–It being rainy and foggy at the shore (so foggy, in fact, that if you leave the doors open to the hotel, the fog drifts in and sets off the fire alarm)
–Your 9-month old son spiking a fever and having to leave your rainy seaside mansion two nights early, and go to Hartford Hospital Children’s Clinic and find out he has an ear infection in the same ear your Peditrician at home said was “OK”
–You spend from 10 AM to 10 PM Wednesday moving your sister into her new place in the blistering heat (alternating with the pouring rain!), along with professional movers such as your 74-year old Dad (who can kick your Dad’s ass!) and an 18-year old kid still in high scholl who can back up a trailer like a 50-year old trucker.. And…well, no one else, actually.
–And the next day you go to make some sense of the boxes and drop a couch on your bare toe

So yeah, I’d say things here are awesome to the max!!!

But we do get to leave on Saturday morning for Niagara! I sure hope my warm cube is still there for me when I get back…

And so the trip continues, Highlights for Sunday:

–Visiting Doobie the Donkey at Swedish Hill vineyards. When I asked them how the nice wine shipping laws affected them shipping to us in Michigan, they said “Not much,” because they had been shipping to us illegally anyway.
–Lots more 100 degree heat!
–Helped out my sister with the back problems by moving 20+ boxes in said 100 degree heat to her basmenet while her g*dd*mn parrot squawked at 900 decibles and tried to scare me to death
–Fixed my parents TV/Tivo/VCR/DVD set-up. Turns out they couldn’t tape anything on their VCR because nothing was attached to the input of their VCR. Go figure!
–Today it’s off to Misquamicut and seeing Linda and Dave, before my sister’s kid’s come up and make our life a living–I mean, splash in the salty surf in a joyful extended family romp.. Yeah, that’s what I meant..

More later, if we live that long…

On our annual Summer vacation to Connecticut and Rhode Island, stopping, as always, in Seneca Falls, New York on the way down and Niagra Falls on the way back. Highlights so far:

–100+ degree heat from 8 AM to 9 PM
–Bad Egg McMuffin at daughter’s request – never again!
–1 hour wait to get back into New York/U.S. from Canada
–*Really* bad food at the Pump House in Seneca Falls – was it ever good?

Actual fun things:

–Baby Cooper travels surprisingly well and is in a good mood
–Boss-loaned Freestar works great so far, except for the ocassional squeak and rattle
–Played pool volleyball w/Maddy at the hotel pool
–Big bass fishing tournament in Seneca Falls a la Carl Hiassen

More excitement as it happens!

We went to the Dearborn Arab Festival last weekend. The food was great, there was singing and dancing, and the kids loved it,though they declined to ride the camel this year — too smelly. Some more pics are here.

Real Simple | Surprising Expiration Dates

Kitchen Myths

A Joke Too Blue to Repeat, and the Movie That Dares to Tell It, Repeatedly
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BBC NEWS | Technology | Pacman comes to life virtually

The basement is a mess. Kids go down there, they mess things up, you try and get them to clean it, they throw everything in the closet to fool ya, you do a little cleaning yourself when you get a chance. But you’re busy, you know, you’ve got two kids now, you just want 5 minutes of peace and quiet after bed.

Now it’s a real mess (not as messy as certain people who will not be named in print, but messier than you’ve ever had it). So you come up with a good trick–you tell your daughter “We’re cleaning up the basement to get ready for a garage sale!” (which you may or may not have, as the summer already seems over before it’s barely begun), and she gets all excited and goes down there with you, and before you know it, she’s stuffing all her old stuffed toys in the “For Sale” bag, and throwing other stuff in the trash, and saying stuff like “This toy is for babies!”, when you can remember buying her that silly toy.

And then you realize, obviously, that your little girl is getting older, and she’s moving on, and that little person is not coming back. And you kinda wish the goddamn basement could stay messy, so you wouldn’t have to move on with her.

Sorry. Got something my eye..

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