July 12 Courage

July 12 Courage, originally uploaded by NedraI.

The Boilermaker Road Race is a huge community event for the Utica area. You can feel the excitement in the air as the big weekend approaches. Thousands of people are involved as planners, sponsors, volunteers, walkers, runners and spectators. It takes them all to make this such a special event. The 15K race involves elite runners that finish the course in just over 40 minutes to community members who just want to say that they did it, even if it takes them longer than the official two hour cut off time. It also involves a special group of people that complete the race in wheelchairs. The wheelchair racers begin before the runners and the top racers fly to the finish line before the first runners cross the line. But other wheelchair racers soon find themselves mixed in with the runners. The Boilermaker is a hilly 9.3 mile course. I can't begin to imagine how difficult it must be to navigate this course in a wheelchair of any kind but especially a standard chair and then to be surrounded by runners and having to call out warnings must be especially challenging. As these athletes pass by they get an extra loud cheer from the spectators. Each year there is a wheelchair challenge. If a participant completes the race in a regular wheelchair in under 2 hours and 15 minutes the person is given a racing wheelchair. This year's winner actually took 2 hours and 18 minutes but that didn't stop the committee from awarding her the new chair. It's nice to see the rules bend. The rider was a woman from Ohio. It was the first time someone came from out of state to participate in the challenge. I believe these riders show great determination, spirit and courage.

July 11 Clematis

July 11 Clematis, originally uploaded by NedraI.

After a day of storms I went out and took a few photos just before it got dark. I picked this one for my photo of the day because I like the curve of the leaf tip and the drops of water.

July 10 Empire Beer Fest

July 10 Empire Beer Fest, originally uploaded by NedraI.

My husband and I attended the Empire Brew Fest in Syracuse tonight. I was a little hesitant because of the price but my husband really wanted to go and I haven't been home much this summer so I decided to go along. It was a perfect summer evening for it, The music, food and beer were all great! This photo was taken my husband.

July 9 Birthday Party

July 9 Birthday Party, originally uploaded by NedraI.

This was the first time our daughter has been home for her birthday for at least two years. She invited her group of friends over for a cookout, volleyball games and relaxing by the fire. Such an easy party! They are a great group of kids and I think they all enjoyed the evening. Another positive note was that most of the gifts were low cost. and many were food-a cake, a chocolate covered strawberry, a pepperoni roll, and a cup of chocolate pudding, an inside joke on that one. My daughter gives everyone homemade cakes for their birthdays.

July 8 Keys to Learning

July 8 Keys to Learning, originally uploaded by NedraI.

While I was at NECC I had the honor of meeting Kevin Honeycutt. He is a very energetic person with lots of ideas concerning education, students and teachers. Not only does he have ideas he puts them into action. Kevin and his wonderful wife and son took a train to NECC. While on the train, Kevin Skyped into the Edublogger smackdown session to share his new key chain. (http://www.youtube.com/user/kevinessdack#play/all/uploads-all/0/COwng0hrwcE ) I met Kevin and his family at the opening keynote and right after that he shared a key chain with everyone that was in our group. The key chain has sites that have been recommended by thousands of teachers. I'm taking this key chain to the class I'm taking tomorrow. When we have some down time I'm going to start investing the new sites. Then I plan on stealing this idea and begin making a key chain for the teachers in my district. Thanks Kevin!

July 7 Garden

July 7 Garden, originally uploaded by NedraI.

I was so busy with the end of the year school year stuff and getting ready to go to NECC I forgot my garden picture at the end of June. Too bad to because there was lots of pink when I left. When I returned a week later I had lots of dead-heading to do and very little pink left. We have branches and garden waste waiting for town pickup piled in front of our house so I took a little bit different angled shot this time. It's nice to see all that green. With the cool temps and rain we've been having the garden is doing well.

July 6 Beer Bread

July 6 Beer Bread, originally uploaded by NedraI.

Two summers ago our kids spent the summer living with my brother in Oregon and working full time in his restaurant. My daughter actually returned last summer as well. One of my son's jobs was to make the beer bread each day. The recipe calls for a 6-pack of beer and it makes 5 loaves. My son makes it several times a year for me. It is so delicious! We always give some away and freeze a loaf or two as well. It's a wonderful treat.