What Happens When Mom is Gone on Vacation

Well, you may be wondering why there haven't been any Blog updates in a while. Since Jenni is off traveling in India for her cousin John's wedding festivities. Here's a quick update of what is happening locally and abroad likely minimal creative/snarky comments and more likely some lame jokes in the process (that's what dad's do).

Below is a picture of Becky, Kingkini (the beautiful bride) and Jenni all in their spiffy saris.  I'm going to defer to Jenni when she returns for a full blown India post(s).

We have been able to connect with Mom on a couple skype sessions with the web cam which has worked out well.  Best connection to date was while Jenni was in Dehli in the hotel next to the Clark's shoe store and the VanHeusen store where after shopping they were going to go out to Dick Clarks American Band Stand Restaurant (just kidding - it was actually the Hard Rock Cafe or something owned by Bruce Wills.).

So there's been a general lack of pictures as Jenni has the good camera and I apparently can't find the charger for the back up camera (as a little nephew would state - - momma where is it, i can find it, where is it. . . .)

So what does a resourceful dad and grandpa do - after talking about left over 35mm film camera bits and pieces (that cost a lot) and how to get some use out of them - start biding camera bodies on eBay.  well I bid and almost won 2 cameras (oops).   By the way, thanks semunky789 for the last second bid on the other nikon. Luckily, I am a proud owner of only one piece of hardware.

After a long journey of the winning eBay purchase from TX to Indianapolis, Cicero, Nobelsville, Indianapolis and finally back to Carmel (with a 2" dent in the corner of the box - of which I was not able to take a picture of - ok actually I did with my phone, but that wouldn't be interesting to show and would take too much work to post).

So the girls got a pretty sweet deal out of the new/used piece of photographic gadgetry- bubble wrap to jump on!!!

The next day we headed on down to the Garfield Park Conservatory to get our tropical climate on.  This is a waaay better deal than the Super Bowl Experience as there was a much lower entry fee and a lot less blue stuff around mostly green (Go Pack! -  Super Bowl bound. . .never mind)

Here's the little chica picking up powderpuff tree puff things and putting them on for show.  Not the best picture (focus and such) but a better look from her (more sauce) than some cheesy posed smile (see sister below)

Squeeze Cheese.  Note Uncle Kevin - we still have a 'tube' of some smoked spreadable process cheese food that we're saving for when we come to fish fry and maybe we can batter and fry it or just squeeze it into the yuengling beer.

Obligatory flower picture with new camera.  The old zoom lens which the online sources says makes a better doorstop than a piece of optical hardware did pretty swell I thought.  But if anyone happens to have a nikkor 35mm f/2 AF-D or f/1.8G AF-S DX or other paraphernalia sitting in a closet - feel free to send them my way (if you know what I'm talking about - the camera has a motor to drive older AF-D lenses).

What we also found at the Conservatory is that down the way there is the Garfield Park Arts Center (GPAC - not a secret superPAC for Newt).  AND THEY HAVE CRAFTS EVERY MONTH! 

Each focused on an different artist each month.  This month was Marc Chagall who did stained glass. 

You can see the in process work with laminated tissue paper and cellophane and the outcomes on the window.  Just kidding - those were some of the folks who work there.  Most are apparently former Herron students who split time between here and starbucks. 

Sunday was Girl Scout Cookie pick-up day.  You can see our budding young sales person below.  I was concerned about being able to put all of her sales into the back of the grocery getter, but lucky for us packaging appears smaller this year as well as a helpful family (with a helpful little brother -  I'm envisioning a cousin with initials OS or HT in my mind) in the next neighborhood over brought one of our cases over to their house.

Lucky for us there were still enough cookies to build a small fort.   She even diligently sorted and labeled everyone's order - ready for delivery!

Also someone appears to have a new costume idea for next Halloween.  Maybe some inspiration from the ShuffleBot/BoxHead from the Party Rock Anthem Video.  Every day schlees shufflin. 

Beyond that, we are all being well cared for by Grandma Taller who going well beyond keeping folks out of the hospital and from the house burning down to taking care of all of us for cleveland style breakfast, lunch dinner, laundry and cleaning (including keeping the kids on their chores).  Grandpa Taller was here for the first part of the week and will be back early this week for some reinforcement and/or a hot meal (and of course will be bringing produce and other food cleveland products across state lines).

Not too much on my end beyond the work thang, watching some ball, playing some mean games of uno-attack and blockus and apparently I'm in the process of setting up a small microbiology lab in the basement for creating yeast starters (trying to save a stuck fermentation on a nut brown ale - which ironically has as much nuts in it as grape nuts).  I don't think that three somethings fermenting all at once will alert the feds or get me on american moonshiners yet, but I'll keep trying.  This weekend I was able to start a wheat beer this weekend (after making an immersion chiller to speed up the wort cooling since I don't have a 10,000 gallon pool to cool the beer like uncle Mike) .