Bienvenue au Paris!

Photos of the day...
1 - Lizzie did it again and was the hostess with the mostest by having "her" car service pick us at the door and taking us to the train station (the ladies especially say THANK YOU!) If it had been left up to the Grossmann/Keck cousins you might have seen us fighting the luggage on the underground. Photo - John & Judy at the station with time to spare.
2 - Some of the happy crew on board the high speed train via the Chunnel to Paris. The women won again & got the men to part with a few extra dollars for better seats and wine and food! The trip was great and fast - as advertised.
3 - The lobby of the Hotel Jean d'Arc where we're staying in Paris. That's all of us in the mirror. Unusual frame,...
4 - Unusual room decorating - that's our room - even the lampshade matches the bed spread and, yes, that is a lavendar wall. Somehow I don't think I'll be duplicating this room back in NY.
5 - The group overlooking the River Seine on a beautiful day (why oh why did we leave all those warm weather clothes at home!)
6 - For Red's Auto shop crew - and you thought you didn't understand French!
7 - The back side of Notre-Dame Cathedral - the prettiest way to approach as far as I'm concerned.
8 - And of course you can't come to Paris without enjoying a cafe every once in a while.

9 - Just walking down the street and a whole store of nothing but cheese, cheese, cheese, cheese... am I in heaven or Paris?

And back in the states 2 folks were seen early in the morning walking along the Chicago waterfront, then getting in a red Corvette and zooming off. Could it have been....?!!

Our last day in London...

So many things to see and do and so little time... Solution - split up. John & I went to the National Gallery in the morning to see the painting, The Bathers by Seurat. (We'd taken a class on Impressionism and our instructor told us if any of us ever went to London without going to see it, he'd flunk us. It was an ungraded class, but still... we went, we saw, we were awed.) John went on to a concert, then to meet up with John, Judy & Bob in Greenwich where time begins. I stayed and did a tour of the gallery. While we were at the museum, John, Judy & Bob went to see the changing of the guard while Pat & Cyndy went to the Tower of London. Pat & Cyndy met me for lunch (with their heads still attached) at St. Paul's (can you believe they charge 11 pounds to see the main part of the cathedral? = we opted to forgo religion & get dessert at lunch instead.) Then it was on the Mayflower Inn on the wharf where the Pilgrims sailed from. Pat has 6 ancestors who were on that boat (I'm guessing they survived the trip...). The inn was closed - so much for visiting the past.

In the photos = "The Texas Embassy" (bar & restaurant). Bob contemplating applying for a job as one of London Dairies' deliverymen. The National Gallery. Pat & Cyndy in front of the Mayflower Inn. And Lizzie & Tom's favorite pizza maker & his wood fired oven. (Sorry, Leigh, he didn't speak a word of English other than, "I don't speak English", so I couldn't ask him any questions about building an oven.)

Tomorrow we're off to Paris and that red Corvette??? I heard one was spotted zooming through traffic at Niagara Falls.

The Birthday Girl!!

Today was Judy's birthday (we won't say which) so... being the tennis player that she is (her team did go to the USA Seniors competition this year and placed second), she wanted to go to Wimbledon. Therefore, most of these shots are of our journey there.

On the left, Judy & John on H??? Hill that you see on TV if you watch Wimbledon tennis (and, if you're a tennis fan which I'm obviously not, you'll know what H??? is). Below that is cousin John fantasizing what it might be like to win the "Gentlemen's Doubles".

On to the right - the most beautiful little quail eggs. Lizzie "hard boiled" them as part of one of the best dinners I've ever had. (Perhaps John & I should take up raising quails for layers in our retirement...) Next is John (in his Riley's hat) posing in front of Center Court (THE top court at Wimbledon). Under that is Judy at the end of dinner (I know it's small and blurry but so was she at that moment...). St. Luke's, not far from where Liz & Tom live & where they filmed 101 Dalmatians (just in case you wanted a bit of trivia). Then we're back at Wimbledon with John & Judy sitting in the Members only section of Court 2. Bottom - Judy & John sitting in the chairs where all Wimbledon winners & losers are interviewed. (Players are fined severely if they refuse to be interviewed whether they win or lose. J&J didn't have to pay anything extra to sit there.) And last, the magic formula for growing those pristine grass courts - GOSTD or Graded Organic Sports Turf Dressing. (Obviously Terry, this is the vital ingredient we've been missing from the croquet court at TI Park. However, if you think I'm carting that home in my carry-on you have another think coming.)

