6 Kids, 3 cats, 1 dog, Mom, and Dad

Another one's done or Only one left!

Middle Daughter go her driver's license today. She finished driver's ed on Wednesday, did some last minute practicing yesterday, and passed the written and practical tests today.

We got to the Department of Motor Vehicles at around 11am but they told us that the road tests weren't going to resume until 1:15pm. That means MD got to take her written test (missed one) and then hang around for almost two hours waiting for the driving test to take place.

We went to the store in order to buy some batteries and for a bathroom break since the DMV, something I pay tax dollars to build and support, doesn't have public bathrooms. What's up with that?

We got back and she was third in line for the test. The first girl to go after the break came back and had failed her test. We didn't hear why but it certainly didn't calm MD's nerves at all!

She was relieved when she passed and now the only problem is wondering how many times I'll have to hear her lament about the picture on her license.

Eye spy or Now for some berries.

I have some black raspberries growing in my yard. The berries are good but you can only eat them a few at a time since it isn't an abundant crop like you get with cultured and cared for plants.

There's a large bush off of my deck and I think these are chokecherries but I don't know for sure.

Pictures outside or Since I was already out there.

I noticed an animal walking around my yard and snapped a couple of pictures before it got scared off by me walking outside to get a better view. I think it is a groundhog/woodchuck.

Working on my French or A fun night out.

Beautiful Wife, Middle Daughter, and Sainted Mother joined me for dinner Friday night at the Olive Garden where Oldest Daughter works.

We found out that we can get the 25% discount if we go there when she's working! Bonus!

After we ate dinner we drove up to Perkin's Cove to walk around and enjoy the evening. We drove through a thunder-storm on the way and the rain was so torrential that it was puddling in the middle of the highway!

We went into the candy/ice-cream shop and decided to order some ice-cream to eat while we walked around.

When I walked in the door I greeted the counter chicks with a hearty bonjour and then exchanged how are you type greetings in French. SM walked up and ordered ice-cream in the midst of this exchange and was promptly ignored while the cute chick asked me what I wanted. I responded in French with some coaching from Middle Daughter and ordered both mine and BW's ice cream at the same time.

This exchange finished and SM spoke up to complain that she was still waiting for her ice cream. LOL SM typically goes out with her sister or my sisters and is the outgoing, gregarious one that interacts with the shop-keepers. I think she was a little miffed that I got all the attention just because I was butchering the French language.

She continued to complain when we got outside and BW said to her, "Welcome to my world." LOL

Playing some cards or You have to know when to cheer.

I played Texas holdem the other night at Beautiful Wife's Youngest Brother's home. There was around 16-18 people there and I ended up in fourth place. Only the top three places were money makers but I was happy to make it that far since I've been knocked out much earlier in the past.

I decided to play conservatively unless I knew I had a good hand until I built up a big enough stake and then I got a bit more aggressive.

I got dealt a hand, the 7 and 8 of diamonds, and decided to bet the 50 cents to see what was in the flop. The flop showed the 6 and 9 of diamonds and a seven in another suit. I decided to keep going since I had a chance at a straight flush and had at least a pair. I don't remember the turn card but when the river was flipped it was a 5 of diamonds. A 5 of diamonds. I checked again, yep...I'm sitting there with a straight flush and I can tell by the way on of the other guy's is betting that he has a flush.

I eyeball what he has and make a big enough bet so that he has to call all-in if he wants to call. He calls and says that he hopes I can beat a flush...and I flip my cards and show that I have a STRAIGHT FLUSH!

Pandemonium at our table and the other table too when they realized the magnitude of the betting, that someone went all-in, that someone got knocked out, and that we had such incredible hands. The total pot for that hand was around $40.

After looking at his cards I realize that the other card I could have used for a straight flush, the 10 of diamonds, was in his hand. Luck is a good thing.

I managed to knock out a number of people and by the time I left the game the blinds were four and eight dollars, if you can imagine. I had a great night and it was totally worth the $20 buy in that it takes to play the game.

A lazy day or The life of a cat.

Here's Fizban relaxing in my office window on a beautiful, sunny day!

Another pic or Sans the snow.

Here's a picture of our stone wall covered with snow and ice in March and then how it looks today.

Since you asked or It is nice to have a choice.

