Kids Missing Snow

admin January 23, 2012 Weather Comments Off on Kids Missing Snow

Despite the fact that I felt like the boys and I had all had a fun weekend, when they got back to their mom, they discovered they’d missed the snow.  In Beaver Falls (where they live most of the time), there was snow on Saturday.  My kids LOVE the snow. I mean, I know that kids generally love snow but my kids are just crazy about.  So it kind of put a damper on the time they spent with me as they weren’t happy they’d missed it by being with me. Of course, their mother wasn’t too pleased either because it didn’t make for top driving conditions; indeed, in western Pennsylvania traffic accidents shut down Interstate 70 and Interstate 279 South lanes.  The city thus got up to 7 inches of snow!

But, alas, by the time they got home, it was all gone.  There were just some light showers left which didn’t make anyone happy.  So of course they blame me. And that obviously makes my ex happy.  Still, I’m trying to tell myself that kids will be kids and they’re just a bit frustrated for now and by the time I see them again they’ll be over it.  Here’s hoping.

Farm Show Freebie Fun

admin January 22, 2012 Entertainment Comments Off on Farm Show Freebie Fun

The kids were with me over the weekend which is always a little bittersweet.  I mean, of course I look forward to seeing them, but I usually get a bit stressed before they come as I worry if they are going to have a good time and what kind of mood they will be in.  And then I get sad as Sunday night approaches and I know it’ll soon be time for them to leave.  Still, we had the Farm Show at least to look forward to so I had a planned activity with them.

The show was incredibly kid-oriented. First, there was a guy running around with a bag of goodies and freebies for everyone – that sure put a smile on all my kids’ faces.  If you’re a bargain-hunter (which I’m not) you can really find a ton of great stuff.  Zach picked up a funky Superman ruler so he was happy.

Once we got home, the kids were comparing all the free stuff they got which kept them busy for ages.  Then it was time for pizza!  We ordered two large pies from Mama’s Pizza and then set down to watch a movie that, surprisingly, we actually all enjoyed – Home Alone 2.  So, all in all it was a fun weekend which went down very smoothly; I was incredibly grateful for that.  Now I just have to see how I can amuse myself tonight so that I don’t wallow in my sadness that they’ve left.

The Harrisburg Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial

admin January 18, 2012 Entertainment Comments Off on The Harrisburg Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial

 

So I just heard from an ex-colleague that a couple of days ago it was the 10th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day.  In commemoration of this event, there was a breakfast with a full program at the Harris-Pruett Building.  I wasn’t able to participate but Derek – my ex-colleague who is currently out of work – went and he said it was really good.

 

This year’s theme was “With Faith We Are Going to Make It,” which Derek said was incredibly inspirational.  I guess the fact that they provided a yummy fry-up breakfast wasn’t too bad either.  Although, truthfully, I thought the city was meant to be focusing on healthy eating and exercise in its “Race to the Moon” program that I mentioned last week.  So when I heard what he ate – bacon, sausages, eggs, biscuits and gravy with some fruit (which seemed to me like a bit of a token gesture rather than anything else) – I was a bit perturbed.

 

Still, I’m glad the event was so successful and that Derek was inspired. But, while he might have left with food-for-thought he probably also exited the event with a few more clogged arteries!  Come on Harrisburg, let’s get back on target with healthy eating and good workouts.

 

Harrisburg Hiking with Dani

admin January 17, 2012 Nature Comments Off on Harrisburg Hiking with Dani

Since Dani and I have now been on quite a few dates, I figured it might be time to do the hiking date.  It was suggested to me by my other friends who are dating, that hiking should be reserved for at least the fourth date as it could get a little intimate. So I figured – since Dani told me I’m her boyfriend – the timing was perfect.

We went to Bridal Veil Falls State Park.  It was my choice.  I have learned how important it is that I take initiative and so I’m trying to arrange as many of our dates as possible.  Dani seems to like that too.  So I packed us a nice picnic (one of the things Joanne and I never used when we were married was a lovely picnic hamper) and off we went.

It was absolutely stunning. There’s a lovely waterfall and a great view of the Columbia River that we took in before we set out on the hike.  We both decided we wanted to do a bit of a walk since that was really what this was all about – getting in some fresh air and exercise.  There were a few rocky spots along the way but that enabled me to hold Dani’s hand – she put it out for me – and I feel that created some intimacy that, so far, has been somewhat amiss in our romance.

Once we had walked a while and seen what we wanted to see, we sat down and started on the picnic.  When I had picked up Dani she said she had put something else into the hamper for me, and to my delight, it was a lovely chilled bottle of one of my favorite white wines – perfect for our picnic, hiking day out.

Harrisburg Opera

admin January 16, 2012 Entertainment Comments Off on Harrisburg Opera

Last night my girlfriend – yes the lady I’ve been seeing for the past few weeks informed me of our new titles for each other – went to hear the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra.  By the way, I don’t think I mentioned this in my previous post, but her name is Danielle, Dani for short.    Anyway she was telling me all about it and I realized that if I want to keep this relationship going then I’ll have to boost my culture a little to keep her impressed.

So the star of the opera was a woman called Di Wu who played Edvard Grieg’s Piano Concert through her very own interpretation.  Dani told me she loved it.   Apparently this has been played over and over again since it was first created 144 years ago, but Di Wu had something outstanding to add.  It was said that she didn’t play the piece, but she “flow[ed] through it.”  Dani said it was a real treat and she would have loved me to have been there.

Well, that of course made me happy – the part about her wanting me to be there – but I was a bit concerned about how much she seems to know about opera and how many gaps there are in my culture knowledge.  Still, I guess I can try to show enthusiasm and then see where that goes.  As long as I show an interest in my “girlfriend’s” hobbies that should be enough.  At least, I hope it is.

