Caray, Caray!

Sylvia: Ahoy! What a dream vacation you have planned! I am so excited for you. Your "voice" is a treasured presence on Caray and you will be missed. Wishing you a wonderful, happy journey. I'm hoping you will share some of your adventures with us. God speed.

This summer, I am planting many flowers. My goal is to try and savor all the pleasures of summer - farm grown tomatoes and sunshine filled days. I will be going to NJ a few times this summer and spending time with family. I see hub only occassionally but am eagerly awaiting his next visit home, perhaps this weekend.

Wishing everyone good health and much happiness the coming months and always.

Diana
 

Diana, I think home grown tomatoes more than anything capture the flavor of the sun. That's one thing I'll miss this summer; since we will be gone a while I didn't bother planting any veggie type things.

I don't really have a garden, I mostly just do pots and plant things here and there, and every year I like to try something weird or different. Last year I put a Stevia plant in a pot and it flourished. But what to do with it? (Besides enjoy its greenery and lovely little white flowers.) I had this idea that I would make a pitcher of mojitos using our fresh spearmint and Stevia instead of sugar. Well the first mojito was fine, but by the time I had gotten to the second one the Stevia had steeped a good 30 minutes and man was that mojito SWEET! Note to self: when using fresh Stevia instead of sugar mash it up about 30-45 minutes ahead of time and let it sit for a while.
 

Diana, I forgot to ask, about how often does your husband get home?
 

Sylvia: Your version of mojitos sound delish. I know it's only 8:42 a.m. but it is noon somewhere in the world, right? :)

I never know when hub is coming home. Sometimes it's 3 weeks, sometimes less. I try not to be demanding but did ask him to come home a few weeks ago, simply because it had just been too long. He's home for about 24-30 hours or so and then off. But, it's always good to see him for whatever time he's home. Thanks for asking...

Diana
 

Cap'n Sylvia, Ma'am, is there a web site or whatever where we can observe your progress in conquering the Mare Pacifica to the Sandwich Islands?
 

You should be able to track us on the website www.pacificcup.org. We start on July 8th and the name of the boat is Cinnabar.

I don't think the boats have transponders this year but we call in our position every morning and it is posted by the afternoon. If we set up a boat blog I'll let you know that too.
 

Hey Sylvia thanks for posting this and enjoy your vacation. One of these days I would love to try sailing.

My focus for the summer is academic writing. I have to admit I am a big fan of the World Cup. Though I don't really follow soccer, I'm completely fascinated by this event, the fans and national dynamics.

Diana - You have a green thumb. I hope all your plants and tomatoes produce abundantly! Can I ask what your husband does that he travels so much?

Mike - Nice to see you. I hope you are enjoying the summer. Any stories about great meals you've eaten?
 

Sylvia, your boat trip sounds fantastic, and I'm glad we can follow your progress.

In a few weeks, my whole extended family is going to a resort in West Virginia to celebrate my parents' 60th anniversary. It should be fun, and I'll probably take my guitar, banjo and mandolin. I'll also be going to a few bluegrass festivals this summer, although only for a day at a time. Besides that, I'll be working, but always trying to improve my Spanish (and French, German and Italian, which I'm also studying, although not as deeply as Spanish).
 

Hey Karen, this time it's more like the great meals we've not eaten. Both down a few pounds with a few more to go. Which is not to say I won't fire the grill and cook some ribs.

Starting a new job Monday - got laid off from the old one a couple of months ago. We'll see how this new one goes...

No travel plans given mother's condition. But we have a good source of tomatoes and cukes and peaches and a nice screened porch on the back of the house so we'll be fine.

Definitely will be cheering on Sylvia and Tom!
 

Sylvia:
I cannot wait to follow your progress across the wide Pacific. I love you green thumbed folks. I have moved up to having a tan thumb, which is good, since it used to be black. I now remember to water on a more reasonable schedule and I think I might get a tomato or two out of my garden in the new house. I used to be a terminal plant overwaterer.
Hombre, your family reunion sounds wonderful. I bet the family love your willingness to share your music.
 

Hi Sylvia. How wonderful that there's a website so that we can track your progress. Love the name Cinnabar.

For us, it will just be more trips to Charlotte. Just wrapped up a family visit here and wedding (most of which we missed).