I had a physical yesterday. I was in my boxers with one of those gowns draped over the rest of me when the doctor told me that they recommend a rectal exam for men over 50 and that it is allowed but optional if you're over 40. I told him that I was more than happy to wait until I am 50 unless something happens to change my mind in the interim.

I felt like rolling my eyes and giving him a big DUH!

Picture time or Home sweet home.

I took this picture today of the front of our home. I like how the day-lily flowers look on the other side of the stone wall. Beautiful Wife separated a bunch of clumps and spread them out and I think the effect is awesome.

Funny one or I swear I don't make these up.

Oldest Daughter and Her Friend just got back from Maui. One day they went to the post office and took the bus to get there. They decided to walk back but neither one had paid attention to how they got there.

How'd they get back? A stranger heard them talking and offered to show them the way back because he lived near the McDonald's they used as their landmark to get back to the hotel.

And the stranger...he was a blind guy!

They had to be led home by a blind guy...unbelievable.

Blog n Brew or Who needs an excuse for beer?

I had a great time at my first every blog n brew last night. It was nice meeting some people for the first time and also seeing people that I haven't in a while.

This event was Kreblog's idea and he was responsible for setting the whole thing up. I just hope I gave him enough money to cover the two beers I had during the night.

I know that we talked about boobs several times throughout the evening so I deem the whole event a success!

How about fired or Delayed compensation.

I just read an article on Yahoo News and I can't believe it.

Essentially, the British PAT (Professional Association of Teachers) says that the word 'fail' should be banned from use in classrooms and the term 'deferred success' should be used instead.

How long will it be until they decide to change out the word 'success' for the term 'eventual failure' so that those that do well don't make the others feel bad?

Conference call etiquette or Since we're talking about manners.

If you're on a conference call and you don't have anything to say please mute your phone!

There's nothing more distracting and irritating than listening to kids scream, dogs bark, coughing, or someone blowing their nose.

If you preface your question by saying that it is dumb, it probably is and you should not ask it.

If you say it is going to be a quick question, make it that way.

If you keep asking questions you should know that everyone, everywhere, is rolling their eyes and sending emails to each other questioning your sanity and intellect.

Make sure it is a question and not a rambling dialog about what you think. Nobody cares and will go back to rolling their eyes and talking about you behind your back.

Things that bug me or Now that you mention it!

I was reading an entry over at The Hot Librarian about the lack of manners (common courtesy) that some people show in return once it has been extended to them.

Her entry dealt with wishing someone a good day and letting someone in front of you when you're in a line of cars so I'll pick on something different.

When I say thank you the correct response should be one of the following:
- you're welcome
- my pleasure
- a foreign language variant of the above

What really bugs me is when I get a 'no problem', especially when it is from someone working in a store or some other customer facing job. I should hope that doing their job is 'no problem' for them...

Another thing that bugs me is when you stop ahead of time to let someone cross in front of you and they stroll/crawl across the road without the slightest appreciation for your thoughtfulness. How about a little wave and that fake half-jog that shows you appreciate the stop and want to extend the courtesy back in the other direction?

Good wine or Finally opened a bottle.

Beautiful Wife's Younger Sister and Her Cousin stopped by for a visit last night. We tried to go out for a martini but both places that I'd go in Dover were close as of 8pm on a Sunday night. WTF?

We went back home and I opened a bottle of wine. It was the 2002 Goat-Roti which is primarily a Shiraz but has 5% of Viognier thrown in there too. It was a Wine Spectator 'smart buy' that scored a 91 and was only $18 a bottle. The Viognier is a full-bodied white varietal that adds rich and spicy flavors, according to WS. It definitely enhanced the forward, fruit-driven structure of the Shiraz.

There's nothing subtle about this wine in terms of bouquet or taste and it was a lot of fun to drink. We broke out my Le Nez du Vin and tried our noses out in terms of guessing the scents and then seeing if we could detect it in our wine.

The kids came in from outside and wanted a chance at guessing the smells and it was pretty funny to watch them sniff and then try to puzzle it out. At one point Youngest Daughter sniffed something and then said it reminded her of the chocolate store...ummm...like truffles!

After she left the room I pointed out to the grownups that the truffle scent in the bottle is that of the fungus and not the candy in a store. YD must have seen that on the description card and figured that she'd wing it.

Got the new book or What a fantastic read!

Middle Daughter, Her Friend, and I got our books at midnight on July 15/16. We arrived at the store earlier in the day, 5:30pm, to get our wrist bands. Those bands determined what order you got to go inside and purchase your book. MD got number seven and HF got number eight so we were styling!

