Mo's Merry Meanderings

Christmas 2025

2025-12-08T11:13:00.005-06:00

Merry Christmas, dear family and friends 🎄!! December 2025

This is the first year in decades that I’m only doing an online Christmas newsletter and no mailed cards. It’s more or less a preemptive plan because at some point it will be too hard to pull it off, and I thought a gradual transition would be better than an abrupt end.

We hope everyone has had a fantastic year! Ours has had the usual ups and downs but mostly ups, so it’s been a very good one. The kids and grandkids are all doing well, and we all still love living close to each other. Starting with the youngest family member:

Boo turned 5 in August and is still the heart of our little condo life. She’s the sweetest dog and has become sort of a condo mascot since everyone here knows her. Boo keeps us active with walks around the property and in the adjacent neighborhood.

Sam turned 13 in October, so we now have 6 teenagers in the family! His passion is football and he recently competed in his first middle school playoffs. He’s a really good kid. He’s now playing basketball on the 7th great team. Sam recently asked Jesus into his heart, and in September the Cribbies had a family baptism. Dave baptized Jenni, Zoey, Ruby, Maggie, and Sam during a church-wide baptism ceremony.

Etta will turn 15 next month and is tall, willowy, and so sweet. She is very artistic and loves all kinds of craft projects. She is enjoying her freshman year of high school. It’s hard to believe she’ll be getting her learner’s permit soon, and she is already practicing in parking lots with her dad.

Maggie turns 15 just 10 days after Etta and will also be eligible for her learner’s permit. Soon we will have 5 teenage drivers in the family! Maggie is passionate about volleyball and played on the girls’ team at school this fall. Her other passion is crocheting, and she doesn’t hesitate to try new projects of much more difficulty than anything I’ve ever tried. (Oops! Maggie should have been before Etta!!)

Ruby will be 17 in March and is our family deadpan comic. We never know what she’s going to come up with, and she always catches us off guard. Ruby is a high school junior and enjoys anything involving service. She’ll be getting her driver’s license soon, so the Cribbies are about to face that age-old concept of vehicle roulette.

Leo turned 17 in August and is 6’4” and still growing. He played volleyball during the fall season and is now on the varsity basketball team. However, he fell during practice recently and fractured his elbow, so unfortunately he’s “character building” on the bench for the first few games of the season as he recovers. Leo and Josh are getting very close to finishing the restoration of Josh’s grandfather’s farm Jeep, and it will be road-worthy soon.

Zoey will turn 19 on December 28th, which is also Jenni’s and Dave’s 23rd anniversary. She graduated from high school in May, earning her school’s coveted Legata award, the highest honor presented by the school. She is now a freshman nursing student and is earning her education by babysitting, house/pet sitting, and her photography business. Zoey is a phenomenal photographer for one so young. She has an exquisite eye for composition and great editing skills. Take a look at her work on Instagram (Zoey Michele Photography) and on her website: https://zoeymichelephotogr.wixsite.com/photography.

Erika and Josh are hard at their jobs of raising their two wonderful kids while juggling work, family, and extracurricular activities. Christ is the center of their home, giving them the ability to balance everything while giving Him the glory. Josh continues to excel in his design manager position at GM Financial, and Erika cherishes and educates her preschoolers who love her. They celebrated their 22nd anniversary in September. All 4 Wieses are great friends and servants to many in their church and community.

Jenni and Dave are also experts at balancing family, work, worship, and activities because there is love and Jesus at the heart of their home. Dave is still teaching robotics at Parish Episcopal School. He recently trained for and ran a 50k (33 miles!) trail race around Grapevine Lake. Jenni maintains her doTERRA business and has expanded her sourdough business, now with an online ordering site. Her breads and chocolate chip cookies are legendary. The whole family also serves in their church home regularly.

Tony and I are still happily enjoying retirement at the lake with Boo. Having all the kids less than 4 miles away is the cherry on top. Tony’s AFib condition is under control but I’m starting to fall apart! I had right shoulder rotator cuff and biceps tendon repair surgery in May, and now my left shoulder and both knees are giving me fits. The question is not if I’ll need more surgery but which to do first. My money’s on my left knee.

This September we met my sister Lisa and b-i-l Bob in Boston and took a wonderful cruise to Portland, Maine, and New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia, Canada. An extra special treat was connecting with my childhood friend and Maine resident Terry and her husband Al in Portland. Next month we are joining Lisa and Bob plus our cousin Pat and hubby Jeff in San Juan, PR, for a southern Caribbean cruise. Nothing like leaving the January cold for a week in the tropics!

Our whole family wishes you all the joy and blessings of the season, and a very happy and prosperous 2026. We love and miss you all, and we hope we get to see you soon.

Much love ♥️ and many blessings 🙏,

Mona (+ Tony + Boo + all the Cribbies and Wieses)

Email: mona.w.leo@gmail.com

Blog: lucysmamamia.blogspot.com

Facebook: Mona Warski Leo

Instagram: Mona Warski Leo

Christmas 2024

2025-03-11T15:29:00.000-05:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I pray this season brings all of you much peace, joy, and love as we celebrate the birth of our glorious Savior. In looking back over this year, I am especially blessed to be surrounded by loving family, friends, and brothers and sisters in Christ. This is the rich, abundant life God has for us all when we trust in Jesus, and I am so thankful.

I guess the highlight of the year would have to be Tony’s and my 50th anniversary on April 20th. We were fortunate to be joined by sister Lisa and b-i-l Bob for a beautiful week in Hawaii, half on Oahu and half on the Big Island. It was a lovely place to celebrate and, as always, we had a great time together. The weather couldn’t have been more perfect. (for pictures see my anniversary blog entry.)

The kids are all doing well. Everyone is healthy and happy, which makes for a very contented Papa and Bammy/Grammy. Zoey is a high school senior (gasp)! She is a lovely young woman, as beautiful inside as out, and she was honored by her classmates to be chosen as Homecoming Queen.

Zoey is still considering her options for next year and will doubtless choose the right path for her future. Leo is a sophomore and is on the JV basketball team. He and Josh are in the process of restoring Josh’s grandfather’s old farm Jeep, so most weekends are spent in the garage, getting the Jeep road worthy. When Ruby, also a sophomore, gets her license in March, we will have THREE young drivers in the family! Ruby is the perfect foil for Papa and gives him a run for his money as they “provoke” each other good naturedly. Etta is in 8th grade and is tall, willowy, creative, and so sweet. She’s in a Bible study with Maggie and one of their friends, led by Zoey. So dear! Maggie, our family’s future vet, is now a mouse mom. Our other 8th grader loves taking care of tiny Wanda and Mary Ann (“Goodbye Earl”). Sam is in 6th grade, his first year at the upper campus. He loves football and played on the middle school team. He will be in his final year of Upward basketball after the holidays. All 6 kids love to read, cook, and spend time together. They are my heart!

The moms and dads continue to do a fabulous job keeping up with the 5 teens and 1 almost teen. Jenni not only has her successful doTERRA business, but she’s also baking and selling her delicious sourdough bread. Dave enjoys teaching engineering and robotics at Parish Episcopal School in Dallas and continues to mentor his award-winning students at their annual NASA Human Exploration Rover Challenge in Huntsville, AL. They still spend every summer working at Kanakuk K-7 Kamp in the Branson, MO area. Erika loves her job teaching preschool at a Baptist church in Denton and has continually moved up to more responsible positions. Josh is graphic design manager at GMC Financial, which allows him to do what he loves partly from home and partly from the office.

In September I had the pleasure of spending a week in southern Maine with my childhood friend, Terry. She was the BEST tour guide, driving me all over the beautiful, rugged coast, visiting quaint villages and eating wonderful seafood. Terry and her husband Al will be joining Lisa, Bob, Tony, and me next fall on a cruise to Portland, ME, as well as Canadian ports in New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia. After a scorching summer I’ll be looking forward to cool temperatures and hopefully some beautiful fall color that we don’t get here in Texas. (Blog entry with photos coming soon!)
Boo is now 4 and is the best dog!

Her only flaw is loving people too much; in other words, jumping up on her favorites for hugs and kisses. But she is well loved by all her friends here at the condos. Several years ago our dear friend Patty invited me to bring Boo to her lovely fenced-in wooded acre in our neighborhood so this condo dog could run and enjoy the outdoors. We lost Patty to a massive stroke last month, but her precious family is keeping the property and has graciously invited me to continue bringing Boo over every day. Patty was a treasure and we miss her, but her loving, kind spirit permeates the nature she loved so much.

This year, thanks to Jenni's inspiration and tutelage, I've been making crusty sourdough bread from active starter. It's taken a full year to get comfortable with the process and to perfect my technique, but I love baking it and our neighbors seem to love it when their turns come up to receive a loaf.

To you, our treasured friends and family, we send our most heartfelt Christmas greeting and prayers for a wonderful MAGA new year! (I had to slip that in!) May you all be abundantly blessed!

PS: This will be the last year I’m going to mail Christmas cards and newsletters, but I will continue to post a Christmas letter plus photos every year (as well as anything else I consider newsworthy) on my blog.

Left to right: Jenni Cribbs, Dave Cribbs, Maggie (1/17/11) Cribbs, Sam (10/8/12) Cribbs, Zoey (12/28/06) Cribbs, Mona Leo, Ruby (3/21/09) Cribbs, Tony Leo, Leo (8/27/08) Wiese, Erika Wiese, Josh Wiese, Etta (1/7/11) Wiese

2024-01-01T15:19:00.000-06:00

Blessings and season’s greetings! December 2023

We hope your year has been one of good health and happiness. The years certainly do fly by, don’t they? And yet, we seem to be able to cram a whole lot of living into 365 days.

God has been very good to us this year. We’re still enjoying living in our lakefront condo with 3-year-old Boo, our precious rescue pup. We’ve had a lot of great dogs over the years, but this one is the most special of all—probably because we have plenty of time to spend with her. She’s a great “old people” dog because she gets us outside and moving!

Tony and I enjoyed a Mediterranean cruise in June with Lisa and Bob, visiting Italy (Rome, Sicily, Naples, Sorrento, and Florence), Greece (Santorini, Mykonos, Katakolo (my favorite!), and Crete), Malta, and France (Nice and Cannes). As always, it was fun to get away but great to come back to home base.

In August Tony suddenly developed atrial fibrillation (Afib) and was hospitalized twice, ending up with a cardiac ablation procedure and lots of new medications. This was a unique experience for him because until now he has been in the hospital only once—his birth! He has a great cardiology team that keeps him monitored and regulated, and his medication load has started to be reduced. One of the unfortunate effects of the Afib was a right occipital lobe stroke which caused the loss of ¼ of the vision in each eye. Since Tony already had moderate macular degeneration, this condition was the death knell to his driving ability, thus leaving me as sole driver in our household. Fortunately, “I’m an excellent driver” (Rainman)!!

The kids are all great! Jenni, Dave, Erika, and Josh are steadfast in their dedication to raising kind, creative, godly children, and we couldn’t be prouder of all of them. High school junior Zoey (17 on Dec. 28) is taking a couple of dual credit (high school and college) classes and is enjoying driving with her license, babysitting, and playing varsity volleyball. Leo, 15, is driving with a permit and is doing very well. He recently made the JV basketball team and we are looking forward to going to his games. Ruby (14), is our resident wit who especially enjoys jokingly sparring with Papa. She’s really fun, unwaveringly deadpan, and super smart. Etta (12) is a tall, willowy sweetheart with a sweet soprano and a voracious appetite for reading. She’s doing very well sleeping in the night brace necessary to keep her scoliosis from progressing. Maggie (12) is a master of facial expressions and self-taught skills including the ukulele, and she is already better at crocheting than Bammy. Both Etta and Maggie took part in a middle school volleyball clinic this fall and learned some valuable skills. Sam (11) is in his last year of elementary school and is quite an athlete. His favorite sport is football but he also excels in basketball and pretty much any sport he tries. He has the best, sometimes wildest, head of hair in the family!

We’re looking forward to hearing about your 2023, and we wish you all the joys and blessings of the Christmas season as we remember the Reason. May He be very present in our hearts, minds, and holiday activities, especially during this time of turmoil on earth. But we’ve read ahead, and we know Who wins!!

2023-03-02T14:46:00.000-06:00

Joyous greetings of the season!

We hope this finds everyone healthy, happy, and prepared to welcome the birth of our Savior. It’s so reassuring to pause and remember the reason for the season when frenzy and stress try to take over our lives. We love you, Jesus, and we welcome you with open hearts and homes!

We’ve had a relatively quiet, uneventful year. We’re still enjoying our Boo, who turned 2 in August, taking her for several walks every day. She’s become a great condo dog but needs plenty of exercise, which is good for Tony and me as it keeps us moving out in the fresh air. Tony serves on the finance committee for our condo association, while I keep busy with Precept Bible study and serve as secretary to our condo board of directors. And, of course, 10 minutes away are our 6 young treasures, 4 of whom now tower over their grandmother.

Zoey, 16 on Dec. 28^th, is a sophomore who continues to play and love volleyball. She is on her church youth group music team where she plays violin. Zoey is an excellent driver and will take her license test on her birthday. Leo, 14, is having a great basketball season. He and Josh are rebuilding Josh’s grandfather’s ancient farm Jeep in their garage. It’s a great way for dad and son to bond while Leo learns how to maintain an automobile. Ruby, 13¾, is in her second year of drill team at school and has achieved the rank of sergeant (or as Maggie calls her, sultan J), which is quite an achievement as she is only in 8^th grade. She does a graceful split and has a high kick that would rival the Rockettes. Etta, 12 on Jan. 7^th, is tall and willowy, and she loves clothes and anything sparkly. She is a sweet, loving young lady with an astonishingly voluminous vocabulary. Etta and Maggie are best buds, being only 10 days apart in age, and they both have the prettiest soprano voices. Maggie, 12 on Jan. 17^th, has developed a love for and proficiency of the ukulele. She diligently teaches herself new chords and songs, and she’s developed quite a repertoire. And then there’s Sam, 10, also known as “the one with the hair” J. Sam has a headful of the thickest, fastest-growing hair known to mankind, which leaves him vulnerable to lots of affectionate head rubs. He is very athletic and loves all sports, especially football. He just finished his second season of flag football and has impressive skills. Sam and Maggie will once again play Upward basketball in the new year. All 6 kids are thriving at Founders Classical Academy of Corinth, an excellent charter school very close to their homes, and they’re all very close friends. The 5 oldest kids are very active in their church youth group, and they all have tons of great friends.

Dave, Jenni, Josh, and Erika are doing great in their various endeavors. Dave is still teaching physics, engineering, and robotics at Parish Episcopal School in Dallas. Jenni enjoys her role as mom/chauffeur while growing her doTERRA essential oils business. Josh is in his second year as graphic design manager for GMC Financial and is flourishing there. Erika was promoted to lead teacher at her Christian preschool, where she uses her creativity and love of children daily to impact young lives.

Tony and I continue to love retirement and living at Water’s Edge. We have a great group of friends here, and the scenery is so lovely, relaxing, and enjoyable. Right now I’m watching a red-headed woodpecker in a tree outside our living room window which will soon be chased away by frolicking squirrels. We also see numerous coyotes, bobcats, armadillos, raccoons, bird varieties, wild turkeys, and snakes (Ugh!) on the property, as our home is on Lewisville Lake, surrounded by Army Corps of Engineers forest.

May the Lord bless all of you in 2023 and beyond. Even if we don’t get to see each other in person, know that you are in our hearts and prayers. We love hearing from you, and our door is always open for a visit. Merry Christmas!

2022-01-31T15:24:00.016-06:00

Dear family and friends,

"And so the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord."

In this atypical year full of trials and challenges, the babe in the manger is the one constant we can celebrate with hope and joy.

I am so ready to be over this covid nonsense, aren't you? Just when we start making plans for a trip somewhere, the destination implements ridiculously burdensome mandates and rules. Good thing we enjoy staying home. We did take a quick road trip to Jacksonville this summer to pick up my aunt's drop-leaf cherry dining room table and introduce Boo to Lisa's 3 pups. Unfortunately, energetic Boo was a bit too much for the smaller older dogs, so we didn't stay long. On the way home we spent the night in Meridian, MS, where Boo had a sweet reunion with her foster mom, Kim. It was good getting away, and Boo was a great car traveler. Our "Little Fox" is almost 1 1/2; she is the best, sweetest pup, and we absolutely adore her.

Our kids and grandkids are all doing great. Zoey (15) and Leo (13) now tower over me. Ruby (12) and Etta (almost 11) are pretty close to matching short Grammy's height, and Maggie (almost 11) and Sam (9) aren't far behind. It's going to be weird being the shortest in the family! They all keep busy with school, sports, and church activities, and they are without a doubt the kindest, sweetest kids I know. We are truly blessed to live so close to each other so we can see each other often.

Dave is still at Parish Episcopal School in Dallas, teaching physics/engineering/robotics. His Rover team took top honors in this year's competition, even though it was done totally via Zoom. Jenni continues loving her thriving and growing doTERRA essential oils business. It allows her lots of creativity with the ability to be available for the kids' crazy schedules.

Josh landed a fabulous job as head graphic designer at GM Financial. He mainly works from home, and his office isn't far for the times he does have to go in. His GM discount enabled them to replace their aging and shrinking (those kids are TALL!!) Nissan Murano with a spiffy new Chevy Blazer. Erika is still enjoying her 3 days a week teaching preschool in Denton and pouring into those sweet little ones.

I wasn't motivated enough to send out this newsletter in time for Christmas this year, so it's very late. Next year I'll try to do better. In the meantime, I wish all of you the very best in 2022--health, happiness, and security in the knowledge that the babe in the manger came to live a perfect life so He could take all our mistakes with Him to the cross and pay the penalty for our sinfulness. Hallelujah, what a Savior!! God bless us, every one.

With love,

Mona

Death of a Jacuzzi Tub, part deux

2021-05-20T16:47:00.000-05:00

Remember that little problem we had with the floor tile in our new shower? Wellllllllll........turns out the tile wasn't dirty after all. I scrubbed and scrubbed, tried all the remedies people told me to try, and even had the tile professionally cleaned. The white film remained. So I looked for the tile on the Floor and Decor website and found it. Guess what it said on the listing? NOT FOR USE ON FLOORS!!!! It's meant for backsplashes only. UGH!!!

This is the old tile. And shortly after we had this experience, F&D added a sign below the sample saying "Not For Floors". 🤪

So Tony and I gathered all our F&D paperwork plus the one sheet of tile we kept in case we ever had to replace a broken tile, and we schlepped it back up to F&D -- about a 30-minute drive. We spoke to the in-house designer, who was very gracious and apologetic. She explained that our original salesperson was new and shouldn't have been on the floor yet. Whatever. Anyway, she and the store manager helped us pick out a new rock flooring and gave us a very generous discount. As they should.

A sample of the new rock tile on top of the old tile.

The new rock tile, up close.

Soon Nelson, our wonderful tile guy, was back in our shower with his "no Ingles" sidekick, Josue ("Joe-zway"), chipping away at the old tile to remove it. In a week the new floor was installed, grouted, and sealed. We are much happier, and we actually like the new floor better than the bronze subway tiles. Win-win!!

All finished, and just beautiful!

Who knew it would go so much better with the wall tile than our first choice? Even cute little Nelson from the Dominican Republic said we should have picked this one in the first place.

BONUS: It feels like a foot massage when you stand on it!!

Death of a Jacuzzi tub

2021-03-26T11:53:00.002-05:00

Ever since Tony and I moved to Water's Edge in April 2016, we have wanted to partially remodel our master bathroom. The sink area and water closet are great, but our shower was too small and we never used the built-in Jacuzzi tub that took up nearly half the bathroom. This year we decided to finally tackle the project. The wonderful contractor we've used in the past, Brian Airis with North Texas Handyman Services, was the logical choice since he's the best in the business.

On one side of the bathroom is the dual sink counter and water closet. On the other side was the tub, shower stall, and linen closet.

We decided to use the space previously occupied by the tub to create a new shower. The existing shower and linen closet would become a large walk-in linen closet. Exciting, right? So demo started Monday, January 13th promptly at 8 am.

By Wednesday evening a lot had been done. Concrete was poured for the shower floor around the drain, and the new closet was framed in and partially dry walled.

Thursday the drywall was mudded and looking like an actual closet! The next series of photos will be self explanatory, just more of the construction sequence.

Incidentally, I chose the shower wall tile and Tony chose the floor tile, which I absolutely love. But our hard water is wreaking havoc on the tile and grout, leaving an ugly white film every time we turn on the water. If anyone has any ideas how to clean it, I'm open to any and all suggestions. I've tried several products and have even scrubbed it on my hands and knees with a brush, to no avail. It's so pretty and I'm so bummed that the beautiful bronze color is covered in a coating of white. Somehow there has to be a solution.

TA-DA!! All finished, and boy, do we love our new walk-in storage closet and huge shower (affectionately known as "The Ballroom")!!! It was a lengthy project but so well worth it. Now we're contemplating what to do next! 😵

2020-12-31T14:19:00.000-06:00

December 2020

Joy to the World, the Lord is Come!!

What a magnificent time of year, when we can celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ with family and friends! Tony and I pray you’ve had a good year of health and prosperity. (Disclaimer: I’m not going to discuss the China virus or the stolen election; this is going to be an upbeat letter.)

Our family continues to be healthy and happy, and this year it has grown by 2 new members. A sweet 6-year-old Pug named Miss Puggie was given to Erika, Josh, Leo, and Etta, and she has been a joy for the whole family. She’s the best trained dog we’ve ever been around, and we all adore her.

