Our geriatric spines may never be the same, but we sure loved our day together. Both boys were great sports about everything, and the Thriller was the ultimate host, making sure we were all as cool and hydrated as we could be.

We. Walked. Everywhere. And everywhere we walked was uphill and six miles to get there. But what a workout, eh?

Behold, the Zootorial…

Arriving at the gate. Excitement!

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Justin saw the giraffes in the distance right away.

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Jake was fascinated by the monkeys.

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We spent a lot of time with the monkeys, btw.

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End of the day - bushed! We treated them each to a big cup of ice-cold Diet Pepsi.

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Justin didn't make it past the Cuyahoga County line.

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Bath time was extra leisurely, with the water a bit on the cool side.

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Fantastic day, short night. Today, we conquer the park.

Grammie Fink

Armed with sunscreen, a spray-nozzle bottle of water (for misting purposes — keep those boys cool), a double stroller, two full sippy cups, and plans to not stay all day long, we should have a blast. Bring on the wildlife.

Jake’s looking forward to the monkeys the most. I will report back with the day’s high jinks.

Happy Tubesday, and for those fiends with real jobs, rejoice that it’s a short week!

FO

Such was the case yesterday, when the boys came to visit Grammie and Grandpa for the night. The Thriller wanted to build them a sandbox, but instead decided to convert a circular flower garden in the back yard into a glorious sand pit for Jake and Justin. The work paid off…we did not hear a word from Jake for an hour and a half; nor could we coax him in to eat dinner. Small price to pay. It was fun watching him.

Jake, excavator

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And now he and his brother & parents are off to Myrtle Beach for a week…what will Grammie do? Ah, I know. SmartBoard training at school. Party, ja?

Happy Finkday to all!

Such is the case with my wonderful fiend BoomR.

You have to go to his site and listen to his music. I’ve heard and worked with some great saxophone players in my time, but this guy is at the top of the heap. Fortunately for all his audiences, he’s a fantastic singer too! (I’ll let him give out his website if he wants to.)

We go way back. Check out this shot of us in the studio, circa 1986. HA

When we were young

Good times, good times..

Welp, Jake is helping me type this, and Justin is getting into k bku  vbc b <– that, so I’ll fly for now. HB, BoomR luv!

FO g g gf nm,j,

We had the boys last night, and once again, it was two geezers getting the toddler beat-down. And a fantastic time was had by all.

Seems it was Grandparents Take Grandchildren to the Park Night at Brookside East. And we didn’t even go till around 7:45 p.m. We saw two other sets of grandparents playing…possibly doing the “let’s wear them out before bedtime” game. Heh.

It’s not that I want to bomb my space with pictures of my grandchildren (all right, that’s a big fat lie), but what is more delightful and simple and beautiful than children laughing and playing? It’s something I wish I could watch all the time, every day. Behold:

Justin, all big and bad on the merry-go-round

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Remember going crazy on these things?

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They loved flying "way up high."

There is no sweeter sound on earth than toddlers laughing uncontrollably.

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And that’s how I spent my Saturday night. Bring on the Tylenol, and let’s do it all over again.

It was fantastic hanging with the family last night (minus Lars, Helen, Jon and Simone, who are in Texas for the holidays — we’re catching up with them in January). The boys had great fun opening and playing with their new toys — and so did the adults. We laughed a lot, as is our custom. It was a great night. It’s all about family, no?

Hope Santa was good to you as well, my fiends. After gift-opening, we’re on our way to Detroit. Viva la casino. Yep.

FO

For those of you who don’t know, my best friend for around 18 years now is this lady. Int she the cutest? Kay has had a wonderful career as an opera singer, Ohio Arts Council Artist-in-Residence, and studio teacher (a bigger knock-out voice you’re unlikely to find — g/f can shake the rafters). She’s done everything from Puccini to oratorio to cabaret. I even got her to monkey around with some jazz once. I’m still working on the rock and roll…

Anyway, not only is she an amazing singer, she’s a wonderful watercolor artist, writer, and all-around world traveler. She and her husband, Bob (remember my serenade by the accordion player?) live half the year in Slovenija and half here in Buckeye nutville.