Speaking of TI Park, I understand there was a red blur (might have been a Corvette) seen passing over the bridge to the US today...

Meeting friends...

Today we split up going in different directions. Cousin John, Judy & Bob enjoyed the London Eye among things (and left John G. breathing a sign of relief that he once again evaded taking the most terrifying ride of his life). Pat & Cyndy went off to Parliament - it just happened to be open to the public today which is rare (we're all envious) and even got a chance to talk with the guys that service Big Ben. (I can tell you the Johns were more than a little envious over that one!)

And John & I went to visit a long time friend, Zelda, her husband, Brian, and their daughter Chloe. It was a GREAT day we wouldn't have exchanged with the others for anything. The last photo is of John, Zelda & Chloe at one of the typical British open air markets that are sooooo much fun and which make you wish you'd brought a bigger suitcase and that fresh produce travelled better! (Notice in the background the double decker bus proving this is definitely London.) Lizzie wears nothing but pointy shoes with spike hills so I was tempted to get her the green & orange Wellies I spotted at the market but, since I didn't know her shoe size, she missed, or perhaps I should say, lucked out.

The larger photo is of Brian & Zelda on their back patio. Zelda wanted to take the clothes off the line but I axed that idea. Folks here tend to be energy conscious (gas is about $9 per dollar...) and a lot of folks have clothes lines, something more Americans should consider and use. (My green energy soapbox issue of the day.)

Meanwhile, I understand a red Corvette was seen heading into Quebec City...

Bob is found!

It turned out that Bob, rather than being lost as some might suspect, was actually standing in line to go through customs (took 2.5 hrs.) Cyndy, who arrived two hours later, was through customs in 15 minutes. You tell me who lives right?

Today, in addition to eating VERY well, walking and enjoying a beautiful non-rainy day in London, we visited the Tate Modern. They had a great installation of a rusty VW camper (Tillie's cousin I'm sure) pulling 24 sleds filled with survival stuff. The caption was something like VW's (I hope Tillie isn't listening) aren't always the best survival vehicles. Also at the Tate - upper left... John as part of the "installation" or was he just feeling peckish as the sign suggests. (You should be able to pick him out of the crowd...)

A group photo left to right... cousin John (sorry I cut him off - the excitement of the moment), Pat, Judy, Tom & Liz (hosts extraordinaire), cousin Bob (he's hiding - probably doesn't want to be spotted by customs again), Cyndy and John in the red. Actually John's knees are probably already beginning to shake - no way did he want to contemplate going up in the London Eye in the background. Turns out none of us ended up doing that today anyway - our stomachs ruled instead and we had a great lunch on an upper deck overlooking the river instead.

Tonight it was on to the Globe Theatre for Shakespeare's "Troilus & Cressida". Wonderful, wonderful especially since we had great seats and didn't stand through the whole thing (it lasted 3+ hours) like the folks you see in the middle of the photo. I know standing in the middle was how it was done in Shakespeare's time and that it adds a LOT of atmosphere but, well, I'm a "modern" gal and much prefer to sit.

Back on the US front, I understand a red Corvette was spotted at the Maine/Canadian border....

We have arrived!

Or at least some of us have... After taking over an hour to clear customs (through no fault of our own - guess they just wanted to make sure we all REALLY wanted to visit), John & I, John & Judy & Pat are here in merry ol' London. Bob, coming from San Diego, was to have arrived 3 hours ago and is still among the missing. Cyndy, coming from Philadelphia, should be here in about an hour.

In the meantime, we're enjoying Lizzie's apartment while she's at work and looking forward to a bit of sightseeing this afternoon (hopefully looking at London rather than looking for Bob...) And when Lizzie returns home we'll figure out how to sign onto her network and put up some photos.

PS - I couldn't be entirely sure, but was that a red Corvette I spotted as we flew along the Maine coast?!

A good trade?

Cousin John & Judy have a beautiful candy red Corvette... seats 2... luggage? marginal. With 6 of us needing to go to the airport, 5 with luggage (Judy's nephew is driving us - lucky us!) the Corvette just didn't seem to be an option. So a trade was worked out - one shiny red Corvette for one dark blue Suburban. It remains to be seen who got the better of the deal.

