Summer's Return

Pass the sun block and iced tea please! Summer has snuck back into Rochester. The next several days will be in the mid 70's (24c) to mid 80's (29c). Ah, it's so nice! Then it's back to comfortable, moderate temperatures. It's such a delightful time of year.

I'm looking forward to the wide array of beautifully colored leafs this Autumn. I might take a stroll through Highland Park, and perhaps a picnic. It should be spectacular!

For local folks, remember that the Naples Grape Festival is this weekend. Try one of Linda's yummy grape pies (roadside stand). I won't be going because I lost a nice chunk of weight, and it would be too tempting. Enjoy!

Wordless Wednesday - Rochester Lilac Festival is soon!

Rochester Lilac Festival is coming soon - May 14-23.

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Rochester NY Lilac Festival is STILL ON!

In spite of having it's first confirmed case and 17 suspected cases of the H1N1 Swine Flu in Monroe County, Rochester is still going ahead with the Festival. Personally I'm looking forward to it!

According to the report "The woman and her roommate were treated and officials say they're confident her case hasn’t spread in the community." Hm, well it takes about a week to get the results back and as far as I'm concerned there could be more cases currently.

Things haven't changed here. Stores are still just as full. I haven't seen anyone wearing surgical masks. No schools have closed.

If your coming, just use common sense and take precautions...

"Take these everyday steps to protect your health: (CDC)

• Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.
• Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hand cleaners are also effective.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread this way.
• Try to avoid close contact with sick people.
• Stay home if you are sick for 7 days after your symptoms begin or until you have been symptom-free for 24 hours, whichever is longer. This is to keep from infecting others and spreading the virus further."

You can read more about the festival here. And last years fun time here. The official website is here.

Personally I plan on going and intend to have fun! But we all have to research, and make up our on mind about how we deal with this flu. I figure that I will have a greater chance being exposed to the flu working as a CNA so a festival doesn't bother me. At lest not at this point.

Rochester NY News & Lilac Festival Schedule 2009

Lilac Festival Information 2009 - The festival is Rochester's largest and brings in almost a half a million people each year, including tourists who travel to the area. The park has "over 500 varieties of lilacs and more than 1200 lilac bushes in the parks' 155 acres". It will take place on May 8 to 17 at Highland Park. "Musical acts will include Rickie Lee Jones, Joan Osborne, Dr. John & the Lower 911, Southside Johnny & the AsburyJukes and Big Bad Voo Doo Daddy. The festival and concerts are free." Mark Quinn, superintendent of horticulture for Monroe County says that the Lilacs are "in excellent condition."

I had a wonderful time last year (click here), and even pigged out on wine & food samplings! I particularly liked the free chicken and veggies at "Cooks Pan." and will look for them again. I hope to get a camera and take photos this year. Rochester has hard winters, but makes up for it with a ton of fun festivals! Rochester's nickname is the Flower City. Find out more http://www.lilacfestival.com/ Here is a list of more Rochester festivals, concerts, etc. and here at myrochester.com

Gay Marriage in New York State? - Cross your fingers folks! Today Gov. David Patterson introduced a bill to legalize same sex marriage in New York state. The bill was defeated when the Republicans had control, but now with the Democrats there is a fighting change. I know that my pal Pat Martinez and her partner Lisa Golden have been working hard for this. Read more here.

Time Warner, tisk, tisk! - Time Warner Cable Inc. of Rochester NY is acting greedy. It wants to use metered billing for Internet usage, (similar to gas and electric), where those who use more bandwidth pay more. In this economy? BAD IDEA! There has been a public uproar. Many home businesses work from the Web. Rochester also has a large deaf community who uses video phone as a main avenue of communication. Politicians Rep. Eric Massa and Sen. Chuck Schumer demanded that Time Warner abandon its plan. Time Warner seemed to have backed down, but not really. It is more like a postponement in hope that the community will get use to the idea and accept it. Hm, I think that I'll stick to my slow dial-up for now. It's much less expensive.

Bad News For Buffalo NY, Rochester, and more. - I was shocked when I read it! According to the local news Rochester is doing better then most other cities, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Forbes has a list of "U.S. Cities Where It's Hardest To Get By" They listed 20 on-line and, Buffalo was #5, Rochester was #15. They also have a list of "America's Most Livable Cities".It includes several cities in Mass. and Pa. among others. Hm, should I pack my bags?

Star Trek Movie - I'm a bit of a Trekkie so I had to sneak this in. The movie named "Star Trek" opens May 8. It's "a chronicle of the early days of James T. Kirk and his fellow USS Enterprise crew members". Here's the movie trailer. Oops, it opens the same day as the Lilac Festival, but I can work that out. I hope this leads to a new series! About time! YAHOO! By the way, Leonard Nimoy who plays Mr. Spock (and is also in the movie) is said to live in my area. He is my favorite Star Trek character of all time. In case he's reading this...I'm no skinny Minnie! ; )

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Heat Wave and Fairport Canal Days Festival

One of my favorite festivals is Fairport Canal Days. It's one of our largest festivals in the Rochester, NY area. It's from June 6-8. It has over 300 artisan booths, 40 traditional & ethnic food vendors. It has lots of entertainment including fireworks. I enjoy the Boat cruise along the Erie Canal.

