A 'lil HooHaa

Messing with the blogging world since 2005

blog challenges

The fade

I’d like to call it my post-challenge fade.

It seems that whenever I take part in a writing challenge on the blog, the following month or so, I fade a bit. It makes sense, if you think about it, because I am using themes to write each day. So the 20 Days of Chill Challenge in January made me have a slower February, which is fine. With work and everything else, having time to blog hasn’t necessarily been easy to do.

That being said, I have a lot of things to blog about. I’ve completed a bunch of Day Zero items and have a blog planner where my “idea” pages from January and February are full. Now I just need to get writing some.

I also have finally caught up on comments and responded to each. I need to now get out and start reading blogs again. My sluggish run recently is starting to break some. I am ready to dive back into it.

It’s kind of funny, if you think about it. You would think the winter would be the perfect time to blog, get things ready and maybe even push ahead. But it always seems to be the time where I don’t have as much of an urge to blog.

And let’s be honest, this winter has been rather depressing in my area.

Cold.

Snow.

Repeat.

This is one of the coldest – or coldest, depending where you are – winter on record in my area. The average temperature in February in a couple of places was like 9.7 degrees per day.

That means single digits as an average.

SINGLE DIGITS!

So I didn’t go out much, that’s for sure. And I’d be on the computer. But I just didn’t have the urge to write. And I had topics, but it’s hard to push ahead with it when I look outside and it’s snowy and cold for so many days in a row.

But, that’s slowly changing. The spring seems to be poking its head out. Now, it’s true that we could get more snow. March isn’t over and we’ve had storms later in the month. But the 10-day forecast looks promising, so maybe some of the current snow will at least go away.

And we’ve seen some sun. And blue skies. That makes me smile more. And it makes me want to write a bit more. That means it’s time to dust off the blogging planner and see what I can come up with. I need to visit some blogs and see what people have been up to. And I need some things to get me going.

Anybody else get like this during the winter? Or if you are a blogger, do you get more done in the winter months? And how are you after doing challenges?

I just need to get back to organizing myself and I’ll be with it.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please Like HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

30 Days of Writing: Roadblock (2/30)

Roadblock to keep people off a road that tends to flood with heavy rains.

This post is written in conjunction with the 30 Days of Writing, a blog challenge devised by Nicky and Mike at “We Work For Cheese.” I’ll be participating throughout the month of June. If interested, you can see my post with the details of the challenge. 

Please note that some of these posts will be serious, some will be normal, and some will be an attempt at humor. This one is on the serious side. 

For many years, there is a road in our area that has been known for flooding.

It’s a back road that runs pretty much parallel to a state highway. As the two run close to one another just outside of our village, there’s a beautiful covered bridge. It’s an historic covered bridge and a wonderful spot for photography.

On the county road — the backside of the river — the road dips awful low for a bit and then zig-zags away from the river a bit.

It’s that dipping part that has always been something to watch when heavy rains comes. Unfortunately, it can also result in tragedy. Let’s go back in time to revisit something that this area will likely always remember. At the time, it was one of my biggest freelance “breaks” in my professional career, but if it could erase what happened, I’d gladly give back the opportunity that I received because of it.

****

‘Twas early evening on a cool and rainy Fall day in late October 2003. I was semi-employed at the time as I searched for work after completing my Master’s degree in May. I had covered a game for the local daily paper and had dropped off a roll of film for them and was heading home.

I got a call from a friend who was working for said daily and he noted the New York Daily News needed a freelancer to help with a story that was happening in my town.

And, being the News pays well, I had a hard time saying no.

The way things happen with a paper like that is the person upstate doesn’t really write. My job was to call around to people, get some quotes, comments and whatever else to help the writer back in New York. They paint a picture that way. They make calls as well and then weave everything together in the way a daily tabloid can.

So, I did what they needed.

But the story itself was tragic.

There had been a lot of rain the previous few days and there was a bit of flooding. A lady, driving home from work, went via the back road. In her car, buckled into their child seats, were here 10-month old twins.