In the meantime, if you see a couple streaking by in a blur of red, it's probably Joanne & Jack taking full advantage of the short term trade. How many miles & roads do you think they'll be able to travel in the next three weeks? I understand the leaves are starting to turn in New England and the fishing is still good in Montana and it's grape harvest time in California and...

And we're off!!!

Another great adventure! Unfortunately, Tillie the VW is with us in spirit only as we're crossing the Atlantic this go around and Tillie is... well... sinkable.

Only appropriate as we head south to pass through the "gate" built by the workers of the Endicott-Johnson Shoe Company to show their appreciation. The company treated its employees very well including giving everyone and their family members a new pair of shoes at Christmas. Doesn't sound like much? When was the last time your employer gave you a new pair of shoes or you decided your employer was good enough to its employees that you wanted to build a monument?! Need I say more? However, moving on...

We arrive at the first leg of our journey - cousins John & Judy in New Jersey where John was hard at work on his new bar. Pat, another of our traveling companions, John & John decided the bar top really needed a little breaking in before it is finished. Isn't it going to be beautiful? John is crafting it from the seven different types of trees growing on their property including the black walnut on the ends. The curve on the outside was formed using some sort of rig using parts from a Dodge Caravan. Much too technical for me but obviously cousin John knows what he's doing. I think it's best if I stick with taking photos and just sipping that wine...

Tomorrow it's off to Newark and the air. Wish us Bon Voyage!

Will the real winner please stand up?

In answer to your question - "Don't you ever PLAY on that croquet court you worked so hard to "improve" and that we read sooooo much (probably far too much) about?"

I don't wish to brag but yours truly won the first game of the season (which my husband conveniently forgot by the next time we played...)

Therefore, I will only mention in passing that he did manage to win the next match only to lose to his cousin John in the final match of the day. Take note folks, no one is kneeling at their feet...

No comment...

Is one to assume their second childhood has already begun? Oh woe is me!

Soooooo big!

Peyton - what do you want to be when you grow up?

With those boots, perhaps a fireman? or a farmer? (he's only 5 so he does have a chance to grow up a bit to fill out those boots.)

However, notice that haircut, a la Peyton. Perhaps we have a budding barber in our future...

And then there were...

Once upon a time there was a family named Keck who moved through the generations from Germany to what is now the Ukraine to what is still New York City. They had several sons (none of whom stayed in NYC) and a daughter who married a Grossmann and took her son "against his will" to Boise, Idaho. This son grew up in Boise and eventually moved to upstate NY, telling his wife (me) that, other than his brother, he had no relatives. So the photos you see are of the truly miraculous LIVING Keck family at the family get-together at our house this summer.

On to the photos - left to right. Bob & Carole hand grating the potatoes for those fabulous Keck potato pancakes. These pancakes are ABSOLUTELY the ugliest glop you've ever seen but somehow transform themselves into ABSOLUTELY the best potato pancakes you've ever tasted when Betty, photo 2, fries them up. Photo 3 - Frank, John & Jules (the patriarch of the family & whose parents took that boat to NYC) watch over the tray of German sausages. Photo 4 - It's Bob's birthday with one cupcake for every year (I'm not telling, you have to count them yourself.) 5 - The Lutheran heritage continues - John with cousins Michele & Helen (In case you can't read it, the tee says "I love Lutheran Boys".) 6 - The eating continues as John cooks breakfast for John (there were a LOT of John's) & Judy. (In case you're wondering that's oil, not boos. I trust the cap was still on. Yuk!) 7 - John & Bob keep the play quotient up. 8 - Ann (the Keck connection) & her family Robert, Helen, Michele & Bob. 9 - Bob huffed and puffed and blew & blew... and lived to blow another day...

The group family photo, related to my husband John and now to lucky me. Moral of the story - don't always believe everything your husband tells you...

And for those of you who care to know, from left to right, sort of - Bob, Michele, Brian, John, Noi, Kelly, Robert, Frank, Betty, Bob, John, Judy, Carole, Janet, Helen, Ann, & in front row, Paul, Jules & John (I got to take the picture.)

More views from the River...

