Whew! Another Blog Book Done!

I just ordered another Blog2Print book. This one was for all blog entries for 2007. Previously I had purchased blog books for 2005 and 2006 plus one  of all posts tagged "Family" and another of posts for the 2009 holiday season. That last one was actually the first book I ordered so I kept it short because it was experimental. These books can be expensive, after all. Each book has been a learning experience.

Here are my notes for next time:

• Use Firefox or IE. Their site does not play well with Safari or Opera. (I actually had to download Firefox and start over. Then I deleted Safari because it has had problems for the last couple of months anyway.)
• Edit your blog before starting. Scan all the posts that you plan to publish. You can mark some as Draft if you want them to disappear and not be included. Pictures that are missing should be replaced or edited out.
• Turn off the copyright notice temporarily. I forgot to do this again, and it takes up space because it gets printed under every post.
• Allow more time than you think you'll need or so you can edit carefully.  
• After the initial creation of the book, delete the table of contents to save space (unless you really need it). Pages cost money. 
• Have some full-size photos ready for the covers. 
• Use discounts when available from their Facebook feeds or emails. 
• If you start over, give the book a different title so you don't confuse the versions later.

I spent hours on this book. My blog had over 500 posts so this is a large book. It still has a few errors. But it's basically a photo album for my personal collection, so it doesn't have to be perfect. And it beats mounting hundreds of photos in an old-fashioned photo album, plus it has a narrative and the pictures won't fall out.

P.S. I discovered that my Older Posts link is not showing up in the Firefox browser (on Mac), making it hard to page through the archives. Also, the Blog2Print application for selecting certain posts to leave out of the book is not working in Firefox. There must be a simpler way to do this!

The Beagle has Landed

A little while ago I was sitting on the sofa browsing the web from my laptop when suddenly Whoomp! A beagle landed on my shoulder! He hunkered down and made himself comfortable.

What could I do? I opened PhotoBooth and used the Macbook's built-in camera to take some pictures.


This dog can jump high and dash around quickly. That's why Lynn named him Flash.

More...

A New Visitor to Our Deck

A young squirrel showed up on our deck, smaller than the one who usually visits. He seemed timid and unsure of what to do. When Flash barked at him, he sat frozen in place, afraid to move.

You might also like Squirrel on a Rail
or see all posts tagged Squirrels.

Dinner at the Hot Plates Café

Peggy, Bill, Lynn and Frank

Icicles, Blue Ridge Parkway

Piglet

Turkeys Showing Off

In October there was a petting zoo in conjunction with the Harvest Festival in Mount Jackson. These turkeys were pretty tame. The children enjoyed getting a close look at them.

Have a Great Turkey Day!

Happy Birthday to Lynn

It's my older daughter's birthday. These pictures are from a couple of decades ago. It's hard to believe she's been grown up for so long!

Yeah, goofy-looking pictures are a tradition in my family. It helps to keep us humble. But anything published should be funny, not humiliating. I think these fill the bill.

A View from Conicville

For this picture I was standing in a church parking lot which is along Senedo Road (VA 42) in Shenandoah County. In the far distance is Great North Mountain.

Nearby:

• The View from Jerome
• Conicville School House
• Stone House on Senedo Road
• View from Adams Lane

Autumn Along Orkney Springs Road

A few weeks ago I noticed that the trees across from the recycling center in Orkney Springs were very colorful. Since I had my camera in the car, I walked across the road and took this photograph.

On the Passing of Bill Aramony

Frank mentioned that he saw it online: the disgraced former head of United Way of America had died. William Aramony was 84 and had been out of jail since 2002.

Aramony with President Reagan

When I knew Bill Aramony, he was the "big boss" at United Way of America. He was respected for his incredible ability to convince business leaders to make large contributions to our organization or to local United Ways. (For those that don't know, United Way of America is like an association for local organizations, providing training and support in exchange for dues. Your local contributions go to local charities, not generally to the national association.)

I was an executive secretary and before that an administrative coordinator at UWA. There were nice things about working there but pay was not great for support staff and eventually I realized there was no upward career path for me unless I wanted to work in Aramony's office, which I could not imagine doing because of his temper and his reputation for shameless womanizing. He was one of those people who felt his success entitled him to pretty much whatever he wanted. And that was his downfall.

It happened long after I had left UWA for a more promising job. He was convicted of stealing from the organization and brought great embarrassment to the United Way movement. It was sad because he was talented and brilliant in some ways. Yet he ruined much of what he had accomplished and brought other people down with him.

Read John Glaser's book, The United Way Scandal if you want the inside story. For a thoughtful blog viewpoint, see William Aramony and the Fallen Hero Dilemma.

About the photo: I took the picture when Ronald Reagan visited United Way of America  to support the "Second Century Initiative" circa 1987.

Lynn Javins is Back on the Web

Lynn with Flash, 3/2009

Lynn has started a blog and has resurrected her homepage.  I hope she'll post regularly. She has interesting things to say.

Meanwhile, my other daughter is in Tasmania, sharing her travels on her "Maries World Tour" site.

New Trail in Front Royal

There aren't too many nice days left before winter so I try to get outside while I still can. Last week we went to Warren County so I convinced Frank to go for a walk in Eastham Park, which I had discovered in September next to a boat landing in Front Royal.

There's a brand new trail which had just been paved. It runs along the South Fork of the Shenandoah behind Skyline High School. Across the river is the community of Rivermont.

Link: Birding and Wildlife Trail, Eastham Park

Sheetz Station at Sunset

Mt. Jackson, VA

See Also: Sunset Seen from the Car

K-9 Program at the Library

Saturday (November 12) was a busy day in Basye. There was a flea market/ gift sale at the rescue squad, a homeowners meeting in the ski lodge, and a children's program at the library. 

