New Year's Eve 2007!

The girls (below) are off to a party. The rest of us are holding down the fort.
Here's hope for peace and happiness to you and your in 2008! Love to all,
the NHMurrays

Snowtubing! Pat's Peak, Henniker, NH

New Years in Xela

Happy New Years to all of you.

I am in Xela, if you can believe it. i think will be here for a few more days and then i will head south. I had some thoughts about spending a few days in El Salvador, however, i hope to be in Uruguay by early February - which means, i have to get moving.

I am told that the fireworks i saw on Christmas are nothing compared with what will happen tonight. And if noon today is an example of tonight, then bombs away. I was walking through a very crowded market at noon when firecrackers began exploding all around. There is no warning as seemingly random guys light 15 feet of firecrackers.

I felt somewhat safe since i was was surrounded by food and kitchen products. I had just dropped a friend off at the buses and a line of firecrackers right by her bus. It turns out gas, gas fumes and exploding firecrackers aren´t a problem here in Guatemla. I am not sure if it has to do with the type of gas they use. Or maybe they are just a bit loco here.

I hope all goes well for you in 2008.

bjm 12/31

More X-mas Down Under

Greetings from New Zealand. We are hoping everyone had a great Christmas and that Santa was good to you all.

Last time we wrote, it way mid day Christmas Day. We had a great Christmas dinner at a terrific restaurant. We ate at the same restaurant for Christmas Eve dinner too!! The kids initially selected it for its name-- "Y.not". While we had lots of choices for Christmas dinner, the kids and I wanted an encore dinner, so we thought Y.not!!!

The day after Christmas is actually a bigger holiday than Christmas in Australia/New Zealand. It is know as Boxing Day and virtually everything closes down. That meant a late Breakfast at Dunkin Donuts and dinner at KFC. The choices for food on Boxing Day are limited!! During the day, we drove along the seaside of the Coromandel Pennisula. More hours of windy, curvy roads up and over mountains but with beautiful scenery.

We then settled in at the Trout and Chicken Bed & Breakfast in Waihi and to no surprise there really are trout and chicken on the farm!! The inn is adjacent to an organic blueberry farm-- leave it to Sean to find us this one!!

Waihi is an old gold mining town with spectacular beaches. We spent the moring walking along the little shops of the town leading up to the town's gold mine. It is one of the world's most efficient gold mines and has basically been in operation since the late 1800's.

We spent the afternoon hiking in the Karangahake Reserve. We took a long walk in a beautiful gorge along a rocky river. All along the river were ruins of the old gold processing plant where they converted ore from the mine into gold.

On the way back, we stopped at Owharoa Falls and walked down to the base of the falls. It was beautiful.

We are now on our way to Rotorua-- one of the world's most active geothermic areas in the world. More to come....

Love to all!!

Deb, Sean, Caitlin, Connor and Shannon

Mrs. Brendan Murray. Fact or Fiction?

The photo of my ´new wife´and the ´best man´were my attempt at a little end of year humor.

To those who thought it was real, i appreciate your confidence in my ability to meet and marry such a wonderful woman. (The next time i see her, I must ask for her name.)

Best to you for 2008

bjm 12/27

X-mas Down Under

Let us be the first to wish you all a Merry Christmas.

We are spending Christmas in Auckland, New Zealand. Our Christmas is now half over. We just got back from a late Christmas lunch or early dinner depending on how you look at it. We had a wonderful meal following a late morning of present opening.

We arrived New Zealand after a ten hour flight from Singapore on Saturday. We picked up our rental car and headed north to the Bay of Isles. The three hour drive was beautiful-- wonderful scenery-- a mix between upstate New York and the tropics-- evergreens mixed in with palm trees. The drive was quite short from a distance perspective, but long in time travel. We had to wind up and down mountains on a twisty, curvy road. We arrived at the Anchorage Hotel looking out over the beach and bay in early evening.

On Sunday, we hopped aboard Dolphin Adventures-- a bright yellow catamaran. We sailed out on a beautiful sunny day amid beautiful green landscapes up against a background of blue skies and teal waters. We came upon a school of about 25 or more dolphins. We spent more than an hour there watching and sailing with the dolphins.

We then sailed out to see the famous "Hole in the Rock". It was beautifyl to see but the waters were too rough to actually sail through it. We spent the afternoon at a pristine beach on a largely unihabited island. Sean and Connor swam, Shannon and I collected shells and Caitlin took photos. We ate dinner at a lovely restaurant called Nine and had a fabulous dinner. Most of us crashed early after a long day of fun in the sun.