As some of you may remember from earlier blogs, there was this table devised by John for Terry's porch that used a Rube Goldberg type arrangement of pool table legs turned upside down as its base. While incredibly "funky" looking, one dared not touch it, let alone lean on it for fear of tipping it over. (Admittedly, it probably was a good training devise for teaching manners, i.e. do NOT put your elbows on the table during dinner, but does one really need that at a summer cottage?) So.... in my ramblings I happened upon an old examining table from a doctor's office with "sturdy" written all over it. If it could hold bodies it certainly could hold a table top plus it was the perfect size. One drawback... it was a bit high for a dining table. Let's just say it provided the dynamic duo of John & Terry with several hours of contemplation about just how high the table should be and thus how much to take off leading to how to take it off... I finished my book.

The house on the water on the right is actually the Frontenac, NY post office where you can still mail vacation postcards... I didn't.

The Wellesley Island State Park that all of us NYS residents own has many beautiful trails with overlooks of the St. Lawrence. The one on the bottom right is the Eels Cove overlook. The Park must also have at least one gigantic beaver if the size of the tree it's trying to take down is any indication.

Did I mention that this summer on the River has been unseasonably cold? Ruby's Christmas cactus must think so too. She brought it up to the island to vacation for the summer and it's blooming its heart out. Bundle up! Winter must be just around the corner.

Oh! Those Pies!

Support your local library and buy a pie - what could be better?!

The library buys the pie pans, volunteer pie bakers pick them up and deliver pies at 8:30 in the morning. The first photo shows one of the bakers and the community's ace pie buyer, Tom, who is always first in line. Tom gets before 8:30 so he can look over every pie as they're delivered. This way he can also know where to head when the sale opens. (He also has other secret pie buying strategies which I'm not allowed to divulge.) By 8:50 the line for the sale stretches down the street. You may not be able to tell from the second photo but Tom is first in line and I'm second as "pie buyer in training". (I felt very honored as not everyone is invited to train under Tom.) The tapes across the doors are cut at 9:00 and folks rush in ("rush in" is more like stampede but you get the idea). I have my eye on a blueberry and a lemon meringue. Score the blueberry but the lemon disappeared before I could edge my way there. 9:15 and half the pies are sold. It takes a while to take in all that money after all. 9:30 all the pies are gone and the library has made well over a thousand dollars. Wow!

Now for a piece of that blueberry pie....

Roquet Court Update

Will the real Tom Sawyer please stand up?
First there was Terry's idea to redo the court...
Then there was John's idea to rototill it...
Then there was Terry's idea to add top soil...
Then there was John's idea to roll it...
Then they both had the idea to get Fred to water it...
Then there was Terry's idea to aerate it...
Then there was John's idea get a reel mower...
Then there was Terry's idea to add more "stuff"...
It seems like there's no end...

(Frankly folks, the court still offers as many bumps and dips as it ever did. And, just like that fence of Tom Sawyer's, I suspect it will always need work. Either Terry will be trying to convince John or John will be trying to convince Terry that it ain't work... After all, does a boy get a chance to tend a roquet court every day? Where's Fred in all this? Somehow, I suspect Fred did a little reading of Mark Twain over the winter.)

Rollin' Again...

Yesterday we waved goodbye quietly to all our old and new friends (who were probably still asleep or who should have been -- we left at 5:45 a.m.). We needed to get home to welcome guests the next day and, although Tillie is usually fairly reliable, she can sometimes decide one's vacation needs to be prolonged.

We decided to eat breakfast on the road and stop somewhere at a local restaurant. So we drove through first one town... and the next... and the next... Just as our resolve started to faulter and we thought we'd be forced to eat at a chain (Canadians seem to have this love affair with "Tim Horton's" or as they say, "Timmy's") we passed a general store with lots of cars. Only as we were passing did we see the fine print that it was also a restaurant. Tillie braked admiredly, turned on a something much larger than a dime, and we joined the other local supporters for breakfast. Actually it was so busy because a group of women were having a 40th birthday party for their friend. Who else would think to have a party like that before work? (I know some of you Dillon's out there will think they must have been absolutely nuts!)

Taking the back roads homes at a leisurely pace, we stopped in Petersboro to visit the Canadian Canoe Museum. Seemed like the thing to do since it was Canada's National Canoe Day (does the US have such a day?) and admission was free. They have a LOT of canoes.

