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Showing posts from May, 2009

The Blasted Sounds of Summer

Ahhhh, Summer. That time of year when you can sleep with the windows open and feel the warm breeze upon your face... EXCEPT WHEN YOU HAVE A TEENAGE NEIGHBOR WHO'S HOME FROM COLLEGE AND DOES NOT GET MUSICALLY INSPIRED ON HER PORCH UNTIL AFTER 10PM. Curses!

Travel Burn Out

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I've just about had it with packing my bags and riding in a car for a long time. Our six weeks of non-stop travel ended yesterday when we returned home from Gloucester, Mass. after a whirlwind trip to pick Mom's car up from Aunt Martha. Don't get me wrong, Gloucester was AWESOME; the trouble is the trip itself wasn't long enough. Sunday was a really fun day crammed with things to do and see, and great things to eat, sandwiched between two long travel days. The trip started with a stop at the Syracuse regatta "on the way" - which meant a 4:45am wake up time to get to the race by 7am. After the regatta and lunch with my friend, Clare, we hit the road around 2pm and got into Gloucester around 8pm. We were lucky to bring Cam's girlfriend (I think I can officially say that now) Bonnie along. I can only imagine the insolence we would have had to endure if he were forced to be away from her for the weekend. We stayed at a nice motor inn right on the ocean (majest

Hurray for Friday, Part I!

Finally, it's Thursday and we're easing into a long weekend. Yesterday Mark and I were off for his every-5-year colonoscopy, during which they removed three small polyps. Those results were the same as his exam five years ago, and he's one of those people who doctors keep an eye on since his dad had colon cancer. As a result, the doctor recommended our kids start having them in their 30s! We'll wait a while to tell them that great bit of news!! BUTT enough about colons... Tomorrow the kids and I are off to get the long holiday weekend started a little early. We don't have much planned, except packing for YET ANOTHER weekend out of town. It all starts on Saturday morning with an early morning trip to Syracuse for a crew regatta (we have to be there by 7am - and you know what that means!), after which we're going to hit the road for a quick trip to Gloucester, Mass. to pick up Mom's car from Aunt Martha, who's been using it for the last year. We're ma

Lena Celebrates!

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Happy birthday this week to our beloved sister, Lena - 39 and holding! We had Lena, her husband Ken, sister Nara and her husband Jim over for a three-fold celebration last night. Lena's had a great spring, as she and Ken just bought their first house (in the Village of Fairport ) and will be moving in at the end of June. So, cheers all around for: Lena's birthday Lena's new position at MCC , and Annalisse's confirmation today I made a homemade carrot cake (which came out really great - moist and sweet) and I got baklava for Annalisse for her part of the celebration. Congrats to both!!

State Rowing Championship: Saratoga Regatta

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We had our first "real" regatta in Saratoga this weekend. On Friday afternoon, Mark and I took our places as chaperones on the boys bus, and all spent a rousing 3 1/2 hours watching Hot Rod , Rambo and Miracle (all movies that are the OPPOSITE of chick flicks). I spent those hours trying to get to my "happy place" via my iPod. It sort of worked, except it was VERY noisy. Once we arrived at the hotel, it was around 9:30pm, and the kids still needed a briefing about the morning's activities. The coxswains were scheduled to leave for the regatta at 5:30am , and we were to be in the lobby by 6:15 for a 6:30 departure. The day's weather turned out great, sunny and warm, as the kids embarked on their first official rowing adventure. Annalisse went first as she served as coxswain for the novice girls "C" boat (meaning: the least experienced). Her first race didn't go so well, as her boat zigged and zagged it's way to last place out of six boats.

Renovation Pix

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Here are some pictures of our completed paint job in the front hallway, living room, and dining room. I'll save the bathroom for later because, while the paint job is done, we still need to get mirrors, new fixtures, new lights and shutters. That will definitely be worth the wait. In the main rooms we still have a bit of work to do as we decide on window treatments for the main windows. The rug will drive a lot of what we choose in terms of decorating colors, furniture and picture placements, so that will come a little later on. Based on that what still needs to be done and the timeline for the rug arrival (probably early- to mid-fall), I'm estimating we should be done with all this around CHRISTMAS. In the meantime, enjoy!

Not a Morning Person After All?

One of the things I claim is that I'm a morning person and totally useless after 8:30pm. With all the occasions for early rising lately (kid's trips, our NYC trip, and yesterday's crew regatta when we had to be in Buffalo by 7am), I'm not so sure. Getting up at 4:15am is really doing a number on me. Now, instead of not being able to function past 8:30pm, I'm ready for the sack by 7:30pm: eyes glazed over, unable to get out of the chair, all that good stuff. It seems to be all catching up with me. I'm now more able to sympathize with those early morning DJs and talk show hosts who basically have no life in the evenings! The reason for yesterday's early rise, the crew regatta in Buffalo, was really interesting - a little like a tent city where all parties descended in the morning, set up a full kitchen for the day, and cleared out quickly when the event was done. Since both of the kids had just joined crew, they weren't quite up to speed to participate, b

The Surest Sign of Spring

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Hurray! The Fairport Farmer's Market opens for the season today! That means: sticky buns cinnamon rolls cheap fruits and vegtables beautiful flowers seeing friends just out of hibernation after the long winter I'm up at 6:01am, just raring to go!