Some of you know I’ve been wanting a dog for quite some time, but Tony has not been exactly on board. Raising a dog in a condo isn’t the easiest task, especially if that dog is a puppy. But I just couldn’t accept the fact that our days of living with and loving a dog were over. So my dear friend from childhood, Terry Rodman Brearley, searched the internet for the perfect puppy for me to adopt. In October her diligence paid off; through her contacts with East Mississippi Animal Rescue, she found the most darling puppy, aptly named Boo because she was found close to Halloween. The only problem was that EMAR doesn’t transport west of the Mississippi; if we wanted Boo, we had to get her ourselves. So….the day after the election (I worked the polls during both early voting and on election day) Tony and I drove to Meridian, MS to pick up Boo. The next day we drove back, and Boo was precious, cuddly, and sweet in the car the entire way. She’s been a real joy despite the seemingly endless “piranha teeth” teething phase, and she’s doing great with housebreaking. We decided to continue calling her Boo because she was already used to it, but her full name is Bartsi Boo: BA-Barnabas (“son of encouragement” and the name of the dog in my beloved Mitford book series), R-Rush Limbaugh (a great American patriot), T-Trump (another one), S-Slava (“glory” in Russian), I-“Independence” (added by granddaughter Maggie), Boo-in honor of the wonderful folks at EMAR. I’m in the process of getting her DNA tested so we can figure out her breed mix. The vet estimates her birthday to be August 26^th.

This past July was supposed to be a fantastic trip to Hawaii with my sister Lisa, her husband Bob, our cousin Pat Warski, and her husband Jeff. Obviously that didn’t materialize. But dear, precious Aunt Olga Warski orchestrated a way for the 6 of us to be together and enjoy each other’s company despite missing our vacation. At nearly 94 years of age, Aunt Olga went to heaven in September to be reunited with Uncle John, and we were blessed to be able to celebrate her life in our hometown in New York State. It was a sweet time of family, fellowship, tears, tons of photos, and cherished memories. That was so like Aunt Olga, always caring for others with never a concern for herself. She is missed and remembered with the lifetime of love she gave to her family.

The kids are all doing well. All 6 are back to in-school learning and are very happy after several weeks of at-home learning which none of them enjoyed. The 3 oldest-Zoey, Leo, and Ruby-are in orchestra, with Zoey and Ruby playing the violin and Leo playing cello. Sports have been greatly curtailed this year, but limited volleyball, flag football, and gymnastics are being enjoyed nonetheless. Our adult kids are coping with all the challenges presented this year and are handling them admirably. God’s grace and perfect plan are evident in their lives.

This year I, like most of my high school friends, turned 70. Celebrating during this most challenging of years was different, but my family made it so very special. Here is a glimpse of what took place at our condo on April 8th.

Tony and I wish all of you the joy and hope of this beautiful season, and we especially wish the world a peaceful and healthy 2021. “Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.” Isaiah 60:1

Header photo, back row: Dave Cribbs, Jenni Leo Cribbs, me holding Boo, Tony, Josh Wiese holding Puggie, Erika Leo Wiese. Front row: Zoey (almost 14), Ruby (11½), Maggie (almost 10), and Sam (8) Cribbs; Etta (almost 10) and Leo (12) Wiese.

The Apocalypse of 2020

2020-04-18T16:52:00.000-05:00

Having much extra time these days, I thought I'd muse a little on the life-changing events of this winter and spring, namely COVID-19 (coronavirus disease #19), or the China virus, or the Wuhan virus. Since China is never forthcoming or honest with the rest of the world, the source of this pandemic is still in question. Some say it started with a Chinese national who ate soup made from infected bats in an outdoor wet market. Others say it came from a medical/lab facility in Wuhan. Conspiracy theorists, of course, are proposing this was all a ChiCom plot to bring the United States to its knees economically. Actually, this is not such a far-fetched idea. China and Russia are our greatest threats during this time in history (although Iran, North Korea, and Iraq have grandiose ideas that they are our worst enemies--scoff, scoff), and these two superpowers would conceivably stop at nothing to do major harm to our sovereign nation. Right now it seems the prevailing theory of the cause of this worldwide pandemic is an accidental release of the virus from a lab in Wuhan. We may never know the whole truth because it is, after all, China.

Let me just interject a truth here: I know with all my heart that God is in control of this, and every, situation we experience. I've read ahead in His Book. We win.

Okay, back to our current apocalypse.....here's a little chronology of how things have manifested here in our generally serene existence in Lake Dallas, Texas. On Monday, March 16, 2020, our family planned to use the first official day of Spring Break to celebrate daughter Erika's 41st birthday, which was February 27th. We were going to meet for a hike, then enjoy the lunch buffet at a Mediterranean restaurant her husband Josh recommended. By this time, there were already rumblings of this virus becoming an epidemic, and restaurants were taking precautions. When we arrived at the restaurant, a sign was posted on the door that meals were being served, but the buffet was closed indefinitely due to caution about spreading the virus. We decided then to grab lunch wherever we wanted, then rejoin at the Lakehouse, the clubhouse at Tony's and my condominium complex. We didn't think anyone would be using it on a Monday afternoon, which turned out to be true. We enjoyed our lunches and spent some time playing games, walking down to the lake, watching a movie on the big screen, and just talking and chilling. It was wonderful just having the 12 of us (2 daughters, 2 sons-in-law, 6 grandkids, Tony, and me) together enjoying each others' company.

After a couple of hours, the president of our condo association came in and let us know he was posting quarantine signs on the doors to the Lakehouse and workout room next door. The pool and hot tub would also be closed indefinitely. We were the last people to use the facilities for an extended period of time because of coronavirus fears. What had been a minor inconvenience suddenly turned into a serious concern.

One of the urgent/yet not urgent considerations we're facing right now is the likelihood of the well-planned, much-anticipated, expensive July trip we've had on the books since last fall. Our travel posse, consisting of my sister Lisa and her husband Bob, our cousin Pat and her husband Jeff, and Tony and me, is scheduled to fly to Honolulu on July 9th. We are to spend 2 nights there at the Trump Hotel, then take a 7-day cruise around the islands. But now it looks as though this is not going to happen, at least not this year. Fortunately, I have the most wonderful travel agent advocating for Tony and me who, I'm sure, will do everything in her power to adjust the timeline in order for us to take the trip in July 2021 instead. Marcia Madzy Sholtes is the travel agent's name, and I highly recommend her. Marcia and her younger siblings actually grew up across the street from my family in Endwell, NY, and I was their babysitter for several years until I left for college. She now lives in the Charleston, SC area and thoroughly enjoys planning trips for people. Poor Marcia is swamped right now with clients trying to deal with trip cancellations and postponements, but when she's able to get to us, I have complete confidence that she'll steer us in the right direction.

Here are just some of the ramifications brought on by COVID-19 so far:
The pandemic officially declared March 11, 2020

*Gas currently $1.25/gallon

*School closed through the end of this school year; kids still doing online school at home

*Social distancing measures still the routine

*Tape on the floors at grocery stores and others to help distance shoppers (6ft) from each other

*Limited number of people inside stores and lines of people outside the store doors

*Non-essential stores and businesses mandated closed

*Restaurants serving only by takeout or delivery

*Parks, trails, beaches, and entire cities closed

*Entire sports seasons cancelled

*Concerts, tours, festivals, entertainment events cancelled

*Weddings, family celebrations, holiday gatherings cancelled, including proms and graduations

*Churches are closed, so many offer online services and studies

*No gatherings of 5 or more

*No socializing with anyone outside of your home

*Shortage of masks, gowns, gloves for our front-line workers

*Shortage of ventilators for the critically ill

*Panic buying resulting in no toilet paper, no disinfecting supplies, no paper towels, no tissues, no laundry soap, no hand sanitizer

*Shelves are bare

*Manufacturers, distilleries and other businesses switch their lines to help make visors, masks, hand sanitizer and personal protective equipment

*Government closes the border to all non-essential travel

*Fines are established for breaking the rules

*Stadiums and recreation facilities open up for the overflow of Covid-19 patients

*Press conferences daily from the President and his task force giving updates on new cases, recoveries, and deaths

*Government incentives to stay home

*Barely anyone on the roads

*People wearing masks and gloves outside

*Essential service workers terrified to go to work

*Medical field workers afraid to go home to their families

I'm writing this mainly to document everything happening right now that has turned most lives upside down. Although this virus has not touched our family or anyone we know, it has been terrible for our country and for the world. It will be interesting to see how history treats these weeks in which many nations nearly ground to a halt over something that could easily have been prevented.

MERRY CHRISTMAS 2019!!!

2019-12-16T08:56:00.000-06:00

We hope this finds you well, happy, and prepared to enjoy celebrating the Reason for the Season. This year so many friends have lost loved ones, and it makes me smile to think of many of them celebrating in heaven with the only One in history whose birthday is so meaningful. That is, after all, what Christmas is about – the birth of Him who alone can save us and give us eternal life.

This has been a rather quiet year here in Lake Dallas. Tony and I did some condo improvements, but mostly we just enjoyed friends and family, church, and Bible study. We spent a week in June at Blue Mountain Beach, FL, with Erika, Josh, Leo, and Etta, and we were able to briefly meet our new great-nephew, Connor Boyd Taylor, who is now 7 months old and a perfect doll. It’s hard watching him grow and develop from such a distance. Now I understand why my sister Lisa (Connor’s beloved Mimi) has always wanted to come out here so much as our grandkids grow and change. We hope to get to see Connor again soon. He’s at such a darling age!

Speaking of the delights of our lives, the grands are thriving and are such a delight. Zoey will become a teenager (!!!) Dec. 28 and is the loveliest and most loving young lady. She never fails to tell us how much she loves us, and we absolutely adore spending time with her. Zoey is now in 7^th grade, at the upper campus of Corinth Classical Academy which houses middle (7^th-9^th) and high (10^th-12^th) school. The other 5 are at the lower campus: Leo and Ruby in 5^th, Etta and Maggie in 3^rd, and Sam in 1^st. They are all doing so well in school and in all their extracurricular endeavors. Leo is so sweet and kind; his memory is a steel trap, so if you ever need anything remembered, Leo is your go-to guy. He plays flag football and basketball, and he is a math Olympian. All the grands get along really well and love spending time together. Leo and Ruby have always been besties—maybe because they both have Papa’s servant’s hearts. Ruby quietly and devotedly serves in the school’s Philanthropy Club and participates in many benevolent projects throughout the year. She has a very dry sense of humor and gives Papa a run for his money. Etta is our sparkly cuddle bug. She loves anything glittery, and she’s very affectionate. She and Maggie are good friends, which is special since they’re only 10 days apart in age. Maggie is our veterinarian-in-training. She is passionate about every animal and insect, and her bed is so covered with stuffed animals we sometimes can’t find her among them. This year all 4 girls are playing volleyball and basketball. And then there’s Sam. He is such a typical (yet at times enchantingly atypical) little boy, and we adore him. Sam approaches every situation with enthusiasm, and he’s interested in everything, especially how things work. He’s definitely his father’s child. He’s excited to start his first year of Upward basketball. All the kids also enjoy participating in church activities and marathon family bike rides.

Jenni, Dave, Erika, and Josh are great, too. Jenni’s doTERRA essential oils business is flourishing and she works very hard at it. I’m proud of her and all the effort she puts into educating herself and others about the benefits of oils. I was a little hesitant to try them at first, but I’ve become a believer because they really do work, and it’s so much better to use products from nature instead of chemicals in the medicine cabinet, around the house, and on the body. Dave is still enjoying his teaching career at Parish Episcopal School in Dallas. His robotics and Rover teams do better every year and have achieved high praise. The Cribbies continue to spend 3 months every summer at Kanakuk K-7 Christian Kamp near Branson, MO, pouring into today’s youth who will become tomorrow’s leaders. Erika teaches preschool 3 days a week at a church in Denton and enjoys loving on her little ones and teaching them Biblical truths. She is so devoted to her job; they are very fortunate to have her. Josh is still loving his job as creative art director at Irving Bible Church. He is so talented, and his freelance skills are also in high demand. We are extremely proud of all 4 of our kids, and we are so blessed to all live within 10 minutes of each other.

Right now as I’m typing this I’m looking out our back windows at the bare trees and squirrels jumping from branch to branch. I love this season because when the leaves fall, we are able to see much more of the lake and enjoy its beauty. We haven’t had snow for several years now and are hoping for some this year. However, today is in the 70s and all windows and doors are open to let in fresh air, so we may end up with another mild Texas winter. Whatever God provides we will enjoy with glad hearts.

Tony and I wish you the best of the season. May your Christmas be full of joy and your 2020 be abundantly blessed. We send you our love and prayers. MAGA!!!

Cover photo, left to right: Dave Cribbs, Sam Cribbs (7), Jenni Cribbs, Maggie Cribbs (8 11/12), Ruby Cribbs (10¾), Zoey Cribbs (a few days shy of 13), Leo Wiese (11 1/3), Erika Wiese, Etta Wiese (8 11/12), and Josh Wiese, with Papa Tony and Grammy/Bammy in front

3 Russians and their guys take on Europe......

2019-03-30T17:24:00.000-05:00

PROLOGUE, September 2018

After months of planning, Tony and I were off to Europe to meet up with my sister Lisa, her hubby Bob (Dr. Bobby), our cousin Pat, and her husband Jeff (both podiatrists--very handy to have along when planning to do a lot of walking). Our overnight flight got us into London the next morning at 8:45, and the other four would arrive a couple hours later. We planned to converge at our hotel near the Tower of London to unload our junk and begin exploring. So exciting!!

This trip was initially thought up by Lisa when Tony mentioned off-handedly that he would someday enjoy visiting the WWII landing sites in Normandy, France. Since neither he nor I had ever been to London or Paris, this seemed the perfect time to incorporate those cities into the mix. Then Lisa mentioned how much we had all enjoyed the beautiful Alpine lakes region of northern Italy when we took an Alpine Countries tour in 2007, so we decided to find a trip that would allow us to visit all the areas in which we were interested. Lisa knew someone who had used European Destinations/Tripmasters in the past with good results, so we decided to book our trip through that company. This allowed us to select the cities, flights, hotels, excursions, and length of stay in each city in one package, and the cost was very reasonable.

Our itinerary would start in London when we arrived on the 14th, and we would spend the remainder of the day exploring on our own. Our hotel was the DoubleTree by Hilton Tower of London. Saturday we had tickets to take a Hop On/Hop Off bus tour around the city. We’d done these bus tours before and always enjoy taking them because the commentary is usually very good--even entertaining--and we can jump off anywhere we decide to spend some time, then get picked up again when we’re finished. We would spend 2 nights in London, then Sunday we would take the Eurostar train through the Chunnel to Paris.

The evening we arrived in Paris we would have a lovely dinner cruise on the River Seine, then home to the Augustin Astotel to get some necessary sleep in preparation for our bus tour to Normandy the following day. We were all very excited about finally seeing in person the places where American troops landed during the second World War, and the American Cemetery where so many of them are buried.

Tuesday we would have our Paris Hop On/Hop Off tour, taking in the iconic sites in that beautiful City of Lights.

Wednesday we would head to Milan, Italy, our home base for the duration of the trip. In Milan we would stay at the Crowne Plaza Milan City Hotel, and here we did not plan to take a Hop On/Hop Off because we wouldn’t be staying in Milan most of the time. We had 3 day excursions planned: The Bernina Express train trip to St. Moritz, Switzerland; a bus tour to Lake Como (including a boat trip along the lake) and Lake Lugano; and a train trip to our favorite of all the lakes, Maggiore, where we would take a ferry out to the gorgeous island of Isola Bella, home of the exquisite Borromeo Palace and gardens.

Thursday, September 13, 2018

Well, well, well…...not even out of the country and already a glitch. Lisa’s and Bob’s flight to Heathrow was rerouted from JFK through Atlanta. Sadly we would miss each other by just a little more than an hour. Their new flight was scheduled to arrive pretty much on schedule, but they wouldn’t be flying with Pat and Jeff as expected. Hurricane Florence, a strong and huge Category 2, was heading straight for Wilmington, NC, and was already wreaking havoc on flights along the east coast. We were hoping to be able to fly above it and not be affected.

Bon voyage!!

Friday, September 14, 2018

Even though we were warned by some friends who travel to London frequently, we ended up taking a black taxi from the airport to our hotel because I was unfamiliar at that point with the Uber app and was nervous about using it. Unfortunately, the one-way trip cost us nearly $100. Following that shock we used Uber every time we needed transportation with our luggage. Lisa, Bob, Pat, and Jeff used Uber from Heathrow to the hotel and split the cost that totaled less than half of what Tony and I paid. It was our only faux pas, albeit a costly one.

After we left our luggage at the hotel (DoubleTree by Hilton Tower of London--very nice!), Tony and I went to find a Starbucks, him for a latte and me for a London Starbucks mug to add to our collection. We aren’t necessarily Starbucks fans, but we have a collection of Starbucks coffee cups from every country we visit. Then we walked around a bit while waiting for our room to be readied. Once we got to the room, Tony immediately conked out on the bed while I got the lay of the land. By then the other 4 had arrived, so I went down to the lobby to meet them. After a short time while they got settled in their rooms, we went out to explore the area around the hotel.

The hotel was actually in a great location, about a block from the Tower of London, the Tower Bridge, and the convenient HoHo (Hop on/Hop off) tour bus stop. After walking around for awhile, we got a recommendation from the concierge for a good fish and chips place. We didn’t think it was going to be a very long walk, but it turned out to be much further than expected. By the time we got there about an hour later, we were pretty hungry and thirsty, and the folks at Poppie’s took good care of us. The walk back wasn’t quite as long because we found a more expeditious route, and by then Tony and I were pretty much ready for bed. The others wanted to go up to the rooftop bar for a drink since they had had a later flight and they were able to sleep a bit on theirs. We showered and hit the sheets for a lovely 10-hour nap.

Tower of London

Poppie's

First London dinner--fish and chips!!

The iconic phone booths were everywhere!

Pat, Lisa, and me

Tower Bridge from the hotel's rooftop bar

Saturday, September 15, 2018

Today (Bob’s 70th birthday) we took the HoHo around London, seeing the popular sights from the top of a double-decker, open-air bus, and getting off whenever we wanted to be more up close and personal at the various locations. London is a very busy city, and the architecture is an unusual mix of centuries-old and modern buildings. The historical aspects of the city are staggering. I found myself humming “Tower Warders, Under Orders” from Gilbert and Sullivan’s Yeomen of the Guard every time we were near the Tower of London, and “P-a-r-liament” as we passed the gorgeous Parliament buildings. Big Ben is undergoing massive restorations, so we weren’t able to see much of it or hear the bell. We walked around Buckingham Palace but didn’t see the changing of the guard because the Queen was vacationing at her country home in Balmoral, so the infamous guards were not on duty. We enjoyed a delicious lunch and some drafts at a cute pub, Bag O’ Nails. The guys and Lisa had fish and chips again, and Pat and I had a delicious beef and ale pie with mashed potatoes and veggies. After lunch we jumped back on the tour bus to see some more sights, ending up at the River Thames. Our HoHo tickets allowed us to take a short river cruise, which handily let us off at the stop closest to our hotel. It was a really nice, full day, and the weather couldn’t have been more cooperative.

**Note: Unbeknownst to us, we arrived during Fashion Week in London. This major event involves street closures, crazy traffic, and some of the most bizarre-looking human mannequins on the planet. Not only this, but Fashion Week somehow seemed to follow us to both Paris and Milan. The excess traffic caused several diversions on all the HoHo routes, so we didn’t get to see everything promised on each tour. If anyone is planning a trip to Europe in the fall, I strongly advise checking the Fashion Week schedule and avoiding it if at all possible.

Big Ben, undergoing restoration

Pride of Paddington

London welcomed our NFL

Piccadilly Circus

Parliament

Buckingham Palace

Bag O' Nails for lunch

After lunch stroll in St. James Park

St. James Park

Duck Island Cottage in St. James Park

Duck Island Cottage

Burberry Car for Fashion Week

Burberry Bear for Fashion Week

Dome of St. Paul's Cathedral

𝅘𝅥𝅯"Feed the birds, tuppence a bag..."𝅘𝅥𝅮

Londonistan

Will bagpipe for food

3 Musketeers: Bob, Tony, and Jeff

The London Eye

Ubiquitous IBM from our Thames River cruise

Approaching the Tower Bridge from our cruise boat

Happy Thames River cruisers

Tony made friends with a local pigeon

After resting and cleaning up a bit, we went up to the rooftop lounge at our hotel to see the view at sunset and have a drink before dinner. It was really spectacular to see our section of London bathed in the colors of sunset and then watching the twinkle of evening lights coming on. Following that little interlude, we walked across the Tower Bridge to a nice riverfront Italian restaurant, Cantina del Ponte, where Lisa and Bob treated everyone to a celebratory dinner for Bob’s birthday. It was lovely--good food, good wine, good company. We had some nice conversations with 4 guys from The Netherlands at the next table over who were in town to watch a soccer match. Everyone is so friendly in London!

Nighttime view from our hotel rooftop bar

Tower of London from our rooftop

River Thames from our rooftop

Shards Building at night

Cantina del Ponte, right on the river

Bob, Jeff, and Tony at Bob's birthday dinner

Me, Pat, and Lisa at dinner

After walking back to the hotel we went to our rooms to repack and try to get a decent night’s sleep for the train trip to Paris in the morning after breakfast.

Part of the festivities Lisa arranged for Bob was the receiving of a lot of birthday gifts and greetings from strangers, thanks to stickers she had prepared ahead of time and brought with her that we secretly placed on his back. They said things like “Hi, my name is Bob and today is my 70th birthday”. Folks would see the tags and wish him happy birthday, buy him drinks, bring special desserts, etc. We toyed with the idea of keeping the birthday thing going the entire trip, but it kind of fizzled out after the one day. Still, it was lots of fun watching a startled Bob wonder how people knew it was his birthday.

Happy Bob on his 70th birthday

My sister is a hoot!!