When we got in line for the books there was over 400 people that had pre-ordered books and around that many that hadn't and wouldn't be allowed in to purchase one until all the pre-orders had been taken care of first!

We left the store and went to the mall because MD wanted to do some shopping for her Younger Sister's bday. We went to Bath and Body and one of the employees flirted with me like you wouldn't believe. I did absolutely nothing to encourage her either! I'm serious! You don't believe me?!?!!?

After that we went home and hung our until it was almost 10pm before heading back to the store. I've never seen this many people in the bookstore...kids and adults were everywhere...I even had a hard time walking down the history aisles because people were sitting on the floor talking or reading.

We got our books and the girls started reading them in the car on the way home. I read my book any chance I got and finished it Sunday afternoon while sitting at Hampton Beach.

It was absolutely incredible. It was by far the best Potter book thus far in the series and I couldn't put it down.

Middle Daughter is still reading hers and I'm forbidden to talk about the book at all in her presence.

Potter time or I need a nap!

I reserved a copy of Harry Potter for Middle Daughter. The book is going to be released at midnight (in case you live under a rock and didn't know) and we'll be at the local Barnes and Noble when it happens.

The next day is her birthday and right now her only plans for the day are to sit at home and read her book. We have a family & friends bday party planned at 4pm and she's agreed to take a small break to eat and get gifts before resuming her reading. All of her friends have similar plans so we may have the quietest sleepover with teenage girls in history...

Cartoon life or A midnight visit to the bathroom.

I went into the bathroom last night and noticed as I approached that Buddy, the scaredy-cat of all our cats, was laying on the rug in front of the tub.

He got an almost human look of panic on his face, flattened his body to the floor, and tried to get out of there before I blocked the door going in. His legs churned uselessly as the rug bunched under his body with each frantic stride until he finally got some traction and bolted out the door.

You'd swear that I was tormenting this cat with the way he acts. He doesn't like men, and I'd made the mistake of being the one that dragged him out from under our bed before we left on vacation...he's never forgiven me and that was probably four-five years ago.

Finished sorta or Rolling around!

My office is mostly finished. I have to do something to bridge the small gaps in the doorway to carpet in one direction and tile in the other but other than that, done!

Oh...I also have to finish removing all the little adhesive smudges but that shouldn't take too long.

My office chair rolls easily on this floor so I have to be careful when I sit down else I'll slam into the wall or tip out the window behind me.

It's funny to watch the cats walk through here...it is almost like they're on their tip-toes and freaked out by the whole change.

I had a 'thing' removed from my back a couple of weeks ago and the biopsy came back normal. I was happy to get that postcard in the mail. If you are ok they send you a postcard...if it is 'bad' they call you up and tell you what happens next so I'm glad I got the card.

Oldest Daughter is still in Maui, Youngest Daughter is home, and Middle Daughter left yesterday to join her friend at their summer camp for a few days so we're still down to only one kid at home.

Little town or Coffee Shop Happenings.

I went into town this morning for my usual caffeine fix. I typically get a double red eye (medium coffee with two shots of espresso) but that has morphed into the iced version of that drink with the summery weather that we're having.

It is pronounced like it is spelled, eh-spress-soh, NOT EX-press-soh. Get it right!

The same two young ladies (college chicks) typically work the morning shift and greeted me as I walked in the door. As one of them went to make my drink the other confessed to me that I had a cameo in her dreams the night before. The role was rather benign but I figured I'd take the props of being in her dreams.

I shared counter space with the host of several TV programs and chatted about the new lids and how avoiding a spill was pretty difficult. He normally comes into the shop or walks around town avoiding all eye contact as if the masses were going to accost him. I decided to help him get beyond his comfort zone and engage him in coffee shop chit-chat. I was flying high after the dream revelation and on good terms with the world.

As I drove out of town I yelled out a "hi gorgeous!" to a local character that has held almost all positions in our small town government. Her broad smile and returned "hi dear!" provided a nice ending to my morning coffee trip.

I love living in a small town.

Let the sun shine or Projects when it doesn't.

Son helped me prepare my office for a wood floor on Saturday. It used to have the same pinkish carpet the covers the rest of the house and I decided it needed a change.

