And we sang the songs of peace...

For those of you who are not aware, I was named after a singer from the 70's. My Mum and Dad loved her and I grew up wearing out my 'Candles In The Rain' cassette (Yes, I am that old)! For the longest time, I thought the song 'Ruby Tuesday' was a Melanie original....



Tonight, my BFF Lynn and I sat outside the Fraze Pavillion to listen to the 'Hippiefest' concert which included the one (but not only!) Melanie!! And why did I not buy tickets if I love her so much I hear you ask? Because if I want to take Sean on vacation next month, I couldn't afford the $50 ticket to see her, especially as she was only on for 30 minutes! It was good value for money when you consider that Eric Burdon and the Animals were the headline act, Jack Bruce (of Cream fame) and the Turtles were all there. But still...



So, given that I was outside the pavillion and ACROSS the street (that's as close as they allow you to get), please forgive the fact that you really can't see her at all! Squint as hard as you can and focus in between the trees!! The guy in the orange shirt is her son (he plays guitar for her and opens for her when she tours without the rest of the hippies!). When you can't see her son, I promise that you are looking at Melanie, it's just that she is wearing white and well, her hair is on the white side these days too... The sound turned out quite well though so watch and hopefully you will recognize a song or two - unlike a certain Allman Brothers fan who shall remain nameless ......










She may not look like she did 30+ years ago, but she can still pump out a mighty impressive tune!

Dragons News Story with video

So much for an innocent baseball game...

If you go to a Minor League baseball game here in Dayton, there are certain things you can expect:
* Hot dogs and Dippin' Dots
* Expensive souvenirs (and that your child will want one of everything!)
* A family oriented affair that everyone can enjoy

Well, they broke tradition tonight with one of the worst brawls in local memory - in the first inning! After a few issues, a frustrated pitcher from Peoria, Illinois threw a pitch toward the Dayton Dragon's dugout, missed, and the ball (at great speed) hit a fan. An enormous brawl started with practically every player from each team involved. It was a terrible display of immaturity and bad sportsmanship, and several fans left in disgust. The rest of us stayed, waiting for the game to be restarted after they figured who was out and who was in. It was uncertain if there was even going to be enough players left to continue the game. OVER AN HOUR later, the game was (finally!!!!) restarted but the crowd was pretty mad and a chorus of boos followed every move Peoria made. We were in the Dragon's Lair which is across the other side of the field from home plate but my photos give you an idea of the chaotic mess...


The brawl, about half way through


More fighting


Reporters outside the stadium as we were leaving

These people are idolozed by the kids in the stands and it is very hard to explain to a three year old why it is not ok to hit, when this is what he witnesses by grown people he respects! According to the news tonight, the pitcher has been charged with felony assault which is a good start. How about a public apology to the kids that were watching?

It would seem that Sean is not easily led though as on the way home he told me "Mummy, when I am on the team I won't fight. I will say "Get out of my way, I have to play baseball". "!!!!!

Oh My My!!! It's Ringo Starr!!!!

Please excuse the terrible camerawork....what can I say? It's hard to record using a regular camera while holding a grooving 3 year old!!

Don't go to Mimi's Cafe!

Seriously, don't go. We went for a birthday dinner this evening, a total of around 22 people, including a few kids. There was nothing wrong with the seating, they accommodated us well enough. There was, however, a huge double door at one end of the room (of course, the closest to me) and instead of having nice, sun blocking curtains like every one of the windows in the entire restaurant, it had sheer curtains. Sure they looked pretty, but it didn't help that the entire time we were seated, the sun was glaring down into my eyes and with Sean seated on my left, made it impossible to check on him without shielding my eyes. Yes, it was that bright.

The last time I was there, they brought out a kids nibblies plate without me uttering a word. This time I had to ask for one. My soda was empty for ages before it was refilled. Yes, that's how long the food took - I drink slowly!

Next, the food took forever. Sean and I had a long day (though fun!) and we were both pretty much starving by the time our order was taken. I ordered Sean a kids meal and figured that it went without saying that his would be brought out with the appetizers, as most restaurants do. This was not to be. Amazingly, Sean's was the LAST meal to be brought out - yes, the VERY LAST!!!! They fed the starving three year old last and it was SCALDING HOT! Seriously????? This from a restaurant that I read about as one of the best family oriented restaurants in the country? HA! And, the fruit provided in place of fries was not kid-friendly. How many little kids out there devour honeydew melon and cantaloupe? Not mine. Give him grapes and strawberries any day.

Sean accidentally spilled a little of his milk and the server said she would bring some napkins for us (as the cloth napkins were somehow seemingly water repellent!). A couple of minutes went by with me constantly telling Sean to leave it alone, shielding my eyes from the sun the whole time.... Then another couple of minutes, then another couple....until I finally asked another server to bring some, which she did, instantly, from the cabinet two feet away!!!!!!!!! Grrr!!!

We had to ask for a dessert menu, it was never offered, and since I accidentally ordered a half size meal (did I mention that the menu was not very clear?) I was still rather hungry. She even forgot that Sean had a kids meal - he's not even tall enough for his head to reach the top of the chair back and she forgot he had a kids meal????? - so I had to remind her to bring his dessert.

The food was good. I will give them that much credit. The service however, was an entirely different story. Needless to say, I will not be back.

**Update - I have heard from Mimi's and they were quite apologetic about my experience. They were open to changes and said they will contact me once they feel that they have corrected the issues I wrote about. Will keep you posted!

** August 7th Never heard back from them again...obviously they weren't too concerned after all.

Our fun day out!

A couple of weeks ago Sean and I had such a great, simple day out in Lebanon, Ohio. I read about a farmer's market there earlier in the day and we decided to check it out. Lebanon is about half an hour south of us and we made the trip there not too long ago to see the trains (they are a rarity in Ohio!!). We found the farmer's market and were a little disappointed to see that it was rather small. We shouldn't have been though as we had a great time! There were samples galore and we tried everything from homemade jam on mini tarts to fresh honeycomb! Yum! When we left, Sean said "Mummy, can we come back here? I really like it!"




We had our lunch by the trains, walked up and down the main street (it's a small town!) and stopped to grab some shade under every tree! It was a really hot day but Sean insisted upon wearing his jacket! We danced in the gazebo (who cares who's watching?!?!) and crossed the street to the library to read a few books and rehydrate in the air conditioning.


Before leaving, we checked out the fountain across the street from the library and ate a tiny turtle shaped chocolate at a local chocolate shop. Yummy! The farmer's market starts up near us this week so hopefully it will be as much fun!