Best of all, she’s just good peeple. Fortunately for me, she chose to spend the last two decades wasting time on the Fink. She’s like family, yes Mavis?

Anyway, it’s her birthday feast today — and she won’t even mind that we’re fixing a meat dish for all the carnivores who don’t share her vegetarian lifestyle, but heart her all the same.

HB BFF K!

FO…gotta think about starting the macaroni and cheese

1. It’s short, schoolwise
2. I get to see family (Johanna flies in from Austin this morning, yay!)
3. Mavis, the daughters and I get to tear it up in the kitchen
4. I get out my Sinatra and James Taylor Christmas CDs
5. I can watch the Lions lose instead of the Browns
6. I get to start wrapping all the gifts that will arrive over the next couple of days
7. My v-jazz group has a gig on Sunday; should be some fun
8. The thesis gets its finishing touches, then off it goes for the final time, never to be thought about again in my lifetime
9. I get more time with Jake and Justin
10. No 5 a.m. alarm going off (except the one in my head, which I can choose to ignore)

Now that’s a dandy week, say thankya. What’s your vacation look like? (RD and Greg, I know your answers: every week is vacation…)

Here’s to the start of a fantastic — hopefully short for all of us — work week.

FO

Had my sis’s birthday feast last night (we celebrated the birthday of  Jake and Justin’s other grammie, Jane, too). It was a grand time.

Six-month-old Justin was making us laugh. It’s fun when you begin to see a baby’s personality developing. We told Hannah last night that she was fortunate indeed to have two babies in a row with happy dispositions. Yay!

Yes, I have an Obligatory Grammie Showoff Photo:

clicky

I predict lots of opportunities to hone my Flip Video editing skills. Just gotta get through these next couple of weeks…

Happy Monday.

Orchestra rehearsal yesterday — even with the missing 2nd trumpet player, the bass player having to leave to help with preparations for his grandfather’s funeral, and the drummer turning around en route in order to take his daughter to the emergency room — was fantastic. I told Lars on the way home that I don’t know why I always worry about this particular day, since the players are wonderful (who else do you know who can sight-read an entire Broadway book, while at the same time dealing effortlessly with my maniacal cuts in the score?) and everyone is just Nice People. Best of all: I received a text message from my drummer saying that his daughter is going to be OK.

Seamus’s feast was downright dandy. It is surreal to me that he is entering his 30th year, when it seems like yesterday that I was rocking him to sleep, reading to him, playing cars with him…tempus fugit. I want to give a huge public thank-you to my most awesomely awesome sister, Mavis — she took on the lion’s share of the prep work yesterday while I was out playing around on the piano. She made sure it was another boffo event at the Finkhouse. Great fun!

And now, alas, it is Monday. I cannot phreeking believe it.

Phink out.

Weirdest thing: seeing him come down the stairs at 5:30 a.m. Good thing he’s quiet as a church mouse…otherwise I’d hafta get violent.

Fink to the showers

Don’t you hate it when people post photo after photo of their children or grandchildren, as if readers might be interested? Ha ha heh heh heh. Oh COME ON, be a sport. Indulge me. Someday you will know the feeling. I’ll bet RD has to stand on a ladder to unfold the wallet photo collection. But I must admit it’s tons of fun.

And I don’t mean “fun” for the standard, tired reason that many grandparents seem to give, either: I love grandchildren — especially when I can send them home to their parents. That’s not the case with me. I love them because they’re part of Seamus and Hannah, and therefore a part of me. I’d raise ‘em by myself in a New York minute.

Anyway…here are the fotos. There are only three, so I’m being kind.

Clicky:

Jake and the snake

Heeere, turtle turtle turtle

Doing some fish gazing

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Warning: Non sequitur

I don’t know why I just thought of this, but check it out.  You can search every last one of my 567 posts since February 2008, and not find one instance where I’ve used the word pics to refer to photographs. I hate the word…the mouth feel thing again. I remember back in my early Usenet and IRC days (we’re talking 1994-95, thereabouts, when I first got a dialup connection at home) seeing the word “pics” for the first time. I thought, “Why not just say the 2nd syllable?” It’s a piece of “netspeak” that has just stuck. Me no likey. But you go ahead, by all means. Doesn’t bother me to read it.

