The eagle has landed

So I'm wandering through the grocery store, just picking up a few essentials, you know, checking stuff off of my list when I suddenly see the Gray's Cream Soda. Put a 4 pack into the cart. Ooh, cottage cheese with pineapple, Oh, and a chocolate milk Chug, Oh, Pop Tarts, chocolate donuts, creamed corn, apple butter, Kraft singles! Intervention!!!!!!

King Bed?! Cool! So where are you guys going to sleep?

Aidric approves of his new brother, Matt. He's ok even if he is a Packer's fan.

"Nothing makes the earth seem so spacious as to have friends at a distance; they make the latitudes and longitudes."

"Why can't we get all the people together in the world that we really like and then just stay together? I guess that wouldn't work. Someone would leave. Someone always leaves. Then we would have to say good-bye. I hate good-byes. I know what I need. I need more hellos." -- Snoopy

"Don't be dismayed at goodbyes, a farewell is necessary before you can meet again and meeting again, after moments or lifetimes, is certain for those who are friends." -- Richard Bach


Dinner at Mags last night with Eliane and Daniel too. All my favorites were served, foie gras, champagne and Mags got Marie from the Killarny to do a take out order of her famous whiskey chicken and potatoes. What a meal. We all had a great time and nobody cried, well, almost nobody cried. I'm going to miss those two wacky women. They have both offered to have S over when he comes back for home cooked meals. They picture him eating out at McDonald's every night, they don't know him very well do they?

Have paid for a 1/2 page ad in the AIT newsletter for next month. I've listed all the items we will be selling. Hopefully we'll get rid of all the stuff and put a tiny bit of green back in our pockets. It looks good so far as some items have already been spoken for. The list isn't long but it includes my car which has still not been sold. I really wanted to get it sold before I left, but what can you do.

We're off in the morning first thing and will hit the windy city by 3:30 tomorrow afternoon local time.

So see you all on the flip side.

Hmm

Do the shuttle astronauts get frequent flier miles?

Hot, Hot, Hot

It's so hot, so bloody hot! Did you know that fans don't cool the air, no really, they just move the hot air around. Pointless. When I return to the states I vow to find the shrine, cause surely there must be one, to the goddess of air conditioning. And I will leave her a massive offering of ice cubes in a fine crystal bowl, (The good thing about the goddess of air conditioning is that she eschews blood offerings.) in atonement for my taking her so for granted. Never again will I complain about the air conditioning being too cold, there's no such thing. This heat makes for cranky babies and cranky mommies (even 'The Precious' is being a little temperamental). Will have to put Jr. in the car and just drive around with the A/C cranked. One thing to be grateful for is that my car has a FABULOUS air conditioner.

Why even the wildlife is cranky. Just now I saw a large lizard savagely pick up its baby and carry it away...you know like a mommy dog picks her puppy up in her mouth and carries it away...wait, you don't think that that big lizard...lizards aren't carnivores are they? Ok, now I'm just depressed.

You've been Gilmored

You know what's sort of sad and sort of funny. I watch 'The Gilmore Girls' so much and also I play it so often just for background noise, that when the theme song comes on Aidric immediately turns toward the sound and starts smiling. When he sees Rory on the screen he gets completely sucked in and he gets a goofy grin on his face. He probably thinks that Rory is somehow related to him. On the bright side his real sister bears a strong resemblance to Rory so when he sees J she'll look familiar.

Typical!

So yesterday afternoon who should show up but the landlord. Yes, M. Babec and the painter/plasterer/wallpaper guy ring the bell to inform me that work on the house will begin today and is that alright with me.

Well, I know he received our letter that said we would be gone from the 20th of July until the 28th of August. I know he got it because I sent it 'recommandé avec avis de réception' and the receipt has arrived here already. Soooo...they're going to start the work when we are only going to be in town for a few more days. Let's just complicate my life shall we.

He's starting the work on Thursday, but will not work Friday because it's a holiday. Why bother, why are they doing this? Just to annoy me? Just to see how much stress I can take? In addition, could we, this weekend, move everything out of the baby's room because he'll work in their on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday doing the plastering, painting and wall-papering. Sure, cause I've got nothing better to do.

And the real kicker, they want to work in the house while we're gone...so if they're going to do that couldn't they just wait until we leave to start the work, they've waited almost a year to start the work, is one more week going to kill them.

Aaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wait, the really good part is that they want me to pick the wallpaper and paint colors! Why!??!! Like I care at this point what goes in there, I won't be back, except maybe to oversee the movers in September!

All I can say is ... Typical!

On coolness

It's summer and school is out. Aidric and I are sitting out on the back porch today, just enjoying the cool breeze that is miraculously blowing. With temperatures being what they've been of late, today's surprise clouds and the coolness they brought with, are a treat indeed. We are not alone in enjoying the day, there are four boys from a nearby house out here, they must be visiting their grandparents for a part of the summer.

Three of the boys have longish dark curly hair and the fourth has short cropped blond hair. I'd say that three of them are junior high age, just judging from their 'Too cool for school' disdain of the younger ones apparent fascination with bugs (or some other living creature - I'm too far away to see what he's pointing at and really, I don't want to know what he's found). They are wandering listlessly around the orchard and halfheartedly tossing a ball back and forth as they explore. You just know that grandma told them to get out of the house and out of her hair just by the set of their hunched shoulders. They reek of that old summer malaise 'We're bored' with a hint of 'We've got nothing to do' around the eyes.

Aidric however cannot seem to take his eyes off of them. Either he's fascinated by just having someone else besides mom around to look at or he's taking notes of how to behave when he's that age.

Well, the countdown continues, only a little over a week left, and I'm just trying to soak in some last bits of France.

Now that's progress!

So last night I was waiting for the uproar to begin, and when by 23:00 there was no uproar I assumed that France had not won the game. Then unable to stand it any longer I got up and turned 'The Precious' on to surf the web for scores. Well, the game wasn't last night, it's tonight, so I'll be battening down the hatches tonight. Too bad I can't watch the game on TV (she says sarcastically - as if I needed to clarify that for you.)

In other news, Aidric is turning over. I put him on the floor and first of all he squirms all over the place so he sometimes ends up under the coffee table, but today he flipped himself over onto his belly. After a while when he didn't like that position any longer he began to yell for help, he didn't seem to be able to flip himself back over so I helped him. So after a few practice flips he is able to flip himself onto his belly and then back onto his back. Of course you realize that that means he can now 'roll'. So I'm not sure I can be happy with this new development. If I don't keep a close eye on him he'll be rolling down the hall before I know it. Now that's progress?

That's all I've got for now, packing, washing and sorting continues and S is conveniently out of town this week. No really, it's a good thing. Less than two weeks and counting. Well, I have to go now, the kid is literally under foot.