I am sure I mentioned that I love to browse different towns online. I like to look at photos of the areas. Many times though, there really aren’t a lot of photos to see, not even on the websites that the towns own and maintain. This always gets me a little curious. I mean, the reason for the website in the first place is to inform and attract, so why not add a nice photo gallery to it? I guess they are getting there.

Recently, my brother Jeff bought a cute place in the hills of Virginia near Luray. He has made a little hobby of taking interesting photographs of the area. He has been emailing them to me and I thought they were great. I asked his permission to post them on my blog and he agreed. I think this may be his big break…getting published on a famous blog like mine.

Anyway, since there really aren’t any great shots of Luray, VA out there yet, we are going to start putting them there. The pictures below are some country shots. I believe Jeff is going to start taking pictures of the town and different more populated areas, so I will post them when he gets them to me.

I think I finally know where Jeff gets his talent…me.

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My brother stopped by a few days ago to pick up the whole thing. This, of course, is after I spent a good chunk of time with my sledgehammer getting that large ball of concrete off the bottom pipe. With a bit of sweat and a lot of energy, I removed the concrete. The hoop was as good as new.

I told you he was going to have a little trouble dunking. I can see it now, the next best basketball star telling his story about practicing in the mountains of Virginia.

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Lately, you pretty much have to drag me out of my chair to get me to do anything. I have my head stuck staring at this horrible computer screen 24 hours a day. It really is unattractive. Jeff told me that I have to get out more often. I explained to him that it’s not like it used to be.

When I was younger, I had no responsibilities. I was also bored a lot. Now, I am always busy and running a business takes a lot out of me. There is no one else to handle things if something needs to get done. I mean, I have help, but the majority of things rest right on my shoulders. Good thing they are so muscular.

It was good to get out. I decided that we would go up to Applebees in Glastonbury, CT. We drove up there and when we passed by the restaurant, I realized it wasn’t an Applebees, but a Chilis. Jeff told me that he always goes to Chilis and would rather not go there. I really didn’t want to go there either. I made a left from Main Street onto Glastonbury Boulevard. Glastonbury Boulevard is really cool. It is tree lined and there is a lot going on. I basically just wanted to show him the road and then turn around to find somewhere to eat. We drove down the road a little and noticed a Houlihan’s on the left. We pulled in and parked.

Since the restaurant was so close to Somerset Square, I thought it would be nice to show Jeff where people do some shopping. So, we got out of the car and walked.

I gotta tell you, I really love sidewalks. I also have to tell you that it did feel a little foreign to me to be walking. I am so used to driving every little place I need to go that walking felt very out of the ordinary.

Right before we began our walk, I ran back to the car to grab the camera. I could see that Jeff was wondering what the heck I was doing. I mean, what in the world is there to take pictures of during a little 15 minute walk to no where? I explained to him that this is what blogging is all about. I told him that I searched for photos of the different things in different towns a lot before we moved here. I thought people would appreciate it if I posted some of my own. I think he got a kick out of the camera thing because he jumped on board.

Anyway, the photo above is of the tree lines and sidewalk I was talking about earlier.

Before we got to the enterance of Somerset Square, we passed the backside of a few restaurants. I didn’t think the photos would come out so blurry, but because it was getting dark, I guess that’s what happens. The photo are of Max Fish, Max Amore and some other one. Perhaps we will eat at one of these next time. I have heard good things.

We walked a bit more and made it to the enterance of Somerset Square. The lighting of this place was really cool and it felt like I was on vacation. We walked through a little bit and took a picture of Cold Stone Creamery. Jeff told me that I had to get a picture of that.

We did our thing and walked back to Houlihan’s, which I forgot to get a picture of. We went in a sat down to eat. When we did finally eat, I have to tell you, I was really very pleased. I mean, the food was really great. I could believe it. Even Jeff told me that his potato soup was the best he ever had.

I had my usual Guinness. He likes to drink sweeter drinks, and mentioned that he didn’t really like beer. He took a sip of the Guinness and I think he might have changed his mind.

