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07/25/08 08:59 - 66ºF - ID#45133

chautauqua county fair

it's sort of unfair of me to go straight to the fair w/o representing some of the other awesome things about this county. i always mean to take photos when we're out on drives, but haven't gotten to it yet. the verdancy is astounding out here. there are so many really high peaks on crazy twisty country roads, that offer this amazing view of the lake. everywhere farms, everywhere grapes, everywhere the most amazing wildflowers on the side of the road. we live in a town, what with the college it's pretty OK, but more and more i am finding myself longing to really live out there in the middle of nowhere, with a few animals and a few kids (mine, not goats'), and a huge vegetable and flower patch. for now, we're close to ideal.
enough said.


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in the cow barn, a bunch of rear ends face you. it makes sense since the cows would probably get agitated with all the activity were it face-to-face. but still. ha ha.


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these were really the creme de la creme of cows (sorry, puns)-- but they *were* beautiful. (ignore fresh patty in photo)---clean and shiny, smooth lovely udders, expression on the faces. i kept forcing myself NOT to think of hamburgers.


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naturally.


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this kind of event is SUPER fun again, with kids. can't wait till ramona's old enough.


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but i think she had fun people watching.

there were also sheep, which i still want to raise someday, and goats, which were surprisingly cute, and really pretty chickens. (my photos are too big!) i only got a little depressed looking at the rabbit hutches, but i chased away the blues by telling myself rabbits *always* look that way. boots n stew, is all i'd want a rabbit around for.
it was a lovely fair, not crowded, sufficiently redneck-y entertainment (child elvis, jumping dirtbikers, smash em up derby). lots of fun.
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Permalink: chautauqua_county_fair.html
Words: 325
Location: Buffalo, NY


07/20/08 11:12 - 74ºF - ID#45080

crazy ass bachelorette party

some of you may remember the roaring 20s evening of mine, which will forever live in my (ok, *spotty*) memory as one of the most fabulous nights of my life (i do not know who has the photo of all of us on the stairs of some allentown mansion (maybe *the* mansion?), but if you have it can you send it to me? ty)
in any case, i just had to plan something equally 'holy moly' for my sister-in-law. she's coo coo about spiderman, so there you go. i secretly hired an actor on craigslist, Guy, ironically. I rented a super corny spiderman costume. Then Guy surprised the bride to be out at Root 5:

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"oh no you dittint!!!"

oh man. it was priceless. people at the bar loved it too. one woman thought the two of them had tied the knot that night. imagine! people have done weirder things for their wedding, tho.

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we headed back down the lakeshore in our amazing limo, and all sorts of shenanigans ensued that i probably shouldn't talk about. suffice to say, my MOTHER IN LAW won the naughty girl prize of the evening (and she ain't like that), we all literally rolled on the floor of the limo laughing, and the bride cried a fair amount. i know, babe. it's tough being a bride to be.

but you'll always have spiderman......
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because i can't let well enough alone, i am contemplating sending some of these photos to stan lee with a short explanation of her fascination.... think he'd send back an autograph?
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Permalink: crazy_ass_bachelorette_party.html
Words: 262
Location: Buffalo, NY


07/17/08 08:10 - 80ºF - ID#45057

resolutions and hopes for 30

after a perfect day, here's how the next decade is going to go:

1. i'm gon OWN mahself.... no more questions, doubting, fussing or fretting over what whoEVER thinks of me-- that's so 'the 20s'

2. curb the 'i want' and just be content with what i got. lovin. is what i got. (i said remember that).

3. lose the petty jealousies, the senseless whining, the righteous comparisons, the unwavering convictions. live and let live.

easier written than done, i think......but 10 years is a long time. at 40, will i be saying, "this decade is gonna be awesome"? hell yeah, i hope so! one ride!
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Permalink: resolutions_and_hopes_for_30.html
Words: 102
Location: Buffalo, NY


07/05/08 08:20 - 77ºF - ID#44873

hot dog! chard....

i am taking a cue from my good friend dayner and making a garden post. considering i purchased many herb seeds i was too lazy to scatter, i might as well blog the 1 edible that made it into the ground.


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swiss chard.

i mostly put this in for decoration. i'd rather a tomato than a green leafy any day of the week. it's supposed to get these orange, yellow and red thick stalks, but is kinda tiny right now.

because i'm sort of an idiot, i just threw the seeds down in kind of a row, and so i had to thin out the weaklings the other day. it was hard deciding who lived and who didn't. eh. godlike, i suppose. since it is uber trendy to eat baby veggies, i made a salad out of the pickins. but only cause it's trendy, ha ha. mmm-mm. only slightly bitter and a little on the foamy side, know what i mean? like when you eat fresh baby spinach it's kinda foamy textured. i dunno.

in any case, it always amazes me when something that was a seed becomes a plant. it's like, holy shit. if i was a farmer i'd be in constant awe, stupefied by the rows upon rows of whatever was there because * I* put it there.
talk about godlike, sheesh.....
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Permalink: hot_dog_chard_.html
Words: 223
Location: Buffalo, NY


06/26/08 09:31 - 69ºF - ID#44788

POOP IN THE POTTY!!!!