Christmas Eve Day we drove to the Waipoua Forest to see New Zealand's famous Kauri Trees. These trees are the the biggest, and oldest trees in New Zealand. Some of these trees have been carbon dated at more than 2,000 years old-- that puts them right about the time of the birth of Christ!! Kouri trees are enormous. We took a 30 minute hike out a boardwalk to see the largest two Kouri trees. The largest was 17.5 meters tall (55 feet tall ) and 13.5 meters around (about 45 feet). The Kouri trees are now a protected species in New Zealand--so you can't cut any live Kouri trees down. The only way to get Kauri wood is to recover fallen Kauri trees from swamps or those that are buried underground. Many believe these trees were buried by a major tsunami thousands of years ago. The extensive recovery process for the Swamp Kouri makes the wood extremly expensive!

During our drive to/from the forest we stopped at several places to view beautiful white sandy beaches, unbelievable blue/green and teal waters and huge sand dunes. We took several mini hikes along the coastal mountains overlooking the seaside.

After our tour through the forest, we had a three hour drive back on the twisty, curvy road to the Auckland Hilton-- a hotel that looks like a ship and juts out into the Auckland Bay. We went to sleep to the sound of crashing waves on the hotel breakwall.

As is typical of Henretta/Murray Christmas, we awoke late-- around 11 o'clock. We made the kids hunt for their presents. After thoroughly searching the rooms, Shannon had the big idea to check out on the deck overlooking the harbor-- which was in fact where Santa had left our gifts. After a few photos, we decided it was a bit nippy to open gifts out there so we had to carry in the gifts.

Santa was very good to us (for the second time as the larger, breakable gifts were given before we left for New Zealand). Connor and Shannon got the newest double screen game boys. Caitlin got lots of clothes. Sean got an iPod shuffle and I got new small digital camera (the only camera we own that is simple enough for me to operate-- try taking pictures in a house with two avid photographers-- you need an encyclopedia to take a picture anymore!!).

All in all a good Christmas though we do miss spending time with family and friends. Tomorrow we head off for new adventures.

Hope you all have a wonderfully Merry Christmas.

Love to all. Deb, Sean, Cailtin, Connor and Shannon

0:00 Christmas Day

Well, the fireworks promised were the fireworks delivered. At midnight Christmas, the Xela sky was filled with all sorts of colors and explosions.

For 15-20 minutes, there were non-stop sounds and sights. The first 5 minutes gave us the maximum explosions.

After the fireworks,the family said a little prayer around the Christmas tree and then we had dinner.

There seemed to be a lot of good conversation. Most of it was in spanish and it seemed to be beyond my level of comprehension.

After 8+ weeks in a Spanish-speaking country, I had hoped tobe a little further along with the language thing. I am sure it will come but i need to practice,practice, practice.

Best to all for Christmas 2007

bjm 12/26

Peeps or not sharpest tool in the shed

The other day, I was riding in a microbus (i.e., minivan) with a local friend of mine, Sary. We were heading to San Macos. It is a town about 30 miles or 1+ hour away.

As we were starting the journey, I commented about the lack of Ranchero music. Not only was there not any loud Mexican-type music; they seemed to be playing some sort of bird sounds. I thought that was odd and interesting at the same time. I made that comment to my friend, too. I thought the driver may have been working on his birding skills.

She told me to wait until we really started going and then the loud pounding music would begin. As far as the ´birding cd´ was concerned, she told me that there were probably some chickens under the seats. Sary didn{t know for certain what animals were on the bus but she did know that now minibus driver would be playing a ´birding´ cd

She was right, of course. It turns out that the couple next to me was transporting some baby chickens. The chicks did not seem too impressed with the journey. Every so often their handler took one out of the transport little basket and then she´d shove the brid back in.

When the 21st person entered the minibus (3 people standing), I started to feel the chicks pain.

bjm 12/24

Fireworks and other items

Do you hear/see fireworks on Christmas Day? I am told there will be many, many firecrackers and other fireworks in Guatemala tomorrow.

If the typical night is any guide, then I think I am in for a show tomorrow (or tonight at midnight).

I have seen more fireworks in 2 months here than in a few years in the states. People set off firecrackers (at 6 a.m. or so to celebrate birthdays). People set off personal firework displays to celebrate special events or just because it is a sunday night.

I am not sure if the big displays i see have been organized by the city or by an organization or just some people in the neighborhood.

The other night, in a very crowded central park. A many with a uniform-type shirt and official looking hat, set down a firework thing (what do you call something that is as big as a pail and contains 25 or so individual firework displays?). And without notice or warning, he lit it. People saw what he was doing so they moved a few meters awat but that´s about it. It would not work like that in the States.

Many things work a little differently here in Guate. You have the butcher who shakes or hands and then goes back to touvhing the meat - without washing his hands. You have the guys working on the electric lines climbing poles with the use of a rope. You have 20+ people crammed into a minivan for a ride to the other part of town. But i love it.


bjm 12/24

1st week story

I looked through some of my Guate posts and i see they are a bit on the boring side.

If I could only write like my bro-in-law, Ivan, my posts would be much more exciting.

