City Arborist gives my neighbor’s pines the OK

I have been worrying about my backyard neighbor’s two enormous pines long enough and hard enough to post two stories about my state of fret. The last time we visited my world of fears, many of you kind friends suggested that I get up off the recliner and do something about it. I called the…

One more look at the Wine Tour that was

Two weeks ago my dear wife Karen and I hopped on a limo-bus hybrid for a group tour of five Cayuga Lake wineries and vineyards. I chronicled the adventure in words and photos here. I promised a couple more pictures. There you go. I also promised that I’d reveal which wines I liked best when…

A dinner fit for a bowling kingpin

Sometimes the meal is just right. After all that dissing I had to do about our awful first dinner at the Syracuse Cheesecake Factory last weekend, it’s only right that I point out how good dinner was last night at Spinning Wheel in North Syracuse. The occasion was our yearly bowling banquet, where all 60…

Throwback Thursday: After a round with Shaudy, Aggo and Twenty

Damn, I miss these guys. A month back, I laid out the timeline through my life of nicknames, and Aggo, Twenty and Shaudy all made major appearances. How could they not? I’ve known Mike Agostino since we both were in the eighth grade. And that would have been in 1970. He and I only went…

Awful lived between good bread and great cheesecake

The Cheesecake Factory adventure played out at last as we celebrated my wonderful daughter Elisabeth’s birthday this past weekend at the Syracuse mega shopping, dining and entertainment complex Destiny USA. We’d been waiting to experience this new franchise, the four of us, since our failed attempt to eat dinner there the Saturday of its opening…

For Suzie81’s happy challenge, I go to my dear wife Karen

I thought it was a most excellent idea when super British blogger Suzie81 Speaks declared she was starting her Weekly Word Challenge with this popular word of late. Happy. Easy one for me. My dear wife Karen makes me happy every day. She makes me happy when she points during the Knapp stop on our…

My wife loves that car

Walking to the exit at the Syracuse mega shopping, dining and entertainment complex Destiny USA, my dear wife Karen was drawn to the car in the corridor. It was not one of the shiny new models local dealers park here and there in these halls, the ones that leave me chuckling at the sticker price.…

May this big day in Boston make it to a safe and happy finish

All the plans and preparations will be tested in a couple of hours. It’s Boston Marathon day in Boston. Here’s what everybody wants to be able to say 12 hours from now: What a difference a year makes. Last year the traditional venture into the doggedness of the human spirit ended in that soul-shattering bomb…

You really socked it to me

Apparently I have a sock issue. Or so it seems after yesterday’s post titled “So Shoe Me.” I thought I was showing off my good taste in lace-less footwear. You thought I was showing off shocking white socks. So, one last footwear post. Honest. Said Jolene: ” … then I saw your white socks with…

Closed for Easter

After viewing “Heaven Is for Real” for my weekly film review for the Syracuse New Times site this afternoon, my dear wife Karen and I took a little walk around the Syracuse mega shopping, dining and entertainment complex Destiny USA. The entertainment and dining portions seemed to be business as usual. Eat-in restaurants were all…