I am still alive.

(Just in case you were wondering.)

It's Time To Get Dirty

Ninjas!

Ninja Parade Slips Through Town Unnoticed Once Again

Stephen MIchael Pacelli, MRCS (SW/DV)

STEPHEN MICHAEL PACELLI MRCS (SW/DV) retired, 52 of Oviedo Florida passed away unexpectedly on Tuesday, October 14, 2008.

The son of Yolanda (Lonnie) Pacelli and the late Michael Pacelli, Steve was born and raised in Stamford, graduating from JM Wright Technical School in 1974. He enlisted in the Navy shortly after graduation, and served until his retirement in 1996 as Machinery Repairman Senior Chief. His early Navy years were spent at several duty stations as well as on board ships, his last being the USS Ortolon in Charleston, SC. In 1984 Steve served with great pride as a Navy Diver until his retirement.

For the past 12 years, he was employed by Delta Airlines as a Captain. Steve had the great joy of working in two elements he clearly loved, the sea and the air, and spending his free time on his sailboat racing or riding his Harley. Steve will be remembered most for his enthusiasm for life and adventure, his sense of humor, and his dedication to family and friends. He was a true Patriot.

He is survived by his daughters Alexandra, Samantha and Emily all of Florida. In addition to his mother, Steve is also survived by his sister, Debra Perry and brother-in-law Kevin of Stamford, and his two nieces Jennifer of Stamford and Allison and her husband Joe of Hamden, CT. Steve is also survived by several aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends all of whom will miss him dearly. He was predeceased by both of his maternal and paternal grandparents and well as several aunts, uncles and cousins. By the outpouring love and support, it is clear Steve will also be remembered well, and sorely missed by his Navy Divers group of friends with whom he served and the Pilot's Association and flight crews of Delta Airlines, in addition to his family and friends.

A mass of Christian burial will be celebrated on Saturday, November 8, 2008 at 9:30 a.m. at Sacred Heart Church, 37 Schuyler Avenue, Stamford. Inurment will follow in St. John's Cemetery, Darien, CT. Friends may call at the Lacerenza Funeral Home, 8 Schuyler Avenue, Stamford on Friday, November 7, 2008 from 5 p.m. until 7 p.m. In lieu of flowers the family requests that memorial donations in Steve's name be made to Roger Chapin Help Hospitalized Veterans, P.O. 98088 Washington, DC 20090-8088.

Shock!

Feel free to employ this response the next time you hear shocking news.

Like, if your twin sister who is supposed to have died in a plane crash shows up at your mansion only to tell you that she is having an affair with your husband who is actually a Russian spy.

I'm pretty sure I hate Florida.

Last week, due to a series of circumstances that were unfortunate at best, my whole family went to Florida.  We made the trip so we could all attend my uncle's wake.  

It was a strange six days.  

The wake was the worst thing ever, but my uncle's ghost did manage to make me laugh by rigging the water fountain to squirt Joe in the face.  Anyway, we spent the week in my sort-of-cousin's wife's house which was really nice.  The house was nice.  Not the fact that we ALL spent the week there TOGETHER.  Trapped.  My grandmother, my mother, my father, my sister, my husband, and me.  It made me remember all of the reasons I moved out of my parent's house, and helped me realize a few new ones.  But that's a different story, and one I'd prefer to just leave behind me.  

The one great day of the trip was Thursday.  My mom thought it would be a good idea to go to Epcot to give my grandmother a distraction.  And since my uncle was all about going places and doing things, it's something he would have encouraged.  My grandmother was convinced that she would be a burden, and that since she had already been there, we should go without her.  This was not an option, so I suggested we go to the Kennedy Space Center, since none of us had ever been there before and we could all make the trip for the first time together.  Success!  The plan was a go, so we all hopped in the rented minivan (yes, minivan....don't you hate minivans, Al?  Why yes, yes I do.) and headed out for our adventure.

And a grand adventure we had, one that I will tell you all about in another post...with lots of shiny pictures, I promise.

Friday or Saturday we were supposed to go out on my sort-of-cousin's boat to spread part of my uncle's ashes at sea.  It was something I really would have liked to be a part of but, alas, the weather was not fair and prevented us from doing so.

During the trip, I met many people who I am sort of but not really related to.  I met friends and coworkers of my uncle.  I met a macaw named Iko.  I ate many chain restaurant lunches.  I saw much Spanish moss.  I spent more time in a minivan than I ever want to again.

And now I am back home.  And everything is back to relative normalcy. And I have a new appreciation for peace and quiet in my own house, and a better understanding of what is important to me.

It wasn't the trip to Florida to which I had looked forward since last Thanksgiving, but I guess that wasn't the trip that I was supposed to take.

My Favorite Uncle.

Me and my favorite uncle.  

