I don't think I want any bells or rain on tin roofs right now. I'll go for the peace and quiet.

We were at the photography store a little while ago. I wanted to go back in time and get a regular automatic camera with film instead of a digital, but they didn't have any so I'm back to the modern age. I just want to have pictures to put in an album without having to go through a million stages of uploading, downloading, whatever it is that has to be done. Is that too much to ask?

Rainy, rainy day. Imagine being inside a trailer with 18 5 year olds...the noise level is amazing.
We had cherrios and milk for snack...and just the sound of pouring those cherrios into the hard plastic cups was loud. Everything echos...the rain sounds like ...well, like rain pouring on a tin roof...inside recess and playing...trying to get kids to their parents and cars at the end of the day...I was just so glad that its Friday. I don't know if its because I might be getting old..but I am exhausted at the end of the day....Richard, you know how those bells sounded to you...well...now I am home and it is quiet! I did have to turn on the heat it was so damp in here....Andrew will be 27 in February....hes my baby. I have been wondering about you too Patti...hope all is well in moving land. Have a great weekend everybody.

well i can hear something. the damn bells are ringing again- nonstop. of course, it is 7:30 at night and that would seem like plenty in itself to ring a bell nonstop. i remember my first hangover. my head was ringing for days. if that was good enough for this wonder that they call bells, then why should they ever stop. no shit, they are still ringing here in heidi land. oh wow, they just stopped. i guess heidi is going to bed now. by the way, the difference between getting called to prayer five times a day and being swiss is that being swiss means that you better pray that you never stick out too much- except if you like ringing bells and then there is a kind of infinite freedom.

Kathi, congratulations on your son's engagement! How old is he?

I'm back at the gym, too, but 3 times a week doesn't seem to be enough right now cuz I seem to be gaining instead of losing! Maybe cuz I stopped hiking (since my friend is still in Israel) and got out of the habit of walking with Avi at night. We've just gotten lazy....

Richard, I hear the church bells ringing all the way over here. I guess you can't hear any muezzins over there. I like the sound of the muezzin. We used to hear it in Jerusalem.

Patti, where are you? In the process of moving?

www.myphotoevents.com
user name: Suzanne
password: John

hi, i tried to connect for photos and did not make it happen. i will try later on. i always thought that location was something special. i think you get more spirits from across the ages when you are there and i happen to think that more is better, in this case. it is six am in switzerland and i am up writing a report (think midnight on the east coast and beer-thirty in hawaii). well wouldn't you know that the church next to my hotel room just started ringing its bell. it will go on for a while. as if having cows with bells isn't enough. so far, all is well on my trip. i leave for italy tomorrow and only have one more day of working my ass off. better start.

The wedding now seems like a dream....I really did have a great time and wanted the party to keep going...They are both really happy. The wedding fever is in the air here. My son and his girlfriend just became engaged last night. He called and said..hypothetically, how would you feel about a reception that was not held in the backyard...and I said, hypothetically, that would be great.....then he told me they were engaged. I told my girls after seeing the pictures taken at the wedding that they could use that picture as their engagement one...and that's what they will do.
They are acutally coming up on Sunday....so I will make something good for dinner and we'll celebrate.
The wiring the jaw thing would probably be the only way I'll loose weight ...I do like my class...and know its good for the bones!

I find it very interesting listening to Richards travel logs..as one who has not traveled much at all. I am saving lots by living my travels through others. Now if only he would post pictures....
speaking of, if anyone wants to look at the Wedding photos, you can go to www.myphotoevents.com....user name: Suzanne and password: John. There are some (in my opinion) nice ones...
Hope all is well with everyone...its actually very quiet here..the weather is nice, in the high 60s during the day, 40s at night. We have not had a major frost here in Springfield. The leaves are starting to really show color...though the headlines on Yahoo said something about the climate change dulling the Northeast folliage. School is hectic...they are still working on the building...there is still no playground or gym or lunchroom but we are all managing to survive.
Our exercise class (with weights) started again last night and because I really don't do weights except for class, my arms feel like they are going to fall off...but that is suppose to be good for me, so I will go again tomorrow...
Richard travel safely....enjoy your sheep/cow fairs.....

