Wednesday, July 16, 2025

Best Laid Plans

I know how hard it can be to get everyone organized and on the same page when on vacation. That’s why I’m not entirely surprised that we didn’t;’t get that jump on my 111 list that we all agreed to last night. We did do one iconic Buffalo experience, though it isn’t actually in the book. Today, for 716 day, Ted’s Famous Hot Dogs had a 2-for-1 deal, which we took advantage of. The Sahlen dogs are grilled over a charcoal fire and serves on Martin’s Potato Buns, for a classic hot dog experience.

We also made a calendar of things we’ll do each day of our visit, and so I’m hopeful that, in addition to replacing the screen porch doors and seeing a couple of movies, we might visit some places in Buffalo that are not to be missed.

P.S. 716 is the Buffalo area code, and so July 16 is celebrated as a day of local pride, mostly by small, independent businesses, of which there are still quite a few up here.

Tuesday, July 15, 2025

Seeing the Sights

Treat and I were working in the garden yesterday when we got a friendly wave from the other side of the fence. My friend Mary had been driving by when she spotted the car and stopped to say hello. After pointing out the highlights of the plot and handing one of the first tomatoes of the season over the fence, we turned to our plans for the summer week ahead. 

Mary was going to the beach, and I to Buffalo. "Any plans while you're up there?" she asked. 

"Emily gave me a book for Christmas a couple of years ago called 111 Places in Buffalo," I told her. "I'm thinking of bringing it up and going through a few."

"That sounds fun," she said.

"AND it will give me something to write about," I laughed.

"Well, you do like your lists," she agreed. "Can't wait to read all about it!"



Monday, July 14, 2025

No Question

A deafening clap of thunder shook our house and set off car alarms down the street this afternoon. Lightning flashed through the sky, which was as dark as dusk, even though the July sunset was three hours away. Huge raindrops pounded the pavement until a torrent of water ran down the hill.

"I guess the pool's closed," I said as I watched the storm out the window.

Sunday, July 13, 2025

Safe and Sorry

A gentle rumble of thunder sounded as we sat down under an umbrella at the pool. It had been raining when we headed up there, but it was mostly a sun shower, and we figured we would be getting wet anyway. We eyed the guard, but he seemed unconcerned by the storm. "It will be break time in a few minutes," I said to Heidi, "I guess we can wait and see if it thunders again."

She scanned the sky and agreed. The darkest clouds were far away, and there was no sign of lightning. We heard a few more peals of thunder in the next 15 minutes, but they sounded far away. When the break was over, a woman and her young son came and jumped right in the water. The lifeguard sat on deck with his flotation device slung over his shoulder. The rain had stopped, but the sky was still dark, and I didn't think we should go in.

"We should just go home," Heidi said, drumming her fingers.

"But what if it's over?" I replied. "I'll be mad if we leave for no reason."

"Do you want to get in, then?" she returned.

"The rules say 30 minutes," I said. The woman and her kid were merrily splashing in the shallow end beneath gray skies. "Let's give it ten more."

"Let's give it five," she countered. 

The water rippled beneath a light breeze, and there were patches of blue between the clouds.  "Let's go now," I shrugged, and I shucked my tank top and shorts and dove in.

Saturday, July 12, 2025

Wrecking the Curve

"How do you think you scored?" our host asked us as we exited the escape room and filed into the lobby. Bill, Emily, Heidi, Treat, and I had just celebrated Treat's birthday by outwitting the pharaoh and solving the puzzles to complete the tasks in the three chambers of his tomb. 

"Not very well," I laughed. We had escaped, but it hadn't been pretty.

"Really?" the guide said, looking a little hurt. "Well, come on over here and check out this screen."

An 88 flashed across the monitor mounted over the door.

"88's not bad!" he told us, "You beat the three other groups before you."

"Were they children?" Emily asked suspiciously. We had seen several birthday parties waiting before our reservation.

"No, no," he assured us. "They were adults. You did the toughest room. Most kids go for the dragon one." He gestured at the screen again. "Look at the bar graph on the bottom. Most groups score 60 or below."

We nodded as two girls of about 12 approached the door. "Can we go in?" they asked.

"I'll be right there," he told them.

"Just those two by themselves are going to do it?" I said. "That explains the average!"

Friday, July 11, 2025

Screw Ups

I must have dropped the screws a dozen times, but Heidi, bless her heart, picked them up every time and handed them back to me as I stood on the ladder. 

We were helping our friend who was injured in an accident by installing new shades on her windows, and I was resistant to drilling pilot holes since it meant switching back and forth between the bit and the driver. Eventually, though, I had to reassess my strategy, since I was working on a ladder and over my head, and it was impossible to hold the bracket, the screw, and the drill without having it rain screws all day. 

But then, once I had both brackets tightly fastened in place, I realized that by using the rear screw holes, I had blocked the lip of the bracket, so the blinds could not be snapped into place. So I had to remove all four of those damn screws and drill two more pilot holes before refastening the brackets and locking the blind in place. All of this as our friend and four dogs watched the show from the couch across the room. 

Fortunately, I was able to keep my cussing to a minimum and maintain my good humor. "That was the learning curve!" I laughed as I moved the ladder over to the next window. "This one will go much faster."

And it did.

Thursday, July 10, 2025

Mainstream

We have a good friend who works for an intelligence agency, and we were all sitting around a couple of months ago when she blurted, "I need to tell ya'll about my latest purchase."

We nodded, ready to hear about some electronic gadget, home decoration, or fashion item. "I bought some 20-liter water jugs," she reported, "for my go bag. I also got some really great MREs," she added, referencing some freeze-dried entrees.

We continued nodding politely as she proceeded to outline her emergency plans. "I guess you can never be too prepared," I said.

And I didn't so much write it off as put it out of my mind until today, when I was looking at Wirecutter's list of the best Prime Day deals under 25 dollars, and noticed a link to another of their articles,  called, The Best Gear for Your Go-Bag. 

This is getting real.

Or is it?