Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween from Rye-Man and Tankee. No costume for Oliver this year -- last time I had him in a costume parade he needed a little assistance from his friend Mr. Tranquilizer.

Faces in places

Love this site. Scroll through and find all the faces. I think I may have found the place to submit my chocolate chip cookie with the likeness of Mother Theresa.

My new favorite

I just bought this magnet today and love it. What more can I say.

Carve away (without the mess)

Sometimes you just need a stupid web-doodling application. So in the spirit of Halloween, here's my latest favorite. Just click here and carve. And it's a lot less messy, too. (If you have sound, use it -- it's strangely addictive.)

More from NH

It was a gorgeous weekend in NH -- foliage was unreal as was the weather, which was well into the 70s. After the Zipride, we wend for a little hike.

As we were sitting at the top, we ended up chatting with this guy who was rock climbing. As he was waiting for his partner to make it up the rock face, we got to talking about where we're from. Of course the guy would be from ASHBURNHAM!
As it turns out, she knew my brother. Funny...!!! Before we left on Sunday, Gary and I headed out to Jackson Falls where we got married in February. It was fun seeing the place with no snow this time around!We'll have to make this part of our annual visit. It was so pretty...

...and looks so heavenly!

Fear Factor on the Ziprider

This weekend was the annual trip to NH with Gary's friends, some of whom have gone every year for 14 years. On Saturday, Gary, Joanna & Craig and I headed over to Wildcat to check out the Ziprider. Let's just say that we weren't all sold on the idea, but after lots of watching and convincing, we all did it. Below, Joanna looks on as other riders zoom past.
The ride is about 50 seconds long and goes about 45mph while the rider is suspended in a flimsy harness off a cable.

Craig and Joanna hustle off the chair lift.


Once at the top, Joanna makes peace with the situation at hand.

Here, Craig gets strapped in as he and Joanna ready for take-off. Apparently he mooned me and Gary from the bottom while he waited for us to take our turn. Sadly, I missed the show.

And this is basically the view from the top. I'll say this much: It's steep. I couldn't get any photos going down, but click here for a video that someone else posted.

Now, to the best part. When I was looking online for additional photos online tonite, I came across this notice on the mountain's website posted yesterday -- they day we went: "The ZipRider will not be open the remainder of today Saturday October, 20th or tomorrow Sunday October 21st. Unfortunately, the retrieval system that performs the necessary function of moving empty chair safety harnesses back to our starting deck is currently inoperable. We are working to repair as quickly as possible. Please check back here to know when the ZipRider will fly again." NICE!!!! Let's just say after reading that I doubt I'll be zipping again!

No more corporate uniformity; credit cards dress up

(Editor's note: I wrote this for tomorrow's column for the paper but wanted to share this advance copy. I am going to order up... now!)

Ever been intrigued by a credit card simply because you like its design? From horse breeds to sports teams, there’s a company out there willing you charge you interest for use of its card. Now there’s a way to personalize any card with zero damage to your card – or your credit – which brings new meaning to an attractive offer.

It’s a simple idea, really – “skins” for your credit cards, debit cards, ATM cards, you name it. Just buy, remove the backing, apply the sticker and instantly you’ve got a cool-looking card.

Produced by CreditCovers of Madison, Wis., the stickers’ designs range from faux Burberry plaid to camouflage. “Blackout,” the company’s best-seller, blacks out all info but the subscriber’s name, card number, and expiration date.

According to the company’s website, CreditCovers will not damage cards or their swipe strip since the sticker is applied to the front only. They’re also safe to insert in ATMs. While removable (sometimes with a little help of such products as Goo-Gone) they are not reusable. And, while the company states the cover will last “forever,” if it does wear out, they’ll replace it for free.

Available in select retail stores (the closest is Prelude Gift Expressions in Needham), all are available online for $4.99 apiece.

Visit CreditCovers.com to browse the online catalog.

The Penguin Egg

Who know this 69-cent impulse buy at "don't you just love a bargain" Christmas Tree Shops would be such a hit?! This cute little penguin is currently birthing itself from the confines of its egg thanks to a little water and hard work on his behalf. Granted, he might be a bit stunted since I did let the water evaporate a bit too much last night (woops) but he's still at it. I hope by tomorrow he'll be big enough to ride. (No offense Oliver, but with only 3 shoes, you're now out of commission until Saturday!)

DC Weekend

This weekend the entire Hill/Green/Crews-Hill family headed down to DC to celebrate my cousin Pearson's wedding. It was a gorgeous weekend and it was fun to have the family together, even if it was a whirlwind of a trip. Gary returned home from Israel at 3:30 Friday morning and we left for DC just a few hours later... Needless to say it's been a crazy few days, but fun nonetheless. Below are just a few highlights of the weekend.
Above, Dane and Emily sample some fine water at the reception. Not too much now, kids...!


Here's me and my one and only cousin, Pearson, at the rehearsal dinner. He's hilarious.