I used to have a friend on a lowcarb newsgroup who used the word “pixies” to refer to photos. She’s not with us anymore.

Sheesh I’m a nut job. (But at least I *know* I’m wearing the foil hat.)

A.D.D. Fink ouLOOK, A CHICKEN!

Before I go back to researching for my delightful class assignment…

Clicky:

What a little rock star.

Obligatory cake photo. Good thing Hannah strips him down to his nappy.

After the party, #1 Son took him to the county fair to see his first-ever demolition derby. His reaction upon seeing the first collision:

That's no yawn, BTW

He also loved his gifts. Boy is going to be bizzy for awhile. It was a great party.

Later, Grammie & Grandpa Thriller went to the movies. The Informant! started out a bit on the slow side (too many sidebar meetings & conversations for my taste), but really picked up in the second half. Advice: if you don’t know the Eric Mark (sorry, got him confused with a choral composer) Whitacre story (the movie is based on an actual event), then don’t read up on it before you leave. I saw this same advice in a movie column yesterday morning, and I’m glad I took it. The last 20 minutes of the film are *much* more satisfying and revealing if you don’t know how everything ended in real life.

Suffice it to say that the story’s twists are really twisted, and Damon is dead-center in capturing Whitacre’s bizarro personality. On the brand-new “Rat-O-Meter” movie scale of five cheeses, I give it:

Have a grand Sunday. Back underground…

RF

I never met Millie, but from what I’m told, she was a lovely and vibrant octogenarian who adored her children and lived an energetic and meaningful life.

What better lesson for the rest of us? Everyday silliness and annoyances can really get in the way of what’s really important: living a meaningful life, and loving your family.

So today’s post is dedicated to Millie’s memory. I say to all my fiends who read and post — or who just read — if you would like to, leave a message here for BluVox, BoomR and the rest of their family, so they can know that we’re thinking of them. Unlike flowers, these condolences can be permanent via a bookmark or just returning once in awhile to read them. I hope BoomR and BluVox can derive some comfort from them.

So BoomR and BV, my thoughts are with you today. I know what it is like to lose a parent. May your wonderful memories of Millie sustain you during the days to come. Hugs – L.

On 18 July, 2010, we will set out to navigate historic Route 66, in its entirety. That’s right: all the way from south of Chicago to Los Angeles. By our figures, it should take us a little over two weeks total, with a small stop in Vegas and the Grand Canyon on the way home (on which we will drive the interstates). We are stoked beyond belief.

We both remember the old mom-and-pop motels, drive-in theaters, drive-up diners, and Sinclair and Standard Oil gas stations of our growing-up years. And having both been born in Illinois and raised in the midwest, we have many of the same memories. So we decided to take this nostalgic trip for real, not just in our minds and conversation. It’s on.

For those who don’t know, the original US 66 highway — which has now in large part been absorbed by the interstate system — was a haven for travelers and families from the 1930s through the 70s (map is clicky). Time, neglect and progress have wreaked havoc on it over the past 30 years, but thanks to a bill supported by members of Congress, the restoration has begun in many places.

So we are excited to see the history and enjoy the stories from the locals (and according to my research last night, there are many old-timers who love to talk about 66…and believe it, the Flip Video will be busy recording their tales). I plan to cure my ookiness about Muffler Men as well. The hardest part will be deciding what to see and what to pass up.

Our first stops will be along the beginnings of the route, southwest of Chicago (Joliet, Odell, Pontiac). Then it’s on to Missouri, etc.

You’ll see that I’ve added two cities to the above map. We have to visit BoomR and Bluvox in Dallas, and family in Austin. Total excitement.

We have our first hotel scoped out, and the second as well. It will be a summer to remember. We’re saving our pennies judiciously from now on. I ask you, how fun will this trip be?

FO