Ok, ok, I only had one uncle.  But he was definitely my favorite relative.  He was so full of life and always so much fun to be around.  I haven't met anyone as easy-going as he was, or who liked to stir up as much good-natured trouble.  He always treated me like an adult and he never judged me for being who I was.  I always respected him for that.

I remember visiting him when I was little.  my family took a road trip from Connecticut to Florida in a Dodge Omni.  Four people.  Tiny car.  But it was worth it.  With Uncle Steve around, there was always fun to be had.

He let me drive his rider lawn mower when I was little.  I didn't really know how to work it, and couldn't quite steer properly.  I drove it right into a tree in his front yard.  I was expecting to get yelled at.  But, though he did kick me off while laughing at me, he did not yell.  It was an accident and I was a kid and all was forgiven.  That's just the kind of person he was.

My first ever go kart experience was with my dad, uncle, sister and cousins.  I had a headache that night (I had fallen off the bench at the dinner table when my cousin pushed it in too fast) and they all kept driving past me and laughing.  It was all in good fun.

Once, when my uncle's family was home for a visit, we all went to Playland in Rye, NY.  I Playland.  It's a fun place to be, and that trip was no exception.  My uncle Steve and I went on one of the roller coasters together, after having waited to be able to sit in the front seat.  He was hootin' and hollerin' the whole ride.  He was so animated!  It makes me laugh to this day to think about it.  We decided to go on the same roller coaster again, but this time was not as fun.  We were loaded into the seat, safety bar lowered across our laps as the ride started.  *click*click*click*click*click* as the chains pulled the coaster up the hill.  We inched closer and closer to the top, anxiously awaiting the adrenaline-filled drop over the crest.  But it never came.  The clicking stopped.  We were stuck.  This was not good, I thought.  I didn't really know what to do, and the safety bar pretty much offered only one option- staying put.  But my uncle stayed calm as a cucumber.  No big deal.  The ride would start.  Right?  And so we waited.  And waited.  Still no movement, still a calm uncle Steve.  People started calling down to what, in retrospect, must have been a poorly trained twenty-something working their summer job who could not figure out how to get the ride up and running again.  They (from the safety of the platform) assured us we would be fine, and made no attempt to free us from the obviously malfunctioning ride.  Another ride-goer eventually figured out how to release the safety bar in his own car and alerted the ride operators that he was getting out and helping the rest of us escape as well.  We all tromped down the skinny ramp next to the roller coaster cars and got safely back on land.  As we found the rest of the family in the amusement park, we all recounted the tale as though we had all shared some great adventure.  There was no crying.  There was no fear.  Uncle Steve's relaxed nature made sure of it.

I was always the troublemaker in my family.  I was always the one being scolded or put it the corner with no hope of of release for good behavior.  I remember once that I broke something of my mom's.  Being a fellow troublemaker, my uncle covered for me and took the blame.  He kept me out of trouble and it was our little secret.  He was a cool uncle.

Because of him I almost went into the Navy.  I had so much respect for him and his accomplishments.  I asked him once what he did for the Navy.  He told me he was a diver.  Simple.  No further explanation.  I asked his title.  Master Chief.  (Ok, now we were getting somewhere.)  Master Chief of what?  His reply?  "I can't tell you."  That was pretty badass.  I always wanted to know more, but it wasn't in the cards.  For all we know, he was an underwater ninja who saved the world while we all slept.  It wouldn't have surprised me.

He always said that it was easier to get forgiveness than permission.  I loved that.  He had a million phrases and smiles to go with them.

The picture at the beginning of this post was taken last Thanksgiving.  It was the last time I would see him.  We promised to visit him in Florida and go sailing with him, be somehow a year went by without that sailing trip.  I deeply regret letting distance prevent me from spending more time with him.  But he lived his life to the absolute fullest and I can honor him by trying to do the same.  I will take the trip I think I cannot afford.  I will take advantage of every opportunity made available to me.  And I will make the best of the worst situations.

It's what he would have done.

In Memory of Stephen Pacelli

April 27, 1956 ~ October 14, 2008

Hey Sarah Palin

I never would have made it as a moth.

Kill Kill Kill

These were the words on a piece of paper found on the desk of a man in my department at work. 

I am apparently not the only one who isn't a fan of my employer.

The guy had also been telling people that he was an ex-marine (which is weird because I thought Marine's used the term "former" not "ex", but whatever) and knows how to use bazookas and all sorts of assault weaponry.  He would also frequently tell people that he had been going to the shooting range and his aim was getting much better.  Also, that people had better not step on his toes because he will step right back.

This same guy made habit out of complaining non-stop about the company.  I have heard the when in the locker room on break he would sit on the bench with his hands folded and his head down, staring at his own lap.

Hm.

