Don't Tell Dumbledore Our Sorting Hats Are For Muggles...

I'm now Twit-able.  Please go to http://twitter.com/MikeKrausBlog if you'd like these updates on your phone or whatever.  The same still goes for the Facebook page at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mike-Kraus-The-Blog/148570945185850



Pete at the JCPenney in "the mall" of Batavia, NY waiting to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part One.  Word...



Sarah, Megan, and Pete in playing with knit hats at JCPenney since we got to the theatre really, really early.  Megan and I are use to getting tickets really early for Harry Potter IMAX in Chicago, which you have to fight for.  Batavia is not Chicago...



I had to join in with my frog hat.  



Megan and Sarah squealing about the snowmen in the rest of "the mall."


 
The Channing H. Philbrick (Linear) Park in Penfield, NY.  Megan and I live in the Panorama Plaza area, which is surrounded by parks.  So, we decided to check out this one which is a couple of blocks from our place behind the Home Depot.



Philbrick was a former Town Supervisor of Penfield, NY and the park features Irondequoit Creek, which drops 90 feet in a one mile stretch of class III whitewater cascades.  The area was first known as Sgoh-sa-is-thah (smashing water against rock) by the Iroquois and later became a mill and factory center around 1795 when Daniel Penfield purchased the township that now bears his name.  This settlement lost its importance when milling around the High Falls in downtown Rochester started.  The land was later converted to a sewage treatment plant that dumped right into the creek.  It was removed and is the park we know today.



A nice hobo gazebo on an island in the middle of the creek






We saw giant Salmon carcasses and this bend.  We just missed their run this year.  These are clay cliffs that seem to have a lot of homes for little animals.






The bridge at Washington Street



Megan with her feet dangling off the edge watching the falls



Washington Street Bridge






A strange cascade/fall.  Not sure if this is natural or manmade.  It's a really long, perfectly straight falls.  It may be manmade since it's so close to the milling area.  Then again, the whole area is a milling area.  So...






Foundation of one of the many old mills in the area



This appears to be an artificial waterfall runs for one of the old mills






Wonky bridge 



Shelley Bridge.


So, a lot of nature shots these days.  Probably because I haven't lived near anything natural since I started college in 1999.  We'll stay in Rochester for Thanksgiving.  The Lions should get destroyed by the Patriots.  We'll see how the Cowboys can handle the Saints.  And staying as far away from anything retail-oriented for the next week as people go Christmas Crazy.

He Use To Be Just "Mike," But Now He's "Uncle Mike."

Tachel had Veteran's Day off, but her parents did not.  So, Megan and I got to play with her all day long.



What child doesn't like going to the public market?  



Judging from the sunlight, this is Baby Jesus' Food Stand.  The sun was really bright.  So bright that I heard a few people complain throughout the day that it was too sunny.  I'll check in with them again in February



Best deal in town and another reason to seriously preserve Monroe County's agricultural and open spaces.






Every tooth you see in this picture is loose.  



This photograph was commissioned by Tachel.  It was requested repeatedly that I take this image (no, not like that.  Get closer), so her dad can "see that there is purple food."  So, Rich there is purple food.


 
Little legs get tired of walking and cold ankles need hand warmers...



Going to town on a muffin at Union Bakery where we bumped into Erin.  This place was pretty awesome.  Affordable prices and just a barebones building.  Just my style.  



CANSTRUCTION CHICAGO!  Sorry, I mean CANstruction Rochester?  Indeed!  As many of you know, Megan use to put this event on in Chicago and discovered they did it in Rochester as well.  So, we went down to the Bausch and Lomb Building to check it out.  As you can see, this is a birthday cupcake.  The flame is a bag of Flamin' Cheetos



The Wizard of Oz



Candle



So, I took the previous pic and Tachel yelled out "WAIT!  I'M NOT IN IT!!!"  It was at this point I realized that I am officially the "artist" and she is the "muse."



CANstruction site



Tachel hanging out with the guy coming out of the manhole



Downtown Rochester.  You see the Genesee River with the city skyline.  That's a semi truck crossing the bridge



A sea turtle



Tachel and the crashed UFO



A Flour Mill that made early Rochester famous



If there's anything Uncle Mike has, it's drawing supplies...



"Aunt Meg, what do you eat if you don't have any food?"  After the taco and ziti incidents, we chose our battles and went to Burger King.  



Ellison Park off Blossom Road.  You'll see a bit of this later on.



On a bathroom run to a nearby gas station (because they locked the bathrooms at the park), I found disturbing candy made in the USA.  



