While many sports fans were watching the Bills games or trying to get a tv set on which to watch the Bills game, I was watching Nascar. I have TW and don’t have any plans to change to dish or rabbit ears so I’ll have to figure out a new way to see the games . 

  I had plans to attend a fall event but since I am still nursing a cold I decided to stay in and watch Nascar AMP Energy 500 at Talladega. The race was one twist and turn after another. Unfortunately, some of the guys were in a red flag situation near the end of the race. It’s a rough thing to see their cars get wrecked in a race like that. No one wants to see the driver and their car hurt or out of the race for good that day.

  The end of the race was confusing for me because  the car behind Tony Stewart, Regan Smith passed him below the yellow line. I thought you could never go below the yellow line. I’m learning about Nascar with each race but it’s exciting to watch these races and it’s drama.  I guess you have to really like cars to get interested, but once you are hooked, you can’t look away.

In the end, Stewart was the winner, so I could go on with my day not worried about who tried to sneak by him. Check out all the news on the Nascar site.

  With the Chevy Rock and Roll 400 in Richmond VA going on today I stuck close to home. Jimmie Johnson won , congrats to him but I have to say , it was exciting but those last few laps were hard to watch.

  In fact, one lap I watched peeking through my hands across my eyes. Tony Stewart came in 2nd in the Home Depot car and he still did well. Even though it was no Rock and Roll Party at my house , 2nd place is nothing to be disappointed about. Smoke is still my favorite driver, 20, 14 or whatever he is.

   During the race there was a commercial where Tony Stewart was giving up the wheel to Joey Logano but only after Joey learned some home improvements. It was a cute commerical, although it was strange to see two drivers in a Home Depot commerical. But Joey seemed to fit right in.

My son asked me how old Joey Logano was and I told him, eighteen and he just started driving Sprint cars this year.  He was surprised how young he was.

 Yes, we all have to give up the reins sometime I suppose. And next year the 20 car will move on with a new driver and new possibilities.

  We left the house to pick up a pizza and I asked permit holder son, “would you like to drive today? “He said” no, not today.”

    Ok, maybe we’ll do some home improvements first.

       There’s a new blog in town. Called Femalefans and you can find it on the Lockport Journal link. Sara Kubiniec is writing about many different sports and it looks like it’s going to be good to check out. Welcome to Sara, it’s great to have another NASCAR fan on the block!

  Spent last night watching the Nascar race in CA at the Pepsi 500. Jimmie Johnson took the checkered flag, hey, I was quite impressed.  I actually thought about turning in early knowing he was probably going to win, but I wanted to see it for myself. Since I’m not a Pepsi drinker, I toasted him with my coffee instead. It was a good race.

  I just finished working on a bean salad for a picnic today. I’ve spent the day thinking of my Grandma Rose. Every summer event our family had we’d request a bean salad. She would arrive with her bean salad wrapped in paper and with masking tape so nothing leaked. And no matter how many times we had it, I liked it. 

  I’ve been trying to remember if she used butter beans, I dont think she did. So I am leaving them out. I’m also not going to put bacon bits in mine even though they gave her salad just enough salty taste that it was mildly salted. Nothing is worse than your guests knocking each other over for the water bottles after taking a bite of the bean salad. Roses tip: She always told me to rinse the beans well to get out the extra salt. 

  The salad is ready and I’ve wrapped it in foil, put it in the fridge.  I wonder if I wrap it in paper, maybe it will taste better. Now, where is the masking tape?

http://www.nascar.com/races/cup/2008/25/data/lineup.html

  Ok, I have to confess something here in the blog. I really like Coca Cola better than Pepsi. However, I will be watching the Pepsi 500 Sprint Cup at 7pm tonight to see who’s going to win. Oh, and I’ll probably be drinking coffee through the whole thing because even in the August heat I just love my cup of Joe.

  Jimmie Johnson is in the pole position for this race and he has won this particular race two times if my research is correct. We’ll all have to watch and see what happens at the Auto Club Speedway.

   Pepsi vs. Coca Cola drinks aren’t the only things Nascar Fans discuss. A funny thing happened to me, another Nascar fan saw my Tony Stewart coffee mug and seemed suprised. He said he never would have taken me for a Stewart fan, I was more like a Jimmie Johnson fan. I wonder what that means? I do drive an Impala, was that the connection? Whatever the case, good luck to Jimmie, Tony and all the drivers tonight.

