Didymopping

Very Bad Kitty!

2010-05-04T22:20:00.006-04:00

Muffin is always getting into trouble. Here are a few pics of our kitty going where she shouldn't!

Muffin-Summer of 2009

2009-08-23T15:50:00.002-04:00

Muffin is enjoying the summer months. Juliano fixed our gate so that she can spend her days in the backyard. And of course she has her favorite spots to lounge in the house too.

Utah 2009

2009-06-28T10:26:00.002-04:00

Brian, Luis, Juliano and I spent a fabulous week in Southern Utah in May. We visit Cedar Breaks National Monument, Bryce Canyon, Zion and the north rim of the Grand Canyon.

New Year's Rockin' Eve

2009-01-03T11:18:00.008-05:00

I'd like to give a big shout out to Greg (aka Klunky) for having us all down to the OC to ring in the new year! It was a festive group of people and, as usual, he had quite the spread of food. Special thank you to Jerry for bringing over his clock radio to provide music and to whomever brought that tray of delicious cookies! A good time was had by all. I'm bummed that I forgot to go out on the porch at midnight to hear the gunfight.

Klunky's spread of food

Gaylord and Theresa

Klunky, Jerry, Linda and Mary

Klunky and Johan

Typical household item...a pick ax? WTF?

Mikey's Christmas Party

2008-12-20T12:28:00.009-05:00

Thanks Mike & Dan for throwing a fun Christmas party last night. Food was delicious, as usual. That manicotti was so good and the ham, scrumptious. Festive times were had by all.

Birdwatching on a Cold Day

2008-12-14T10:57:00.004-05:00

Last Sunday, I joined Judy and Larry (and a few Museum members) to birdwatch at Headlands. What a fantastic day. Yes, the wind chill was -20, but we were a hardy bunch. We all enjoyed seeing two Purple Sandpipers frolicking on the rocks. They'd run down to the edge of the barrier, get splashed by a wave, eat some algae and run back up the rock. It was fun to watch. After Headlands, we went to Burke to see the Snowy Owl. The numbers of gulls were incredible. All photos by Judy Semroc. It was too cold for me to take my mittens off my hands! Kudos to Judy for such great shots.

Purple Sandpipers

Snowy Owl

Blue Heron Farm

2008-11-09T22:37:00.002-05:00

Last year at the Natural Areas Conference, the conference committee gave me a weekend stay at the Blue Heron Farm in Geauga County. Juliano and I finally put it to good use with our friends Theresa, Brian & Luis. We had the most relaxing, fun time eating, playing cards and chatting around the fire. It was great to be away from television, but fortunately the Farm has wi-fi!

The house was gorgeous. It sits on a large lake and we were able to canoe and hike. We didn't see anything too significant. The most exciting wildlife spotted was a pair of Hooded Mergansers.

Traditional Halloween

2008-10-31T20:27:00.002-04:00

We had gorgeous weather for trick-or-treating this year! Greg came over our place and we passed out candy to over 100 kids. We all enjoyed brats on the grill, skrimps, wine and too many chips! After passing out all our candy, we watched The Strangers, what a terrifying movie.

Memories of a Dreadful Halloween

2008-10-30T21:34:00.000-04:00

Last year, I befriended a headless horsewoman on Halloween. We enjoyed an evening of texting and crafts. Little did I know she had an evil streak...

Haircut

2008-10-23T19:49:00.001-04:00

OMG! I just got all my hair cut off! I needed a change. My new hairdo...

How easily all hell can break loose

2008-10-12T08:30:00.005-04:00

So last weekend, I visited my cousin Jen and her family in Charlotte. Jen and Mike have two cutie pies, Nikolas and Caleb. While one is sleeping, the other is an angel. But when they're both awake, it doesn't take much for all hell to break loose. The scene below will make anyone who has ever visited shiver with fear. Yes, Caleb was attempting to play with one of Nikolas's 2 million toys. As you can image, the photo below led to chaos at the Melkonian household.

Dub reading a book

Niko making me suffer through the famous 1980s Trucks movie

The Truck movie Jen rented at the Library

Nikolas showing me Wingo from Cars (what a cute movie)

Auf Wiedersehen Deutschland

2008-09-17T00:12:00.004-04:00

What a sad day. Today, we must leave Germany and say good bye to Mrs. G. We had a wonderful vacation. Thank you Genie, Brian and Luis for being our tour guides. We look forward to doing it again...Tschüss.

Hiking to St. Hildegard's

2008-09-16T00:07:00.011-04:00

We set out this afternoon on a hike to St. Hildegard's Church (Hildegard of Bingen). I had no idea the cool bird watching that existed right behind Genie's house! I wish we had discovered this hike sooner. We walked through the Bingen cemetery. German cemeteries are much different than American ones-they're filled with ornate, unique tombstones and landscaped gardens done by the family on each grave. As we proceeded up the hill, we came across a neglected Jewish cemetery. It was a moving sight, obviously a consequence of the war.

