Back to school

I drove Ian back to Cornell last Thursday. All of his stuff fit nicely into the Prius...even the 150.00 of groceries we picked up at the Wegmans in Ithaca. Ian is no longer on campus but is in an apartment with 4 other guys. Apparently, Cornell doesn't have enough rooms for all their students and Ian had a high lottery number so he was shut out of housing. This apartment is just down the hill from West Campus...very close to where he would have ended up anyway. He found 4 friends and they rented a place in Ravenwood. His room is the upper window with the fan. Big livingroom with tv (it was working when I left) and a dining room with only 4 chairs (I seem to be the only one who cares)
Decent kitchen (or at least it was when I left) and even a dishwasher5 bedrooms in the place each with double bed, dresser and desk (bigger than his room at home)
His closet is huge and very neatly organized (when I left.) They must rent to a lot of girls.

I made his bed, helped him unpack his clothes and dishes and food, cleaned the kitchen and kissed him good-bye. I didn't even cry this time.

The next day, as Rob and I were on our way to a wedding, I received a text from Ian. "Seamus and Nick are on their way over to pick up a saw and a hammer. And they will need a drill too." I immediately called Ian back to find out what was going on and let him know we were not at home to lend tools. After badgering him relentlessly, I found out that his Syracuse friends were coming down to visit and they all want to build a beer pong table.

Good lord. He may have inherited some drinking skills but I have neglected to teach carpentry. Luckily he has health insurance and the rental company is only authorized to take out the rent....not the damages.

Ian's new address is:
516 University Ave Apt B 5
Ithaca, NY 14850

I can't wait to see what this place looks like when the other 4 guys arrive. I will post pictures.

Right before I killed it....

Syracuse Arts and Crafts Festival

Rob had a booth in this festival, officially held at Columbus Circle last weekend. We have done this show in the past but didn't sell much and we thought to try again...maybe Syracuse got cultured in the meantime! While wandering around, I took a picture of this statue that I have seen a 1000 times but never really looked at and thought, "Oh, that's why it's called Columbus Circle" and then, "why is there a statue of Columbus in Syracuse?" We had a nice spot among the trees on Onondaga Street and the weather was perfect all three days. So unusual for this festival! I love doing these shows with Rob because, frankly, it is like a mini vacation for me. I help set up, take down and watch over things when Rob leaves the booth but I spend the rest of the time sitting in a chair reading or browsing other booths. In Syracuse, I also spent a lot of time visiting with people I knew who stopped by to say hello. Rob is the one who has to be "on" for the entire time and I just do what I want....love it!

I had fun with the camera this year...taking unsuspecting pictures. Like Common Councilor Bill Ryan buying a Buffalo Bills picture from the booth across the street. I felt like one of the cops from The Wire and this sure looked like a drug deal. I spent a lot of time across the street helping out Claudia. CLAUDIA CARREON She hails from Ohio, has stunning jewelry pieces and was fun to talk too. Originally from Mexico, she works as a translator for the Rochester and Columbus, Ohio newspapers. She was here alone, so I watched her booth when she needed to use the facilities or get something to eat. Of course, I took pictures of Rob visiting with people while across the way. Rob saw a lot of people he knew....even his XC coach from SUNY Cortland. They recognized each other after 30 years. So many people came up to Rob to tell him that they knew Tim, Tom, Joe, Ed, Jack or Jim Glisson that Rob started keeping track. Jim won the tally.

We were entertained all weekend by traveling musicians and Drumming Dan. Dan was not officially hired by the Arts Festival promoters, but travels with Lisa from Two Son Jewelry. Dan set up his drums and drummed all day. Dancers and other musicians joined him throughout the weekend.

He was a fun guy and I wouldn't mind having a booth near their booth again next year. I imagine he was one of those kids in school that tapped and pounded on anything. Lisa did say the drumming on the dinner table can be a bit much to take. Dan even traveled down the street to drum with my favorite, the Kambuyu Marimba Ensemble. They are so interesting to watch...

The best part? Rob won an award and he sold 4 paintings. He really was happy even though he doesn't look it!

In the news....

I got a lot of ink in this article about Say Yes....perhaps if I had sped away from the cops in a SUV after a shooting or diverted 78,000 dollars of state funds for my personal use people would care.

Syracuse school board wants to hire a search firm to find a new superintendent

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.