Birthday Bob, none the wiser

Sunday, September 16, 2018

We got down to breakfast early, checked out of the hotel, and made our way to St. Pancras station to catch our Eurostar train to Paris. It was pretty hectic at the station, really crowded. We were squashed like sardines in our seats in the station waiting area with our luggage. Fortunately, we were seated next to a fun American couple who entertained us with their stories and experiences. Our train was finally called for loading, and we boarded with all the other sardines. Oddly, our 3 couples were booked in separate cars, so we weren’t able to sit together on the 3+ hours to Paris, but the journey was pleasant through the French countryside (which looked a whole lot like your average American countryside). I had been a little apprehensive about riding the train under the English Channel, but it was really quite a short portion of the entire train ride and not frightening at all.

The train station where we arrived in Paris.

We took an Uber from the train station to our hotel (Augustin Astotel) and checked in. It was surprisingly very smooth and easy using Uber over there and, as we discovered from our cab ride from Heathrow to the hotel, much cheaper. Our hotel was very cute and boutique, meaning tiny with miniscule everything--elevator, room, bathroom. But the room had a charming little balcony window, which turned out to be a good thing since nights were cool and our room’s air conditioner was pathetic. After we checked in and left our luggage in the room, we went for a stroll around the 8th arrondissement--our neighborhood for the next 3 nights--taking in the sights, grabbing some Euros from a local ATM, and looking for a Starbucks. Tony and I needed a mug from Paris to go with the one we bought in London. We scored almost immediately, since there was a Starbucks right around the corner from the hotel. We also noticed a bunch of nice-looking cafes for future meals, beverages, and people watching.

Augustin Astotel

Lisa and Pat from their rooms

**Interesting fact: Although Starbucks can be found in abundance in just about every major city in Europe, Italy has never allowed Starbucks to plant stores in any of its cities, probably because it doesn’t need the franchise. Italian coffee stands on its own merit. But in the last year one Starbucks has been allowed to open in Italy, and to our delight and good fortune, it opened in Milan. So I was hoping to get a Starbucks Italy mug to add to our collection.

Since it was Sunday, the pace of our area was very relaxed and pleasant, unlike the frenzy of weekdays. There were families on bicycles, couples strolling, kids playing in the park and the weather was glorious. We had really been blessed in the weather department thus far, although it had actually been a little warmer than the outfits I packed, so I had been uncomfortable more than a few times. This is after checking, double checking, and triple checking the weather forecasts for each city many times while packing.

**Interesting fact: meteorology is the only profession in which its practitioners can be wrong 100% of the time and still command 6-figure salaries. LOL

Our Paris neighborhood

Pretty church, Eglise Saint-Augustin, just steps from our hotel

Inside Eglise Saint-Augustin

Cafes on every corner.....

....within walking distance of our hotel

We headed back to the hotel to clean up and change for our first Paris adventure, a 3-course dinner cruise on the River Seine at 8:30. The hotel concierge helped us figure out a route on the metro which would take us straight to the Eiffel Tower and to the wharf where we were to catch the cruise bateau, just beneath the tower. When we left the metro station and saw the tower for the very first time ever, time stood still. It was simply breathtaking, rising above the river in magnificent glory. It is so iconic that to finally see it in person was almost surreal. And the tower really takes on a life of its own as the light changes from day to night, changing colors multiple times in the different lights of sunset.

First glimpse

Just one of about a thousand Eiffel photos we all took

Another one. Sorry.

Again, sorry. Couldn't help it.

We could hardly believe we were here!

Cute carousel on our way down to the Seine

Carousel from below

We walked down to the wharf and found our boat. It was a pretty bateau mouche with a glass roof so we could look up and see the buildings and bridges as we rode slowly by. Once we were seated, we were greeted by our waiter who brought little puff pastry appetizers and champagne. We ordered our dinners and relaxed as the boat pulled away from the dock. There was no commentary during the cruise, but we had been given little maps which pointed out all the major buildings as we passed by, including the Musee d’Orsay, Notre Dame cathedral, the beautifully lit Eiffel Tower, and many other famous attractions. It was so lovely and tranquil.

Our dinners were surprisingly very good, with acceptable red and white wines. While we were eating, the gentleman next to us suddenly got down on one knee and proposed to his girlfriend. It was the sweetest thing ever! They’re from Vancouver and had been dating 12 years. They both have grown children, so I guess they felt in no hurry to get married, but it was still very emotional for both of them. We all enjoyed witnessing such a tender moment, and everyone on the boat celebrated with them.

We were given maps of the route the cruise would follow, complete with landmarks.

The big moment

Bob's unimpressed.

So sweet!

A roving photographer took pictures of cruise guests then tried to extort ridiculous prices for them, so we took our own pictures of the pictures.

During the cruise we passed a little “beach” area on the shore where dozens of couples danced to recorded music. It looked very spontaneous and fun, and everyone was having a great time!

After about 2½ hours we were returned to the dock, but not before we stepped outside to view the spectacular Eiffel Tower light show. What seemed like millions of white lights sparkled and flashed for several minutes while everyone oohed and aahed. Paris certainly isn’t shy about showing its beauty to its best advantage. What a glorious evening!!

Even more gorgeous from the river

I never got tired of gazing at and photographing the tower.....

.....from every angle.

I don't know what we were laughing at, but we had tons of fun the entire trip.

Monday, September 17, 2018

We rose very early to be picked up at our hotel for our Normandy D-Day Beaches and American Cemetery excursion. The van dropped us off at the central office of the tour company where we and about a thousand of our closest friends stood in line to be checked in for the day’s various tours. We then boarded a nice touring bus and settled in for the several hours’ ride to the Caen/Bayeux area for our first stop, the WWII museum. We strolled along the various exhibits and watched a very good film recapping the events of WWII in this area of Normandy. I wish every American child could view this film because it accurately presented the true (not rewritten) history of this period in time.

Inside the WWII museum

In front of the museum

After that we spent some time visiting Utah and Omaha beaches, which are both breathtakingly beautiful. We were actually able to go into one of the German bunkers at Pointe du Hoc and see where the German soldiers waited for the American troops to land. The enormity of standing in the exact place where the enemy slaughtered our young men was very sobering.

The first 24 photos were taken at Pointe du Hoc, Utah Beach. The weather was perfect!

Apparently we aren't supposed to step off the cliff and drop to our deaths.

Pat and Jeff selfie at Pointe du Hoc

This is one of Pat's artistic shots, one of many at various locations.

These next 15 photos were taken at Omaha Beach, where we actually dipped our toes in the English Channel.

The last stop on the tour was the American Cemetery. Pictures do not do this place justice. I’m tearing up right now just thinking about it--row after row of gleaming white crosses and Stars of David marking the graves of our brave young men who gave their lives to ensure our country’s freedom. The cemetery sits on a bluff overlooking the clear deep blue water of the English Channel, and it is meticulously maintained. None of the 6 of us had any known relative or friend buried there, so we never had a Private Ryan moment, but it was a very moving experience nonetheless.

Outside the memorial chapel at the cemetery

Inside the chapel

The incredibly beautiful mosaic dome inside the chapel

And the crosses! Acres and acres of pure white crosses and Stars of David honoring our fallen heroes.

As we all paused a moment, looking up at the majestic American flag above us, Pat, Lisa, and I were moved to softly sing a trio of our National Anthem. I’m just sad we didn’t think to record it, but it’s probably a good idea that we didn’t because we all got so choked up we could hardly finish. We are all so glad we were able to spend some time in this meaningful historical site, and I’m happy our brave young heroes have such a beautiful place to be recognized and remembered.

After a relaxing bus ride back to Paris and van ride back to our hotel, we found a cute cafe nearby and had a nice dinner (with some surprising elements--like my huge plate of tuna tartare when I was expecting something completely different--since our French wasn’t the greatest). Our waiter was so cute, though, a Noah Wyle clone! Then we went home to shower and crash to rest up for the next day.

Not a lot of elbow room at the cafes, but they're very charming.

Tuesday, September 18, 2018

Today we did our Paris Hop On/Hop Off tour to see all the sights and take the requisite photos. It was a great way to see the entire city in a day, especially since we didn’t have the luxury of many days to visit every landmark individually. We did get off at the Arc de Triomphe and were going to go up to the top to get a better view of that part of the city but it started raining--the only rain we had the entire trip, and it didn’t last long--so we found our bus and moved on to the next stops.

One of the double-decker buses all over the city

But of course!

l'Arc de Triomphe

The bas reliefs are incredible.

Looking up inside the arc

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from WWI with eternal flame

It was very moving.

Americans in Paris

The rain finally cleared up.

The Louvre

I didn't write down the name of this plaza. My bad. Anyone???

Place de la Concorde with Cleopatra's Needle

The tranquil Seine, next 4 pics

I couldn't visit Paris without including the Opera House.

So much beautiful architecture

Parisistan

Disclaimer: I have a bunch of church interior photos, but I'm not exactly sure which ones go with which church. Still, they're very beautiful. Use your imagination!

I'm pretty sure this bunch is Notre Dame.

The exterior ones are definitely Notre Dame.

Pat's and Jeff's selfie outside Notre Dame

Party of 6 selfie

Last on our day’s list was a stop at Montmartre where the beautiful Sacre Coeur church rises above the city on an unexpectedly tall hill. We had lunch at a cafe across the street from the steps leading up to the church to fortify ourselves for the climb ahead. As we were finishing eating, Tony and Lisa revived their old running rivalry and challenged each other to a race up the 120 or so steps to get to the top. Bob, Pat, Jeff, and I laughed ourselves silly watching them huff and puff and pant and stagger up those concrete steps to try to beat each other. In the end, they tied and realized their racing days were probably best left in the past. The rest of us climbed at a normal pace and met them at the top. The church is stunning, both inside and out. It is much more impressive and beautiful than Notre Dame, I think. We spent a good bit of time strolling around the interior of the church and taking photos, then we left to wander around the souvenir and artisan shops of the Montmartre area. It’s probably the coolest area of Paris, full of life and art and vitality.

Strolling the streets of Montmartre

We enjoyed the shopping here more than anywhere else in Paris.

Macaron patisserie-I didn't even go inside because I'm not a fan of macarons.

Just a few of the steps one has to climb to get up to the cathedral.

"Yay, I did it!"

Sacre Coeur from below

The church is heart stoppingly gorgeous.

View of lower Montmartre from Sacre Coeur

Overlooking Paris from Montmartre.

Young French soldiers

Sacre Coeur up close

The inside of Sacre Coeur

Breathtakingly beautiful dome

After this we walked back down all those steps and caught our HoHo back to the stop closest to our hotel, where we repacked and readied ourselves for the next day’s flight to Milan.

Just a moment of levity from our day of touring....during the brief rain the bus personnel handed out flimsy little rain ponchos. They were a little tricky, and Tony got stuck trying to get out of his once the rain stopped. We laughed til we cried!

**Note: We took Ubers to and from airports and train stations mainly because we were a party of 6 with large, unwieldy suitcases, but the rest of the time we either walked or took the metro Subways. They were all very easy to use, but we had to be very careful during rush hours when the crowds were at their peak. Pick pocketing is rampant in Europe, as it is in most major cities, and one can never be too careful and protective of one’s wallets and passports.

Wednesday, September 19, 2018

Today we were able to sleep in a bit and then walk the couple of blocks to Starbucks and a local bakery for breakfast, which we ate at little cafe tables outside the bakery. Afterward we went back to the hotel to collect our things and took an Uber to Charles de Gaulle Airport to catch our Air France flight to Milan. We arrived late in the afternoon, and of course transportation is hard to get during rush hour, but we finally got a van and made it to our hotel before dark. The Crowne Plaza Milan City was the best of our 3 hotels, very nice and accommodating. The front desk attendants were extremely helpful and never got frustrated by our endless questions and needs. And the metro was right outside the front door of the hotel!

Our hotel

The sweet courtyard where we met every evening for drinks and relaxation

Just across the street from our hotel was this gorgeous church, Basilica di Sant'Agostino.

We asked for and were directed to a nice restaurant just a few doors down from the hotel for a delicious meal of pizza. And wine, of course. It’s going to be a chore to detox from all the carbs and wine when we get home, but I’m determined to get back to no sugar/no grains/no alcohol/no caffeine ASAP.

**NOTE: Best laid plans, etc. I never did get back “on the wagon” regarding sugar, grains, and all, so was counting on my 2019 New Year’s resolution to get back on and stay on. I do feel so much better when I eliminate these toxins from my body. Not there yet, but hopeful.

After dinner we walked back to the hotel to shower and get a good night’s sleep. Since our pickup for tomorrow’s excursion was before the hotel opened for breakfast, we asked the front desk folks to arrange a take-along meal for the bus/train ride to St. Moritz, and they were more than accommodating.

Big plus: our room’s air conditioner was the best of the entire trip. The weather was unseasonably hot in all 3 cities, and we definitely appreciated the coolness at the Crowne Plaza after our sweaty days outdoors.

Thursday, September 20, 2019

We snagged our bag breakfasts at the desk and were picked up very early in the morning by van to meet our tour bus at the Zani Viaggi tour company main office. It was an absolute zoo, which did not bode well for this excursion, and we were right. When we booked the excursion, it was called the Bernina Express to St. Moritz, a little red train which we understood would take us up into the Italian and Swiss Alps for a nice day in the beautiful mountain lake town Lisa, Bob, Tony, and I had fallen in love with in 2007. We couldn’t wait to get back to stroll the town, relax by the lake, and maybe enjoy a delicious fondue lunch. Boy, were we wrong!

When we arrived at the Viaggi office we were joined by myriad people of various nationalities, a crush of more than a hundred warm bodies all vying for position to get on the bus as quickly as possible to snag the best seats. Most times on tour buses and trains it’s a free-for-all to get seats, with every man for himself. Fortunately in this case the tour guide had a list of names, and we were near the top of the list because Lisa’s and Bob’s last name begins with D and the list was alphabetical. (We all were able to get in under their name in most cases since we were traveling together, thank goodness.)

**Note: In our travels, especially internationally, it’s been our experience everywhere that tourists from certain ethnic groups, one in particular, have no regard for age (i.e., us old folks are not offered seats), sex (females are not offered seats if males, even young boys, are already sitting in them), and propriety. They push and shove to get to the front of the line so they can get the best window seats on buses and trains, never caring about couples wanting to sit together, and they stand up at the windows while taking pictures, blocking the view of everyone else. I don’t like profiling a certain culture, but it really got old having the same struggle on every excursion or HoHo. We pay a lot of money for these international trips, and it’s just not right to have to constantly jockey for position. I always thought this culture trained its children to be polite and deferential.

So we boarded the bus and got seats with a little table, which was great since we had those nice bag breakfasts from the hotel. We started spreading out the seemingly endless items from our bags to enjoy our breakfasts but were quickly stopped by the surly bus driver, telling us there was no eating on the bus. Hmmmph. At first I thought it was to keep the bus clean (already a fail, since it wasn’t that clean to begin with), but we soon found out what I think was the real reason.

On previous trips to Europe we’ve found that tour companies often schedule stops at the most off-the-wall locations at times when stops aren’t really necessary. We think these places have arrangements with the tour companies in which the tour companies get some sort of kick back from the businesses. There is no other logical explanation for some of the ridiculous stops we’ve made on various tours.

Anyway, midway through the bus ride to Tirano, where we were to pick up the Bernina Express train, the bus stopped at a restaurant so passengers could use the restrooms and purchase snacks. It was very nice, kind of a glorified truckstop. We found a table on the patio where we were finally able to eat our bag breakfasts, and we bought nothing. But all the other tourists on board more than made up for the Euros we did not spend.

We finally made it to Tirano, a nothing little village on the Italy/Switzerland border. Instead of boarding the train right away and heading for St. Moritz, we were informed that we would have a good bit of time in Tirano. Our guide escorted us to a historic church which did have one cool feature: a huge, magnificent pipe organ made of ornately carved ebony. Pictures don’t do it justice. We didn’t get to hear the organ, but just looking at the detail of that gorgeous wood was enough. Apparently someone at this church had once seen a vision of the Virgin Mary, so it’s considered a spiritual landmark. We could easily have skipped it. Following a few minutes of oohing and aahing over the organ, we left the church and explored the rest of Tirano, which took about 3 minutes.

Pretty carved doors

Gorgeous carved ebony organ

Mo and Pat selfie

Probably the only highlight of Tirano, but we were too full to indulge. I can't believe we had gelato only once the entire trip!

We thought we might board the train and finally be on our way to St. Moritz. We thought wrong. Our tour guide announced that we had at least an hour and a half until the train, so it would be a good idea to find a place for lunch. Well, since we had eaten our breakfasts not long before, and since we were still hoping for fondue in St. Moritz, we really had no desire or appetite for lunch at that particular time. But she was adamant that we have lunch, so we gave in and found a cafe. The food was okay; we just wanted to hurry and get out of there and get to our primary destination. After what seemed like hours out in the hot sun, our tour guide finally handed us our train tickets and escorted us to the little red train.

Naturally, by the time we got to our car, all the choice seats had been taken and there were only single seats on the aisle left, meaning any good photo opportunities were pretty much nil (see note above). But we did enjoy the gorgeous scenery of mountains, forests, waterfalls, and glaciers, plus the definite drop in temperature.

Lovely Swiss countryside

Gondola up to a mountain peak

The front of our train on a circular trestle

This is how I imagine Heidi's house.

Stunning mountain and river views

The train went past several huge glaciers.

Little mountain lake nestled in a valley

After several hours on the train, we reached picturesque St. Moritz. Then our tour guide dropped the bomb. We were only allowed ONE HOUR in this glorious Swiss mountain village before we had to board a bus back to Milan. We were shocked, dismayed, disappointed, and frustrated over this turn of events. The information we’d received when we booked the tour was very vague about how much time we would have in Tirano and St. Moritz, and I’m sure this was the reason. I doubt there would be so many people taking the tour if they discovered beforehand that they would have three times as much time in Tirano as in St. Moritz. We love this beautiful town so much, but sadly we only had time to take a few photos and use the restrooms.

After another really long bus ride back to Milan (with once again a stop at a roadside truck stop/restaurant), we were discharged at the original meeting place and told we had to find our own way back to our hotel. I guess we didn’t read the fine print, because we assumed we’d have return transportation to our hotel as we had with our other excursions.

That evening we took the metro to the Piazza del Duomo to explore the area, wander the lively streets as we looked for a place to have dinner, and discovered the brand new Milan Starbucks!

Shopping area adjacent to the Piazza del Duomo

Starbucks Milano!! It's a brand-new building designed to fit into the old architecture of the area.

The nightlife is very active in Milan, with streets lined with al fresco cafes.

Gelato? Yes, please!!

Duomo Milano by night

More of the plaza

Duomo Milano selfie

Friday, September 21, 2018

After the very long and tiring day traveling to and from St. Moritz, we 6 had a pow-wow and unanimously decided to skip the day trip to Stresa, Lake Maggiore, and Isola Bella. It would have been a lovely day together, and we would have been in control of the itinerary. But we were pretty much done in by the previous day’s experience, and we really hadn’t seen any of Milan. So we decided to stay in Milan and see the beautiful city. After another delightful breakfast at the hotel, we headed off by Metro to the center of the action, the Piazza del Duomo, anchored by the exquisite Milan Cathedral. Since it was our cousin Cheryl’s birthday, Pat, Lisa, and I did a little video for her in front of the beautiful cathedral, singing a trio of “Many Years” in Russian. We considered touring the cathedral but the line was hours long and it was already getting hot, so we opted to look for a HoHo bus.

Duomo Milano is exquisite day or night.

Plaza pigeons

More Duomo

Incredible carved Duomo doors

Outside Starbucks Milano

The line to get in, wrapped around the building

Welcome to Starbucks Milano!

I had to take a picture of the incredible ladies bathroom.

Starbucks Milano has a lot of separate gathering areas for enjoying coffee and pastries.

Beautiful marble staircase leading up to the mezzanine

The Roastery

Beverage ordering bar

This gentleman, one of the hosts/bouncers controlling the lines, was so cute and funny. Security was extremely tight and obvious at this Starbucks, probably because it was so new and novel.

Suave security guard

The world-famous La Scala opera house in Milan. If an opera singer is fortunate enough to perform at La Scala, his/her career is pretty much guaranteed.

La Scala

La Scala entrance

Marquee at La Scala

Al fresco dinner at Cafe de Ville

Incredible "Vertical Forest" residential tower in Milan. Here is a link describing the project. It's amazing!

https://twistedsifter.com/2016/06/vertical-forest-residential-towers-in-milan-by-boeri-studio/

My honey riding the metro in Milan

Saturday, September 22, 2018

This was a truly delightful day! We took a bus to Lugano, Switzerland and had a really good tour guide this time, Katerina. She was very engaging and informative, with lots of fun facts and suggestions for our time in Lugano. This is where we bought most of our chocolate to bring home to friends and family. We strolled around town and along the lake, taking in the beautiful scenery. We didn’t buy anything else because 4 of us had been to Switzerland before and had all the souvenirs we needed. Some others on the tour detoured to purchase watches, Swiss Army knives, etc.

Lovely fountain near Lake Lugano

It's a small world after all!

Strolling toward the shops

There's always a profusion of plants and flowers in European cities.

We really wanted some, but it wasn't open for business yet. (sad face)

So we bought chocolate to bring home instead!

Beautiful Lake Lugano

One of the most beautiful lakeside strolls ever

Lugano from the walking path

And from further down the path

Soon it was time to reboard the bus and head to Lake Como. The ride was not terribly long and was very relaxing, with more interesting commentary by Katerina. When we arrived in Como it was lunchtime, and Katerina suggested we try one of her favorite restaurants. She accompanied us there and joined us for a truly delicious meal. Afterward we had to hustle to pick up the ferry which would take us around Lake Como, past lakefront villas owned by celebrities or used in movie sets. Since it was a ferry, we stopped every so often at little towns along the lake to discharge or take on passengers. It was a truly lovely ride lasting several hours. At the end of the boat trip, we reboarded the bus to head back to Milan for our final night.

