Spur of the Moments can be lots of fun

Wednesday afternoon and I am minding my own business trying to get my work done so I can leave early to catch Greg's tennis match and Larry calls. Tracy had tickets for the evening's Phillies game courtesy of RJ Swindle. Unfortunately Larry had to teach so he asked if I would be willing to take Greg to the baseball game. Of course that was a no brainer. So I hurried through my install so that I could get out by 3. By the time I left at 3:30 I learned that Greg's tennis match was rained out (even though there was no rain) and we wouldn't have to rush to the baseball game.

A little back story is that Tracy teaches at Delval as an adjunct professor. He is also a sports agent. Through Larry, Greg met Tracy and for a graduation project did a statistical analysis of RJ Swindle's career stats. Tracy then used this information to shop RJ around during winter baseball meetings.


Greg and I met up with Tracy and enjoyed an exciting but cold baseball game. Greg was in his joy talking baseball stats with Tracy. After the game, we went to the player's family meeting room and met RJ's parents. They were very nice people. It was only about 20 minutes later that RJ came down and Greg got to meet him. He was recently called up by the Milwaukee Brewers and then this opportunity came up for Greg to meet him. It was an incredible night and one I know that Greg will remember for a long time.


The first picture is of the Harry Kalas memorial that was erected outside the stadium after his death last week. It was touching to see all of the memorabilia and the transistor radios. The second picture is a view from our seats. Next is the picture of Greg and Tracy and finally is a picture of RJ and Greg. I'm so blessed to have been a part of this fun night for Greg. Another high point of the evening was when Tracy asked Greg to do statistical research on another hot prospect that he may be shopping around for a team for him.

Spring Photos

We had some beautiful weather recently and used the time to work in the yard. As you can see, the yard is in full bloom. The forsythias look stunning as do the trees.


I was going to include the photos of the 3 tomato plants that were planted in the fence garden. However, I don't want to bring up the fact that we strayed from Casey's garden plan again. We were experimenting to see if the deer would eat them but so far they haven't. May have to just leave them there.


As for my little seedlings, they might not be doing very well after Crosby (or is it Sydney) decided to sit on them. No matter how many times we took her off, she got right back on. Guess that she liked the sunshine and warmth.

Another Inspirational YouTube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY

Everyone is talking about this one!!!

Quick Update

Okay Casey, this picture of Lucky is for you. He got some quality time in the courtyard over the weekend when it was in the 60s. Of course the time he spent outside was cut short when he started his trot to the porch where he can get over the fence. However he did get to spend about 30 minutes out there. If only he would learn that going over the fence is not a good idea!


Greg and his tennis partner are undefeated this year. They won both times against State Champs Lower Moreland. That was quite an accomplishment. Today is the Holy Ghost match and should be a tough one.


You can tell from these pictures that Greg is pretty tall. After all of those years of being shorter than everyone else, it is nice to see him tower over other people.

Quick Update

Casey, this picture is for you. I'm quite the computer nerd aren't I. See what I mean by my "command center". I took this picture when I was talking with you today. Do you like the desktop picture? NO SNAKES!!

March Weather

Well this weekend was gray, cloudy, and cool - typical March weather. When I woke up this morning, it was starting out as a gray, cloudy and cool Monday. However, when I stepped outside the smell of spring was in the air. The birds were singing loudly this morning and the air smelled of fresh earth. Spring is definitely in the air and it should be as spring arrives on Friday.

As for the geese, they showed up one weekend and walked all around the backyard honking very loudly. As quickly as they appeared, they disappeared. It is likely that they didn't like sharing the yard with a dog!

Crosby is at it again!!

I don't know what the attraction is, but Sydney and Crosby hate when a printer spits out a printed document. Here's Crosby trying to prevent the paper from coming out.



And her failure to do more than wrinkle the paper!!

March Winter Scenes & Sydney

More Thailand Day 3

Our third day was a very busy one and after our riverboat trip to Temple Wat Arun, we met up with Ali and he took us to the Grand Palace. Once again, with his cell phone number in hand, we were off. The Grand Palace was quite beautiful but very crowded. We purchased our tickets and off we went.
Once inside the grounds I was amazed at how gold everything was. There were mosiacs everywhere and the beauty was unbelievable. We got separated but eventually found each other as we walked around the perimeter looking at the beautiful mural.


