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Old Man Winter
I could tell you in this post that it’s been frigid and snowy in my part of the world. Or I could just tell you that it’s a typical January in Central New York and the weather part would go without saying. This “typical” January has come after several much milder-than-normal winters. It’s been a Continue reading
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Browns at Ravens, Jan. 4, 2025
Back at the beginning of this NFL season, my cousin — a Baltimore Ravens season-ticket holder — invited me to join him in Charm City for a game. My schedule was such that the only game I could get to was the season finale against the Browns. Given the state of the Browns, I didn’t Continue reading
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Fatti Maschii, Parole Femine
I spent most of today trekking to Maryland. I’m here for a football game and a family reunion of sorts. Details and photos of the festivities are sure to follow in future posts. In the meantime, I wanted to share this most Maryland of images from the lobby of my hotel: I’ve long admired the Continue reading
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Restoration Project
I go to a lot of antique stores these days. Usually, I just browse and don’t buy anything, but occasionally an item will speak to me and I’ll have to take it home. One such object on a recent trip was a 1970s era Snoopy watch. When I was in elementary school, I was all Continue reading
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Irresolute
I am writing this on the first day of 2025. I kicked off the year with a couple of my New Year’s Day rituals. First, Jen and I completed a short “First Day” nature hike at Sterling Nature Center. We tromped through drizzle and high wind gusts, guided by a naturalist. The weather could have Continue reading
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Goose Egg
The thermometer just hit zero degrees Fahrenheit. There’s not much to say about that, but it is a temperature that, when experienced firsthand, is pretty much impossible to refrain from acknowledging. Around here in December, twenty degrees doesn’t even warrant a shrug. Anything in the teens might inspire an exaggerated “brrrrr” sound, or some remark Continue reading
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December Deceleration
My relationship with Christmas has evolved along with my advancing life stages. As I child, I of course loved Christmas. As a teen, I still liked it but tried not to let on how much for fear of appearing uncool. As a young adult, I tried hard to feel the elusive “Christmas spirit” and felt Continue reading
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Leaf Peeping & Graveyard Creeping
Last week, I posted about our unseasonably warm and green October. Right on cue, shortly after I published that post, we experienced a stretch of rainy and cold weather. Pretty much overnight, the leaves began changing color. This weekend, the weather got nice again and we decided this afternoon would be a good time to Continue reading
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52 Pickup
Today, I finished reading Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express. When I logged the title into my Goodreads account, I noticed that it was the 52nd book I’ve completed this calendar year. That seemed noteworthy as it puts me well ahead of a pace of one book per week — a volume of reading Continue reading
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Green October
Fall 2024 has been a rough-weather period for large swaths of the United States. At this writing, parts of Florida sit devastated in the aftermath of Hurricane Milton and significant portions of the Southeast are still reeling from Hurricane Helene. Meanwhile, my little corner of upstate New York is playing the part of a meteorological Continue reading
About Me
Researcher. Marketer. Teacher. Father of adult children and dogs. 20th Century holdover. Central New York native. Long-suffering Buffalo Bills fan. History nerd. Traveler. Vintage advertising enthusiast. Hat wearer.
a.k.a. V.J. 