Uncle Mike using is art degree once again



It was a fun day with Tachel.  Unfortunately, it really wore out Megan because she had two kids to take care off all day and only one gets to go home to her parents at the end of the day...



Back at Ellison Park, which is just down the street from our apartment.  They have historic markers on everything around here.  This is for Indian Landing, "the most important place in the early history of Genesee Country."



This is a 1938 replica of Schuyler's Trading Post/Fort.  The original was from 1721 built by the British Captain Peter Schuyler, Jr. to encourage trade with the Iroquois Native American tribe. 



Stairs to nowhere in the park.  It's only a guess, but I think it's probably from a resort from the late 1800s, early 20th century that was taken over and turned into a park because church folk didn't like all the drinking and fun being had on Sundays.  That, or to a mansion Frank Ellison may have of had on the property or something.  Further investigation is needed...



Out in the middle of nowhere were about 30+ dogs and their owners running, barking, swimming, and all.  It was pretty random.



As I said previously, Megan's dad gave us tickets to the Detroit Lions (2-7) vs. the Buffalo Bills (1-8).  We had a couple of other tickets that we couldn't give away.  It was good to see the Bills win a game (the first time I've ever seen that happen live) and for the Lions to protect their 0-16 perfect season from being reached by another team...


  
Bills holding QB tryouts for the 2011 season at their practice facility...



Conklin's Tailgating Bar and Grill



 Megan with the family before the game



Heading into Ralph Wilson Stadium



These teams were so terrible that I yelled at both of them.  They are infuriating.  The dumb penalties.  The absolute lack of defense.  Poor call playing.  Timeouts at the most ridiculous times.  At moments, it was like each team was trying to lose on purpose.  Loser Bowl 2010 was everything I expected it to be!!!

"Your Golden Opportunity!" (In the Key of Kenny Loggins)

A big congratulations goes out to Megan this week since she has a NEW JOB!  "Didn't she just get a new job?" you say.  The answer is "yes, and she seems to collect jobs like candles," but that was a great temporary opportunity that ends in December.  She'll start at Hillside Family of Agencies right after as an Event Coordinator (or something like that).  Give her the ol' congrats when you get a chance!!!  (PS - I'm still looking for a position and my resume is at www.mikekrausresume.blogspot.com or  to the left of this, just saying...)



Proof again that there is no problem that can't be created that doesn't have an affordable solution.  I like that they are trying to make eggs in the shape of bread, but I find in interesting that they suggest this for use on pancakes too.  Maybe this is a suggestion for IHOP to make a pancake version of the KFC Double Down?



Before - During - After
Erin needed her bathroom painted and I needed something to keep me busy.  Seems like a match made in heaven, right?



Before - During - After



Before - During - After



Before - During - After
Not bad.  Last I saw, there were a few touch ups that needed to be done with a smaller paintbrush.  Some cleanup of paint and putty here and there.  Stuff I'll have to look at next time I stop by.



Some people get paid in peanuts, I elect for doughnuts.  Donuts Delite to be precise.  They are delicious and, I'm just guessing, not health food.  We've been hearing "you have to go to Donuts Delite" ever since we moved to Rochester.  After eating their food and seeing their website, I might have to make a pit stop in the near future.



MEOWZR!!!  It seems we might have a crazy cat person as a neighbor.  Megan decided that she will use it as her exclamation from now on.



The Morton Rundel Memorial Library in downtown Rochester.  Morton Rundel was a local art dealer who made money by investing in his cousin's company, the Eastman Kodak Company.    When he died in 1911, he gave $400,000 to the city for the construction of this library and art gallery.  But, the city took so long to start construction that the family sued (further delaying construction) and it wasn't started until 1934.  By then, the Memorial Art Gallery was built and another art gallery was unnecessary.  So, it's all library except a one room art gallery now.  The building's on an old millrace along the Genesee River that was later used and abandoned as a subway.  It is connected by underground tunnel to the modern Bausch and Lomb Public Library across the street.



Inside the Rundel Library.  I spent a few hours here last week just seeing what they had.  Their local history room on the 2nd floor is pretty impressive.  Lots of local, family, state histories.  Big old maps of the city.  City master plans from every decade that seem to be implemented a small bit or ignored completely.  Microfiche!  


The Detroit Lions (2-6) vs. the Buffalo Bills (0-8) in Loser Bowl 2010 this weekend.  Megan and I will be there.  Megan thinks there should be a Super Bowl of losers every year to determine the worst team in football.  This is about as close as it's going to get to reality.  I can only dream that this game ends in a tie (a likely dream with Stafford out for the season... again...)...