I learned these things, secondhand, almost all at the same time on a Thursday, and as a whole the picture gave me pause.  By Friday I was inquiring if what I had been hearing was true, and if anyone had brought this information to the appropriate authorities.

Some of you know the story up to here.

What you may not know is that on the following Tuesday (my first day back to work after the weekend) I went to my supervisor to tell him what I had been hearing and tell him my concerns.

My boss's reply?  "That person is no longer employed by this company."

I had no idea I had so much power!

Not really.  Apparently several people had shared similar concerns and immediate action was taken to release that employee.

As it turns out, according to my boss, the company had a similar problem 10 years ago when an employee came to work and told people, in earnest, that he was going to "go postal".  By the end of the day, that guy had been dragged off by the crazy police and brought to the psych ward at the hospital.  

I swear, I think this company drives people to insanity.

Slowly but surely.

I spent most of this weekend working on a new website for my store.  It's getting there, but not as quickly as I'd like.  You can check it out now if you'd like, but it's not live...

Allie Perry Designs

Go there.  Click on things.

Let me know what you think.

There isn't a lot of inventory up right now, because I am waiting to receive a shipment of photographic equipment that will allow me to shoot my jewelry with drastically better results. But for now you can at least check out the layout.

Apple Picking and Other Shenannigans

 Joe and I went up to Vermont today to visit some friends and go apple picking!  We went to breakfast with Sarah and Penny, and then went to meet Emily and Jon at Basketville.  It is apparently a tourist attraction, and it certainly provided us with some good solid entertainment.  Probably our favorite things in the store were the wicker animals.  

Yes.

Wicker.

Wicker dinosaur.

Wicker Lobster.

Wicker moose.

Wicker giraffe.

And, easily our favorite, the wicker shark.  We inquired about the prices of the wicker animals only to find that, alas, they were not for sale.  The man in Japan who made them has died.  So sad.

After the wicker wonderland, we made our merry way to the orchard.

There were reindeer!  They liked to eat apples from your hand.

They also liked to get nose goo on my lens.

Reindeer butt.

Pretty reindeer.

There were also horses.  If you look closely, you can see me in the horse's eye.

Horse butt.

This horse took a particular liking to Jon and followed us a little ways down the hill.

Penny decided there was a better way to get down the hill than walking...

                     

Once we found the apples we wanted, Emily discovered the first really pretty one of the day.

Then I found a pretty one of my own.  I have already forgotten what variety of apple it is.  It was very yummy though. 

Sarah liked to pick the Galas because those are her favorite.

More pretty apples.

Joe quickly figured out that the best apples were high up in the trees.

Joe and I!

The orchard had several ladders available for our use.  We didn't use them though, since climbing apple trees is way more fun than climbing ladders.

See?  I told you.  Look how much fun we're having!

Sarah and I have pictures of us in a tree from just about everywhere we go.  Today was no exception.

Emily got into the tree climbing action as well.

Multitasking...hi Miss Annie!

The weather was crazy.  One minutes it was really hot and sunny, the next would be dark and breezy.  And in case you think I am trying to fool you, don't worry...I know these aren't apples.

I took a picture of Jon taking a picture of a tree.  I am like a picture-taking ninja.

The whole gang!  Emily, Jon, Penny, Sarah, Me, and Joe.

There was a pumpkin patch on the property as well, though the pumpkins left a little bit to be desired.  The vines were really cool.

Penny and I took a ride together.  Weee!

We were not sure what these were. But they were brightly colored.  And shiny.

Joe kept telling me to stop taking pictures and pick some apples, so here is proof that I did in fact pick some apples.

Of course Jon climbed a tree as well.  Just before I snapped this photo, Emily told Jon to show her "angry".  I'm not convinced.

Another pretty apple.

The whole gang again, this time on a giant apple crate.

After apple picking, we went to Jon and Emily's house to meet their dogs.  On the way there, we saw this.  Only in Vermont.

This little girl stole Joe's heart.  He's wanted a bulldog for a while, and meeting her convinced us both that bulldogs are great.

When we got back to Sarah and Penny's house, we made a pie.  Joe and I did not get to taste the pie, since we had to drive home and feed our own dog.  Tomorrow we will be making our own freshly baked apple pie!

Our next goal is pumpkin picking...

Bad Blogger.

I realize I have been neglecting my blog as of late. I did cheat a little by posting several youtube videos that helped me waste some time the other night.

Admit it, you liked them.