Good Friends with Soccer Daughter gave me around 10 packs of hardwood tiles that they had for a couple of years and didn't use and offered them to me for free. Free is a relative term when it comes to the total cost of a project.

I had to remove 80-odd bottles of wine from a rack before we could move it to another room. All of my office furniture followed after that and now fills my dining and living room areas. Pulling up the old carpet and the padding underneath was the easiest part of the day. Pulling up all the carpet tack and staples was the hardest.

There had obviously been multiple types of carpets in that room over the years. The last owners decided to put down new carpet tacks but left the old strips in place. They also left all the staples in the floor from the previous installation. Son and I spent the better part of the afternoon removing all the strips and staples by hand.

I went to the home improvement store and bought some more tiles, just in case, molding, four gallons of adhesive, a compound miter saw, and a table to hold it. The dimensions of the room meant that eleven of the tiles would have to be cut to fit and I wasn't going to do it by hand.

Beautiful Wife helped me by handing me the tiles and I installed them all by hand after spreading the adhesive on the floor. This is also the first project that I ever did using a chalk line in order to snap a line to make sure it all went in straight. In fact, I snapped two lines and then checked the resulting angle to make sure the whole job would be square.

There are some spaces in the floor because the tiles aren't perfect, but they are tiny and will be filled with filler this evening. I also have to cut the molding (another job not being done by hand but using the miter saw instead) and install that tonight too. I'm going to buy some mineral spirits to remove the adhesive that got on some of the tiles and then it will be ready for the office furniture to be returned.

I had knee pads but my knees are still killing me after hours of being on them as I spread the adhesive and laid the tiles. If I ever decide to do another floor I'm going to do the kind that doesn't require adhesive instead.

Went to the movies or Perfect for a rainy day.

It was only in the lower 60s and rained most of the day yesterday so going to a movie seemed like a great idea.

Beautiful Wife, Her Youngest Brother's Wife, and I went to see the Fantastic Four and it didn't disappoint. I probably liked it more than either of them but I'd actually read FF comic books and knew some of the story line.

The special effects were awesome and the fact that Jessica Alba had to strip down to her bra and panties while trying to be completely invisible was a high point for me.

I saw a Good Friend from Karate that was at the show with her sister. Ends up that her sister works with BW's Youngest Brother's Wife so they knew each other...small world.

Other news or OD's trip to Maui.

Oldest Daughter is safely in Hawaii with her Friend with Big Blue Eyes and having a great time. She was disappointed when she first got there and saw the size of the room in the hotel.

Oldest Daughter may be a bit spoiled. Almost all of our family vacations have been at Disney World and she might have been expecting the same magic in Maui.

She called Beautiful Wife and broke down crying when she started to describe her day. BW asked her if she saw palm trees, if it was warm, and if there was a beautiful swimming pool at the hotel. OD answered yes to all three and started to feel better. The next day, after a good night's sleep, found her in a much better mood. She had been up for almost 48 hours and it was obvious.

She and her friend are off snorkeling today and she called to ask me about the chances of being stung by a jelly fish. That is their biggest concern. I told her that she would be ok if she went through the canyon instead of over the canyon.

It made me feel good that she called because it is nice to feel wanted when you're the daddy of an 18-year-old young lady.

Go to hell or Go to jail and rot.

The attacks in London are horrific, awful, and are far outside the scope of what I consider normal human behavior. I hope the perpetrators are caught and spend the rest of the natural lives in jail cells filled with men from the countries they've attacked.

Another one of those things or When you're tagged you gotta do it!

Karen tagged me so here I go!

What was I doing 10 years ago:
Traveling around the US training school administrators on how to use a software package for attendance, grades, and scheduling.

5 years ago:
I was 'laid off' from a company and received 16 weeks of severance pay two weeks before starting a new job at another company.

1 year ago:
We were in Disney World!

Yesterday:
Discussing an RFP response with a customer in Cambridge, Mass.

