How ya gonna tie!?!

Go Phillies


I'm sorry, I have watched every game the past few weeks and I am finding it really difficult to get behind this team. They verge on pathetic. Only three games left. At this point I'm more interested in seeing how much more they could blow this up in their own faces than I am interested in seeing them win. I can't take a whole playoff series of this kind of disappointment. I haven't followed baseball in forever, and maybe this is why. I would almost rather root for those crybaby Cubs.

Almost

Weekend Wrap-up: Reunion/Wedding

The dust has settled. The smoke has cleared. The storm that is the family reunion has come and gone leaving very few casualties in it's path.

Let's start at the beginning. Get ready for lotsa photos.

Barb & Bill came down a whole week early. That was fantastic, especially since Fran & I had to cancel our last chance to hang out with them down in Georgia after I had a massive heart attack while eating a cashew covered tomato chased with a glass of chlorine. Ahem...so that was cool, yeah. Spent lots of time in the yard, trying to make all the flowers shine and sparkle.

We took a few America Gothic-style shots:




Dani & Vic showed up towards the end of the week, so we got to take a nice group shot one morning.


Barb decided she liked Vic's look.


As did Francis. She even went for a ride one day and lost her favorite glasses


Then Saturday was Ted & Carol's wedding. It was at the gorgeous Sayen Garden, quite emotional and terrific food. It didn't take long for Ted's side of the family (us) to get enough liquor in them to turn the place into Solid Gold dancers meets Gidget reunion.

(click the photos for the full album)

Fran on a bridge


Ted's side


the ceremony


Sayen House


Group Shot


the bride & groom






Sorry it's so dark. Ambience ya know. And yes that is Ted Eutermarks dancing, doing the bump I believe.

Sunday was the reunion. I haven't seen some of these people in over a decade. Family, family friends, family enemies, estranged family, new family; you name it, we had it.

(click the photos for the full album)

Eric, Travis & Fran pigging out


Danielle Oyler & Dani


the Berkeleys


Tyler, Dani, Fran, Travis, Dane & Jarod


Travis & Baby Dane (Kiana on the swing)


the Krupps up from Georgia


Oh and more dancing...






So like I said, dust settled, smoke cleared, and no major injuries reported, all in all it was a success. We should do it again...

...maybe in another 10 years.

Freeform Jazz Improv

We have tons of stories from the past few days, but this just couldn't wait any longer...

Old Friends/Friends Of Old

It's early, 5:46. I can't sleep. Alot on my mind. Gotta go to Roxbury today. I'd rather be going with everyone else to the craft show in Lavallette. That was fun last year. Got an interview on Monday. Jonathan resigned from Cadets yesterday. That makes me sad. That makes me curious too. Let's see how it all plays out.

Barb & Bill got in last night. That's awesome. To celebrate we had salmon salad and Barb's cornbread, my favorite, and of course frozen alligators. They're getting better. Then we watched the Mets pummel the Astros 11-3 and looked thru our wedding albums. It was a nice night.



Just before all that Tom & Allison called me. They stopped by for a half hour or so, hung out in the living room, talked about old days, tried to catch up. It has been 6 or 7 years since we've all seen one another, and probably over a decade since we spent any quality time together. We used to be awesome. They both seem to be great; happy and busy. They both have so many friends to visit while they're in town. I can't relate. But it was all too quick, I didn't even have the presence of mind to take a picture of the reunion. Hopefully we'll find time to get together again before Tom flies back to Houston & Allison heads back to NYC on Sunday. Hopefully...

I did take these pictures yesterday tho:



Fancy, huh?

Curse! Blasphemy!! Sacrilege!!!

In NJ for two full weeks with nary a peep! We should be ashamed... ..

Jersey'll do that to ya tho. The first week flew by. I taught camp up at Roxbury (eternity) and then we helped Mom at her craft fair in Ocean Grove. This week we've been mostly job-hunting, which in and of itself sucks. Fun has been had however...

...at the ocean...




...planting grass...


...house hunting...


...pressure washing...



...and most importantly, we got our kitties back.




Seems like we've been eating a lot of donuts, ice cream and watching ALOT of Cesar Millan. I think Mom and Fran got a little crush on him. It's a pack leader thing.

I gotta admit, he's fairly handsome.

