Looking Back on 2011

As 2011 is drawing to a close I can report that it has been a successful year. We escaped our snowy winter weather for a long weekend trip to Florida's Everglades, where I took a bird photo workshop with Arthur Morris.
Spring also brought several lecture engagements at a library and several garden clubs for me. At the Pennwriters conference I garnered a First Place in the nonfiction In Other Words contest. After that, I spent much of the summer photographing plants and wildlife in our garden.
In July I traveled to Germany to celebrate my dad's 85th birthday. Unfortunately, the already lengthy trip took 24 hours longer than expected after my plane had to return to Charlotte. When I finally arrived in Frankfurt my suitcase did not--until three days later. I have never been so glad to see a suitcase in my life.
Fall was especially eventful. I participated in my Toastmasters Humorous Speech contest and advanced all the way to the district level, where I placed third.
To sum it it, my most memorable experiences this year involved personal growth by attending workshops, conferences and contests.

How to Conquer Your Fear of Public Speaking

Supposedly, a lot of people fear public speaking more than dying. And yet, many people have great stories to tell. They never live up to their potential because of their fear.
How do you conquer a fear of public speaking? By joining Toastmasters, of course. In this great organization our members gradually learn how to become better speakers by addressing issues such as Ahs and Ums, eye contact, vocal variety, body movements, researching your topic, and organizing your speech. That doesn't mean that our speeches are boring. On the contrary: We have amateur and improv actors in our club who are giving us more than our money's worth.
You can overcome your fear of public speaking by speaking about your passion. Let's say you're an accountant and your friends roll their eyes when you start talking about your job. But your real passion is fly-fishing. By all means speak about fly-fishing, and your passion will shine through.
Giving the audience what they want is key. They have to leave your presentation with a message they can use to improve their own lives.
What are you waiting for? Go for it!

At the Toastmasters District 13 Conference

On November 19, I represented my division in the Humorous Speech contest with "Confessions of a Baseball Wife." I was the first speaker, which is always a difficult position. Later, many people told me how much they laughed throughout my speech.
Finally in the evening the winners were announced. I won Third Place in the District 13 contest and took home a beautiful trophy. Will I compete again next year? I don't know yet, since it will be a tough act to follow.

The Cat's Meow

Last week was a stressful week for our young cat Pocket. First, there was Halloween with a parade of oddly dressed small people knocking at our door. The next day a contractor came by to work at the ductwork in our garage. He had to enter the house and Pocket did not like it one bit. She actually hid behind a storage closet in our basement and let out a loud meow of protest while doing so. Unfortunately, that was not the end of her stress. On Tuesday evening we had a short in one circuit, which darkened a third of the house. Worst of all for my hubby, our TV was on that circuit.
The electrician we summoned could not come by until late Wednesday evening. Now there were two strangers in the house. Our cats, on the other hand, played Houdini until they departed. The short was in one of our ceiling lamps.
After all this excitement, Pocket behaved really strange and jumpy. In the meantime, she has finally recovered and has returned to her favorite spot: the bay window. From there she can watch everything--that is, whenever she isn't sleeping.

Victorious Return from West Virginia

Last Saturday, my husband and I ventured to Bridgeport, West Virginia, where the Division A District 13 Toastmasters Humorous Speech Contest took place.

To make a long story short, I won the trophy as First Place winner and will now represent my division at the district level in November. I got lots of laughs, which is definitely the best award a humorous speaker can earn.

Wings over Pittsburgh

Since I am writing an article about the Wings over Pittsburgh air show, we headed to the show on Sunday. It was, of course, the 10th anniversary of the terror attacks of 9/11. When we arrived at the base, we were surprised to see Air Force One fly by us.
The demo flights were pretty impressive - especially the only civilian owned AV-8 Sea Harrier in the world, which can hover and even fly backward. The photo above shows the North East Raiders, five of which flew a missing man formation. Among the static displays was an original C-54E plane from the Berlin Airlift, which was especially interesting for me. Inside, the plane is a museum with photographs and information of the airlift. No one knew it then, but it was the beginning of the Cold War.
The nose art is another art work by Donna Pitaro, a Moon artist who I featured in the January/February 2008 issue of Pennsylvania Magazine.
Finally, our knees could not carry us any longer. While we waited for our shuttle bus, two helicopters flew by us. An airman said to us, "You know who that was? That was the President returning from Shanksville."
Of all the flyovers we saw, those two were the most amazing.

And the Winner is ...