Lake Como waterfront

The uphill climb to the restaurant

The restaurant where we had lunch

More al fresco dining

My lunch--local walnut ravioli with walnut cream sauce--was one of the most delicious meals I've ever eaten.

The next 16 photos are from the thoroughly enjoyable ferry ride along Lake Como. A couple of the homes belong to George and Amal Clooney, but I can't remember which ones.

Heading back to Milan

We went back to the wide street with all the al fresco cafes for dinner and had a wonderful, leisurely meal. Afterward we went back to the hotel to pack and get a good night’s rest for the flight back.

Sunday, September 23, 2018

At Malpensa Airport, standing in line for the second time to have our passports checked to exit Italy, we were several people behind a sweet African family: a husband, wife, and little boy about 12-15 months old in his mother’s arms. Since it was a back-and-forth snaking queue like the ones at theme parks, we got to see them quite a few times. The mother was a tall, statuesque beauty in the most gorgeous long dress of red decorated with jewels and flowers. It had a low elastic neckline which the little boy would pull down to gain access to her breast to nurse whenever he felt the urge. For a moment I did a double take seeing the woman’s breast completely exposed while he nursed and then pulled away, but my culture shock soon gave way to pure delight as the little guy nourished and comforted himself in the most natural way possible. His parents were completely oblivious of anything out of the ordinary.

The flight home was pretty uneventful, just really long. Neither Tony nor I could sleep a wink, so we watched 3 or 4 movies each on our personal seatback screens. I wish we could figure out the secret to sleeping on planes. Certainly if we ever go transatlantic again, we will upgrade to at least coach plus. It’s worth the extra money to be comfortable on such long flights.

The lovely Italian Alps from the plane

What a glorious end to a fabulous trip!

Would we do this again in the future? Me, most assuredly. Tony, maybe not so much. He can’t understand why we always want to go abroad when we have such a beautiful country right here to explore. I agree, but my sister’s and my thinking is that we only have so many travel years left, and we still have exotic places to visit. Later on, when we’re older, we can stay in the USA. Sounds good on paper. We’ll just have to wait and see. But we will definitely plan more trips with our travel posse of 6. We had too much fun together!

Merry Christmas 2018!

2018-12-08T14:24:00.001-06:00

Merry Christmas 2018!!

Howdy, y’all! We hope this finds you in good health and spirits. I’m writing this on a very rainy, chilly, gloomy December day, hoping for but not expecting at least some flurries. Snow always seems to stay on the north side of the Red River. It’s been a few years since we had a nice snowfall.

We’ve had a great year here in Lake Dallas. The kids are all good, and Tony and I continue to enjoy our retirement years in our little piece of heaven. We’re looking forward to celebrating our family Christmas on Dec. 27 at our newly remodeled Lakehouse clubhouse here at Water’s Edge.

Erika, Josh, Leo and Etta are doing very well. Leo is in 4th grade and is involved in flag football, Upward basketball and piano lessons. He is also part of the school safety patrol at Corinth Classical Academy (CCA). Second grader Etta is in YMCA volleyball, Upward basketball and piano lessons. She is our cuddly Energizer bunny. Josh keeps busy as head graphic designer at Irving Bible Church and continues his freelance design business. Erika is in her second year working part time at a Christian preschool, which she enjoys very much. They are in the midst of a kitchen remodel project which they began right after they hosted Thanksgiving, We can’t wait to see the finished result!

Jenni, Dave, Zoey, Ruby, Maggie and Sam are doing great. Jenni has become a doTERRA Wellness Advocate and is successfully building a thriving business while helping folks learn how to use healthful essential oils in their everyday lives. Dave continues to love teaching robotics and Rover to his high school students at Parish Episcopal School in Dallas. Zoey is in her first year of middle school and is playing violin in the orchestra as well as playing volleyball and basketball on CCA teams. Ruby is in 4th grade and is involved in the CCA Philanthropy Club as well as Upward basketball. This year Dave and Jenni created a second robotics club team for Ruby and her 4th grade friends. They and Zoey’s 6th grade robotics team recently participated in a competition at Dave’s school in Dallas and performed very well. Maggie is our fun 2nd grader who also enjoys Upward basketball and weaving the most entertaining stories for us. My little buddy Sam is now a big kindergartener! While I miss our weekly Thursdays together, he is very happily enjoying school and is doing great. Ruby, Maggie and Sam are still active in AWANA while Zoey has become involved in her church youth group. The whole family still enthusiastically spends 3 fun and adventurous months every summer at Kanakuk Kamp near Branson, MO.

Tony and I were blessed to enjoy 3 wonderful trips this year. In June we drove to St. Louis to celebrate the 50-year reunion of his Affton High class of 1968. He enjoyed reconnecting with old friends while I had a blast getting to know many of his awesome classmates. We were also able to spend some time with Tony’s 94-year-old mom, his sister and brother, and his nephew and family.

In July we used our remaining air miles to fly to Jacksonville to see my sister Lisa’s and Bob’s beautiful new house on the river. We enjoyed spending time with them and going out on their boat as well as tubing on the Ichetucknee River. Tony helped Bob a little with the dock he’s building, but mostly we just enjoyed chilling out by the pool and watching the peaceful river.

September proved to be an exciting month as Lisa, Bob, our cousin Pat and her husband Jeff, Tony and I took a phenomenal trip to London, Paris, and Milan. We did all the typical touristy things plus some of our own adventures, and the 6 of us discovered we make a pretty great travel posse. We plan to take more trips together in the future. I’m working on a travel blog with photos from our trip, which I will post once it’s finished on lucysmamamia.blogspot.com.

Our family continues to love, support, admire, and pray for our wonderful President Trump and his family. Even as his enemies try to thwart him at every turn, he stays true to his convictions and promises. We look forward to the next 6 years as he rights the American ship that has been off course for quite some time.

May each and every one of you have the most wonderful, blessed Christmas and very happy New Year. We pray if you do not personally know the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, this will be the year you make this crucial eternal decision. God bless you all.

Love,

Mona

Merry Christmas 2017!

2017-12-15T14:17:00.001-06:00

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

December 2017

‘Tis the season for baking, wassailing, celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and for catching up on the past year’s activities. We hope everyone has had a wonderful year of joys, good health, accomplishments, and plenty. We’ve had a relatively calm, quiet year. Sometimes uneventful is a very good thing!

Tony and I are still enjoying condo life. It will be 2 years April 1^st since we moved to Water’s Edge, and we have great neighbors and friends here. Water’s Edge is a microcosm of the kind of living we’d yearned for, and we are very happy with the decision to downsize and move here. Retirement life definitely agrees with us, and we have lots of folks here in the same place in life with whom to fellowship and enjoy. Being right on the lake in God’s creation is an added bonus and, as you can see, it’s also a great backdrop for family Christmas photos!

Our kiddos are the mainstay of our lives, and we are so thankful they live so close to us. Zoey is almost 11 and is the loveliest young lady. She is a good student and a joy to all her teachers. She and 4 school friends have a Lego robotics team, the RoboPatriots, and they meet weekly at Jenni’s and Dave’s home as Dave teaches them to build and program their robots to perform tasks in preparation for competition. They recently had a meet and will have another in January. While the team practices, 8 ½-year-old Ruby is upstairs caring for Maggie (almost 7) and Sam (5). She entertains them and gets them ready for bed so all Jenni and Dave have to do is tuck them in. The Cribbs home is a well-oiled machine in which everyone works together in harmony and balance. There is lots of love within those walls, and it extends outward to their neighborhood, church, extended family, and beyond.

We are SO BLESSED that our 4 kids and 6 grandkids all love each other and enjoy spending time together. This is one of the greatest gifts God has given us. It is pure pleasure when all 12 of us are together.

This year Erika is working 3 days a week at a Christian preschool in Denton, and thankfully her school schedule lines up with Leo’s and Etta’s school drop-off and pick-up schedule. Josh, Tony, and I are always available to jump in if necessary. Leo (9) and Etta (almost 7) are doing great in school and with their piano lessons and basketball. In fact, all the grandkids (except Sam, who is looking forward to playing once he’s in school) are playing Upward basketball right now and are learning skills and sportsmanship in a Christ-centered environment. It’s a very cool program, and Papa and I love to go to their games to cheer them on. Leo also plays flag football, which he loves. Etta is our sparkly, cuddly girl who is always giving hugs and loving on us. Josh continues to enjoy his position as head graphic designer at Irving Bible Church as well as the freelance design work he does from home. His design skills continue to amaze his unartistic mother-in-law.

The Wiese 4, Papa, and I recently took a fun road trip to Florida where we spent Thanksgiving plus a few days at Lisa’s and Bob’s. They are getting ready to leave their beautiful big home of 35 years and are building a gorgeous new home on the St. Johns River, so this was the last time we’d have the opportunity to visit them before the move. After a great few days with the Deasons, we 6 headed to Disney World for 5 days of theme park craziness. Fortunately, we’d had an amazing Disney travel specialist (she goes to church with Erika and Josh) who guided us through the wonderful world of Disney and made our visit there extra special. Next week, Jenni, Dave, and their 4 kids will do an almost identical repeat of our Florida trip, spending a few days in Jacksonville with the Deasons, then driving down to Orlando to spend Christmas and a few days following with Dave’s family. When they return, we will have our family Christmas here on December 30.

We also spent a nice weekend in St. Louis in March, visiting Tony’s family. His mom is 93 and is as sharp as ever. We had a great couple of days with them, and we always enjoy the 12-hour drive each way. I’m serious!! Half the fun is getting there, and the drive through Oklahoma and Missouri showcases some beautiful scenery.

This has been a mostly encouraging year as our courageous President and his administration work hard to make America great again and to drain the D.C. swamp. Despite the constant barrage of negativity from most media and derailments by the anti-Trump establishment in Congress, some very promising things are happening and will continue to happen during his term of office. We couldn’t be more pleased with what he and his team are trying to accomplish.

We want to wish all of you the loveliest of Christmases, and the most hopeful New Year. May the Lord bless you with every good gift and ever keep you in His loving care.

Merry Christmas 2016

2016-12-11T09:47:00.000-06:00

Beloved family and friends, December 2016

Taking the time to sit and chronicle events of the past year is no easy task during the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season, yet it is vitally important to stay in touch with those near and far who are important to us—even if it’s only once a year.

2016 was a year of big changes for Tony and me. After 32 years in our Lewisville home, we decided it was time to move to our forever home, a lovely condominium on Lewisville Lake in the town of Lake Dallas, about 15 minutes north of our former home. One motivating factor was proximity to the girls and their families, both of whom are now less than 10 minutes from us. Another was timing. We were weary of the upkeep of house, yard, and pool, and real estate values in our neighborhood were soaring. We decided on the condo we wanted, submitted a contingency contract, and listed our house. The listing went live on a Friday night, and by Sunday night we had 4 offers, all over asking price. The process was so smooth and seamless, we knew without a doubt it was the right decision. We moved to Water’s Edge on April 1 and haven’t had a moment of regret. God directed the entire process and has blessed us abundantly. We have made so many wonderful friends here already, and we are very active in our new community. Here is a link to my blog posting with the detailed story of the move and pictures of our new home:

http://lucysmamamia.blogspot.com/2016/09/t-r-e-e-t-o-p-s.html

Another big change this year is that we have 5 kiddos in school! Zoey Cribbs (4^th grade), Leo Wiese and Ruby Cribbs (2^nd grade), and Etta Wiese and Maggie Cribbs (kindergarten) are all doing great at Corinth Classical Academy. Only 4-year-old Sam Cribbs remains at home, and since his birthday is in October, we get to enjoy him full-time until Fall of 2018. The kids are amazing! Each is his/her own unique individual person, yet all six get along beautifully and love each other very much. They are the fruit of dedicated, Godly parenting: smart, kind, sweet, respectful, resourceful, and they all love the Lord. Tony and I couldn’t be prouder of our children and grandchildren.

Because of the move Tony and I didn’t take a “grand” trip this year, but we did manage to get away twice. In May we traveled to my hometown of Endicott, NY, for the funeral of my beloved aunt and godmother, Olga Presowitz, my mom’s sister. She celebrated her 94th birthday in March and gently passed away in her sleep in April. I miss her terribly but rejoice over her long life on earth and eternal life in heaven. We had a nice time reuniting with family and friends while celebrating Aunty’s life and legacy. Then in June we spent a week with Lisa and Bob on the Caribbean island of St. John, their go-to tropical paradise. The weather was perfect, and we had a great time exploring, hanging out at various beautiful beaches, snorkeling, sailing, relaxing in luxurious adjoining condos, and sampling delightful Caribbean cuisine.

Well, as we look forward to 2017 and join our new President in making America great again, we extend our warmest wishes to you and yours for a lovely Christmas and very happy, healthy New Year. We celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, our hope and salvation, God’s perfect gift to mankind, the only One who is able to set us free from our earthly bondage. May His light shine in your hearts now and always.

PICTURE—back row: Jenni Leo Cribbs, Tony, Mona, Josh Wiese; middle row: Ruby Cribbs, Zoey Cribbs; front row: Dave Cribbs, Maggie Cribbs, Sam Cribbs, Leo Wiese, Etta Wiese, Erika Leo Wiese

OUR NEW ADDRESS: 500 Water’s Edge Drive #128, Lake Dallas, TX 75065

MY NEW EMAIL ADDRESSES: lucysmamamia@gmail.com, mona.w.leo@gmail.com

BLOG ADDRESS: lucysmamamia.blogspot.com

Love, Mona 💖

T R E E T O P S ! ! !

2016-09-24T18:21:00.000-05:00

Ever since Tony and I first drove out to Water's Edge on Lewisville Lake in 2005, we yearned to someday live there. It was a brand new condominium complex, and the units were perfect for what we envisioned as our retirement home one day. We didn't honestly imagine we would ever be able to afford to live there, however, because the units were substantially more expensive than what we could get for our house at the time, and we didn't want to have a mortgage in our "golden years".

Over the ensuing years we occasionally visited the property, which had grown to two, then three, residential buildings. It was still at the top of our retirement living wish list, but the cost was still well out of reach.

Fast forward to 2015. We had decided it was getting to be time to think about selling our house and downsizing. Tony was really tired of taking care of the yard and pool, plus occasionally painting the exterior trim and other projects that home ownership entails. And we had previously decided to wait until our sweet Millie girl was no longer with us, which sadly happened in May. But where to move?

Two motivating factors prompted the acceleration of our plans. First, we took another trip out to Water's Edge and found the perfect condo. Second, resale prices in our neighborhood suddenly skyrocketed to where we could realistically afford to buy the condo. We saw God's hand directing every single step of this journey. He opened doors we never dreamed possible. It was abundantly clear that this was the right time and place to move.

Another indication that this was the right move for us was that neither Tony nor I had any remorse about leaving our home of 32 years. I never shed a tear or had a single moment of sadness. It was clearly time.

Last family photo at 1754 Clarendon Drive in Lewisville. We made so many wonderful memories in that home.

Our fantastic realtor, Karen Sefcik, listed our house on a Friday night in March 2016. By Sunday night we had had 19 lookers and had 4 offers. We accepted an offer $10,000 over asking price, closed on both properties, and moved to Water's Edge on April 1, 2016.

It is now nearly 6 months later and we are still very happy with our decision. There have been, of course, some adjustments to be made going from single-family home to condominium, but for the most part we absolutely love living here, and we thank God for providing us this opportunity. Although we lost a double garage and attic, the condo is less than 200 square feet smaller than our house and is very well designed for living and storage. An added bonus is being less than 10 minutes from both girls and their families, and half the distance to church.

Our unit is in the oldest of the 3 buildings, on the second floor with a nice view of the lake. We have 2 assigned parking spaces in the garage beneath the building. Tony and I enjoy taking the stairs, but there is an elevator available if we're loaded down with groceries (or in later years when stairs may become difficult). The complex has a lovely pool, a nice workout room, and the Lakehouse recreation building right on the lake. We play dominoes with some of our neighbors every Thursday evening, I'm in a wonderful women's Bible study, and we're already making lots of nice friends.

In addition to the photos I've posted below, here is a link to the official Water's Edge website: http://www.luxurylakecondos.com/ld.html

Although the interior photos of the unit shown on the website were taken in the third and newest building, which is right on the water and a lot more expensive than ours, we love our totally remodeled unit. And the prices and HOA dues have significantly increased since the website was created, but the other information has not changed. Our unit is called the Lakeshore. Now, scroll down and enjoy a photo tour of our own place!

Approaching the entrance to Water's Edge

The place is nicely landscaped.

Drive through the entrance gate...

...down the tree-lined driveway...

...turn right at the waterfall...

...and enter the parking garage.

This is where our car safely stays out of the weather.

After climbing 2 flights of stairs we look down onto the guest parking lot and Building 2 across the courtyard.

At the end of the hallway is this nice view of Building 3 and the lake.

Continue down the hallway past two other units...

...turn left at the 5 big urns full of plants (which used to adorn our pool deck at the house)...

...and you find yourself at Unit 128, aka Casa Leo, aka Treetops!!

Welcome!! This is the view into the condo from the front door,

and this is the view of the front door from the inside.

Take an immediate left into the little hallway, which leads to

the first bedroom, which I like to call the Garden Room.

We already had most of the furnishings, but we did add a couple of Ikea pieces,

including a platform bed with nice storage drawers underneath.

Across the hall from the Garden Room is bathroom #1.

On the other side of the foyer is bedroom #2,

(Ikea really helped us out here, too.)

and the laundry room. (No sassy remarks about my 40-year-old Harvest Gold clothes dryer that is still going strong!)

Continuing into the condo from the foyer we come to the kitchen,

which is quite possibly my favorite room in the house.

Looking out from the kitchen we see my cookbook cabinet and another small hallway , which leads to

a powder room and

Tony's Rocket Room//

storage room//

freezer room//pantry. The website calls this a "media room". We call it the "Thank God we have a place to keep all our stuff where we can close the door so people won't see what hoarders we are" room!! Hahahahahahahahaha!!!!!

Okay, so now that you've seen our darkest secrets, let us resume the tour in the dining room//library.

On the other side of the dining room is a lovely butler's pantry and space for our DVD cabinet.

Last but not least in this continuous open space is the living room.

This room is about half the size of the one we had on Clarendon Drive, yet it's perfectly adequate and we haven't missed the extra (aka, wasted) space one bit.

Everyone (including me!) will tell you I am no decorator, but when I saw this area rug I knew it was a perfect fit with the furniture and wall art.

Behind the tv and its stand is a silly, phony, electric fireplace that I had no qualms about covering. I do love the stacked stone accent wall, though.

Off the living room is one more cute cubby,

the perfect spot for our CD cabinet, and which leads to

the office//den.

Inside this armoire is my turntable and fairly good-sized vinyl album collection.

I promised Tony if we could get new living room furniture, he wouldn't have to part with his 16-year-old, very well worn recliner.

His-and-hers, side-by-side desks. Awww, aren't we cute??

Off the den (which most folks use as their master bedroom) is the master bathroom with its Jacuzzi tub, stand-up shower, linen closet,

ginormous walk-in closet,

separate water closet and

towel drying room,

and double vanity.

Gotta love two sinks!!

Accessible from both the living room and the den is the nice-sized terrace,

which we recently had screened in because, after all,

bugs enjoy being near the water, too. The screen has been such a blessing.

This is why I named our condo "Treetops".

We also have a pretty good view of the lake, which will be even better once the deciduous trees start losing their leaves.

And this is the view we are able to enjoy every day from the Lakehouse deck. So peaceful and tranquil, I think it will do just fine until we get to heaven!

Greece, May 2015

2016-08-05T22:03:00.001-05:00

PROLOGUE

Finally, after years of yearning, Lisa finally got to have her dream trip to Greece. We looked at many options—cruises, tours, island hoppers—finally deciding on a 10-day Globus island hopper tour to Athens, Mykonos, and Santorini, 3 days at each. There was a little wrinkle, though. The Greek economy was struggling mightily, and it was possible that while we were over there we may have faced trouble using the ATMs. So we all purchased some Euros before we started the trip, just in case. It turned out that we had no trouble at all, but everything did collapse about a month after we returned home. Banks and ATMs were not accessible. God was really watching out for us to let this happen after our trip and not during it.

FRIDAY, MAY 15, 2015 TO SATURDAY, MAY 16, 2015 – FLIGHT TO ATHENS, GREECE

After a rather stressful beginning, we were on the way to Athens! Josh drove us to DFW Airport for our departure. When we got to the Delta terminal, there was so much construction where he dropped us off (not his fault; it was the correct gate), we couldn’t get to the check-in place. We ended up taking an airport bus to the other end of the terminal. Then our flight to JFK left half an hour late, making us very tense because we had a very narrow window to meet Lisa and Bob to catch our connecting flight to Athens. But we made up some time in the air and got to our departing gate at JFK in plenty of time to make our 4:00 pm flight. Time for a dinner of airplane food and then some sleep, hopefully.

Couples selfie!

SATURDAY, MAY 16, 2015 – ATHENS, GREECE

Well, so much for the hope for sleep. This first day was so hard because we were exhausted and out of it, having slept a total of about 1½ hours of the 9-hour flight. But we had to force ourselves to stay awake because it was daytime in Athens. We arrived at our hotel and met a very sweet 24-year-old young woman, Alyssa, who was traveling alone. We 5 hit it off right away and hung out quite a bit on the trip. She was from Cleveland and had zero qualms about solo adventuring. We dropped our luggage in our rooms, then we all went for an exploratory walk. Tired and hot, we succumbed to the need for sleep and took a little nap before dinner at a lovely outdoor tavern, Elia Taverna. Tony and I each had a wonderful Greek salad. Authentic Greek salads are different from those we have in the USA. The most significant difference is the total absence of lettuce! And the abundance (Lisa would say “overabundance”) of creamy feta!

