Canoeing cut short

We took a ride up to Lake Ray Roberts State Park today to get out on the water with the family (and friends Brenda and Jaden). We rented a canoe and set off. Unfortunately there are no sheltered accesses to any of the rivers and the wind was a little bit too strong across the Lake for us to leave the cove. So we lapped the cove a few times (it is very small) and then turned the canoe back in. Brenda and Jaden never even got their kayak off the roof.


Next we set off on a hike across some of the Texas prairie, through the woods and down along the shore with Lucky and Sprite (Brenda's dogs).



The wind away from the water was very pleasant and the sun warm but not hot. The hike wasn't long but Jaden's not quite four and his legs are short. So I'd call it perfect. We stopped for Mexican food on the way home and finished at home with a nap. I'd say it was a good day all the way around.

Awnings

What a wonderful improvement, the bleachers are now protected by shade awnings making the T-ball games much more pleasant.  It's in the upper 80s and not a cloud in the sky.

Good news - Bad news

Well the roof damage is minor.  Only one square yard of shingles came down and the underfelt is in great shape.  We haven't had any water damage (and probably won't).  The roof is 16 years old with not even a hint of hail damage.  Around here that is pretty rare.  Well that is both the good and the bad news.  It won't take much to get the repair done but we won't be getting a whole new roof either.

Disappointment

Sunil has really enjoyed Cub Scouts so far. Unfortunately his Den Leader's son hasn't. Once that child said he was done his father lost all interest in continuing the den. I can't say that I blame him, however we only had five boys to start with and two have dropped out, one transferred to another den, I never really knew the last family. That leaves us. The den leader tried to get the other den leaders to accept transfers but they never responded to his emails. I've tried emailing the one parent that I knew of one of the boys in a different den but didn't get a response. Now I've tried emailing the pack leadership and not gotten a response. The pack is so large that it is in the process of breaking in to two different packs. Apparently this is taking every one's time and attention. But the result will be that Sunil will not get do anything else with the scouts until September when he may no longer care.

This is more or less the way that Sheela's Girl Scouting experience ended too. Her troop disbanded at the end of the year. As it was most of the girls from her school were already in a troop so she was sent to a troop with kids from different schools. It sort of defeats the purpose of making school friends but I loved the kids and she made good friends. Unfortunately the parents all had trouble getting the kids to the meetings since they weren't after school and at school or even after work for that matter. When she tried to get reabsorbed in to the "after school, at school" troop it was still too full. None of their kids dropped out because it was easy to send the kids. All of the fallout was from those of us that had to deal with transportation. After fighting it for a month Sheela said she was over it and never mind.

Sunny day

The iris are picking up speed. I have four chocolate daddies and three of these generic yellows blooming at the same time. There are 30 more chocolate buds and half a dozen yellows left to bloom.

I'm so excited about their vim and vigor that I rewarded them with a drink of highly concentrated compost drippings. This super rich broth has been collecting from our composter all winter and thankfully carries very little smell. I say "thankfully" as it was a blustery, sunny day and I was pouring this elixir while standing down wind. Live and learn.

Behold ..... the CatGenie

We have finally taken the next technological step in cat gear. We purchased a CatGenie. This fabulous device automatically disposes of cat waste in to the toilet (after disinfecting it)and then washes and sanitizes its own kitty granules. Thus keeping the bathroom odor free. All we have to do is flush the toilet from time to time.

Household chores

It was a busy day of catch up around here. Sunil helped Sid install new door pulls on the bathroom cabinets and kitchen drawers. Sheela helped apply our spring "weed and feed" to the lawn. I did some stuff. I don't remember what but I was busy.... really.

The Power of Power

Yesterday we tried to drop the kids at their normal time (20 minutes after being told that school was on) and were sent back home until at least the emergency lighting could recover.  Sid took them back around an hour later and was allowed to leave them even though they were a few minutes shy of total recovery. They never did see full power up at the kids' school.  Some rooms had lights some had functioning wall outlets.  The A/C never did come on.  When I went back to pick Sheela up for her dental appointment they didn't ask me to sign her out as they had no idea who was there or who'd been there earlier.  Without their computer tabulation systems they just couldn't keep track.  Half of Sheela's class showed up some in the morning, some in the afternoon almost none of them stayed all day.  Sunil had two thirds of his class show and they almost all stayed once they arrived.