However, my job was to make sure the 2-year-old (formerly known as Baby Jack) would have had his nap, poopy diaper, dinner and be dressed to the nines in a new outfit, new socks and new white shoes and delivered to the church downtown at exactly the right moment (not too early not too late) to be posed with the family wedding pictures. This required the planning (and generated the tension) of a NASA launch. However all went well. Got lots of snuggle time with both grandchildren because parents were verrrrrry busy.
 

Sylvia, we will be "watching" you and wishing you warming sun and cool breezes all the way.

Mike, best wishes on your new job. Congratulations!

Hombre, 60th anniversary? That's amazing. How wonderful - a remarkable accomplishment.

Karen, good luck on your academic plans. I hope you have some time to savor the sunshine as well. Hub is a truck driver, hence his long absences from home.

Judy, it sounds as though your well orchestrated plans for the wedding went off perfectly! Glad you enjoyed quality time with the children.

elna june, my garden has turned out well this year. Quite a change from previous years! It's small but lovely. Truly one of summer's greatest pleasures.

Diana
 

Sounds like everyone is doing something interesting this summer. For me Sylvia's plans sound the most challenging, though Elna June's plan to keep quiet for 10 days would certainly prove a daunting task for me. Karen, I tried watching some of the World Cup Sunday, but lasted 10 minutes. That incessant buzzing from those damnable horns made me think I was getting a sneak preview of what Hell must be like. They didn't even stop for the national anthems of Serbia and Ghana. Talk about your homefield advantage. Mike, good luck on your new job and with the diet. Diana, I hope you have an abundant crop of tomatoes. This year we're having great success with tomatoes as well as cucumbers. Last year was terrible for tomatoes here and the venture into sweet corn was such a major flop that I've decided to try my luck with sunflowers this summer. Hombre, a resort and blue grass festivals. Now that sounds appealing. Bluegrass is very popular here. My neighbor plays banjo in a bluegrass band and during the summer they play just about every weekend. I've started a new book, el Juego del Ángel by Carlos Zafón. I thought that I had developed a good vocabulary but I've encountered a lot of unfamiliar words in the first few chapters. I'm a little surprised since I read el Sombra del Viento by the same author. This guy knows lots of words and isn't shy about using them. We are rejoicing that Texas, A&M, Oklahoma, And Oklahoma St. have chosen to stay in the Big 12. Baylor was on the brink of becoming an orphan. No travel plans... yet.
I'm hope all our Ganchodores have a wonderful summer.

Carlos
 

Carlos, I watched the World Cup in Spanish, so even if the game wasn't too exciting, I had to listen intently to figure out what the announcers were saying (and believe me, I couldn't understand much, although I'm picking up a lot more than I did when I tried watching soccer in Spanish last year).

You really are challenging yourself with your reading. I admire your dedication. I'm still working on Harry Potter 3 in Spanish, which is fun, and not too hard, but I've also started reading the Motorcycle Diaries by Che Guevara, which is MUCH harder. First of all, it's not translated, the way Harry Potter is, and second, Guevara uses long sentences, full of flowery "intellectual" language, including many words I just have to guess or skip.
 

Wow. I'm impressed with both you guys. My idea of reading is going through Peoplenespañol. When I tried novels, first of all, there's so much variation in the Spanish. Peruvians use different expressions than do Chileans or Columbians etc. It becomes a chore. Now Carlos, I know it helps to have a charming, beautiful tutor. Maybe if Colunga were my teacher I'd be more motivated. (yep, definitely would be). In the meantime, I'll stick to celebrity effluvia if only because the writers use a lot of everyday expressions and that's what I'm hoping to master some day.
 

By the way, be sure to read Paula's Care and Feeding of Recappers section. Very well done. And needed to be said.
 

Hello, all. What is this "summer" you speak of? It is still cold and rainy here. I'm hoping we'll get our usual allotment of three warm days in July.

I have no major plans myself. I have a copy of The Count of Monte Cristo en español and I'm hoping to manage to read that. The major issue is that it's so big I don't want to carry it on the bus. It's my favorite book, though.

Other than that I am looking forward to a trip to Idaho to see all my family at the lake house. Ten nieces and nephews will keep me entertained. I haven't met the youngest one yet.

I am a little jealous of all your gardening successes.
 

Hi all,
Before I forget, Hombre, where in WV are y'all going? Glade Springs Resort by any chance? I was near there this week - my old stomping grounds. Have a great time with family.

Sylvia, Mike can't stop drooling at the thought of your summer 'vacation', a working one, if ever there was such a thing! We'll definitely follow your progress.