We finally made it to fire tower and looked out at Bingen. It was cool to see the confluence of the Nahe and Rhein Rivers. We proceeded to hike through the grapesvines to St. Hildegard's, visiting a sweet horse along the way. St. Hildegard's had an outdoor, amphitheatre-style altar with lots of seating for mass. I'd like to see an outdoor mass here sometime.

That evening, Mrs. G arranged for us to visit the well that is believed to be the starting point of a horrible plague in the Middle Ages. It was located in a basement in downtown Bingen. The original cobblestone street was still intact within the building. Afterwards, we went out for a delicious schnitzel dinner, joined by the lady that owns the building we visited! It was a perfect last evening in Bingen.

Shopping in Bingen

2008-09-15T22:17:00.004-04:00

We spent the whole day shopping in Bingen. Of course at around 4 p.m. we had to stop for cake & coffee! We entered the bakery and proceeded pick out what we wanted. Clearly, Luis asked Brian to get him a traditional German pastry and what did Brian get for him? A big ole, American, chocolate muffin. Nice Brian.

Jules's cake

Dinner at Genie's!

2008-09-15T20:47:00.007-04:00

Mrs. G made us so many outstanding meals while we were in Germany--potato pancakes (my favorite), goulash with spätzle, vegetable soup. On this day she made us a dish called Rouladen. As most nights, we feasted on lots of side dishes and drank much wine and bier with our rouladen! We cannot thank Genie enough for making us feel at home and feeding us so much good food!

Oberwesel & Bacharach

2008-09-14T09:08:00.011-04:00

We slept in today and headed out around noon to two towns north of Bingen, Oberwesel and Bacharach. These towns still have intact walls around them. It was really cool to take a walk on the wall around a city. People have actually renovated the towers along the wall into homes. Wine festivals were being celebrated up and down the Rhein and we happened to stumble upon a parade in Oberwesel. The parade had a team of horses that nearly went wild on the crowd. Since Oberwesel was so crazy, we went to Bacharach to grab something to eat. 'Tis the season for Zwiebelkuchen! Yum.

Prost!

Köln

2008-09-13T20:50:00.012-04:00

We awoke at the crack of dawn to catch the train to Köln. It's about a 2 hour ride from Bingen. We made sure to sit on the Rhein side of the train! We changed trains in Koblenz. The second train was packed so we had to stand for much of the trip. There were a group of men sitting near us who turned out to be vogel watchers. Brian had me tell them to "haben Sie einen Spaßtag".

Köln is incredibly big and busy. It's the 4th largest city in Germany. There were tons of shops and we walked around for a few hours before going into the Köln Catheral. The remains of the Three Wise Men are kept at the Cathedral. It is an enormous structure, by far the largest building I've ever seen. We planned to take a guided tour, but learned that the entire area around the altar was closed due to a choir practice and confessions. We weren't able to get very close to the altar, so we decided to walk around on our own.

After touring the Cathedral, we grabbed a few berliners and kaffee. Then we hopped back on the DB to Bingen. We came home to a heaping mound of potato pancakes. What a great day.

Jules buying berliners

Burg Rheinstein

2008-09-12T11:20:00.004-04:00

Today we drove a very short distance north of Bingen and visited Burg Rheinstein. The Rhein is riddled with castles. Some are simply ruins and others are well-kept. According to Genie, whose visited nearly all of them, Burg Rheinstein is middle of the road. I'm told there are some that require you to wear slippers for your visit!

From Gronig to Trier

2008-09-11T20:25:00.010-04:00

Juliano and I awoke today to total darkness. Barely able to see his hand in front of his face, Jules grabbed his cell phone and discovered it was 10:00 a.m.!!! We had slept for nearly 10 hours. Oma's shutter blocked out every speck of sunlight. We jumped out of bed and ran down to breakfast, ashamed at how late we slept! Oma walked into the bathroom while Jules was washing up to yell at him for getting up so late (or at least we think that's what she said :-) After grabbing some breakfast, we hopped in the car and headed to Trier. Thanks Oma for teaching us proper German pronunciation and for opening up your wine cellar and liquor cabinet to us! It was a fun, relaxing evening.

Trier is the oldest city in Germany, founded around 16 B.C. It is known for its well-preserved Roman and medieval buildings, including the Porta Nigra, Roman baths, Kurfürstliches Palais, a Roman amphitheatre, the huge Constantine Basilica-which Napoleon used to house his horses, and the glorious Trier Cathedral-which houses the holy tunic of Jesus. The tunic is not always on display. It is shown to the public at irregular intervals. I believe the next time it can be seen is 2010.

We raced around Trier and got to see most of its best sites. Unfortunately, it poured down rain and made for some soggy feet, but we stayed until dark with the $2 euro umbrellas Brian bought! Thanks Bri.

