In brief

It was actually this article that prompted me to post this morning.  It's fascinating to me that there are still pockets of human beings in the world who don't know a thing about electricity, running water, cell phones, and the Internet.  Hard to believe that's still possible in this day and age.

Aside from that, not a lot of news.  Kitty is adapting pretty well to her new surroundings, as are we to her.  We're all over our bouts with some evil stomach virus (except, perhaps, for visiting Nana who may or may not have it now), and I've got a three day weekend with apparently beautiful weather in store.  Hopefully I can finally get the grass cut now that our stretch of rain is over and our garden is booming, including some great progress with my hop plants.

May I present, Miss Tasty Delish (or Delight)

We welcomed our newest family member yesterday:









Tensions and nerves are running a bit high around here, Cina going totally bonkers every time she is permitted to see baby Tasty behind closed doors.  Lots of mewing, but Tasty seems to be adapting pretty well, considering the circumstances.  Very adorable, of course.  Hopefully Cina can relax a bit in coming days.

Great person, great memories

My Aunt Loy passed away peacefully last night. She was 92.

I have a lot of great memories of my Aunt Loy. She was a strong smart woman who embraced all challenges and obstacles. She was a wonderful great-grandmother, grandmother, mother, aunt, and sister. One of my most profound memories was sitting and talking to her at my mom's house during our wedding reception weekend. I was blown away by the fact that she came up for it and was even more touched by her own love stories that she shared with me.

Rest in peace.

Mystery object

Man, I must be the biggest dummy around.  I'm like the only one who didn't know what it was, apparently.  David gets the big prize (whatever that may be) just because he was quickest (he was really fast but emailed instead of commenting so as not to spoil the fun for everyone).  No prize for creativity because all guesses were correct....  Thanks for playing.

Getting back...

...on track, to work, to Reno, etc. The trip home was slightly eventful, Sidney vomited his way across the US, in Denver airport both in a restaurant, then on me. Then on Morgan in flight. Poor guy had a pretty upset stomach for about 24 hours, seems OK now. I'll spare you the rest of the details.

In reviewing Michigan photos, I realized how long it's been since I updated any albums around here. So while the bulk what I loaded is an album of Michigan trip photos, there are also a very few new ones in Sid's album, Lola's album, and the Miscellany album (of Morgan's birthday cake and camping, I think is all). I've got a couple Sid videos to post as well, just out of time for now.  Not much else to say expect how much I dislike returning from vacation: to piles of laundry and mail, to an empty fridge, to work, to the usual routine grind.

With that, I'll leave you with something fun; the artifact in the photo below was in the front yard of a house two doors down from Grandpa in Adrian. It stands about 4 feet tall. He told us what it was, so I know now. Do you? Guesses in the comments. Perhaps a prize for the right answer and/or most creative. I hope this isn't easy. I sure had no idea. Click for full size.

Winding down in Michigan

Starting to lose track of what we've done on which days.  As the road out front gets dug up, I try to reflect on the last 36 hours or so...

I know yesterday we spent visiting Grandpa's sister Marilou in Milford.   Quite a nice little place, from what little I saw, and she's got a great old house nestled in the woods near a park.  We even saw a snake. 

Aside from that, it seems like we've more or less driven around a bit, gone to stores, taken walks, and bounced a ball in the street.  Paige and I took a nice long walk up to and through Siena Heights University which is more or less just up the street, then by one of the water towers here in Adrian.  We had some speculation about why all these little towns have a water tower, most of them with the town's name painted on the side.  This seems to explain pretty well.

Anyway, I think that about does it for now.  Lots of pics to add to these little tales, of the snake and the water tower and other assorted fun.  No cable or card slot to upload them here, so they'll just have to wait until we get home.

Beerlog: Hmmmm...another one (hoppy amber?) from Magic Hat, and one bottle of Hops Infusion from Weyerbacher I picked up in Toledo on a whim.