We loved these salads so much, I created a copycat recipe from memory once we returned home. Here it is. Enjoy!!

MONA’S GREEK SALAD

1 large cucumber, peeled and cut into chunks

3 medium to large ripe tomatoes, cut into chunks

1 green bell pepper, seeded and cut into thin slices

½ large purple onion, sliced thinly

1 jar (about 12 ounces) pitted Kalamata olives, drained

About 8 ounces feta cheese, crumbled

Olive oil

Red wine vinegar

Italian seasoning (I use Tone’s from Sam’s Club)

Greek seasoning (I use Cavender’s All-Purpose Greek Seasoning)

Combine the first 5 ingredients in a large bowl. Add olive oil and red wine vinegar (I don’t measure, but I estimate approximately 1/4 to 1/3 cup olive oil and 1 to 2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar—you’ll have to experiment to find your best flavor). Sprinkle generously with Italian and Greek seasonings. Toss well and chill. At serving time, sprinkle feta cheese on top of salad.

At 6 pm all the participants in the tour met for an organizational meeting, led by a nice guy named George. He was substituting for our tour director, Christina, who was finishing up with another group. At this point we were already getting a little disappointed with Globus. Our two previous Globus tours to Hawaii and the Alpine Countries were fabulous, but on this trip we saw many corners cut with no reduction in price. Case in point: history suggested we should have a nice welcome and farewell meal with our group as we had on the other trips. This time we were offered a glass of thick, sweet, orange-y juice drink and some potato chips—not even a glass of wine. As a result, we all decided next time we will try a different tour company than Globus, and our end-of-tour evaluations said as much. We paid a lot of money for this trip and were not expecting such a level of chintziness.

SUNDAY, MAY 17, 2015 – ATHENS, GREECE

After a decent night’s sleep, our day began with a yummy breakfast buffet on the hotel’s 9^th floor rooftop restaurant with amazing views of Athens. My favorite item was the delicious fresh orange juice squeezed right into the glass from the automatic juicer!

View from the hotel roof where we had breakfast

Pool on the rooftop of Crowne Plaza Hotel Athens

From our hotel we had a great view of Mount Lycabettus and the Church of Agios Georgios.

We did not have a chance to go up to the church, but it's said that from its vantage point at sunset, the entire city of Athens turns amethyst.

We then met our tour director, Christina, and our tour guide for the day, “Lucy” (Loukia), and driver, Marius. We toured a lot of the city, stopping at the old palace/now Parliament building for the changing of the guard, and, of course, the Acropolis.

Greek Parliament Building (formerly the old palace)

Cute Greek soldiers during the changing of the guard, marching verrrrrry slowly

I took a great video but Blogger says it's too long to upload. :-(

National Library of Greece

We drove past this cool sculpture but I cannot find out its name. (Help, anyone?)

People were having their photos taken with these characters. #willworkfortips

Old Olympic Stadium in Athens

Also known as the Panathenaic Stadium

Looking up at the Acropolis from the Stadium

Ancient ruins at the base of the Acropolis

View of Athens from the Acropolis

More views (It's pretty rough terrain up there!)

Temple of Hephaestus as seen from the Acropolis

Explaning the restoration of the Parthenon

The Parthenon is undergoing extensive preservation procedures.

Now, tell me the truth: we don't look a bit like tourists, do we? #haveChatterwilltravel

The majestic Greek flag

Pretty poppies poking through the rocky terrain

View of the Parthenon in all its ancient glory

Erechtheum on the Acropolis

These women were supposed to exemplify the ultimate in female beauty, femininity, and strength.

The view and breathtaking history atop the Acropolis are worth the climb!

Below us is the Hill of Elders (which these elders DID NOT climb), also known as Mars Hill or Areopagus Hill

After a good bit of time up there with a gazillion other tourists, we were driven past Hadrian’s Gate back to the main shopping area, Plaka, where shops were open for business on Sunday.

Hadrian's Gate

Ornate silver and gold icon of Jesus and Mary in an expensive boutique near the Acropolis

We saw a lot of this gorgeous plant, which I think might be in the bougainvillea family but we never were close enough to inspect it.

When in Athens, be sure to dress the part.

Pretty entrance to a church near Hadrian's Gate

We got a good handle on souvenir shopping and had a lovely lunch (Greek salad #2 for me!). It was already getting pretty hot, so we stopped by the Temple of Zeus ruins to rest for a few minutes, then caught a taxi back to the hotel.

Temple of Zeus

Much archaeological preservation going on at the ruins all over Athens

Zeus's gravestone??

This was a cool ruin, as if a big slicer came along and took down one of the columns.

Tony and Bob stayed there for a little nap while Lisa, Alyssa, and I strolled to Starbucks for a cool Frappuccino and girl chatter. Later on we went out for a bit of light dinner, then to bed to prepare for the next day’s 4:00 am wake-up and 4-hour ferry ride to Mykonos. Moment of levity: at dinner I decided to try the sea bass. When it arrived, it was looking up at me – head, open eyes, and all!! It was delicious but there was very little flesh, a good thing since I wasn’t very hungry after the presentation. <><

MONDAY, MAY 18, 2015 – ATHENS TO MYKONOS

Our day began with more disappointment in this Globus tour. It wasn’t the 4:00 am wakeup call, having to put our luggage outside our rooms by 4:40 am, or the 5:30 am departure time. It was the promise of breakfast in the brochure when in reality we were handed a bag with the most disgusting food items. The bag breakfast would have been nasty even if we had been starving, but first thing in the morning? Yuck!!! Another negative item to add to our list of grievances.

*NOTE: Please don’t think we analyze and criticize every single aspect of our travels. But when one is paying several thousand dollars per person for a tour, not including the encouraged generous tips, one expects a certain level of quality. And Globus fell far short this time.

We boarded a bus, picked up some more people at a different hotel, and drove to the port to catch the promised high-speed ferry to Mykonos. At the port we waited……and waited……and waited, all the while thinking how we could have spent at least another hour in bed. Finally we boarded for the very long ferry ride (which turned out to be the normal ferry and not the high-speed one we had paid for) and included snack which was about as tasty as our bag breakfast. But once we entered the glorious Cyclades chain and eventually arrived in Mykonos, all our discontentment vanished. It was absolutely gorgeous, just like the pictures, with its gleaming white buildings trimmed in various shades of blue, incredible mountainous terrain, and stunning clear water ranging in color from turquoise to navy. Our hotel was very simple and primitive but it was beachfront with a lovely pool. The view was worth any missing amenities.

Approaching Mykonos by ferry

Pretty blue water, gleaming white buildings, and rocky terrain

Not a bad hotel; I would stay here again.

Buildings in the Cyclades are painted yearly to resist mildew.

The white with blue trim is so pretty next to the water.

View of the pool and Aegean from our room. Not bad!

We spent a bit of time here next to the pool because of a good internet connection.

Apparently the Manoulas Beach Hotel's claim to fame is its feature in an old movie, "Shirley Valentine". None of us had ever heard of it, but it might be worth a Netflix rental just to relive this portion of our trip.

We checked into our rooms then went to sit by the pool. For lunch, we walked a few hundred feet down the road and had some delicious pizza at an open-air café. Back at the hotel, we spent more time sitting by the pool, walked down to the beach to put our feet in the COLD water, then headed back to our rooms to get ready for dinner. At 6:45 pm our group of 27 met to walk next door from our hotel to an open-air terrace restaurant for the first of our 2 included dinners—salad, very tough bruschetta, moussaka, pork souvlaki, fries, tzatziki, a glass of juice, and cake. Afterward, we returned to our rooms to get a decent night’s sleep to try to make a dent in our mounting sleep deprivation. The following day we were to be taken on a walking tour of Mykonos town. We also discovered the catamaran trip we had hoped for wouldn’t be happening on Mykonos because we waited too long to book it. L

The beach just below the hotel

Looking up at the restaurant where we had dinner

From the restaurant, overlooking the sea, Lisa on the left in the shadows

TUESDAY, MAY 19, 2015 – MYKONOS

After a less than spectacular breakfast, we all went into Mykonos town for our included walking tour. We walked along the waterfront and saw tons of really cool black sea urchins right there near the seawall. We passed lots of outdoor cafes, tiny churches, and shops. Christina told us that some of the churches were so small because they had been privately owned in the past. Mykonos is a fishing town/island, and because there was no way to communicate with their loved ones at sea, families would erect their own little churches to have places to pray for their fishermen’s safe return.

No idea what this says except "Mykonos" at the bottom

View from the bus on the way into Mykonos town

Cluster of sea urchins in several feet of crystal-clear water along the sea wall

View of the town from the seawall

Just one of many hundreds of tiny churches in the Cyclades

And another, this one with a rare red roof instead of blue

Same church, further back

Inside one of the many Greek Orthodox churches

At one tavern we were given a traditional almond cookie to try, then we continued on to end up at the Church of Panagia Paraportiani, the most famous, most photographed church on the island. In the background on a hill behind the church were the 5 famous windmills. While we were at the church, we saw a fashion photo shoot of a lovely, tall, very statuesque young woman modeling pretty clothes and shoes -- EXPENSIVE shoes!! She was quite annoyed at all the attention and gawking from tourists, but it was a public place so she had to put up with us and our cameras.

Church of Panagia Paraportiani

Beautiful but haughty model

She probably didn't enjoy us tourists posting her pictures all over Facebook and Instagram.

It was also pretty warm and she was wearing black, so that could have added to her crankiness.

One of several friendly pelicans that are Mykonos mascots.

This one enjoyed posing and receiving treats from tourists.

We would have been shocked if there hadn't been at least one Zorba's, dancing or otherwise.

The five famous Mykonos windmills on the hill

The windmills make a great photo backdrop.

When our walking tour was over, we went shopping to pick up the rest of the souvenirs and gifts we wanted to bring home. We stopped for a beer and a rest at a nice outdoor café, shopped some more, and had a gelato (good, but not as good as the ones we had in Italy) before heading back to the meeting place to be picked up by the bus to return to our hotel. Once we were back and pretty hot from the day, we put on our suits (except Tony, who went for a run on crazy mountain roads) and sat by the pool. We tried to get in for a dip but it was too cold. Jenni, Zoey, and Ruby (already at Kanakuk for the summer) tried to Hang Out with us, but we couldn’t make a connection. L We all went back to our rooms to change for dinner at the same café across the street from the hotel, where we 4 had pasta accompanied by a pretty good heart-to-heart about our future travels. We discovered we were all on the same page about it getting to be too stressful and too much of a hassle to take these organized transatlantic trips. We just weren’t enjoying this one as much as we had expected. Hopefully we will be up for one more trip to London, Paris, and Normandy in a few years, possibly another to the Italian Alps/lake country region, and that will probably be it for Europe. We’ll see.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 20, 2015 – MYKONOS

Our last day on Mykonos went from blissully uneventful to tragic. L

After breakfast we caught a public bus to the village of Mykonos. Lisa needed to do a little more shopping, so the guys went to have a beer. When we had finished shopping, Lisa and I found them and we all hiked up the hill to the 5 windmills. After the requisite photos, we went down to have lunch at a waterfront place in Little Venice.

Up on the hill, getting up close and personal with the windmills. Hi, Tony!!

Bob and Lisa with windmill backdrop

Mykonos's "Little Venice" area, where we had lunch (but not Italian!)

Finding the return bus took a bit of searching, but eventually we found it and headed back to the hotel for a little sun time around the pool. We decided to have dinner at the open-air beachfront restaurant attached to our hotel, which had just opened that day for the season. During dinner, Lisa (the only one of us who had an international texting package) received an urgent text from Erika, saying she needed to talk immediately to Tony and me about Millie. Lisa graciously let me use her phone to call Erika halfway around the world. Our poor daughter had been completely consumed for the previous 3 days dealing with Millie, who was boarded at our wonderful favorite boarding kennel. In fact, Josh even had to take a day off from work to stay with Etta while Erika dealt with Millie. The kennel had let Erika know that not only had Millie not eaten since we left her 6 days before, but that she had become progressively lame to the point where she could no longer get up at all. We had suspected some hind leg knee problems a few weeks earlier, but the vet couldn’t find anything wrong so we felt fairly secure leaving her in the very capable hands of our kennel folks who adored her. But during the previous couple of weeks we had had a lot of heavy rain, and conditions at the kennel were very slippery. Apparently when Millie was let out into the yard to do her business, she slipped and injured her knee. So Erika picked up Millie from the kennel in our car (which has a hatch and fold-down seats) and drove her to our vet. Dr. Legg had to examine her in the car because she couldn’t get out on her own and was too heavy to lift. He diagnosed a badly blown out/torn knee and sent Erika the next day to the surgery center where our previous dog, Lucy the Rottweiler, had had her knee operations when she was four years old. The doctor there found a second torn knee and explained the necessary surgeries and rehab/recovery prognosis for Millie. Since Millie was nearly 8 years old, the lengthy and grueling process would have been terribly hard on her. So Tony and I reluctantly made the most agonizing decision to have her put to sleep. It nearly killed us to have to do this without being there with her to comfort her and say goodbye, but we still had a week left of our tour before coming home, and we just couldn’t let her suffer another day. Even more than a year later, it is so painful to remember that terrible time for all of us. The kids were absolutely amazing, handling everything on their own, very capably and lovingly. Erika bonded with Millie as never before, and I’m so glad Millie trusted her so. We were all devastated, of course, but neither Tony nor I had any hesitation about our decision. We loved her too much to let her suffer even one more day. She was one of the best dogs we ever had, and we know she is happily running and playing with all her friends in heaven, healthy and healed.

Millie at about 6 weeks old

Our precious, sweet big girl (July 28, 2007-May 20, 2015)

THURSDAY, MAY 21, 2015 – MYKONOS TO SANTORINI

After a difficult night and not much appetite for breakfast, we checked out of the Manoulas Beach Hotel and hopped aboard our Globus bus to the old port of Mykonos. We had about a 30-minute wait with our group before boarding the high-speed ferry to Santorini. This time it really was high speed. ;-) On board it was airplane-style seating, quite comfortable, so we tried to take a little snooze to try to make up for the sleep deprivation of the night before.

We arrived on Santorini close to 1:00 pm and were taken on a harrowing bus ride from the port up a mountain full of switchbacks, then down to a different part of the island near the airport and close to the beach. But it was really in the middle of nowhere. The beach wasn’t great there, and there were no restaurant choices or activities at all.

Rocky cliffs of Santorini

On the bus traversing a crazy switchback

Beachfront poolside at Mediterranean Beach Hotel

The pretty Mediterranean Beach Hotel pool and hotel

Plus, at the last minute Globus switched us from the lovely beachfront Mediterranean Beach Hotel to the Mediterranean Royal Hotel a few blocks away from the beach. We had been told we were being moved from a 4-star to a 5-star hotel, but none of us believed it. We were clearly downgraded to an inferior hotel and location, as this same hotel in the States would rate no more than 2 or 2½ stars. The view was spectacular on the ocean side, but the hotel itself was shabby and spartan. We got settled in and went down to the pool to have some lunch.

View of the pool, vineyard, and Mediterranean Beach Hotel (and ocean beyond) from our room

Another view from our room, including these strange umbrella pines

Our pool wasn't bad but it wasn't as gorgeous as the other hotel's.

Tony and me about to order some lunch poolside.....

.....with Bob and Lisa

Our tour guide, Christina

View of our room from poolside

This was our 2-room "suite" -- pretty on the outside, but not even photo worthy on the inside.

View from the other side of the hotel of the airport and rocky mountain beyond -- in the middle of nowhere

And the inevitable pretty church, surrounded by vineyards

NOTE: Vineyards are plentiful on Santorini, but they look very different from vineyards in other places in the world. Due to Santorini's hot, dry, windy climate, the grapes have adapted to grow more like low shrubs, close to the ground. There are no arbors or irrigation. Santorini wines are delicious, so the grapes must be doing something right!

Afterward we walked to the only store for miles and picked up some water and wine. The guys stayed in the rooms while Lisa and I went to the pool for a bit, then we all got ready for the second of two included dinners of the tour. We had to walk down to the other hotel for the decent buffet dinner, rubbing salt in the wound of not being allowed to stay there, so there was a bit of grumbling on the walk back to our place. It was clearly a lot nicer than our hotel. We all turned in early, with the hope of sleeping a little better than we had the night before. Our emotions were still very raw over losing Millie, of course.

FRIDAY, MAY 22, 2015 – SANTORINI

In the morning, we awakened to more doubts and misgivings about our Millie decision, but after much analysis we realized it was just Satan trying to cloud our minds and hearts. When we considered all the reasons to keep her alive in terrible pain and starvation from refusing food until we got home to her against putting her to gentle sleep right away, the latter won every time. We have never been people who selfishly keep a family member pet alive just for our own pleasure. It was an excruciatingly painful decision, especially since we didn’t have a chance to say goodbye, but it was the loving, responsible thing to do.

So we had breakfast and then got on the bus to spend the morning in Fira, also known as Thira, with our tour. Christina took us on a walking tour of the town, including a stop for a drink at a lovely tavern overlooking the water and steep cliffs. Looking down on one side we saw cable cars running down to the small port. On the other side, people and donkeys carrying people went up and down the 600 steps to the same port.

Hey! Greece is known for its philosophy, right?

Christina leading our tour in Fira with a gorgeous church in the background

Strolling through Fira

I hate having my picture taken but I lost that battle overlooking the sea high up in Fira.

Turnabout's fair play, Tony!

Different view of that same church

Cool clock tower amidst the many churches

Peering inside one of the beautiful Greek Orthodox churches (cannot take pictures inside so this was taken from the doorway)

The name of the church in Greek and English

The gorgeous mosaic icon over the entrance

Cool art gallery with awesome sculptures in weird places

Looking down from the cafe in Fira where we enjoyed a drink (Ouzo, of course!)

Fira is so pretty, there is no bad place to take a picture.

One of the zillions of jewelry stores (aka, tourist traps) we passed while strolling through Fira.

Ornate icon in the jewelry store window

Another view from the cafe very high up in Fira

Quite a drop off from the cafe to the sea below

Yet another view of that gorgeous church (Yeah, I was enamored.)

Cable car from way up in Fira to the sea below

Another way to get from the top to the bottom

Sweet donkeys do this all day, every day. Animal lovers, we ourselves couldn't do it to them.

Afterward, we walked around and did a little shopping, then we stopped for lunch at a very cute place called Mama’s House. Not only was the food delicious, but Mama was a total hoot! She was loud and sweet and friendly and kind, and we all fell in love with her. We hated to leave.

We would come back here in a heartbeat.

Christina, Mama, and Bob

Tony and Bob didn't want to leave Mama's, and neither did Lisa and I.

We walked a bit more, stopping to gawk at a fish spa – a place where you put your feet into a tank full of tiny minnow-sized fish that eat the dead skin from your feet, supposedly leaving them smooth and soft. Lisa and I were totally going to try it but we didn’t have enough time before we were to be back at the bus to return to our hotel.

Shopping for "street crap"

We need more of these in the States.

I WANT ONE OF THESE!!!

These fishies are smart! They know reflexology!!!

Once there, we took a little rest before meeting up with our group for our Globus excursion, an evening trip to the town of Oia at the northwest tip of the island.

Arriving in Oia (pronounced "EEya")

Imagine that! Another church!! (They are so prevalent it's hard not to get a church in each photo.)

Another vineyard

Many homes on Santorini have these cute tiny churches on pedestals next to the road. I asked Christina about them, but her explanation was a bit obtuse. I think they're mailboxes!! ;-)

Terraced land along the road to Oia

I thought this house was so pretty, and it had a crazy sidewalk that reminded me of San Francisco!

A donkey terminal with no donkeys

Pistachios growing in many Oia yards

Sorry about all the pictures of churches (couldn't help myself)

Oia is famous for its spectacular sunsets. We all stopped for a light dinner of Greek salad and appetizers, then we strolled around the picturesque town and took lots of pictures. At one of the many jewelry stores, Tony bought me a beautiful silver and blue opal ring with the Greek key design. To this day I call it my “Millie ring” because it was in honor of her, and I love it.

Volkan (not Vulcan) beer -- pretty good!

Lava rock filtering totally works.

Another view of Oia

Pretty church plaza where we saw a wedding couple later on (Keep scrolling and reading!)

Above the doorway of the church in the plaza

And view inside from the door

Ruby's!!! (Have no idea what Ruby was selling, but since we have a granddaughter named Ruby, I had to take the picture.)

We then headed up to a high cliff overlooking the sea to wait for the sunset – we and many hundreds of other tourists. Tony didn’t enjoy the crush of bodies, so he went for a walk and found some of our group having a cool drink at a terrace café. Lisa, 2 gals from our tour, and I found a great vantage point just the right-sized space for 4, separated from the rest of the crowd by a stone wall. We stayed for an hour and a half, waiting for the clouds to lift so we could see the amazing sunset, but it never cleared up so our photos aren’t great.

The famous Oia sunset

Me, Lisa, and one of the gals from our group

More setting......

......and more.......

......and more, about as good as it got

On the way back to the bus we passed a cute young Asian couple in their wedding finery, posing for photos outside a beautiful Greek Orthodox church.

The couple was in that same plaza we saw a few frames back.

All in all, it was quite a fun outing.

SATURDAY, MAY 23, 2015 – SANTORINI

One of the things we really wanted to do this trip was take a catamaran sailing trip around the Cyclades. Since our potential sail bombed out on Mykonos, we asked the hotel desk clerk if she knew of any sailing trips we could take. Fortunately, she did! She booked us with Santorini Exclusive Sailing, so this morning we started the best adventure of the entire trip.