Porta Nigra

Trier Cathedral

Kurfürstliches Palais

Roman bath

Roman amphitheatre

Idar-Oberstein & Visiting with Oma in Gronig

2008-09-10T20:05:00.004-04:00

We got on the road today. Final destination..Brian's Oma's house! On the way we stopped in Idar-Oberstein, the German capital of the gemstone industry. It's filled with shops and has the most amazing church built into the side of its mountain. After hiking up to the church and doing some shopping, we got back on the road to Oma's. We arrived in time for dinner with Oma and Brian's Aunt Krista. We all stayed up very late laughing and talking with Oma. The best was when Oma opened her liquor cabinet, which came complete with a light that turned on when the door opened! Before going to bed, Oma came into our bedroom and lowered a mechanical shutter on the window. This shutter will play a large role in tomorrow's journal entry...

Jules and I at the headwaters of the Nahe

Jules, me, Oma, Brian and Luis

Rüdesheim, Germania & Assmanshausen

2008-09-09T20:23:00.002-04:00

Today, we got up and took the ferry to Rüdesheim, a really cute little town with tons of narrow streets and shops. After walking around in a few stores, we rode a cable car to the Neiderwald Monument, Germania. It's an enormous bronze statue erected between 1877 and 1883 to symbolize German unity. From the monument we hiked through the Neiderwald to a neat lookout and old ruin, then we hiked through a cave maze (very creepy). Once on the other side of the Neiderwald, we rode a very wide open, not-so-safe chairlift down the mountain into Assmanshausen. Another cute town, filled with geraniums spilling out of flower boxes! We finished off the day in Bingen at the Biergarten.

Happy 8th Anniversary to Me & Jules!

LandesGartenschau Bingen 2008

2008-09-08T21:12:00.009-04:00

Today, Genie took us all to the spectacular Garden/Flower Show in Bingen. The show travels to different Germany cities each year and this year, it was in Genie's town. She has a season pass and walks through the gardens several times a week. The show spans for quite some distance along the Rhein and its gardens and art are stunning. The last hall we entered contained the delicate orchids. There were tons of different varieties and they were extremely beautiful. Unfortunately, my camera battery decided to go so I wasn't able to get shots of the orchids. It was a fabulous day. I wish we could have spent another full, sunny day walking around the show.

Luis making water jump

Ruin across the Rhein

Mauseturm

Bingen am Rhein

2008-09-07T21:11:00.005-04:00

We arrived today at Genie's haus in Bingen. We met up with Brian and Luis in the Frankfurt airport and hopped on Die Bahn to Bingen. Bingen is a quaint town located where the Nahe River meets the Rhein. This area is very well known for its wine and it just so happens that we arrived on the last day of their annual wine festival. The streets were crowded and many closed for the festival & parade. We had to travel on crazy wine roads through the vineyards to arrive at Genie's Haus.

Views from Genie's balcony

Burg Klopp

Wine Festival

St. Martin's Basilica

Genie, me, Brian and Jules at the Wine Festival

Dancing Pea

2008-09-03T21:23:00.003-04:00

So I'm trying to show Theresa the awesome video feature of my new camera and what does she do?...

Happy Labor Day

2008-09-01T21:19:00.000-04:00

It has become our tradition to head down to the Air Show to celebrate Labor Day. This year we had a beautiful day, clear skies with a light breeze off the lake. The Blue Angels preformed an outstanding show.

Thunder in the Sky

2008-08-31T21:36:00.010-04:00

Anyone who has ever been in Cleveland over Labor Day weekend is quite familiar with the sounds that echo in our skies. The Cleveland National Air Show takes place every year and we are fortunate to be able to see the Navy's Blue Angels right in our own backyard! We hear and feel them more than we actually see them. I sat in the yard today and captured these images. My reaction was slow, but give me a break...these jets are cruising.

Zoomed in...

New Toy

2008-08-28T20:34:00.005-04:00

Juliano surprised me with an early anniversary present! It's a cute little pink Canon PowerShot, just in time for our upcoming trip to Germany. Very compact. And it takes lovely pictures. Below are a few of the first shots taken with it. Of course the first is of our Muffin and the other is a rose along the driveway--The macro setting works great.

License Plate

2008-08-22T10:39:00.004-04:00

I wandered the parking lot while my Mom was in recovery after her cataract surgery and I saw this car! A scary plate to see in a hospital parking lot! For those that can't see it because I have a shitty camera on my phone, it says "E COLI". EEK.

Annual Yard Sale

2008-08-21T10:33:00.000-04:00

We didn't have many customers at our yard sale this year. Theresa's Mom made out OK, but Theresa and I each sold less than $10. Bummer. Once again Theresa brought her leather jacket to sell and my Mom had to try it on while wearing her blue blocker sunglasses.

40th Reunion

2008-08-05T17:59:00.006-04:00

Last weekend, we traveled to New Germany, Pennsylvania for the 40th Annual Schrift Family Reunion. To commemorate the event, Juliano designed retro-style t-shirts that nearly everyone wore. We had a turn out of 108 Schrifts, 82 were sporting a festive shirt.

AT&T Bars!

The Cool, Kid-less Cousins

All my Dad's siblings and in-laws

Jen and Caleb (aka Dub)

Zachary Long-Winner of the dirtiest kid contest

Mulberry Haircut

2008-07-25T20:04:00.002-04:00

Each summer we have to manicure our mulberry tree in the yard. We spent hours last night trimming it into a topiary mushroom! When it isn't wild and unruly, it adds charm to our front yard.

