Great Job Roy- Hart

 Yesterday afternoon was the last Track meet for Roy Hart in Wilson. The next event is the Sectionals in June. All the kids did a wonderful job with the running ,hurdles, relay events and field events. Good luck to the Graduating Seniors, as a parent I tried to attend as many events as I could go to so I could be there to cheer them on. But they certainly didn’t need me there, many parents, friends and fellow students come to watch. They’re a dedicated bunch of students and Coaches.  

       

 

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Fun at the BPO

  Saturday night my Mother and I attended the music of the Glenn Miller Orchestra playing with the BPO at Kleinhan’s. Although there were some songs I didn’t recognize most of them I had heard in the past. The music was terrific as always, vocal soloists and did quite a few brass solos. The crowd loved it. They played a song called the American Patrol and asked members of the Armed Forces to stand in the audience /on stage. I thought it was a touching way to honor those that have protected our freedoms.

   One of the songs that the crowd really enjoyed was called Pennsylvania 6-5000. I was explaining to the family how the crowd was singing along with this song. My kids had never heard it and neither had I. But Cousin Neil, a culture/music trivia wiz, knew the song was written from a famous phone number. It was a big band song played by the Glen Miller Orchestra . Wikipedia says it is the oldest phone number is NYC, belonging to the Hotel Pennsylvania. So there’s our music trivia for today.

  Saturday night was a musical entertainment event.  The night didn’t go as well on Sunday night. That long, Coca Cola 600 NASCAR race didn’t go as I had hoped. It seemed like Smoke was on his way to a victory but my favorite driver Tony Stewart didn’t get to the winners circle due to tire damage with just a few laps left.   I was disappointed for Stewart and sad to see Humpy Wheeler retire as the CEO/ President of Lowe’s Motor Speedway. It was a strange race to watch.

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Lucky Find…good deals are not GWTW

While at the Middleport Free Library’s book sale I picked up a copy of Gone with the Wind. The cover isn’t in the best condition but I did see the price in 1954 was $1.99. Lucky for me the library used book sale sold it to me for 1 dollar. This will be a part of the GWTW collection that I started with a few dolls. This collection,which is tiny compared to some , now includes, books, a blanket, collectibles and a copy of the script. The library does a wonderful job each year of collecting, sorting and selling used books, videos and music that folks donate. The money is used by the library friends for the library. 

  My Mother Betty added to her John Grisham collection and musical Cd’s. My son Vincent looked over the Stephen King books, and of course, I added to my cookbook collection. It’s a label recipes cookbook, which means it should be easy to follow and maybe good for nights when I don’t have a whole hour to cook dinner.

   The Middleport Parade starts at Noon in the Village on Monday. All over the country we remember our Veterans on this special day. And remembering with thanks to those service men and women in the Military that are fighting right now for our freedom.  There is a service after the Parade and then the Middleport Rotary Duck Derby begins at the liftbridge.

 As for the Nascar scene, Coca Cola 600 is tomorrow night . A race of the most laps at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in NC.  Who is going to be the first across the line?  Tony Stewart is still my favorite. Who is your pick to win?

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Grocery Store Blues

   The lines seemed short at the grocery store tonight. Maybe it’s because many of us are cutting down on purchases due to the rising costs of food and well, everything else. Stopping after work is my usual thing and I seem to routinely get stuck behind two or three people that look like they are buying enough to go underground for years. But I got in line and there was no one ahead of me. I was first in line! All my items were in the correct order, cold things, fruit, frozen, etc.  It was exciting, until the cashier added it all up…

 My food bill seemed huge. I looked at the bags on the floor of my kitchen. I sighed. It seemed like all I brought home included 2 pkgs of fish, 1 roasted chicken and 1 bag of shrimp.  I didn’t buy a side of beef or anything too expensive. I bought a small amount of fruit because I plan on going to  Farmers Market for most of my veggies. But bread, crackers, cereals, emergency coffee and a couple greeting cards.. Ok, so I splurged on a big hunk of cheese. It’s Yancey’s Fancy  Champagne Cheddar Cheese , so a girl has to live a little… 

   So my question to the readers are, what can we do to save on groceries? I’d like to know if anyone has any suggestions we can share with each other. I’ve started baking more so I can save on baked goods. But how many brownie mixes can my family take? I bought 10 mixes on sale and they asked me the other day, please, no more brownies. At least not for awhile .

