Nickle and Diming Our Time

Have you ever felt that sometimes the quickest of errands take the longest time? Time management is something that I’m trying to be better about and I’ve noticed just how much time we’re spending doing the simplest of things. It is astounding how much we nickle and dime our time away. I took a couple of days from earlier this week studied them and determined how my time was spent. It wasn’t pretty.

All My Obsessions: Vol. 1

As my wife will probably tell you, I have a tendency to be just a little obsessive when it comes to things in my life. All my Grateful Dead music has to put into chronological order, with all the notes for the songs played on that particular date neatly written on blue index cards. There are literally blue cards and CDs everywhere. And I listen to them in order of concert. I keep a log of all the books I’ve read, and I keep a list of what I still want to read. One of my most annoying tendencies, even to me, is that I have to have complete collections of everything.

Reminiscing: Mowing Grandma's Yard, Learning to Drive

Patience & Corliss trying to mow the lawn with the tractor.

My wife usually takes Tuesday afternoons after work to go visit her grandparents to see if they need anything. This became especially vital after her grandfather had a stroke several years ago and needed more help around the house than he cared to ever admit. Now that spring is finally here and there’s a lot of work to be done with her grandfather to help, Wendy doubly makes sure she’s able to lend a helping hand.

Talking Books With Craig and Howie

Here and Now and Then - Mike Chen

MIRA Publishing

336 Pages

Here at the Cooler, in case you haven't figured it out by now, we like to talk about books. Sometimes, we even read the same books. We're going to try something new, and if we like how it comes out, and we feel it's received well enough, we'll continue it. This new feature will have Howie and Craig going back and forth electronically discussing something they've recently read.

And to start off is the debut novel by Mike Chen, Here and Now and Then. This week, Howie started things off.

Reminiscing: Naming Your Cars

The other day I was taking one of my daughters to dance class and we had to pick up her friend, Bella, to take her to class, too. Right after I turned the corner away from her house, I thought I saw her mother driving towards us. She drives a very distinctive car that I have not seen a lot of around town. I asked her if that was her mom, and she responded with, “No. That’s Uncle Bob’s cousin.” I didn’t think too much of it, but then asked her if her cousin had purchased exactly the same car as her mom. There were so few of the around I just thought it was extraordinarily strange. Her explanation was a bit shocking, but a whole lot of fun.

Reminiscing: Tangible Memories

There are items from my grandmother’s house that are now in my house. Actually, there are things from both grandmothers’ houses now resting comfortably in my house. One of my upcoming articles was inspired by one of those items. In the meantime, as I continue to do some research for that article, I thought I would revisit some of the memories that come with a couple of those other items.

Reminiscing: Some of My Favorite Toys

We all had our favorite toys when we were kids. Some of them stick out in our minds. Some of them we loved so much that we wore them out. Some we remember fondly but we have no idea what happened to them. There has to be a collection of favorite, forgotten toys somewhere, waiting to be rediscovered by old friends. Occasionally, I think of some of those old toys and wonder what happened to them.

Reminiscing: Quick Memories Of Lockport

I was thinking about how so many things have changed around Lockport in the time since I was a kid. There are some things I really miss. Others are simply fun to talk about. I’m sure there are some people who are older than me will remember even more things, especially if they lived through Urban Renewal. Let’s see how many of these things you remember, too.

Literally the Best Reviews: The One

The One -- John Marrs

Hanover Square Press

416 Pages

We’re definitely living in an era of rapid technological advances. With each advancement, it seems more and more of it controls our lives. Where would we be without our smartphones dictating every aspect of our days? We depend less on our natural instincts and more on what our apps tells us. So what happens when a new advance tells us who you should love?

Reminiscing: If the Thunder Don't Get You...

Is it just me, or has it been quite awhile since we’ve had one of those big time, summer thunderstorms? I mean one of those thunderstorms that seems to go on and on, not the ones we’ve gotten lately that last ten or fifteen minutes. It’s not that I’m hoping for one, but sometimes I kinda miss the adrenaline rush that comes with the flash of light and nearly immediate thunder.

I was frightened by thunderstorms a lot longer than most kids would have been. I can trace that directly back to a big storm that happened when we were still living in Lyndonville. We moved to Lockport when I was five, so that memory definitely affected me quite a bit.

Let's Go Take a Hike

There hasn’t been much posted on the Cooler over the past week. That’s because we took a family vacation. I went a full week without having my computer on, and I kind of liked it. I think I may try to stay off it more. In the meantime, the time off with the family was definitely worth it. Sometimes, we just need to leave the electronic world behind. It was refreshing.

