October 18

My friend Keith and I had our dinner at New York System in Providence tonight. Even if we had only gone for this, it probably would have been worth the drive in the rain, and the drive back in the snow. I don't recall snow in October before. Once in May, sure, but never in October.

But I digress.

Keith needed the lift to visit a unique craft store in Warwick, and his lure was to offer me dinner for driving him. He introduced me to Coneys in Fall River earlier this summer, and New York System weinies -- don't call them hot dogs! -- are similar. They come topped with meat sauce, mustard, onions, and celery salt -- and I think the toppings outweigh the pork in the hot dogs.

Still, they're delicious, and there is a tradition -- a mythos, even -- around their consumption. Since they're small, they're often consumed in multiple units; six is not unheard of, though that's usually a weinie-only meal. As I only had two weinies, I also got a small order of truly outstanding french fries. (Note: a small order of french fries at New York System is a dinner plate full).

And then there was Norman, the loquacious and colorful weenie cook. He was entertainment all on his own, telling stories of his 20-plus years there.

All in all, it was a great day, despite the weather. I'm going to have to haul my photo walk cronies down there some weekend next spring.

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September 19 - 20

A unique set of circumstances kept me from posting my photos this weekend. I was on a trip and didn't have reliable Internet access for most of it. I'm combining these posts in order to play catch up.

September 19

My friend Anna and I took a whirlwind trip to Upstate New York this weekend. Anna's family lives there, and happen to be only a few minutes from Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome, one of the premier museums of early aviation, and one that puts on airshows in their vintage aircraft. It was the perfect opportunity for me to go visit the Aerodrome, which has fascinated me since I first heard of the place, and for Anna to get a free ride home to visit her folks one weekend. (More on this later.) It was also the chance to visit my friend Mark, who moved from Boston years ago and lives just down the road from Rhinebeck.

With National Novel Writing Month coming up, it also gave us a chance to sit and begin planning our schedule and events, since its a four-hour drive out there and back. It also gave us the chance to pick up the only remains of Merlene, who will be attending our events as well as featuring on NaNoBoston merchandise in our CafePress store.

I got the above picture of the Mid-Hudson Bridge in Poughkeepsie while returning from the mall with Anna, where we had picked up Merlene. It's beautifully lit at night, and the lights change colors in an intricately-synchronized routine.

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September 20

Sunday, Anna and I, along with her father, headed over to Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome for the airshow. It was remarkable, and less airshow in the traditional sense than pure showmanship and old-fashioned entertainment. Old Rhinebeck has a large collection of flyable vintage and reproduction aircraft, and they put on a fine program.

This is the business end of their Albatros D.Va, a reproduction built in 1975 by the museum's founder, Cole Palen, and his associates. It's simply beautiful, and watching it in flight was a delight. It was also nearly impossible to photograph clearly because of my lack of a fast lens with a long-enough focal length. When the airshow was over I hied it to the display to get some shots, including this one, which is my favorite.

It was a long short weekend, if that makes any sense to you. I was gone about 37 hours, and spent 12 of those hours in the driver's seat. Still, it was absolutely worth the trip, and with the most perfect weather imaginable, a great way to spend the last weekend of the summer.

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June 14

I thought it was funny how Pogo acts when I found him wrapped up in the bedsheets early this morning. We give him clothes to wear to bed and he starts acting more human. Or, more specifically, more like me. I'm a blanket hog myself.

Pogo has been having accidents at night, so we've had to start putting him in a diaper at night. We call the diaper his "pajamas," though, so we won't embarrass him when we put it on him. It's working; he's wearing it without complaint. So now I'm not having to wash sheets every other day.

Diaper = win-win.

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April 26

I didn't have a lot going on this afternoon, so I called up my friend Anna to ask if she'd like to go to IKEA with me. (Yes, my social life is that pedestrian.) Anna had just met up with Brandon, our friend from National Novel Writing Month and Script Frenzy, so I gamely invited him along as well. (I just cleaned out my car today, so there was actually room for all three people.)

And away we went.

IKEA is a fun place to go when you're feeling aimless. There are arrows on the floor to guide you through the showrooms, you can see neat things and make fun of them, and the food at the restaurant is pretty cheap and filling. There's also the people watching; that one turned on us when we saw the slightly saggy overweight woman wearing the low-rider jeans. There had to have been three inches of butt crack showing, surrounding by sagging cellulite. Brandon might be scarred for life.

And that is the high point of my day. I amuse myself, and fortunately, when others are laughing, they're laughing with me, not at me.

116/365