Adelyn and her friend

This is Mary's great niece with a friend who is the daughter of Adelyn's mother's friend. There's probably an easier way of saying that, but the photo sure is cute.

Barbara's Beanster

Barbara says, " I thought you would enjoy this picture for your blog, which shows typical behavior of my Beanster, the big game hunter.  He completely ignores the actual bird on the bird feeder, and instead chases their flitting shadows cast by the sun onto the deck."

Amy & Barry in New Zealand

Amy says:

Hope all is well in NYC. It stopped raining, the clouds parted and oh my what a beautiful place we are in! I feel like Dorothy when she hits the Emerald City for the first time.

 

Yesterday proved that if you hang around and talk airplane on a beautiful day at a little airport just about anywhere someone will offer you a ride. This Dehavilland Beaver is a flying museum piece for a very active warbird museum at Ardmore airport. The pilot was checking out an Air New Zealand captain and invited us to ride along. 

 

 

Sofie in the Hamptoms

Barb says that Sofie's mother says she has no idea what a lucky child she is.

Amy in New Zealand

Amy and her husband Barry are in New Zealand on vacation for several weeks. Amy says: "In multicultural Auckland and not quite on timezone : ) More to come as we get out and about."

 

She says this is the restaruant where the airport workers hang, and it looks like Barry really wants/needs that coffee.

Printer Resurection

When I was printing something on my cheap printer last week, all of a sudden it said that the ink was "depleted" so when Marilyn came today she went to Staples and bought new cartridges, put them in, but it was the same problem. We rebooted a few times, diddled, daddled and did all the things you try. She suggested I google "troubleshoot HP printer" and I did and we found one solution which we tried but it didn't work... I should have kept scrolling because the messages underneath this "solution" was a bunch of folks that said it didn't work.

So I kept scrolling and found some complicated reboot of the ink system and we did that. It was laughable in a way... unplug from the back of the printer. Count to 30. Unplug from the wall socket. I was joking later that if it told you to do this while standing on one foot, we would. So we go through this long process of wiping the printer contacts off with cold water on a lint free cloth, blah blah blah, the insert each cartridge one at a time... blah blah blah... still was being told "ink depleted." I was about to give up as Marilyn diddled and all of a sudden she said "Oh wait, it's never made that noise."

Sure enough the next message was to reinsert the yellow cartridge and she did... and that did the trick. Marilyn said she has no idea what she did to make it work. I was just thrilled when I could successfully print again. I had visions of another bill from some computer geek.

And now I have to brag about something else... two $50 bras for $74, including shipping. The website where I get these bras I like was having a buy one, get one for 50% off so I did that... but then I had a 30% coupon for having taken part in a survey last week. I was surprised (and happily so) when the site allowed me to use both the buy one/get one coupon and the 30% off highest item. When these new bras arrive, I have a bunch of old mangly ones that are getting a proper burial.

And yes, I am stunned that a decent bra, not even an amazing bra, but a totally run of the mill bra costs $50. I still think bras should cost $5 which is what I paid for a good one many many years ago.

So I have a working printer and two new bras en route. What more could a girl ask for?

Milo's Hangover

For some reason, Milo was the life of the party yesterday -- mingling with the guests, allowing himself to be petted, not hiding, etc... and now it's the morning after and this old boy is worn out!

So Summery

Mary hosting (or attending?) some sort of neighborhood gathering today and she is supplying sangria. Here's her description:

It has apple jack liquor, Spanish white wine, lemons, limes, peaches, and green apples.  It's from Rachel Ray and she says to add a splash of soda water and a few raspberries to the glass when you serve it. Doesn't look refreshing?

 

 

And then there's the "summer Mexican shrimp cocktail"

 

 

History of Medicine

As I semi-binged watched "The Knick" -- the DVDs arrived on Saturday and there are 10 episodes and I watched three yesterday and three today -- Mary and Fran were going to a medical history museum. On The Knick, it's 1902 and they still are learning about anesthesia, blood types, birth control is illegal; the doctors are exploring hypnotizing patients, and the main doctor is rescuing a set of conjoined twins from a side show in an attempt to separate them. I did watch the bonus video on that episode, and it is based on reality; first set were separated that year.

Anyway Mary writes;

Fran and went to the National Museum of Health and Medicine yesterday. Aside from the fascinating medical exhibits including a bone fragment from Abraham Lincoln's head, they had medical illustrators painting athletes' bodies to highlight the muscles they use.

Here are the photos:

Not much going on...

Local media is all in a tizzy about how hot it's supposed to be this weekend. Glad I'm not out doing roadwork. The highlight for me may be that the second season of The Knick was released on DVD. A client/friend who shares my passion for the show (I turned him on to it) reminded me and we've been waiting since Janaury for this. I immediately went to Amazon yesterday and you know how it tells you how long you have to order in order to get it the next day? Well, I had two minutes so I pressed that "One click" really fast and today got a confirmation that it's shipped and will arrive tomorrow.

If you're unfamiliar with The Knick, it's about a NYC hospital at the turn of the century (called The Knickerbocker) and it's all about the history of surgery, anatomy, anesthesia, etc. all mixed in with romance, intrigue, race relations, etc. Just a great show. I've been thinking whether I want to binge or want to ration... such decisions!

My Sister's Birthday

Actually, her birthday was Thursday, August 4, the same day AND same year as President Obama. So I went out to Long Island for the family birthday party. We went to a Mexican restaaurant called Besito (Little kiss) and then back to the house for cake.