 

A similar experience was had at the gym this morning.  The free weight room was closed (no lights and no A/C).  The machine weights were available under the unshaded bulbs of temporary garage lights.  The pools were filtering, pumping and well lit.  The aerobics room managed emergency lights and no A/C.  Most of the exterior lights are still out.

Tornados

It was another exciting night of strong thunderstorms last night.  The sirens woke Sid up around 3 AM.  I was awake but still didn't notice them.  We had 70 MPH winds and tornados.  My co-worker watched the tornado go past his house and right towards ours.  We lost some fence, a bunch of shingles and both trees and light poles in the neighborhood (but not ours).  The power we out for four or five hours -- long enough to delay school for the kids.

The real chaos for me is really at work.  I was planning on taking the day off.  I have a dental appointment this morning and then Sheela has hers this afternoon.  We usually schedule together but had to give that up for our vacation.  Instead of staying home I had to go in.  We lost power to the freezers around 6am but we don't know how long it was out.  I have to find out and then evaluate the condition of the frozen products.  The cleanroom also needs to be evaluated.  That power was out for 20 minutes.  And we lost the only server in the building old enough to run the label programs.  I will have to in and work through lunch to get around that.

Chocolate Daddies

Three of the five iris that are about to bloom in my front yard are "Chocolate Daddy". I knew that I had one but the other two are bonuses. I have more than 14 buds all told so far. They aren't in the best spot (there isn't quite enough sun under the live oak tree and I know that Grammy would want me to pull up and destroy one of the plants as inferior but I can't bring myself to do it. That one (the only one actually blooming) isn't strong enough for the blooms to push their way free of the leaves. The tips are still tucked inside when the stem starts to grow which is warping the stem and the flowers are actually upside down. It is too dark to take a picture tonight. Next fall when it comes time to split them up and replant I'll try to find a sunny spot. Maybe next year they will be able to grow straight and tall.

Mid-week blahs

Not much to say, not much to do. Tonight we plan to straighten out our latest paperwork collection. We accumulate about a pound and a half of paperwork a week that needs to be received, paid, cross-referenced and filed. We are pretty good at everything except the filing. But without that we keep losing the pinball machine, the desk and the open floor space to piles of loose papers. It's not pretty.

Jury Duty - check

I've been dismissed without being selected to serve.  It took less than two hours out of my morning and the court is very near the office.  I'll grab an early lunch and head in to work for the afternoon.  The best part is this gets me another 24 months without having to serve.

Season Opener

A month after the seaon opened Sunil's team finally played a game.  Every other game has been rained out, even the make up games.  We couldn'd have asked for a better day today.  It is beautiful.  Sunil had a few good hits off the tee and managed to catch a pitch.  That is pretty good for t-ball.

Blake Rae

Little Blake should be celebrating his 6^th birthday today.  We wish him well.

Spring cleaning

This week was supposed to be spring cleaning week at work but I didn't get much cleaned out.  Half the time I was wearing skirts and high heels which are not my idea of cleaning attire and the other half of the time I was kipping work to attend the golf tournament or playing catch up from vacation.  It has been a terribly productive week with should be read as "my desk is messier than ever".  I hate a messy desk but we are pulled so tight these days I never seem to get anything finished enough that I can put it away.

 

The golf tournament worked out to be perfect this year.  We did not have tornados, electrical storms or baseball sized hail all of which were predicted.  True the wind gusts were extreme, but the temperature was in the mid 70's and the overcast sky meant we didn't have to squint.  My foursome tied for last instead of losing outright and we more than made up for it by laughing ourselves sick.  Even better our highly competitive President did win, so he should be in a good mood for the next six months.

 

Now I have to decide if I want to clean my desk, or do real work.  The nice thing is that either way I'll feel better when I'm done.

 

Filler photos

One of our trip highlights was the alligator eating the turtle.



This was one of my favorite heron photos.



Here a strangler fig "strangles" a cypress.


Sunil was enthralled with Opa's knife collection and managed to borrow a knife to practice his whittling.



Sheela used a few of the tools in Opa's workshop to build a tiny car.




She also helped Oma run the ladies ham radio net.

Technology on the road

I did most of my vacation blog entries as emails sent from my Blackberry.  I'm pretty sure that this was not what the company had in mind when they issued it to me but it worked perfectly.  I also answered a phone call or two and responded to a couple of work related emails, but I'm pleased to say that for the most part I was truly on vacation.  Sid on the other hand worked constantly while we were on the move (which was often) but did a remarkable job of turning off the job when we were otherwise engaged.  We managed to complete two business deals while we were gone (that should have happened before we left).  The first was a closing conducted by Sid at a local Title company.  The second even more complicated deal involved receiving an email with the documents, forwarding them back to the UPS store for printing, we signed, they notarized and then retuned back by overnight UPS delivery.  There are times when I love technology.