We were picked up in a small Mercedes sedan by a lovely woman named Anastasia, who drove us to the tiny port of Oia. Her son and owner of the beautiful sailboat, Captain Vaios, and his first mate, Nikos, took us on a fantastic, breathtaking, all-day sail around the volcanic islands near Santorini. We swam in chilly water that turned warm as we approached hot springs. At lunchtime, Vaios and Nikos went below and in a little while brought up lunch. We were expecting something simple like sandwiches, but they actually cooked one of the most delicious meals we’ve ever had – huge prawns that tasted like lobster, tomato balls (actually more like tomato cakes), sautéed white Santorini eggplant, really good bread, and fava bean dip accompanied by all the wine, beer, ouzo, water, and soft drinks we wanted.

Sailing through the gorgeous Cyclades

View of one of the islands from the boat

Tony had a great time, as did we all!!

Another pretty view from the boat

Our wonderful host, Captain Vaios

Greek salad

Fresh, crusty, delicious bread (brought by Anastasia)

Tomato balls, sauteed prawns, and white Santorini eggplant

Fava bean dip (amazing with the bread)

It was a perfect day, and we were even able to temporarily forget what we would have to face once we returned home Monday night. After the sail, Anastasia was there to take us back to our hotel. We enjoyed our time with these dear people so much that I am Facebook friends with Vaios and Anastasia!! Honestly, this day was so wonderful it blotted out much of the rest of the Globus tour that disappointed us. If any of you reading this ever travels to Santorini, we highly recommend this sailing tour. Vaios will treat you royally!!

SUNDAY, MAY 24, 2015 – SANTORINI TO ATHENS

After breakfast we checked out and boarded a bus for the 10-minute drive to the airport (which we could see from the hotel). We checked in and – Praise God!! – our luggage was under the weight limit. Souvenirs, you know. ;-) Our whole group sat and visited at a pretty rooftop café (yes, at the airport), waiting for the short flight to Athens.

Waiting with our group for the flight back to Athens

Our Aegean Airlines plane, ready to be boarded

We had one more overnight in Athens before we headed home Monday on a noon flight to JFK. I have to give kudos to Aegean Airlines. That quick 40-minute flight was absolutely the most comfortable, pleasant flight we’ve ever taken. The plane was spacious and clean, almost a throwback to another time when air travel was a pleasure. The crew was very accommodating, and there were so many more flight attendants than we are accustomed to. The female attendants wore cute, 1950s-style uniforms with adorable pillbox hats. They wore full makeup and tight buns as in years past, and each one was gorgeous. During that very short time period, we were served hard candies, croissants, and towelettes. So fun!!

Advertisement pic of Aegean crew

Once we had landed, we again boarded a bus to the Crowne Plaza Hotel, where we had stayed our first 2 nights in Greece. It was by far the most comfortable and modern hotel we had the entire tour. It was almost like coming home, and it was so wonderful to be in such a ”plush” hotel with nice amenities after the relatively awful, bare bones hotels on the islands. And don't get me started on requisite potty procedures in the islands. It was not pretty.

On the way to the hotel, we had a nice scenic tour of Athens from the airport.

Cool Greek sculpture just outside the airport in Athens. Freeform Olympic emblem?

Headed in the right direction

Ubiquitous Ikea

Not exactly sure what this is, but it appears to be a guy on a scooter transporting a box of roosters. Reasonable.

We weren't sure if we should be worried about a bus driver with an icon next to the steering wheel.

Beautiful lavender tree in full bloom all over Athens

I'll bet the Athenians don't have an appreciation of this view of the Parthenon from many areas of the city. But we tourists surely did!

Evidence of the economic crisis in Athens

Graffiti was prevalent everywhere, indicating the frustration of the Athenians over the fiscal crisis. But never were there any defacements of historic landmarks.

Famous "Running Man" glass sculpture not far from our hotel

By that time we were pretty hungry, as it was after 2:30. One can only get so much energy from a croissant! We quickly checked in for our Delta flights the following day and printed our boarding passes at the hotel, then we walked to our now-favorite Elia Taverna for one last great meal of pizza, ouzo, wine, and beer (all the major food groups!). “Our” waiter, Chris (Christos) was working and recognized us right away, as we had been there twice before. It was a very nice way to enjoy our last restaurant meal in Greece.

After "linner" (lunch/dinner), we walked back to the hotel and left the guys to go upstairs to our rooms while Lisa and I checked with the front desk to find a fish spa. Yes, we were determined to do this fun thing that we might never have the chance to do again since fish spas in the States are rare. The sweet clerk found 2 fish spas in Plaka, so we got a cab out front and rode about 10 minutes to exactly where we needed to go.

This instilled confidence (NOT!!!).

Neither did this.

The fish spa was so much fun!! We had to wash our feet then walk on special mats to our side-by-side tanks. The lady had Lisa and me put our feet in at the exact same time, then she set a timer for 10 minutes. Little Thai fish that looked like catfish minnows starting nibbling on our feet and legs. Apparently they subsist on a diet of dead human skin. Weird. It tickled a bit but we quickly got used to it – very strange for me because I am deathly ticklish. The fish were so cute and gentle.

In the tank

It was almost impossible for one as ticklish as I to endure 10 minutes of this. But we loved it!

When our time was up, we donned our shoes once more and went for a stroll around Plaka with our new, baby-soft feet. I found a beautiful, sought-after, olive wood cross, then Lisa bought us each a gelato. I had rum raisin and lemon. Coconut is still my all-time favorite, but this lemon was amazing – tart, smooth, and delicious. Definitely a contender for favorite. After licking our sticky fingers clean, we caught a cab back to the hotel, were grossly overcharged but were too tired to fight with the cabbie, and called it a night.

MONDAY, MAY 25, 2015 – ATHENS TO HOME

In the morning we packed, had a nice breakfast, filled out our Globus evaluation forms, tipped our tour guide, and set out for the airport. After a 10-hour 45-minute transatlantic flight and another 3½ hours from JFK to Dallas, we were home. It certainly was an adventure, one we will probably never repeat, but one full of amazing experiences and memories. Greece was indeed enchanting, a land of incredible history, amazing physical topography, and unbelievable waters and landmarks. We’re very glad to have had this wonderful experience with Lisa and Bob, and we look forward to many fun travels together in the future. Here are some farewell photos of enchanting Greece from the plane as we headed home.

EPILOGUE

It would be unfair to Millie’s memory to leave out details of our homecoming. Honestly, as much as we were dreading walking in the door and knowing we would never again see that sweet face, we were so blessed that Erika and Josh had preceded us and cleared away all of Millie’s things so we wouldn’t be immediately reminded of her absence. The house seemed very empty, of course, and knowing we wouldn’t be picking her up from the kennel the next day was the elephant in the room. Even now, 15 months after losing her, we think and talk about her all the time. Every dog lover we know understands this. But we are reassured that she is out of pain and healthy again, and we know there was definitely no other decision we could have made. Play well in heaven, our precious girl. We love you forever!!

OPA!!!!!

Merry Christmas 2015!!

2015-12-04T15:36:00.000-06:00

Holiday greetings to our much-loved friends and family!

As we rapidly approach another holy season of Christmas, we look back on the past year of fond memories with great joy and a bit of sorrow. Mix them all together and you have the recipe for life – the abundant life in Christ Jesus. He is our Strength, our Hope, our Redeemer, and our Friend. What a privilege to celebrate His birth and purpose! How grateful we are that He is in control of everything!

This year brought several travel opportunities, one of the perks of retirement. In mid-May Tony and I joined my sister Lisa and brother-in-law Bob on a lovely trip to Greece. We toured Athens for 2 days, then spent 3 days each on the islands of Mykonos and Santorini. Athens was spectacular! From ancient ruins to modern architecture and everything in between, it is a city alive with history, culture, ethnicity, and pride. We were somewhat concerned that the precarious Greek economy might topple while we were there, but fortunately we had no problems. After Athens we spent idyllic days on Mykonos, a land of gorgeous scenery, windmills, and crazy-twisty mountain roads, staying at a pretty, gleaming white hotel overlooking endless blue water. On our last night there, we were having dinner at a lovely outdoor restaurant when we received a call from Erika, telling us that our precious Great Dane/Anatolian Shepherd, Millie, had blown out both her back knees and was in very bad shape. We knew one of her knees had been bothering her, and we took every precaution before boarding her. But this was during weeks of endless rain and very slippery conditions. Apparently when Millie was let out to do her business, she must have slipped, finishing off the already bad knee and tearing the other one as well. She could not get up at all. I won’t go into detail, but suffice it to say that Erika and Josh heroically did everything humanly possible for Millie. In the end, since it was virtually impossible for us to be home in less than the week we had remaining, and with our vet’s approval, we made the agonizing decision to have Millie put to sleep. I wanted more than anything to be there with her as she made her journey, but we could not let her suffer even one day more. When Erika texted a couple of pictures of her, we could see the very real pain on Millie’s face. We couldn’t allow her to be in pain another whole week until we could get home to her. Needless to say, there was a cloud over the remainder of the trip, but we really tried to make the most of a difficult time. Santorini was quite different from Mykonos—more barren and stark. But we did have some fun excursions, the best being a blissful all-day sailing trip around the Cyclades. After our 3 days on Santorini, we flew back to Athens for one more day before returning home. It was a very long, sad flight back to Dallas. L

In July Tony and I rented a van and drove to Jacksonville with Erika, Josh, Leo, and Etta for a week of beach fun and amazing hospitality at Lisa’s and Bob’s, including one of Chef Greg’s memorable meals. Then in August, Tony and I drove to see my best friend Jan in Hampstead, NC. It was a very peaceful week of visiting, reminiscing, remembering her husband Bob, and spending time at the beach.

The family is doing great! The kids are growing and thriving, and their parents are doing a fabulous job balancing and managing homes, school, jobs, sports, church, and activities. Jenni and Dave will celebrate 13 years of marriage Dec. 28, which is also Zoey’s 9^th birthday. Ruby is 6½, Maggie is almost 5, and Sam just turned 3. Erika and Josh had their 12^th anniversary Sept. 13. Leo is now 7, and Etta will turn 5 in January. I can hardly believe that Etta and Maggie will start kindergarten next fall. Tony and I are so blessed to have our kids and grandkids so near us. We love participating in their lives and holding Zoey, Leo, Ruby, Etta, Maggie, and Sam close to our hearts. Grandparenthood is the BEST!!! Bonus: the 6 cousins adore each other and enjoy playing together more than anything.

I turned 65 in April, joining Tony in the interesting and mind-boggling world of Medicare. We’re gradually trying to understand the idiosyncrasies and challenges of government medical care. Thankfully, we’re both fairly healthy and don’t have to do too much navigating.

During this holy season of Christmas, Tony and I think of you with fondness, love, and prayers. We wish you good health, safety, prosperity, happiness, and most importantly, a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. A gift of love from God the Father, He came to earth from heaven, lived the perfect life we could not, and paid the price for our transgressions. He is the only way to abundant life with God eternally. All we have to do is believe this simple concept, ask His forgiveness, and open our hearts to make room for Him. This is the best and most important decision anyone can make, and it’s so easy. The best way to face each new day is to have the security of a future in heaven no matter what kind of hurdles life throws at us. May this be the year each one of you really, truly knows Jesus.

We hope to hear from everyone and we look forward to hearing about your year. May God bless each of you abundantly. Joyous Christmas and Happy New Year! Love, Mona

Back row: Dave, Jenni, Erika, Josh // Middle row: Maggie, Tony + Sam, Mona + Etta // Front row: Zoey, Ruby, Leo

Better 2 years late than never!

2015-09-30T23:35:00.000-05:00

MEDITERRANEAN CRUISE – SEPTEMBER 21 TO OCTOBER 8, 2013

PROLOGUE

This has only taken me 21 months to write. Hopefully it won’t be another 21 before I finish, add pictures, and post. You’d think my life was full of terribly important things—surely a retiree has all the time in the world, right? Well, I do have plenty of time for the important things: grandkids, exercise, grandkids, cooking, grandkids, shopping, grandkids, laundry, grandkids……you get the idea.

(This entry covers 16 days and is very long, so sit back with a cup of coffee and prepare to be transported halfway around the world. Keep scrolling and reading until you finish the epilogue after Barcelona.)

So, at the end of September 2013 Tony, Lisa, Bob, and I went on an amazing Mediterranean cruise to celebrate our upcoming anniversaries—their 36^th and our 40th. Lisa has been yearning for a trip to the Greek Isles for years, but when we were in the planning stages the Greek economy was pretty unstable, so we decided to wait for a later date. Still, we wanted to go somewhere beautiful, preferably in Europe, and after much searching and comparing, we decided on a 12-day cruise aboard Holland America’s Nieuw Amsterdam to Venice, Italy; Dubrovnik, Croatia; Kotor, Montenegro; Corfu, Greece; Naples, Rome, and Livorno, Italy; Monte Carlo, Monaco; Marseille, France; and Barcelona, Spain. We added 2 days on our own in Venice at the beginning and to Barcelona at the end, extending the trip to 16 days.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2013 TO SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2013 – FLIGHT TO VENICE

Tony and I met Lisa and Bob in Philadelphia so we could all fly over together. As we grow older, those overnight flights to Europe seem to get tougher and tougher. It’s hard to sleep sitting nearly straight up in a seat about half the size of our living room recliners. But we each had our own video screen with many choices of current movies plus several music channels, so our awake time was never boring. We landed in Venice at 9:20 am, and since we wanted to adjust ourselves to current time, we decided to hit the ground running. We caught a water taxi and spent a lovely 30 minutes or so skimming the water and taking in the breathtaking views on the way to our hotel. We found the hotel, were greeted and assisted by the nicest staff (we highly recommend the Best Western Montecarlo -- great location, just a block or so from Piazza de San Marco), and just started walking around to try to stay awake. We found a pizza place (they are more numerous in Venice than Starbucks are in New York City) and enjoyed a delicious lunch, after which we wandered the tiny streets and overpriced shops. Soon we all hit the wall and decided to throw caution to the wind, and we headed back to the hotel for showers and an early bedtime. This turned out to be a good idea.

Flying over snow-capped mountains on the way to Venice

Pretty sights from the water taxi between airport and city

Perfect weather for water taxi travel

When in Venice where there are no cars at all, this is the preferred mode of transportation.

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 – VENICE, ITALY

In the morning we had a passable breakfast (great coffee), then we boarded a water taxi to the island of Murano. We were escorted to a glass-blowing factory where we watched the process for quite a while. We were then ushered to the showroom of stunning chandeliers, vases, goblets, champagne flutes, and many other lovely, EXPENSIVE, things—very beautiful to look at but far too extravagant for our budget. Lisa did buy 2 exquisite toasting flutes for the November 2014 wedding of her daughter Erin and fiancé Greg. We had intended to spend a few hours wandering around the island, but the shop personnel said we had to either return right away on the boat they provided or find our own way back. Apparently the factory and our hotel had a deal with each other to provide free transportation to lure folks to Murano, but for glass buying purposes only, not for shopping at competitors’ shops. So we returned to Venice to do some more wandering and shopping, stopping for lunch at an outdoor café right on the Grand Canal in view of the Ponte Rialto. We spent a couple of hours chilling in our rooms, then we went out for a small, late dinner at a nearby restaurant. We all shared a plate of exceptional bruschetta and a bottle of wine, then shared 2 plates of totally forgettable ravioli. Tomorrow we board our ship to begin the cruise!

Stunning hand-blown chandelier at the glass factory in Murano

Our tour guides for the day, Bob and Tony

Bob & Lisa at lunch on the Grand Canal

Our waiter, Brad Garrett (or his twin)

Ponte di Rialto on the Grand Canal

The Grand Canal from atop the Ponte di Rialto

Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm does Venice.

Piazza San Marco

Another view of Piazza San Marco

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2013 – VENICE, ITALY

After breakfast this morning we went for a long walk along the seawall and shopped for some souvenirs (including some questionable pasta of certain anatomy parts Lisa bought for her high school friends). Around noon the hotel called us a water taxi and loaded our luggage for the 20-minute ride through congested canals to open water, then to the cruise ship port. Check in was quick and easy, and soon we were unpacking in our cabins. The cabin situation was not exactly a happy one. We had selected our veranda category cabins when we booked the cruise back in February. Our travel agent suggested waiting to choose our cabins so we could possibly qualify for an upgrade. A week before our departure from the States, we received our cabin assignments. Bob and Lisa had received a cabin 2 upgrades above our booking level, but Tony and I had received only 1 upgrade level, and we were on two different decks. We had requested cabins close to each other, hoping for adjoining rooms. Furious, we told our travel agent to fix it so we could be nearer, or at least on the same deck. We should have left things alone, because apparently Holland America does not like to be given orders. We ended up with rooms inferior to the originals—still upgraded but not nearly as nice as the original rooms. Live and learn. Next time we won’t mess around and will be happy with what we get. But I doubt we’ll use this travel agent again. We later found out there were indeed adjoining rooms available, but our agent didn’t fight for us.

So, after unpacking we strolled the ship, enjoyed a light poolside buffet lunch, selected a wine package for dinner, then went back to the cabin for an hour’s nap before our 8:15 dinner seating. The food was very good, the wine delicious, and our waiter (“Tiger”) precious. After coffee we strolled a bit more, then turned in for the night. Tomorrow we set sail around noon.

LOVED strolling around Venice!

So much lovely ancient architecture

Gondolas parked along the seawall

Lisa, Tony, and Bob killing time until we board the ship

A typical canal shot ("Italian Job", anyone?)

Walking along the seawall

Beautiful flowers everywhere

View from the last water taxi on our way to the ship

And there she is!

Just a tiny little boat (Hi, Lisa!)

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2015—AT SEA

After a hearty and delicious breakfast, Tony went for a jog around the running deck, Bob went up to the Crow’s Nest (library) to read, and Lisa and I went to the gym to spend ½ hour on the ellipticals. Then it was time for the inevitable and much-anticipated (NOT!) muster. Thankfully, it wasn’t very long or arduous. Lisa, Bob, and I changed into our bathing suits and went up to the Lido deck to spend some time in the pool and hot tub. We met some very nice people from Indiana, Michigan, and Canada. After that we spent some siesta time in our rooms before showering and getting ready for dinner. (I love days at sea; there’s nothing more relaxing.) Lisa and Bob came over for drinks, then we were invited to the captain’s champagne reception before dinner. Dinner (I had Beef Wellington) was amazing, and Tiger brought us huge slabs of cake to celebrate our anniversaries (our 40^th in April and Li’s and Bob’s 36^th in July). After dinner we went to our first show in the theater, a fantastic song and dance review of 60s music.

We have been sailing since 1 pm from Venice and should reach Dubrovnik tomorrow around 1 pm. We’ve had smooth seas and a very comfortable sail so far, and we’re looking forward to a good night’s sleep.

View of Venice from the top deck of the ship as we pull out

Pretty buildings seen through the haze

The mouth of the Grand Canal

Our stateroom looking out to the balcony

Tony and me at dinner

Lisa and Bob at dinner

60s music review

Lotsa talent on board

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2013—DUBROVNIK, CROATIA

Today was not my best day. I was tired and cranky—jet lag must have finally kicked in. Lisa and I hit the gym at 7 am. She got on the elliptical while I did a stretching class, then we both did an abs class. That about did me in. After breakfast and a little walk around the deck, we showered and got ready as land started coming into view on the horizon. We spent some time up in the Crow’s Nest lounge to watch the ship slowly and skillfully maneuver into port under the spectacular Franjo Tudman Bridge. We had a light lunch, then disembarked around 2 pm for a short bus ride into town. We strolled around the Old City and water’s edge where we saw several people swimming in the clear, cold water with a very strong current. It was getting pretty hot so we walked until we found a lovely, tree-filled, shady outdoor café overlooking the bay. Lisa had a glass of wine, the guys had a local beer, and I enjoyed a Sprite served by a very sweet waitress with a great sense of humor. The café had Wi-Fi so I was able to check email and Tango text Jenni. Since she was home and Sam was sleeping, we video chatted few minutes with her, Maggie, and Ruby. Isn’t technology amazing?

We headed back to the ship and took a little rest before dinner. After dinner we decided to go to bed early to try to catch up on some much-needed sleep so we could be well rested for Kotor the following day.

Approaching Dubrovnik

Franjo Tudman Bridge

Ancient fortification

Local musician in native costume

Just what one would expect in a Dubrovnik alley--an Irish Pub

Typical centuries-old Croatian structure

Beautiful waterfront in Dubrovnik

No, not Tijuana; Dubrovnik!!

It's everywhere!

Lisa, Bob, and Tony strolling down (and down and down) a very steep stairway

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2013 – KOTOR, MONTENEGRO

We were up early—Tony at 6 am to run on deck, and me a bit before 7 to shower and get ready for the day—to the incredible view of stark, majestic mountain cliffs on both sides of the ship as we made our way through the southernmost fjord on earth. After breakfast we were tendered to the picturesque but tiny city of Kotor. We wandered through the Old City and came across some Serbian Orthodox churches, St. Nicholas and St Luke. As we peered into the Cathedral of St. Nicholas, several clergy and altar boys came out from behind the iconostas and began some sort of service. It was around 10:00 on a Friday morning, and they were gathered around a small, high table full of lettuce. Maybe they were praying for a bountiful harvest, but I truly haven’t a clue how anything could possibly grow on these rocky mountains that go straight into the sea.

We continued wandering through narrow streets past cafes and little shops until we reached the waterfront again. There really wasn’t much to do so we found lovely, shady outdoor café with free Wi-Fi and ordered drinks. We stayed about an hour and I checked in with the kids via email. We returned to the ship around 1 pm, put on bathing suits, and went up to sit around the Oceanview pool. Tony didn’t want to spend any more time in the sun, so he went back to the room while Bob, Lisa, and I stayed several hours as the sun went in and out of the clouds.