As she rounded one of the corners and hit one of the dips in the road, her car was swept up by flood waters and taken into the fast-moving river.

According to reports, she said she attempted to escape by rolling down a window and tried to release the child seats. But she basically was sucked out of the vehicle, which then kept heading down river. After gettingShe ran as fast as she could to find help. Nobody was home in a nearby house and after flagging a motorist, she was taken to the hospital.

Search crews went to work as fast as possible. And the search went throughout the night.

The following day, the bodies of the twins were pulled from the water. It was a story that attracted local and national attention. In the end, two children lost their lives before they ever got to have them going.

One area media reported that a county worker was en route to close the road as this tragedy happened. Reports of water on the road had come in shortly before and he was being sent to close the road.

But, it was too late.

****

Those twins would be nine-years-old now. They’d be in school and looking forward to turning 10 on New Year’s Eve. But Mother Nature and a bit of nasty fate took that away.

And that’s sad.

The only glimmer of hope from this is that something good would hopefully come out of it.

Since that day, whenever heavy rains come and there’s a chance of water creeping up too high, the county closes that section of the road as fast as possible. No waiting. Roadblocks go up until the water comes down and it’s safe to pass through that area.

I often drive that section of the road. It’s scenic. There are wonderful photo opportunities. But each time, I pass by the makeshift memorial that has been built for the twins and it makes me remember that fateful night.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

Foto Friday/30 Days of Writing: Cheese (1/30)

Mmmm... cheese!

Cheese.

It’s a milk-based product to die for.

It also happens to be the first day of the 30 Days of Writing Challenge. So I needed to find a way to mix this glorious food into my normal weekly edition of Foto Friday.

So, I’m going to share some cheese photos to go with both posts and mix them into one.

I love me some cheese.

First, some cheese stuff.

Cheese is one of the few foods I would have a hard time living without. There are not many cheeses that I don’t like, at least in one form or another. With things such a bleu cheese, I don’t like it by itself, but mixed with some garlic and melted as a steak topping? Awesome.

Cheddar, of course, is the bomb.

Gouda. Swiss. Irish cheese. Smoked. Brie. So many types of cheese, so little time. I even think there’s a place for sandwich cheese (ie: pasteurized and individually packaged…) and spreads.

I try and check out cheese sections wherever I go. And I like to try new stuff whenever I can. In fact, I think I am willing to try cheeses more than I am certain other things.

One thing that’s outstanding about cheese is all the wonderful foods you can eat cheese with, and all the drinks you can enjoy with cheese.

For example, I realize many people love wine with cheese.

Not me.

I love trying new cheeses, like this smoked bacon. Awesome.

See, I’m not a wine guy. I couldn’t tell you the difference between a red and a white (besides color) or between a Chardonnay, a Merlot or a pinot noir.

Beer goes well with cheese, especially a good beer, such as a Guinness or a strong ale. Drinking something like Coors Light wouldn’t work well with cheese, I don’t think.

For me, I enjoy water with cheese as I feel like the water won’t take away from the taste of the cheese. I’m sure wine and such accent the cheese, but I’m more of a naturalist with the cheese.

Then there’s what you eat with cheese.

Pretzels and cheddar... awesome!

Personally, eating cheese by itself works for me. Yet, I still find myself trying other things.

Pretzels, for example, go well with cheddar cheese. Triscuits and Wheat Thins seem to go well with anything. Ritz crackers? The same. There are so many varieties of crackers out there, that I’m sure you’ll be able to easily find something to go with the cheese you’ve chosen.

I’m a fan of spreads, too. Anything from things like swiss almond to something like Laughing Cow, which is a wedged cheese with seven different varieties, go well with normal crackers.

Nothing like a little spread for Triscuits!

Cheese is also something that is very photographic. This is, after all, a Foto Friday post. Getting zoomed in and playing with the focal points is a nice way to do things. Also, mixing in different things — such as crackers, pretzels, knives etc. — will make things a bit better, too.