What’s the moral of this long story? Try Guinness, you might like it.

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For some reason, these are funny. They are of the entrance of Fisherman’s Memorial State Park in Rhode Island. It’s out near Point Judith. The reason it’s funny is because we went camping here when we were kids. I remember something about that little house in the front. I can’t seem to remember what though. It was part of some joke or something. Something with my brother, Jeff. I know this means nothing to most of you, but perhaps my family can fill me in.

Here, take a look…

This place is really cool. I remember there was a little ranger’s office with a bunch of fish tanks. Also, right in the back of this campground/park, you can roll up your pants and go clamming. My friend Craig says that he goes clamming with a bottle of hot sauce. He just grabs a clam from the sand, opens it, sprinkles some hot sauce on it and sucks it down. Can you imagine being that clam just out for a tan one day? Holy cow.

There is a lot to do around this area and it’s a great place for a vacation. It’s very “beachy.”

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There are a few good reasons. The first is that I don’t see myself shooting hoops outside all too much. I don’t even own a basketball. That’s not to say I’m not in peak physical condition, just not for basketball. The second (and last) good reason is that my brother would like the whole set up for his two young boys to play with. They will get much better use out of it that I will. They will enjoy it and know that Uncle Jay treats them right. Jeff is going to come get it in June and bring it down to Virginia to plant near his driveway. We will handle the hoop with loving care.

I was wondering how easy, or difficult this was going to be. I knew the pole was stuck in some cement, but I had no idea how much. I began picking at it a few days ago with my pick-ax. I had a little luck, but nothing compared to today.

This afternoon, I went after the cement ball in earnest. It took about a half-hour, but I got it loose and down on its side. One thing I did notice while taking it down was a bird that flew out of the top of the pipe.

After the whole thing was down on its side and the cement ball out of the hole, I began taking the net and backboard off. About half way through this, another bird flew out of the top of the pipe, which was now really low to the ground. Again, I didn’t think too much of this. A few minutes later, a little baby bird fell out of the pipe. My heart sank. What have I done? The baby was about the size of a baby hampster. I got a flashlight and looked down the pipe and saw about four more baby birds.

I thought about it for a little while and came up with a solution. I finished taking the backboard and net off and then stood the pole up again, similar to what it was like before.

I was pretty much done bringing my tools back in the garage when I looked back at the pipe. I noticed a bird (that had been on a branch right above me the whole time), fly into the pipe. Then, another one did. They were obviously the parents going back to see how their kids were doing. I felt very good about that. I think we’re back in business.

Jeff is coming down in June to grab the setup. This gives the birds about a month to grow up and fly away. I am hoping they can do it by then. If not, Jeff will have to wait a few more days.

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I really like Pottery Barn, not for its fame from a certain “Friends” episode, but for its quality furniture. I need some office furniture, so we went to browse. We didn’t buy anything, but checked some stuff out for another day. I would say we need a bunch of things. Besides the office furniture, we need a bedroom set, coffee table and end tables, to say the least. One day it’ll all be complete. For now, we will focus on one item at a time.

After we left Pottery Barn, we had some time to spare. We wandered over to Williams-Sonoma to check out their kitchen stuff. This is another really good store, but expensive. Actually, I’m not sure if it’s expensive when you really compare quality. A few minutes in there and we were ready to go. I would say that the Promenade Shops at Evergreen Walk is a very nice place. It felt like we were down South on a vacation.

A few minutes later, we pulled into the parking lot of Carrabba’s Italian Grill in Manchester. My brother has been raving about this place for a few weeks. He just loves the bread.

We all sat down and ordered. A few minutes later, the waitress brought over the bread, which was very good indeed. After that, we ate and ate and ate (the main courses). It was sinful. When we were almost done, the waitress asked if we needed anything and my brother mentioned that I wanted more bread. I said, “No I don’t” kind of embarassed. She offered to bring me a loaf to bring home and I accepted. Just a bit later, the nice and very kind waitress brought me three loaves of bread to bring home. Wasn’t that nice of her?

