Hello duck....good-bye robins.

Not a real duck....while it would be amusing until I was able to take a picture, the amount of poop ducks generate is ghastly. We have a new duck, Harvey Too. Notice the jaunty tilt to her head.The previous duck, Harvey, was faded and leaking water and didn't adequately represent the mojo I had going in the yard.

The baby robins left us this weekend but not without some drama. Between Friday and Saturday we had about 3 inches of rain...maybe more....and I had to drain quite a bit from the pool. One left Friday and was never seen again. The 2nd baby left Saturday while I was venturing outside to oversee the damage from the rain. He swooped over my head and landed in the yard. He hopped over to the shed and tried to gain altitude or coverage or something by jumping repeatedly into the shed doors. He eventually made it to cover in the garden. I stayed outside because I was afraid he would accidentally land in the pool and be swept into the filter to die. Sure enough, he tried to fly over the pool and skidded across the top and flopped into the water. I ran over to jump in and save him but recovered my thought process long enough to grab the skimmer pole and scoop him out. I tried to put him back into the nest but he wouldn't have anything to do with it. Eventually, I lost track of him and I wish these babies luck. They are going to need it!

The Idiots Guide to Building a Nest

During the last week of school I was a mess. Rob was out of town, school was stressful with one of the dearest teachers retiring, all of the end of the year tasks, organizing a union president takeover (success), a meeting or party every single night of the week, and company coming on Friday. I was a blithering idiot.

On top of all this, a pair of robins decide to build their nest on the light above the back door. Ordinarily, I would not need to be involved but this pair needed assistance on nest building. Every morning when I went out back and every evening when I came home, the concrete just outside the back door was filled with mud and hay. Easily an entire bale of hay was left on the concrete and nothing was stuck on the light. I tried my best to scare them away and even talked to the pair about the folly of building their nest along this heavily used entry. I was hysterical because the mess was incredible and it was just one more task added to my day. Oddly enough, Ian left by this door to go to work every day but never noticed the mess. Each day I cleaned up the hay and hosed off the mud.

By Friday of the week, the birds were successful at cobbling together a nest.
If we were in the backyard or using the backdoor, the birds flew off the nest. Hilary and family were here all weekend and luckily it was 100 degrees because the parents got little or no time to sit on the eggs.

In spite of everything (despite everything?) 2 of the eggs hatched on July 12th. They were so funny to look at.
I have to admit, watching them reach forward with open mouth reminded me so much of Ian's nursing days. Although these guys have more hair.


By July 21st, the babies are feathered and their wing span is larger than the nest. They will be leaving soon (and I can clean off the light!) They have been fun to watch even though the parents freak when I lean out the window with the camera.

Sending your child to a foreign country.....to work!

This is rather amusing to me. For years, we have noticed that many of the menial jobs (maids, counter workers, etc) in Cape Cod are filled with teenagers from Eastern European countries. I have never figured this out... Does America lack teenagers who need jobs? How do these kids get here? Where do they live for the summer? How do they find out about these jobs? Is it for the money or the chance to come to America? But now Ian has gone and done the opposite (he always was contrary!)

With our stunning family connections, Ian and Emily have gone to Prague for a month to work for Chris in one of the hostels (Ian will make a cute chamber maid.) I can't wait to find out if they will be employed in the new Mosaic House or the historic Czech Inn. Work starts Monday. Thank you Cyndy & Tom and Chris & Laura for giving Ian and Emily this rare opportunity.

Packing Ian for Prague was a challenge. With the Homeland Security restrictions the airlines immediately embraced for capitalistic reasons, Ian was allowed only 1 suitcase and it has to be under 50.5 lbs. Haha...Ian's suitcase weighed 20lbs .....

....before he added his clothes, shoes and toiletries.

We tried to put as much of the heavy stuff into his backpack to carry on, but when we left the house for New York, Ian's suitcase weighed close to 60lbs and I had resolved to pay the $45.00 overweight fee. The Miracle Whip and Popsicle maker had to stay in the suitcase because I knew they would never pass liquid inspection when Ian passed through security but we moved the Fig Newtons and Butterscotch Chips (1# each.)

I was hoping to transfer some of Ian's weight to Emily's suitcase (what was I thinking?) but Emily's suitcase was also over the allotted pounds, so Ian transferred some of her heavier items to his suitcase so only one fee would need to be paid. Brilliant thinking on my part I should add.

I needn't have worried! When the kids checked in and Ian explained that most of his weight was due to gifts for his family the clerk gave Ian this cute little plaid bag, asked him to transfer the heavy stuff and he checked a 2nd bag for free! The world is so greedy and surly that I forget there are still kind people out there. I hope Ian and Emily remember to email the airline and thank her.

