Tommy scores a score

Tommy got some ink in the PG by scoring 20 points in the Baldwin - Connellsville game, six in overtime.

From The Cottage

Here's the link to the story:


Scroll down to "Boys' fantastic finishes" If only he had paid closer attention when his uncles tried to teach him how to dunk.

Caption contest

Submit the best caption to this picture:



. . . and win a valuable prize!

Example:
Hey, nice hearing aid! What kind is it?
About 10:30

Ride Board

Is everybody OK for transportation to Gettysburg? We might have room for one more outbound, provided he or she is well mannered and, you know, self contained, but on the return, we may be heading down Baltimore way.

ANYWAY, need ride or have ride, use the ol' blogarooski here.

Cell phone blues

I lost one cell phone in Myrtle Beach (salt water really murders 'em) and its replacement was last seen in the tiny little clutches of one Marin Virginia Murphy, who has so far held up under questioning although I haven't tried waterboarding yet. Anyway, I now have cell phone #3 up and running, so would anybody who has my number please give me a call so I can reconstitute my directory? If I don't answer, leave me a message so I can match a name to the number. Thanks!

Let them eat bread......

Loaves and fishes: Pymatuning carp get feeding reprieve
Thursday, September 18, 2008
The Associated Press
LINESVILLE, Pa. -- State conservation officials are delaying a ban on an odd "family tradition" in northwestern Pennsylvania: feeding bread to the carp at Pymatuning State Park.

The ban was to begin Jan. 1 but will be delayed a year for further study.

More than 300,000 people come to the park's Linesville Spillway each year because carp throng so thickly for the bread that ducks can walk on the fish.

State officials had previously said they wanted to allow only fish food pellets because bread and other food harmed the fish.

The state now says the primary concern is helping the U.S. Department of Agriculture control the geese population. Bread draws the geese, too, and the USDA won't curb their population if people are feeding them.


Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
First published on September 18, 2008 at 10:27 am

Fantasy Draft

Whoa! The season started last night!!!! When is our draft? Is it an auto-draft or are we going to choose live? We have four teams in the league so far.

Liz

GO WITTMANIA!!!!!!!!!!!

Life's a beach

After a week of sun and surf in Myrtle Beach, it's great to be back in Munhall . . . NOT. We were lucky to find this fabulous place called the Verandas in North Myrtle that slept about 10 and had all the amenities. Our buddy Bridget and her daughter Allie joined us. Chris and I are newly minted MB Pelicans fans. (What would be the short form, "Pels"? "Cans"?) Weather was terrific. We caught the edge of Fay at the end, but it just made the boogie-boarding more exciting. Check out the pics:

Myrtle Beach

From the Gettysburg Times

Aimee A. Pack and John J. Murphy III
Published: Monday, August 18, 2008 8:05 AM EDT
Aimee Ann Pack and John James Murphy III announce their intention to marry.

Miss Pack, of Gettysburg, is a 1992 graduate of Radford University and is employed by Gettysburg Health Administrators Inc. She is the daughter of Ron and Lisa Pack and Dianne and Larry Brogan, all of Gettysburg.

Mr. Murphy, of East Berlin, is a 2006 graduate of the University of Pittsburgh and a 2003 graduate of the University of Dayton’s School of Law. He is employed as an associate attorney at Apple Leaf Abstracting and Settlement Company and Patrono and Associates, LLC. He is the son of John and Diana Murphy, of Munhall, Pa.

The couple has not yet set a wedding date.

http://www.gettysburgtimes.com/articles/2008/08/18/news/weddings_engagements/doc48a9643aa06f7205724471.txt

Family Fantasy Football

I decided to go ahead and start up the fantasy football league, I hope we can generate enough interest for it. Everything is set up at Yahoo.com... here's a more direct link.... http://football.fantasysports.yahoo.com/f1/431320

The league ID is 431320 and the password is "generation m" (for Marin, Michael & Megan the Murphy Young Bucks).

Any of you Gents and Ladies are welcome to join. I set up a live online draft for Saturday August 23rd at 7pm. But if that doesn't work for everybody it can easily be changed.

Let me know what you think either on here or email me: wjm220@psu.edu

I've got football fever already. Can hardly wait to see Notre Dame fail more miserably than last season at the college level, while Penn State sends JoePa out in style 8-) ....

.... I nearly just pressed "Publish Post" without mentioning the Steelers because I at first assumed we were all fans. But luckily I remembered that Chris roots for the enemy. First my stomach turned in disgust but then I remembered how awful the Ravens are and laughed it off....