Ooh and we figured out how to make that frozen alligator...kinda...


P.S. look who already has Jersey hair


be back soon, promise

Goodbye Georgia

Goodbye Little 5 Points

Goodbye Criminal Records

Goodbye Highway 75

Goodbye Variety Playhouse

Goodbye Drunken Unicorn

Goodbye Cedars Taverna

Goodbye Stevie B's

Goodbye Canton Mill Lofts

Goodbye Columns

Goodbye Lincoln Hill

Goodbye Kimball Hall

Goodbye Greenwoods

Goodbye Big Chicken

Goodbye Miss L's

Goodbye Town Center

Goodbye Georgia Dome

Goodbye Turner Field

Goodbye World Of Coke

Goodbye Aquarium

Goodbye Phipps Plaza

Goodbye Lenox Square

Happy Vs. Sad

Reasons I'm Happy To Be Leaving Georgia
it's frigin hot! here

there's no change of seasons
way too much traffic
the overwhelming smog levels

I don't really care for sweet tea

grass?? anyone?? anywhere?? no??

no bands tour here (I don't blame them)

too many cookie cutter strip malls

cannot utilize my vast sweater collection

people still wear Michael Vick jerseys

I'm not a Braves fan, at all

I'm a northern boy

"southern hospitality" is a façade

Reasons I'm Sad To Be Leaving Georgia

our family
good friends

Cedars Taverna

Dr. Jeff Comanor

kudzu is pretty cool

Pittman's Show Us A Good Time

Whew!! What a weekend. We drove out to Hilton Head to spend some time with the Pittman family. It was just the relaxation we were looking for leading into our next few days of packing & moving.

We arrived late Friday night, which didn't stop us from staying up for 3 more hours talking drum corp politics & drama. The Pittman's house is lovely, stylish & cozy. Right up our alley. We were given the guesthouse for the weekend, which beat the hell out of any place I've ever stayed before.

Saturday was spent exploring Hilton Head Island, where we encountered parakeets & painted hermit crabs, ate at the world reknowned Salty Dog, climbed Harbor Town lighthouse, and gee whiz, Fran & Ashley even went for a dip in the ocean.


We settled in at the Tiki Hut, catching some live music & having a few drinks, & discovering a new favorite of mine known as the Frozen Alligator. We also got to see a handful of houses John has designed. Breathtaking, to say the least. If only...

Saturday night was kids night. We hit the town hard and saw Superbad which (sorry, I have to say this) is Supergood! I haven't laughed that hard in awhile. Then we headed back to the guestloft for a little Soul Train, aerobics & pitas in hummus.

Sunday we set out for Savannah. But first we hit the Crab Shack for lunch. Awesome restaurant right on the water. Not only did they have great food, but featured giant bunny rabbits, alligators, dolphins*, & cats galore.



*dolphins not pictured (they were too fast)

Then we arrived in Savannah, which is a great little town. Highlights including but were not limited to, Tybee Island, River Street, ferry boats, candy shops, art galleries (+ giant spiders), and my personal favorite, the park where Forrest Gump sat on his bench & told his life story.

Here's a few more random shots from the weekend.

group shot at Tybee Island


Ashley & I sporting aviators


awesomeness


Fran outside the Pittman's


Travis in Savannah


It was terrific fun & a big Thank You to the Pittmans for opening their home to us. Hopefully we can do it again, real soon.

Parties of the "Going Away" Variation

Less than a week now! Crazy. Crazy things are happening, but there's no time for talking about that right now. Fran is on her way home from work and then we're leaving for a weekend in Hilton Head & Savannah, living it up Pittman-style. Haha. It should be wicked fun.

Anyhow, we've had 2 (count them 2!) going away parties this week. Kinda random last minute gatherings really.

First on Wednesday we had the family version


We had hash brown casserole and ginger cake. Tasty!

Then last night was of the Aspera+ version




This including all the corn chips and mexican cheese dip you could eat and some Dominos pizza. Oh the grandeur!

Both included good-times-had-by-all, reminiscings, laughings, sadnesses, hugs, I love you's, and obviously good-byes. Fran & I are ecstatic about moving on and starting fresh somewhere new, but it's crazy to think of all the memories we get to take with us.

tear

Oh! And we saw a deer on the way home.


deer