We removed our shoes and entered into the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. The buddha was perched in a glass box high above us. We could barely see it. We walked in and knelt on the floor with everyone else. It is interesting that the Buddha is dressed in seasonal clothing and has its costume changed for the summer season, the rainy season, and the winter season.


We spent quite a bit of time walking around but it was dreadfully hot. Unfortunately the vendor had sold out of water and Casey and I settled for a mango fruit juice. We quickly went through the rest of the grounds and then found a restaurant so that we could get some cold water. We called Ali to meet us out front and only wanted to head back to the hotel and go swimming. Ali kept trying to talk us into taking us shopping but we kept saying no thank you we have already done plenty of shopping and only wanted to go swimming. Finally we convinced Ali that the hotel was the only destination that we wanted.
It was a long day so after swimming he had dinner at the hotel and headed to bed early. We had been up since 5:30 am and were quite tired.

Sydney and Crosby Entertainment

These two have an unusual fascination with the copy machine. They can be anywhere in the house and if they hear the copy machine (or a printer) start to work, they come running and try to get as close to it as possible. They will try to stop the paper from coming out and stick their paws into the tray. It is quite a sight to see.

Thailand - Day 3 Continued

Warning: Very picture heavy post!

Following our stop at the Temple of the Golden Mount, we got back into the nice air-conditioned car and headed to the pier to catch a riverboat to Temple Wat Arun.
The boat ride was very nice. Casey and I were the only people on the boat and it cost about 3000 baht for the ride. I think it was worth it as the temple was quite beautiful. Upon arriving at the pier in front of the temple, we had to pay a landing fee so that we could go to the temple. There wasn't an admission fee, just the landing fee.

The temple itself is incredibly beautiful. The ornate design was so enjoyable to look at.
From the website of Temple Wat Arun - "It is decorated by bits of porcelain which had previously been used as ballast by boats coming to Bangkok from China, a hallmark of the reign of King Rama III. The Wat had a brief period as host of the celebrated Emerald Buddha, which now resides in nearby Wat Phra Kaew."

The steps up to the first level were steep but the steps to the second level were impossible for me to navigate. Casey headed up there but she held tightly to the rail both up and down.
The view from up high was beautiful and we were able to look out and spot our boat driver. After walking around a bit, we met the boat at the pier and headed back out on the water for the ride back.

One thing about this trip to the pier and the boat ride was that the locals were relentless in their attempts to sell us trinkets. They would crowd in very closely and invaded my space which angered me. Once we were on the boat I was happy. However, our boat driver stopped the boat in the river and allowed a riverboat with a peddler to approach us to sell us more junk. That didn't make me happy.

However, I do understand that this is their livelihood, but they were just annoying as possible.

I would imagine that the river life is very difficult and the tourist trade is an important part of their livelihood.

Happy Birthday Mom!!

My beautiful mother would have been 80 years old today. I miss you Mom and wish we had had more time together.

Thailand - Day 3 - Temple of the Golden Mount

On our second full day in Thailand Casey and I decided to go visit some temples. Not realizing that there was a tour service in the hotel, we decided to ask at the transportation desk for a taxi to the temples. We thought we would taxi everywhere, but instead we hired a driver for the day. Our driver, Ali, met us out front so that we could start our adventure.

Let me just add, that the car that Ali drove was a very expensive black sedan (similar to a Lexus). Casey and I felt a little pampered as the day was very hot and we were driving around in nice air conditioning.

Our first stop of the day was the Temple of the Golden Mount or Wat Saket. Ali dropped us off at the bottom and said he would meet us when we returned. Casey and I started climbing.
I just read that there are 318 steps to the top cupola. Casey and I walked all the way up and then done.

All along we would stop and look at little shrines and things tucked into the hillside. At the top, we removed our shoes and went all the way to the top. We found it interesting to look out over the skyline and see temples intermingled with skyscrapers. One picture shows in the distance what looks like some winged creature ready to take flight. The views of Bangkok were incredible if a little bit smoggy.
I just read on the linked page that this was a dumping ground for thousands of plague victims. It was a good thing I didn't know this ahead of time!

