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!

Opening Day 2010

We have watched the weather reports since Sunday. The predictions ranged from a high of 49 with partly sunny skies to a high of 70 with 80% chance of heavy rain and hail with strong winds likely in the afternoon. We really didn't know what to expect. By noon today it was 80 degrees humid and partly cloudy and I was prepared for the predicted Wizard of Oz weather. We arrived at the ballpark at 1:00 wearing t shirts but carrying umbrellas and sweatshirts and we were soon drenched in sweat. Several beers helped to cool us off.

The ballpark was crowded and the crowd was ready for a game. We sat in section 205 with "the regulars." (and I use that term loosely)

Lloyd

K Dad
The Chiefs wore uniforms modeled after the 1961 team uniform. When I am Baseball Commissioner, every player will have to wear the classic short pants/high socks look.

How often does the pitcher come up for his 3rd at bat with an average of 1.000? The Chiefs do their part to help the environment by NEVER replacing the burnt out light bulbs in the scoreboard.
How many county employees does it take to water the field? The game was exciting and we saw a double steal. Yes, I was paying attention to the game and really did see it! The Chiefs won 8 - 7 and Rob was happy.

Sun and warmth in Syracuse

Today it was 85 degrees and sunny AND I had the day off. Does life get any better than this? I went for a run and worked in the yard and washed the sheets and put the summer quilt on the bed and got a nice little burn on my face. Sweet to get the burning out of the way in April. Can't wait for tomorrow.

Sick puppy

No, we didn't get a dog...but I think about it all the time. Must be the Empty Nest Syndrome kicking in.
Rob is the sick puppy today. Dr. Kreitzer was pretty optimistic immediately after Rob's surgery but was whistling a different tune when we met with him a week later. Apparently, the biopsy showed that the cancer had spread to the fatty lining of the tumor in Rob's bladder. (Who knew that Rob had any fatty layers at all?) Rob will need to undergo the BCG treatments again...with an extra added chemical to keep the cancer from spreading. If the cancer is found in the next layer (muscle) the only treatment is removal of the bladder. He had his 2nd treatment this past Wednesday and he was so sick....shaking as violently as Ian did when he had Flumonia and in a terrific amount of pain. According to the doctors office, the more pain the better the drugs are working. I'm not sold yet. Rob sleeps the entirety of the following day before he begins to recover. Send good thoughts our way.

Spring Flowers

When I was readying the garden for winter, I decided to try to save my geraniums. I put 2 in the cellar in darkness and took 2 to work to put in the library windows. (I have one entire wall of windows with full morning sun.)

Yesterday I brought the geraniums up from the cellar to see if they could be resuscitated. I trimmed off all the dead leaves, watered them and put them on the front porch for some afternoon sun.

The library geraniums need nothing but adoration.

I will take a picture again in July to see who survives the summer.

Rob in the news....

Our local Sunday paper has a section called Stars with articles on art, music, movies, books, travel etc. and a calendar of upcoming events. The local art critic, Katherine Rushworth, has a column each week and until today she has always missed any of Rob's exhibits. She mentions his name in her article today..a pretty big deal considering there were about 100 artists in the show.
DELAVAN LOOKS FORWARD, BACK

Now to get Holland Cotter from the NY Times to notice....