This is a cry that harkens back to days when I recall gas being under – not to age myself too much – a buck fifty a gallon. It is possible my memory fails me and it was closer to a buck a gallon but we thought that was a lot. We were college students and fall was the time for the road trips.

You go back to school after the summer of being home, working an internship, not seeing friends/housemates for three months. Just as you settle into classes, football season starts! Having gone to a \”football\” school, this definitely met road trips! We would pack it up and head out for the weekend to Penn State, Maryland, Pitt, Virginia Tech. Some of the most beautiful campuses I have ever seen and some of the best road trips.

Last fall I took a few road trips between August 10th and November 12th. This has always seemed to be the road trip time – whether a college student or a mother. Last year it was my daughter\’s college games I went to – 13,000 miles in three months. I, again, saw some wonderful college campuses – Fairfield, Colgate, Niagara, Albany, Penn State.

Now, it is time to take the trips for me. I have a few trips planned already. I have tickets to the WVU-SU game in the Carrier Dome October 6. I am hoping to go to Family Weekend at Niagara October 19-21. There may be a stop in Lakeview, PA (I think that is where it is) on the way home for music – still haven\’t gotten this figured out totally yet. I have a possibility to get tickets to the WVU-Rutgers game in NJ the last weekend in October. I am heading to the Catskills one day in the beginning of November.

I want to take a few more trips. I have the old – only technology-wise – camera out. I want to see the leaves turn in New England. I have this, not truly morbid I swear, thought about searching out cemeteries and taking shots of gravestones – especially the old ones in my area.

If you have suggestions of areas, let me know.

This is a writing that has been a long time in coming.

First, there was the start of it a few days ago. I wanted a cute pic to go with it and that was great except … Let me say upfront that I never knew there was a magazine out there entitled “Flirting with Bondage” which should give you an idea of images that I got when I searched for flirting. I couldn’t find the pic I wanted – what I had in my mind’s eye for this. If anyone out there has one they think is what I am looking for – no bondage please, send it to me.

Second, there are so many different kinds of flirting. You have just the innocent banter that occurs among – between is probably the better word but it is, in the case of friends, not just two people – friends. You are all hanging out together. It may be a combination of singles and couples but you all have known each other forever. Your best girlfriend doesn’t care if you flirt with her husband/boyfriend. They love each other but he likes it when someone else also pays attention to him.

There is the one on one flirting that happens when you first meet someone new. This may be a little strained at first. It consists of language and body language. It is, if you are planning the meeting in advance, the way you dress. Sometimes, we don’t think of all these pieces of the puzzle.

This is a slight aside as I have always hated those shows and dating advice columns that say you need to dress as much for dating as you do for success at work. It is true. I admit, I don’t dress for every trip to the grocery store like I am out to meet someone but when you know you are going to meet someone, for your own sake – and that of the one you are meeting – make an effort. I even took it upon myself to look good for the curriculum night at the high school last night. This is probably foder for yet another blog so the warning is out there.

Nowadays, something that was not an issue when I was dating the first time, there is online flirting. Whether you belong to an online personals site or not, chances are any relationship you are in is going to involve flirting via either IM or email. And, when you can’t hear voice inflection or see facial expressions, how do you know that what you are thinking/meaning is getting through?

Anyway, flirt away! I just had these strange thoughts floating around in my head and wanted them out….

There has been a very odd juxtapositioning of seasons here in upstate New York. The calendar says fall but I don’t think anyone told Mother Nature – not that I would second guess a mother on what is best.

I woke up this morning to a thermometer that says it is 71F outside at 6 am. No sun out yet so that cannot be it. When I wandered in from high school curriculum night last night at about 9:15 pm, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. Nothing to hold in the warmth of the day yesterday.

Then, I opened the door to put an empty tissue box into the recycling bin. The front yard is full of leaves. They are bright yellow, red and beautiful! This is fall! I know we had a few really cold, clear nights last week. I didn’t realize the leaves had turned as not all of them have.

