Summer Solstice

Yesterday was the longest day of 2013.....  appreciated for extra sunshine (no special rites were performed, unless cleaning up kitty litter upon return from vacation has significance).  What have you boys been up to?  Here's a recap: 

Birthday - In mid April, one of Sasha's friends turned 16.  As a surprise, you Sasha and another friend got a lovely gift.  The items below were well-received and probably enjoyed best by young sister Katie.

Visits to Wyncote - A weekend visit to Wyncote in early April provided Sasha an opportunity to kick off spring fishing with Mark.  Steve, Brock and I had time with Lucy touring the Eastern State Penitentiary, followed by playground fun.  On Sunday morning, we made it to church at St. Dunstan's with Grammie and Grandad.  In a return trip over Memorial Day weekend, we helped Grandad celebrate his 76th birthday.

Airsoft and Fishing!  Sasha, you are an active member of the Exeter Airsoft group.  Hours in the outdoors and fun with friends!  As to fishing.....  well, this is absolutely one of your favorite times of year.  Steve has also taken an interest in fishing, and now has 2 poles and multiple implements in his tackle box.  Frances Slocum park has been a good location for trying out new equipment, and catching fish plus the occasional turtle.  Brock, you and I have enjoyed playground time, walks, and "sparky" scooter rides including a fast, frightening ride down the steep hill toward turtle pond (brakes were not so great in steepest stretch, but worked OK toward the bottom).

Tiger - A few weeks ago, Tiger had his annual bath & "slenderizing" treatment i.e., extra fluff is shaved away for the summer.  His flabby paunch is quite noticeable and of no concern to Tiger - petting anywhere including his belly is wonderful.  Sasha has provided this list of his alternate names for Tiger:  Tigrero, Tigroog, Toiger, Fatty, Fat Cat, Chunks of Love, and Love Chunks.  Here is Tiger (pre-treatment) enjoying a moment with Steve's sneakers:

Additions to the Family - Over the winter, our latest batch of tropical fish suffered a premature demise due to hypothermia (secondary cause:  lack of attention to temperature in the fish tank).  Sasha immediately announced that we would introduce lake critters to the tank when spring came along.  So after a recent fishing trip to Frances Slocum, he brought home Flappy the Crappy, and 2 large snails - Dung and Pooh (as in "who flung....").  Next, Dung and Pooh had babies known as the Poohlets.  A couple weeks later after a fantastic job cleaning algae off the fish tank, Dung and Pooh went home to the turtle pond.  Here's a picture taken shortly after arrival:

Crappy seemed to be doing fine, until today that is.....  His favorite food - wax worms.  We has also gorged himself on guppies, but unfortunately didn't keep it all in his tummy (fish parts make a return trip into the tank, only to be cannibalized by other guppies).  This afternoon he passed on to the fish heaven, and will be missed.


Vacation in Washington DC - We got home yesterday from a few days in the Washington DC area.  My favorite was visiting with my cousin Annie, who lives near Bethesda.  Steve's was probably the Air and Space Museum at Dulles Airport.  I'm not certain that you boys had a favorite, though Sasha you seemed to enjoy talking about fishing with Andrew from "Augie's Adventures" who was trying to photograph Capital Hill at sunset from a park near Reagan National Airport.  And Brock you seemed to especially like climbing on rocks at Great Falls National Park overlooking the Potomac River.


Steve's Mom - Sadly, Steve's mother died on June 7th after being hospitalized in Philadelphia.  It has been a difficult time for Steve and his brothers, as you can imagine.  It is quite an accomplishment for a Mom to raise four boys mostly on her own, and certainly it was not easy for her.  I am genuinely interested in older people, and would have liked to know her better.  Be sure to appreciate your family members - every one of them is important.

Easter 2012

Well, it's Easter evening and I'm enjoying some quiet time after a busy weekend.  Here are highlights of this year's Easter Day:

• Sleeping relatively late for a holiday.  Brock made it to 7:15 !  
• Looking for Easter baskets.  There was mild grumbling that the Bunny did not hide the baskets very well (behind fish tank and inside the clothes dryer).  Maybe he/she will do better next year.
• Going to church.  Good music, and uneventful except for the mouse that Sasha saw scurrying under the pews heading toward the front of the church.  It didn't seem to bother anyone else such as the minister or organist - probably a good thing.
• Tulips!  Steve brought lovely red & yellow tulips, which were the centerpiece for the dinner table.  The colors are similar to the tulips in the photo above, which Steve shot at the 2011 Philadelphia Flower Show.
• Turkey dinner, at Brock's request.  It was my first roast turkey with stuffing that turned out REALLY well (!!)  I am quite proud, and happily acknowledge help from Steve - cleaning & chopping vegetables, cooking green beans, doing dishes, and general encouragement.  Sasha gets credit for mashing 3 bananas for the banana bread (1 additional banana was a casualty, as it fell on the floor).  And Brock gets credit for eating both a drumstick and wing, plus 2 green beans.  I am saving the recipes, mostly off the Internet, and hope to repeat in the future - just not too soon.
• Aside.... due to an unfortunate incident just before dinner in which Tiger knocked two of Brock's Lego Ninjago models off a table, Tiger was banished to the laundry room.  Luckily, Brock made repairs quickly.
• Our Easter egg hunt in the back yard (now that the trampoline is gone, there's lots more room).  Sasha packed plastic eggs & hid them, while Brock and Sterling went 'round finding them.  I have to say Sterling is the tallest egg hunter I've seen in many a year!  The yellow egg floating on top of the pool cover was very imaginative, Sasha.
• Watching Disney's Lilo & Stitch, a surprise from the Easter Bunny.  Was very relaxing and enjoyable to get re-acquainted with the characters, story line, and scenes from the Hawaiian island of Kauaʻi.  And nice to think that Grammie, Grandad, Aunt Julie and Mark are going to Hawaii this week!  

Here's to many more happy holidays.  As a bonus, I know you'll like the wonderful "Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride" song written by Mark Kealiʻi Hoʻomalu.  He performs it with the Kamehameha Schools children's chorus:

Spring Fishing - The Best!

Spring is here, and opening day of trout season is 2 weeks away!!  In preparation, you Sasha are checking out your fishing equipment, tying flies, and practicing your technique for getting (very small) fish off the hook at the Frances Slocum Park turtle pond.  We are won't tell anyone that last weekend you also caught - and released - a rainbow trout in Frances Slocum lake.  Lucky you are 15 and still considered a "child" by PA Fish & Boat Commission standards!

Plus, yesterday we made our annual pilgrimage to Berks County.  First Steve took us a favorite spot - Renningers Antiques and Farmers Market in Kutztown.  Our conclusions; interesting to walk through, tasty baked goods, and the place smells of cured meat and old people.  Then after lunch at Red Robin, it was on to the main event - Cabela's!!  Sasha, you cheerfully picked out a myriad of fishing items, plus got a sweatshirt.  Steve found a nice red shirt, and provided dollar bills for tokens.  Brock was not so thrilled about Cabela's....  but used the tokens at the shooting gallery where he did a great job hitting targets, and got a sling shot anyway.

Today you've gone fishing with a friend, Griffin, whose family has a cabin at a local lake.  There never was a happier boy than our Sasha when getting ready for a fishing expedition.  I wish you many great experiences in the great outdoors with fishing rod in hand.

Last May I took you trout fishing to Harvey's Creek, near Hunlock Creek.  An absolutely beautiful spot, with good fishing "action".  These pictures bring back nice memories of a lovely afternoon with my very professional-looking fisherman: