Halloween Sneak Peek ...

William (a.k.a. Little Bat) went to "Trunk or Treat" at church last Sunday. Auntie Bree joined in the fun and snapped a whole bunch of adorable pictures. So -- here's a sneak peek of our sweetie pie:

In the bounce house ...

Another bounce house pic ...

Our favorite Little Bat ...

Flap your wings Little Bat!

So you hold your pumpkin out ...

mmm ... donuts

Such a fun day ...

Stay tuned for more pictures of Little Bat visiting the great-grandmas on Halloween!

The Magic of Motown ...

Dave and I started off the weekend by attending the first of the RPO's POP series concerts -- The Magic of Motown.

It was hurry up and get out the door since I had to work until 6. We had a fast dinner and then headed downtown so we could arrive early enough to walk around the new Kodak Hall at the Eastman Theater and see for ourselves what has been going on behind closed doors since last spring.

We were not disappointed! The new Kodak Hall is fabulous -- it is so much more intimate than before. The boxes on the sides of the hall certainly add to the "concert hall" atmosphere and provide a sense of class that was missing. The new seats are wonderful and comfortable and the new halogen lamps in the chandelier are brilliant!

On to the music -- lots of favorite Motown tunes sung in the style of The Four Tops and The Supremes by Spectrum and Radiance. We were entertained with song and dance for 2 hours and it was a fun and lively concert.


I have to admit that the vocals seemed to overpower the orchestra ... while I enjoyed hearing the harmonies of 4 - 8 voices they were a little much when combined with the instruments. I really enjoyed the selections where a solo or duet was featured and the orchestra was able to be heard.


Still -- it was a good show and, while not my favorite of all we've been to, it was a great way to start the season. And of course, anytime I can get out for a fun evening with Dave is all right by me!

Another Pleasant Valley Sunday ...

Here we are -- back to Sunday. What a week it's been!

First, I've been sick. I came down with the beginnings of a cold last Saturday (a few days after babysitting William who was coming down with a cold at the time) and by Sunday evening it was officially in the works. I spent Monday (the Columbus Day holiday) on the couch trying to see if I could nip it in the bud. No luck.

I spent the rest of the week trying to convince the folks at work that I was well enough to be there. After all, what would they do without me? LOL. Seriously though, it's pretty tough to call in sick (I'm not even sure HOW to call in sick there!) when you've only been working there a few weeks. So I toughed it out during the day and came home and crashed in the evenings.

By Thursday I felt the worst was over and on Friday I actually felt almost human. I still have a stuffy nose and a lingering cough but I think it's fair to say I've put the "cold" part of it all behind me. Thank goodness.

So I had to work Saturday morning which made my short week feel especially long for some reason. However, we had dinner with Pat and Steve to look forward to. We ended up going to The Arlington and had lots of fun chatting about the most recent goings on. Pat and Steve recently took a cruise of New England (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Maine, Boston ....) so we heard about that and got the name of a great Irish pub in Quincy Market that Steve says we must visit. It's called The Black Rose and they feature Irish music and a lucky atmosphere.

Back to the Ayers house we sampled some ice wine while we watched Tailgate Warriors with Guy Fieri from The Food Network as the Buffalo Bills tailgaters competed against the Chicago Bears team in a tailgate throwdown. One of the team members from the Buffalo CBNG (Conklin's Bar and Grill) group was Hilton's own Brian Bartalo.

Sadly the Buffalo team lost (we think they got robbed!) but what was interesting was that even though it was filmed in August, they shot two endings. One ending had the Chicago guys winning, the other had the Buffalo team winning. They had to wait until last night when the show aired to see who actually won!

Anyway, we headed upstairs to play a fast-paced game of Mexican Train. As Dave and Steve battled back and forth for first place, Pat and I traded off third and fourth place honors most of the game. Ultimately I was the big loser when I managed to rack up over 500 points in one round (I hate it when you don't have a 3 to open up with!!) Thank goodness I don't take this stuff seriously (grrrrr .... )!

Home by 2 a.m. and we crashed on the couch. We finally got up, had a wonderful brunch here at home and now we're preparing to go visit the mothers and do some "Sunday" stuff (which means grocery shopping, laundry, picking up, yada yada ...)