Good Luck to all who join in on the family football fun

Kennywood Kids

We had a terrific time at Kennywood with Nonie and the twins, Tirhas and Addisu. Tirhas may need some help with her shooting skills, but nobody's better at riding an elephant with a squirmy toddler. Addisu and I rocked the Thunderbolt, Phantom's Revenge and Pitt Fall. Marin was pretty fired up about Kiddieland. Check out the pics:

Kennywood 2008

I can't match anybodies big new but I have an average Idea

I tried to post blogs on here numerous times but I forgot my username and password for a while. Anyway, Congrats Sara and Johnny on each of your respective big announcements! The Murphy Family expanding is exciting. Also, how cool is George Dubbya Liz and Chris? I bet if you went to give him a high five instead of the more formal (and outdated) hand shake he would have gone for it. He's so hip to our generation haha.

Anyway: My idea is that we get a little Murphy Family Fantasy football league together. Anybody who is interested just email me wjm220@psu.edu and I will set everything up. It will help if you already have a yahoo account. Winner gets first overall pick in Turkey Bowl 2008? Let me know if there is enough interest to get it started.

Oh yea, since this is the Cottage blog I may as well ask... Who was the last one up there and what kind of condition is it in? Every week I say I'm going to make the trip and every weekend something prevents me. I'll be glad to get a little work done while I'm up there if anybody has any suggestions.

The Wittmans Meet the President

Hi gang! Chris was asked to fill in on guitar with a band called Moodswings. The band was hired for a Bush family wedding in Kennebunkport, ME. It was a long bus-ride to and fro, but it was a once in a lifetime experience for sure. I got to tag along as the photographer and we both got to meet the President and his father. Here are the pictures!

The ever expanding Murphy Family

Well..I guess it's about time that I spill the beans, if you haven't heard already, I'm Pregnant, Surprise!!! I'm currently in my 10th week, so I figure, I'm really only 1/4th pregnant, right? The offical due date is 2/22/09, right in the heart of Tax Season, awe shucks, I'll miss a tax season! Anyways, I've been feeling great, no morning sickness, no pains in strange places, everything is going great!! We get to hear the heartbeat on Thursday...I'm super excited about that!!

And in other Murphy news...drumroll please...Johnny got engaged!!! Aimee will soon be an offical part of the Family!! Dates and details TBD...

So Uncle Mike, do you have any advice for Dad about having a grandchild and a wedding all in the same year???

Slideshow

Still experimenting with Picasa and photo sharing. This is a link to an album of photos taken at Tommy's basketball game last January. There are a few nice shots of Marin Virginia and Megan Rose. It should play as a slideshow if I did it right. Here goes:



Sorry about the blurry ones.

Photo posting

This is a test of whether we can place links to Picasa Web Albums into the body of a post. Here's Memorial Day 2008. CLICK ON THE PICTURE:

Memorial Day 2008

It should take you to the album so you can view all the pictures. You can also download them.

You have to place the link when you're using the "Edit Html" tab, not the "Compose" or it won't work, but whoa, I think it's going to work. Try it! CLICK THE PICTURE!

More Nuts & Bolts

Do any of you computer-savvy types have any familiarity with "Picasa"? I got to thinking about ways we could share digital pictures - and not just thumbnails but the full files. It looks like we could do it using something called "Picasa Albums." It's free and they give each account a gigabyte of space to upload pictures. I found out that the pictures I used here on the blog are stored in a Picasa album called "The Cottage." What I'd like you brainiacs to do is check out the software:

http://picasa.google.com/

and tell the rest of us the best way to make our pictures available to each other. OK, Nerds, let's get out those pocketliners and get busy!

The carp are going on a low-carb diet!

No more feeding bread to fish at Pymatuning
Friday, July 04, 2008
The Associated Press
LINESVILLE, Pa. -- The carp at Pymatuning State Park are going low-carb.
The Linesville Spillway has long been famous as the place where ducks walk on fish because the fish throng so thick for bread tossed by visitors. But starting Jan. 1, bread, doughnuts and the like are toast. Only commercial fish food will be allowed.
Officials want the area, which recently went through $3 million in upgrades, to look nicer. Careless visitors often leave bread wrappers and other litter.
Officials have been turning a blind eye to the practice anyway because a state park system rule prohibits feeding wildlife.
Park manager Pete Houghton says he wants to preserve the tradition. A concession stand is expected to sell commercial fish food, but Houghton says any commercial fish food will do.
Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
First published on July 4, 2008 at 12:53 pm

Top Ten Things You Will Only Ever Do at the Cottage:

10. Play monopoly ten straight games in a row because it's been raining all week, you don't have a phone or a television, and you only remembered to pack this one game.
9. See ducks walking on fish.
8. Eat Spam that your Dad prepared.
7. Take a bar of soap into the lake.
6. Make a creative family video which purports that you've blown up the cottage.
5. Name a real live cow and pretend like you know which one it is and have been keeping track of it all summer.
4. Get dirty looks from the locals when you win at church bingo.
3. Swing like Tarzan from a vine that has broken loose from a giant tree in front of the house.
2. Sleep with bug spray on - even though you're indoors.
1. Worry about a bat flying into you while you sleep - even though you're indoors.