There’s a cheese factory near me and I am hoping to stop there sometime this summer. I think it would make for some pretty wild photos. Especially if I could shoot the process of the cheese being made.

But even if I can just see full cheese wheels and other cheese things — still good photos.

In the end, if you are taking photos of cheese… what’s the best part?

Eating all the cheese you use as props!

Yum!

Cheese!

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

Sunday Funday: Culture Challenge in one post

If given a full year to travel, exploring more of Ireland would be on the list.

OK, the Sunday Funday won’t be a guaranteed regular thing, but when I feel like doing one of those “blog challenges,” I am going to do them under this heading.

Being I am working on other things today, I wanted to get a blog post up — and thought this would be a good way to get things rolling.

The original idea of this challenge, it seems, is to answer one question for seven straight days. Most likely just on Tumblr, as it can be shorter and quick etc.

For here at A ‘lil HooHaa?

One day, baby.

Without further ado, let’s dive into the Seven-Day Culture Challenge.

1. If you could live anywhere in the world where would you live?

Luckily, I’ve answered this one in one of the Day Zero posts recently. But if I had to choose one place, it would be Montreal. It’s by far my favorite city. There’s some remarkable culture there and it’s one of the most wonderful places I’ve ever been. I would definitely consider other places — such as Maine, Albany (I’ve always loved my state capital!), Dublin, Philly etc. But in the end, if there were no restrictions (job, money etc.) to this question, Montreal wins. Hands down.

2. What is your favorite type of cuisine?

I’m truly a fan of American cuisine. Being I grew up in this culture, that’s an easy one to pick. It’s what I have more than most. I like Italian, for the most part. I like Irish cuisine, as well as French. I really love Mexican food, however, my mouth doesn’t always agree with spicy stuff, so sometimes it’s hard to have it. But a hot dog with mustard can win out over so many other things, so American it is!

3. If you could speak another language, what would it be?

French. I’ve always wanted to speak it (see the fact that Montreal is my dream city to live in) and I took it for four semesters in college. Though one drunken night in Montreal years ago proved I could speak French decently, I fear that was some freak thing that happened. I still know many of the basics, but learning new languages hasn’t been easy for me. I’d love to get over that hump, however, and actually be able to learn and speak the language.

4. If you were given a year to travel the world where would you go?

A full year? Holy awesome!

I wouldn’t go to just one place. That would be silly. Gas up the planes, because I’d see an awful lot in that year. I’d want to travel the United States, for one. The National Parks we have are amazing and I’d love to see them. To be able to see places in states like Wyoming or Alaska or states that there is a lot of open land — that would be simply amazing. Hawaii, of course, too. There are many parts of Europe I’d like to explore as well. Italy, France, Ireland, Switzerland, Amsterdam, etc. I think places like Russia and Japan would be insanely wild. Iceland has long been a place I’ve wanted to see, too. and to have the chance to explore more of Canada would be fun, too. And though I’ve been to Dublin, I’d really love to go back and explore the whole country. Especially on the West Coast.

One year is a long time. I anticipate I could see many places over that time.

5. If you could speak every known language, how would you use your ability?

To make money. Seriously. I’d be looking to be some sort of translator — a high-priced one — to utilize the skill the best I could and to make a living out of it at the same time.

6. What countries did your ancestors come from/what is your nationality?

My mother’s side of the family is Italian. My father’s mother is Irish and his father had Irish ancestry as well. However, it also appears that there is some English/Scottish on that side and our family name also seems to have some German in it, too, but I’m not sure about in our family tree.

7. Do you have a favorite artist from a country other than your own?

Pablo Picasso has always been my favorite artist, and being he’s from Spain, he qualifies here. I love the abstract art he did and his work is really incredible. I’ve had the chance to see two of his pieces in person and it really is quite amazing to stare at something like that for a little while. Cool stuff.

***

To think that could have been seven days worth of blog work?

Nah.

We do it all fast here. Feel free to do this challenge as well on your blog if you are looking for something. If you do, drop a note here so I can check it out.

Enjoy your Sunday!

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook by clicking the button on the right side of the page!