All in all, it was a fun week. I was hoping to see William but with my cold that wasn't possible. I guess I'll have to get my William fix by enjoying this adorable picture:


This was taken on September 12th when we all got together to celebrate Will's first birthday. He was determined to eat the balloon!

Football, Dinner, and William

We had such a nice afternoon. I was worried we'd have to cancel since I'm feeling a bit under the weather today (sore throat, headache, and all the other yucky stuff that comes with having a cold ...) but some sinus tablets helped and off we went.

It was so nice to just relax a bit and watch football. William was sleeping when we arrived and so we all just hung out and chatted about the cruise we have booked for next July and the excursions that might be worth signing up for.

But once Will woke up the fun really started. He was full of energy and had us all laughing ... he has added "go" to his vocabulary (which currently consists of "all done", "again", and "NO" ...) Dave caught this picture of him wearing his dinosaur hat ...


We struggled through the Bills game, watching them lose to the Browns 6 - 3 ... but had a wonderful dinner waiting for us when it was finally over. Jessica made a pork loin stir fry with sugar snap peas that was just delicious and we had rainbow sherbet for dessert. Fantastic.

Tomorrow Dave and I are starting a diet (we have 9 months to get in shape for the cruise)so it was a nice way to end the week. Hoping that sometime this evening we can watch "The Wedding" episode of "The Office" again ... it was so great, it really needs to be watched twice.

And of course -- since it's Sunday night -- it's DEXTER!!!

Nice to have a fun evening of TV to look forward to after such a nice afternoon!

Potato Chowder and Chat ...

Dave and I had a wonderful evening catching up with Mark and Mary last night. Mary went to town and made a pot of chili AND potato chowder. Comfort food at it's best!

I opted for the potato chowder (what good Irish girl wouldn't?) and it was superb. Dave had a bowl of each (no surprises there either!) I brought my camera with me thinking I would take some pictures but it was forgotten next to my shoes (and is still sitting there as I type this. I'll need to stop there on the way to JJ&W's today to retrieve it!) So -- this picture is a somewhat fair representation of what my taste buds experienced (but I'm sure it isn't nearly as good!)


We had fun chatting about all the latest news -- Dave's decision to accept the job transfer, our anniversary trip to Gettysburg, William, and all the new TV shows. I think we've been convinced to give "GLEE" a try. Must remember to set the DVR for Wednesday night to record it. We have some catching up to do before jumping in.

And since I forgot to take any pictures, I'm going to steal a recent one from Mary's photo album on FB and include it here ... just because it's so nice to see those smiling faces :)


A wonderful evening with friends.

My Feet Hurt.

Gosh, working 6 days in a row, most of the time standing up has really taken a toll on my feet. They really ache tonight! I am in great need of a foot massage (I am so hoping that Dave reads this soon!)

Still it was such a beautiful fall day that even with throbbing tootsies I find it hard to complain. The trees are starting to turn. The rain that threatened the weekend all day Friday was long gone today (good news for the Apple Fest people) and the air was crisp. I am LOVING it!

Tomorrow will be a busy day with a birthday cake to bake, lasagna to prepare, the house to clean and laundry to finish up. It's a short weekend after working today but I have a 3-day weekend to look forward to when next Friday comes. Woo Hoo! I love paid holidays.

AND -- we had exciting news today -- Meghan competed in a 10K race (6.2 miles) and she came in THIRD for the women and SEVENTH overall (out of 250 people). Who knew she was a runner?!!! And she did it all in 46 minutes -- YES -- 46 MINUTES!!! (and in crummy shoes too.)


We are so proud. And she didn't even train for the race. She was planning to walk but when she saw all the "older" people running (you know, the ones in their 30s and 40s) she decided to pick up the pace.

So I guess I shouldn't be complaining about my achey feet. I have a feeling that tomorrow our Meghan is going to not only have achey feet but an achey body!!

WAY TO GO MEG! Dad and I are so proud of you :)

Fun Weekend!