I promise you I have several posts at least partly written that are saved as drafts and waiting to be finished and published. Generally I update my blog on my days off, but this coming week my day off will be devoted to creating an entirely new website for my store. I know, I know...I've already completely redesigned my website once already. But I was never as happy with it as I felt I could have been, plus it's wicked expensive to host my online store where I do now. I have since discovered a new site that has great layouts (so I don't have to stress out over creating my own) and is totally affordable. I will have to switch to using paypal as a means to accept credit cards, which I am not totally sold on, but I can't ignore the savings I will see by switching sites. As soon as it is up, I will post a link here so you can go check it out for yourself. I will be begging everyone I know for input as well as help spreading the word, so be prepared. ;)

As for right now, I am very tired. For the past few weeks (this week having been the worst) I have been battling what I am almost positive is another kidney stone. I drink a lot, I pee a lot, and in between I curl up in a little ball on the couch under my blanket with my dog next to me. Thank god at least my favorite tv shows have started back up again and can act as a very good distraction.

This weekend I will be going apple and pumpkin picking in Vermont with some friends, so cross you fingers that my damn kidney simmers down a bit and gives me a weekend off.

I have the itch again for another tattoo. I'll keep you posted.

This coming April I will be turning 30. To celebrate, Joe and I will be going to Las Vegas. Not so much to gamble- more to just walk around slack-jawed and starry eyed at all of the shiny objects and sparkling lights. Also to hike Red Rocks and visit the Hoover Dam. Anyway, if you have been there, and have any ideas for must-stay hotels or must do activities, let me know.

For now, that is all.

Good night, and have a pleasant tomorrow.

Proud WHAT?!

Apparently New Haven is home to the Worthington Hooker School.  I discovered this today only after driving behind a minivan on the merritt that proudly displayed this bumper sticker:


Yes.

I was convinced I had to be reading it incorrectly, but after I nearly drove up her tailpipe to get better look, it was confirmed.

I wonder what their school mascot is?

This is our Friend Chris Hayes.

Someday he is going to be famous, and we will be able to say we knew him when...

You can check out some videos of him pitching.  He's a submarine pitcher and has a cool riser.

I wonder if Otter ever did this...

Funny Cat Montage

Ninja Cat

Bad Timing

Joe and I were driving from one picnic to another today when we passed a soccer field.  

All of the devoted parents were dutifully sitting in the bleachers on one side of the field.

All of the players, on both teams, were waiting on their respective benches.

Waiting, because the field's sprinkler system had sprung into action, dousing the entire field when they were supposed to be playing their game.

Oops.

A first Dance...Off

Our First Garden

This was the front of our house.  Notice the empty patches of dirt immediately in front of our porch.  Notice the conspicuous lack of color or interest.  We do have daffodils.  But there are not enough to make a statement, and they don't really last that long.  The only things we've added to our front yard are a half-dozen solar-powered lights.  If you look closely, you can see them in this photo...most of them are nowhere near being plumb, as Joe continually hits them with the lawn mower.

In short, our front yard was ugly.


So some time early this summer Joe and I planted or first flower garden.  It was mostly Joe's wish to have a garden.  Not that I don't like gardens, I just hate weeding, and prefer my garden yield vegetables.  Anyway, a friend is a prolific gardener and offered to give us some plants straight from her garden to transplant into our own.  We graciously accepted this offer, as we have a large yard and no money and plants are expensive.  We were given some tall decorative grass (which I LOVE), faux sunflowers, black-eyed susans and wild daisies (both of which I actually quite like), a butterfly bush (which it turns out I don't really like), and some coreopsis (which unfortunately did not flower...we think we put it in a place where it did not receive enough sunlight).

We made a narrow bed on each side of our walkway, and larger beds in front of our porch. 

 We also ditched the hideous mailbox that came with the house and got a much cleaner looking one to mount on the house by the door.

Here's a close-up.

Admittedly, the garden looked a little raggedy when we first planted it.  We did it over the course of two evenings, once in the dark, and once in the rain since the plants could only be out of the ground for so long before they suffered ill consequences.  It turned out way better than we'd hoped, and next year should be even better.  We didn't really have a lot of time to plan out the garden, so we are already planning on moving some things around next year. The tall grasses need to moved further from the house.  I do not care for the butterfly bush.  Joe likes it, however, and we both like butterflies, so we are going to move it to the backyard next year. Also, the coreopsis needs to be moved to a sunnier home.  We loved the black-eyed susans and wild daisies right where they were, so hopefully next year they will be fuller.

I thought I had pictures of the garden in bloom, but I can't seem to locate them.

Our hope for summers to come is to slowly expand the garden forward, until it meets the sidewalk.  We will incorporate small boulders and hopefully more grasses.  We will also have to do some research to see what flowers grow in this zone that are shade tolerant, as there is not as much sun in the front of our house as we originally thought.

All in all we are happy with our little garden.  We will slowly fill the back yard in with plants (hopefully ones that will not make me sneeze come spring) and  eventually have a yard that we are proud to call our own.

The only thing left to do to the front of the house is get it painted or sided, since right now it borders on looking like it should be condemned.

All in due time.