Next up - a riverboat ride to the Temple Wat Arun.

Happy Birthday Dad

Still missing you every single day.

Thailand Day 2

After a pretty sound sleep, I was up around 7 am. I decided to get ready for the day and then head downstairs to see if Casey's suitcase arrived. It did and she was pretty happy.

After a wonderful buffet breakfast that included rice and chicken and traditional breakfast foods, we headed out to find Chulalongkorn. We found our way to the BTS (elevated train) and bought day long passes. We got off at Siam Square and started walking in what we guessed was the direction of Chula. There were a few people who were very helpful with directions and who enjoyed talking English with us. We did find the bookstore and the engineering school but didn't accomplish getting uniforms at that time.


There was an open air market on campus that we wandered through and then headed back to Siam Square. We were able to cross off getting her a cell phone which was very important. After a pretty exciting morning running errands around Bangkok, we headed back to the hotel for a wonderful lunch with all kinds of Thai food. After lunch we walked back to the skytrain and headed to Sumaviant - a more English neighborhood where we went to the Emporium (a hip shopping area) and this small but beautiful park. We did a lot of walking, but it was quite enjoyable. One thing that I noticed was the motorbikes that would worm their way through traffic to get to the front of the traffic stopped for a light. When the light turned green all of the bikes would speed off - just like the start of a motocross race. It was pretty cool except for when I would see small children riding without helmets.

Exhausted we went back to the hotel, swam for a while in the very cold water and had dinner at a little shop within the hotel.

Thailand Trip Day 1

December 27 - Up at 4:30 am this morning to leave for JFK at 5 am. I came downstairs to find Casey, Casey2, and Greg all sprawled around the family room watching TV. Casey had decided that the best thing for her would be to stay up all night long and then she could sleep on the plane. Casey2 came over after work to join her and Greg stayed up as well. We got to JFK around 7:15 am and had plenty of time before our flight at 9:15. Our flight ended up leaving around 10 am and we settled in for our 16 hour flight to Hong Kong. I hoped to sleep some of the way but ended up not being able to sleep more than about an hour.

The airlines, Cathay Pacific, was quite comfortable for such a long flight, but going business class would have been much better. Anyways, they had lots of entertainment in the form of movies, music, etc. on the inflight tvs. I watched Mamma Mia, Get Smart, The Holiday, Ghost Town, Sex and the City episodes, Frasier, 24 and probably other stuff as well. I think Casey slept more than I did, but not much more.

It was pretty cool when we flew over the North Pole. It was pitch black outside with just a little bit of light along the horizon. We landed in a bit of fog in Hong Kong and didn't get to see how beautiful that part of it was. I took pictures during my 5 hour layover on the way home from Thailand because it was so beautiful.


December 28 - We finally arrived in Bangkok around 6 pm at night. We went through immigration and then gathered our luggage. Unfortunately one of Casey's bags did not make the flight from Hong Kong. Casey had to go through the paperwork of locating her bag and letting them know where to send it when it arrived on a later flight. We were so exhausted by this time and starting to get irritable.

Finally done, we met up with the transfer agent and were loaded into a car to go to the Siam Hotel. The hotel was beautiful and very accommodating about getting our suitcase when it arrived later that night. We made a quick phone call to Larry to let him know that we had made it safely, showered, and then went to bed at 9 pm. We were both so glad to be in our beds.

Casey's Thailand Adventures

The link to Casey's Thailand blog is on the right and here.

Back from Bangkok

After a wonderful 10 day vacation and a long (28 hours) day of travel, I am home from Thailand. I was so lucky to have this opportunity to go there and really enjoyed my time visiting Bangkok with Casey. We kept pretty busy and the time just seemed to fly past. I will post more over the next few weeks, but some of the highlights included visiting the Night Market with a slew of sellers and bartering, a tuk tuk ride, a trip to an elephant and crocodile farm, riding an elephant at said farm, going to the temple Wat Arum and the temple of the Emerald Buddha, taking a riverboat ride, and much more. It was a very different culture that I am used to, but I have to say that the Thai people were very kind.


The Thai food was very good and with only a few exceptions wasn't too spicy. Here's a hint, avoid the papaya salad.