Every time we go someplace, I ask Laura to remind me to take a picture of whatever we are doing. Every time, I forget and she never mentions anything. When I sit down to write about it, I end up not having any photos. With that being the case, today’s photo is of the bag we brough the leftovers home in. In this business, you need to be creative.

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I feel like I’ve been stuck inside for days…wait, that’s because I have been. I am doing so much stuff. Unfortunately, it’s all at the same time. I take breaks to rake leaves, which, by the way, are all finished in the front. I even sweat a bit. You should have seen the bugs swirling around my head.

I have a list for the next time we go to the Depot. I need a new mailbox. I am thinking green would be nice. I am going to get a nice traditional post, like many others on the road. I am also going to pick up some more Thompson’s Water Seal (with UV protection). I am going to treat the entire post, from top to bottom. Then, I am going to dig a nice deep hole and actually use cement way down deep. If it’s one thing I can’t stand, it’s having a crooked mailbox post. I know how they get crooked…it’s because of the snowplows slamming snow against them all Winter. With my installation, I am going to try to beat the plows.

I also have to get a 5 gallon plastic gas container for the ride-on lawnmower I plan on getting towards the end of the month. Right now, I only have a push mower and that’s not going to work so well up near the road. The kind neighbor offered to mow up in that area when she does hers. I thought that was nice. I explained to her that I really don’t want to be “that guy” who just moved in and now the grass is too high.

My brother came over yesterday for a visit. He works up North of Hartford, so it was only a 28 mile trip for him. I thought that was pretty cool. We went for a walk down into the woods and then down the nature trail. Then, we got the dog and walked up the road to the dead end. I wanted to show him all the nice houses. It’s good that he is so close now because we can hang out more. I keep offering to make him dinner, but he wants to keep eating in restaurants. One day…

I am planning on taking down the basketball hoop that is set up near the driveway. I offered it to my brother and he accepted. It’s in very good shape. I’m just wondering how deep that sucker goes into the dirt and how much cement they used as the footing. It may be a long day of digging.

I’ll show you some pictures of the new mailbox when I get it in.

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We basically drove by and stopped so Laura could grab a photo. This restaurant is in a really great part of town and looks very nice. I am not sure it was open when we drove by, but I’m glad the lights were on. It was kind of late at night.

Earlier in the evening, on our way down to Westchester, we hit a lot of traffic on the Hutch so we had to trust my new and awesome best friend…my GPS to guide us through the neighborhoods of Bronxville, Scarsdale and Tuckahoe. I have to say, I fell in love. What a damn nice area. The culture of hardworking people with money is soooo different than those…well, let’s just say their hard work is paying off. I really enjoyed driving through those roads and looking at the pride people take in their properties. A lot of labor and elbow grease can give great results. There were beautiful houses with great landscaping. I should’ve taken more photos for ideas. Maybe we will go back.

One area I really loved was Weaver Street in Scarsdale. It’s pretty “in there” and I would definitely need my GPS again to find it, but what an area. We also went to Eastchester, so we saw a lot.

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I have an issue with this whole thing (leave it to me). The official rules are telling me to list 5 blogs that I really read. What if I only read 2 and then throw in another one every once in a while? Oh well, I guess that’s the way it’s got to be. Here goes…

1. The Henry Family Blog - The blog is owned and operated by my sister Stephanie and her manly husband Steve. It’s not too old…I think under a year, but it certainly is getting there. They talk about all sorts of stuff and sometimes I grace them with a comment.

2. Homeowner’s Blog - This is Paul’s blog. I read this one when I am done reading the blog I listed above. There is some good stuff in there, but he doesn’t nearly talk about me as much as he should be. Once a post would be nice.

3. Sun Volt Solar Blog - I read this one every so often. I know the guy who runs it, so I have an in to the latest in the energy front. Even though I don’t believe in renewable energy, I do get a kick out of what he writes. HAHAHAHA, just kidding. I believe in renewable energy.

