About to board a flight back to Munich after a really great week mostly off.. I got some great time with Diane and the dogs, caught  up on sleep, hiked, ran, saw friends, gave up beer for a week.. and generally became a bit  more human again

i’m hoping this relaxed feeling carries me at least until tomorrow morning 🙂

 

nite all, nite sam

-me

Ps .. major air traffic disruption.we came back to the gate we’re already about six hours late. It’s looking like we will all be stranded here tonight. Next flight is tomorrow night.

The lovely world of work travel ..

 

 

 

Diane and I had a slow day.. nice end to a very nice vacation.. I only worked about 25 percent of the time.. which seems like time off. 

we spent a good deal of the day with our friend James. ..   James invited us for a barfeoot hike of the hills behind his house.. it was really fun .   James’s yard itself is fun !  He has such creative uses for stuff.. .like TV’s 

 

 

then it was time for the hike..   (Diane wearing boots this time) 

 

the woods were saturated with rain like everythign else here.. soemthign Chai didn’t mind at all !

 

there was mud everywhere.. 

 

and slippery logs to climb 

 

james took us up to his ‘gym’ .. a place on the mountain where he has weights, bars, etc. to work out every day,. at 69 // he’s very fitt. Diane and I have to scurry to keep up with him.. and  people who know us know we’re fast hikers. 

 

i put a new samstone next to the one we put here 4 years ago .. in the snow. 

i picked up some foliage on my hike !

 

mud was deep 

 

 

then back to james for a quick cook out 

 

now attempting to ramp back into work.. looking at my email backlog.. 

oh my

glad I had the down time.. up time.. here i come

 

nite all, nite sam

-me

 

Nice quit day with our cousins Jordanna, bret, foster and zevi today… i think we’re cousins.. .. though at last count we’re 12th cousins once removed… we’re realted by my great-great grandmother in lithuania.. It was nice hanging out with them !

we took a quick walk down to  the river. 

 

 

then drove u to stowe. Ben and jerrys was packed.. so we decided to check out the balloon festival .. 

 

while we waited  for the launch, the kids tried their hand and rock climbing 

 

the weather looked ominous.. with a few showers coming and going. but t made for nice rainbows !

 

we ran into our favorite lizard woman Megan !!!!

 

 

then they started filling the balloons !

 

meanwhile Brett won a chair in the drawing !

 

baloon head !

 

we got home, fed the girls.. then headed ovr to brads.. to celibrate and honor wha would have been our freind Pucket’s 26th birthday. Pucket died a year and a half ago.. 

 

it was good coming together to think of him.. 

 

ok.. time for bed.. 

more tomorrow

nite all, nite sam

-me

 

 

 

We have new visitors. My cousin.. (maybe my 6th cousin ?) Jordanna and her kids Zevi and Foster are in town. Jordanna’s husband Brett comes in tomorrow. Jordanna’s father Mookie grew up in Israel.. his mother Zlata was related to my great grandfather who came from Lithuania..  We recently met/re-met these guys  at a big family passover in April.. they are on their way to Montreal.. so we’re happy to have them for 2 days here on their way.

The kids are great .. they are both super curious and interestign people. we had fun hanging out tonight.. We’ll also see them tomorrow. 

 

By strange coincidence.. Jordanna was also my friend Jay’s son’s debate coach at UT Austin .. she’s the one that sent me the news that Jay had died.. such a small, small world !

 

ok.. gotta sleep. More tomorrow

nite all., nite sam

-me

 

ps. I got this picture today from my friend Florian in Germany. I tried using his GF Katja’s microwave for a science experiment 2 weeks ago.. She made a voodoo dollof me to keep me away from her microwave in the future !