It takes a special cup to deliver my morning coffee

The break-up came while I was standing at the kitchen sink, hands submerged in hot, soapy water. It was totally unexpected. I could not believe what I heard. I’d thought our relationship was perfect these last few years. First thing every morning, she made me smile. She smelled fantastic. She felt great in my hands.…

A newly dug addition to our Syracuse front-yard garden will be ready to accept new occupants come spring

As our growing season here in Syracuse, N.Y., winds down for a long winter’s nap, my dear wife Karen and I have noticed what a really big year it’s been for the mid-yard garden in front of our house. In fact, It may have been too hardy of a second year for the forsythia. In…

Daylight hours are winding down again up here in the northern hemisphere. Sigh

I arrived early for a meeting in the waning moments of the afternoon yesterday, sat myself down on a bench outside the building and watched the world of Syracuse University scurry about the quad. It was a little after 5 p.m. The students were walking about in the sun. Out from classes. Out to dinner.…

Darn. I brought this hose all the way from the U.S. for nothing

Before too much time goes by since our return from the Baltimore-to-Bermuda-and-back trip, I have to slip in this photo I snapped at the old dock in Bermuda’s biggest city, Hamilton. It makes me wonder about the local customs. In the middle of the afternoon, the parking spots surrounding that building on the spot that…

From Baltimore to Bermuda and back on a beautiful big ship with buddies

My cruise logbook came full circle last week. The first time I stepped onto one of those gigantic ships, the destination was Bermuda. That was in 2006, when Karen — before she became my dear wife — convinced me that all would be well if I stuck one of those little white Dramamine patches behind…

How do you like this new look called Expound?

Old friends, I present to you a new look. The folks at WordPress have a bunch of designs available when you’re sharing posts with the world through their blog platform. Since the start of markbialczak.com in February, I’ve gone with a theme they call Wu Wei. I believe it served us well, you and I,…

A Parade of Homes that winds through the cul-de-sac of very big dreams

Every year at this time, they open the doors of a stretch of spanking new houses in Central New York and allow the world inside. Dreamers welcome. Big dreamers, especially. It’s called the Parade of Homes, and the only strict rule is that you must pull on the white, don’t-scuff-the-floor, disposable booties they hand everybody…

Remember radio commercial makers, we’re listening while driving the car

Two little beefs to note as we get ready to ring in this autumn-is-coming weekend in Syracuse. Nope, they have nothing to do with falling temperatures. This time around, at least. Welcome back, Grumpus. Today I’ve got to gripe about the stuff they put on the soundtrack of radio commercials. I’m driving in my car,…

It’s that special week when golf ends and bowling begins

It’s overlap week for me. It happens once a year, but only if the two schedules fall just right. Out with the golf league. In with the bowling league. Two days separate the end and the beginning. I’m glad that the days fall in a way that the finish comes before the start. When the…

We wind up our New York State Fair 2013, and I get to talk to the goats

I checked off the last of my boxes Sunday as my dear wife Karen and I walked our way around the New York State Fair. My first two 2013 excursions were concentrated around the music at Chevy Court, and the shows by Grace Potter and the Nocturnals and Vince Gill both lived up to my…