A family ride

One of our vacation goals that didn't come to be was the 15-mile full moon bike ride. In the end I wasn't sure if Sunil could make it for the full fifteen miles, and I wasn't sure he could do the whole thing in the three hours allowed. But he had worked very hard before we left to show that he was up for the ride and felt a little bit cheated that we didn't get to go. To make it up to him I promised him a ride around White Rock Lake in Dallas. Sid and Sheela were going to their HATs meeting there anyway, we'd just tag along.

As it turned out they missed the meeting, but caught us in time to have us bring their bikes too. We ended up taking a family ride around the 10-mile trail. It was a beautiful day to be out by the water: overcast but warm, breezy but not gusty. We did the whole ride in just over two hours, including an ice cream stop. Sunil slept the whole way home in the car but he did great. I was pretty proud of the rest of us too.

Sweathearts of the Rodeo Dance - 2008

Once again Sunil took me dancing. This year we arrived right on time and were practically first in line to get our pictures made. This got us through all of the games and in to the dancing super early. We danced until Sunil couldn't take it anymore (about 10 minutes) and then he was ready to leave. We stuck it out for an hour and a half all told and then went for ice cream with Travis and Jaynellen.

I almost forgot to mention Sunil's new fancy belt. Since the rest of his outfit is a retread I thought he'd earned one thing new. He really wants me to buy a hat too but I've put that off another year.

Home again, home again, jiggity jog

We were home in time for dinner Friday night which made a nice change. Even better was the chance to sleep again in our own beds. Saturday was dedicated mostly to running errands.

While we were gone the house was struck by lightening in apparently dramatic, shower-of-sparks-type fashion. The surge protectors gave their lives so that our electronics could live... except for our Vonage router and one set of cordless phones. Without the router the phones were out here at home for the next 10 days. Luckily the Sharmas primarily use their cell phone anyway. I spent an hour or so talking through the reboot procedures with the Vonage technical assistant only to find that the ports were fried and the warranty expired. I opted to purchase a new router from a local store rather than wait for a shipment. We once again have our landline but only three functioning handsets. I just don't plan to answer the phone until we get an extra set.

The kid's bathroom was re-tiled and painted while we were gone. The new tile looks great but the walls (now textured and the color of biscuits) looks a little plain. The kids were unable to agree on an accent color or on accent art to jazz it up. So we bought watercolors and spent some time creating frameable masterpieces. Apparently we need to spend some more time on the venture as we've not yet produced anything we want to see everyday.

Sunil (with Sheela's subtle manipulation) chose a western blouse for me to wear to the rodeo dance. Western wear is extremely expensive for a cheapskate like me. But they chose a relatively simple white blouse with silver studs and white fringe (for western wear that is simple) and it was on sale. This almost made up for the shock of seeing $200 blue jeans in person.

We managed to drain the hot tub but we haven't cleaned it out yet (it keeps drizzling and I don't really want to do it). Once I overcome the mental block we can refill it and begin the processes of balancing the pH and charging the sanitizer. This is a quarterly activity.

Homeward bound

The time is 8:08 PM and we're heading home.  If we manage to drive five hours or so we can make one long day tomorrow ending up in our own beds.  That let's us sleep late, make the t-ball game and the Sweethearts of the Rodeo Mother/Son dance without being exhausted.... A good deal all the way around.

Jr Rangers, again and again

Here they earn their last badge from the three we intended to aquire and were given as a bonus a the patch for all three. They are wearing them all and Sunil has his patch jacket on as well.

The Walking Dredge

One of the historical sites that we visited was in Collier-Seminole State Park. The famous walking Dredge that was used to dig out the channel from West to East. The channel wasn't really the point. The excavated limestone was used to build the road.

The 2nd airboat

Our fisrt airboat ride was so much fun that we went again with a different outfit. Each place has it's own personality and approach to the trip. The first one was educational and covered both the saw grass and the mangroves. The second one was all about speed and airboat performance. More like riding with NASCAR then the discovery channel. Here Sunil is getting his hair blown back and we slide in to yet another tight turn.

Wet and Wild Swamp Walk Tour Photos

One of the trip highlights was walking through the swamp up to out hips in muck.



You can tell we had a great time, just look at those smiles at the end. We did go all the way back to the alligator hole but we didn't actually find the alligator.

