Great Dinner - Thanks Bert and Beth!

We have a small group of friends who get together pretty much every Friday evening for food, drink, and talk. Last night was no exception, and Bert and Beth ( our usual hosts) came up with a couple of new things. First, was the salad above - fresh mozzarella cheese slice, nice thick fresh tomato slice, basil leaves, and some chopped garlic and onion topping with olive oil, plus probably some secret stuff??? Next - and I did not get a picture - was grilled carrot "hot dogs". Bert and Herman stuck with the traditional Italian sausage, but the rest of us had grilled carrots on a hot dog bun with all the condiments! In short - lightly boiled hot dog sized carrots - marinated for 24 hours or more in your favorite marinade, and then grilled on the BBQ and served on a bun! Great flavor, nice texture, and very healthy! A couple of recipe links below, but my guess is you can just use a store bought marinade, or use your own favorite recipe! It turns out we have a couple of area hot dog carts that actually include these on the menu! Click here for the local newspaper article - including recipe.Picture above borrowed from our local paper.

Additional info and recipe links below --

recipe # 1

recipe #2

Tenacity Tomato 2.0

Back in July I posted a picture of a tomato plant growing out of a crack in the foundation of a building in the parking lot of our neighborhood diner. Well, it has grown quite a bit (back on 7/20, it was just a bit above the bottom row of blocks), but like the tomatoes in my yard, and others I've seen around the neighborhood, it has not set any tomatoes yet.

Just testing!

Just wanted to see if this spinning top graphic that I downloaded many years ago, will spin here. I used it as a "Click Here" thing on my old web site for The Toycrafter. Clicking on it would take you to the page about my spinning top show.

Looks like it doesn't spin here, but it still looks cool,
and my top show is as much fun as ever!

If you have a Scout Troop, a Church group, a nursing home, a school class, or just would like to get the neighborhood kids together, contact me. If you live nearby, it is free. If you live far enough away for the gas to get significant, I may want some gas money? That is not as far away as it used to be, but I'm still a very good deal!

If you'd like to have a good time, see some spinning tops, and enjoy some old fashioned fireworks, check out some of my tops in
Mumford, NY - 1410 Flint Hill Road
at the
Genesee Country Museum Fireworks Extravaganza,
Saturday, Sept. 3 (Raindates Sept. 4 & 5)
Gates open at 5 p.m.

There is a charge to get in, but it will be well worth the money!

$14 / $12 for members - plus $3 parking gets you in at 5 o'clock for the Extravaganza, or come for the whole day for just $20!

Vegetarian for a while and enjoying it.

When my niece Maeve came to stay with us about three months ago, I decided to try eating vegetarian for the while she was going to be here. With only a couple of very few minor exceptions I avoided meat while she was here, and have continued to this day, and plan on continuing. Maeve has followed this discipline for many years --- me, just three months, but it feels good. I've thought about this for a long time, for all the usual reasons. Mostly, I guess I just think it is better for the planet, and certainly better for the animals, and probably better for me? I've never liked eating anything with a face - at least not if the face is on my plate. I've always liked my meat in the form of hamburger, sausage, etc..... sort of no chance of it looking like a little leg, or other body part. I remember a few incidents with faces - I once returned my fish in a restaurant when it turned out to be a whole fish.... "Please go take the face off" I politely said to the waitress. I also remember becoming physically ill when my girlfriend's parents hauled out a huge platter with 13 lobsters on it for a Christmas dinner. I also vividly remember watching as a chef in a little seafood grill in Boston pulled out a live lobster and chopped it up with a big cleaver before tossing the pieces into a frying pan.

I guess eating other living things is sort of the basic plan of life, but if I go back to eating meat, I think I'll try to avoid eating from sources where millions of pounds of turkey meat need to be recalled when there is a glitch in the production line!

I'm not preaching - just sharing some of the thoughts I've been mulling around for a while.

New Design - Jazz version of mechanical cards

Click to embiggen. Press lever on right end to bring up the volume.