Fall has arrived and just in time for a fun weekend where we could enjoy cooler temps and trees in the yard starting to turn.

We spent Saturday morning watching William (well, Dave and Bree watched him while I went for a hair appointment) and then chatted with Josh and Jess when they got back from AAA about our cruise options. Looks like we'll be heading to Alaska next July!

After they left we spent the afternoon getting ready for an evening with the Bohrers and Wirths. We got out the fall decorations and did a quick cleanup. Bree made pigs-in-a-blanket and I cut up pepperoni and cheese. We put the wine in the fridge to chill and then tried to relax for a few minutes before everyone arrived.

What a fun evening. After a couple hours of hanging in the kitchen and catching up we headed to the living room and had a Wii Bowling tournament. That Marilyn! She won it all but Jill gave her a run for it. All those years of being on bowling leagues were finally paying off. We really had a lot of fun.

Sunday was basically getting ready for the week (after sleeping in a bit!) Later in the afternoon we headed up to Josh's to watch the football game. Will was lots of fun -- I got a couple pictures of him practicing his smile ...




And then this one was just silly enough that I had to include it ...


Back to the grind tomorrow!!

William and the Ice Cream Sandwich

We had William for a little while this morning while Josh and Jessica went to AAA to look into Alaskan cruises (hooray -- we are booking a 7-day trip for next July!) I decided to have an ice cream sandwich and William was very excited to try it. He sat on my lap and enjoyed ...

Cheeks

Aren't these just the most adorable cheeks? This image graces my laptop's desktop!

Surviving the New Job ...

I am trying to make a list of all the things I haven't blogged about (but wanted to) over the past several months. Let's see -- my Mother's Day trip to Atlanta, the trip Dave and I took there in late June/early July. Our trip to Gettysburg ... William's birthday ... the list goes on and on.

However, I'm probably going to have to start with more current stuff and work backwards with "flashbacks" about what's been happening in the Paine family. It's just easier that way!

So I should probably start by mentioning that I have a new job. I decided phlebotomy just wasn't for me and decided to focus on looking for customer-oriented lines of work. I also was hoping to find something close to home (yeah, I was thinking of those nasty drives to RIT during those winter snowstorms and how much I never wanted to have to go through that again). Lo and behold I noticed that The Bank of Castile was looking for a bank teller at their Greece office. Hmmm ... 3 miles up the road. Five minutes from home. Out went the resume and in came a call for an interview.

It was kind of interesting that all this happened at the same time
I was considering a position with The American Red Cross. God certainly answered my prayers when I asked Him to intervene if that wasn't the right path. And the timing worked out so perfectly as I was able to get two interviews in before heading to Massachusetts with Dave (business trip for him). In fact, I was fielding calls about the job the whole time we were there and accepted the job while driving home.

So -- I started August 31st. I spent the first week training in Batavia (yep, an hour drive ... 40 miles each way!) and then the next two weeks in Caledonia (just as long a drive but only 30 miles ...)

I had such great experiences in both places. I was just hoping that working in the Greece office would be as nice.

Today was my first day in the Greece office. I'm so glad that's under my belt. It's nice to feel like I finally have a home after 3 weeks training in different locations. I'm excited to get to know the people working in Greece -- they sure seem like a fun bunch.

I'm hoping my feet will adjust to standing the majority of the day and that processing all the various transactions will soon become second nature. I know that it all just takes time. Looking forward to it all getting easier!

One day down ...

The Sleeping Grandpups

Meghan snapped this picture of their pups in a rare moment of peace and quiet. That's Desmo's new bed that he got for his birthday. Desmo is the brown one (on top) and M is the little one (she's a blue one.) They're just the sweetest pups!

Bree and Jay -- Together 5 Years

Yesterday was Bree and Jay's 5 year anniversary. To celebrate they went to a movie and dinner and ... had their pictures taken. I just loved these and had to post them.

A New Grandpuppy -- Introducing "M"

What a busy week it's been -- although I can scarcely remember what has managed to keep it so full. The days seem to just fly by, one flowing into the next with hardly enough time to reflect on any one event.