Engagement Party

2008-07-19T17:48:00.003-04:00

Last night, we celebrated Brooke and Tony's engagement at the Elyria Country Club. It was a lovely evening. The drink of the night was the country club's specialty, the Moscow Mule. It is vodka and ginger beer served in a copper cup-quite refreshing during our current heat wave.

Oh My

2008-07-11T09:10:00.002-04:00

Even I think this is a little too much. I got to work a few weeks ago and saw this bad boy in the parking lot. One of my co-workers actually rides this to work. I love hello kitty, but I don't think I could drive this around town.

BBQ

2008-07-06T08:39:00.000-04:00

On Saturday, we had a little barbeque after touring the lower level of the Detroit Superior Bridge. Sorry, I do not have pictures from that event! But it was super cool and we're going back with the camera in August. Mama, Billy, Theresa and Klunky all stopped in for a bratwurst from the West Side Market, Theresa's famous deviled eggs, Klunky's delicious pasta salad, watermelon and a fabulous blueberry dessert made by TK. Too much was eaten by all, as you can see from the pictures. The cat charmer was brought out and Theresa attempted to charm Muffin.

Getting Warm

2008-06-29T09:58:00.001-04:00

Our poor little Muffin must lay on her back to stay cool! Temperatures are on the rise in Cleveland.

Tribe vs Giants

2008-06-28T16:36:00.002-04:00

Kudos to Theresa for scoring tickets for last Tuesday's Indians game. Unfortunately, the Tribe lost to San Francisco. But I scored big when Theresa and I bumped into Mustard while walking through the stadium.

Philly-After Lunch

2008-06-22T22:01:00.000-04:00

After we ate lunch, it was back to the streets for more sightseeing. We visited Betsy Ross's house, Christ Church, the site of Ben Franklin's home & printing press and the first U.S. Post Office. We enjoyed hanging out in Philly's parks, which surround Independence Hall.

Betsy Ross House

Site of Ben Franklin's home

Feasting in Philly

2008-06-22T11:44:00.003-04:00

Most of you know that I wanted to eat a Philly cheesesteak while I was in town. Well, Yvonne and I had the best cheesesteak ever at a little place called Campo's. A hospitality greeter at Independence Hall recommended the place and he told us a big secret--Campo's has the best cannolis in town. We hoofed it over there and had a feast. We split the cheesesteak, provolone & mushrooms, and added cole slaw and potato salad to the mix, along with a refreshing local microbrew! We finished off the meal with a cannoli. Aside from the tender steak, the fresh roll is what made this cheesesteak so delicious. Thank you to the greeter for telling us about the cannoli. It didn't appear on the menu. It's only sold to those that ask for it!

Day in Philly

2008-06-22T10:02:00.001-04:00

Yvonne and I started off our day with the good old standby, Starbucks! We went to the one in Yardley, which had a very quaint little downtown. After our fix, we went into the city. We missed out on the daily tickets to go inside the main building of Independence Hall, but we were able to see the Liberty Bell and tour quite a few buildings surrounding Independence Hall.

Independence Hall

first Supreme Court

first U.S. Senate

ink well used during signing of Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution

Wedding

2008-06-21T23:40:00.001-04:00

Congratulations to Brian & Betsy! They were married this past weekend in Yardley, PA. I flew into Baltimore on Saturday morning and drove with Yvonne to celebrate their big day with family. We had a fun time. Kudos to Joy for hooking us all up with the Bay Breeze. That is quite a tasty little drink.

Tribe VS Twins

2008-06-18T22:11:00.002-04:00

Kudos to Mike for scoring 4 club seat tickets to last Tuesday's Indians game! After eating like hogs in the clubhouse, we went to our seats (it was seriously the 5th inning by the time we finish grubbing). Once in our seats, we ate cotton candy, peanuts and ice cream. It was pure gluttony. The Indians won 1-0. Go Tribe.

No Copper

2008-06-17T09:22:00.002-04:00

This image is incredible. I was driving home from Dave's Fresh Supermarket and couldn't believe what I saw spray painted on this vacant home. That's right "No Copper". It is really sad how many beautiful, old homes are be vandalized in Cleveland to salvage copper from them.

Hosta Garden

2008-06-15T11:25:00.005-04:00

Due to the shade of our front yard, I decided to plant a hosta garden along the neighbor's driveway. Larry was splitting hostas so I picked up 9 at yesterday's Grand River hike. I came home and worked all evening on planting them and weeding the front flower beds. Muffin was a huge help in the garden, as usual.

Thanks Larry!

Flag Day

2008-06-14T11:21:00.001-04:00

In honor of Flag Day, Juliano and I hung an American flag in our yard. Since the drill was out, I had him hang a beautiful dragonfly hook for a hanging basket. Thank you to Mike for the hook and Peggy for the petunia!