At 4 pm the ship’s horn sounded and we were underway, slowly pulling away from Kotor and sailing down the fjord to the Adriatic Sea, a journey that took about an hour and a half. At 4:30 we went up to the Crow’s Nest lounge for happy hour, then went back to our rooms to rest on the balcony and then get ready for dinner. Tonight we will sail past Macedonia and Albania to Corfu, Greece.

Lovely, peaceful Montenegro fjord

Orthodox services at the Cathedral of Saint Nicholas

Cathedral of Saint Luke

And inside

Another very old church up on the mountain

Nice outdoor cafe where we had cool drinks and Wifi

View of Kotor as we headed back down the fjord

Precious church on its own private island in the fjord

Another nearby

What a gorgeous ride!

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2013 – KERKIRA, CORFU

Corfu was simply breathtaking!!! We left the ship after breakfast and took a cab into the old part of town. We climbed up to the “New Fortress” and took lots of pictures of the spectacular view. After a cool drink and a little Wi-Fi time at the fort, we wandered the streets of Kerkira, looking at what Lisa calls “street crap”. Since there wasn’t a lot to do and it was getting hot, we decided to walk back to the ship (about a mile and a half). Along the way we found a great outdoor café overlooking the water, so we stopped for a little lunch. The view was amazing and the café had a tent roof, so it was very pleasant to sit and have a drink (ouzo for Lisa and me, Greek beer for the guys) and a nice Greek salad. Greek salads in Greece are quite different than in the States. There is no lettuce at all, just big chunks of tomato, cucumber, green pepper, and purple onion, plus lots of creamy feta and Kalamata olives in a light olive oil and vinegar dressing. Because we loved this salad so much, I recreated it at home. Here is my version, which is very close to the original:

MONA’S GREEK SALAD

1 large cucumber, peeled and cut into chunks

3 medium to large ripe tomatoes, cut into chunks

1 green bell pepper, seeded and cut into thin slices

½ large purple onion, sliced thinly

1 jar (about 12 ounces) pitted Kalamata olives, drained

About 8 ounces feta cheese, crumbled

Olive oil

Red wine vinegar

Italian seasoning (I use Tone’s from Sam’s Club)

Greek seasoning (I use Cavender’s All-Purpose Greek Seasoning)

NOTE: I have tried to copy from memory the wonderful salads we enjoyed in Greece. Feel free to experiment to find your own version.

After lunch Lisa and I went to use the W.C., which was a tiny, awful bathroom right off the sidewalk. The door was very narrow, and I failed to notice the two doors side by side, each having a tiny brass plate of a boy or girl. Of course I went into the men’s door by mistake, and a man tried to walk in while I was doing my business. We had a good laugh about it afterward, and from then on I was very careful to check the door symbols before entering.

We strolled back to the ship, enjoying the beautiful scenery along the way. This short stop in Corfu has whet our appetites for a return trip to Greece someday, probably not too far in the future. Tomorrrow we’re at sea.

See what I mean? Absolutely breathtaking!!

The old "New Fortress"

The Greek flag against a lovely blue backdrop

Pretty waterfront stroll

"Street crap"

These mountainous islands jutting into the sea are simply spectacular.

View of Kerkira from the fort

A tunnel in the fort

Another view from the fort

Couldn't resist!

We stopped here to use the restroom. Nice, huh?

View from the terrace where we had lunch

And bathers below us

The famous side-by-side WCs (See how easy it was to make the mistake?)

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2013 – AT SEA

Today we had a leisurely, relaxing day at sea. Lisa and I went to the gym—she on the elliptical, me in the stretching class, then both of us in the abs class. After breakfast with the guys, everyone except Tony spent some time on the Lido deck by the aft pool. Later, we assembled on the bow terrace of our deck 5 (normally closed but opened for this event only) to watch as we made our way through the Strait of Messina between the toe of Italy’s boot and Sicily—only 1.8 miles wide at its narrowest point. We then had a glass of wine on Lisa’s and Bob’s balcony, then we all showered and got ready for dinner. Before dinner we hung out for a bit on deck 10 as we passed right by Stromboli, an active island volcano that actually has a small village at its base! We saw no eruption or lava, but we did see a little puff of smoke coming out of the top. After dinner we had planned to go to a show, but we were all pretty tired, so we decided to turn in. We have an early morning tomorrow as we dock in Naples and take our very first excursion to the Isle of Capri.

The glorious deep blue of the Adriatic

The water is not the clear turquoise of the Caribbean; it's a rich navy blue.

Right next to the ship the foamy water is a lighter blue.

Sicily!

More Sicily

The very tip of Sicily at the Strait of Messina

The Italy side of the Strait

More Sicily (with hang gliders)

A really cool highway along the side of an Italian cliff

The volcano Stromboli

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2013 – NAPLES/CAPRI, ITALY

What a wonderful day!! We started with breakfast, Tony at the Lido deck buffet and me with room service, then we assembled with Bob, Lisa, and several hundred of our closest friends in the showroom to depart on our first trip excursion. At the Naples marina we met our tour guide, Stefano—a cute, hunky, 30-something who took us to the ferry for the hour-long ride to Capri. The weather was pretty threatening—dark clouds, light rain, rough sea—but by the time we reached Capri the sky was clearing and the sun was out. The day wasn’t blistering hot because of the early rain, which was a blessing. Once on Capri we boarded tiny buses for a drop-to-your-death, winding ride up to Anacapri, the other city on the island about halfway up the mountain. Everything was so beautiful and charming! We passed tiny vineyards and lemon groves, some right in people’s yards. When the bus dropped us off, Stefano gave us a brief history of the island and its cities, then we hiked up to the town square. Some of us took an amazing chair lift to the summit of the mountain while others stayed below to explore and shop. The 360-degree view from the top was utterly breathtaking! After some photos we rode the lift back down and met our group for the walk to lunch, which was at a beautiful hotel overlooking the sea. We then had a couple of hours to stroll and shop before meeting our group for the funicular ride down to the marina. The ferry ride back to Naples was much more pleasant than the earlier morning ride. We said farewell to Stefano and boarded the ship. The four of us cleaned up a bit and went up to the Crow’s Nest for happy hour and to watch as the ship left port. Our only regret is that we used our only day in Naples to go to Capri; it would have been nice to have one more day to explore Naples. After dinner we turned in early to rest up for a big day touring Rome the following morning.

Naples: walking to the ferry to Capri

Cool lighthouse seen from the ferry

View of Naples from the ferry

The Isle of Capri

It didn't seem like a hotbed of crime, but you never know.

They sure want you know you're in Anacapri and NOT Capri!!

One of the prettiest cemeteries I've ever seen

Overlooking the Golfo di Napoli

Looking down from the tippy-top

And this is how we got up there!

Every view from the chair lift was spectacular.

The clouds held the temperature down and made the day very pleasant.

Of course one would find a Lamborghini accessories boutique on a rocky island with very few vehicles! I couldn't even afford key fobs for the sons-in-law, let alone hats or shirts.

Our tour included lunch at an enchanting open-air restaurant in a charming hotel.

View from the restaurant terrace

Looking up from the waterfront on Capri

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2013 – ROME, ITALY

We arose early—5:30 am!—to eat breakfast and get ready. At 7:00 we boarded a bus at the port of Civitavecchia with our tour guide, Sabina, for the 1½-hour drive to Rome. There was a lot of traffic, which is normal, but especially so due to a public transportation strike. Our driver took us around the ancient locations of historical Rome—the city walls, churches, ruins of the Roman baths and the Forums, crumbling palaces of former emperors. Then we started our walking tour at the Trevi Fountain. Lisa and I got small cups of coconut gelato from one of the zillions of wonderful gelato shops in the area, and we thought we had died and gone to heaven, it was so delicious! Of all the gelato we’ve had in various cities in Europe, this was by far the best. We then began our walk to the Coliseum, passing the Forums, the “Wedding Cake” building (which includes the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier of Italy), and the building from which Mussolini gave his speeches. At the Coliseum we didn’t go inside but we had time for photos of the grand structure, plus the Arch of Constantine, the Arch of Titus, and the Temple of Diana ruins. We then stopped for a less-than-spectacular lunch in a crowded underground grotto restaurant. After lunch we again boarded the bus for the drive to Vatican City, where Sabina introduced us to our special Vatican guide, Moses (surprisingly, a German!). We walked into the museum building and passed through room after room of priceless ancient sculptures, tapestries, and paintings by names which until that point had been only heard or read. Unbelievable! We then proceeded to the Sistine Chapel to respectfully gaze in awe at Michelangelo’s ceiling and wall frescoes. I admit a few tears fell as I looked upon this glorious piece of historical art. As if that weren’t enough, we moved into Saint Peter’s Basilica, where we saw the inside of the famous dome, the Papal canopy, tombs of past popes, and The Pieta. It was a breathtaking experience! We strolled through Saint Peter’s Square on the way to catch the bus for the trip back to the ship. Once on board we went to happy hour, where Lisa and I discovered a yummy new drink (to us)—the Lemon Drop—then to dinner and back to our cabins for showers and bed. It was an exhilarating but exhausting day, and we will have another tomorrow.

View of Vatican City from the bus on the way to Rome from Civitavecchia

I'm thinking maybe I need to add another N to my name to make it authentic. Lisa's is okay the way it is.

"Hey, Roman soldier! Where do you think you're going?"

"You talkin' to me?"

Trevi Fountain

Top of Trevi Fountain

The beautiful Wedding Cake building

Don't know what this is but it surely was pretty.

Hail, Caesar!

Excavated ruins of Rome's former greatness

The Coliseum (preservation work going on)

The ancient Romans built to last.

Arch of Titus

Outside Vatican City

Inside Vatican City

Incredible ceiling where photography sans flash was permitted

Take a good look. This is all painted, not sculpted; two dimensions that fooled the eye to appear three-dimensional. Amazing.

One of many sets of exquisitely sculpted bronze doors

The Pieta. There are no words.

The tomb of Pope John Paul II

The inside of the famous St. Peter's Basilica dome

Colorful Vatican guard

The Pope addresses the people from the center balcony

This one, closer view

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2013 – CINQUE TERRE, ITALY

The Cinque Terre excursion from the port of Livorno was such a massive disappointment that it nearly ruined the rest of the cruise for us. We had heard wonderful things about the cluster of 5 lovely towns built into the cliffs overlooking the Mediterranean, so we opted to go there instead of Pisa and/or Florence. Big mistake.

Our day began with the usual breakfast, after which we went to the showroom to wait for our excursion. (NOTE: The ports of Civitavecchia (Rome) and Livorno (Pisa/Florence/CinqueTerre) in particular were so far from civilization (45 minutes to an hour by bus) that we were forced to either book an excursion or pay for the ship-provided shuttle to town.) We expected that most people would choose to go to Florence but we were unpleasantly surprised. The Cinque Terre excursion proved to be very popular, with more than 200 participants from our ship alone. Because there are always several huge ships docked at each port, there ended up being thousands of tourists taking the same excursion at one time, bursting the tiny villages to more than capacity.

Our tour guide, Lucia, was so inept and out of her element that she singlehandedly ruined the excursion for us. She was either new to the job or she just wasn’t cut out for the details and organizational skills necessary for herding large groups of people hither and yon. Due to Lucia’s scatterbrained lack of ability, we ended up visiting only 3 of the 5 pretty villages and spent only a tiny amount of time in each because we spent so much time on awful trains running between them. We had to cram down our lunch in about 20 minutes because we arrived so late and had to leave much sooner than the 1½ hours we were promised at each town. We were also promised a boat ride between two of the towns, but because the excursion was overbooked (according to Lucia), there wasn’t enough room for our group. Lucia made us wait in a horrible, dark, dank, filthy, scary railroad tunnel for a train to the next town. Several trains rushed past us, stirring up dust and debris and blowing off hats, until ours finally arrived. We were crammed aboard the sweltering, non-air conditioned train like sardines, standing room only, completely crushed against hot, sweaty bodies. The stench was unimaginable. Tony and I were separated such that when it was time to get off, he was unable to move, and I really thought he wouldn’t make it off the train before it left the station. In a panic I found Lucia, who managed to extract him in time (the only thing she did right all day). Finally, at the last stop of our tour, Lucia managed to locate a ferry to ride back to the port so we didn't have to ride another train. I'm sure she feared mutiny and possible stoning.

By the time we all returned to the ship, most of us were so frustrated and incensed we went immediately to the concierge desk to fill out complaint forms. Later, after a few weeks of back-and-forth communication with Holland America, we were finally refunded the entire amount we had paid for the excursion, just under $400 for the two of us. I felt sorry for Lisa and Bob because they didn’t fill out a complaint form and got nothing back. I think HA should have refunded everyone’s money out of principle because we were all clearly and justifiably disgruntled over the bad service provided by the contracted excursion company.

Months later, at home, we caught a Rick Steves special on Cinque Terre and were able to enjoy all we missed on the actual excursion. It could have, and should have, been a phenomenal day.

One of the five pretty towns of Cinque Terre

I wish I could remember which town, but because the excursion was such a disaster it's all a blur.

Pretty stone church, very old

Hard to see, but these are clusters of grapes drying in a doorway.

The next town built into the rocky cliffs

Pretty little cove for swimming

Tony and the rest of us waiting for the train in that horrible tunnel

Out in the light again, along the beautiful sea

One of the many pretty beaches, this one with a big rock cornucopia

Very interesting-looking church.....

.....with a really cool window

Finally on the boat we had been promised

This is how to see Cinque Terre--from the water!

4 weary and disappointed excursioners, happy to be on the ferry and not in that sardine can of a train

Gorgeous pink marble cliff (Just about everywhere you look there is a natural marble formation.)

We were all fascinated by this strange woman with glasses made of tea strainers. I had to be very clandestine because she kept catching me with my camera pointed at her.

The end of a wonderful ferry ride

Passing Pisa on the bus back to the ship (See the Leaning Tower in the middle of that little cluster of taller buildings?)

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2013 – MONTE CARLO, MONACO

Monte Carlo totally redeemed the previous port. It was breathtakingly gorgeous! Pictures and TV do not do it justice. We docked right in port and walked a short way to a place where we picked up a Hoho (hop on, hop off) tour bus. We traveled the entire Gran Prix course, saw the famous casino and the royal palace, and just gazed at the beauty. Monte Carlo is so lovely—winding roads up and down the hills, spectacular views of the ocean, beautiful architecture, amazing yachts as far as the eye can see. We walked from the palace atop one high hill to the beautiful Jardins Saint-Martin, past the Musee Oceanographique, down a steep, curvy walkway back to the bay. We strolled past many huge, luxurious yachts in the harbor. It truly is a stunningly gorgeous place, and I would love to return here someday.

Even I can't take a bad picture of Monte Carlo.

It's one of the most picturesque cities I've ever seen, running neck-and-neck with Zermatt and St. Moritz, Switzerland.

The famous Grand Casino dominates the escarpment as seen from the bay below.

The park with its steep, winding stairs leading from the Jardins Saint-Martin down to the bay. Yes, we walked each and every step--down, not up!

Just one of the many pretty structures (probably a hotel or apartment building) in the city.

Another one

This was for my son-in-law Josh.

Looking down from The Prince's Palace, home of Prince Albert II (head of this constitutional monarchy).

Monte Carlo ("Mount Charles") is part of the Maritime Alps along the French Riviera.

The Prince's Palace, longtime home of the Grimaldi royal family

Saint Paul's Church

Outside the Musee Oceanographique

Gotta be my all-time favorite sculpture.

There is evidence of her everywhere. She was very much loved by the Monegasques.

Front of the Grand Casino

Another pretty view of the bay with our ship in the background

Jardins Saint-Martin

These and others like them were everywhere. Lotsa $$$ in Monaco.

Tony and me all cleaned up for dinner and a show back on the ship.

These young men were absolutely amazing--beautiful voices, very versatile (cute, too). One of them was from Dallas! We got to visit a bit after the show.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2013 – MARSEILLE, FRANCE

Today Tony and Bob decided to stay aboard ship, so Lisa and I went into Marseille to see the sights and do some shopping. When we arrived from the ship, we needed to use the bathroom but had no idea where to find one. Near a building we found a very nice gentleman, an outdoor maintenance worker, who directed us to a pretty park with a very unique and pleasant outhouse. It was very large, at least four times the size of a normal American port-a-potty, made of a gorgeous polished teak. Inside was a long teak bench with a large hole (hope this isn’t too graphic), and a big tub of wood shavings with a scoop. After doing our business, we scooped a bunch of shavings and sprinkled them on top. There was absolutely no odor except a nice woodsy smell, and it was by far the nicest port-o-potty we’ve ever seen.

Outside the potty was a fantastic park where a sculpture exhibit was happening. Men, women, and children were constructing really cool structures from sturdy cardboard. We watched and took pictures for a while, fascinated. Then we bought tickets for a tour train and went for a long ride around the pretty port town. From our vantage point aboard the train we had a great view of Chateau d’If in the bay, of “The Count of Monte Cristo” fame, and Notre-Dame de la Garde overlooking the city. Afterward, we did a little shopping, then went back to the ship. Marseille was not our favorite stop; it didn’t offer a lot to do or see, but we did have a nice, low-key day.

Notre-Dame de la Garde overlooking Marseille

Church of Saint Ferréol les Augustins

The cool park with the interactive cardboard building projects

The structures were really quite phenomenal.

School classes and "kids" of all ages participated to erect these amazing buildings.

The Marseille entry wouldn't be complete without graphic pictures of the famous outdoor potty.

Wood shavings and scoop for your olfactory pleasure

The exterior of these nice potties (ours was the one on the left--very spacious)

One final incredible cardboard box high-rise with Lisa taking iPad photos

Of course.

Chateau d'If (the real thing!)

Notre-Dame de la Garde up close and personal

View of Marseille from Notre-Dame

No explanation; it was just there.

"Should I or shouldn't I?"

One on every corner, just like New York City

Our waiter, Tiger, taking Bob's dinner order

The night's entertainment: a Dancing with the Stars competition featuring the ship's professional entertainers and some very brave passengers

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2013 – BARCELONA, SPAIN

We absolutely loved Barcelona!! We arrived in port and enjoyed 3 wonderful days in this magnificent city. The first night was spent on board, and we stayed the other two nights at the Hotel Avenida Palace, which was a short walk from the main drag, La Rambla. There we bought a 2-day Hoho (hop on, hop off) tour bus pass. We spent several hours both days exploring Barcelona’s amazing architecture, each building more gorgeous than the last—including, of course, Antoni Gaudi’s La Sagrada Familia Cathedral, Park Guell, and Casa Battlo. I couldn’t stop taking pictures. We enjoyed many moments of hilarity when we discovered our hotel was right next door to the Obama Gastropub, complete with a life-size statue of Obama casually seated at a table in front. As sickening as it was to pass by frequently, we did take a few photos posing with the statue. It was like passing by a car accident; it was hideous but just impossible to ignore.

There was a really good restaurant we enjoyed on La Rambla called La Poma. One of the times we ate there, we met a cute American honeymooning couple at the next table, Anna and Matt, who were from GRAPEVINE, TEXAS (just a few miles from us)!!! How crazy is that??!! We had some nice conversations before going our separate ways.

One of the things we really wanted to do but weren't able to was to take the tram up to the crest of Tibidabo Mountain to tour the beautiful church. Lisa was especially disappointed that it didn't work out because she remembered an episode of "Friends" in which the mountain played a key role. Because of the time of year, tram hours were greatly reduced and we just missed our window of opportunity.

We had some really good Sangria while in Barcelona. The little outdoor cafes that lined La Rambla and many other nearby streets were so nice for sitting and resting, having a cool beverage, and people watching. We walked a lot and shopped the stalls on La Rambla. We ate tapas at little tapas bars. We thoroughly enjoyed wonderful Barcelona and would love to return someday. It’s truly the most beautiful city I’ve ever seen. Please forgive the quantity of pictures. It was so hard to choose, and in my defense, this is 3 days' worth in one batch.

One of the major hubs in Barcelona: the Placa de Catalunya, where everything happens

El Corte Ingles, the major department store

Our Barcelona hotel, the Hotel Avenida Palace (very nice)

Lobby of the hotel where we had good Wifi access

Another shot of the hotel lobby

And another

Yet another

Last one--ceiling above the staircases

Can you believe this? In a city as huge and bustling as Barcelona, we ended up at a hotel next door to this!

At first we thought it might have another meaning.

I mean, lots of foreign words have unexpected meanings.

But, no. It was just as we dreaded. You can just imagine the nightmare.

Less offensive and terrifying were these freakishly enormous legs protruding from a building.

La Rambla

Only in Barcelona can one find Smurf gelato.....

......and Marilyn greeting the public.

Cool living sculpture (well, partially alive)

Another living sculpture, possibly Chris Columbus

And of course, that iconic Spanish cowboy--Juan Wayne

La Pedrera, one of Antoni Gaudi's famous residential buildings

Just a pretty building, probably apartments

A lovely old church in Barcelona whose name I haven't been able to find

Another cool building

And another

Our favorite eatery, La Poma (The Apple)

View from our hotel room of the gorgeous church at the peak of Tibidabo Mountain in the heart of Barcelona

We passed by a small cafe dominated by this stunning chandelier, and I had to pop in for a picture.

Spanish matroshkas???

Another pretty building--we were amazed at all the stone and iron work on these structures.

We did NOT eat here.

This fountain near our hotel changed colors continually. So pretty!

Take a picture, then take a shower. Do you see him trying to steal my wallet right out of my purse? Figures.

"Gimme a smooch, Barack."

Gaudi's Casa Battlo

Another shot of Casa Battlo (When you see pictures of Barcelona, this is one of the iconic Gaudi buildings regularly shown.)

Yet another shot of La Pedrera, also known as Casa Mila

And another gorgeous residential building

This looks like it could be Gaudi or a Gaudi wannabe.

Pretty

This is not--I repeat, not--Barcelona's version of Medieval Times.