TV Update

admin January 15, 2012 Entertainment Comments Off on TV Update

So what’s going to be tonight with my football game?  Remember I was recently talking about the possible cancellation of some of my favorite Harrisburg TV stations, most notably the football ones? Well, there is an update.  And tonight is the game.  And I’m not exactly happy.  There won’t be a game screened on my channel due to a financial tiff!  Verizon FiOS and CBS-affiliated stations are going at it and the situation is not looking pretty. And it’s certainly not looking good for me and other Harrisburg football fans counting on a nice night in watching the game and eating hot dogs.

But it seems like I’m not the only one who is going to be disappointed tonight.  A staggering 30,000 people are subscribed to FiOS and they will all be losing out.  It’s already WHP-TV and a couple of other channels that we’ve not been able to watch since Friday.  Well, this camper is NOT happy about that.  I hope something changes soon, they get over their financial disagreements and bring back my football TV.

Harrisburg Wellness Challenge

admin January 11, 2012 Harrisburg Health Comments Off on Harrisburg Wellness Challenge

 

So it seems like Harrisburg is taking its health and wellness seriously.  I’m definitely not averse to that.  I for sure could do with losing a pound or two myself given the fact that I’ve consumed rather a few too many chicken wings at McGraths – which is now really my favorite hang out on the nights I’m going solo.  But given that we all try to make our New Year’s Resolutions center around weight loss and healthy eating, this latest endeavor is to be welcomed.

Initiated by CaféWellTM and HealthAmerica, “Race to the Moon” has been getting willing and eager participants walk 208 million steps in two months.  The program apparently officially began in the middle of October and to date, people have clocked in a staggering 89,000 miles (which – if you’re counting – would render you one-third of the way to the moon) but I’ve not joined in yet.  Although it is definitely something I want to get involved in and encourage my kids too do as well. Neither Joanne nor I have been particularly good about encouraging the kids to eat well and exercise regularly; it’s something we definitely have to work on.

There are another three months left of the program so I’m going to try to find out how I can get involved.  I heard that there is still room for newcomers and we’ll get a free pedometer too!  And there are prizes involved too!  Now, if there is something that will push my kids to do something, it is prizes. So that’s my next task – to find out more.

 

 

My TV Stations

admin January 10, 2012 Entertainment Comments Off on My TV Stations

I was a bit disappointed to discover yesterday that two of my favorite Harrisburg TV stations might be slashed from Verizon’s FiOS network by the end of this week!  Apparently they need to renegotiate their re-transmission agreement by then, or they’re out.  This certainly does not make me happy as if it goes ahead, it will mean I won’t be able to watch my NFL playoff game over the weekend.  Given that this weekend the kids are with Joanne, it will just be one more thing to add to my misery.  I really do hope FiOS makes the right move and a renegotiation happens.

There are other shows on these stations such as “The Mentalist” and “The Vampire Diaries” that a lot of my coworkers watch but I’m not so interested in.  It’s the football that I need – I have been looking forward to my playoff games between the Denver Broncos and New England Patriots ever since last Sunday!

Still, there is a chance I’ll be going out with Marjorie again over the weekend.  It’s going okay; she just has to see if she can get a babysitter for her two girls.

Harrisburg is Too Kind

admin January 9, 2012 Firefighters Comments Off on Harrisburg is Too Kind

I think our city is too nice for its own good sometimes.  I just read this article about how our city let another municipality in the region use its fire safety truck which clearly did  not take good care of it.  It was returned apparently in even worse condition, with one of his axles broken.  But, as the city of kindness, the Remodelers Council of the Home Builders Association of Metropolitan Harrisburg on hearing about this, pulled out its wallet and gave us a van worth $20,000 to be used for fire prevention and safety demonstrations with our kids.  I know that all my kids will love that so that will be another activity I will be able to do with them when they next come to stay.

I love seeing such kindnesses in my city.  After that initial donation, Harrisburg’s Fire Department’s Relief Association gave a further $15,000 to the fire department to be used to purchase supplies, equipment, etc. for the van.  And then I heard that kids at Downey Elementary School will be the first  ones to see the new van; such a shame that it is not Jake’s school.  Still, hopefully at some point soon he’ll be able to see it too.

Getting Back to Nature with the Kids

admin January 8, 2012 Nature Comments Off on Getting Back to Nature with the Kids

So, the time finally arrived for the 96th Annual Pennsylvania Farm Show.  The kids had been talking about it for a while, especially as Zach, the little one, was going to be performing.  I knew I would have fun, if only for the fact that it’s time I get to spend with my kids.  I missed them last weekend.  Well, truthfully I always miss them.

I really got a taste of agriculture here.  We were there first thing in the morning (it opened at 8am) and stayed the whole day.  We wanted to get there on the first day, because Zach was playing and anyway  I’m often at a loss for things to do on a Saturday with them that they can all enjoy.  And they really did.  Adam and Jake were also extremely proud of their younger brother.

Apart from the performance, Zach LOVED the animals – there were more than 6,000 of them! I enjoyed the exhibitions and Adam got such a laugh out of the huge butter sculpture!  Can you imagine that?  It used close to a thousand pounds of butter.  Everyone wanted to take a look at that, but, I parked myself in a good location as we got there so early. A guy called Jim Victor of Conshohocken constructed it; he started the project a couple of weeks ago!  He does cheese and chocolate sculptures too; now that might be something I could really get my teeth into!

Let’s just hope all weekends with the kids are like this.  It truly was a lot of fun and everyone felt good at the end of the day.