Earlier in the week I found myself immersed in Dan Brown's Angels and Demons -- a book I've wanted to read since reading The DaVinci Code came out a few years back. Since the Angels and Demons movie is about to come out (May 15) I decided I should get busy with it. However, I spent half of Monday and just about all of Tuesday with my nose in the book. I did manage to get a little laundry done and dinner on the table but that's about it!

Wednesday was my "William" fix -- as usual, he was lots of fun and I left their house exhausted. But it was a good exhausted :) Daisy had an evening grooming appointment with Jessie and kept us running. We got home just in time to be further confused by LOST.

Thursday was spent keeping busy around the house and doing more errands. We had someone come to estimate having the house trim painted (Yay! They'll be coming in June to paine so we'll finally be able to cross that job off the list!)

Friday I got out to visit Mom -- and had the fun of watching a mama duck with her dozen or so babies as she tried to move them from one part of the parking lot to another. I am SO thankful that none were in my path as I rounded the curve into the parking lot. I briefly caught them out of the corner of my eye as I pulled in. I could so easily have hit them had they been just a few inches in another direction.

It was fun to see the mama squawking at a good samaritan that wanted to help lift the ducklings up over the curb so they could follow mama ... he was quickly informed his help was not needed as mama squawked and rounded all the ducklings back up and then she (and they) went into "hiding" mode (she pulled her neck down and ended up looking like a rock. The babies did the same ... simply amazing) She did, however, keep poking her head up to see if the good samaritan had left. Too funny.

This morning was our monthly breakfast with Glennys and we were all happy that Josh came and brought William to entertain us. He is just growing by leaps and bounds. He's now pulling himself to a stand on the coffee table and couches with barely any effort and his two little teeth are in view for all to see.

He is becoming more vocal and will pound the table top to mimic you if you pound. He loves his little yogurt drop treats and we get a kick out of him picking them up and popping them into his mouth. Jessica certainly knows how to get him laughing -- he was in a full belly laugh tonight (we went up to their house for a BBQ cookout later this afternoon) as they played peek a boo on opposite sides of the coffee table.

Daniel and Meghan let us know that they have a new addition to their family -- Little M! She's a toy blue chiquaqua and is simply adorable. Daniel sent pictures so we could meet her. I, of course, will get to see her in person this coming Friday since I'm flying down to spend Mother's Day weekend with them!

Here are pictures of M -- she is about 14 weeks old here.

Mom's Birthday -- She's 83 Today!

The Birthday Girl
Today is my mom's birthday and although she swears she is turning 82, she is actually turning 83. Dave told her that she was 82 yesterday but today she was 83 and she seemed to get a kick out of that.

It was great to be able to get the family together to celebrate with mom ... we don't all get together often enough and I know she really enjoys it. Of course, I think as happy as she was to see us, the real thrill was getting to sip a vodka tonic. Oh, and of course, seeing William helped to make the day special.

We had a little cocktail hour with mom before opening gifts and having cake. Renee brought a clam dip (YUM!!) that is just like clams casino and we also snacked on cheese and crackers. I'm rather certain mom will not be eating much dinner tonight!

Anyway, here are a couple pictures from the day. We wish Daniel and Meghan could have been with us. That was the only thing that would have made it even better!



The Little Cowboy Who Came To Visit



Presents Are Fun ...

But Let's Eat Cake!

The Forgotten Post ... or ... Korean Food 101

I was looking over my posting list at blog central and realized that this post was still in draft form and I'd never actually posted it. Duh. Must be that hitting 50 is already affecting me. It's from back in February when Dave and I got together with Mark and Mary (aka The A-Team) to try Korean cuisine ...

First, we had to change our plans a bit and instead of going to The Korean House for dinner, we went to Young’s Korean Restaurant. As it turns out, they are practically across the street from one another and I guess it was just our good fortune that The Korean House was closed to the public last night due to a private wedding party.

I’m sure that gives you a heads up about what’s to follow — I LOVED Young’s Korean Restaurant! We had such a great experience. Our waitress, believe it or not, mentioned how we all look familiar and as it turns out, she works at the post office that is right up the road from where we live! She willingly gave us some great suggestions and information that explained the menu to us a bit better and we were all able to make dinner choices that we enjoyed. (In fact, I brought a little box home filled with yummy leftovers and just had it for breakfast!) On top of that, she had a great sense of humor and kept us laughing.