Here`s a story from my first week here:

I went to a town called Matzatenango, which is not too far from Xela, to meet up with someone i met on the bus my first day here, her sister and her father.

Although Matze is close, distance-wise (30 or so miles), it takes 2+ hours on the chicken bus and it is a differnt climate. Xela is 7,000 or so feet so it is a bit cold now. Matze is lower and in the ¨coastal¨region - but not near the ocean, and it is a fair bit warmer.

Anyway, I spend the afternoon and evening with the family.

After lunch (and mmaybe dinner, too, I forget) but before dancing, we went to the mother`s house. Mom and dad are divorced. Both parents live in the states. Mom comes to Gaute for a month or so each year. The house does not see much activity outside of that month.

And because the house doesn´t have much activity, some things work and some things don´t. one that didn`t included the plumbing. So no showers, no toilet, no sink (inside). There was a sink outside, in which you could wash up a bit.

After a night at the disco (sin padre)we headed back to the (cement) house. We all washed up in the sink outside. I went to my room and the three others went to their room.

at 5:00 or so, i awoke with the need to use a toilet (number 1, thankfully). I know the toilet (wich doesn´t work) is in the room where the others are sleeping. No problem...as a guy, I can take care of biz elsewhere. I go to the back door but it is locked and i don´t have the key. I check the front door. Locked! While I can take care of biz anywhere, I want to be reasonable where i do go.

Next stop, kitchen sink. since there is no working water, i decide to take a look at the plumbing just to see if it is in order. Nope. the pipe below the sink is not connected.

Now we´re reaching Defcon 4+ level. There are no bottles or glasses in the house. What to do? What to do?

I head back to my bedroom to try to get some sort of idea.

The window! Although there are bars, if i stand on my tiptoes, I can take care of biz, right outside the back door of the house in front - right where they hang their laundry out to dry.

Desperate times call for desperate measures.

The window opens (thankfully) and there is relief. We`re back to Decon 0.

Moral of the story: Always know where you are going to go when you have to go.

bjm 12/24

It is a Dog`s Life

Well, in Guate, not so much. If you need a dog, come on down here. There are hundreds (probably 1000`s) that roam the streets of Xela. it is hard to tell if they belong to anyone. Most do not have collars but that is not always a sign of non-ownership.

And those with collars, sitting outside the same house day after day, may belong to those in the house but they may not be well taken care of. it is tough to see the neglect. but when you see the many people who seem neglected - for lack of food and other necessities - you have to feel more for the people.

When i get my act together, I will post some pics of the many dogs i have seen. I am not sure why i took so many pics of them but i did.

bjm 12/24

Lose Weight - Let Me Show You How

I am not sure i can show you exactly how to lose weight but I can give you some tips.

Step 1: buy a plane ticket to Guatemala.
Step 2: eat as they do.
Step 3: watch the weight melt away

I am not sure what has happened during my 2 months here but i have lost a bit of weight.

During my first 6 weeks here, I was living with families and eating as they do. For the last 2 weeks, i have been living in hostels, eating out and making my own meals.

I weighed myself the other day.

If the scale is to be believed (and it better be since i paid $0.13 to weigh myself) I am about 164 pounds. If so, i think it is my lowest weight since college times. The past years, I have been in the upper 170`s to upper 180`s range. (i think i peaked at 205 in the summer of 2005 or so).

The good news is my beer belly seems to be gone, the bad news is my huge arms and chest seem to be gone, too.

We will see how the locals like the new body when i hit the beaches next week.

Come on down and leave lighter.

BJM 12/24

Christmas in Gautemala

Despite (or because of) all my lack of planning, it is Christmas Eve and I am still in Gautemala. And when i mentioned (twice) that I left Xela, I lied.

I did leave Xela but then I came back...again and again. I can´t seem to shake this town. Most of those I know are gone now, so maybe it is time to head out myself.

As it is Christmas Eve, I will spend Christmas around Xela. There is a chance that i will spend it with a family from the school (the owner - Sary, Her mom - My teacher, and her 2 borthers - also teachers at the school).

Although their Christmas is a family affair, I may get an invite since i am in town. If I get an invite, it will be beause the ¨china¨ is also getting invited.

the `china` is a woman from Korea who has been in Xela for 3 or so months now. In Guate, anyone who looks asian - including non-asians, is called ¨china¨or ¨chino¨ (translation: Chinese) depending on whether they are female or male.

If they invite one outsider, they may invite a second.

We will see.

After Christmas, i think I will be off to El Salvador. I will hit the beaches there and continue to work my way south.

I had hoped to make it to Brazil in the the near future (to activate my visa before January 10) but that will not happen.

I will keep you advised of my movements.

Merry Christmas to all.

bjm 12/24

Where are the posts?

I see that my postings have been infrequent at best. I do not know where the time goes. i just don´t seem to get on the internet as often as before.

i will try to be better for the new year.

bjm 12/24

Tajumulco hike

Anything new in my last days in the Xela area?