New Appliances!

Joe and I got new appliances! We've had them for a while now, and I am finally posting pictures to prove it.

First, our dishwasher.


We actually bought the dishwasher at the same time as we bought our cabinets. It lived in its in box, in the dining room, for over a year. It finally got installed and we love it.

Then we got our shiny new stove. ooooooooh...



It's a gas stove, so we had it in place in the kitchen for a while without any gas running to it. We eventually got a gas line run from our basement to our kitchen, and now have a working stove! I love it. It cooks food evenly, the gas makes it easy to control temperature, and the oven temperature is accurate(!) which is a luxury I've not previously enjoyed. It also has a warming drawer, so I can't wait to throw a big party with multiple side dishes. :)

Above the stove you'll notice a junction box hanging from the cabinets.  This is the power for the range hood that we do not yet have.  That will be the last appliance in the kitchen, and the last thing to be installed before we are able to have our final kitchen inspection and get our c.o.

Then, the only remaining steps between us and a completely finished kitchen will be:

1.  Install toe kick and molding at base of cabinets

2.  Install trim around doors (3) and window (1)

3.  Caulk small gaps in crown molding

(Ok, we also still have to install and connect the pex which will provide the kitchen with radiant floor heating, but that is not a project that is visible from the kitchen, so no one will really know if we've done it or not.)

Then, we will move on to the upstairs bathroom...

I Will Love You Forever

Part of  the work some of my coworkers do is to process jewelry items that have been returned to the store to evaluate wether or not they can be refurbished and sold again as new.

(This practice of selling refurbished jewelry as new happens all the time and unlike California, Connecticut has no law making it necessary for the store to disclose the fact that the "new" item being purchased could have previously belonged to someone else for ten years before it was refurbished and sold again.  FYI)

One particularly amusing item came in the other day and a coworker shared it with me.

It was a wedding band.  

It was engraved, "I Will Love You Forever 2007."

Oops.  I guess they changed their mind.

 

Respect Your Elders....and the half-dozen or so stories they choose to tell over and over.

Do you know anyone old?  Say, 65 and up.

Do you ever talk to them at length about nothing in particular?

Try it.  You will hear great anecdotes from their life pre-65+.  Anecdotes that will give you insight into who they were before they were this aged person sitting before you, and let you get to know the person better. Stories that, if this 65+ chatter is a family member, may clear up some questions about other family members or old family jokes or which band of gypsies were the ones to drop you off on your "parent's" doorstep when you were a wee tot.  These grand stories will be intricately woven webs of vivid detail.  Or, more likely, there will be cadillac sized gaps in details such as names and dates and points of stories.  But where details fail, you will surely find fervent conviction!  And plenty of brilliant hindsight accompanied by sage advice for your own future.

Ah.  

It's a real treat to sit and hear these recollections.  And it's great to be able to appreciate the difference between the years in which you were raised, and those a senior citizen's childhood called home.

After you'd had this opportunity to look through this glimmering window into the past, wait a while and try it again with the same person.  I am positive you will find that at least three stories you heard in the first conversation will wind their way into your second conversation.  Don't worry if you missed any details the first time around.  They will be slightly different this second time.  Or they might not be there at all.  Or, joy of joys, they will be exactly the same as the first time, verbatim, chock full of the same detail voids, conviction, and advice.  

But hearing the stories again will only help you remember them better.  So it's ok.  You really won't mind hearing them again.

Until the third conversation.  And the third time you hear the same stories.  With the third set of details.  (Or course, by this point, if you piece all the versions together, you may actually get the whole story, so that's a bonus.)

But I completely understand why someone who may be past their prime would want to endlessly recount tales of their own rich history.  In these stories, they were young and vibrant and had their wholes lives ahead of them.  They had loves worth loving and fights worth fighting.  Back then they looked forward to days ahead which didn't include a multitude of doctor's visits or rounds of medication.  These fondly remembered days were free of the humility of being cared for by those to whom they were once a bedrock.

So the next time you talk to them, and they tell the same stories, again, just smile and pretend you've never heard them before.  

Because you just may never get to hear them again.

$57,000

Today I worked on a pair of $57,000 earrings.  

The kind of earrings you never see on real people, only on movie stars. Red carpet kind of earrings.

Earrings that cost

FIFTY

SEVEN

THOUSAND

DOLLARS.

I wish I could afford $57,000 earrings.

Not that I would ever spend that much on two pieces of metal to jab through my earlobes...but it would be nice to have the option.

Headlamps. And anatomy.

I had to use a headlamp for a recent home improvement project.  I was trying to cut in the walls of a closet up near the ceiling before I painted them.  I must have had to adjust my headlamp 72 times.  It never seemed to be pointing where I was looking.

