My colleague & co-conspirator Jill turned 30 on July 23. Our office manager Kelly, her husband Shane and I threw her a surprise party with about 60 guests on the Island, our community park, right next to where we're building the skatepark. We had a green & brown eco-friendly theme - potato starch utensils, cornstarch cups and natural fiber plates were compostable, the tablecloths were reusable twin bedsheets, rice paper (biodegradable) lanterns. (Mostly from Greenpartygoods.com ) She was tickled by the theme and totally surprised by the party. Kelly, Shane and 15 other people had taken her to Red Lobster on her birthday so she was really not expecting anything else. Shane persuaded her to take a walk to the Island and as she crossed the footbridge and recognized people's trucks, she thought we were all having a party without her. :-)

Jill & Shane walking up to the party. Her brother Mikey is the far background, their son Liam is on the big wheel.


Emily, one of Kelly's triplets, with Nisha.


Nisha, Jill & Shane's daughter Mataya, Emily and Christopher, another of the triplets. The triplets and Mataya are six. They argued over who gets to hold Nisha and kept coming to me for refereeing


Shane's dad Bill, who can best be described as a rake and scoundrel.


We had two big picnic tables full of food and a big sheet cake, plus Shane grilled chicken and veggie kabobs, and grilled strawberries.


Cake & Christopher


Liz, wife of one of Bill's nephews. I just like the picture.


We couldn't light the beeswax candles because it was too windy but Jill & Liam pretended.


Jill was also surprised by the bamboo flooring for our new office - lots of folks contributed for her big gift. She has been begging all of us for the flooring. She told me yesterday that it's being put in today. Can't wait to see it!




Oddly, the pix don't really show how crowded it was. I was completely overwhelmed by the crowed and ended up skipping the library's garden party the next day.

My skatepark project is coming along! I wish I could go to the demo event...


BLOSSBURG V.I.B.E. WELCOMES SKATEPARK DEMO TO ISLAND PARK

BLOSSBURG -- Blossburg V.I.B.E. will host the American Ramp Company 2009 skate park demonstration team at the newly resurfaced basketball court at Island Park in Blossburg on Tuesday, Aug. 11, 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.

American Ramp Company will bring ramps that represent the three most popular build options and allow local skaters to test ride the equipment for the new Vibe Park skateboarding area, which is on schedule for opening in October. Skateboarders, inline skaters, and BMX riders can participate in the demonstration.

In addition to the skating exhibition, there will be music, contests and giveaways. T-shirts with the Vibe Park logo will also be available for purchase.

Blossburg V.I.B.E. members Jill Nickerson and Heidi Jones have been working on building a skateboarding and in-line skating area at Island Park for several years. They helped the Borough of Blossburg successfully apply for a Small Communities grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources that will provide approximately two-thirds of the $60,000 estimated cost of the project.

"I'm very excited to see our local skaters test the equipment we're evaluating for the park," Nickerson said. "Heidi and I really appreciate the support we've received from borough council and the recreation board to implement this project. We think the skate park will really benefit the community by giving the skaters a safer place to practice their skills."

Participants under 18 must have legal guardian sign a waiver. All participants must wear helmets to receive a wristband to ride. The demonstration is free of charge.

Blossburg V.I.B.E. (Visions in Business & Entertainment) is a nonprofit organization created in 2004 to envision, plan and implement projects that will enhance the quality of life for those who live, work, play or attend school in Blossburg. Tax-deductible donations to meet the community match portion of the state grant can be mailed to Blossburg V.I.B.E., PO Box 126, Blossburg, PA 16912.

My meetup group had a kayak tour of Buffalo River this morning . I've never kayaked before - I come from a land of mountains, shallow streams, creeks and ponds and have little water experience beyond those and pools. The sum of my boating experiences is less than ten, including the canoe in the pool for a lifeguarding class. I didn't know that I'd get nauseous.

It was interesting though, seeing the grain elevators - i had no idea there were so many - the metrorail house, the underside of the bridges. Tour guide Justin took pictures so maybe I'll have some to post soon.

Infringement Festival events at Albright-Knox tonight. I'm meeting some folks from my queer women's meetup there at 7 at the info desk, y'all are welcome to join me/us. Free, parking is $3.

(at the bottom)

8 pm
Performance: Infringement Festival
American tribal style bellydance with Euphraxa, Middle Eastern style bellydance with Nadia Ibrahim, and Erin Bahn. Now in its fifth year, the Buffalo Infringement Festival is an uncurated, eleven-day showcase of theater performances, performance artists, dancers, musicians, media-makers, and visual artists from throughout Western New York, Canada, and the rest of the world. Highlighting work that is eclectic, independent, experimental, and often politically charged, the festival unfolds from July 23 through August 2 in venues all over town, but this special event offers you a change to experience a broad sample of "art under the radar" under one roof.

An athletic goods store and a tobacco store in Mansfield, PA, are owned by the same people. (Hypocrisy? Irony? What is the right word for this?)