Last Monday, my Toastmasters club held a Humorous Speech contest. I decided to participate for the first time ever with my speech "Confessions of a Baseball Wife." After all, I had already given the speech while working on my Entertaining Speaker manual and had won First Place in the In Other Words contest at the Pennwriters Conference 2011.
Indeed, I beat two award-winning speakers to win First Place in my club! I will now advance to the area contest.

At the Falconry

During my trip to Germany, I wanted to do some sight-seeing. After all, I finally had wheels at my disposal. But the weather threw a wrench in my plans, especially during the first week. It rained at least part of the day, making it hard to plan any trips. The second week, my brother and I ventured to a nearby wild animal park/falconry.
Of course, I didn't take my SLR and the 400mm lens along because it wasn't a birding trip. Therefore, I only took a few photos of stationary birds with my advanced consumer camera . The raptor pictured here is a steppe eagle. There were many raptors at Wildpark Potzberg, including a Stellar's Sea Eagle and a Bald Eagle. The flight show lasted an hour. Located on the tallest hill around, the raptors took advantage of thermals to perform their flights. Raptors weren't the only attractions there. We saw elks, reindeer, pheasants, and cranes, to name a few. It was an enjoyable afternoon and - most importantly - the rain held off until we headed home.

Party Time

I recently traveled to Germany to celebrate my dad's 85th birthday, which happened to fall on a Sunday. The week leading up to the event was an anxious one for several members of my family. My niece frantically studied for her final oral exam at university. My aunt was in the hospital for a heart catheder and other heart tests. My mother was undergoing skin cancer treatments. And I was fretfully awaiting the arrival of my suitcase.
Two days before the big day, my niece passed her exam with flying colors and is now a Bachelor of Science in Psychology. She will go on to get her Masters degree. Way to go, Alex!
A day before the big day my aunt was released from the hospital. She was able to come to the party, provided that someone picked her up because she was not allowed to drive yet. I came to the rescue, since I happened to have a rental car.
And so we had plenty of reasons to celebrate, and neighbors and friends stopped by for a visit. Then we headed to a restaurant for a leisurely lunch before having coffee and cake at home. It was a good day to stay inside because the weather was cold and rainy.
Two days before my departure, my nephew celebrated his 24th birthday with a big bash at home. It was a great way to end my visit, but it was bittersweet for me because I had to big goodbye to my family the same day.

I Still Got It

Once I safely arrived in Germany, I faced another challenge: I had a rental car at my disposal. That meant that, for the first time in 16 years, I had to navigate German roads. Not only are German roads much narrover than American roads, there are also parked cars left and right. It was not unusual to count seven cars in close proximity on the same side of the road. Add to that the traffic circles that have popped up around nearly every village and it all makes for interesting driving.
It didn't take me long to get used to it and I enjoyed the freedom that a car afforded me. I was not dependent on public buses anymore and could visit friends in villages off the beaten path. Next time, I will definitely consider a rental car again. Hopefully, the weather will allow me to do more sight-seeing than during my recent cold and rainy visit.

Something is Missing

My Lufthansa flight from Philadelphia to Frankfurt was enjoyable, if you can call two sleepless nights in a row enjoyable. No one sat next to me, so I could spread out my belongings and stretch my legs. Dinner was edible, the hot towels divine, and my window seat provided a view of the East Coast.
When I landed in Frankfurt, however, the carousel at baggage claim stopped without spitting out my suitcase. I had to file a missing baggage report and the clerk gave me an emergency kit with toiletries and 50 Euros to buy necessities. I also learned that another flight from Philadelphia was going to land in an hour and decided to wait, just in case my suitcase had made it on that plane. It had not.
Luckily, my family had learned my new arrival time and my ride waited patiently for me. During the next few days, I called Lufthansa twice a day to learn that "This happens frequently on this route!" Oh? This is business as usual? Finally, on Wednesday my brother saw on the Internet that my suitcase had arrived in Frankfurt. I was relieved, because I had fretted quite a bit over the thought of filing lost luggage claims. It took another day to make it to my parents' house. I was never so overjoyed at seeing my luggage. The final insult, though, was that my suitcase had a "Rush" tag on it. It is quite a stretch to call a four-day delay a rush.
In the meantime, I was washing my few items of clothing I had packed in my carry-on case. In an odd way, I was glad that airlines now charge exorbitant amounts of money for a second piece of baggage. That way, I had at least a few changes of clothes and an extra pair of shoes to wear while waiting for my luggage. And I had a lot to tell my friends at our get-togethers...