Hi to Jacks

2008-06-09T08:57:00.001-04:00

Here's a few pictures of Michelle's new kitty, Jacks. She adopted him a few months ago. This is Michelle's first experience with a long haired cat. Life will never be the same around the Baran household with Jacks around.

Belt

2008-06-08T11:37:00.002-04:00

Who needs bullets when you could have the shot belt?

Happy Birthday to Me!

2008-06-05T21:40:00.004-04:00

I had a wonderful birthday. I took the day off work! And Juliano and I went to see Sex and the City-it was fabulous. Afterwards, we picked up my Mom and had dinner at King Wah. Followed by ice cream cake at my Mom's.

Shout Out

2008-05-29T23:19:00.001-04:00

Happy Birthday to my sister Yvonne. She's celebrating her xx birthday today! Hugs and Kisses.

Me & Yvonne circa 1971

Day at the Zoo

2008-05-28T23:10:00.000-04:00

Last Sunday, Theresa and I took her great niece Iree to the Zoo. It was a fun day, but we were beat after about an hour of pushing a stroller and carrying Iree! The Butterfly Magic exhibit is open and we saw quite a few butterflies, including some that were just emerging. Yes, we took the infamous baby wearing adult sunglasses picture.

Memorial Day

2008-05-26T13:41:00.001-04:00

Muffin is loving our new back porch. I stepped away for a moment today and lost my chair!

Porch is Ready for Summer

2008-05-25T22:48:00.004-04:00

A few weeks ago, we had a new roof installed on our back, upstairs porch. This weekend we installed carpet and it's ready for the summer. I enjoy sitting on the new lounger, watching the birds. I have a feeling we'll be out here a lot.

Our backyard from porch

Curtains

2008-05-24T13:19:00.000-04:00

On out trip to Charlotte in February, I purchased fabric for curtains in the living room. Thank you to Joy for spotting this beautiful, silk fabric. I finished the curtains on the door and side windows. I still need to work on the big window.

Migration at Magee

2008-05-15T22:28:00.003-04:00

I spent today at Magee Marsh watching warblers. It was a great day, despite the cooler temperatures. We saw many fabulous birds. As always, I was unprepared and had to borrow a hat and jacket to make it through the afternoon! Thank you to Judy for providing a yummy lunch! All bird photos are courtesy of Carl Johnson.

Black and White Warbler

Blackburnian Warbler

Scarlet Tanager

At the feeder

2008-05-03T11:57:00.003-04:00

Luis's feeder featured White-crowned Sparrows while we were visiting them last week.

Lucer

2008-05-02T11:53:00.000-04:00

Lucy was chillin' like a villain for her daily belly rub.

Chicago Style

2008-05-02T09:57:00.002-04:00

We've been traveling to Chicago for nearly 20 years and never ate classic, Chicago-style pizza. Last night, we finally had it and it was delicious.

Muffin on the Ledge

2008-04-27T11:10:00.000-04:00

Muffin settled in with a stuffed weiner dog.

Tree Sale

2008-04-20T17:25:00.004-04:00

The Museum hosted their first native tree sale this weekend. It was a huge success. The highlight of Saturday's pick up were the delivery dogs! My Museum co-worker trains Newfoundlands (Newfies) as working dogs and they were quite helpful all morning.

Tribe Time

2008-04-15T17:34:00.002-04:00

Last night, Theresa scored four free tickets to the Indians vs. Red Sox game. We made it through all 9 innings with 30 degree temperatures! Our Indians were winning until the 9th inning. Sad to say, they lost, but we had fun eating dogs and having a beer. The pink cotton candy is better than the blue.

Gluttony

2008-04-04T12:00:00.000-04:00

Last weekend, Jules and I went to a Mexican restaurant out in the 'burbs, Strongstuckey to be exact. I ordered their mole, Juliano had enchiladas with red sauce. Miraculously, both our sauces came out looking the same? Needless to say, we will not be going back to this joint. They're just lucky that their margarita machine was working...

Was TK at the Museum?

2008-04-01T20:37:00.002-04:00

So I walk out of work today and do a double take, was Theresa at the Museum?

Hike on the Conneaut

2008-04-01T20:21:00.003-04:00

A few weeks ago, on a cold, icy morning, I attended a winter hike at the Museum's Blakeslee/Barrows Preserve. The preserve runs along the northern bank of Conneaut Creek in Ashtabula County. It was a wonderfully sunny day, yet the ice along the river formed beautiful ornaments.

How quickly things can change...

2008-02-29T18:38:00.003-05:00

In a matter of minutes, Miss Muffin went from calm, relaxed cat to crazy cat!

Welcoming the Year of the Rat

2008-02-24T12:06:00.005-05:00

Last night, we attended a Chinese New Year celebration at Shanghai Restaurant in Cleveland's Chinatown. The star of the evening was an authentic dragon dance through the restaurant. It was one of the coolest experiences.

Weekend in Charlotte-Saturday

2008-02-09T11:22:00.000-05:00

Douglas and Nicole came over to Jen's today for lunch. They were joined by their three boys, Alexander, Simon & Shepherd. We all sat around talking for hours. In the afternoon, Jen took Joy and I to a fabric store that was loaded with rolls and rolls of upholstery fabric. Joy and I found a very cool roll that will work perfectly in my living room and better yet it was marked $5/yard! Woo hoo. I will post my living room curtains as soon as I make them!

