2014 in review

2014 was a busy year and a year of slowing down. I lost some of my online writing platforms due to site closures, so I slowed down in writing, but it also made me take a look at what I was doing – and where I really wanted to go.

I enjoy writing, but my first love was always photography. The two have naturally gelled together for me, and in becoming more confident in my photography after all these years, I wanted to display it more often. I ended the racing season by covering three racing events: the U.S. Open weekend at Lancaster Speedway (which turned into more than one weekend!), the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series race at Rolling Wheels Raceway Park in Elbridge and the Super DIRTcar Series Big-Block Modified Series race at the NYS Fairgrounds in Syracuse. I love covering local racing, and I’m going to put some added emphasis on it in the coming year.

Sportsman class - 9/20/14 - US Open at Lancaster Speedway

I made it to seven races tracks in 2014 – Lancaster, Rolling Wheels, Syracuse, Holland, Oswego, Pocono and Watkins Glen. After missing The Glen for a couple seasons, it was great to get back there, and to see a first-time winner in AJ Allmendinger. I also got to meet up with a couple of online co-workers at Pocono for an impromptu Skirts & Scuffs meet-up.

My other love, in both writing and photography, is Buffalo. As Marv Levy once said, “Where would you rather be than right here right now?” – I’m happy to be able to witness the rebirth of this great area in the eyes of the nation and the world. I finally made it to Canalside this summer, but so much has happened since I was there, a winter visit may be in order (ice bikes, anyone?). I visited the Japanese Garden and the Buffalo History Museum, the Botanical Gardens (of course!), Fontana Boathouse, City Hall and Silo City – before it got its six-pack! I checked out a number of garden walks, and finally got to see the wonderful gardens of blogger Jim Charlier of Art of Gardening, as well as some cool Garden Walk Buffalo garden art, on a bus tour with Sally Cunningham.

Silo City

Sometimes it felt like my gardens were taking over my life – in a way, they were, because I had a bumper crop of veggies that saved me some money on salad fixins’. I always say gardening is my therapy, and it doesn’t cost as much as a doctor! (well, maybe…)

I got to say goodbye to Derek Jeter in Toronto and Cleveland – a huge part of my life left the field with him. I also got to cheer as Joe Torre was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame – me and thousands of my closest friends.

Life felt so busy, especially during the summer, that I feel like I forget a bunch of stuff – and I probably did. But this was the stuff that stuck out for 2014 – now, onward and upward, to new adventures in 2015!

December 2014 in review

Let me first say I’m sorry to all of you who wanted a white Christmas – for me, such a concept is overrated! I was completely happy to see temperatures creeping up on the 60s on Christmas Eve – it makes my life a little easier.

Of course, things got a little dicey on New Year’s Eve, when everyone wanted to be outside watching the ball drop (or guitar if you were in Niagara Falls). I stayed in, wondering if work was in my future…

credit: freedigitalphotos.net

December was all about the holidays – getting together with family, decorating, gifting, indulging (for which I need to get back on track in January!) and lots of time off from work. One of my indulgences was going to see Lorrie Morgan at the Seneca Allegany Casino at the beginning of the month – because the package included a casino buffet! After lunch, I ate nothing…

Then I got to meet one of my all-time favorite Buffalo Sabres, Clint Malarchuk, at a book signing at Barnes & Noble – check that out here.

I also made it to my fourth movie of the year – which is unheard of, it used to be one movie every four years – when I went to see the third installment of The Hobbit, which I pre-gamed for by watching the first two in the series, and post-gamed with the Lord of the Rings trilogy on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. This sudden onslaught on movies I want to see continues in 2015 with a new Terminator film, the final Hunger Games installment and the new Star Wars franchise (at least!).

I also got to see my little cousin and future all-star play hockey for the first time – for someone who just started skating in September, I’m impressed!

Future all-star!

And finally, I got to the Botanical Gardens for the Poinsettia Show – so much color and too many decorating ideas!

2015 Buffalo Bandits schedule

Bandits open practice 2013
credit: paulathompsonfreelance.com

The Buffalo Bandits kick off their 18-game 2015 National Lacrosse League schedule on Friday, January 2^nd with a road game against the New England Black Wolves – a team formerly known to Bandits faithful as the Philadelphia Wings.

• Friday, January 2^nd – on the road against the New England Black Wolves – 7 p.m.
• Saturday, January 3^rd – at home in the First Niagara Center against the Edmonton Rush – 7:30 p.m.
• Saturday, January 17^th – on the road against the Vancouver Stealth – 10 p.m. ET
• Friday, January 23^rd – on the road against the Toronto Rock – 7:30 p.m.
• Friday, January 30^th – at home against the Minnesota Swarm – 7:30 p.m.
• Saturday, January 31^st – on the road against the Rochester Knighthawks – 7:30 p.m.
• Saturday, February 7^th – on the road against the Calgary Roughnecks – 10 p.m. ET
• Saturday, February 14^th – at home against the Rochester Knighthawks – 7:30 p.m.
• Saturday, February 21^st – on the road against the Rochester Knighthawks – 7:30 p.m.
• Saturday, February 28^th – at home against the Colorado Mammoth – 7:30 p.m.
• Friday, March 13^th – at home against the Toronto Rock – 7:30 p.m.
• Saturday, March 14^th – on the road against the Toronto Rock – 7 p.m.
• Saturday, March 21^st – at home against the Minnesota Swarm – 7:30 p.m.
• Saturday, April 4^th – at home against the New England Black Wolves – 7:30 p.m.
• Saturday, April 11^th – on the road against the Minnesota Swarm – 8 p.m. ET
• Saturday, April 25^th – at home against the Vancouver Stealth – 7:30 p.m.
• Sunday, April 26^th – on the road against the New England Black Wolves – 6 p.m.
• Saturday, May 2^nd – at home against the New England Black Wolves – 7:30 p.m.