Canoe trip photos

These were taken after we returned. We opted not to take any fine electronics out with us... just in case.

A few photos

while we enjoy Opa's wireless router....... This shot was from the boat trip from Shark Valley in to the 10,000 Islands.

Manatees

Oma and Opa took us out to the Manatee Viewing Station in Appolo Beach so we can now say that we've see the Manatees too. While we were there we also saw a small ray of some kind. Today we are contemplating a round of mini-golf followed by some more swimming. It has been a wonderful vacation but tomorrow it will be time to head back home.

Crocodiles galore

Well we found something to do in Flamingo.  We took a backcountry boat trip.  This time the canal was lined with crocs.  We even saw a bonus snake.  At best guess it was a nonvenomous mangrove watersnake.  I don't know who spotted it first but it was mighty hard to see.  It was the same color and texture as the mangrove branch upon which it was resting.

We are treating ourselves to dinner at the Bubba Gump Shrimp Co in Miami.  We have reservations on the deck.  Then we will drive back to Sun City Center.  We should be at Dad's around midnight.

No coral reef this trip

The winds were too high today for the glass bottom boats to go out so we aren't going the see the reefs.  The kids did finish their Jr Ranger programs from all three National Parks (plus Florida State Parks). 

Oma and Opa have headed back to the house.  We decided to drive down to the Flamingo entrance to the Everglades.  There may be something to do there today, there may not.  We'll figure it out. 

This vacation rocks!!!

We just survived the Wet and Wild Swamp Walk!  It was awesome.  You start off imediately in water up to your ankles and on super slippery mud.  You progress through mud up to your knees before getting in to the cypress swamp.  The taller the trees the deeper the water.  By the time we got back in to the gator hole the trees were huge and the water was up to mid-thigh.  Sunil was up to his neck on many occaissions and Sheela up to her waist.  We did not see the gator, they know at least one male lives there.  The hole was large enough to support 20 females during the dry season so there were probably a few around.  We also walked around a few of the hammocks where the Panthers stay during the day.  They are so thick you would never be able to see the panther even if he was there.

Coon hunting

As last night may have been our last camping night we decided that it might be our last night to spot a racoon (one of only two animals left on our list).  But it was late when we made camp and we decided we needed to focus on using up our firewood and getting to bed early.  Lucky for us the racoons came to us instead of us going out to search.  In fact we almost couldn't sleep because they were so close to the tent door and getting in to occaisional disagreements with each other.

When we were in the 10,000 Islands they mentioned that the racoons here are only 4-5 pounds.  That is pretty small compared to the 20-25 pound mainland coons.  These were definitely mainland.  We had at least three: two jumbo and one monster.

High Praise

For JT's and the Gumbo Limbo Art Gallery in Chokolokosi, FL.  This was one of the nicest dinners that we've had.  The food was great and the gallery cute.  It didn't hurt that they saved a piece of homemade French Silk pie just for me.

Swampbuggy - Not

About the only thing that we've not yet done here in the Everglades is ride the swampbuggy.  We bought tickets to ride this Easter afternoon but the drivers had other ideas.  They cut out early for the day so we were left hanging.  To make up for the inconvienience we are going to get a bonus airboat ride tomorrow (after our buggy trip).  Today we went back to the boardwalk to show Oma and Opa the Bald Eagle's nest.  Too cool, the volunteer with the telescope was back today showing the eagle.

Rainy Day Vacation

We chose the right day to do nothing.   We awoke to a cool morning sun and plenty of interesting birds.  We'd slept under the screens on the lanai.  As the morning wore on the sky clouded over and by the time we hit the zoo it was sprinkling.  We mostly read books and did laundry today.  Tomorrow is soon enough to get back in to the camping and hiking.

Shark Valley

The Shark Valley is no where near any sharks but it is along the Shark River.  The Shark is the widest river (and possibly the slowest) in the world at the southern end it is a birthing ground for many sharks.

We took a two-hour tram ride through the valley on a paved road set slightly higher than the surrounding wetlands (at the end of the dry season).  We literally saw hundreds of alligators of all ages and sizes.  The very best was the last one, a large male eating a large turtle with his head right next to the trail.    The shell cracking sounded like a gun shot.

We also saw: a black crested night heron, a roseated spoonbill, wood storks, a bald eagle (with a baby) on their nest, herons (great blue, great, and tricolor) , ibis, egrets, kites, anahingas, vultures (turkey and black), a purple galineau, and so many more I can't even keep track.