In the evening, we all met up at the New South restaurant. My meal tasted delicious, but proved to be not so good. It was fun to hang out, eat/drink and talk. We ended the night with a very long game of Scene It, which I won by watching ONE movie a million times. "What's happenin' hot stuff?"

Renee and Shepherd

Simon

Alexander

Joy, Renee, Juliano, Jason, Ryan-(standing) Nicole, Douglas, Mike, Jen-(seated)

Weekend in Charlotte-Friday

2008-02-08T17:38:00.000-05:00

Juliano and I flew to Charlotte last weekend to spend time with Jen & Mike and their boys, Nikolas and Caleb (aka Dub). We had a great time eating, drinking and visiting. Nikolas is 2 1/2 years old and Caleb is 8 months. Nikolas prefers a dinner of cookies and "bears". Caleb is a very "go with the flow" baby.

Joy and Jason drove down from DC on Friday. It was a regular Schrift family reunion. Lots of laughing and fun. We all watched Superbad. Wha s'up gangstas?

Renee & Caleb

Caleb

Jen & Nikolas

Juliano & Caleb

Uh Oh

2008-01-29T08:26:00.000-05:00

This is Muffin's new place to hang out. She's a naughty kitty.

Nappy Time

2008-01-27T12:06:00.000-05:00

Look at our little princess in a blanket!

This is just not right

2008-01-23T21:02:00.001-05:00

Who's the young guy on the left?

After Christmas Find

2008-01-14T10:23:00.000-05:00

Last week, I decided to pop into Hallmark to see what ornaments they had left. I picked up this little gem for half off. I had no idea they used our Muffin as a model for one of their 2007 holiday ornaments!

New Year's Rockin' Eve at Klunky's

2008-01-01T12:30:00.001-05:00

Kudos to Klunky for putting out quite the spread on New Year's Eve. We rang in 2008 with many yummys in our tummys! The evening wouldn't have been complete without a platter full of skrimps, thick cut ham and a visit from the spirit of Bhutto. I even heard a male cat showed up and sprayed all over Klunky's dining room. We finished off the festivities with a midnight snack of pork & sauerkraut. Here's to a Happy & Healthy New Year!

P.S. Boo to all those that went to Manheim Steamroller instead.

Our Fabulous Tree

2007-12-29T18:05:00.000-05:00

Here are a few shots that I obviously took of our Christmas tree. Mike's & Greg's sister Dee gave us the coolest tree. We bought awesome, new lights for it and, this year, I was able to hang up every ornament we own.

Christmas Eve at the Schrift's

2007-12-26T17:52:00.000-05:00

We had a full house this year on Christmas Eve. Yvonne and Matt made it to town for the holidays and we had our traditional Christmas Eve visit from the Soukups. Theresa and Teri joined in on the festivities as well. Many fuzzy navels, baileys on the rocks, summer sausage, cheese, pepperoni, shrimps, and veggies were consumed. Merry Christmas!

Guess who?

2007-11-28T21:39:00.000-05:00

Can you name who's in this photo? Bonus points to those that can correctly guess who's on the poster!

APB

2007-11-05T20:50:00.000-05:00

I'm issuing an all points bulletin. I seem to be missing my coveted Nebraska sweatshirt. I cannot remember the last time I wore it, but with the current Cleveland temps I'm longing for it. Does anyone remember seeing me it? Did I loan it to you? Is it in your car? Your closet? HELP!!!

Halloween Party

2007-10-31T08:16:00.000-04:00

Saturday night we attended Bones, Bugs and Dead Animals, the Museum's annual Halloween Party. I came as an Emerald Dragonfly, Theresa was a Bat and Mama was the Headless Horsewoman. Juliano wore the same costume he wears every year...Mama won for scariest costume. Her prize? What else but a skull from a hollar monkey! Stewie and Bryan attended the event, as well as a very raunchy Mummy.

Meet Barbie

2007-09-19T21:25:00.000-04:00

Today, we went horseback riding. I had the pleasure of riding Barbie, the horse someone always gets stuck with that eats the entire time you're riding and trails a mile behind the pack. She was a very sweet horse. Riding through the mountains was fabulous.

Asshole

2007-09-19T01:33:00.000-04:00

Only an asshole would lay a hand like this while playing Shanghai. Any guesses as to who did this?

Hiking in Tahoe!

2007-09-17T14:44:00.000-04:00

Here we all are after hiking up the hill towards high camp. The weather is beautiful. We need to enjoy it while we can. Snow is on its way!!!

Does Mama Still Love Ross?

2007-09-05T09:40:00.000-04:00

Growing up, my friend Michelle, whom we all affectionately call "Mama", was a huge Journey fan. She was completely in love with Ross Valory, Journey's bassist. Her bedroom walls were covered with posters of Ross. This was her secret fantasy world and she denies her love of Ross to this day. Mama, it's time to come clean and admit your passion to your friends.

