Dear Reader:

After Anne had problems flying into Philadelphia again this summer on her way to “Fiddle Camp” in Maine…she told me that she had learned her lesson…no flying anywhere  (but especially to Philadelphia) in the summer months on an afternoon or early evening flight. Thunderstorms must make their niche in Philly every afternoon/evening during the summer….because the “Cancelled…Due to severe thunderstorms” light flickers every time one tries to fly there to catch another flight.

The same thing happened when the both of us went to Ireland five years ago…we were supposed to fly to Philly from Charleston and then catch the night flight out of Philly to Ireland that evening….instead we ended up in a roach motel in Charlotte and lost our low rental car prices at the Shannon airport car rental company in Ireland because we had to wait an entire day to try to fly out the second night. It was the worse case ‘domino effect’ scenario possible.

The only thing that made this frustrating experience tolerable was having a friend. Isn’t it funny how ‘challenging delays’ seem so much worse when we are traveling alone? But all I remember is giggling hysterically at the ridiculous situation we were in…while Anne tried to kill cockroaches in the motel bathroom in Charlotte before I saw them.

Anne’s beautiful niece, Karen, was in college (Drexel University) in Philadelphia (at the time) so we made the most of the unexpected delay and ended up having a ball with her as she accompanied us on a double-decker tour bus escapade that made a history teacher’s day….The Liberty Bell, Independence Hall (where the Declaration of Independence and Constitution were signed)…even the front steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, immortalized by Sylvester Stallone’s triumphant run in the film ‘Rocky.”

…A one-day delay that showed me historical sights I never would have seen …except for those thunderstorms over Philadelphia. (I could even find history wandering around the Philly airport if I tried (and I did) with Eva Cate and Rutledge cut-outs!)

In Ireland we, also, had our share of misadventures…getting lost along the way…but again, when someone else is with us…it is not scary but a fun adventure for the scrapbooks and re-telling. I remember suggesting to Anne that we need to find a bumper sticker to put on the back of our rental car that  read:

I can’t believe this is the 5th anniversary of the Ireland trip…it seems like yesterday and the beauty of this country still lingers in my memories and heart. We could have let the disappointing start to our trip affect our attitudes but thank goodness neither of us gave in to the disappointment; instead we found humor and beauty in the experience of it all.

So until tomorrow:

Yesterday was a ‘wild and crazy’ day! Eva Cate was adorable in her skit and duet as Simba….and later Carrie supervised the children into making their own colored Rice Krispy treats in different cookie cutter shapes. One of the last “free” summer days of fun before school starts again soon…too soon.

Jake thought he had died and gone to heaven when he got to eat his hand-made green star rice krispy treat….so good!

Anne…I think you need a “Fiddle-Fig Leaf Tree” like this one Vickie has…don’t you? …it will capture lots of memories for you.

***Yesterday was Atticus’ adoption birthday….Happy Birthday Atticus!

On the radio station I listen to in the mornings…they announced that Dingle the Dolphin (Fungie) had just turned 40! Happy Birthday Fungie! You and Atticus share the same birthday!

Kaitlyn brought me back this memento of Dingle the Dolphin when she and Tommy returned this year from Dingle, Ireland.

Gingi stopped by last evening… we had such fun catching up…she came up with a creative way to use your miniature  flower vases Honey…fill them with miniature tootsie roll pops!

In response to yesterday’s “weinermobile” story….several of you wrote remembering seeing one and how excited you were….There was a story, on-line, where  a family ordered this “fun” reserve parking sign and then contacted the company to say they were saving a parking space in their neighborhood for the weinermobile…One of the Oscar Meyer vehicles  happened to be in the same region of the country as the fan writer…. so the “hotdoggers” surprised the family and pulled into their neighborhood reserved parking space…giving free rides to the children there. *I enjoyed reading people’s memories of their weinermobile experiences over the years.