Now that’s a side street

Yes, the first week at the new job was busy. And it went well, this new position as public information assistant at the Liverpool Public Library. Yes, I enjoyed learning my duties and meeting my new colleagues. My work hours of 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. went over well, too. With the 35-hour work week,…

An artist in the family

A Mother’s Day present was delivered to my dear wife Karen this weekend, and the thoughtfulness and execution brought tears to my eyes. Darling daughter Elisabeth painted for her stepmother a scene of Sprague Lake, the lovely spot that we visited with significant George Three at Rocky Mountain National Park during Karen’s family reunion last…

Celebrating at Jimmy’s joint

It didn’t take my smart daughter Elisabeth long to pick the place for her post-graduation lunch celebration. Jimmy Buffett’s Margarittaville was the restaurant to follow the Saturday morning ceremony at Onondaga Community College. One, said Elisabeth, the Destiny USA location probably would not be overrun with graduates and family from the campus on the other…

OCC gets graduation ceremony right

Hail to the graduates of Onondaga Community College. Our graduate Elisabeth, in particular. But to all of them, really. The bustling college that serves the county that houses the city of Syracuse did it up right. Families and friends arrived with the graduates to file into the big SRC Arena on a gray and getting-chilly…

Sprucing up the backyard of the Little Bitty

With a few days off between leaving my job at the store and starting my position at the Liverpool Public Library, I decided to tackle two of the backyard projects that have been sitting on my spring list. Hover over any gallery photo for a description. Click on any image for an enlarged slide show.…

Timber Banks shows me I’m no Nicklaus

For our first great-course-with-a-coupon trip for this season, KP, Tater and I chose that challenging track that Jack Nicklaus drew up northwest of Syracuse. And as always, Timber Banks was as tough and challenging as it was fun and rewarding. Netti didn’t have one of the discount tickets we three snagged when we bought the…

The red and the white

When my dear wife Karen and I were shopping for the cherry tree to plant in front of our cherished Little Bitty in the Syracuse city neighborhood of Eastwood, we spied our share of pink blossoms and white blossoms. And we debated the merits of each. Having visited Washington, D.C., for our first Cherry Blossom…

My first time at Woodstock

My former colleague at the big daily Bill LaRue dug up a golden oldie from his files the other day and sent me into flurry of memories. That’s me, arms covered with muck, working hard on the old-fashioned laptop at Woodstock ’94 in Saugerties, N.Y. LaRue and I were the two reporters from the Syracuse…

Bearly hanging out

I’m really glad it wasn’t a real bear that Ellie B aka Dogamous Pyle and I stumbled across during yesterday’s leisurely walk around the blocks surrounding the Little Bitty in the Syracuse city neighborhood of Eastwood. Or perhaps this cute little front-yard decoration out for a May swing is situated in Lyncourt. The pretty house…