It got me thinking.  Are we ever really facing what we are doing at a perfect 90 degree angle?  It seems that we are not.  And it really surprised me to find out just how little of the time I was pointing my whole head in the direction I was looking with my eyes.  

It didn't seem fair that my neck got to be lazy while my eyes had to work double time just to keep everything on an even keel.  I wonder how many parts of our bodies and minds are constantly compensating for other, lazier, body parts...

I think I need a calendar.

I did not realize until today that it is September.  

Three whole days before I had any concept of the date or month.

huh.

I still say "tape".

As in, let's tape this show.  

Tape?  

How about, "digitally record".

Some day I'll get with it.

$

It has been deemed, by higher authorities than myself, that today I am worth $.65/hour more than I was worth yesterday.

Oh.

The rapture.

Hm.

Did you ever watch any of those shows, on say, the Discovery Channel, that highlight mass production?  

They show factories that have nary a human in sight and all of the production is done by precision robotics.

Why do those factories have lights?

Can't the robots work in the dark?

Congratulations...

Sergeant Witherbee!

Yay!

Your Stupid

If you just read the title of this blog post, and took it personally, then I am talking to YOU.

Just to clear things up...

"Your" shows belonging.

"You're" is a contraction of YOU ARE.  

I read so many blogs or comments written by people who use "your" for everything.  

Such as, "Your misuse of vocabulary implies that your stupid."

WHAT?!

At the risk of confusing you, YOU'RE lazy or stupid or both if YOUR brain can't learn the difference between you're and your. 

Please, people.  Learn your WORDS.

Good grammar saves lives.

Camp Aspetuck

I used to work there, in what feels like another lifetime.  

It is a small Girl Scout day camp tucked away in Weston, CT.  Today I went back for a visit, since my sister "Periwinkle" still works there.

I haven't been back to camp in eleven years.

Everything was still the same.  Same dark staff porch, same rickety brown lodge.  Same wonderful smell of campfires and dirt and fresh air.

I'm glad it was the same.  I think I would have been upset if it had gone all shiny and new on me.  But It was funny to be there.  Like I had stepped back in time. 

I wonder what it will look like in eleven more years...

Info from the FRFF Website

"AFTERMATH REPORT, SURVEYS, FR BUCKS, TIX REFUNDS

This is Anne back in my home office in Sharon CT. Most important news, only a few bruises from monster hail and a couple panic attacks but NO INJURIES.

This was a mini tornado that hit us Sunday, it never touched down. We had been tracking this storm, labeled F5 on NEXRAD radar on my laptop in the Communications trailer. Was moderately severe, very compact and moving rapidly. It was past us & thought we were OK. Storm track animation showed it was moving away.

Than there was a sudden rotation and it came back with 70 MPH winds, 3 inches of rain and up to golf ball size hail. There was no time for a warning like the ones passed on earlier, it happened so fast.

We could not believe the same storm that had passed according to radar was now in front of us again, was on us before we could even get on the radio. I got one call in to mainstage and one to security base. Hail started WHILE I was making these calls on my cell, radio communication was totally OUT.

Tornado formation is very unpredictable. We just did not think anything like that was possible, indeed 4 of us looking right at the radar were puzzled at what we were looking at for several precious seconds. 

As mentioned, no one was hurt, the clean-up is a bear and the income loss, just don't know yet. Janis Ian has donated back half of her fee and other performers have offered to do a benefit. We'll just have to see, honestly don't know yet.

------On surveys, FR Money and Refunds

Will get up survey up on website ASAP, may take a couple days will post a PDF as well as a Text Doc that can be Emailed back.

FR Money, you can use it next year if there is a next year, we hope so.
You can donate it to the local Food Bank as usual by sending back to:

Falcon Ridge Folk Fest
POB 144
Sharon CT 06069

If you have a large amt, over $25 and absolutely need a refund, send back to same address. We will need to take a processing fee of $5 per refund. Sorry about this. It costs us banking fees, staff time, postage, gas to do this and right now every little dribble sends us further in the red.

Tix refunds. Send your unused ticket, wristband, cc receipt or order info. We will keep a list and give all a one day tix of your choice for next year. Worse comes to worse we will send refunds minus the $5 fee to that list.

What is happening now? Site clean-up still in progress, Bub is there all day with a small crew. I am doing 20 or so loads of laundry at home. All our backstage and green room wall hangings, curtains, tablecloths and the 300 or so towels for performers will be unusable if not dealt with immediately.

Lots of other stuff drying out all over the place, lost & found items mostly dried out, hanging in my garage and everywhere else we could hang them. Dealing with Lost & Found and Performer Merch rest of day, Weds.

Thanks to all our patrons & staff who stayed on into Monday and helped us with the stages and dance floor and Cantele Tents who came immediately on Sunday and started on the downed tents.