Little Pine Creek in English Center


Mountains


Pine Creek - dog waiting for person to throw stick



Since it's hard to see the dog, I cropped it...



The grey bridge was built in 1880. The county commissioners are listed.


South view from the grey bridge

The most amusing sight on my way home last week was this pair of signs - First you see "Will the road you're on get you to my place?" and you next see "Adult Outlet". It's much harder to see the little "GOD" signature, implying that Adult Outlet is not the intended destination.

I think the truck owners object to having an adult video store nearby.



The next two are views from the Pennsylvania welcome center on US Rt 15 S, south of Tioga, Pa., overlooking the Tioga reservoir . The welcome center is also very beautiful. The site includes a map of the Tioga River watershed and which tributaries are most polluted and which are living streams. Tioga County Concerned Citizens Committee created the map. They've been working to remediate the Tioga watershed, educate about AMD, and prevent other environmental harms such as dumps in our area. Our current environmental concern is natural gas drilling and what impact that will have. Two centuries of natural resource extraction has left a lot of scars on Tioga County - logging, iron mining, coal mining - strip and shaft.





Backyard fireworks



After we stopped in Wellsboro for some lunch at The Native Bagel and a new pair of hiking boots at Wild Asaph Outfitters (thanks Liz & Katie), we headed down to English Center, Pa. (for whole route on gmaps: ) where you can go across the creaking old steel bridge



or cross through the river, Little Pine Creek. (We did both.)


This woman used alternate transportation.


Nisha likes adventures.


We almost ran out of gas - there aren't many gas stations along the route. We should have filled up in Wellsboro. We made it to Waterville (barely).


We took a little detour on Truman Run Road


where I took these shots and we ate blackberries. (Actually, they're probably black cap raspberries )





And we continued up Rt. 414 through Cammal, Slate Run, Cedar Run and Blackwell. The rail-trail runs along Pine Creek - 65 miles from Wellsboro Junction to Jersey Shore, Pa., along Pine Creek gorge/the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon. (WIKIPEDIA - Pine Creek Rail Trail)




Another bridge across Pine Creek near Hilborn - this one is considerably more solid.



Landrus Road between Arnot and Morris - one of our favorite no-maintenance roads. An acquaintance of mine is fascinated by the ghost town of Landrus, the site of the first electrified mining operation. Landrus only existed for about 22 years.



And then on the other end of the Landrus Road in Arnot, I found a sign with Landrus spelled wrong. I just posted it to FB, so hopefully some Arnot residents can tell me how it got misspelled...



Maybe next week we'll check out World's End State Park

Your video's continued Firefox crashing problem isn't saying much about the capabilities of your WinOS phone!!! <giggle>

Hello, (e:peeps)!

I'm looking for someone to do a logo or type treatment and lay out a flyer/brochure for my consulting work. I got a quote from - I really like their work but the quote was about 2x what I'm willing to spend on a part-time consulting thing that's only going to exist until I pass the bar in two years. As usual, I'm willing to trade QuickBooks consulting (install, set up, training, troubleshooting, payroll...).

Any suggestions?

My pictures from the Buffalo city fireworks at Erie Canal Harbor Central Wharf weren't as cool as the ones I took at Riverside - the event wasn't as cool either. The music at Riverside was better - Speedy Parker Blues Band - the space was friendlier and much larger, the fireworks lasted longer (although were not as intense) and we were closer to the origin point.







The next day, A, (e:tinypliny) and I went to Niagara Falls and to the Niagara Power Plant Vista which was almost deserted despite no admission charge, free parking, beautiful views, and interesting interactive museum. It has a surprisingly fascinating documentary of the construction of the power plant. (Of course (e:matthew,49299) posted absolutely gorgeous photos of NF just days after we went... Matt, are you doing HDR?)






You can take a tour of the Niagara River Whirlpool on these boats, and go right between the US & Canadian power plants.



The power plant museum as a very cool 3-D map of the project with LEDs to highlight the area the voice tour is talking about.





A shot to prove to (e:tinypliny)'s mom that she was at Niagara Falls.





The whole reason I was in Buffalo that weekend (instead of being in Tioga County enjoying my friend Jennie's birthday party...) was that A's bratty little brother had booked his return flight from California for Buffalo. He took us out to dinner and then we went to Nietzsche's where there was a really good jazz band that played until after 1am.








I joined the Buffalo Photography Meetup Group so I could focus more on improving (or regaining) my skills and talk to other photogs. On 7/6, the group went to the Frank Lloyd Wright Boathouse to shoot the Peace Bridge lights. Folks posted their pix afterward and I felt my pix were unpracticed, inexperienced, and boring in comparison. Oh well...it takes time. I got a couple neat ones... I didn't have the patience, lens or tripod that would have made the wait for the Peace Bridge lights worthwhile, but other folks got some really amazing shots. I found the crew teams using the boathouse really interesting. (West Side Rowing Club )










The ceiling lights of the boathouse.