Michigan Friday and Saturday

Had a fabulous time at the zoo yesterday, mostly what you would expect ~ elephants, giraffes, polar bears, and a very friendly sloth bear.  We skipped the reptiles and amphibians towards the end as we were all winding down, but the monkeys, apes, and hippos all gave great delight to us all.  Camels weren't out yet for the summer.  While in Toledo, we stopped for some excellent grocery shopping at The Andersons, including some great stuff from their meat counter.  Also stocked up some excellent beers since Toledo offers a bit more than Adrian, including some Dogfish Head and Flying Dog bottles that I don't see at home.

Today we hit the local farmer's market, the quite respectable Adrian PL, a pretty acceptable burrito for lunch, and, after a couple errands and ice cream for dessert, the afternoon naptime.

Beerlog: Tons bought in Toledo, only thing new tasted was pale ale from the previously mentioned Bell's.

Michigan, day two

Good day to start our visit ~ nice leisurely morning followed by a big fat delicious breakfast.  "The Abner" is a skillet meal composed of hash browns with shredded cheese, diced ham, and gravy on them, topped with two eggs over easy.  And toast on the side.  It's not as grotesque as it might sound.  Reasonable portion and oh so good.  After that, a visit to Grandpa Dave's Lowe's (bought a new shower head and a little gas grill to cook dinner upon) and some quality time at the park.

After naptime (and grill assembly time), we ventured back out for steaks and assorted other goods for dinner.  On the way, we stopped and looked around the house that Grandpa's dad built when he was a kid.  Empty for a year now, it's in kinda sad shape, but it was neat to visit anyway.  Grilled ribeyes and corn on the cob are as good a way to end the day that The Abner started.

Toledo Zoo tomorrow.

Today's beerlog: Leinekugel's Red Lager

Michigan trip, day one

We're in Adrian, MI tonight, visiting Morgan's dad.   Woke up at 3:30am, Reno time.  Quick layover in Denver, then on to Detroit, followed by a short drive in a rental to here.

Beerlog: Magic Hat's Not Quite Pale Ale and Bell's Two Hearted Ale.  Both very nice beers.

Evicted

It seems that Robin Bird may have been evicted from her nest or has moved out. We did find one cracked robin egg on the railing of the deck. There has been no sign of her. A new family has been seen brining in more debris to add to her old nest. They look like Mr and Mrs George Bird, but we are not sure it is them. There has been no activity around their nest. We hope that Robin has maybe just moved her eggs? Nature is an interesting thing.

Please forward mail to:

When we moved into our lovely new home, one of the small selling points for me was a bird's nest nestled in the eaves of the back deck. This spring, we all watched as Robin Bird attempted to build another nest in another nook of the deck. It didn't go well for a while. We were left with large clumps of stuff scattered around. We weren't sure if she knew what she was doing either. She tried in two or three different areas, never succeeding. About a week and half ago, she finally got her nest built. It happened rather quickly. Maybe she got some advice from a fellow bird. Anyway, I believe she has laid her eggs as she spends a lot of time laying in there watching the back door very cautiously.

In the old nest, Mr and Mrs George Bird have moved in. They have made some modifications and I even caught them stealing from Robin Bird's nest! Their property looks a bit unkempt and really, well, ugly. No idea if they have laid their eggs yet. Maybe they feel that they need to add more?

Here are a few pictures:

What do you think?

The headline is Burger King profits up 21 percent.

So my question is: Is it due to to high food prices or obese America?

Here is the link to the article (which I have yet to read): Burger King Profits up 21 percent.

Why do they grow so fast?

Sid is standing.  When Lola started to pull herself up, it was cute. This is cute, but why does he have to get so big so fast?  He talks a lot too.  I bet he gets that from me.

Lola had her first dental appointment yesterday. She was a perfect patient and her teeth are in great shape.

It just all seems to be happening so fast.  Pretty soon Lola will be driving or off to college.  Yikes!!