Big thanks to all of you who I know have unused tix and FR bucks and are NOT asking for a refund. That is so very helpful and could make all the difference in the world to the future of the fest. That's it for now, Anne"

FRFF Weather Update

(I found this on a facebook site appropriately called "I survived Falcon RIdge '08".  It was in response to someone trying to find out exactly what type of weather hit us.)

Actually managed to get an answer to my question about what hit us - here's a portion of the e-mail I received from a meteorologist who covers that area:

"Hi Brian -

... I...am an on-air meteorologist at WRGB. I was tracking the storm you are talking about, which was a severe thunderstorm at the time on Sunday afternoon. That storm produced a microburst in South Cairo and Leeds and Greene County with wind gusts up to 100-125 mph, and straight line wind damage in West Stockbridge, MA with winds estimated between 75-85 mph. While no official microburst was documented by the National Weather Service in Hillsdale, it is likely you experienced severe thunderstorm wind gusts in excess of 70 mph and large hail over 3/4" diameter (North Hillsdale in fact reported 1.00" hail, and Greenport 1.00" hail as well), and trees were reported down in Austerlitz. If you would like more information, you can always click on http://www.cbs6albany.com/sections/weather/historical/daily/ and go to July 2008 and look up Sunday, July 27. Also, here is the official report of the microburst that impacted Cairo and Leeds: http://www.erh.noaa.gov/er/aly/Past/2008/Jul_27_2008/PNS.txt

storm damage reports can also be found here: http://www.erh.noaa.gov/aly/lsr/index.php?wfo=aly

Hope this helps! 

Mark Margarit
Weekend Meteorologist
WRGB Albany"

Definitely not in a hurry to go through *that* again...as in, EVER..! :-)

Falcon Ridge Folk Festival

Yes, it's that time of year again. Time for us to spend a weekend camping on a farm, getting all kinds of dirty, and listening to good folk music. This year we went up on Thursday night. The weather was pleasant at dusk when we arrived at the festival grounds. But it had rained enough before we got there to make the makeshift roads (think, lanes sectioned off by caution tape) muddy and impassable. So we had to park in one of the lower lots and carry in all of our gear.  The lot wasn't that far away, but we carried in only the basics on Thursday night. This picture was taken on Friday morning when we made the next several trips to the car. A few hours after trekking in all the gear, they reopened the roads.

Dodd's Farm is the location of the festival.

The garage by the farmhouse was steaming in the early morning sun.

This is the mud we slid through for the first half of the weekend.  We tromped through it  Thursday night in total darkness. I wish there was something in this photo for scale, most of those ruts were at least ankle deep. I ditched my flip flops almost immediately and Joe was wearing crocs. This meant our feet were completely covered in mud for about two days. Regrettably, I never had my camera on me to catch these moments.  More regrettably, I had unbelievable self-restraint that weekend and did not leap on Joe in some variety of flying tackle to drive him, and most likely myself, into the sloshy mud.  He owes me, I think.

This was our neighborhood in the dozens of acres that comprise Falcon Ridge's tent city.

Our spot.  Just to our right of Joe, you can see the speakers for the main stage in the background.  On the right you will see our tent.  

Ranger Joe, scoping the scene.

This is the workshop stage, the smaller of the two music stages at Falcon Ridge.  We usually spend about half of our time there.

That four-peak tent in the distance is the dance tent.  This is by far the craziest spot at the festival and dancing (square, swing, contra) goes on until the wee hours of the night.  We never go in there.  Joe is not a fan of dancing, and it's usually 750 degrees during the day.  Not ideal for any high-energy activity.

This little village is where the food and merch vendors are.  

This is the main stage.  At the ass-crack of dawn people line up at the bottom of the field.  At precisely 7am, they are released and bound up the hill in all directions to lay down a tarp/blanket/shower curtain/you-name-it to reserve their spot for the day.  Joe and I are not generally awake to take part in these few minutes of insanity, and anyway the rule at Falcon Ridge is if you come across an empty tarp, you are welcome to sit on it until its rightful owners come back.  People are generally really good about respecting other people's belongings, and in the past we've even been invited to stay on strangers' tarps, share in their food, and enjoy the festival with them.  Otherwise, we just carry our chairs around with us all day and just grab any spot that seems good at the time.

This year we were actually really disappointed in people.  Some folks would move other chairs out of their way to get better seats, they would slide blankets and bags over that were not their own just to make themselves more comfortable.  Worst of all, they would plop themselves down in their chairs that were already so tall you couldn't see over them, and then open an umbrella to shade themselves from the sun!  This happened with complete disregard for anyone whose view they were obstructing!  This year was the 20th anniversary of the festival, so we are hoping that these rude umbrella monsters were just day visitors, and not tried and true Falcon Ridgers who go every year.  We shall see next summer.