The kid's program featured search and rescue dogs, followed by a craft session and Miss Mona reading dog stories. The search dogs were brought from Harrisonburg by Miss Laurel of All-Phase K-9. Everyone enjoyed seeing the talented dogs demonstrate their skills.

These are just a few photos of the event. For more, click here for a series I posted on Facebook.

View of Great North Mountain in November

From Supinlick Ridge, Basye, VA

Here we are looking northwest from Shenandoah County Route 611. For a summer view taken close to this spot, see this photo of low-hanging clouds.

October in West Virginia

When I think of West Virginia, I think of mountains. Of course, the state has valleys too. And then more mountains!

Near Cabins, WV

Along the North Fork in West Virginia

The river names in eastern West Virginia are confusing to me. Back home in Virginia, the North Fork and South Fork refer to headwaters of the Shenandoah, but over the mountains to the west, the headwaters of the Potomac have similar names. As far as I can tell, the river that runs through the town of Cabins is the North Fork of the South Branch of the Potomac.

River at Cabins, WV

See also: Fox and Ox Rocks (2009)

Seneca Rocks Discovery Center

Monongahela National Forest, WV

On October 20 we made one of several autumn drives to West Virginia . The weather was not as nice as the forecast had predicted, but I was glad we went even though it was cloudy. The visitors center at Seneca Rocks was closing for the season in a few days.

It's near the intersection of WV 55/28 and US 33. There are exhibits but the main attraction is the view of Seneca Rocks. As you might notice in the vertical photo, access to the patio was closed for repair work.

The dramatic rock formation is the best known of a number of razorback ridges made of Tuscarora quartzite. Another example is nearby Champe Rocks.

Next to the visitors center, remains of a Native American village were found. Some findings from archaeological investigations are incorporated in an exhibit. There I learned that the post holes from dwellings were found to be uniformly spaced by the length of a forearm plus hand. The investigative team named this unit of measurement a "yokum." (My guess is that they were paying homage to Yokum's Vacationland where some of them were staying.)

Of course, this has nothing to do with the picture of Smokey. He's modeling a souvenir shirt and I thought he was cute.

Link: Seneca Rocks Discovery Center

Seneca Rocks, Autumn, Cloudy Day

Seen from the Parking Lot,
Seneca Rocks Visitors Center, WV

See also: 2009 Picture of Seneca Rocks

Battle of Riverton, WV

In October we drove into West Virginia via the Brock's Gap route (described here) for some foliage viewing. My destination was Germany Valley. We had lunch in Moorefield and stopped to view Seneca Rocks. By the time we reached Germany Valley, rain was moving in so the only photos I took were at this site, the location of a Civil War skirmish near the small town of Riverton.

The "Battle" of Riverton
First Union Raid into Pendleton County
At this site on March 2nd, 1862, Union forces numbering forty were attacked by local Confederate infantry and two units of cavalry. In the skirmish that resulted, Union troops rallied forcing the Confederates from the field. Two local men, Perry Bland and Thomas Powers were killed in the battle.

This little video is simply to show the location of the site, which is on the road to Seneca Caverns.

See also: View of Germany Valley (2009)

Happy Anniversary to Massanutten Resort

I picked up a copy of The Villager newspaper in Harrisonburg. An article celebrates the 40th anniversary of the creation of Massanutten Resort. It tells that the inspiration of that resort was Bryce Resort. Well, that explains similarities between the two places. Both are four-season resorts in the mountains of Virginia with skiing and golf.

Massanutten Resort is east of Harrisonburg at the southern end of the Massanutten Range. Bryce Resort is an hour northwest of there in the foothills of the Alleghenies. We happen to live in Bryce and we enjoy the combination of beautiful mountain scenery and the civilized amenities of a resort.

Lake Laura in Bryce Resort

A Squirrel Ridge Logo

Made in Photoshop

Byway 55

Virginia Route 55 Near Strasburg

That's Massanutten Mountain rising like a colorful wall in the background. What you can't see here is the North Fork of the Shenandoah (behind the trees and down the hill on the right) and the end of the mountain (off-screen on the left). Both the river and the road wind around the end of the mountain and continue on to Front Royal.

Link: Virginia's Scenic Byways

The View from Strasburg High School

Looking Southeast Toward Massanutten Mtn.

We went to a Founders Day event in Strasburg, Virginia. The town is now 250 years old. A concert was held at the high school, which is south of the historic hotel on Holliday Street.

In these photographs we are looking toward Signal Knob. The high school's sports teams are called the Rams.

Strasburg High School

Red Leaves

The maples have put on quite a show this fall. They started changing color a month ago here in the mountains and are still bright in the lowlands.

You might also like: Maple by Mill Creek

Lake in the Afternoon

At Shenandoah River Lakes

Near Waterlick, VA

You might also like:

• Flowers, Lake, Mountain
• Light and Clouds at the Lake

Winchester's Handley Library

This fine library in Winchester, Virginia was opened in 1913. It was built with funds left to the city by John Handley of Scranton, who did not live in Virginia but had visited the area. Handley also provided funds for a school, now Handley High School.

• About the Handley Regional Library
• Legacy of John Handley (Adobe Acrobat PDF)

Union Headquarters in Winchester

135 N. Braddock, Winchester, VA

This mansion was used as headquarters by Union General Milroy in 1863 and later by Gen. Phil Sheridan in 1864. It's now a retail store called Kimberly's. It was from here that Sheridan began his famous ride to Cedar Creek.

Links:

Winchester Civil War Sites 

World's Largest Apple

My Will Is Absolute Law -Book about General Milroy