Last weekend, i climbed Tajumulco. You can check out some of info about Tajumulco by going to the address listed below.

The mountain (volcano) is 13,800 fee high. It is the highest pèak in all of central america. i doubt i will ascend the highest peaks in North or South America so this was as good as it gets.

Aand it was a good time. I will attach pictures (sometime).

I went on the hike with a non-profit trekking company out of Xela. There were 25 or so of us on the trip. A good group from a wide varitety of countries.

I am not sure what the elevation gain was for the trip. i think the first day we climbed a 1000 or so meters. We then had a 200+ meter climb the next day. At 3:30a.m. on a cold december, that 200+ was tough.

Once on top, the view was worth it. The early morning was fairly clear. I could see Mexico - which doesn´t look too bad from 13,800 feet, a number of Guatemala`s other peaks and the pacific. We had a beautiful sunrise. My pics won´t do the hike justice.

All for now

bjm december 16

http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/volcano.cfm?vnum=1402-02=

Need pod casts?

martin suggests

http://www.kcrw.com/

Good-Bye Xela

After 8 weeks it is time to say ¨Adios¨to Quetzaltenango. What a wonderful strange trip it has been. Well, it hasn`t been all that ¨strange¨but it has been wonderful.

As I mentioned in earlier posts, i have truly enjoyed my time here. Although i may have worked more on the enjoyment aspect of my time here, rather than the spanish aspect...it has been great. the spanish will come. Right? i hope so. i can understand, read, and write much better than i can speak. i think i need to head to a place with a few less gringos.

Does anyone have any thoughts for me? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

bjm 16 diciembre 2007

Xela life

Xela has sucked me in and i have to fight to break free. I am not sure what it is about the town that is keeping me there. The town itself, while having some charm, is not too exciting to look at. But i have had a fantastic time there.

the school and those at it have been great - in and out of school. (In VA i was going out 3 or so times a week. I am only up to 4 in Xela.) One thing i like about Xela is that it has a small town feel. While it is the 2nd biggest city in Guate, I (and most gringos) limit most of my time to a small part of the city. When i walk down the street, there is a good chance i will run into someone i know - be it a fellow student, one of the many (female) Dutch volunteers, or a local from the dance school. I think i could walk the streets of arlington for a week and not run into anyone i know. it is a good feeling here.

On sunday, i met a mayan woman trying to sell various cloth goods. she was in Xela for the first of the month market. i talked to her for a bit because her english was quite good. today, when was wandering the streets of this town, i run into her again and she remembered me. i figured it had somehting to do with my striking good looks, but i have a feeling it may have had to do with me wearing the same clothes (Thunderbird t-shirt) that i was wearing on sunday. I still didn{t buy anything from her but i told her that i would look for her on the street tomorrow and see what goods she has to offer.

I will leave Xela for good (for now) next week. After a few days here in Panajachel, I will go back to Xela to climb Central America´s highest peak. Tajumulco (or some such spelling). 4200M+. it should be windy and cold. Good times - unless all your cold-weather gear is in the States.

I should do okay though.

bjm 4 december 2007

What is BJM doing?

Glad you want to know. After 6 weeks of Spanish class at Miguel de Cervantes http://www.learn2speakspanish.com/ I decided to begin to move on.

The 6 weeks were fantastic. The school´s students, teachers, staff and director made for a great experience. I would go back to class in a second. And, if you find yourself in Xela, Gautemala looking for a Spanish school - 2 Big Thumbs Up to Miguel de Cervantes.

I decide to end the classes, not because I am fluent (sometimes i don{t think i am conversational); rather, I needed to continue my journey south.

I left prior to learning the subjunctive tense. I think the subjunctive has something to do with hopes,dreams and opinions. I have very little of those, so i figure I can get by without that tense.

I did learn how to say ´no, i did not do my homework because i was dancing until very early this morning´and ´if i had known that she was your wife, kind sir, i would not have done the vodka shot off her belly´

I seem to be getting by.

now that i am out of class, I hope to increase the amount of conversation and also try to learn on my own. It didn´t work at university or grad school but this time...things will be different.

bjm 4 dec 2007

Where are the Pics?

I do have plenty of pics of my travels here.

The internet in Xela does not seem to cooperate with posting them to the blog - or to sites like Kodak.com.

I will continue the efforts.

bjm

Cena Tipica

While wandering the streets of Panajachel, I decided it was time for cena (the evening meal).

I past what seemed to be a restaurant. it was filled (8-ish persons) with police officers. I figured - cops, they know where to eat. I sat in the dining room, which was off the kitchen - which appears to serves as the family´s regular kitchen.

There was no menu. At night, you have a choice of a typical dinner or not. I went with the cena tipica (or tipica cena. i have trouble placing the adjectives) sin carne.