David and I both decided to have … argh. I can’t remember what it’s called in Korean. But it was basically a stir fry filled with meat and veggies and served in a spicy sauce — mine had chicken and David’s had shrimp. Mary had a beef dish that she thought was terrific and Markie had a seafood “Korean pancake” that was fantastic! (We all shared a bit.) Everything seemed so fresh.

We had a great time having a cup of hot tea and sampling all the banach — various side dishes such as kim chee, spicy cucumbers, fish cakes, tofu, bean sprouts — that were served before our meals were brought out.

Of course, the fun part was watching us all trying to use chopsticks. Mary had a little bit of experience having spent some time in Japan when she was younger and Mark seemed to know what he was doing. David seemed to be holding his own as well. Me? Well, I figured it was going to be one of the longest dinners of my life! I don’t remember another time when I honestly wondered if my fingers were working against me.

I hated to be the one to give in and ask for a fork, but eventually when our waitress came to check on us and I responded by asking how late they were open she took my hint and brought us all forks. As much as that was a relief, I was so glad that I gave the chopsticks a try. I secretly plan to keep working on perfecting (ok — improving) my abilities at home so I can WOW everybody next time we venture out for Asian cuisine.

Once we’d all finished our dinners, we headed back to our house and celebrated my upcoming birthday. Actually, our evening started out with a birthday treat — Daisies!!! Mark and Mary took special notice of my “25 Random Things About Me” that I posted in Facebook and surprised me with a huge bouquet of my favorite flowers.

Then — also noticing that I mentioned how much I love Mounds bars — Mary made me a Mounds Bar Cake! To say “simply delicious” is an understatement. And how touching to think that she took the time to go on the internet, search to see if she could find a “mounds-like” dessert and then to take the time to make it! I felt especially — well — special!

And then — there were gifts! Yes-indeedy. Mark and Mary never miss an opportunity to amaze me. This next part needs a little bit of set-up since I’m sure most people aren’t aware of my love for the comic strip “For Better or For Worse”.

A couple of years ago, knowing how much I loved the comic strip and my admiration for its creator, Lynn Johnston, Mary sent a blank unsigned birthday card to Lynn asking her to sign the card as a special treat for my birthday. Lynn went above and beyond and actually drew a personalized message to me (which I have since framed in a memory box along with pictures of me opening the gift, a copy of the letter Mary sent her, etc.) It was a thrill that I thought could not be matched.

Well — think again. To my absolute delight, Mark and Mary gave me a copy of Lynn’s book “The Big 5-0″ with — yep! — a personal wish from Lynn for a happy 50th birthday and another drawing on the opening page of the book.

How could anyone be so blessed?

Well, now that I’ve shared all the highlights of the evening, I should probably mention a few other fun things that happened as well.

Throughout the evening we were entertained with frequent text messages (that seemed to come at very appropriate times now that I think about it) that kept us informed about the much-anticipated arrival of Mark and Mary’s new grandson. (As of this moment, I understand that Tammy is pushing and Joseph’s arrival is imminent!)

And — we planned out several fun adventures for the coming year that will keep The A-Team busy, busy, busy as we discover Rochester and take in the sites, sounds, and culture of our hometown.

What a wonderful evening. Great friends, great food, great gifts, and the promise of more fun in the future. Doesn’t get much better than that!

Daisy the Stinkpot

Daisy has really been giving us a run for our money lately. When I emailed Dave today and mentioned the new hole she'd chewed in the carpeting on the stairs his reply was, "Maybe it's time for a trip to Lollypop Farm?"

Of course, he was kidding. With all our dogs we've had a favorite drop-off place that we'd mention when they were naughty. Quincy was going to Kendall, Rascal was going back to Delaware, and now Daisy gets Lollypop Farm.