Muffin's Trip to the Vet

2007-09-01T10:26:00.000-04:00

We had to take Little Miss Muffin to the vet on Friday. She wasn't herself and we noticed a big black spot on her chin. She never traveled to the vet in her new pet taxi so she ran right into it all excited to be hiding out! Little did she know her destination. Turns out the recent hot weather was making her sick and she has a case of kitty acne. While at the vet, she got her distemper and rabies shots, as well as her ears cleaned out and her first dose of kitty "clearasil"!

Apparently this is what a day at the vet does to you:

A Lawn, Finally!

2007-08-28T22:00:00.000-04:00

Those of us in the city take great pride in our lawns. I have putzed over this front lawn of ours for 4 months. Until this month, our front yard has been nothing but dirt! I'm happy to finally have grass to show everyone. It's coming along and my flowers look great too--thanks to a little secret potion (wink wink Lui5).

Biking at Presque Isle

2007-08-21T08:44:00.000-04:00

Last Saturday, Juliano and I went biking riding at Presque Isle. It was Juliano's first time on the Peninsula! The ride was only about 10 miles, but it was enough for me. It was the first time I rode my bike all summer. We stopped along the way to take in views of the Lake. It was a gorgeous day.

After riding we went into Erie and grabbed a few pints at The Brewerie. The beers were really good, but the food was below average.

Me at the Perry Monument

Bear Claws Sucks

2007-08-16T16:59:00.003-04:00

Is it just me or is everyone ticked that no one has been posting anything new on the Bear Claws Art blog?

Giving us the Business

2007-08-15T08:42:00.001-04:00

Here's a few shots we took recently of Muffin giving us the business. Isn't she a cutie pie? Lui5 better look out if he makes any harp seal comments.

Old Navy at Steelyard

2007-07-28T20:39:00.001-04:00

This morning, Jules and I raced down to the grand opening of Old Navy at Steelyard Commons (aka Junkyard Commons). We were in the pack of its first 100 customers and received coupons for FREE t-shirts. Woo Hoo.

Indians vs. Red Sox

2007-07-27T08:44:00.000-04:00

Monday night Juliano, my Mom and I had the pleasure of getting tickets to the Tribe game! We started the evening off right with ballpark dogs and $7 beers! After loading the dogs up with the appropriate condiments, we headed to our awesome seats and got settled in. First inning Boston scored 4 runs. By the 3rd inning not much was happening so I decided to go get my Mom an ice cream cone. The second I exited the seating area, Sizemore hits a homerun with one guy on base. This will turn out to be the only runs of the evening! Totally missed due to an ice cream cone. To kill the pain, I had another $7 beer, a loaded nachos and a bag of cotton candy. Needless to say, I was sick all night. But being there at the game was so much fun. It was my Mom's first time in the stadium and she loved it. Jules said that when Sizemore hit the homerun, she jumped out of her seat and screamed the whole time he ran around the bases!

Dragonfly Conference

2007-07-24T08:57:00.000-04:00

Last weekend, I attended the Ohio Dragonfly Conference in and around Wooster, Ohio. Over 140 people registered for the event. The highlight of the weekend was the Rusty Snaketail and a very photogenic Swift River Cruiser (the common name of this species used to be Illinois River Cruiser, this is the species that Juliano found on the bike trail at Rocky River and Luis came to town and captured for science!).

Illinois River Cruiser

Monarch cat

Rusty Snaketail

Look what I got at Macy's

2007-07-15T11:13:00.000-04:00

iPhone for the iFreak

2007-07-01T11:29:00.000-04:00

Just another iFreak with his new iPhone.

Mike Wins Big!

2007-06-23T08:18:00.000-04:00

Last night, Juliano brought Mike over to the Museum's Summer Solstice party. It's on the roof of the Museum and they open the observatory for planet gazing--we saw Venus, the Moon, Saturn and Jupiter up close and personal. The highlight of the party is the raffle, they give away a top notch telescope each year. When we arrived at the event, Mike bought himself a raffle ticket and guess who won the telescope? It was super cool.

Day Three Rio Grande Valley--Saturday, May 19

2007-05-19T08:41:00.000-04:00

Today we headed to the Coast. The ride wasn't bad at all, we had a few scissor-tail flycatchers and loggerhead shrikes along the way. We arrived at Laguna Atascosa NWR mid-morning to travel their 15-mile drive. Without enough gas in the car to make the drive, we headed off to Port Isabel to find a gas station.

In Port Isabel, we could see South Padre Island. It looks like a fabulous place to spend a week, on the shore, reading books and bathing in the sun. We decided to grab lunch at the Pirate's Cove. By far, the best skrimps I've ever eaten. Afterwards, we headed back to Laguna. We had so many cool species; Caracara, Willet, Green Jays, Black-billed cuckoo, Ibis, Reddish Egret, Tri-color Heron, Roadrunner (meep meep) and Roseate Spoonbill. In addition to the birds, we saw a coyote, a wild boar and a tarantula. It was quite a day.