Therefore I had: scrambled eggs, black beans, rice and tortillas - hold the meat please. Plus a Fresca. The bill was Q13, which is slightly less than $2. the meal was quite filling. I just remembered that i forgot to tip. I will have to run over (i am across the street) and leave a Q3 tip.

I have had the typical cena at my homestay. this was the first time having it out on the town.

good times.

bjm 4 dec 2007

Can´t Go Back

First - it has been much too long since my last post. I have no excuse. It is not like i have a job to get to every day.

About an hour ago, i spent a good 30+ minutes updating the blog. However, while i was doing that, I was also in my personal gmail account. Somehow, i ended up losing everything i wrote because i had switched from one gmail account to another. I will try to recreate some of what i wrote.

The title ´can´t go back´refers to my being in Panajachel, Gautemala this evening. I arrived about 1700 local time. I was here in 1991 and i really enjoyed myself. After 3 hours+ here, I do not think i will feel the same way about Pana 16 years later. The town - or that part where the tourists are- seems to be too full of ´tipico´clothing and goods shops. they existed when i was here so long ago but i remember a different feel to the place.

maybe I am remembering entering town duing my last visit: I was in a minivan built for 12 or so. We had 25+. As we made our way down the big hill that leads to Pana, I remember wathching as the driver moved the wheel from side to side as we traveled down the wet and muddy road (rainstorm that day). It took me a moment to realize that...while the driver was moving the wheel, the van continued to go straight. I decided not to wonder if: we had no steering or the bald tires were caked in mud and had little interest in responding to the driver´s efforts. I´m here 16 years later to recount the story so it did end well.

Today, the dirt road is paved and there are even rocks to serve as guardrails.

The times they are a changing.

I will check tomorrow to see if Pana still has some of its charm.

BJM 4 dec 2007

Futbol

I have seen two futbol (i.e. soccer)games here in Xela. Earlier this year,Xela won the league championship. i think that was in June. There seems to be a new season now. I don´t know if i am good luck or not for the team. they are 1-0-1 when i see them play.

the crowd is abit dfferent than you´d find at games in the states. A little more vocal than the states, many more fireworks being set off by those in the crowd and the police seem to carry bigger guns.

let´s see if i can attach some pics of the game.

I Support Child Labor

And if you were in Guatemala, you would too. There is not much you can do about it here. Boys and girls do all sorts of paid work here in guate. Although school is out for the next month or so, i am not sure how much difference it would make with most of the kids i see working.

This afternoon, i had my shoes shined by a 10 year old. On any given afternoon, there are 15 or so males (mostly men but some boys) with shoeshine stands in the smalll central park. They all charge the same price for a shine Q5 (about $0.65). sometimes the shine is worth that and sometimes it is not.

I wish i had taken a pic of the scene. you have the 10 y o shining my shoes, his younger sister playing beind the chair, and his mother sitting on the ground breastfeeding a (fairly new) baby sister. As he was finishing my shoes, his younger brother and a friend show up - both with shoeshine kits.

I paid my 5Q and i gave them all packets of some crackers. i made some key lime pie today and i had some (crust) crackers left over.

i keep trying to post some pics but i have not had too much success lately.

soon, i hope.

bjm 11-16

guess what!

SNOW! SNOW! SNOW!
Where's the car? Guess!
Where's the Good Deed Do-er? Halfway to Georgia.

Will I survive? As long as I have books to read.
And peanut butter.

Bye bye from the Mountain Top Nance

Hints from Mom to help?

I have tried to eat ´right´while i am here in Guate.

and by ´right´i mean - purified water and no food from street stalls. i try to believe that the raw veggies i eat were disenfected (bleach is a good choice).

Today, i bought some raisins at an open market. prior to getting home and washing them, i ate some.

if i become ill in the next day or 2, it´s due to the dirty dried grapes.

although the damage may have been done, i did put them in bleach when i got home.

bjm 11-10

great news

Sean and Deb are in the good ol' US of A and we will see them tomorrow (saturday).
Bad news: all the people we voted for -LOST.
Clare is off to New England to show Mike the joys of Maine and New Hampshire - all in 3 days. Her car has gone Kaput! So big expense is in the near future.
She should have snagged Brendan's car when she was at Meg's!

This is all typed to show JJM how to use a blog; he isn't the swiftest pupil on the planet if I know more than he does about computers.
Students at FM stole the user name and password to all the info in the school files and had a ball changing their marks - til they tried to sneak into the school one night and found a policeman on the other side of the backdoor!!!
that's it, amigos - nsm

Election in Guate

Guatemala held the second round of elections this past sunday. I belive all those eligible to vote are required to vote. i do not know what the actual voter turnout was.

the new president, Colon, is said (by the people in my house) to be a bit on the weak side. the slogan of the other candidate was ´with a stong hand´.

of the few people i asked, no one was happy with either candidate.