Let's see -- what has Daisy done in just the past few days? Well, let's go back to a recent visit with William. Ever since William has had a binky, Daisy has been doing her very best to get it. Last week, opportunity presented itself and Daisy jumped at the chance. Literally. She jumped onto the unattended coffee table while Will was getting a diaper change. We later found the binky -- but the nipple was chewed right off.

Then poor Rascal got sick (he snuck up into Bree's room and devoured a bag of Twix candy bars she was planning to use for Easter baskets) and while Daisy was outside, refusing to come back, she managed to roll in a spot where Rascal had given up the Twix so to speak. So that meant an emergency bath.

Daisy after digging in the dirt

Easter Sunday was another one of Daisy's not-so-great days. William had received a cute little duck that quacked from Joyce Schultz and Josh and Jessica brought it with them when they came for dinner. Daisy wanted that duck and tried her best to get it. So we put it back in the tote bag for safe-keeping.

It wasn't long before I looked over and found both Rascal and Daisy on the couch with Duckie in both their mouths and her poor bill chewed off. Needless to say finding a new Duckie for William was on Monday's "To Do" list.

And now today she chewed a hole in the carpet. We're starting to wonder when it will end. It's a good thing she's so darn cute!

Afterthought: Hmmmm ... as I was reading this over for typos it occurred to me that Rascal hasn't been much of an angel either. I have a feeling Daisy is starting to wear off on him!

Easter 2009

What a fun weekend we had! It's finally starting to feel like Spring has arrived and with Spring comes Easter. The birds have been especially loud in the mornings this week (seems sweet now but I'm sure it will grow old soon!) and my daylilys and hosta are already starting to peek out from between the pieces of mulch. Buds on the lilac bushes remind me that in just a few short weeks it will be May and we'll have all sorts of blossoms to enjoy.

We had fun with William for a couple hours on Saturday morning. He was rather fussy -- our sweet baby is definitely about to pop a couple of bottom teeth and it's obvious it hurts and is making him a bit cranky. Still -- he was loads of fun and we saw lots of smiles. We read books and watched him crawl all over the house. Rascal and Daisy were his constant companions. It was nice that Dave was able to be home and could enjoy some time with William as well!


Will was missing his daddy. Thank goodness for Auntie Bree.



Daisy just had to have a taste of that little finger!



I can eat my socks if I want to! Socks are so yummy!



William and Papa.

Easter day was just gorgeous -- bright and sunny. We got a late start on getting the house ready (since we'd been out with Patty and Steve the night before -- dinner at the Dakota, taxes, and then lots of laughs while sitting at their bar watching their slideshow sales pitch intended to convince us to go on a Caribbean cruise with them in January) and even had a couple minor setbacks (who knew the leg to the dining room table would break off?) Still, it all came together. Dinner was yummy -- pork loin roast, red mashed potatoes, broccoli puff ... William even got to try some potatoes. And dessert -- when Bree and Jay came we had the unveiling of "the Easter cookie tray" which was scrumptious!



William had fun opening a bag full of Easter treats. There were some books (Mema made sure that the Paines had a copy of The Tale of Three Trees and William especially liked The Ten Ladybugs book), a personalized water bottle to take to the zoo this summer, and a rolly ball with a cute little monkey on top that we all loved. The best part though, was playing with the tissue paper!





We really had a wonderful day. It was nice to be able to spend time with Josh and Jessica, Bree and Jay, and mom. We were able to get a nice shot of William and GG Glennys ...



After dinner everyone settled in and started to watch the final round of The Masters. I finally left everyone and headed out to visit my mom. It was great that Dan, Renee, and Melanie were there too. We all were able to keep mom company as she ate her dinner and then we watched the exciting finish of the golf together. I didn't end up getting home until after 8:00 and was exhausted. Still -- Dave and I were able to watch "Celebrity Apprentice" together (it's one of those shows we can't believe we actually sit and watch but can't seem to pull outselves away from!)

It was certainly a wonderful Easter. We missed Daniel and Meghan but know they were having a nice day too. I keep thinking ahead to a wonderful Mother's Day weekend with them that's coming up and that makes it easier to be apart on special days like today.

AND we're all looking forward to a big family vacation together next summer!

