We had some more Christmas fun with the Reeds. Elizabeth completed a shape puzzle which was purchased for Bryon. As you can see, she was quite pleased with her accomplishment.
We went on an adventure Thursday. We went to the Air Museum at College Park, the oldest airport in continuous use in the world. Both Bryon and Elizabeth had a great time. In spite of my cool new “fast shot” camera program, Elizabeth was faster. My best shot was blurred.
Jul and Pat went on an overnight date, leaving early Friday morning. We took the kids on a big adventure. Everything worked great, except I forgot my phone, so I didn’t get any pics. We started at the Fire Museum in Lutherville (just north of Baltimore). There we saw antique fire engines, got to ring a fire bell, spent time in the play room, and saw a train garden. By the time we were done, it was lunch time, so we went across the street to Friendly’s. The weather was pretty nice, so after a great lunch (with ice cream!) we stopped at a cool play ground on the way home. Of course the sun went behind the clouds as soon as we got to the play ground. But the kids had a great time. Danita and I got a pretty good amount of exercise just trying to keep up with where the kids were. We made it through the whole day without Mom & Dad, without naps, and without any breakdowns. It was pretty remarkable. It just goes to show the power of having ice cream after lunch.
Saturday the weather was back to white stuff, although it never got cold enough for the snow to stick to anything. We had a quieter day. Our adventure was going to the community theater to watch Toy Story 2, another of E’s presents. Jul and Pat got back in time for dinner. Elizabeth has this grandparent thing figured out. Safe in her mother’s arms, she started crying profusely. She turned to me and exclaimed through her tears, “I want to go on an adventure”.
After a very nice chicken curry dinner and some wonderful chocolate-covered chocolate balls Julia had made, the kids went to bed; Jul and Pat went upstairs, and Danita and I went downstairs to watch a Star Trek episode. When we came upstairs, we found that Elizabeth had been quite sick. Pat and Jul were finishing up cleaning. We had a tub filled with a drying port-a-crib mattress. Jul had started an emergency load in the clothes washer. We have a large tub on the main floor — larger than some front yard ponds. Danita filled that and used it as a soaking tub. Elizabeth went back to bed, but ended up spending most of the night being sick. Danita also got sick shortly after midnight. None of this bothered me any. I slept through it all, and didn’t learn about any of it until the next morning.
In spite of all the last minute excitement, Jul and Pat were able to get on the road fairly early Sunday morning, and arrived safely at home in an incredibly short time.
After 10 days out of the saddle, I got a bike ride in Monday. It’s amazing how quickly a 64 year-old body disintegrates. I lost one or two gears, and at the end of a short ride my legs were sore. I goofed off New Year’s day and didn’t feel so great Wednesday. Today by Noon it was still near freezing. I rode inside on the rollers.
We had a quiet New Year’s Eve, watching one of the worst disaster movies ever made. What do you do with leftover champagne after the holiday parties? Drink Mimosas while watching the Rose Bowl parade and eating junk food, of course. The down side of that is that it pretty much means I’m not riding every day this year, starting on the first day of the year.
Today I had a phone interview with ACY. They are the folks that want somebody to re-do their web site. I can do most of the job they want, It wasn’t a slam-dunk. I should hear back from them next week.
We’re looking forward to an extended weekend with Mom in West Palm Beach.
This drawing was created by Elizabeth Reed and offered to me as a gift. If you want an original from this artist, you will have to contact her directly. She might be able to create something for you, but I can’t offer too much hope. Her creations are highly valued in some circles.