Find out about tickets and ticket packages at www.bandits.com. 

Five Things to do in January 2015

Chocolate lovers unite at The Chocolate Affair
credit: freedigitalphotos.net/m_bartosch

New year, new list of things to do in Buffalo! Don’t let the weather get you down – this is Buffalo, we know how to deal with it (like this guy did!). Here are a few fun things to do in January – Happy New Year!

Check out the Hangover 150 – Ransomville Speedway hosts the 15^th annual Hangover 150 on New Year’s Day, Thursday, January 1^st at noon, with racing in three categories for a $500 prize. Admission is $5 per person, ages 12 and over – find out more at ransomvillespeedway.com.

Catch a Bandits game at the FNC – You’ve never been to a Bandits lacrosse game???? What are you waiting for?!?! The Bandits have two home games at the First Niagara Center in January – Saturday, January 3^rd against the Edmonton Rush and Friday, January 30^th against the Minnesota Swarm; both games start at 7:30 p.m. Bandits games are exciting and affordable for the entire family – see the complete schedule and learn more about the team at www.bandits.com.

Hit the ice at Canalside – It’s finally open! The Ice at Canalside is open daily (weather dependent – check out www.canalsidebuffalo.com before you go!) with open skating, ice bike rentals (Fridays through Sundays only), curling and the Artisan Market (Thursdays through Sundays only).

Watch the world play at Harbor Center – The 2015 International Ice Hockey Federation U18 Women’s World Championship will get underway January 5^th at Harbor Center in downtown Buffalo, with the finals taking place January 12^th. Teams from the U.S., Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, Japan, Russia, Switzerland and Sweden will be in town for the tournament – and tickets start at just $5 for individual games. See a full schedule and get more information at www.harborcenter.com.

Sample brews and chocolate – Buffalo food and beverage lovers get two evens in January: Buffalo on Tap on January 17^th and The Chocolate Affair on January 29^th. Learn more about the craft beer festival here and the chocolate lover’s paradise here. 

Christmas flowers: Poinsettia Show at the Botanical Gardens

I love poinsettias – I think they’re absolutely beautiful.

I’m also allergic to them.

That stinks, because I can’t have them in my house without getting all congested and awful-feeling. So I do the next best thing – go to the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens and take pictures of them during the annual Poinsettia Show, which runs through January 4^th (that’s Sunday).

Taking poinsettia pictures is perfect – all the beauty and none of the congestion. And they last all year long.

This year’s show was a lot more colorful – some of the poinsettias were “painted,” as were some of the trees (artificial, not real); the fact that the colors included purple and teal were an added bonus (and gave me sooooo many more ideas for decorating, which I really don’t need).

Enjoy these photos, or get to the Gardens before Sunday and see them for yourself.

All aboard for Hogwarts!

all photos: paulathompsonfreelance.com

Happy holidays…

I love Christmas – from the music to the cookies, from gifting to – especially – decorating!

Here’s a quick tour of my trees – all 11 of them!

Left - my main tree/ purple and white lights, top right - miniatures tree (mostly Hallmark)/
red and green lights, bottom right - racing minis tree/multi-color lights

top left - teal and purple tree in living room, bottom left - Coca Cola minis tree (white lights),
top right - baking tree in kitchen (white lights), bottom right - Hallmark bakers trees in kitchen
(with Temp-tations minis)

left - teal and purple tree in foyer/pink, teal and purple lights, top right -
teenie beanie tree in craft room (white lights), bottom right - sports tree in office

And the outdoors…

Of course, then it all has to come down – until next year!

Happy holidays!!

Improve in the kitchen: Strawberry Santas

Thanks to the folks at Driscoll’s for contacting me with this opportunity. All experiences herein are my own.

I love strawberries…and blueberries…and raspberries…OK, berries in general. The folks at Driscoll’s offer up some of the best berries in the business – great taste, large berries and sturdy packaging that I can reuse for seedlings! A few weeks ago, I was contacted about trying out their Strawberry Santas project/recipe (it’s a little bit of both!) – find the recipe here.

credit: Driscoll's

Of course, I had to try them myself, and, as usual, this led to some kitchen improv: I couldn’t find chocolate wafer cookies, I couldn’t get blueberries and I’m not a huge fan of cream cheese. Enter peanut butter cookies left over from holiday cookie trays, blackberries and ricotta cheese.

This was attempt No. 1 – it’s not perfect, and not nearly as cute as the ones from Driscoll’s…but I will not let that stop me! I’m going to try them again!

There are some other great recipes at the Driscoll’s website – look for other ideas in future posts!