Life in the fast lane

Wow, I can't believe I'm back from Europe and my big trip is over! Had a great time, missed my guys but not too much. Loved something about each place-- Germany we went to the zoo and had great sauerkraut, Paris was amazing to look at and one of the best meals of my life, Luxembourg was so cute with its hilly old city that nearly killed me walking up it, and Brussels was maybe my favorite of all, yummy food and the amazing architecture. Many pix on FB so I'll just post one here. 

Hahaha- yes there were Starbucks everywhere we went, but never fear - I branched out and sampled local fare wherever we were. 

D has a new bird-- a conure, slightly bigger than a parakeet, supposedly more intelligent, certainly more expensive! His name is sunny because he likes sunflower seeds (will bite off your finger to get one), and he has a yellow sun on his belly. 

Jim surprised me by replacing the toilet (which had been languishing on the front lawn for a month!) when I returned. We has gotten stuck trying to decide whether to remodel the bathroom when he took it out to fix the pipe, but this is better- we can still remodel later but now the bathroom is functional! All ready for guests- Uncle P! Planning to be home at Thanksgiving and over the hill the day after Christmas for visiting/skiing! We all have new (to us) skis so all we need now is snow...

New chapter

We lost Ds little bird Herman yesterday. He is really taking it hard, but I think he was just an old bird. They say you never know when you get them at a shop like that (p@tsm@rt). He lived with us nearly 2years though, and was a surprisingly good pet-- I had never had a bird before.  They are more affectionate that I would have thought. 

D vows he will never have a pet again, but I'm hoping he changes his mind in a few months. 

School starts next Tuesday-- and our carpool schedule is finally worked out! Yay. D is going into 6th grade, and will have his same teacher as last year. Still planning to play the bassoon, and he is in the Lego robotics club. 

J fixed my new (to me) car. Very agonizing, but apparently good to go now! Saved us a bundle, but was it worth it? 

I am entering the insanely busy season, parks concerts, opera (Rigoletto), Les Miserables, symphony opener (Pictures at an Exhibition!) and Bach Soirée-- all before my exciting trip to Europe with the Cleveland Orchestra! No, I'm not playing with them (hahaha) going as a guest of the fabulous Auntie C! 

 

vacations!

Summer is the time to relax, right? So far we are failing at that - but having a great time anyway. D and I went to Washington DC for a week to see uncle P in his natural habitat - we stayed at a snazzy hotel in Dupont Circle (Palomar). For D the first time on a metro or city bus, first taxi, lots of awesome museum experiences including Nat Hist, American Hist, Space, various fine arts (who can keep it all straight?!) and sculpture gardens. Also the ZOO, which was in many ways the highlight of the trip! We did a harbor cruise (at night - lovely weather and beautiful lit up monuments) and the double decker bus tour. Fourth of July was spent in the parade at LaClede (tiny burg), we have done this 4 years from the back of a pickup, but this year we upgraded to our hay trailer! Complete with hay bales covered in festive fabric, our motley crew has expanded to 11 with D on the cowbell! He did great, Jim played cornet and I played baritone, other highlights were the accordian, banjo and tuben (not confused with tubA, which we also had). Fun times, but on to the next trip to the Tetons! Soon we will be home for a couple of weeks in a row, and I'll be playing for the Fireworks (chop killer). Then the opera (Rigoletto), Les Mis and symphony opener (Pictures!). My face is hurting already. And I am really excited to play Bach's Wedding Cantata in November, with a world class soprano, I am soooo lucky! In non musical stuff I am still trying to do the C25K (couch to 5K) but I keep starting at the beginning after our endless vacations! Oh well, at least I'm doing something. D is taking an online typing course, he's already faster than I was after a year of HS typing! Of course, they didn't have computer games back then for motivation. He is most frustrated that the course won't let him backspace to correct --- hahaha! I should drag out my old electric typewriter and see what he thinks of that!

I'm sick...

So for the first time in ages I am sick- just a achy sore throat giant headache thing, but it is so beautiful outside I am annoyed! Today would be a perfect kayak day, but not for me. D is taking full advantage, "researching" to his hearts content (probably learning all about the Klingon Galaxy or some such). But he has done great this week with all his school projects. So I'll cut him some slack!

J appears to be sick too, but not what I have (what a pathetic bunch!) he is depressed that he didn't finish his latest work project, and Monday they are all being yanked away from whatever they were doing to work on something new. He hates that.

It is my goal to get healthy before Monday, I'm helping with field day and yearbooks and PGA Popsicles! So much fun stuff, and I have not been planning what to do After. 

Not entirely true, we go to visit auntie M and uncle D next week, have a bit of cousin time-- then later this month we go see uncle P in Washington DC! Should be amazing, and completely non- musical! Then we'll do a parade at our friends place on the river, couple of nights, and off to the Tetons for more excitement! If we survive all that we may just chill for a bit.