody and all ages, playing some polkas, a little zydeco,
sliding into some country, a little blues and some driving rock.
They even threw in some golden oldies and even a little folk.

A good time was had by all!!

I'm back! (I think.)

I really didn't go anywhere I just didn't seem to be here, posting. What can I say? It was just a very busy and hectic couple of days around here. Like most weekends, we packed as much as we could into those couple of days.

Our Friday night plans became a wash out but "candle power" does not a computer run. Friday Concerts in the Parks were supposed to start but Mother Nature had a different view of that plan. We were on our way to the park when the rains came. Reversing directions, we found the storm had knocked power out at home so any computer contact was a no-go for the entire evening. The rains did not, however, break the heat or humidity. Temps hovered at 80 degrees through the night and the humidity hung in there at about 90%. It was sticky! (Typical Maryland summer weather.) Saturday dawned clear, hot and sticky. We judged the Beltway BBQ Showdown in Upper Marlboro, Maryland and stayed to enjoy some fantastic blues music performed by a group known as Memphis Gold. They played some heavy duty blues mixed with a little jazz, soul and they really got folks up out of their seats with a resounding performance of When the Saints Go Marching In. I thought I was in New Orleans, again! I was ready to go dancing in the streets behind those horn players!The organizers wisely moved this event form the shadeless Equestrian Center to a fantastic green regional park in the area. Believe me, those big shade trees were very welcome on this hot, sticky day. After judging ended, we settled in under a big tree to just enjoy the entertainment and people watch. (The latter was really interesting!) Some menacing dark clouds began to circle late in the day but didn't hurt the crowd. There were still folks arriving as we left, shortly before the entertainment ended. What can I say? Good BBQ draws a crowd!! What we had there, was some of the best.

We headed Northwest on Sunday to catch the last day of the Western Maryland Blues Festival in Hagerstown.

The Hard Swimmin' Fish

This festival opens on Thursday evening with a free concert in the plaza in the downtown business district featuring a popular local band.

A paid event on Friday evening (again downtown) features four better known regional groups and truly gets the party started. Saturday's paid event is also in the downtown business district and offers eight national, regional and a few local groups, a huge selection of food and beer vendors, and more, from noon until 10 p.m. At that point, a lot of the crowd simply disperses to the many local venues who also feature blues music throughout the weekend.

Flat-Foot Sam & The Educated Fools

Sunday is billed as the Family Blues Picnic and takes place in the beautiful City Park (also in downtown Hagerstown) where they encourage folks to bring their chairs, blankets, picnic baskets and kids. Again, national, regional and local performers are featured. (This year there were 5 acts on for Sunday.) They also offer free children's music workshops and activities. Adult music workshops are usually also offered in the Museum of Fine Art which is on this property and is open on that day. Food vendors in the park offer some unique "festival" foods not always found at such events.

We particularly enjoyed the music of The Hard Swimmin' Fish and Flat Foot Sam and the Educated Fools on Sunday. Both have a hard-driving approach to the blues that appeals to our inner rock fan. I must say, the Fish have the only stand-up bass I've ever seen decorated with flames!
Although we only got there for Sunday this time, we usually go on Saturday, spend the night and make it a mini-vacation.

If you find yourselves in this end of the world, Hagerstown makes for a great week-end getaway. By day, there's shopping at both an outlet mall and loads of small unique shops in town, nearby history (Antietam is only a 20 minute drive), great restaurants and a lively club life at night featuring live entertainment most weekends. If that's not enough to keep you busy, the casino in Charlestown, West Virginia is less than 40 minutes away, too.

We needed to hurry home as we were expecting house guests for the night and The Big Guy also has a weekly Pinochle game at our house every Sunday night. We kept the activity rolling on Monday with a graduation ceremony which kept us out late again! Congratulations to the Class of 2010 at Kennard Dale High School and to ALL 2010 Grads!!

Boy, am I tired. I'm going to get some rest and get back to y'all soon!