Judy, you must be one of heaven's angels to get a 2 year old to the church on time, bless you!

Mike and I, as he said, won't be going far this summer. He will have to travel quite a bit for this new job but with one or two possible exceptions, I won't go with him. I'll visit his mom daily and try to keep here more or less entertained. She likes it when I give her manicures and do her hair. And tell her about her grandchildren.

Mike has to buy new pants for this job. He's lost so much weight, his britches are draggin'!! Go Mikey!!

I just got back last night from a girls' road trip through WV and KY. We had a wonderful time although it was in the 90s everywhere we went! None of the hotels we stayed in had Univision, heck, the state park didn't even have cell service! So, I have a little catching up to do on STuD.

My traveling buddy's fiance and her son, and his son are in South Africa for the World Cup, and having a ball. She was able to Skype with him a time or two. Nothing like talking to somebody who is a world away, and sounds as if they are in the next room! Ain't technology grand?
 

Ahoy Cap'n Sylvia and Gancholand. Sounds like you're going to have fun Sylvia, imagine there is work to do when sailing that long or far as well. Stay away from the Indian Ocean. :) I'll have to be checking on pacificcup.org after the 8th.

Diana, I hope you get a lot of flowers and hubby comes home often. And you get some sun filled days. Those have been missing here. Today is the 2nd day this month we will not have rain, but I guess it will be back tomorrow. Cloudy and cool, but not that much rain. It has rained 14 of 16 days, but only about 3 inches worth, so not much any particular day.

Karen, did you watch (I didn't) the big upset in the World Cup today? Spain, the favorites, lost.

Hombre, congratulations to your parents, 60 years together. I guess you weren't too hard on them when you were younger. Looks like you are keeping busy learning languages. I'm having enough trouble with Spanish, don't concentrate enough on it, so sure can't add more.

Mike, Congrats on the new job. Same here. I've been out of work longer than I care to remember, but I will start a new job on Monday. But then, wouldn't have been able to catch the end of Gancho if I was working. ;) Working though, be less checking and commenting on Caray. :(

Judy, glad you got all the time with your grandkids last weekend. Didn't you say you lost weight, too? You need to write a book, the grandkids diet.

Carlos, they are filtering the noise level in the games now, so the buzzing is a little quieter than before, a little. Getting more used to it. Now the Big Ten and Big 12 can switch names.

Julia, didn't comment last week, but not watching Camaleones. Saw a few episodes and have a general idea, but didn't even learn the names. Mainly have watched the other show, Atrevete a Sonar as it happens at lunch time. :)

Emilia, I see you had some 90's on your trip, but then you get in on the latest technology with Skype and the World Cup. Wonder if Hombre will be close to you and Mike? Found one way I lose wake is to not work. I guess I sneak too much at work, but I sure seem to eat a lot at home when I don't work, too.

We have some tomatoes, peppers, and basil growing. Last year was cool and things didn't turn out too well.
 

Emilia, is it my imagination or are you often "out with the girls" for road trips and long weekends? I'm jealous!

Diana, your hubby drives a truck? I talk to a lot of truck drivers in my work and it is the favorite part of my job. Most of them are amazing free spirits and fascinating individuals. Of course being on the road they love to talk and they speak their minds. I will always have a soft spot in my heart for truck drivers. Now whenever I shop for fruits, vegies, whatever I wonder, did one of my drivers bring this here? I have even gotten to practice my Spanish with several drivers who speak very little English!
 

Emilia, we're going to a resort called "The Woods". I don't really know where it is, except that it's in West Virginia. Glad you had fun on your road trip, and that's great that Mike needs new pants.

Julia, sorry you haven't experienced much summer out there, but at least you didn't get the huge snow that we had here in the east, so maybe it balances out. I've never been to Seattle, but I hear it's a beautiful city.
 

Hi Hombre, I checked and The Woods is waaaay out of my stomping grounds, but in a lovely area. It should be an easy trip for you to get there, also.

Sylvia, yes, my best friend and I try to go on little trips several times a year. There are two others who go when they can, or if they are interested in where we are going. We had a wonderful trip to Arizona a few years ago, but nothing that exotic since.

Carlos, I forgot to tell you how glad I am that your kitty cat is better. Never knew cats could get asthma.
 

Julia, come visit us if you're craving hot weather...

Only 85 tomorrow and Saturday in Yorktown, but 96 Sunday and 94 on Monday.

You do enjoy steamy heat, right?
 