I saw Ian and Emily through security and headed back to my car ( I didn't cry) for the drive back to Syracuse. It was 4:20 on a Wednesday afternoon and I didn't make it to the Holland Tunnel until almost 6:30. I was not amused. I spent almost 40 minutes driving 3 blocks....true NYC gridlock. How do people do this? The people I saw in their cars (mostly NJ plates) looked like they were going home from work. My drive to work takes 10 minutes in the morning and if I leave at the wrong time I encounter school buses, and that adds 5 minutes to my commute, makes me late and raises my anxiety level to heart attack proportions.

Ian and Emily have started a blog of their own. It's very informative and so far they are having a ball. I have linked my blog or go to Praha Braha to catch up.

June 26 & 27th with the family.

We had a mini family reunion during the last weekend of June. Emily came in on the Hound Thursday night from NYC. Hilary and family arrived Friday evening and Rich and Diane came for dinner on Saturday. Even Chandler joined us for dinner after his shift at Target. Of course, I took not one picture on Saturday but I can say with assurance that we ate well (love that bean salad Rich....and I need the recipe for the spicy version) and drank well.....gin and tonics, beer and we tried this new Van Gogh brand of vodka (I liked the bottle...now empty.)

The weather was perfect on Sunday and I managed to use the camera. Chuck and Nick played endless hours of this nameless game using the Torpedo .This is a game that Ian and his friends made up back when they used to play games that didn't involve red cups. The game is even fun in the rain.
Joey leaves with the Torpedo. Game Over.

Hilary and Joey share a hug.
What looks like a tender moment between Ian and Joey probably turned violent and didn't end well.
Emily is wearing her "I am not sharing" face.

Joey, Ian and Emily play ball in the pool. The bat can also be used as an ineffective oar.
Look quick....Joey stopped and crashed.

And Nick is waiting for the car to be packed so everybody can hit the road.

Top 10 Reasons Ian Would Love the Netherlands

10. THE CLOTHES
The dress among those both young and old was eclectic to say the least. While Ian prefers t-shirts and basketball shorts, I hope he dresses outside of his comfort zone while in Europe this summer.
We saw this group using the ATM in Leiden.
This Tibetan monk (?) took the time to coordinate his outfit with the tulips. Keep in mind it was about 70 degrees. Man clothes for sale in a shop window in Scheveningen.

9. THE FOOD
The national dish is a raw herring sandwich although many people eat their herring whole, rolled in raw onions and pickles. I ate a a cooked herring sandwich (delicious) and Uncle Tom tried the raw herring sandwich (not so delicious.) I know Ian would have to give this a try.

8. SIGNS
The signs in Amsterdam were easy to understand and straight to the point. Pickpocket awareness deserved an English translation.
Dog poop in the gutter did not. And I brought my own Bob so no need to rent one.....but Ian might want to rent a Bob.
7. YOU DON'T PLAY THE CELLO
Bikes were the transportation of choice in Amsterdam. Didn't matter if you had your kids with you(sitting in the milk crate fixed to the handlebars), wearing a short skirt (yikes!) or a tuxedo while carrying your cello.

6. BIG EGGS
No joke. These eggs were huge and I hope they weren't gathered from the dirty old swans living in the dirty canals. But Ian likes his bacon and eggs.....and I don't think the bird matters much. We saw these eggs for sale at the Albert Cuyp market in Amsterdam.

5. YOUR NAME
If you position yourself perfectly, Ian's name is spelled out in 7 foot high letters in the IAMSTERDAM sign . What narcissist wouldn't love that!

4. GRAFFITI
I wanted to try this coffee shop after seeing the decorated wall (see # 3) and who doesn't like Stewie?

3. COFFEESHOPSOh wait, that's why I love Amsterdam!

2. COOL JOBS
This Rastafarian water taxi driver was just taking it easy and cruising the canals.We ate lunch outside one afternoon in Delft at the Cafe de Wynhaven. When our waiter wasn't taking orders (I ordered bitterballen without knowing what it was....delicious!) or delivering food, he was using a big squirt gun to chase away the seagulls and pigeons. Both perfect jobs for Ian.

1. BEER IN VENDING MACHINESImagine my surprise when I drifted down the hall to the vending machine in our hotel in Den Haag for munchies and saw this! Imagine getting a cold Heineken from a vending machine. In America, I am sure the machine would expect your ID and a sobriety test. Who wouldn't love this!