Sleepless in Charlotte

When I decided to celebrate my dad's 85th birthday in Germany, I had no idea what I was in for. After all, I had crossed the Atlantic quite a few times before without any problems. Not this time.
The flight from Pittsburgh to Charlotte was uneventful. The trouble began after boarding the flight to Frankfurt. Two hours later, we still hadn't moved, supposedly because there was an engine problem and the crew had to check off their checklist. About one hour after taking off from Charlotte, the pilot announced that we had to return to Charlotte because the air over Frankfurt was cold and the sensor of the deicer was not working properly. BUT, the plane was too heavy to land and that we had to dump fuel first. After several hours of rough flying at different altitudes we landed back in Charlotte. We were instructed to stay at the gate because the problem should be fixed in 30 minutes or so. I quickly called my husband - who wrongly assumed that I had already landed in Germany - to contact my ride in Germany before making an unnecessary trip to the airport.
After 30 minutes of waiting, we were told it would take another 45 minutes. Then, the work crew had reached their time limit and another one had to be called in. But, not to worry. They provided food (since when are pretzels a food group?) and beverages for us while we waited. And waited. Meanwhile, the last restaurant in our concourse had long closed its doors. Around four o'clock in the morning, passengers began to revolt and finally the airline decided to cancel the flight entirely. We had to stand in line to rebook flights with the promise that the airline would reimburse us for our hotel up to a certain amount. I was shaking with hunger when I finally received boarding passes for a flight to Philadelphia on the following afternoon and from there with Lufthansa to Frankfurt. In the meantime, I had to fetch my luggage and find a hotel at five o'clock in the morning for a quick nap. Then I was off to finally have breakfast before returning to the airport.

To be continued...

Survey Surprise

Long before we bought our house, our - now deceased - neighbor planted a pear tree at the edge of his property because he loved pears. His widow did not care for pears and did not mind that her neighbors on either side picked the fruits from the tree or the fallen ones. Our resident groundhog took care of the rest of them. I was all too happy to eat pears that were guaranteed organic--and free.
The other day, a suveying team put stakes on the property and - lo and behold - it turned out that the pear tree is actually on our property! So, while we lost a corner of our garden to a hillslide, we gained a pear tree. Such is life!

Misadventures of a Shoe Shopper

I was thrilled when a shoe store ordered a pair of shoes for me that actually fit. However, after I wore them once I noticed a black mark on the side of the sole. I contacted the manufacturer before trying a fix that didn't work. They suggested to clean it off with alcohol. Unfortunately, alcohol not only made the black mark bigger but also removed the outer layer of the sole. I had to send the shoes back to the company, which confirmed what I already figured: The black color is the original color of the sole and the shoe color was just painted on. Since this model was the only stylish shoe in the catalog I do not want an exchange but would prefer to get a refund. Will I get it? Doubtful. They'll probably try to send me a granny shoe - in black!
Meanwhile, I am still looking for summer shoes. I am currently awaiting a shipment of a model in different colors. At least the outlet offers free shipping. I am puzzled why my size is only available in ugly styles. There must be others like me - women under 90 - who need shoes but are not employed in the health care or funeral industry. Customers usually complain about a lack of colors. Will the manufacturers ever listen? They could sell a lot more shoes if they offered choices.

Back from the Pennwriters Conference

Another fabulous Pennwriters conference ended yesterday. The food was great, the keynote speakers were awesome and the workshops covered everything I wanted to hear. The best part, though, was networking with other writers and the wonderful support we all give and receive in this organization.
Since I only attend the conference when it is held in Pittsburgh, this was my fourth conference. Every time, I have submitted a nonfiction essay in the "In Other Words" contest, which is decided by popular vote. The first time I won Second Place and the second time I also won Second Place. I was beginning to feel like the proverbial bride's maid when I did not win any awards two years ago. However, I won a huge gift basket with books. Yesterday, however, a wonderful thing happened: I won FIRST PLACE for my humorous essay entitled "Confessions of a Baseball Wife." What a wonderful ending to a great conference!

If the Shoe Fits, Order It

It has been years since I walked into a shoe store that actually carried my size, 6 1/2 extra wide. So I wasn't too surprised when a Facebook friend recommended a huge online shoe store and I still had a hard time finding any shoes in my size. My search was further complicated because I was not looking for black shoes. Unfortunately, black seems to be the only color that most of the shoes in my size are offered in. Shoe companies seem to confuse shoes with the Model T!
I made a trial order of two pairs and - surprise - neither one of them fit. One pair was too small and the other one was not only extremely ugly, but it was actually too wide. After searching online for hours I fired off another order for a walking shoe. Today it arrived already and actually fit! Hurray! In the meantime, I went to a shoe store that advertises wide shoes. While they only had shoes in black on display I was able to order the shoe in a nice color. Will the shoe fit? We'll see.