Javelina and his buddy the Green Jay

Green Jays

Ibis

Western Pygmy Blue (actual size=dime)

Tarantula

Day Two Rio Grande Valley--Friday, May 18

2007-05-18T00:55:00.000-04:00

Wow, this morning we went to the Estero Llano Grande State Park. The park is filled with a series of wetlands. It was incredible. I didn't take many photos as most of the stuff was viewed through binoculars. In the afternoon, we attended a guided dragonfly hike at Bentsen State Park. During this hike we saw Roseate Skimmer, Coral-fronted threadtail, and Caribbean Yellow Face, to name a few. The tour took us the International Butterfly Sanctuary. This is the site in which we found the swimsuits left behind by the illegals that use this site to enter the U.S.A. They pack up their belongings into garbage bags, swim across the Rio Grande, change into their dry clothes and leave their swimwear on the ground. It was incredible how many suits we saw!

In the evening, I had the best Enchiladas Mole I've ever had. Delicious. I highly recommend Casa de Taco in McAllen.

Black-backed Whistling Ducks

Familiar Bluet

Larry, Judy & Jay

Mexico! Rio Grande River

Day One Rio Grande Valley--Thursday, May 17

2007-05-18T00:20:00.000-04:00

Today we went to the Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge. What a day. After spending a few hours in the freakin' parking lot (JAY!), we finally got into the park. We saw so many super cool things. The best were Green Jay and Greater Kiskadee! I, of course, had no good shots of either, but I'm sure Jay and Judy did. Here's an abbreviated list:

Chacalaca
julia butterfly
gulf frittillary
zebra longwing
White-winged Dove
Buff-bellied Hummer
Hooded Oriole
cane toad
ribbon snake
Altimira Oriole

In the evening, we ventured to Bentsen State Park. This was the BEST of the best. Joshua Rose (aka JR) took us on a night hike. Well no one found it necessary to tell me to wear freakin' pants? After the hike, I had to go in for a blood transfusion. Regardless, we saw the coolest stuff. For me, the best were the javelinas and the Ferruginous Pygmy-owl. We saw a family of 14 javelinas! At the end of the night, we saw the hugest tarantula. Even though the tarantula had a "hitch it its giddy-up", it was so cool. We also saw a pauraque, mediterranean geckos, and Mexican free-tailed bat.
Tropical-checkered skipper

Spanish moss

Cane Toad

Grassland Whiptail Lizard

The cactus that attacked Jay

Rototilling Sunday

2007-05-16T23:52:00.000-04:00

Last Sunday, we rented a rototiller from Home Depot to churn the soil so we could seed our front yard! Jules compared using the rototiller to walking two pit bulls. He did a wonderful job. We also laid a stepping stone path along the front of the house. Once grass grows, I'll take more pictures. We seeded our tree lawn the week before and we have lots of baby grass in it.

Dragonfly Days in Texas

2007-05-12T17:29:00.000-04:00

I'm off to McAllen, TX on Wednesday. McAllen is the Square Dance Capitol of the World. Remember this little jingle from Bugs Bunny...

Step right up, you're doin' fine,
I'll pull your beard, you pull mine.
Yank it again, like you did before,
Break it up with a tug o' war.

Grab a fence post, hold it tight,
Womp your partner with all your might.
Hit him in the shin, hit him in the head,
Hit him again, the critter ain't dead.

Wop him low and wop him high,
Stick your finger in his eye.
Pretty little rhythm, pretty little sound,
Bang your heads against the ground.

The Temps are Rising

2007-05-09T07:46:00.000-04:00

It's starting to warm up in NE Ohio. Muffs is shedding and doing anything to cool off. Last night's pose was not pretty.

In Today's Mail

2007-05-08T21:46:00.000-04:00

I'm happy to inform diligent didymops blog readers that the City of Cleveland returned my appeal money (59 smacks) in today's mail! I thought it would take a minimum of 3 months and as it turns out it was less than one. Could this be because Frank is our new mayor?

Let the Games Begin...

2007-04-30T08:24:00.000-04:00

Well, my impatience (I like to call it eagerness) has struck again. Yesterday, I wanted to scrub the back, upstairs porch so we could sit out there. It was filthy dirty (as my Mom would say). When I went out on the porch, the floor was worse than ever. The janky, canvas floor covering had rips all over it and the paint was cracked and peeling off everywhere. So I decided, in my infinite wisdom, to pull all the canvas off the floor boards. Surprisingly, the boards below are really cool. They're 5 inch planks. Yeah, so I commence to washing. I scrub the siding, the banisters, the floor. It looks fabulous. I'm envisioning how I can simply put a nice coat of grey paint on the floor and how nice it will look. Then I go downstairs. You likely already guessed. The pantry off the kitchen looks like a sinking ship. At least 2 inches of water on the floor, water streaming down the sides, water has even ran down into the basement. Water Water Everywhere.

Let the summertime, house antics begin...

Question?

2007-04-25T21:14:00.000-04:00

If you were a car title for a 1994 Eagle Talon, where would you hide?