Karen, I don't remember who hosted him. He was with the class of '71. I just remember him hanging out with Peter Vatne and playing chess.

Lake Garda sounds beautiful. The whole trip sounds beautiful!

lori, i had originally planned to be about 120 miles from ivrea, in ascona (former hang out for isadora duncan, carl jung and a bunch of vegetarians). that plan fell through when my travel partner left his girlfriend. i ask you, couldn't he have waited just a little longer? he left her and her friend's house in ascona went away cuz of that, too. ivrea looks like it could be pretty great. on a clear day, maybe guido can see the matterhorn (just about straight north). i will be in a place that is quite a bit east of ivrea. i will be on lake garda and that will be REALLY special for me. i know i am lucky for this chance. believe me when i say that every drop of wine will taste like nectar from the gods. i need a vacation. i have been a bit cranky, lately.

hi, holing up is pretty great. i love being home. i keep the place pretty nice, but have not been able to keep up with getting ready for winter, yet. my flowers are stellar and raspberries are hanging like a five o'clock cow. of course, ya' don't grab 'em quite the same way. oh, behave! so, i went to montreal today to see a prospect for solar cable, then i stopped at the atwater market for lunch- nice farmers market atmosphere. it is on the lachine canal- which was how boats founr their way across montreal before the st lawrence seaway. i walked the canal for about an hour. loved it.

i hit a new town (for me) near zurich on wednesday- just gonna crash and space out. then i go see my co's solar boys nearby. friday is heidi land in eastern switzerland and then guido land in italy for next week. i will be on vacation then, so i guess that is kind of like holing up for a while. when i go back to switz. i will get a couple days in the alps and then across the county i go to the olma festival which is like a state fair on steroids. i can't even imagine how many swiss cows will be ringing their bells. jamming a yummy bratwurst and drinking many liters of delicious beer- is that heaven (as women in dirndls clog nearby- liftin 'em up and settin 'em down)? i just sleep when i fall asleep and take it from there.

Richard, Guido lives near Ivrea in northwest Italy. He said that's near Torino and near the Alps. You can find him on Classmates. He'd probably like to see you. He said Peter Vatne has visited him a few times. I don't know how you manage with jet lag. Don't you go crazy from changing time zones so often?

Kathi, you're always making the best things. Apple pie! And we just have to hear about it without tasting it!

hi.

pat had a question for me and butch and how come i went to his place. well that was just where i ended up. lots of folks go through there and are none the wiser. as the affable sort, i try to find out what a place is about. so there i was and i discovered that i was on the very same dance floor where butch met women. his life was short and was not without some nasty impact. while i was in this town, i met two young men in there 30s who had just been in a flash flood with their parents. both their parents died in the incident. life is short, do what matters. i was happy to leave that town alive.

anyway -lori- i am wondering where guido rietti lives. i will be in northern italy starting next saturday and he seems like the northern type to me. note to self- get a pizza tonight. rustic northern italian can wait. i am now traveling for the next month with only one day at home between switzerland and san diego. i think it is funny, cuz i thought i was already traveling just about as much as a person reasonably could.

well, anyway, it really is true. life is short. the idea that people in marraige embrace each other with eternal vision and with open hearts that reach into the future is pretty awesome. there is some einstein e=mc2 light and vision becoming what matters in all of that. we are all just wicked amped up stardust. note to self- look for shooting stars tonight. they are just so crazy.

I had a message all typed and saved it but I have no idea where I find it...so I'll start again.
Crochety is relative....I think we all have those moments to which there is nothing wrong with that! I was crochety today after apple picking when everyone disappeared to watch the football/baseball games or be on their computers but wanted apple pie....I wanted to be like the Little Red Hen and say fine...I'll eat it myself....but I guess that wouldn't be a good thing.
Unfortuntely, the Patroits lost big time today.....so maybe the apple pie will make up for some of that. haha. We picked up the proofs from the photographer last night and some of them are amazing. I'll be able to share them when I find out what the website is....well, I guess I'll take my crochety self and go make the rest of dinner...I don't see the cook at work....