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Memorial Day parade

    It’s the Memorial Day Parade and you’ll find a service in each town you stop at wherever you travel. It’s a time set aside to honor those that sacrificed for our freedom. The Memorial Day Parade in Middleport will begin at Noon(the line up begins at 11:30am) behind the Village Hall. Following the Parade a Memorial service will be held in the Commons.  The Auxiliary members of Clute-Phillips American Legion Auxiliary Unit #938 volunteers will also be distributing poppies in the Village . The poppy honors hospitalized and disabled Veterans who make these red handcrafted flowers. The flower gives a financial and therapeutic benefit to those who construct them. You’ll see the volunteers out by HSBC Bank in Middleport and Cornertone Federal Community Credit Union in Middleport on Thursday May 22 . Stop by Friday on May 23, the Auxiliary will be distributing the crepe-paper poppies. On Saturday you can get your poppies at Middleport Family Health Center. Proudly wear your Poppy this weekend to honor the sacrifice of our Veterans and all our current service members.

  

 

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Morning Perk

Well, a few years ago I told my kids if they ever wanted to talk about it, I was here to listen. I also told my college age daughter and high school son to let me know if they had tried it, I’d give them all the information they needed.  I told them to stay away from the stuff, it was bad for them and look at me , now I am hooked. Luckily they listened.

 Unfortunately for me , neither one of my kids will even be seen getting me a cup at the convenience store. To them coffee is nasty, bitter smelling and they are tired of Mom carrying a coffee mug when she takes the dog out for a walk. Pepper, my Peke is the only one who doesn’t mind the inconvenience of dragging her coffee drinking owner through the Village.  As long as I have one hand for her plastic “doggie dirty baggie “she’s off and ready to go, caffeine and all. 

   Yes, I am the person who arrives at the store, looks at the pots with the tops off and clerks standing around chatting. She who arrives rushed and haggard in the early hours and mumbles under her breath,”what happened to all the regular? They really should hire more people.” I have started drinking all decaf during the day and I have to say that the feeling of being hungry all the time is going away slowly. And the feeling of wanting just one more cup is still there.

  Here’s to all the coffee lovers everywhere. Keep those pots perking and your nerves in check and enjoy! Tell me about your favorite cup of coffee.

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Rainy Days and Sundays

  Today is Sunday and it’s raining. Instead of being frustrated about all the things I can’t do outside, I will turn my attention to indoor projects. Sounds good doesn’t it?  So I sound like a  cheesy self help book but it’s true. I could be writing a book review and trying to put my office in organizational mode. Yes, I could have all those writing projects knocked off today. But I thought I would concentrate on my family and the house. Maybe I’ve been reading too many ladies magazines lately. 

 So, I got out a frequently ignored cookbook and I cooked most of the day . Then checked up on all the news in the paper. I set aside some time to check into the ESPN website to see how the All Star race went last night. Although I followed it on Speed.com I had to check back to find out all the details. 

   And the ugly rainy day seemed to fly.  I did things today, projects that have been hanging around suddenly screamed, “pick me, work on me!” So I looked around. What was the most important, the easiest, the most time consuming? Oh yeah, and the laundry had to fit in there somewhere.  The laundry didn’t scream, it whispers from the basement, “I’m down here ….and you will never be rid of me…”(evil laugh) I never drove my car. Which means I didn’t use any gas. For that reason, it was a good day.

  All the ladies maqazines give great recipes, tips for your hair, skin, diet, crafts, etc. How about showing us how to save money on gas? How to save money at the grocery store, and not just those ridiculous tips like, use coupons. I guess I know what the subject of my next article is going to be.

 

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This Fairly Old House

  I like older houses, I live in one. Older homes are stately, they usually have strong foundations. Sometimes they have unusual molding in the living room and tall lovely windows. On the down side, they may have a small creepy basement or a tiny garage. Because lets face it, 150 years ago, no one had SUVs.