I think Colon will be the better option for Guate.

In addition to many things being close on election day sunday, the markets were not allowed to sell beer to Guate citizens starting mid-afternoon saturday. the ban lasted until 0600 on the monday after election.

thelocals don´t like it whenthey can´t buy their 32 oz Gallo beer ($2+ in bars)

i went to see the local team play soccer the night befor election (pics soon). beer is never sold there - can´t risk it.

i believe the gov´t thought there may be some violence during election sunday but there was none-as far as i know.

That´s the news from here.

bjm 11 8 07

life`s basics

6 november.

Although i don´t miss the news from America, there are things i do miss - like being able to flush toilet paper.

The plumbing in Guatemala is not quite as good as that in America. In all bathrooms, you are required to put the post-use tissue in a basket next to the toilet. (i believe it´s the case in many countries but it takes a bit of getting used to.) This works out....okay, all things considered - unless the bin is not emptied too often (the case in my house).

enough tp talk.

(i`ll try to attach some pics later)

laundry seems simple enough here. i can bring mine to 1 of 2 places near my school. i pay Q5 (0.65) per kilo for wash, dry and fold at one or Q20 for wash dry and fold a decent size load at the other. Not a bad deal.

You can get shoes shines here by any one of the 10 or so men (or boys) in the park. the price is $.50 - 1.25 or so - depending on your negotiation skills. but it is not easy to get your shoes repaired. the Sr. of my house thinks he knows of one placve to get shoes repaired but he is not sure. while walking the streets, which i do often, i did find one. since i may run into rain here, i want to swap out my leather soles.

I believe there are more butchers in this town than in all of USA. And by `butcher`i mean a person with meat and a knife. if you think of `butcher` as someone who works in a fairly clean and cold environment while wearing a white coat and some sort of head gear, then we`re not speaking of the same thing. if you´re in the market for meat, you can buy it from various women in the markets - they`re the ones in the market road, in mid-day sun with chickens in a plastic bin. you never know about the weight but just trust that the two weights they use to balance total a pound.

For the four-legged animals, and their heads, you often have to go inside the market. don´t try to feel the air for a colder section of the market beacuse they don´t use refrigeration (or freezers) in the market. and the guy who just shook hands with someone, then ran his hands through his hair, and picked up a not so clean newspaper --- he`ll be the one cutting your meat today.

Eat well.

What i know about EEUU (i.e. USA)

6 november.

Living in Xela, it´s easy NOT to know what is going on in the world. Most of what i know about the USA is learned through ESPN and Fox Sports. there are at least 2 ESPN channels on the TV in my house.

it seems Boston won the world series and the Dolphins still stink.

I did catch a bit of CNN Asia(?). I´m sure is was ´`asia´rather than ìnternational`. i believe there is a bit of trouble in Pakistan and bad floods in Mexico and Canada.

Is there still a war in Iraq? if so, it does not make the papers here.

Aside from sports, there`s not much news about the states. That`s not always a bad thing.

more pics

here are some more pics of my time in Xela.

here re m

Photos below

I see that i had some success attaching photos to the blog.

The first one is the view from the front door of my home stay. The road you see is probably slightly below average quality - but certainly not the worst in the city.

the second pic is a girl showing me the sign for the candidate of the green (not¨Green¨) party. it also seems to be the sign used by many women to keep me away.

Just another Monday

It´s monday afernoon in Xela and i just finished lunch with my family. Well, it wasn´t with the family. the two other americans where there and the youngest son was eating, too. And Senora was there too make the food. I´m not sure what i had. i think it was crepes with eggs inside. and rice on the side. Sometimes it´s best not too ask. The senora knows that i don´t eat the four-legged criters. i´m sure they like the situation as they save some money by not buying beef.

The weekend went by but i didn´t seem to do too much. However, i didn´t get around to completing my homework. oops. My teacher forgave me. I´ll do it tonight, i think.

Once again my lack of spanish skills was evident. i ran into some people who were working the Tour of Guatemala bike race. I asked where the race would start on sunday. They told me. I went there. Right time. Wrong place. But i was on the right road so i did see the guys go by. I´m not sure the Tour de France works the same way as here.

The road was never shut down completely. About a minute before the cyclists came, they stopped other traffic from driving on the road. Less than a minute after the last support van passed, it was business as usual.

I went to see a presidential candidate speak. the election is sunday november 4. the crowd was not as big as i would expect. Each candidate has their own election song. Music seems to be an important part of life here.

i´m told that the candidate i saw, Colon, was asked`Is it true you shot and killed a man while in a bar in Mexico?` His response `No. I shot and killed two men.`

I´m told that the other candidate stole $100million + from the treasury. He went south for 10 or so years and now he`s back.

All the sudden the US candidates don´t seem so bad.