Wednesday Babysitting With William

Bree and I were able to give Marie a day off and go babysit for William this past week. I went up to start the day and Bree came up later with lunch and much needed reinforcement (that little guy is getting heavy and my arms were ready to fall off by the time she arrived!)

We had a really fun day watching all Will's newest moves. He's crawling around, "wounded soldier" style as Josh calls it, and is definitely getting into things -- he already loves the DVD rack and the baskets filled with all the Wii games and books. He has lots of new toys, all of which seem to beep, sing, or talk to you (I love the car keys that say "zoom zoom!") And he's starting to pull himself up onto anything that will support his weight.

Will really puts on a show in his exersaucer and "sings" along and dances to all the tunes it plays. Bree and I sure had fun taking pictures of him at lunch, in his crib, and when he was getting changed.

Memorable moments were when I burned the fiber cookie I brought for breakfast in the microwave and stunk up the entire house with that awful smell reminiscent of burned popcorn. It was awful! I turned on the vent over the stove and opened the kitchen windows but it took forever to get the smell to a tolerable level. And then of course the kitchen window I'd opened got stuck and I couldn't get it closed for quite some time.

It was a fun, but exhausting day! Here are a few of my favorite pictures taken of our little sweetie pie.

An A-Team Adventure To Brewcrafters

We're already getting slack about posting all the good things happening in our life!

It's been a crazy couple of weeks what with Dave waiting to hear about the possibility of being laid off (Rohm and Haas had a downsizing last Friday which did not end up affecting him -- thank goodness!)and then subsequently getting sick (which I seem to now be coming down with -- geez!) Stuck in there was a day of babysitting (see next post) and a day out and about with Mark and Mary.

Last Saturday was our most recent "A Team Adventure" and this time we headed off to the Custom Brewcrafters microbrewery for a tour and sampling. The new location is in the Honeoye Falls area and is newer and much bigger than we expected.


When we arrived, they were just about to start a tour so we got lucky and were able to join in. We spent the next hour or so learning about the different ingredients that go into beer (malt, hops, yeast, and water) and the process that's used to actually brew the beer. Microbreweries are cool because they can create different recipes for all the different locations that they sell to. It was interesting to go into the cooler where they store the kegs and see the labels indicating the places these beers were brewed for (Duffs Anchor Bar in Buffalo, for example, and The Cottage Inn in Honeoye Falls -- where we ended up going for a late lunch.)

After the tour Dave and Mark bought tasting tickets and "bellied up to the bar" so to speak. Mary and I opted to stick with the Iron Man's Root Beer since neither of us are crazy about beer (and Mary was our designated driver.)

Dave had fun trying to decide which six beers he wanted to sample (tasting cards allow you to sample six different beers for $3.) Mark, on the other hand, dove right in and start taking notes for his beer sampling log and before long, our tour guide John had become Mark's best friend :) The two of them talked beer and Mark seemed to be catching a bit of a buzz ... hmmmm ... could that be due to all the extra samples that John was giving Mark to try?


They had a nice gift shop there and sold not only mugs, outerwear, books, games, and complimentary beer foods and mixes, but also growlers of all the different beers (and root beer). Great prices too -- $8 for a growler which could be refilled if you brought the jug back for $3. We bought a couple of root beer glasses and a growler of root beer to bring home and make Black Cows (aka root beer floats -- a childhood favorite of mine that bring back good memories of time spent with my dad.)

After running into Mary Bishop Partridge and deciding that the girl that kept staring at us was most likely one of our favorite Bugaboo waitresses named Precious, we headed over to The Cottage Inn located in the center of Honeoye Falls for a late lunch.

The restaurant was in an old house and former Inn. It has a very rustic, home town feel to it and I imagine it's a local hotspot in the evening as they have bands come in and a nice bar. Even though it didn't look like much, we were all blown away by the food. Yummy clam chowder for starters, and then one of the best burgers I've had in a very long time. Definitely worth a return visit if we happen to be in that neck of the woods again.

I loved the drive out in the country and being a passenger instead of driver gave me a chance to gawk at the beautiful homes and yards in the Mendon area. It was a beautiful day to be out with friends!