Is it summer? The thermometer, and my inability to get to sleep last night in the heat in my room, say yes. Is it fall? The front yard and the slightly naked maple trees, and soon one of my sons who will have to rake, say yes.

I have to say that I used launch – Yahoo!’s music option quite some time ago. I haven’t opened it in at least a year, maybe longer. I really wasn’t in the mood until I started chatting with someone who uses it religiously. I kept commenting on the great music he was listening to.

I am paraphrasing but he was right when he discussed the feelings that come when you hear that song you haven’t heard in ages. I have very strange taste in music – might be doing eclectic a disservice using that as a descriptor.

Anyway, lyrics for the day are from a song that came from a country group – I think – called Little Texas. I loved it in the late 90s when the CD came out.

At the time, they were great words to take to heart. Not to bad now either.

Okay, I have to admit that the topic is intriguing and it definitely put my mind in the gutter for the day but did it have to be my 13 year old’s attention that the show teaser caught. I am sitting at the computer, checking my mail and chatting with a friend, when my 13 year old and 16 year old sons are suddenly talking about sex. What the h***?

There had been a teaser for Oprah’s episode today – 237 reasons to have sex. I never knew anyone needed that many reasons to have sex. On top of that, I really didn’t need to hear the two teenage boys discussing it and wondering if they should set the DVR to record it.

What a wake-up call! Guess I better watch it!!!!

Seems like a strange question, eh? Truth is there are so many ways out there to actually put words to a blog that I want to find out how you do it.

You may be asking what the heck I am typing about. Well, to make a long story short, I started a blog this morning about the Bavarian politician who feels that marriage should expire after seven years. It was witty and intriguing. Voicing the idea coming from a Christian party is probably political suicide.

You don’t see the blog? Well, a few clicks here and there and wham! It was lost. Got me to thinking. Maybe I should type my blogs in Word and copy and paste. Maybe there is some other way out there that I am unaware of. Maybe I should just be more careful.

Anyway, just how do you do it? Blog straight to the blog site? Blog to a word processing program first and copy and paste?

Let me know

Fog – that heavy moisture that cannot be absorbed into the atmosphere. I love to sit or walk through fog. I want to learn, or maybe to experiment is a better word, to photograph fog.

I look out my window – this is a fall or spring phenomenon usually – and can see the fog from the creek across the road. It creeps up the bank and soon is engulfing my neighbor’s home – the horse barn, the dog house disappear in the fog. Soon the fog has crawled up the drive and is approaching the group of three mailboxes sitting there on the road’s edge. They, too, disappear.

The fog will disappear but as the year slowly walks towards its end, the fog will stay longer and longer each day.

On my way – with thoughts in my head from watching a “dating expert” and “matchmaker” on the CBS Early Show – here to write, I came across a headline on Yahoo! news that just begged to be read. I couldn’t hold back and clicked the link on “Politician thinks Marriage should Expire after Seven Years.” I am sure that is foder for a future blog.

Anyway, back to my watching this dating segment. I try to pay attention to these things. While I have been single for ten and a half years, I have dated very little in that time. I keep thinking things have changed since my “dating scene” was the sorority and frat life at WVU. Possibly, it is easier now but that is not the prevailing thought here.

To summarize and paraphrase the “expert,” men really like being in charge of the dating process. They tend to let women pay or initiate dating but it puts down their ego and ends up hurting the process.

Now, I have to say that my recent experiences have shown this to be true. I had a really great conversation going with a guy. We seemed to click on every level. I asked him if he would like to go see a movie. I’ll be honest I wasn’t even thinking date. I was just looking for someone who would enjoy a good, first run movie that was not animated or typical 16 year old movie stuff. It took days for me to realize he was suddenly very quiet. Actually, I noticed it right away but thought he must be busy at work so hasn’t said anything about the movie because he would be unable to go. I was so wrong. He seriously was uncomfortable with me taking the lead.

So, what are you opinions? What are you experiences?