Unfortunately, I don't think I will be attending this year. It will be to darn hot! It will be near 90 degrees for the next 5 days with pop-up thunder showers over the weekend. Holy Crap! I really hate to miss the festival this year. :o(

I went to the Lilac Festival (in Rochester, New York)

Thursday I went to the Lilac Festival in Highland Park, Rochester, NY. Admission is free. (Sorry, I don't own a camera so no personal photos). I blogged about the Festival very recently on Wordless Wednesday, which wasn't so wordless. I went to Monroe Community College, (MCC), to use the shuttle bus, but the shuttles are only used on weekends. It took me awhile, and a prayer to find a free parking spot, but got one right across the street from the festival. They also have lots of free parking about a mile away, but I'm not use to walking. It was my first real outing since winter, and I have not exercised at all this winter.

Admittedly It's not my favorite festival. I'm not crazy about Lilacs. I did liked the magnolias, and bell shaped flowers better. I like to go to this festival because it is the first of the season, and gets me in the festival mood.

I went on "Wine 'N Blues Day Farmers Market" day. There was wine tasting, and food samples from New York state wineries, and food vender's. Now that was a real plus! There was also live music in the background. I had samplings of cheese, different mustard's on pretzels, various salsas on taco chips, a small salad. I had maple butter and maple syrups, chocolate chip cookies, bar crackers, power bar pieces, and more. Free samples of multi vitamins and hair conditioner, and much more. And of course wine samples, and more wine samples. I estimated 8 wine booths. I was feeling good ;o) At a "Cooks Pan" (?) demonstration they gave out free chicken, and veggie samples. Mmm, my tummy was full!

Heads up, the last day for the Lilac Festival is this Sunday, May 18. You might take a look at the online schedule, and the weather report. Some showers are expected, but not a washout. The weekend offers lots of events for the kids. Have FUN!

Not crazy about the Lilac Festival? Here are "10 things to do this weekend in the Rochester area".

Nice Weather = Less Blogging

Nice Weather = Less Blogging

I'm sure that it's nothing new that people tend to blog less in summer. I will be one of them. Oh, I don't know how much less, but I imagine I will slow down some. You may tag me for memes and such, but please understand if I don't have time to do them. After a long hard Rochester winter I am out of hibernation, and want to get out and about. I want to go to festivals, beaches, see more movies, etc. Besides that I have to take care of a few things like get help for the depression, and concentrate on taking better care of myself. It's a good time to reprioritize.

A few subjects have come to my attention to blog about, but I will just touch on them...

What is going on John Edwards?

I can't figure him out. Why did he wait so long? He just backed Obama AFTER North Carolina voted. In my previous post "The John Edward Factor", I wrote how Senator Edwards, (of N.C.), could be a major player. Everyone thought that he would back either Hillary, or Obama before the North Carolina vote, and in so doing maybe rack up a few more delegates for his favorite. But he waited until the last minute, so his endorsement will not be as affective. It looks like he is just backing the Democrat that is leading. He also has stated again, that he does not want to run for Vice President. He's a relatively young, ambitious, politician who seems to be throwing in the towel. I'm not sure why. Perhaps it has to do with his wife's health. Or maybe he is interested in the V.P. position, but just giving us a load of crap.

Hallelujah! California legalizes gay marriage!



Now we have two states, Massachusetts and California. Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi plan to wed. Congratulations ladies! But is it me, or do we seem backwords? After all Canada has already legalized gay marriage. We are slow, doing it one state at a time. For a country who says that they are for civil rights, we sure are taking our time about it.

Wordless Wednesday (Kind of) Lilac Festival in Rochester, NY

This picture is of the Lilac Festival in Highland Park, Rochester, NY. Rochester is known as the Flower City. Click on the picture to see many more beautiful photos. The Festival is taking place now - May 9 to 18. Admission is free. For official website click here.


News Articles...

Lilac Festival takes root in history
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, NY - May 12, 2008
That, as much as anything, is an indication of how Rochester's Lilac Festival has evolved. The lilac collection in Highland Park now numbers some 1200 ...

Hundreds turn out for Rochester Lilac Festival parade
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

Schedule of events at Rochester Lilac Festival
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

Rochester's Lilac Festival draw families, youngsters
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

Record Weekend at Lilac Festival
13WHAM-TV, NY - May 12, 2008
(Rochester, NY) -- Organizers estimate 225000 visitors came to Highland Park for...

It's Summer In Rochester New York (NY)

My favorite season is spring. Those wonderful crisp days. Sweater weather. Flowers gently budding. That fresh aroma in the air. The temperature should be in the 50's. Well, it looks like we will bypass all that. Our high today was 86 degrees. The high for the next 7 days will generally be in the low to mid 70s with very little rain.

Am I disappointed? A bit, but I am so very glad that we are finally over with all those crazy snow storms. It was a hard winter. I have just put away my snow shovels. I am looking forward to the wonderful Rochester festivals! I just love them! Starting with the popular, beautiful Lilac Festival May 9-18. Take a look at the upcoming festivals & events for Rochester & Upstate N.Y. Of course it wouldn't be summer unless I visited Canandaigua NY, and the breathtaking Canandaigua Lake.