Breaking news

During the warmer months our backyard is our sanctuary. Over the years we have added many native plants and I have taken thousands of my wildlife photos there. Our property - and our neighbors' - includes part of a hillside. This is what our yard looked like last winter:

After several heavy rains our immediate neighbor's yard began to show a crack. In less than a week our view changed into this:

Gone are all the willows and our last Arbor Vitae is leaning into the abyss. Will the drop spread? It is getting very close for comfort.

What I Learned in Florida - Part 3

Another lesson I - and other people - learned during our trip to Florida: Beware of quick assumptions!
When we were stopped at an intersection a young man approached our car and motioned to my husband to roll down the window. I was suspicious because I automatically assumed that he wanted to sell us something (although he didn't have any flowers in his hand). It turned out that he saw the Terrible Towel fluttering from our window and wanted to tell us that he also was a Steelers fan.
The next day the hotel had set up a small sandwich/salad buffet for all workshop participants. As I and another female photographer entered the door an employee wanted to send us to the church meeting that took place on the same floor. I replied that there are a few women photographers out there. Granted, the majority of "students" were indeed male but in this day and age it bothered me a bit. Don't jump to conclusions!

What I Learned in Florida - Part 2

During our trip to the Everglades I learned that you can't escape from Germans. In fact, the sign at the entrance to Everglades National Park showed three languages: English, Spanish, and German. Never mind that I didn't see that sign until Day 4 because it was still pitch-dark when we headed to our photo workshop.
Once I was standing on an overlook at the Anhinga Trail when I heard a German voice near me. I would have approached the speaker if I had had the time.
There was even a German immigrant in the workshop. We had a brief conversation in German and I learned that every one has a story, a story that is as individual as we all are. It is the common interests that help us cross bridges.

What I Learned in Florida - Part 1

During our long weekend in the Homestead area I learned that Cuban food is very good. So good, in fact, that we returned the next day for dinner. I realized long ago that it is a good idea to ask the locals if you want to eat well during a trip. That was my experience in Greece, where a man actually wrote down instructions for the taxi driver to take us to a restaurant that was very popular with the local population.
In Homestead I asked the hotel desk clerk for a sandwich place and she pointed us to a Cuban restaurant right across from the hotel. The place was packed with Air Force uniforms, a good sign. After all, they know which eateries are good. And I think I'm in love with Cuban bread.

Out of Town During the Big Game

Last weekend, we headed to southern Florida so I could attend a bird photo workshop in the Everglades. The airport was quite busy with Steelers fans heading to Dallas. Imagine our shock, therefore, when we boarded our plane and noticed that it had a Ravens emblem next to the door. Hubby asked the flight attendant what the story was and she replied that they were going to Baltimore next [after dropping us off in Fort Lauderdale].
The next day, on the trail in the park, a ranger asked us where we were from. I replied, "Pittsburgh. Go Steelers!" It turned out that he was originally from Ohio and his family came from Pittsburgh. How small the world is...
When it was time for my husband to watch the Big Game, the cable in our room decided to die again. He ended up watching much of the game in the lobby. Well, as you know by now, the game didn't end like he had hoped for. But, die-hard baseball fan that he is, he recovered quickly. And the other day he reminded me that it is only one more week until I hear the dreaded announcement: "Pitchers and catchers report for spring training!"

Recap of a Year

As the year 2010 drew to a close last night it is time to take stock. I have enjoyed several accomplishments during the year, including winning the Feathered Friends category of Birds & Blooms magazine's backyard photo contest 2009-10 and becoming a Competent Communicator and Vice President PR in my Toastmasters club. I have also begun giving presentations about backyard habitats in the local community, which were very well received.
While I did not photograph as many birds as I would have liked during the spring because of the weather, October brought two trips to Ohio where I took beautiful photos of wood ducks and raptors. During the fall we also explored the state parks at Ohiopyle, Pymatuning, Moraine, and Raccoon Creek. While the foliage was not as beautiful as in years past we enjoyed the warm weather nonetheless.
May brought sorrow to our house as our cat Roxy deteriorated quickly and we had to put her to sleep. I also learned of the early death of a friend in Germany.

In late June, we adopted Pocket from a local shelter. She loves playing with paper balls and chasing a flashlight. In fact, she is quite addicted to both. Her 13-year old sister cat is not as enthused about her presence as we are but they get along unless Pocket plays too rough.
May the new year bring many successes--and cats on my lap.