The kids earned their Florida State Junior Ranger badges at Collier-Seminole State Park and their NPS Junior Ranger badges for the Everglades National Park.

Tonight we are heading back to Naples to sleep in real beds and do some laundry.  Tomorrow will be a rest day before we join up with Oma and Opa to tackle Big Cypress and Biscayne Bay.  

Canoe Trip - Check

We nearly caved this morning and skipped the trip up the Turner River through the mangrove trees.  The winds were still high and you have to cross the open bay.  Another couple had just swamped , 15ft offshore, they were very vocal about the dangerous winds, that combined with the mud and blood smeared on their legs almost pushed us back.  Sid shored up our courage and out we went. 

This was a fabulous trip.  We went three to a canoe and headed up the bay, under the bridge and up the river.  Two hours in we grabbed on to some mangrove branches and had lunch.  Then we continued up until the mangroves closed us in.  We could hardly pass through the channel.  Eventually we turned around (no one was around to witness our graceless turn) and headed back to the dock. 

This was the closest I've ever felt to real wilderness.  There was no sign of people anywhere.  The river was perfectly smooth, the world was all green and brown with no dividing line.    It would have made a fantastic photograph but we'd left the cameras in the car.

Of course after four and a half hours of constant paddling we can hardly feed ourselves.  Dinner is going to be fabulous if we can get it into our mouths and we will sleep well tonight.

Airboat Rides

What a fabulous ride.  We saw a ton of birds and a half a dozen aligators.  I've always loved being on the water with the wind in my face and the sun on my arms.  It's even better with Sunil snuggled up to my side.  I found that I love to watch the BIG white birds startle up from the flats.  The quick flash of white against the browns and greens... too beautiful!

Wow - what a day

We slept in (after a late night at the Comedy Club) then packed up and headed to the beach.  The water was cold but refreshing.  We've seen pelicans and dolphins and are on our way to try to find the burrowing owls.  Tomorrow we'll head into the Everglades to view the aligators and to ride the airboats.

Sunday morning in the Bible Belt

We spent a wonderful day with Oma and Opa swimming at the clubhouse, watching the sandhill cranes and such but now we are on the road again.  We are two hours out from Mom and John and struggling to find something on the radio that isn't "preachy".

Nearly there

We did drive straight through so we should be at Dad's in another hour or so.  We just stopped for a double fill-up -- lunch and gas.  Lunch was Sonic's popcorn chicken and the gas was $3.34 per gallon.  That is the most I've ever had to pay for gas.  At home is was still less than $3.20 a gallon without the loyalty discount.

VACATION

We are in the car and on the road.  Driving straight through Garmen says we will be at Dad's by noon tomorrow.  In the real world we will stop for the night when we get too tired to continue.  We should still be at Dad's by early evening.  It feels good to off (and for two weeks too!)

It must be Spring

The Spring school portraits came home yesterday. The Spring Open house was last night at school. VIP day is today and Spring Break starts tonight.

and the verdict is...... Healthy

I finally managed my, er, tri-annual, annual doctor's visit. I was pronounced officially healthy on all levels. Now I need to focus on an eye exam.

NeXT - Destination Imagination Tournament

It was tournament weekend here in the northeast texas region for DI. Both the kids teams gave really great performances. This was the first time I'd really seen Sunil's full show and my first glimpse of Sheela's at any level.

The flash photographs were not allowed so my pics are pretty lame. Here are a few token attempts. The astronauts wore karate pants and turtlenecks stuffed with batting and foil covered bike helmets. .After collecting the moon rocks they brought tem to earth and turned them over to the scientists to study. The scientists figure out that they are magical (well, the shiney, silver, spherical ones anyway) and they cure all human diseases and establish world peace.

Sheela's team did a wild bit about the lost princess of Atlantis being returned home in time for the Atlantian Talent Show. It was really well done, very fun and won them a "Spirit of DI" award.

Snow in Big D

Our annual snowfall happened last night and it was a beauty. We had 3-4 inches piled up on our cars and such. The roads were pretty well cleared by morning and the kids still had to go to school. They did manage a few minutes to play before class, but the best I could do was a photo in the parking lot at the office. It should be back in the 50s by lunch time.

DI Count Down

With less than a week to go I'm watching Sunil's DI team run through their play.  This is the first time I've seen it.  It is very cute.  They are astrounts that discover that some of the moon rocks cure disease (and hiccups).