Other than that I can't say we found much use for the camera. Although not exactly flat, most of Ontario is not very exciting geographically either. And, either we missed them, or there's not many first's or biggest's or smallest's or whatever around. Or perhaps Canadians just don't feel the necessity to advertise them.

So we arrived home just before dark - our guests arrived about half an hour later. Oops! I got my days confused. Luckily we'd left the house semi-ready before we left... and Tillie hadn't been in one of her moods...

House blessings...

Today, Thursday, was the last day of work for some of us. Others, not wanting to offend the Legion who had signed up to serve lunch on Friday and who were not planning to travel as far on Friday, are working another half day.

In spite of having to sit idle for a hour and a half to wait out a thunder storm, our team did pour the concrete for the second home (trust me, it looks just like the first – it’s just that I keep forgetting to take my camera to that site); the trusses are all up on the first house and several more sections of fence have been built. And it was not quite so HOT, especially if you were one of the lucky women who were building fence in the shade!

One of the traditions of Habitat is the dedication they have for each new homeowner before they move in. Those with the Care-A-Vanner group are seldom there when this dedication takes place. One of our group, Jeff, has taken to doing a “blessing of the home” at the end of each of the builds he and his wife do. The photo is our group giving our blessings to the new homes (both homes are duplexes). Joining us is the next door neighbor, the ladies from the Union Church who provided our lunch today, and a couple of local volunteers. It’s something we hope will become a tradition at other builds we do.

Tonight we pack up, enjoy a very long happy hour with all the left overs from last night’s fish fry (the local fish from the bay is white fish – ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS!) There wasn’t any fish left but we still have plenty of salads and snacks. Tomorrow we meander our way back home on the back roads. Who knows what we’ve find on the way…

Meltin'

When it reaches 30C one can officially melt! Supposedly tonight brings a bit of a cool down – we hope! Our Texas folks says it doesn’t even get this hot in Texas.

Photo 1 – John, one of the local regular volunteers, and his wife, Janet, invited us all to dinner at their place last night. Their lupines were gorgeous and I’ve added yellow lupines to my “must have” list.

Photo 2 – John & Janet’s side yard. Not only is their place beautiful but Janet is a first class cook. We all concurred this is adding up to another 10 pound build (10 lbs. on the hips…)

Photo 3 – The ladies fencing crew putting up the brackets so the men could hang the sections we made last week.

Photo 4 – The guy in the blue shirt next to the house on the right is the local rep to Parliament there for a photo shoot. (They got their photos before his tee shirt was soaked through like everyone else’s.) Hopefully the coverage will give Habitat as much good press and it gives him.

Sweatin' on Tuesday...

HOT HOT HOT!!! When they say the high 20’s C it doesn’t do the temperature justice especially when the humidity is approaching 100%. When summer started here, it took on a whole new meaning.

Photo 1 – Yes, some of us really were up at 5:00 a.m.

Photo 2 – The first of the second level floor joists goes up.

Photo 3 – Shortly before 2 and several more are up… The guys look far cooler than they felt!

Photo 4 – Quitting time – 2:00. We heard in the store on the way home they even let the quarry workers leave early because of the heat. By the way the young man coming towards the camera is Cedric. (I never met a real Cedric before – thought that was a name reserved for English novels.) At any rate, he works for the parks department at Niagara Falls. For his vacation this week he decided to spend it in Wiarton helping out with the Habitat House. Said he emailed all the Habitat projects in Ontario and this was the first one to respond. Lucky them, and us!

Back to work...

Photo 1 – House one now bare of the bracing. Folks were amazed that the bracing and scaffolding took three days to set up but came down in about two hours. It was even more amazing that it is all now up at house two in spite of the heat (high 20’s here today – that’s C, not F). Tomorrow is supposed to be hotter…

Photo 2 – The corner where we turn off the main drag in Wiarton. If you can read the signs almost everything is on Willie’s Way from camping to curling.

Photo 3 – I think these are supposed to be groundhog prints…

Photo 4 – Happy hour at the campground (pretty nice setup, eh?). Everyone voted to start work tomorrow at 7 rather than 8 so we don’t have to work as long in the heat of the day.