96 degrees...that sounds nice. I think the high here today was 61. But yes, at least we didn't have to deal with snow last winter. Driving in snow is pretty much my least favorite thing ever. I've never done it in Seattle, but I'm sure it would be much worse than in Idaho because of all the steep hills and lack of snowplows.

Congratulations to Jeff and Mike on the new jobs! Way to go. I hope they turn out to be all that and then some.
 

Hi, Mike and Emilia:

Congrats, Mike, on your new job. Lord it is stressful to job hunt...I think that is why I end up consulting most of the time.

Yorktown sounds positively steamy. Remember the scenes in BodyHeat? Kathleen Turner made you feel like you were right there, sweltering with her.

How do folks stay cool? Lemonade, pools, mojitos and a quick splash with a hose? I do nto tolerate heat well, so if I am gardening in the heat I get wet in the hose first and then weed or plant flowers. Soon I look like Pigpen, covered in mud, but I am cool.

Julia, I heard from some other friends in the NW that Portland, too, has been wet and cold this summer. My friend said it rained so much that they even cancelled one day of the Rose Festival! that is unheard of for the hearty Portlanders.

Tomorrow I think I will have a TV. Maybe I'll get to watch one epi of STuD before heading off into silence.

EJ
 

I second the congrats to Mike and Jeff for landing jobs. Looking for a job IS a full time job.

Mike, good for you for losing weight! Dang that's hard to do.

EJ, I am still amazed that you are going to go in for the "silent treatment". On one had it sounds fabulous, but on the other I'm not sure I could actually pull it off.
 

Hooray for our successful job hunters and finders. Our son, alas, is taking his time looking for a part-time job while studying for the CPA exam. Rereading all my cognitive therapy books about how you can't really change another person and criticism and carping do not get you what you want. Back to the books now, amigos!

PS USA tied Slovenia. Tough call on the disallowed goal that would have won the game for us. Coach was classy in that he didn't go into a rant in the aftergame interview.
 

PS Anyone seen Carlos around the blog lately? I haven't.
 

Judy, no, not for a couple of days.

Dr. Carlos, paging Dr. Carlos. Dr. Carlos, white courtesy Gancho blog, please.
 

Ganchodores,

Thanks for thinking about me. I had my hands full last week. Strange because this is usually a very quiet time of year for me. I finally caught up with my watching and reading last night. Summer has definitely arrived in Texas.

Carlos
 

Hey, is anyone else watching STuD? I think Gancho's Don Cesar appeared as Padre Ventura (yes, a priest!) last night. Sans flashy suit, da hair and sunglasses, of course.
 

Mike, I didn't see your comment until just now. It took me a little while to recognize Don Cesar because he looks so different. However as soon as he opened his mouth I knew who he was. Isn't it weird seeing him in such dull clothing?
 

Aha! Your Yorktown weather report: its presently a sunny 100 degrees.

How's the weather in Seattle, Julia?
 

It would be awesome (if not exactly humble and holy) if a priest dressed like Don Cesar. I always loved his eye-popping outfits. I'll have to check out his new look in STuD.

Mike, it is currently 57*F in Seattle. Drizzly this morning but now clearing up a bit. Yesterday the high was over 70*! Blazing!

On the plus side, our grass is still green, which it won't be if we ever have a sustained dry spell. Watering grass is considered quite decadent here.
 

How is your new job going, Mike?
 

Julia...it is somewhat depressing to see so much of "Don Cesar's" flash and pop gone. But he looks like he'll be a feisty priest in this one, even in subdued garb. He looks quite "normal" which was never the case in Gancho.

StuD is a weird combination of drama, angst and then dopey humor. They have a "Greek chorus" of ranchero type musicians who gaily sing "it's burning it's burning" when a poor peasant's hut is set afire. And "it bit her it bit her" when Val is attacked by a ratttler.

But who cares? Colunga takes his shirt off and he's just beyond perfect.
 

Judy, I think I like the dopey stuff the best. And the Mexican/Greek Moustache chorus dudes crack me up. I hope they stay.
 

Julia, Emilia and I want to swap abodes w/ you temporarily. Come here for your heat fix while we "chill" in Seattle. I'm delighted to hear your grass is still green; our crabgrass and other noxious weeds are doing quite well in the heat and humidity, thank you.

Job: well... I'm going to call it a career in six months when this project is complete. The local retirement occupation is to drive the parking lot tram at Busch Gardens, but there is no way I'm gonna put up w/ hot, sweaty tired turistas.