I hit the markets on both weekend days. I wish i could have taken pictures of the goat heads for sale but, for some reason, i didn´t feel comfortable. despite the fact that i could probably afford them, I didn´t ask the price.

I think you can buy anything you want at the market. there was a spice corner, a (non-refrigerated) meat aisle, a whole block of shoe kiosks and plenty of fruit.

It is all good.

Time to pick up the laundry (Q5 per kilo) and hit the books.

Pics soon??? I hope.

pic

Chicken Bus

Where are all the pictures from Guatemala? Due to technical difficulties (read - Brendan no es intelligente) there are no pics at the moment.

Soon. I hope.

I took my first `Chicken Bus`on the Guatemal adventure. A Chicken Bus is what the gringos call the Blue Bird school buses that travel the roads of Guatemala. you get on the bus and don´t try to wonder how long ago it was that this same bus was transporting the youth of America. One bus had `South Bend Schools`on its side.

Yesterday, i went to a town that is no more than 50 miles away. it may be 30 - difficult to judge distances. to get to that bus i had to take a minivan across town ($0.15 for any ride). After the mini dropped me off, i only had to walk 10 or so blocks to the chicken bus terminal. However, if you can´t speak the language, the 10 blocks can take an hour.

Security man: Go down 4 blocks and on the right.

Store owner 3 blocks later: go back past the market and go for 2 blocks

Street kid: No se

Security number 2: Go to the corner and take a left, continue for some blocks.

Shop keepers just past the corner where i took a left: Go down (the avenue i just came from) and go past the park.

etc.

An hour later, i happened to run into the bus i wanted.

I got a ride back from the town in a minivan. it was much better than the chicken bus.

All the chicken buses have a driver and a guy who yells the destinations and collects te money. today, i saw that he has another job. While going up a hill, the money man may have to hop out of the moving bus with a little bucket of water - which he throws at the bus´radiator. Repeat 5 or so times. i cried because i was laughingso much.

This weekend is a big market weekend in Xela. it has something to do with October and the Virgin saint of the town. i will take some pics.

if all goes well, i may be able to post them.

todos por ahora

bjm 26 october

You´re not in America...

When the McDonalds has a security guard and that guard has a machine gun.

That is life in Queztaltenango (or Xela´´, as we locals call it).

I arrived in Guatemal City on Sunday to a cold rain. I have plenty of gear for cold and wet conditions, thanks to years at REI. However, all that gear is in a basement in CT.

Mistakes were made in the packing. Cést la vie.

An arrival in GC is a bit confusing to those who do not speak Spanish. I was one of those people. When you leave the airport, there is a mass of people - waiting for friends, waiting to rip you off, willing to give you a ride in their minivan.

After walking in a circle for 15 minutes, i was able to hop in a cab with a woman. I´m not sure where she was going but i was able to get a ride to the bus station.

we had a great conversation. i thought She was telling me about her work with a Honduran chicken company. i didn´t understand why she was saying ´chicken´instead of ´pollo´. I turns out she was telling that she was from a town near Honduras and the town´s name sounds (to me) like chicken.

I caught my ´fist class´bus (circa 1960 - no bano) for the 5 hour ride to Quetzaltenango´. if you always wanted to see the result of a car without airbags impacting a school bus, come to Guatemala.

i think i saw the remains of 5 or so accidents. Wet dirt roads and questionable drivers are not a good mix.

On the bus, i met a woman from Florida who was coming here to visit her sister. she grew up near Xela. I was lucky to meet her. When we got to Xela, her sister gve me a ride from the bus station to my school. the school was closed but i used sis´s cell phone to call the owner. All worked out.

I started school on Monday. 5 hours a day. I have some great cheat sheets for learnign spanish verbs and words. those sheets are safely stored in CT. Darn.

There are a number of schools in Xela. i picked Miguel de Cervantes. I believe they´re all similar but some teachers are probably better than others.

There are a few options with respect to the housing situation. i chose to live with a family. I am with a mother, father and 3 boys (18, 14, 11). Two americans are in the house, too. the Americans and i live in a front house, where the family has its kitchen. the family lives in the house behind us.

It´s working out for now. I may stay with the same family for my time (4 weeks?) in Xela. I eat breakfast, lunch and dinner with the family 6 days a week. (Meals are provided but i do not have to eat with them) I will be on my own on Sundays.

Lunch is the big meal. Dinner is often leftover lunch plus black beans. Breakfast was pancakes on tuesday and Kellogs Corn Flakes today.

The school costs about $105 per week, while the homestay is $35. Quite a good deal. I don{t know if i can get a job here but i can live cheaply.

Tonight is salsa night at on of the discos (Xela is the 2nd biggest city). I will check it out and try to impress the locals with my gringo dancing skills.