  Tonight, I’ll be watching. And sorry , I hate to play favorites but I’m wearing my Stewart shirt.

  There are such exciting things happening in the Arts in Lockport! On Sunday I attended the LCTV  volunteer picnic held at the Lockport Palace Theatre. The group saw a presentation, a video of different scenes shot in the Lockport and Niagara County area.  Set to music, it was a tour of the local events without leaving the comfortable seat of the Palace. 

    Then the volunteers enjoyed lunch from One Eyed Jacks and award presentations to some local volunteers from LCTV. 

  After I visited with some other volunteers , we all went our different ways. Some were going to go down and watch the movie Kung Fu Panda that was playing downstairs. The Palace has a lovely spot for a party or dinner up on the balcony. As many times as I’ve been at the Palace I had never made the trip up the balcony so now I have another interesting place to plan an event.

http://lockportpalacetheatre.com/

   After the volunteer picnic I took a trip to the Market Street Art Gallery.  Although it was raining outside, the inside of the Gallery is bright, sunny and always sparkling. They have a great gift shop too!

  It was later in the afternoon and I was pleased to find it still open. While it was raining outside, I wandered through the artwork of Joseph Whalen in his show “Bar Room Scenes and Other Operatic Situations”. I picked out my favorites and jotted them down for when I go back again with a guest. Whalen’s show is on from August 8th to September 8th.

   There were postcards of future shows at the Market St. Art Center. “Mingus Called” Paintings by Mark Weld. “Charles Mingus and Joni Mitchell..A Collaboration of Two American Icons” will be held from 5pm to 8pm on Saturday August 16th. There will be wine tasting by Leonard Oakes Estate Winery. This show runs thru September 14th 2008.

  Upstairs the same night with be Andrew and Jon Upton with their works called “Perspectives.” You can get more information on www.MarketStreetArtCenter.org

  My day was almost over and I arrived home just in time to catch the last hour or so of the Nascar Race at Watkins Glen. Tony Stewart came in second, which is pretty good considering some of the other drivers were caught in that nasty crash that took about 45 minutes to clear off the track. 

  I always feel grateful that everyone comes out of that type of mess without any injuries. I’m glad that Nascar keeps the race fans informed when the drivers are ok.

  My Mother Betty and I attended the Wilson Wine and Art Festival today on Young St in the Wilson Business District. We got there a little bit later and the crowd seemed to lessen as we walked along. It was a good day for visitors enjoying cool weather to stroll through the community.

  There were artists showing their work, jewelry tents and other artisans selling their crafts and paper works. Singer Farms had delicious fruits and we tried the mouth watering apricots to taste . We visited the used Book shop to check it out and I found a  book about Tony Stewart and Nascar. (That bright orange really jumped off the shelf at me) It was a victory stop at the shops. I’ll probably end the day with taking some time to read up on Tony and his history at the Glen. The book couldn’t have landed in my hands on a better weekend. To the fan that traded it in to the used book store, thanks. 

   There were various wineries from the Niagara Wine Trail attended this event and you could sample a taste of the different wines. Along with the ticket purchase I received a commemorative glass from the Village of Wilson.

  In a previous post ,I had wondered why we don’t really see new cuisine at events we attend. It seems like it’s the same type of pizza, wings, hot dogs, etc. Today we were delighted to taste something new to us from Sunset Grille in Wilson. The Grille’s stand had Deep fried spinach covered with mushrooms, onions and tomatoes with asiago cheese on top. It was fresh and the flavor was bursting of summer. I also enjoyed sweet and sour sesame shrimp.   The server told me they have both of the items at their restaurant and gave us directions to get there.  We drove over to check it out and stop by another time. Their site is www.sunsetgrilleonline.com

  It was an enjoyable day of art, wine and new types of outdoor festival food.  And Sunset Grille is on my list of places to visit in the near future…

  Many folks that know I am a Tony Stewart fan have been emailing me and letting me know the scoop about Tony becoming an owner now along with a driver. Most of the stories I’ve been reading are that he’s signed on for Stewart Haas Racing and will leave  JGR at the end of this year instead of his contract running out next year.  