Reading Between the Lines

I guess either Billy or Tommy or both have visited the Crawford County area, based on this news report from the Meadville Tribune:

http://www.meadvilletribune.com/local/local_story_173225856.html

Hope you guys had a good time.

Happy Birthday, Uncle Bill!

It must be his kind, loving, thoughtful children who have kept him so youthful looking these, what, 75 years or so! Give or take.

Rock on, Uncle Bilious!

cooking at the cottage

Cooking at the cottage is more than a mouthful . . . Let me just say and WARN, NEVER EVER COOK IN THAT MICROWAVE. I think the warning should be broader . . . never ever cook in that cottage or at least until it has a make-over. I noticed Mike added the fishing guide to the blog so one idea for sanitation sake is to catch the fish, clean it outdoors and then grill outdoors as well. See a theme going on? Also, don't try to get the person you expect to cook the fish to clean the fish. For you novices, here's a handy guide to fish cleaning:

http://pie.cooksillustrated.com/images/document/howto/MA95_Cleaningfish.pdf

When it comes to catching them though, you're on your own!

Murphy on the move.....

I am changing jobs- so please update your address books to my home email:

nmurphy15@msn.com

The EDMC email address(s) will be terminated this afternoon.

Liz and Chris- I will probably be in Baltimore a lot in the next few months! We need to hang out!

WE INTERRUPT THIS BLOG

For something completely different. Like a song parody of Malcolm in the Middle I like to call
MALKIN IN THE MIDDLE

Jarkko, Crosby... Geeno, and all the Pittsburgh Penguins,
We've got a hockey team now!
We've got a hockey team now!
We've got a hockey team now, and you're not so big!
We've got a hockey team now!
We've got a hockey team now!
We've got a hockey team now, and you're not so big!
Maybe next yearrrr

Memory Lane

It was the Summer of '58. With my trusty bamboo rod in hand and wearing my trusty jodhpurs and my trusty bus driver hat I had cast off from what would become known as "Elvis" beach (the king was then but a hunka-hunka hillbilly truckdriver) for the waters known to the indigenous Heckowi Indians as "Walleye City". I was out there drownin' a worm and groovin' to the sounds of the Kingston Trio when suddenly and without warning the great leviathan struck. He nearly capsized the boat, such was the force of his powerful gyrations. Ripping the stainless steel lid off of a can of Olde Frothingslosh (pull tabs, alas, had yet to be invented) I quaffed a gulp of courage and set out to engage the great beast in mortal combat.

Three days later, bloodied but unbowed, I succeeded in landing the monster, K-Oing him with a straight right cross to the dorsal fin. Although area children still sing songs commemorating the event, I choose to think it was merely a case of a simple, unassuming yet extraordinarily talented angler coming face to gills with a horrifying denizen of the deep.

Cabin Fever

I have a severe case of cabin fever. Or maybe it's just seasonal allergies. Or malaria. Regardless, it's something cottage-related and i can't shake it. Over the past eight years, I've heard/enjoyed/endured/tolerated many tales of The Cottage from Liz. Each anecdote more fascinating than the last, each serving as a small lesson in Murphy-family history. Her stories had piqued my interest. That interest turned to captivation. Which then turned to intrigue. Were these simply tall tales, the by-product of a gal's clever imagination? Or exaggerated accounts of a typical childhood summer? Or a really long set-up to an incredible pun? I had to find out for myself. So there was only one logical thing to do: marry Liz and hope that maybe one day she would take me there.

Well that day was Sunday. And as far as I could tell, the legends are TRUE.

If I had to rank the sights I was most anticipating, the rankings would look like this:
1. The Cottage
2. The Spillway
3. The Golden Dawn
4. The End-of-the-Road Beach
5. Elvis Beach
6. Marin's stars and stripes headband

Unfortunately, I didn't have the chance to enjoy one of these sights. To everyone's dismay, The Golden Dawn was replaced with Ray's something-or-other. Ray is a jerk.

NOTES
Cal exceeded everyone's expectations and fetched FOUR TIMES on Elvis Beach! Marin face-planted the water ONE TIME!

People who ride ATVs need to take a hike. Literally.

Carving my name into a tree LEGIBLY is more difficult than I had ever imagined.

I was a tad disappointed in the Spillway: I was told of a trillion carp. I only counted a billion.

If a tree falls in the forest, does it make a sound? I'm not sure because the ATVs were so damn loud.

Sterr can really grill! Delicious hamburgers and hot dogs! And good call on the horseradish!

Is it Murphy custom to always enter The Cottage through a window?