  The Village of Middleport’s Sesquicenntenial Planning Committee is  looking for houses and buildings that are 150 old (or older) for the celebration next year. If you have an older home, check your title search to see when it was built. All of the planning has just started but there will be some type of plaque or map available to identify the houses that can help celebrate the 150th Birthday.

   If you find your home meets the 150 mark contact Kathy at katt130@hotmail.com and give her the details.

   I hope all the Nascar Fans are ready to help celebrate Nascar Day. Did you get your pin?  Today is Nascar Day 2008 and I have my pin ready. If you purchase a pin from Home Depot for $5, the money is donated to the Nascar foundation. The Nascar Foundation helps various charities and there’s also an online auction. The Fifth Nascar Day of Caring is special because it includes an auction to win a real Nascar Race Car.

It’s the Be Care Aware Car, a Performance Show Car that has been a display and traveling around the country at various events. That is certainly a dream purchase for any Nascar Fan. Since I can’t afford the Nascar car, I’ll just buy some pins to help thank the Nascar foundation for all the good work they do in helping others. But I sure would look good in that car………

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All my Favorites from the BPO

  The other night, while flipping through the channels I caught Robert Klein on a talk show. He was telling the story of when he came to college out in the country from the Bronx and hadn’t seen cows wandering outside before.  Even though I knew how it would end, I listened to the whole bit again and laughed just like the first time I had heard it. It looks like he has written a book and I am going to have to check it out. And I was thrilled to see him recently with the BPO.

The past few months for me was filled with the music of The Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra at Kleinhan’s. My small ticket package is coming to an end but all the events I went to were enjoyable.  My daughter attended one of the Holiday concerts with me and a cello concert. 

  The Golden Age of Film was hosted by Nick Clooney. The BPO played music from famous films such as Casablanca and Breakfast at Tiffany’s.

   Among my favorites were New York, New York , a tribute to New York City and They’re playing our Song both conducted by Marvin Hamlisch. The last one I attended included Robert Klein and Lucie Arnaz, with some selections from the Broadway hit, They’re Playing our Song.

  Now that I’ve seen Marvin Hamlisch conduct at these concerts, I’ve enjoyed listening to the music and he’s got some great stories that he shares .   One of the movie scores I didn’t know  Hamlisch wrote  was from a movie called Same Time Next Year.  I saw it first in college. It’s about a couple, both are married, that meet in an Inn and return on the same weekend each year and develop a deep and lasting relationship. I’ll admit it’s not the best situation but Alan Alda and Ellen Burstyn ‘s characters are so loveable and funny that you cannot help but forgive them.

  A few weeks ago I found the opening on the internet. And being an Alda fan I decided to check it out. It’s a song called, “The last time I felt like this…”While I started watching I read the credits, Composer- Marvin Hamlisch.

  So, that Saturday night at the BPO when he began playing Memories on the piano I realized that maybe it was not Alan Alda that helped me enjoy that movie so much, it was Marvin Hamlisch. Who knew?

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Middleport and 150 years

   The Towpath Partyline has a request for classic pictures of our Village this week.  The Middleport committee is looking old photographs from the Village for a special calendar that is going to be printed up and sold as a fundraiser for the 150th Celebration in 2009. To make the year even bigger, the local Fire department is celebrating their 125th next year. It’s a fun celebration that will take a year or so to plan.

  Now would be a great time to look around through attics, old trunks and scrapbooks. Pictures of houses in the area, people at events are always great to check out with your family and figure out who you know in the pictures. Do you have some old photos? The Committee is going to scan the pictures and return so you won’t lose them forever. This calendar is sure to be an exciting gift for those history buffs.

  Even though my own Middleport pictures start in 1996. I was lucky enough to win a black and white photo of the Fenton Hotel in Middleport and the Community Trust Co. It even has a sketch of the now famous clock on the bottom. The two pix are matted on an ivory background. This was from the auction for the library in Middleport held on Labor Day each year. It was a lovely item for me and I treasure it. When I was putting the tickets in the little boxes I kept looking at the picture of the hotel. Love blackand white photography and I had seen it somewhere before, I thought it may have been on the wall at Darrell’s Place.

I think the calendar is a great idea. Sharing local history with everyone is a great way to celebrate how the area has changed but it never will lose the small town feeling. 

 

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