5 Snacks I enjoy:
salt & vinegar chips
slim jims
yodels
funny bones
ice cream

5 songs I know all the words to:
The Star Spangled Banner
I've Been Working on the Railroad
We Go Together - Grease Soundtrack
The Hallelujah Chorus - Bass
16 Going on 17 - Sound of Music soundtrack

5 Things I would do with a $100 million:
buy a submarine
open a coffee/wine/book store
travel around the world
spend a month doing nothing
call my ex-girlfriends

5 Locations I would like to run away to:
Paris
Rome
Florence
Perth
Napa Valley

5 Bad habits I have:
pick my nose
is ogling hot chicks bad?
is flirting bad?
thinking the world revolves around me
complaining

5 Things I like doing:
ogling chicks
flirting
complaining
drinking wine/beer/mixed drinks
eating at nice restaurants

5 Things I would never wear:
anything that makes my ass look big
anything that makes my 'package' look small
....that's about it

5 TV shows I like:
Sex in the City
Family Guy
Lost
Queer Eye for the Straight Guy
Survivor

5 Biggest joys of the moment:
First time I got laid
Birth of son
Birth of daughter 1
Birth of daughter 2
Birth of daughter 3

5 Favorite toys:
pick up sticks
frisbee
sais
bo-staff
crayons

5 next victims:
Come one, come all! You know you want to do it!

Fireworks or The best a camera phone can do.

Here's a picture I took during the fireworks the other night. I took many more than this but they were either a big blob of white (clicked on capture too soon) or barely discernible stars (didn't click on capture fast enough).

Great weekend or Life in the fast lane.

We had absolutely beautiful weather this weekend and it was a three day weekend to boot!

On Saturday me, Middle Daughter, and Beautiful Wife ate breakfast, picked up my mom at her home, and drove up to Ogunquit Beach in Maine. We ate lunch at Barnacle Billy's and it was excellent.

After lunch we walked on the Marginal Way and enjoyed the beautiful scenery and great weather. MD and I walked down to the water and one point and it was refreshing rather than bone-chilling like it can be earlier in the year.

We made our way back to home, enjoyed watching the Survivor:All Stars series that I got from Netflix, and then headed out to the Olive Garden for dinner. Oldest Daughter joined us at that point because we are able to get 25% off the meal when she eats with us since she's an employee.

BW's Younger Sister joined us for a drive down to Boston on Sunday. We started at Faneuil Hall where we all went to a different vendor and then enjoyed eating at a stand-up table in the common area of the all.

We finished that in time to walk over to the New England Aquarium IMAX theater to see Sharks 3D. If you watch the Discovery Channel and are a Shark's Week fan from way back, save your money unless you want to take a nap in an air conditioned theater. While the visuals and sound are impressive, you can only watch sardines changing directions in unison only so many times before you start to doze.

The sharks? BORING! You'll end up thinking that the toothy loves are only there to clean up the really sick and evolution challenged fishies and we humans are safe since 'we taste awful to them!'

We took our time walking over toward the theater district with stops at
assorted stores including Filene's Basement, a place that none of the ladies had been in before and that you have to see in order to believe.

I saw a display of Versace ties but still had to pass on actually purchasing one. They were originally $125.00 and were marked way down to $69.95...still too rich for my blood.

We ate dinner at Legal Seafoods. I received a tour of their extensive wine cellar and we all enjoyed a great dinner. We seem to eat a lot...

After dinner we walked through the nicer parts of the city until we got back to the parking garage and headed home.

Monday was spent doing some work around the house and then fun later on in the day. The kitty litter room was awful. The automatic litter boxes needed to be cleaned and something done with the floor because they have a tendency to 'miss' or toss things out when they do their covering and scratching.

I ended up doing it because it was a nasty job and it needed to be done right. I used hot water, bleach, and an old mop to clean the cement floor after sweeping and then using the vacuum to get up all the grit and dust.

After I finished that job we went to the out-laws to have some dinner and then went downtown to enjoy the fireworks. The kids go to see and be seen and the adults get to catch up with people the only see at class reunions or at the soccer field. GEO joined me in line while I waited to purchase some fresh, hot, home-made french fries and passed the time talking about our lives.

Except for the kitty litter job, it was an awesome weekend.

Talented princess or Who woulda thunk?

Oldest Daughter is interested in many things but creating art isn't one of them. She took pottery her last semester in high school and loved it. She went in after school to work on additional projects and really came up with some nice stuff.

Here's a water pitcher that she designed.

Working from home or Skipping meals is what I do.

One thing I noticed about working from home...I tend to skip lunch. I get busy working and when I realize that I'm hungry it is nearly supper time.

The princesses have a tendency to eat anything that resembles snack or junk food within 15 minutes of it being purchased so my options are limited unless I want to leave the house.

I just realized that it has been literally hours since I got an email in my work account...I must be the only one still working.

What does your bday mean or All the good things are correct.