This year’s family vacation was planned to be a bit more of a stay-cation than last year when we went to Williamsburg, Virginia. What we ended up with was a bit more of a regular vacation, although not far from a stay-cation. We decided that we needed to do something fairly close to home and more in nature.

Reminiscing: Picking Those Blackberries

A couple of weeks ago, I bemoaned the fact that I could not find any blackberries anymore. Thankfully there were a lot of suggestions about where I could find some, and a couple of phone calls from family friends who had some on their property. So, the last two weekends, we went berry picking.

Last Saturday, we took all four girls to a friend’s house who has acres and acres of land behind his house with trails running through it all. Along most of those trails, there were blackberry bushes burgeoning with the tasty treats. Of course, the kids complained that the thorns were too much for them. Meanwhile, Wendy and I pushed the thorns aside and made our way into the thickest part of the brambles. That’s where the best berries are often found.

Reminiscing: Wait 30 Minutes Or You'll Drown

It’s summer, and that means pools, beaches, and swimming. With the utter lack of rain and the intense heat so far, this season is shaping up to be an epic one regarding swimming. I’ve been suckered into one pool party already, and I’m sure there are more happening. Meanwhile, the girls have been all over the place at pool parties.

Reminiscing: Waiting for Those Report Cards

This past week, we got all four report cards for the girls. Sometimes I can’t believe that the twins will be going to the high school in the fall. Or that Number Three is heading into junior high. At least we still have Jo, who’s only going into...wait a minute...third grade?!?!? None of them can possibly be old enough for any of this. It sure seems crazy, but that’s not the intent of this article.

Reminiscing: Picking Blackberries

Spring is a difficult time to write. Finally after a long winter, we can get outside and start to clean up what the snow has left behind. Because of that, I’ve been very remiss in getting stuff written for the blog. There’s just so much going on outside, and it’s been so nice, who wants to sit at a computer and write? However, after a weekend of spreading mulch, a story from when I was a kid popped into mind. That is the subject of this week’s Reminiscing.

Literally the Best Reviews: Grist Mill Road

Grist Mill Road -- Christopher J. Yates

Picador

352 Pages

When I pick up a book and wonder what the heck is going on for over 300 pages, I know that I’ve chosen a great book to bring home from the library. That’s what I got when I opened Grist Mill Road by Christopher J. Yates. I simply kept turning the pages as I was dragged into the world Yates built, continuously trying to figure out where the story was going.

Reminiscing: One of My Early Hobbies

I used to like to draw. I drew a lot. I have several sketchbooks filled with half-finished drawings and some completed ones. My mother tells me a story from when I was in nursery school where the class made autumn trees using our hands as a guide. Apparently, the teacher said I took my time, and mine actually looked like a tree. In my classes at high school, I still liked to draw, but some of the extraordinarily talented people around me had far more drawing ability than I did.

Book Reviews Reloaded: Everything Changes

This article first appeared on East Niagara Post on December 30, 2014. It is repeated here as I work to put all my book reviews in one place. They will be posted on Thursdays or Fridays and only be altered from the original in that I will add publisher information and pages. Hopefully, by revisiting these reviews, other people might find a book they'd like to pick up for their own enjoyment.

Everything Changes - Jonathan Tropper

Bantam Publishing

335 pages

When I first started writing reviews for East Niagara Post, I told myself I would not repeat authors, at least right away. It only took three months to break that promise to myself. In my defense, the author I am reviewing today is well worthy of a second review, especially if you like character-driven novels that echo real life rather than glamorous life. In my opinion, Jonathan Tropper is that worthy author. Previously, I had reviewed The Book of Joe. Today, I turn my attention to another of his works, Everything Changes.

Reminiscing: Dancing the Night Away

Summer’s here (almost) and the time is right for dancing. Whether it’s in the street or at your local junior high school, it’s time for dancing. But is it? Wendy and I were discussing this just the other day about school dances and how they’ve changed over the last thirty years. I think it was when I was listening to an 80s and 90s mix of music while writing. There were songs I knew but had forgotten about. I turned to Wendy and asked, “Remember this song at the dances?”

Book Reviews Reloaded: Face the Music

This article first appeared on East Niagara Post on December 23, 2014. It is repeated here as I work to put all my book reviews in one place. They will be posted on Thursdays or Fridays and only be altered from the original in that I will add publisher information and pages. Hopefully, by revisiting these reviews, other people might find a book they'd like to pick up for their own enjoyment.

Face the Music -- Paul Stanley

Harper One

480 Pages

The following is a satirical review of a book. It is meant to be humorous and to pique your interest in picking up the book to read. Most of what you read is meant to be funny, although I will end the review on the serious side.