I thought this might be a church or monastery, but I can't find any information on it.

Very cool sculpture near the port where we docked

The iconic Barcelona landmark--statue of Christopher Columbus looking to the New World

Go west, young man, on Queen Isabella's dime.

Crazy rocket-shaped Torre Agbar (Agbar Tower--aren't you glad I cleared that up?)

Seems like every major city in the world has one of these arches.

I have no recollection of what this building is but I had a good shot from the bus and it was pretty, so here ya go.

I'm only posting 2 pictures of La Sagrada Familia, Gaudi's unfinished masterpiece, because there are myriad other pictures of its many facets that are much better than mine. Please do Google it and scroll through the images.

Begun in 1882 and scheduled for completion in 2026, the cathedral will seat 13,000!! I (and I daresay most people) cannot fathom the vision Gaudi had of this incredible structure. He worked on it until his death in 1926.

Gaudi wasn't only a serious designer. His animated and slightly comical home and other structures in his residence at Park Guell show his whimsical side.

Building in Park Guell.

The entrance to Park Guell

Inside Park Guell

Incredible inlaid stonework created this arched walkway.

View of Barcelona from Park Guell

The huge outdoor terrace affords a spectacular view overlooking the city. The wavy edge consists of wildly colorful mosaics, offering visitors an unbroken stream of built-in seating.

Ornate cross high over the city

A last view of the church atop Tibidabo Mountain from the Hoho bus

EPILOGUE

As is probably obvious, our favorite stops on this cruise were Corfu, Capri, Monte Carlo, and Barcelona. The other ports were okay, but nothing we’d be interested in visiting again—although I would love to show Tony the beauty and wonders of Florence, so I would consider another cruise stop at Livorno. I was there with some friends in 1971, and to this day it remains my favorite major city in Italy. Corfu definitely prompted us to explore the possibility of another trip to Greece in the near future, so we’ll be looking at itineraries and tours in the coming months to see if there’s one we’d like to take. And I think we’ve all four agreed that unless there is a very compelling reason to do so, we won’t be cruising with Holland America ever again. The public relations/concierge staff was cold, stiff, unfriendly, and not very helpful at all. Cruises are pretty costly, and this time I don’t think we got our money’s worth. We would all like to try a sailing cruise to the Caribbean sometime, with a small boat, a basic crew (captain, cook), and a “go where the wind blows us” itinerary, but the big floating cities of the cruise lines don’t seem to be our cup of tea. Stay tuned for future developments!

Arrivederci, Roma!

MERRY CHRISTMAS 2014!

2014-12-18T17:22:00.003-06:00

Dear family and friends near and far,

We hope this joyous season finds you all healthy, content, and rejoicing in the blessings our Lord has provided this past year. He has been most gracious to us this year, and we are very thankful.

Let’s start with the Wiese 4. Leo started kindergarten at Vista Academy, a wonderful local charter school. He is enjoying school immensely and is doing very well, especially with reading. His extracurricular activities include Sunday School, soccer, and being sweet, gentle, and kind. Leo is the family peacemaker. His sister, Etta, is a little darling, still our crazy wild child. She is enjoying her preschool very much and has embraced the structured academic world with an enthusiasm no one was expecting. She would love to go to class every day if it was available. Erika is enjoying her days of chauffeuring Leo to school and volunteering at least one day a week teaching art and music in several of the classrooms at his school. Josh continues to thrive in the graphic design department at Irving Bible Church, and he has special moments with Etta as he drives her to and from preschool at the church.

The Cribbies are all doing great as well. Precious Zoey is a 2^nd grade teacher’s dream. She is reading at least 2 grade levels ahead and absolutely loves everything about school. She is social but very well behaved. Ruby is in kindergarten, and both girls attend Vista Academy along with Leo. Ruby also loves school and is making rapid progress. I have the feeling she will be our math genius. I am amazed at how academically advanced today’s elementary kids are compared to those I taught back in the 1970s. In a few years I’ll have trouble keeping up! Maggie Faye is our adorable little pixie, full of life and fun. She, Ruby, and Zoey are becoming real gymnastics pros at Ms. Rhonda’s All Stars. And then there’s Sam. He is the most fun little guy, charming and sweet and funny. He’s starting to talk a blue streak, and he adores his “Mimi” as much as she adores him. Jenni artfully balances family, home, chauffeuring, and extracurricular activities with enviable ease. Dave continues to excel as physics and robotics instructor at Parish Episcopal School in Dallas while holding down the daddy fort after hours.

Tony and I are contentedly sailing through retirement. I do continue to work an occasional fill-in shift at Curves, and Tony enjoys building model rockets and doing a few people’s taxes at the first of the year, but mainly we fill our time with grandkids, home projects, and travel when we are able. This year we spent a long weekend in the spring visiting the Leo clan in St. Louis, enjoyed a lovely week with the Wiese 4 at Blue Mountain Beach, Florida in May, and recently had a most delightful week in Jacksonville surrounding the November 15^th marriage of our beautiful niece, Erin Deason, to Greg Taylor. The wedding festivities were over-the-top fun from the bridesmaids’ luncheon on the rooftop at Black Sheep and rehearsal dinner at the Sandollar on Friday, the spectacularly magical evening wedding at the Jacksonville Zoo on Saturday, the after-wedding party at Lisa’s and Bob’s on Sunday, and everything in between. It was great to spend good times with cousin Pat and her husband Jeff, Lisa’s high school friends Michele and Elaine, and other family and friends. We also had a couple of very enjoyable spontaneous meals with my College Singers friend, Beth Thompson Doyle, and her husband in Amelia Island, and with my high school friend Beth Wilson DePhillip in St. Augustine. It was truly an unforgettable week in every way. And we’re all very happy Greg’s part of the family.

As we look forward to Christmas and the coming new year, we reflect on our abundant blessings and the many wonderful people in our lives. Thank you for being part of the amazing life God has given us. We wish you a very blessed Christmas season, a prosperous 2015, and plenty of health and happiness always. May God bless you all.

Love,

Mona

Family photo, l to r: Josh, Erika, Etta (almost 4), Leo (6) Wiese

Tony and Mona Leo (Papa and Grammy/Bammy)

Jenni, Dave, Zoey (almost 8), Ruby (5¾), Maggie (almost 4), Sam (2) Cribbs

May 3, 2014 Rocket Launch

2014-05-03T20:41:00.000-05:00

Now we know how NASA feels sometimes. Today's long-anticipated rocket launch was rife with problems. Still, it was a glorious day, weather wise, and everyone had a good time.

Things started off less than optimally when we arrived at the field we like to use in Denton. Because our previous launch was in the fall, we didn't realize the field would be used to actually grow crops in the spring. The nerve! As we trudged from the street to the middle of the field, I happened to look down and noticed tractor tire tracks, tidy furrows, and baby plants peeking up through the soil. We quickly reversed our steps, reloaded the car, and headed back to Lewisville where we know a tried-and-true, albeit smaller, field that is often used by remote control aircraft aficionados.

Before we view the few photos and videos that were almost decent enough to publish, let me offer my......ahem, disclaimers (aka, excuses). I am not now nor ever will be a photographer/videographer. I love taking pictures and videos but I'm terrible at it. Also, our ancient (more than 5 years old) Canon Powershot point-and-shoot camera is not the most dependable vehicle for quality media, particularly in the hands of a total technological dodo. I should have used my phone.

That being said, here are some samples of our aeronautical adventures this morning.

The first rocket went up at an angle and we lost the nosecone section. Permanently. Bummer.

Zoey and Leo were poised to race to the point where the rocket came down because Papa always loads the payload sections with coins and candy.

I totally missed the launch of the second rocket, the one with the glider that detaches and sails to earth on air currents. I simply wasn't ready when Tony sent it skyward. It's just as well because the glider never disengaged from the rocket tube, so #2 was kind of a bust.

I did an absolutely horrible job on the third rocket because I totally lost it once it got off the ground. This particular rocket has strap-on boosters and normally launches beautifully. Sorry you don't get to see it. After it reached maximum altitude, though, the two sections plummeted to earth because both parachute attachments burned from the firing engines. Apparently my Rocket Man failed to secure them in enough protective packing material to prevent fire damage.

Dave helped little Maggie find one of the parachutes in the tall grass.

The last launch video is probably the best of the three even though there were, again, difficulties with the rocket. It's apparently too long to upload to the blog because I keep getting error messages, so I uploaded it to YouTube instead. I'm sorry about the extra step of having to open another screen to view it. I'm what the French call "les incompetents" (first of two Home Alone references in one blog post).

http://youtu.be/JQ4bo28Ia28

What appeared at first to be a successful launch of Leo 5, the big rocket powered by 5 large engines, was actually a bust because two of the five engines failed to ignite, including the center core engine which ignites the second stage of the rocket. It did go straight up, but instead of second stage separation, at this point the whole thing fell to the ground like so much lead. Needless to say, Tony was pretty disappointed, but the kids still loved every minute. Don't miss Leo's Kevin McAllister imitation as the kids run to find their coins and candy in the payload section!

One of the highlights of the morning was the unexpected arrival of two ultralight paragliders which landed during our time in the field. We enjoyed visiting with the men, who had built their crafts by hand and piloted them from Rockwall, which is a hefty distance away on the far eastern side of Dallas. They landed in the field because it was near a gas station, and they needed to refuel before their return trip. Probably the best video of the day is the one where one of the guys took off after we finished launching. Again, it has to be a YouTube video because it's too long to upload directly to the blog.

http://youtu.be/B46PFeupjXY

So, Tony has all summer to work out the kinks before we try again in the fall when our Denton field will be available after harvest and the Cribbies will be back from their summer at Kanakuk. Today was pretty frustrating, but we have to remember that we are, at best, amateurs. I love that Tony has a fun hobby that provides a learning experience for all of us. One of these days the kids will appreciate more than the treats he packs for them. Who knows? Maybe they'll even take an interest in aeronautical engineering!

The launch of LEO 5

2014-01-21T15:15:00.002-06:00

Since Monday was a day off from school and work, and since the weather promised to cooperate, we decided to attempt the maiden voyage of the Leo 5 rocket. A few months ago Tony (aka, Papa) asked Leo how he should design and build his next rocket, and Leo told Tony to make it really big with 5 engines because Leo had just turned 5. Tony's built many rockets in the past, and the most recent ones have been of his own design and construction entirely. But this next one was a tall order and a bit ambitious, even for an experienced "aerospace engineer" like Papa! A 1-engine rocket is pretty powerful and will shoot pretty high, but 5 engines would deliver an almost nuclear explosion--and the rocket had to be large enough to accommodate them.

So Tony worked on the design for several weeks then ordered the parts and components he'd need for construction. This is one of the joys of his retirement--being able to enjoy his hobbies at leisure while doing fun things with the grandkids. When the rocket was completed, Tony handed it off to graphic designer son-in-law Josh for a custom paint job. Josh chose shiny gold paint with block lettering for the name. Upon return to Tony's "rocket room", the payload section was packed with 12 shiny half dollars (2 per grandchild), a bunch of M&M packets to enjoy afterward, and 7 bright orange whiffle golf balls. The kids enjoy retrieving their treasures even more than watching the rocket blast off!

We found a large field in Denton far from any major streets or highways. There were some homes nearby so wind direction and the angle of the rocket had to be factored into where the rocket was set up for launch.

Here is Tony clipping the igniters onto the engines.

Do you think this field is big enough?

A good spot was found and the rocket was set at an angle to launch into the wind.

The construction and excellent paint job up close.

And even closer!

The Cribbies and Wieses arrived for the big event. It was quite a trek across the big field, especially for the little ones.

Zoey, Leo, and Ruby caught up on the latest cousin news while final preparations were made.

And then we all backed up a good bit to stay out of the danger zone.

A perfect lift-off! Tony was so happy it actually got off the ground!! :-)

The G-forces (or something--I'm beyond of my sphere of knowledge here) caused the M&Ms to pulverize inside their packets, so the kids noshed on little crumbs of chocolate and candy shell!

Then they waited expectantly for their shares of the half dollars and golf balls to take home.

Sam was fairly oblivious to the excitement, 'though not as oblivious as he was at last year's launch. We all had a great time and are looking forward to the next rocket adventure. Leo 5 will have to be rebuilt because it was pretty beat up when it hit the ground, and Tony wants to tweak a few things to make it go higher and further. Stay tuned for future developments in the wonderful world of Leo aerospace projects!

MERRY CHRISTMAS 2013

2013-12-12T18:02:00.000-06:00

Joyous Christmas greetings! December 2013

I don’t know about you, but the short span of time between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year is making me a little crazy. I’m normally terrible at time management anyway, so this year is even more challenging than usual, especially with the activity-halting ice storm we had earlier this month. Still, it’s important to take a moment to enjoy the delights of the season and to reflect on this past year’s happenings.

Let’s start with the most important: THE KIDS!! Everybody’s great—healthy, busy, and happy. The Cribbies sold their home in Krum and recently moved into a larger home closer to Dave’s job. Bonus: they’re a mile from Erika and her family, which equates to both daughters now living 15 minutes from us! Zoey is thriving in first grade while Ruby, Maggie, and Sam keep Jenni hopping at home. All 4 kids enjoy Sunday School, and Zoey and Ruby are active in AWANA and gymnastics. The Wiese 4 are also terrific. Leo goes to preschool 2 days a week, and he and Etta are in Sunday School. Both families take regular advantage of fun projects at Home Depot, Lowe’s, Calloway Nursery, and elsewhere. The kids all enjoy helping in the kitchen, and they adore each other....which makes their new proximity to each other a special treat!

We took a couple of trips this year, one planned and one unexpected. In March Tony and I joined our Endicott family in the celebration of the well-lived life of my uncle and godfather, 91-year-old John Warski. Uncle John was very special in that he stepped in as father figure to my family after my own father left when I was 16. Although a funeral would not be the preferred reason for a trip home, it was a wonderful time of fellowship with family members and church friends from my youth. My sister Lisa and her husband Bob also came up from Florida, and we spent some lovely time with Aunt Olga Warski and our cousins Cathy and Pat and their families.

In September Tony, Lisa, Bob, and I took an 18-day trip to Europe in celebration of their 35^th anniversary in July and our upcoming 40^th next April. We spent 2 days in Venice before boarding the Holland America Nieuw Amsterdam for a 12-day Mediterranean cruise. The cruise ended in Barcelona, where we spent an additional 2 days sightseeing. It was an amazing trip and we had a wonderful time. Eventually I’ll get around to posting pictures and travel highlights on my blog (the operative word being eventually).

The coming year will bring us to the Destin, FL area for a week with Erika and family in mid-May. If anyone is in the area and wants to try to connect, let me know and I’ll provide details. Then in mid November we’ll head to Jacksonville for our niece Erin’s wedding to Greg Taylor. We’re very excited to meet Greg, visit with family, and participate in what promises to be a gorgeous, fun wedding at the Jacksonville Zoo!

We always look forward to hearing from you about your year, so please stay in touch. May the significance of Christmas be meaningful to you, and may its joys bless you abundantly this season and throughout the coming year. We send big hugs to one and all from Texas!

Family photo, left to right: Dave Cribbs with Maggie Cribbs (almost 3) and Ruby Cribbs (4½), Jenni Leo Cribbs with Zoey Cribbs (7 on 12/28) and Sam Cribbs (14 months), Papa and Bammy (aka Tony & Mona), Erika Leo Wiese with Etta Wiese (almost 3) and Leo Wiese (5), Josh Wiese. Contrary to speculation, we are not Duck Dynasty wannabees. The guys decided to do something different for this year’s picture. The beards won’t be permanent (I think).

Die, Gordo, Die!!!

2013-09-05T17:35:00.002-05:00

On May 8, 1993 we took delivery of our new fridge, which Tony promptly named "Gordo" due to its gigantor dimensions -- much larger than any other refrigerator we'd ever owned. It is now more than 20 years later and Gordo shows no signs of slowing down, much to my annoyance. A few years ago we replaced our cooktop, double ovens, microwave, and dishwasher with new stainless steel appliances. I would love to have a new, smaller stainless steel fridge to match the rest of the kitchen, but I am married to a wonderful, thrifty, practical man who for some reason thought it would be fine to replace our other still-living-and-working appliances, but not Gordo. I'm having trouble convincing him it's time for Gordo to go.

The rest of the kitchen appliances--sleek, modern stainless.

See? Gordo just doesn't fit in!

To be fair, Gordo does have many fine qualities. He provides a large gallery for grandkids' art work, special souvenir magnets from our travels, family photos in magnetic frames, and assorted notes, lists, and business cards. His refrigerator and freezer sides offer lots of space for produce, deli items, condiments, leftovers, treats, ice, and beverages. Gordo has been a faithful servant, requiring only 2 brief, inexpensive service calls in his long life. I'm sure he still has many years left in him.

But I really think it's time for him to retire. His dingy white pebbled surface shows indelible grime (What IS that sticky stuff trickling down the side that no cleanser ever created can remove?), scratches, and rust streaks from his long-disconnected freezer door ice-and-water dispenser. His icemaker has been AWOL for years, removed by Tony because we couldn't find a way to prevent distasteful black flecks from embedding themselves in the cubes (service call #1; service call #2 a few years ago replaced the refrigerator-side gasket). We don't use a lot of ice, so it's not the end of the world to have to fill our two Rubbermaid ice trays occasionally. It would just be nicer to have ice on demand again. (fleck-free, of course) The produce drawer has been hanging on by sheer will power for years. One of the support pegs gave way almost as soon as Gordo came to live with us, but it's managed to hold on no matter how ambitiously we fill the drawer. And dang it! I just want a fridge that matches my kitchen! Is that really too much to ask?

In truth, we do tend to keep things a long time if they're still operational. Here are a few of our "antique" appliances we use all the time which show no sign of giving up the ghost:

Hamilton Beach hand mixer. My mother bought this for me (for $10) when I got my very first apartment in Cortland, NY at the beginning of my sophomore year in college--Fall 1969!! Yes, we still use it, and it works perfectly. We have a KitchenAid Professional stand mixer that we use for big batches, but this little hand mixer comes in very handy for small jobs -- 44 years later.

General Electric electric knife. This was a bridal shower gift from one of my teacher friends at Mary McLeod Bethune Sixth Grade Center, Jacksonville, FL in the spring of 1974 (Thank you, Barbara Stubbs!!). Note the tastefully dated avocado two-tone finish on this 39-year-old beauty!

Betty Crocker immersion blender. During my 5 stellar years as an elementary school teacher before I retired permanently to raise our daughters and later explore other career choices, Scholastic Books offered teachers free stuff to encourage book sales. Very few of my students at Bethune could afford to buy books, so I'd buy bunches for use in my classroom. These purchases entitled me to several reward items, one of which was this hand blender. This item came into my kitchen some time between 1974 and 1976, and at age 37-39 it still gets used for soups, salad dressings, and sauces on a regular basis.

Oster Pot-Pourri electric chafing dish/fondue pot. Another bridal shower gift (Thank you, Lynne and Ed Moroney!!), this 39-year-old gem has been used frequently and continues to be used regularly. It's the perfect size for cooking all varieties of fondue, cocktail meatballs, marinara, and queso--and for keeping warm foods warm in a buffet setting. Dig that burnt orange finish!

It seems I've unwittingly made my case for keeping Gordo around until he dies of natural causes, haven't I? It does seem wasteful to retire such a dependable, steadfast, durable member of the household. Am I frivolous for wanting all my major kitchen appliances to match? HECK, NO!!!

Your days are numbered, Gordo. Now, where's my gun......?

Goodbye Grammy, Hello Bammy!

2013-06-28T17:59:00.000-05:00

Ever since we first found out Jenni was pregnant with Zoey, I considered the special name possibilities my grandchildren would call me. The best case scenario, in my opinion, is when the children choose their own names for special people in their lives. But we had to have a starting point, so I selected "Grammy" as my grandmother name--the name I had always called my beloved Grandmother Nehlad. As each grandchild came along, he or she would go through metamorphoses of Grammy: Dimi, Mimi, Dammy, Gammy, and--most recently--Bammy. It was little Maggie who coined the name "Bammy", and it seems to have stuck. Pretty much everyone calls me Bammy now, so I'm announcing to the world that it's Bammy from this point forward.

Unless one of the kids decides differently.

Bammy's treasures

Etta, almost 2 1/2

Zoey, 6 1/2

Maggie, almost 2 1/2

Sam, 8 1/2 months

Leo, almost 5

Ruby, 4 1/4

My Rocket Man!

2013-05-26T07:00:00.000-05:00

Tony has always enjoyed building model rockets. Years ago he started with kits, then began designing his own rockets. He gave up the hobby for a while when our daughters grew older and started to lose interest. But now that he's retired he has the time and patience to work on the models again, and with 6 young grandkids, he has an instant captive, interested audience of potential future rocket scientists.

At home Tony has his own rocket/hobby room, sort of a man cave.

When he builds a new rocket, he fills the payload section with candy for the kids. As the section parachutes back to earth after the launch, the kids go running through the field looking for their candy.

I suppose this stuff makes sense to rocket aficionados.

The design table, where the magic happens.

He likes to paint the rockets bright colors to appeal to the kids.

Some recent models under construction.

Um, remember a few pictures back when I said Tony had a man cave? I neglected to mention he generously shares his cave with our baby paraphernalia.

Only a real man would allow a crib in his man cave.

Yeah, the room literally screams pure masculinity, alright!

Finally, launch day arrives. Maggie and Etta are ready to tromp through the fields in their protective boots.

Leo, Zoey, and Ruby love to explore together.

Sam obviously can't contain his enthusiasm.

The first rocket goes up flawlessly.

What goes up must come down, candy and all!

Setting up for the next launch.

Everything must be perfect so the rocket will go straight up.

Another successful launch makes it into the record books. After cleaning up our equipment, it's off to McDonald's for ice cream cones. Memories made!!