Spring Training

Welcome to Spring.  Today is the first T-ball practice (and the first Fencing class).  It is a beautiful day to be out at the ballpark (or in the neighborhood park), kicking back watching the boys throw the ball at each other.  Over the previous year almost all of the boys have learned to throw and I've heard that one of them learned to catch but I haven't seen him do it yet.

School Board

I attended the Board of Trustees meeting last night to get a feel for how these things are done here. It was interesting and informative on some levels but rather unsatisfying on others. The meetings are governed by the laws of "open meetings" which I've not heard of before. The gist is that they have a published itinerary from which they are not allowed to deviate, however each additional speaker is granted a five minute audience to which no replies or comments may be made, that was the unsatisfying part. Everyone that spoke was complaining about the same thing (a redistricting of their children to a distant elementary school - the kids will be bussed past two existing, established, recognized (for merit) schools to attend a brand new school (with no playground equipment or established merit). Their requests were mostly the same "please add the topic to next months meeting to further discuss the idea and explain the decision" (at which time these self same people will still not be allowed to ask questions). There is no guarantee that the topic will be added (it was covered in the previous two meetings) and no other acknowledgement of their plight.

On the other hand I learned a lot more about foreign language instruction and ESL classes in the ISD. For only two languages is it possible to study for four or five years: French and Spanish, and those classes are taught as correspondance courses from the UTD. I'd never really considered taking a language class via the internet but with the advances in computer technology and the easy access of recording and digitizing equipment it may actually have some benefits over traditional instruction. In the "lab" clasess when you repeat a word or phrase it can make you repeat it until your pronunciation is correct.... weird. Last night the foreign languages department head was lobbying the Board to grant funds for the incorporation of ASL has an approved "foreign" language.

End of an era

Yesterday Sheela finished the last book of the Harry Potter series.  She's been reading these since second grade.  She was toying with the idea of rereading the last three books but I've convinced her to take a break and try something else (anything else) for a change first.  Today I offered her: Rascal, Watership Down, Every Living Thing, Hans Brinker and the Silver Skates and a collection of American Folktales.  I'm not sure which she chose to take to school.

 

Truancy

We are voluntarily being brought up on truancy charges for pulling our children out of school during the school year.  We have two choices: we can either withdraw the children from school and then re-enroll when we return (but they will be at a different school because we'd loose our spot) or we can go and defend ourselves before the judge.  This is the same rule that we violated last year by going on the cruise but the ISD has stepped up their enforcement efforts.  I'm opting for the judge.

 

Wildlife

I saw my first wild lynx yesterday.  He was standing in a field between the local teen skate park and the library by a secluded bend in the river.  He stood still long enough for me to have a great look at him: ear tufts, blunt tail, beautiful markings, long enough for me to get the camera out of my purse, turn it on, focus out the window, but not quite long enough to take the picture (and have him still be it).

These two are among my favorites

of Sheela's photos from our trip....

Ellis and Liberty Islands

Here are the required shots of us with the parks signs plus a few from Liberty.

More Battery Park

Since Sheela never blogged her photos I'm swiping some of them.....

Ebenezer Allen

Sunil's teacher has named a teddy bear in honor of our town founder, Ebenezer Allen. Every weekend Ebenezer spends the weekend at home with one of the students. On Sunday night the student writes about their adventures. I love these projects. Each child's weekends are so different from each other even in such a small community.

I had high expectations for our unique twist on the weekend but it was not to be. We made Eb stay behind in the car when we went out for dinner. Sunil did not attend fencing lessons so neither did Eb. Sunil didn't collect the canned food drive donations with his cub scout troop (because he was supposed to be fencing) and we forgot to take Ebenezer with us on our walk this morning. Sunil is not coming to Sheela's soccer game and we won't have to time to get to the library this weekend. This may well be the least interesting weekend of poor Eb's life.

Black spiderman

This fabulous spiderman mask was just the right size for Sunil. Actually it wasn't intended to be a mask at all, it was the sack covering Uncle Ravi's spiderman video game. No one else could get it on.

Battery Park

Most of tyhe pictures were taken by Sheela on this trip but before my batteries gave out I did manage one good shot of Sunil playing in Battery Park.

Another vacation shot...

The fam in front of Radio City Music Hall. We had a great weekend in NYC.

Snow pics

these are from Upstate New York over our Christmas break. We didn't get quite enough snow on our planned route so we headed farther North on our way back to NJ until we found a place to play. This was an empty field (or maybe a parking lot) next door to the barbeque place where we ate lunch.