Alex

My dog, Alex, was put to sleep today around 4pm, and I must admit to shedding more than a few tears for him. I guess I should say that he was more my parent's dog than mine, but I always say that he's mine. We got Alex the summer between my freshman and sophomore year in high school, and he immediately became a part of our wacky home. Until I went away to school, Alex slept on my bed, and in fact when Lisa and I got married, she joked that I was just upgrading who I slept with. I have many fond memories of my little friend Alex, and will miss him quite a lot. One memory that really stands out in my mind is the day I came home from my mission. We had all speculated as to whether or not Alex would remember me after being gone for two years. When I walked into the house and sat down, he came running up to me and started sniffing, and then rolled over and started whining. Maybe he started whining because of my smell, but I would like to think that he remembered me and was welcoming me home. He was definitely the baby in our family and treated as such, and we will all miss our little dog Alex. Bark Bark.

Meanderings of my mind

Halloween is upon us once again, which means that soon the last of the leaves will be down on the ground = lots of raking. It also means that the official holiday season is coming, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas. Winter is great during this time, but as soon as the holidays are over, I'm ready for winter to be over as well. I don't want it to drag on until the end of March or even April, yet that is what it will do. I've taken to complaining about the weather now, I can't complain about the Pokes, they're too awful to whine about. I can hear my dad asking me if I want some cheese to go with that whine, and the answer is yes.

I also have to confess to being addicted to Facebook. It helps me to remember how many people that I know, and (sorry) might have forgotten about, and it has been fun to reconnect with people from different stages of my life. At one point in my life I did more than just get up and go to work and then go to church meetings, and do chores (sometimes). I guess I'm just living the dream.

So I got a call from one of the high school coaches in Lander about an awards ceremony for all-time football records for the high school. They wanted me to come for the game between Lander and Riverton, which would have been fun, but just not possible. It was funny to think of that time in my life and it made me get out some old pictures and it seems like a completely different life to me now. Fun to think about and fun to remember. Ciao.

New England Fall

In spite of our busy schedules, we managed to make it out for a few hours on Saturday to enjoy a beautiful day full of sunshine and colorful leaves. We drove out to Sodus Bay and stopped at a few apple orchards and road side pumpkin stands. All in all, a great day.

The pic really doesn't do it justice. The colors in the background were phenomenal.

I'm bald but my wife loves me anyway.

Amazing colors.

At last count, we now have 13 (thirteen) real pumpkins in our house at present.

Packerishness

My parents came to visit us this last week, so we got to go and do a number of fun things. It has been a beautiful week weather wise, and we got to enjoy a lot in the great outdoors (as great as that can be in the Rochester area) especially the spectacular fall foliage.

My dad loves Wegmans. We came to the Pittsford Wegmans store like three or four times in the week that they were here. It is a pretty fantastic store. It helps to keep me in my authentic Italian cheeses and breads and meats, as well as all the other great foods that I love to eat.

We went to the great Letchworth State Park (the Grand Canyon of the East - they obviously haven't seen the real thing) and had fun enjoying all of the beautiful leaves and waterfalls and hot air balloons. Lots of fun.

It was fun to see the balloons out over the falls.

We went fishing on a charter boat out on Lake Ontario. We had a great time and of course, I caught the biggest fish.

We also took the boat up the river trying for some salmon. No luck with the salmon, but we had some great views of the river gorge and the foliage.

On our last day with my parents here, we went to the Powers family farm for some pumpkin fun. It really made Lisa happy and it was amazing to see so many pumpkins all in one place. Plus I got to get some good sour apple licorice. Hmmm. Life is good.

Un Tempio Romano

dal passato . . .

al presente

Non riesco a esprimere i sentimenti provati questa settimana passata quando è venuto annunciato il tempio romano che sarà costruito. Questo tempio sarà una benedizione veramente grande per il popolo italiano, e so che è davvero una concessione di tante preghiere. Quanto sono grato al Signore, e devo confessare di essere super-stra-arci emozionato per quest’evento molto anticipato. Ora devo cominciare i preparativi per poi andare a Roma per quando verrà dedicato il tempio. C’è un inno italiano nel quale la prima strofa incomincia, "Mandate voci di gioia all'Eterno" e ora mando la mia voce all'Eterno con tanta gioia.

ci si mangia

I love food. I don't want to weigh more than I should, which I do. I feel that in order to not balloon out 15 and a half dozen sizes, I half to really watch what I eat, and severely limit the foods that I like the most. I also realize that in the whole scheme of things, this is probably not that big of a deal. It is a constant struggle for me, good vs. evil, with a rather blurry line between the good and the evil. As of this minute, and my writing this, I couldn't say which is which.



This is my favorite pasta. I have just found it in the US, and am rather thrilled, though conflicted, which explains my current rant. Besides pasta, cheese and bread are also high on the villain list of evil foods that have combined to make my taste buds explode, as well as my waist line. This isn't a new thing for me either. I don't know if I will ever forget a past friend telling me that maybe I shouldn't buy the good mozzarella. Notice that the adjective used to describe said friend is in reference to the past, as in not present. Bottom line, I like good food, but am worried about wanting to be in shape and wanting to look good. Please feel free to weigh in (no pun intended) with any of your own culinary thoughts.