Also, while I am ranting, everywhere we seemed to sit this year had us near some idiot who would not shut up.  I get it's a social setting and people like to interact.  But I need to tell you about one guy in particular.  We unknowingly sat within earshot of him and his friend on Saturday (I think).  We first sat near them during the early afternoon.  He talked to his friend (I say "to" and not "with" because he left no spaces between his words into which his friend could interject their own.) for like three hours straight.  About frozen pizzas and some guy named Bob and his family who comes to visit him at his house and ten billion other things that had no relevance to anything folk.  We got up and went to go make ourselves some dinner back at our tent.  We ate.  We took a nap.  We wandered around the vendors.  We went back to where our chairs were and THE GUY WAS STILL TALKING.  He talked through every act.  During the day he was at least drowned out by the music.  At night he apparently felt he had to talk louder to make up for the darkness (?) and we heard more of him than the people on stage!  Joe turned around at one point and was shouting over the music to tell the guy to be quiet and he didn't even hear us!  Several people around us did, but not Chatty McTalksalot.  I put in earplugs at one point because I had a headache and the act onstage was a saxophonist and I could hear the guy over the sax and through the ear plugs!  Thankfully he finally left and we were able to enjoy the music the rest of the night.

Anyway, I digress.

This was our view about 90 degrees to the right of the main stage.  Through those trees and a few dozen yards away was our campsite.

By Saturday afternoon we were burnt to a crisp despite numerous applications of sunscreen.

This is the easiest way for me to take a picture of Joe and I, so we have one just like this from just about everywhere we go. You can pretty much just swap out our clothes and the background.

Checkin' out the schedule.

Ouch.

Joe's fish got sunburned, too.

The main stage again.  With the giant umbrellas again.  Notice how one umbrella could block the view of almost the entire stage.  Gr.

I took this picture as I marveled at the uncharacteristically beautiful weather we had for the festival on Friday and most of Saturday.

We were so hot and sweaty and sticky from suntan lotion that I was able to stick honey-nut cheerios on Joe.  You can imagine his elation.

This is what rolled in Saturday evening. It only rained 

on us for five or ten minutes. Not enough to stop the 

music...just enough to get everybody's gear 

completely soaked.

Dar Williams!

Dar played around dusk on Saturday.  Check out that awesome chair on the lower right!

Sorry about the lighting. Dar is on stage playing Iowa 

and as is tradition, the entire crowd is waving around 

glowy things...a la lighters at a rock concert.

This is the weather we woke up to on Sunday morning after a horrible thunderstorm Saturday night. The walls of our tent were blowing in and out, you could feel the thunder in your bones, and the lightning was right above us, giving the inside of the tent a strobe light effect. But our good ol' tent stayed bone dry.

Our "kitchen".

Joe, modeling a climbing harness that was way too

 big for him that somehow ended up in our 

camping gear.

Waaaaaaay close up.

The weather on Sunday was terrible and bordering on dangerous, so here we are in the tarp igloo we hastily constructed to protect ourselves from the elements. Notice how the thunder and gusting wind and torrential rain and hail and lightning striking only a few hundred yards away from us in our metal chairs was not keeping us from grinning like idiots.

When we had to make our tent igloo we were at the workshop stage. Check out that weather. Notice how you can no longer see the ridge in the background. Go ahead and scroll back up to that other picture of the workshop stage in the sun. This was some VERY bad weather.

The wind was brutal.

That guy to the left side with the rainbow umbrella sums it up nicely.

I think I will put him on a t-shirt for next year, with the caption "I survived Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, 2008".

So we were huddled in our tarp-igloo, trying to figure out the likelihood of us actually get struck by lightning, when OW!  What the...

Hail.

HAIL!!!

It was marble sized hail that was pelting us through the tarp. This was the first hail I'd ever seen in person.

It hurt.

I think I do not like hail.

We kept peeking out of our tarp-igloo to make sure we weren't in Kansas.

This was our view. 

Notice that guy to the right, just standing there holding his umbrella. 

Standing.

Holding an umbrella.

Mere hundreds of yards away from where lightning was striking a nearby field.

Darwinism in action.

The merch tents did not fare as well as we did.

If you look carefully, you can see that the rain was coming down at a pretty steep angle.

The aftermath. The vendors tried their best to gather

 their wares between cells of the storm.

We had packed up all of our gear early that morning

 before it started raining. Our neighbor was not so

 lucky.

Us. 

At this point we were fleeing a weekend where the night air chilled us to the bone, the daytime heat nearly melted us, the sun fried our skin, the rain thoroughly doused us, the wind practically blew us away, the thunder tried to rattle our teeth right out of our mouths, the hail bruised us, the mud encased us, and the lightning almost ended us.

We LOVE falcon ridge. 

Really. :)