Some woman brought her laptop to the pavilion at the beach. Not to do work or surf the internet—but to play SOLITAIRE. This person should STAY HOME. Or at least bring an actual deck of cards. I mean I'd even be fine if she was doing ANYTHING else beachy in addition to solitaire. She sure knows how to enjoy a holiday! By being a loser.

MGM sure knows how to carry a football in a bucket!

En route to Elvis Beach, some guy asked us if we had seen any "arrowheads" back near The Cottage. We're STILL not sure if he meant snakes or actual Indian arrowheads. Too bad he didn't ask us if we've seen any weirdos with obscure questions.

It was certainly a Memorial Day vacation to remember. I can't wait for the next trip to The Cottage!

Next time I'm bringing my bike.

Having a swinging time

Ran into a couple of swingers at the beach. The water was a little brisk, but the action at the end-of-the-road park was in the playground area.

We thought it might be crowded, but found plenty of room to cook out at that pavilion deal. BTW, Rendell must have spent all the money on gas for his limo because there are no more lifeguards and swimming is at your own risk.

If you go to the Linesville weather link and look under the radar map you'll see a heading called "Wundermap New!". Click that and when the map comes up, zoom in about 5 clicks and bump it right once, and you'll see the street where we live, "Murphy Lane". Cool, huh?

We didn't get a lick of work done but anybody who wants to get the water going, etc., let me know and I'll try and go with you.

Nuts & Bolts

Check out the link on the right below "Traveling?" that will give you the weather in Linesville and the Online Meadville Tribune. BTW, looks like the mayor of Linesville is about Billy's age:

Meadville Tribune - Teen wins Linesville mayor race

Herman Herring

In keeping with our fish theme,
how do you like this guy? He
probably makes all the other fish goose-step, er, swim around. I thought of him when I saw this video:

Hitler Sings "Jeffersons" Theme - CollegeHumor video

We're planning on going up Sunday so maybe see yinz up there.

"Pa's second most popular tourist attraction"

I think we need to add to Linesville, PA on Wikipedia.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linesville,_Pennsylvania

We are . . .

I know you've seen it before, but when I think of this picture, I can't help but be reminded of the single minded devotion of, yes, the Penn State student body to their benighted and struggling football team. Doesn't that guy on the left look just like Billy, cheering on his lovable losers and their doddering octogenarian coach? What a plucky little buckaroo!

Introduction to The Cottage: 101

Imagine for a moment that you are Marin or Chris and you've only heard stories of the fabled cabin. Now, you're finally about to go there. Better study up!! What should you know before you leave?

There's this house, it's not in tip-top shape but it works and has plumbing (usually).

The family who owns it built it many years ago.

It sits in some dark woods near a man-made lake and a farm with cows and corn.

Sometimes animals (like a ruffed neck grouse) think they own the place.

A bunch of carp in a big bowl also think they own the place.

The ducks walk on the fish there.

Sometimes your Dad will make you ride your bike 12 miles with no speeds or gears when you're there.

You can have a big fire and roast marshmallows and play charades there.

Extended family relatives own a nice farm and house a few towns over.

Bring a flashlight.

You MUST wear bug spray there.

Fishing is fun there.

Swimming at the state park and cooking out by the swing set is also also a must.

Watch for tree roots or you'll fall on your face.

Don't mind the daddy long-leggers (they think they own the place, too)

Don't bother bringing your cell-phone.

Do bother bringing toilet paper.

You better bother bringing replacement beer for the fridge.

Oh yeah- the fridge is from 1800 and has about 6 tons of ice in it.

Definitely visit: The Golden Dawn, the Driftwood restaurant, ANY soft serve icecream joint, the Spillway, Elvis beach, and the bait shop, and the old Isaly's-which is currently called Rose's Cafe or something?

Take the dog for a swim when you're there or you're a jerk.

Elvis was an awesome family dog who loved the cabin so much that he is buried there and he has a beach named after him there, too.

There are raspberries and blackberries in the back-woods if you're brave enough to plow through.

There's probably a canoe-also from 1800- sitting on the side of the house still.

Professors? Any other pre-visit lessons for the freshmen?

1949 ... "Riders in the Sky (A Cowboy Legend)" by Vaughn Monroe

That was the #1 song in the country on the day I was born. You can find out what was #1 on your birth day here:

#1 Song on This Date in History

I think Uncle Tim's was Psalm 23

We're all bloggers now

Look for an invite to blog in your e-mails. I'm not sure what you have to go through to register as blog authors, but I'm sure you'll figure it out. You youngsters, help out the old guys.

AND

I'm not sure if I can add Sally the puking pooch but I'll try. I hear she won big in Michigan and Florida.

Hey, we can have our own blog

Do you guys think this would be a good way to share information about the cottage, especially what maintenance needs to be done, taxes paid and who's going there when? We might even spend more time there if we fix it up some. Let me know and I'll add you as a poster. Or if you think it's a waste of time, I'll cancel it. Either way.