after months, literally, with a significant break in between, there is finally. poop. in the. potty. cue triumphant trumpeting. i didn't think it would ever happen. we begged, pleaded, promised treats, TV time, games, prodded, threatened, bullied, harried, encouraged, jumped up and down, and basically acted like every other fool idiot parent throughout time that has tried to get the kid to do this. IT SUCKED. i am more excited about this than any other milestone, probably because this is the only one *I* actually had to do so much work for.

i love the buggers, but for 2.5 years our lives and household have been FULL of shitty diapers...... at least now we can be half full. there is still a way to go, but the wheels are turning.
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Permalink: POOP_IN_THE_POTTY_.html
Words: 129
Location: Buffalo, NY


06/21/08 08:23 - 74ºF - ID#44743

a lame request for music help

i am dry on the music frontier lately. if you told me a few things you like to read, and wanted some direction to some interesting lit, no problem there. but new music sort of eludes me. there's so much of it, and words about it don't do the trick.... like anything you just have to try it out i suppose.

anyway, nuff said, who's got something awesome to recommend/ or a website to go to? i like just about anything but country & techno. thanks, i appreciate any replies......
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Permalink: a_lame_request_for_music_help.html
Words: 90
Location: Buffalo, NY


06/18/08 02:17 - 59ºF - ID#44702

exhaustion vs trashiness

i am impatient and want my yard, the first i have ever "owned", to be fabulous. instead, there is a gaping hole where paul ripped out a scraggly bush, a rotted stump that has spooky crevices where some troll might live, and plastic kid toy junk all over it. at the end of the day, i am plumb tuckered, and so this mess remains.
i'd have no problem if this was the backyard, where things can hide. but we have only a small-ish side yard, and so everything is visible and out there, and i kinda feel like "that house".
then, at the same time, fuck it---only about 28,953 things go on in a day around here to worry about it so.....but it's harder to say that than it is to keep trying to pick up, for some reason......

i dunno, what is the american obsession with yards anyway? i heard this ridiculous pesticide radio ad that rhymed "lawns are for hugs, not bugs." oh yeah, how bout a nice healthy hug after rolling around on my SPRAYED lawn. better than a bug bite! .....dumbasses.

the yard, when "finished" will have little to no grass. any bug that wants to can make a home in the flowers--although i will admit ticks sort of freak me out. there will be a few brick pathways and a few sitting area/hidden alcove type things for the kids. if all goes well, my dear husband will have purchased for me the 10 foot granite rooster i've had my eye on, or some other fitting statue, to grace the gardens witb ridiculousness. it will be photo worthy......

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Permalink: exhaustion_vs_trashiness.html
Words: 272
Location: Buffalo, NY


05/28/08 10:25 - 51ºF - ID#44471

more bz

the sound when i open a hive up is so incredible. it's surprisingly soothing. a lot of people are creeped out when i tell them about it, but a lot think it's awesome too. it is awesome. these photos are blurry but the others have too big of a file size, and i'm too hassled to try to figure out compression and all that jazz. in any case.....things are going swimmingly. not only will i have honey next year, but the fruit trees around the area should produce much better in the next year or 2.


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between 2 frames


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nice comb


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queen josephine right in the middle there
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Permalink: more_bz.html
Words: 110
Location: Buffalo, NY


05/16/08 08:43 - 51ºF - ID#44358

god save the queens


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holy shit! i guess i could call myself a beekeeper now. this is a crappy photo, i keep meaning to take more but as soon as i open the hives up, i forget all about it. i never had a hobby before, where you forget all about the outside world. well, except reading, but you know. so passive.

queens jolene and josephine are thriving and laying eggs just fine, i believe. it's so neat to find her, so different amongst thousands, but hardworking in her way as well. jolene is more aggressive and the workers bang against my veil trying to attack. josephine nicely chills out, though it might have something to do with the fact that i usually open it up second and by then my smoker is going a little stronger. eh. maybe, maybe not.

i stole my first taste of honey yesterday from some comb i had to rip off. oh. my. god.

all in all things are going fantastically, i couldn't be more pleased! if they continue this way, i might just get a few jars this year instead of the none i had been planning on.
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Permalink: god_save_the_queens.html
Words: 192
Location: Buffalo, NY


04/28/08 09:54 - 41ºF - ID#44175

bee momma

like any new mother, i am nervous and scared kinda shitless, for soon 18,000 odd stingly flying honeymakin insects will be my charges. also i am nervous because this DEMANDS that i not just dabble in a renaissancelike knowledge of things, like all "lah-tee-dah, that's cool to know, i could totally ace that jeopardy category," as i am wont to say to myself. if i want honey (uh, YES) and if i want the bees to thrive and go forth and multiply (yeah!), i probably should know what i'm doing a little. and i just....DON't. right now, anyway. books can only take you so far, and to be honest i've been damned lazy about the reading in any case.

i am hoping it IS sort of like parenting, and you quickly get the basic hang of it or just suffer. they will for the most part take care of themselves (i hope the queen kicks ass).... and for the most part i will learn this year and not get any honey for meself. some pro at the meetings said after 25+ years you still realize how much you don't know. so that's ok. that's good.

i'm just feeling sort of like "what the hell did i get myself into??" ---all based on some romantic view i had of dancing insects, flower juice, and hexagons. god.


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Permalink: bee_momma.html
Words: 224
Location: Buffalo, NY


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