Here's the collection:

This is Mary's appetizer which was shrimp cerviche

This was Scott's appetizer which was fish tacos

Out of proper order, but this is Louisa back at the house... going into 10th grade

My loving nephew betrayed me by ordering salmon and I told him to make a face as if he had made a terrible mistake in his entree selection.  And that's Scott, Mary's husband, in the background.

 

 

This is my meal -- enchiladas mized... they had beef, chicken and these really nice chunks of sweet potato... cheese, and the sauce was mild.

Mary E ordered Enchiladas Suisas, something I often order.

B

This is Charlotte who will be a senior and passed her driver's test on Friday -- first try!

Mayr E blowing out her candles

This is the cake Scott made. The LV is roman numerals for 55.

What I'm Reading

I bought this because it was touted as laugh out loud funny... so far I couldn't say that exactly, but it is amusing and clever.

Here's Amazon's description:

Andy Carter was happy. He had a solid job. He ran 5Ks for charity. He was living a nice, safe Midwestern existence. And then his wife left him for a handsome paramedic down the street.

We’re All Damaged begins after Andy has lost his job, ruined his best friend’s wedding, and moved to New York City, where he lives in a tiny apartment with an angry cat named Jeter that isn’t technically his. But before long he needs to go back to Omaha to say good-bye to his dying grandfather.

Back home, Andy is confronted with his past, which includes his ex, his ex’s new boyfriend, his right-wing talk-radio-host mother, his parents’ crumbling marriage, and his still-angry best friend.

As if these old problems weren’t enough, Andy encounters an entirely new complication: Daisy. She has fifteen tattoos, no job, and her own difficult past. But she claims she is the only person who can help Andy be happy again, if only she weren’t hiding a huge secret that will mess things up even more. Andy Carter needs a second chance at life, and Daisy—and the person Daisy pushes Andy to become—may be his last chance to set things right.

An attempt at camoflage?

This is Ezra, Barb's grandson matching the sofa.

Amy's Whereabouts

My friends go to such interesting places. Amy is in Pine Island for a family celebration of her parents' wedding anniversary. Amy hurt her back so was relaxing in her room with a muscle relaxant, a makeshift heating pad, and a glass if iced vodka. I'm sure she'll be feeling better soon. As we talked, her three nieces arrived so our conversation was placed on the "to be continued..."list.

Here's her view:

And here's from a tourism site:

Only 30 minutes from Fort Myers but a world apart, secluded Pine Island offers a quiet, laid-back atmosphere, plenty of great fishing, and lush natural environment. The waterways of Matlacha Pass and in the Pine Island Aquatic Preserve are excellent for kayaking and canoeing. The largest island off Florida’s Gulf Coast, Pine Island offers a small-town atmosphere amid mangroves, three aquatic preserves, and acres of palm, tropical plants and fruit groves. The waters of Pine Island Sound provide not only some of the finest fishing in Florida, but are a haven for birdwatchers and nature lovers.

Here's a house for sale which looks wonderful.

And this private island is for sale.

 We could go in together and turn it into a retirement refuge.

Mary had a better day than I did

So all I did was work today, but I did finish a big article I was wroking on for a while... but Tom, Michelle and Mary took a field trip to Annapolis and first was the famer's market where Mary wanted to buy lots of stuff:

 

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Oh, I can smell that yeasty cinamon smell.

 

 

Furthermore, Mary says;

 

We went to the Pennsylvania Dutch Farmers Market in Annapolis and brought home lots of goodies.  I wanted to buy some quilts and some furniture but couldn't fit them in the shopping cart.

Then we had lunch at Mike's - the place on the water where Meredith and Dave had their rehearsal dinner.  Yummy crab soup, soft shell crab sandwich for Michelle and shrimp salad for me and Tom.  

Now we're going to have fresh corn and tomatoes for dinner. Here are pictures from lunch.

 

 

 

 

Mary's Interesting Day

She says: We went to the Bethesda Women's Co-op and did some shopping, then went to Redwood, a restaurant in Bethesda.  It was very pleasant and the food was good.  I had a very and goat cheese salad and fish tacos. The angle of the picture exaggerates the size of the tacos. Michelle had spring rolls and salmon. We shared a key lime cheese cake for dessert (I'm having lots of desserts these days).

We're going to my friend's son's pizza place with Meredith for dinner.  More pictures to come.

AND THEN... SHOPING

Mary says: I bought the blue flowered purse, Michelle bought the other two.  I bought headbands for Gwenyth and Delaney and a little barrette for Adelyn. Michelle bought some caramels for Meredith.

We also bought veggies, just so you know...

AND THEN... PIZZA!!!

Mary says: We had our dinner at Timber Pizza, the place started by my friend's son. Considering they just opened the brick and mortar store 30-some days ago.  We had a really good crunchy salad, some wood fired empanadas for appetizers, a pepperoni pizza (good) and a chorizo pizza (really good).  We talked to the owner and probably embarrassed him by praising his mom.  The staff were all great.  It seems to be taking off as a neighborhood place.

And now I have lunch envy

I had canned soup and atoasted English muffin -- yeah, but it was good.

Mary says: Michelle and had lunch at Tartufo, a lovely little Italian restaurant in the neighborhood. Fran and i have been there before and loved it. Michelle and i weren't disappointed. We had avocado crostini, and i had goat cheese ravioli and Michelle had chicken and mushrooms. It was all good. Then the owner brought us a chocolate Tartufo for dessert (forgot to take a picture of that).  I posted pictures on Facebook trying to encourage neighbors to try it.