Here's the entire, EXTENDED, family. That's right folks, this is it. And it includes Alison, our newest member, and my Aunt Johanna, Pearson's mom. I love how it looks like Gary and I are Emily's parents. Everyone's all jumbled up, so I guess it doesn't really matter...


As is only the case with wedding dance floors, David (my brother) and Pearson paired up for a quick dance. Just long enough for a photo, really, but long enough!

And, just as proof that we were in fact in our nation's capitol, (because honestly, it was such a crazy trip that we could have been anywhere) here's the Washington Monument from the back of the cab window.

Art class

While enjoying a day off from work yesterday, Laura and I set to work in arts and crafts. I realized I am definitely more crafty than arty, but it is what it is. And if you don't know who it is, it's Tankee. I think the only good part is his signature spotted ear.

My customers

I may not know any of my neighbors, but I sure am popular with the birds. Here are a few of my customers.

I'm still working on photographing something other than the chickadees. They're apparently of the brave variety. I'm also likely to go broke thanks to the ridiculous amount of birdseed I need to purchase, but now that I've started, how can I stop?!

Tankee teeth

Aren't they nice?!

Scrub-a-dub-horse

Taking advantage of the unseasonably warm weather, I treated Oliver to a bath while Tracy served as equine photographer. It's sort of like pressure-washing your deck, using the seering power of water to get the grime out. That, and his "SuperPoo" shampoo! Anyhow, he enjoyed grazing while I scrubbed and scrubbed (if only I could keep my Jeep this clean!) He loves to drink from the hose and toss his head around in the water. Which is funny for a horse that won't set foot in a puddle!

p.s. Gary has landed in Tel Aviv. As he put it, "I left Newark on Friday and it was dark. I arrive in Tel Aviv and it's dark... but I completely missed Saturday!"

Cheers to the newlyweds-to-be

Last night I took Dena out for dinner and drinks to celebrate her soon-to-be marriage. She and Frank are heading to Jamaica tomorrow and will get married on the beach on Wednesday. Not shy about sharing her news with our waiter, Dena scored us free drinks and dessert, so three cheers to that! But my favorite part of the night was this conversation.

Heather: "Are you nervous about the wedding at all?"

Dena: "No. But I'm worried that Frank might get drunk."

Heather: "Oh, you mean the night before?"

Dena: "No, the day of! We're not getting married until 4pm!"

Drunk or not, congratulations guys!

On the road again

Caught by the exploration bug, Chris and I took the boys out for another ride in the forest. The trails we found this time were amazing, and so many of them -- we really had our pick. Like the Colorado trip, this is again a snapshot of horses' butts while riding. I really need to learn how to take better photos while atop a horse.
At one point we ended up in a neighborgood (get it, NEIGH-borhood?!) on a paved road. No one seemed to mind. One woman even called out from her window to see if she could come bring the boys some apples. Chris, as you can see below, spent a little time on the phone (I basically took this photo to make myself feel better about the fact that I'm not the only one who does this.)

Then things got interesting. After riding and riding and riding (and hearing what I'm sure was a crazy chainsaw murderer chasing us thru the woods) we ended up on a road. Well, we THOUGHT we knew where we were, but alas, we did not. Here, Chris and Pilot navigate an intersection.

We finally had to flag down a car to ask the driver where the heck we were. I was sure he was going to say we were in Connecticut. Anyhow, we got on our merry way, having to walk over 30 minutes back on the road! Once again, it was a great trip and the boys were real troopers who got lots of apples and snacks upon their return. I was exhausted and all I had to do was sit there!

He's flying... on a jet plane.....

As I type this, Gary's on his way to Israel for the week. Not exactly your typical business trip but he's looking forward to all the tasty hummus at least. Here's a look at where he is in the general, "over Europe" area. I don't know how anyone can manage a flight that's 14 hours long... It'll be a long week here stateside, but the dogs were mighty pleased that they got to sleep on the bed last nite!

Is that a horse on my lawn?

Some people see deer on their lawns; others find wild turkeys. If you live in Lancaster and saw a couple of horses traipsing through your front yard and down your driveway, well I do apologize.

This afternoon Shereen joined me and Oliver, and Chris and Pilot the Brave for an exploration in the town forest. Chris and I had ridden out over the weekend but dead-ended after about 45 minutes. Today I served as the walking trailblazer with the 2 mounted pioneers behind me. It was simply gorgeous. Not hot, no bugs, and Oliver and Pilot were incredibly calm and happy throughout, including the walk back on the road by the dairy farm.

It was a great afternoon (even if Oliver had his nose pretty much in my pocket the entire trip trying to steal his cookies.) We walked for just over an hour. Oh those horsies are just amazing.

To view where we went, just zoom and drag around to the right of the arrow where you see all the trees. Do you see the painted pony?!

View Larger Map

Lions and tigers and fatties, oh my!

OK, I've been really good about going to the gym, so what's the big idea here?! Once again, I was having fun Google-searching my name. The photo below is more like it.