So, there you have it. That’s all I got. I read some more blogs, but none as much as I read these. Here are the rules, so Stephanie and Steve better write about me:

The obligatory rules that go with these sorts of posts are…
The ‘you make my day award’ works like this:

1) Write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think and/or make your day.
2) Acknowledge the post of the award giver.
3) Tell the award winners that they have won by commenting on their blogs with the news!

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As I get older, I find myself focusing on my “physical” self more than I used to. I always try to sit up straight in my chair, so I don’t get a bad posture, like I have been warned about when I was a kid. I also recognize that I need exercise these days. When I say need, I mean “need.” I mean, I am in good shape, but as anyone gets older, I think they become more aware of these things. I also feel my eyes going to hell. When I was a kid, I used to pride myself on not wearing glasses. Well, the years of staring at this monitor has taken its toll, I’m afraid. Last year, I bought computer glasses to help take the strain off my eyes. These days, I find myself having to focus a heck of a lot more. I can actually feel my eyes getting tired. People say that you should get up every so often to give your eyes a break. They say that you should look out the window every once in a while so your eyes can focus on something else, other than your computer screen. I do that, but I am just hoping that one day I will make enough money to pay someone to do my work for me as I sit in a chair behind them, telling them what to do.

So, what’s new in life…I guess it’s just day to day stuff. As I work, the cats take their turns using my lap as their bed. I am not working on adding any more websites to my portfolio…well, I had to pop a new one in there, I just couldn’t help myself. This is the year of marketing. I haven’t focused on that portion of the business all that much in the past few years, so it might be something I should do to boost the $$$. I believe I can do a very good job with that in the next ten months.

I also have been making beer, if you haven’t noticed. I think it’s a pretty rewarding thing to do. Paul came over to pick up ten bottles for a party he is having tomorrow. He is going to get back to me with the consensus. I hope he likes them.

Since I have been in college, I have been looking for the perfect place to live. Where we are living now isn’t perfect, by any meaning of the word. As my mother would say, we have decided to hate it. It’s painful to realize that, but it’s true. I have learned that it’s pretty useless looking on the internet for that perfect town. All it takes is one lousy picture of a town to ruin everything. On to the next perfect town with that one lousy picture, and so on. I think the only way I am going to make it is to get an “anchor” house somewhere up north, with another smaller home in the heat for weekends in the Winter. I have also learned that the perfect town may not even exist anymore. Back in the day, there was a quiet little main street somewhere in Indiana that you could walk up and down for the rest of your life. Now, you have to worry about tornadoes and the Wal-Mart they are putting up at the end of the block. You might think I’m kidding, but look around. The most pristine places are very unaffordable. So the quest goes on.

On Monday, Laura and I are making a trip to Washington, CT. We are going to have lunch at the Mayflower Inn. A few years ago, my mother got us a gift certificate for the Inn that we used for a perfect Valentine’s Day dinner. It was one of the nicest places on earth. We were thrilled with the little antique town, but it was kind of dark on our way in. We really want to see it during the day. You would be surprised what the Connecticut hills have to offer, for a price. I’ll let you know how it goes. YouTube certainly needs a video or two of Washington, CT.

It just started snowing. Laura proposed another walk in the snow. Who am I to say no? I have a feeling I will be putting my boots on at midnight again. I do want to say that I am getting a little tired of the snow. Every time I think the driveway will be clear for a few days, it snows. I admit that it keeps things exciting, but enough already. It’s been a snowy Winter. The next week looks warmer with the temperatures above freezing. Also, the sunset is much later now, so that January depression has lifted. Now, the sun is going down close to 6PM. In March, we set the clocks ahead, so that should be fun. I am going to try to really soak up the seasons this Spring, Summer and Fall. I think they are worth it.

Wow, what a post. This might actually be what blogs are for. I guess I have to write some real stuff when I am not busy buying things and writing about them. Hey look…it’s another cat on my lap. I think they are doing laps now. This one is Sexy Boo.

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