  I’m happy for him that he is going to be an owner. I’m a loyal Smoke fan so hey, I don’t care if he is driving a kids plastic Big Wheel or Golf Car, just as long as he is still racing that’s fine with me. 

  My orange sign in the garage says Parking for Tony Stewart fans only…it’s still going to stay up there. While I don’t know what his new number will be I do wish him all the best in his new challenge. All my #20 car stuff will just be part of my Nascar merchandise beginners collection . With lots of remodeling going on there will still be many trips to Home Depot. So got any ideas who they will select for the new Home Depot driver? I’d love to hear from readers who they think will be in the 20 car next year. I’m thinking it may be Joey Logano. 

  This article from the Nascar Sports site gives new information about his leaving Joe Gibbs Racing at the end of the season for 2008. I have included the link here in my blog.

http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/nascar/cup/news/story?id=3482073

  The next race is tonight at 8pm so you can watch all the racing.

  Today was a day for looking for the perfect wreath for Mom’s kitchen.  We never did find it. My Mother Betty and I traveled Main St in Lockport looking at all the crafts, jewelry, Jellies and foods for sale. I knew summer really had started when we saw the Barge Canal Optimist Pink Snow Cone Trailer. Although the heat was about 80 or so , everyone was cool and friendly. It was a perfect day to stroll the little temporary tent shops set up along the sides of the street. The show goes on Tomorrow Sunday from 11am to 5pm on Main St in Lkpt.

  All the Jewelry were my favorite tents to stop at, although I am trying to stay on my budget. However, I was impressed with how I did so well. After all, not being a mall shopper, all these events give me a lot of things to look at in one place .   This was better than a mall since there was sun, smells of Italian Sausage and some cute wooden plaques with funny sayings on them. Yes, no mall, without the bright lights and perfume ladies chasing me down to spray me with something that is out of my price range. 

 Yes, that’s me, a girl that doesn’t like to shop. Well now, wait a minute- I like to shop for groceries,  books, gifts for my kids , kitchen stuff, cookbooks, sneakers and really nice dresses. Forget everything else. My family has tried to get me into shopping, like the Galleria trips for Christmas. My daughter and Mother always help pick out outfits for me since I have no sense of style. I usually buy what is on the mannequin, you can never go wrong with that. Put it this way, most of the clothing I have has been seen on “What Not to Wear” in one season or another.

 I offer to park the car, drive everyone, carry bags, answer cell phones, go get different colors, find salespeople and even take those silly surveys in the middle of the mall.  But this day of shopping was kind of fun, so outdoor shopping is my kind of thing.

 Then I came home, saw the last 39 laps of the Saturday race. Tony Stewart won today in the 20 Old Spice Car. It was a good day. 

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/print?id=3455286&type=story

The above link is from the ESPN Site..This is a great article about wine and nascar teams. Some of the drivers and owners are producing their own wines and learning more about how they are developed. I was thrilled to see it- because I know I’m not the only Nascar, wine tasting and cooking fan out there. 

 The photo shows Jeff Gordon sipping out of a large trophy of wine. Gordon isn’t the driver I cheer each week, Tony Stewart is. However, that doesn’t mean I won’t try Gordon’s wine.  Nascar racing and wine, it’s fun to bring them together.

  And if some racers and owners are bottling their own wines they’re  reaching out to many of the crowd . At the events, you can have a glass of wine and maybe you can chat with other race fans about drivers and their wines. It gives an opportunity for new wine drinkers will learn how to pick their favorites paired with food.

  I will try some of the Nascar drivers and owners wines, it’ll be fun to see which ones I enjoy the most. Points?  Really, I don’t bother with wine points. Just for myself, I research and taste what I like. Points are good as a guide but I never use the 5 movie star point system either. Sometimes the movies that are most enjoyable are 2 or 3 stars. 

  During Sunday’s race I had a glass of Mighty Niagara, from Honeymoon Trail in Cambria with my meal. www.honeymoontrailwinery.com   A white wine, it’s one of the best wines I’ve had from this winery. It was chilled so it was especially sweet and great with pizza.  It was a good day and I watched the race.

 I think when I check out the starting listand check the drivers points  I just may check out who is selling Jeff Gordon’s wine.