What are you doing for fun??

Oh wow! It all sounds great! And I am enjoying every minute of it.



It's finally sunny and warm in CT too...and I'm lovin' that.



It's warm enough that the wasps are out in full force. One of them woke me out of a sound sleep a couple nights ago by stinging me on my bald head!!! OUCH!



By the way...that wasn't the fun part...... the sunny warm weather was!

Wow, so many neat places and stories here! Marywh, I remember seeing a picture of Pigeon Forge...very beautiful. (Well the mountain scenery, kind of guessing the nonmountain party is a lilttle touristy.) Would love to see the Smokies sometime....

Surfdreams...Performing dolphins? Wow!

Tina, sounds like a dream vacation. I remember reading Bill Bryson's description of trying to cross a street in Rome. The traffic must be something.

Susan, sounds like you could challenge Martha Stewart!

I shared this on a different thread, wanted pass along this hilarious article on better choice for our state birds. http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2013/05/state_bird_improvements_replace_cardinals_and_robins_with_warblers_and_hawks.single.html

Lol English major! I guess I misspoke. I am performing the dolphin watch. Although yesterday we did see dolphins playing and jumping completely out of the water in the gulf.

Rome, Day 13 Facebook Status:

If the neighborhood street saxophonist who has played the theme from "The Godfather" over and over again for 12 evenings doesn't vary his repertoire tomorrow, I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse.

Rome, Day 16 Facebook Update:

During yesterday's perambulations we happened upon a guitarist playing a spirited version of "Tico Tico," a jaunty tune I remember from my childhood. I was so grateful that it wasn't the theme from "The Godfather" that I tossed a few coins in his case. Guess what he began playing as we walked away?

Tina

Tina, you are in Rome! How great is that? And how yummy the policemen there!!! 

I just started spring cleaning & a bit of renovating in the house. Feels good. Waited for a year postponing everything that needed be done, thinking "the next wife can do it?" Well since I am still here (LOL) & retired, I have to do something, right? DH is happy to see me getting back to my normal self, highmaintaining (!) about everything..

Oh the memories I have of Rome. Tina, you lucky girl.. btw Englishmajor traffic here is much more enjoyable than in Italy, if you like the adrenalin pumping rollercosters, but wait we are already riding on them, LOL. 

surfdreams, I would want to visit Mexico some day, enjoy the weather and watching the dolphins playing. 

hugs, Ebru

Oaxaca is a wonderful city. I love the markets there and the crunchy grasshoppers with chili and lime ( truly a delicious snack). Some lovely architecture there too as well as seven different types of mole. I took Spanish classes there and went to a lovely woman's home who taught us to make mole negro from scratch. Wonderful but too labor intensive. I cheat with the stuff in jars

Caryn

Ebru,

Love that image.... singing in the car was always one of our favorite things, generally with the windows rolled down with the wind and sun streaming into the car. I think that your son wasn't the only one who was happy. :-)

*susan*

Marywh, I read your post above just after breakfast and nearly lost it. I hope they have a defibrillator handy by the burger stand. Maybe an enterprising cardiologist should hang out by the customer line and hand out business cards.

Ebru, your day sounds delightful. Because I know what you and your son look like, it was very easy to picture you singing in the car and it makes a lovely picture. He is so adorable. What a smile!

Caryn, after marywh's description of the mammoth burger, your crunchy grasshoppers seem like a far healthier alternative!

We are heading home from Rome tomorrow after three incredible weeks in Rome. Corny as it may sound, this has been truly the trip of a lifetime. We are now hopelessly spoiled in terms of weather, which was sunny and pleasant for all but several days, and our relatively high-class (and high-ceilinged) four-room accomodations away from noisy crowds in a perfect location close to a bustling open-air market where we could find all sorts of goodies to cook. We've been all over the "Centro Storico" and beyond, walking miles and taking taxis to conserve energy when necessary. If any of you want tips about a trip like this, just PM me. We've spent a fair amount of money, but it was well worth it. And having an apartment is so much better and actually more economical than a hotel for a long stay; we were not just able to cook, but to do laundry, too.

I also finally made a long-delayed decision that was made easier by taking this trip. We are going to sell a small property we own together and earmark the money for future adventures like this one. The 1854 row house has been in my family for many generations and has not increased in value since I bought it from my mother years ago so she could have some much-needed cash. It's brought in some income over the years from a street-level retail space and two apartments, but it's a money pit in terms of maintenance. We have never done more than break even on it. It has great sentimental value to me, which is why I've resisted selling, but it is no longer a tax advantage to us and I realize now that the place could fund multiple jaunts like we've just enjoyed.

I keep seeing on this board how quickly our disease can turn and I don't want to get lulled into a false sense of security by my current stable status. I want to experience all I can while I can!

Greedily,

Tina

P.S.There was a huge soccer match this evening: Roma vs Lazio. It is our understanding that the working class supports the former and establishment Lazio. Car horns are starting to blare in the street, so I guess the game's over. Wonder if I can tell who won by which cars are honking?

Susan, we found a new-to-us vegetable in the market: agretti. Do you know it? It looks like soft, thick grass with muliple cylindrical leaves on a central stem. ( Google images; it's tough to describe.) My partner cooked it for two-to-three minutes as we were advised. We liked it. It tastes rather like French green beans!

Lol, I agree, pictures would be wonderful! Jo

DH and I like to take in a few concerts.  Last year we saw Van Halen but enjoyed seeing Chicago/The Doobie Brothers even more.  So last weekend, sort of spur of the moment, we went to see Styx/REO Speedwagon/Ted Nugent.  We had really good seats; DH loved that.  All three acts were just awesome, playing so many hit songs that are on the songtrack to our lives.  For the first time, we went early, took a couple lawn chairs and sat in the parking lot with all the other tailgaters.  We didn't take a grill or cook, just some snacks and drinks. I read the Sunday newspaper while DH watched the cars streaming into the parking lot.  The weather was beautiful for the middle of May, perfect for the outdoor concert.  It was very memorable.  Here's a photo I took of us sitting in the parking lot:

Oh what fun those concerts sound. Havnt been to one in ages. I have always wanted to see Ted Nugent in concert, he is such an awesome guitar player, Glad you had such a good time.

Brandall,

that sounds like the perfect weekend! Date night. I should remember to do that some day.

I've turned into an old softie when it comes to weddings, and love hearing about you ladies with children getting wed this summer.  It really is nice to have the wonderful distraction of planning the event and best wishes to both exbrxgrl and sandilee and your kids on their wedding day.

I have no daughters.  My sister's girl is getting married next May, so I'm going with my sister and her other daughter to Atlanta, Georgia later this summer to help the pick out the wedding gown.  So looking forward to that.

Gardens: my DH plants a vegetable garden every year and it's always the highlight of my summer.  I love all the produce: peppers, tomatoes, beens, romaine lettuce, ect.  Oh and of course zucchini till it's coming out the ears.  

As for the music concerts, TURN IT UP!  I sing to all the songs I know at the top of my lungs.  It makes me feel so ALIVE.  Styx sang their song, "Come Sail Away" and one lyric is, ...a gathering of angels appeared above my head, they sang to me this song of hope..... and I just felt like it was a wonderful message to me, I was singing the lyrics so loud.