Video below - $25 each
Contact us for other colors, or your own custom item!
our Shopify site or our Etsy shop

Jazz Kinetic Mechanical Card from Don Olney on Vimeo.

The Canna Lillies are emerging!

This is the beginning of this year's crop of Canna's in my back yard. I bought the roots in Cohocton, NY several years ago, when Anne and the kids moved there from New Hampshire

Here are Dad's Canna's from 2008 We started with 5 roots, and this year planted about 45 or 50 roots. It's fun to plant stuff that multiplies every time!

Working hard in the back yard!

Thistles are awesome.

Cheryl even saw a gold finch working for the seeds!

Working hard - Bumble Bee On Thistle in my yard from Don Olney on Vimeo.

My tops at Shop One 2 - RIT

We've been supplying some tops again - Shop One 2 (Shop One Squared) at Rochester Institute of Technology has been ordering quite a few of them, and recently posted this picture of them on Facebook. It is really hard to search the name on Facebook, but here is the link --- ShopOne2

I never thought of photographing our things on lentils, but it seems to work nicely!

Of course spinning a top in lentils would be even more fun!

Maya can fly too!

Can't believe I managed to catch two of these jumps in mid air!

Watching kids push their limits is a wonderful joy, and sometimes a bit scary. This wasn't scary, but sometimes it is! Thank you Maya and CJ for the adventure!

Finally - enough rain to bring out the snails.

I know that they form a mucous plug in the end of their shell to seal in the moisture, and then go into a state of suspended animation type of place, but still ???? how do they really survive the driest July in recorded time, and just come out and go back to work when it rains nicely again???

Another great find on our Saturday ride!

The Protection of the Mother of God Russian Orthodox Christian Church is located right here in the City of Rochester. Located in the middle of a large otherwise open lot in the middle of a block of regular homes.As amazing and beautiful as this church is, it is surprisingly small.

I have left the image below larger so you can click on it and see the great detail in this mosaic over the front door.

Click here for more - including some pictures of the amazing interior

Ice Cream at the family picnic/party

Everyone - young and old (the really old sent a stand-in!) lined up very quickly when the Lugia's Ice Cream truck pulled up in front!

Great graphics, and perfect "cars" eyes in front. CJ stood there saying "ightning"!

Latest design - Mechanical Card / Surprise Box

This is my latest mechanical card - also directly related to the Surprise Box - except that this one just operates with the little lever on the right - not spring activated. Press lever on the end to raise our hopes for victory in 2012!
Available as a business card version, or we can attach a pin back so you can wear your politics on your chest! Business card size. Price = $25

our Shopify site or our Etsy shop

As always, we'd love to design a custom piece for you!

Video of this new piece.

Untitled from Don Olney on Vimeo.

Saturday with Mom!

Saturday was in some ways a tough day. Dad is fighting a steady recurrence of the vertigo that has been an on and off companion for a number of years, and Mom continues to face the challenge of memory loss, but tucked away in these days are many moments of joy, love, and just pure enjoyment of being alive. These pictures were taken in Ellison Park - Rochester, NY. as Mom and I sat in the car - in the shade - watching a blue jay, enjoying the green, and listening to the cicadas!

Just for the record, I've managed to post every day this month, including two on at least one day!

CJ can fly!

CJ loved the pool, and even decided it was safe and wonderful to leap off the edge into Dad's arms!
Click to embiggen!

Thank you Don and Cookie for a wonderful family picnic/party!

Future Plumbers of America!

This look is just fine till age 5 or 6?
At age 16 - plus or minus - this will either embarrass CJ, or it will be a chick magnet?
Hope this doesn't appear twice - the original seems to have disappeared into the internet ether!

Rest in Peace - Angie Carmassi

Angelo Carmassi's "official" obituary makes no mention of his love of top spinning!

