Like Sand Through the Hourglass

There's nothing like vacation photos to wash that evil taste of work out of your mouth.  

Some highlights-

• Finally having Maizie at Bethany.
  
• Having Gretchen, Liam, Auntie Lara, Uncle John, and Aunt Nanny Wendy around to keep Maizie from drowning or hurling herself off of the porch while I swilled beer and caramel corn.
• Gretchen's Beautify Ocean City program--picking up all the stray plastic bags from the beach.
• Cruising for hot guys with Lara in Bob's dead sexy convertible BMW mid-life crises car.
• Air Hockey  & Ski Ball in the arcade.
  
• Having Michelle Eddinger Cullen get burnt with the rest of us on Friday!!!

You don't know how many kids we had to push under just to get some alligator time for the grown ups.

Umm, no that's certainly not my husband doing the Martha Graham Dance Spectacular.

Can you believe that Lara & John have been married twenty year.  She hasn't changed a bit.  Too bad John has really let himself go.

Me clobbering the sharks and getting the high score of the day.  That'll show those 5 year olds who's boss!!!

Sand in our shorts, and other places

We have been trying to figure out how many years ago we first started invading Bethany Beach, Delaware. Each of us seem to have different recollections of how and when it all started. All that we are sure of is that if it wasn't for Chris Chromiak, none of us would be here right now. John, Lara, their two offspring, Liam and Gretchen, Bob and his fancy convertible BMW, David, me and, for her first trip, our Maizie (plus my sister Wendy) are all enjoying the waves and fried food.
Over the ten to twelve years we've been eating boardwalk fries and beer showers, alot has changed in Bethany.  It was a little disturbing to arrive this year to discover a large empty lot where the the cute old 1950's hotel used to be, even more disturbing that you couldn't see the ocean from the boardwalk because the pesky Army Corps of Engineers had put up a large sand dune between the water and the boardwalk, all in the name of a little eco-conservation.
Our activities have also changed over the years. I remember putting jigsaw puzzles together with Eric & Chris on the upstairs porch of the Super Surf & Sand.  Now the Lutz Scotts seem to have these bizarre family rituals that include pirate impersonation, and 'do-it-yourseld' mummification.
It doesn't seem quite right to be here without Chris.  

Somehow, we'll find a way to get over it.

I Know What You Did Last Weekend

It seems that Scott, Stu & Princess Vera made an overnight stop at the Lutz Scott Compound last Friday.

SO WHERE ARE THE PICTURES!!!!!!!

We spent the first 2 weeks of June in Italy. We've never been there, so we went a little crazy with pictures. If you're really interested, I have more on my Facebook page. And if you're REALLY interested, come on over for a slide show of all 650. Seriously. And each one has a story. I'll make dinner & set up the guest room.

This is a typical street corner in Rome. No, it's not leading into any famous church or museum. We could have spent all day (& did) just walking through the tiny, winding streets & looking at the architecture. Bellissimo!

The Colosseum & Trevi Fountain:

Of course, we had to hang out on the Spanish Steps in our cool Italian shades.

Then we drove through Tuscany, visiting Florence & Pisa, and many beautiful tiny walled villages in between. We also visited Lake Garda, where we took a boat ride around the lovely town of Sirmione.

We stayed with about the nicest innkeepers in the world outside of Verona & ended our trip in bella Venezia.

Here we are in Harry's Bar enjoying bellinis... a quest for this English major. And they certainly know that people want to come enjoy the experience that Hemingway did. The bellinis are the most expensive thing on the menu at 15 euros each. But you're only there once, right?

We ended our trip with a romantic gondola ride thru the canals of Venice. I can only say that our cat is glad we're home. We're not so sure.

Great Big Walking W meets Son of Jarrell

News Flash: The Walking W met Eric, Son of Jarrell, possibly for the first time, on Saturday evening. After almost 20 years and possibly dozens of near misses in Shearer hall, the two met at Galen's house near Phoenixville, Pa. Good food, drink and company were shared after a session of splashings in the pool.
It is possible that the offspring will be dating soon as the Daughter of Son of Jarrell was heard to profess her love for young Joshua and young Joshua got rather misty as his new friend was pulling out of the driveway.
More later as news develops.

New Bird Bath!

Many happy robins getting a little drink or a bath! How can you resist a bird bath shaped like a bird? It says on it "All Birds Welcome." A tree was cut down in our back yard and I had some extra petunias that I just stuck in pots and I thought"oh, they would look nice on that stump"..and when I put them on the stump...I thought, "A bird bath would be really great right here." Since putting it there on Sunday there have been many robins that have enjoyed it. I can see them from the bathroom, bedroom, and my office. This really makes me happy.

What are you reading?

Before leisurely summer reading is here, I would like to know..what are you reading? Or what are you reading this summer? Maybe we can have a "summer Masquer book club".

Of course, I just finished reading (over 30...less than 100) YAL books for a graduate class (didn't read the book Liam is reading, though). Because I created a fiction Bibliography for Elizabethan England (Shakespeare as a character, the plague, the fire of London, the politics of Queen Elizabeth, religous persecution ...you get the point), I read Gwendolyn Brooks Year of Wonders (story of the plague). One of the best books I've read in a long time. I'm drawn to the morbidity and grossness of Elizabethan England, but this book sucked me into moral dilemmas - when the gates of the city you live in are closed off due to the plague - do you stay, do you try to get out? Do you help anyone. And the ending- rocks my socks.

Book list #1:
Year of Wonders- Gwendolyn Brooks...please add on.