--------------------------------
Angelo John Carmassi March 29,1929 - May 30, 2011 Passed away peacefully on May 30, 2011 "Memorial Day". Wonderful husband and father. Beloved spouse of Lorraine for 56 years. Devoted father to Dennis, Loren and Carol. Father-in-law to Vic, Victor and Darren. Cherished Grandfather "Nonnu" to Bryn, Christopher, Avery, Kevin, Jack and Hayley. Brother to Herman and Paul. Born in San Francisco and a graduate of USF. A patriot, veteran of the Korean War , dedicated educator, Vice Principal of El Camino High, Principal of Parkway Jr. High, member of the Grand Jury, Opus and SIRS. Loved crafting birdhouses and welcoming birds into his garden. Passionate for computers, technology and avid movie buff. Superb entertainer and musician playing for the infamous Minestroni Four. Gifted with words, a master storyteller always delivering and enjoying a classic joke, a martini and a good cigar. Memorial Celebration to be held Thursday, June 16 at 2pm at The Sharon Heights Country Club in Menlo Park.
--------------------------------------
His love of kids is mentioned - he was the Principal of Parkway Jr. High, South San Francisco, California when I met him. He motivated the kids in his school by teaching them to spin tops, getting them so excited about tops that the loss of top spinning privileges was a big motivator to get good grades and to behave properly! For me, the most telling moment was when I saw dozens of kids gathering in his office before school the morning I was there... to wax their strings on his big block of "special" top string wax on his desk, and get a few tips on best techniques, etc. When I was in Jr. High, voluntarily going to the principal's office was something never to cross my mind!

Below, Angie introduces me before my top show in the library in January of 1991.

Mr. Carmassi gathering the kids in the Gym later for them to show me their top spinning skills, including "furthest throw to land spinning",
and

Angie's own invention - the dollar bill target shoot! (below - note the oversize dollar bill in the middle of the basketball court! Angie told me that he tried it with a real dollar bill, but it was too hard for the kids to hit, and he wanted them to experience success!) Hitting the target got you a dollar bill from Mr. Carmassi's pocket on the spot!

After years of being admonished to never wear shoes in the gym, and other measures to protect the precious floor finish, I was amazed that Angie loved tops and those kids a lot more than the floor condition! Imagine not only allowing but encouraging long distance top throws and target shoots in the gym!

Below - Angelo John Carmassi March 29,1929 - May 30, 2011
Don Olney showing my top collection to the kids at Parkway Jr. High - January, 1991!

Thank you Angie - I hope you are spinning in heaven!

Tiger Swallowtail

This creature (above and below) was found crawling across the driveway at Maya's birthday party. Needless to say it was an immediate hit with most of the kids, and some of the adults. Since it was found in the driveway, my old nature lore info kicked in, and I figured it was on the way to find a nice place to pupate - to perform that miraculous transformation to a butterfly. Turns out I was right about the transformation about to happen. They turn brown just before pupating --- they are bright green - to match the leaves they eat - earlier in life. Brown makes them less conspicuous as they crawl around looking for someplace to pupate. Turns out that they are a weird mottled color upon hatching from their egg - they look like bird poop at that stage . Each of these color changes helps them escape predators. Those big eyes on the caterpillar also help - makes them look more scary than tasty!

Egg below. The pictures below are all borrowed from the web. Click the ones above to embiggen.

Early stage caterpillar below

Green stage while eating leaves. Their choices -Cherry, Black Willow, Yellow Poplar, Red Maple, Elm, or Sassafrass. Probably ours ate some of the Yellow Poplar abundant in the area where it was found?Pupa / Chrysalis belowAdult

Visit to the Lilly Pond

Long view from the hill.

Grandpa, Grandma, and the kids went to the pond in Highland Park - just a couple of blocks from the house, and teeming with lots of NITBY (nature in the back yard).

Great dragon fly above, who graciously kept returning to the same perch until I could get a good shot. Below - one of the many lilies.

Below - makes the pond look bigger than it is, but this is still a very nice place to relax, and teach the kids a lot of nature lore! (all of these pictures are good ones to click to embiggen)

Below - a lone mallard duck who would rather be somewhere else I'm sure, but is confined here by an injured right foot.

First Tomatoes!

Above - first Roma tomatoes several days ago - below - last evening.

Below - plain old tomatoes last evening.Will be watching for the first hint of red!