Tomorrow, i will skip school. i am going to the beach with the family that helped me out on Sunday. it´s not as warm here as i would have hoped. I guess i should have read the guide book. Aside from the risk of catching a disease, a little sun and surf should make for a good day.

all for now. bjm 24 october

Last week in Arlington

I'm off to CT and NYC next week. And then it's off to Guatemala for a few weeks studying spanish in Quetzaltenango.

I do plan to update the blog on a regular basis. but i also planned to get in great shape this year. Plans don't always happen as we plan.

I went to a happy hour with some friends last night.

With friends like this, i'm not sure why i should leave the area.

i bought a digital camera so i expect to add some cool shots to the blog. we'll see.

bjm

Sheila jumping - Oct. 2007

Hi all... hope you've had some time to enjoy the fall. Below is a link to a video from last weekend when Erin and Sheila competed at a show near Dover, NH.

Off to Guatemala

Well, I bought my ticket and i'll be on the road (or in air) soon. i am headed from NYC to GUA in about a month.

the "plan", if that's the word for it, is to be in Guatemala for a month or so and then work my way down south. the thought of going by land and sea all the way down, will not happen. it turns out to be not too easy to get from Panama to Colombia. so, i will probably hop a flight from somewhere in Central America to Somewhere in South America.

i will keep you all informed. i hope to add to the blog with news of my travels.

see ya.

B

Sean's 70.3

Dear Family

As some of you have heard I ran a race this past Sunday.
And I use the word ran with a very loose definition.
Better stated, I was in a race.
And truth be told, finishing and not requiring hospitalization were my 2 goals
Actually, not requiring hospitalization was really my main goal
Some may say that the fact that I entered, in fact,shows I could probably use hospitalization.
And when a spot opens in a nice wing of a Swiss psychiatric clinic I'll be there.
But until then I will probably continue to push some boundaries Right now however I am having some trouble pushing myself out of the chair. I am in a little pain.

The race was the first ever Ironman 70.3 held in Asia. It is called 70.3 because it is half a full Ironman I don't think the participants wanted to be called half-Ironmen. Anyway it is a distance that is catching on in the world of tri-athletes. As a matter of fact the reigning world champion competed in this race

As many of you know, the Ironman started in the 70's.
Some arguments were had as to which were the better athletes swimmers, bikers, or runners. So some sadist thought, let's find out by having each athlete do each sport, one after the other. I think it was in the late seventies that the first Ironman was held.
The original and still considered the ultimate race was held in Hawaii
Athletes were to swim 2.4 miles in the open sea
Get out, hop on a bike and pedal 112 miles
Drop the bike and run a full 26.2 mile marathon
The first one across the finish line was the first IRONMAN.

The race enjoyed a small but fanatic following for a few years
I actually remember watching some of the races on WW of Sports
By the mid eighties, Europeans and Australians started joining
Other races were held around the world and the Hawaiian race
became something of a world championship

I am not sure which came first,
the world wide explosion of races and participants or
Brendan competing in these races in the eighties.
Nor am I certain one didn't cause the other.
With or without a causal link,
Brendan did in fact ride the wave, so to speak.
I am not sure how many he in fact competed in but I am certain
he was better prepared then I was Sunday morning.

I actually competed in a triathlon in about 86 or 87.
I swam a mile in a lake
biked 25 miles in a park and
ran a 10K (6.2 miles) to finish
I remember having prepared by swimming and running
Thinking back, I remember thinking
Boy that was stupid
I should have done some biking to be better prepared
Remembering that lesson I did in fact bike to prepare for this race

Those distances became the standard for the Olympic triathlon
I forget when
but the triathlon became an Olympic sport
maybe at the end of the eighties?
The Olympic distances are 1.5k swim, 40k bike and 10k run
I thought of those distances on Sunday

This Singapore Ironman 70.3 was an inaugural event
As such it got a lot of extras
We were the first to (legally) bicycle across our highest bridge
We were the first in Singapore to ride on an expressway
We are actually the only Ironman 70.3 in the world
to have the whole race entirely in the city limits
Singapore did it right
Some downtown streets were closed
We ran through the business district
They put up a barrier and gave us an express lane
Which by the way had a terrific view sine the city is at sea level
and we were up above the streets for that part of the race
The transition from bike to run and the finish line
were on the largest floating stage in the world
which had been built to have the National Day Parade.
During the NDP there were probably 10,000 plus people on stage
There weren't that many at this race but it was still pretty exciting
running in front of the stands and finishing on stage.

The race it self goes off in waves with the elites taking off at about 7:15
Then the physically challenged athletes went
I thought I should be in that group
Next went all the women
And for some reason,
the start of the age group waves began with
the 18 - 24 year olds and the 50+
IN THE SAME WAVE.
The start is a mad rush into the water by hundreds of sleek bodies
OK not everybody was sleek
But the three of us with over 20% body fat still had to rush into the water
Needless to say I had to swim over the backs of some young guys
I say I was trying to pass them,
they may say I was hanging on for the ride

I will say that I looked a bit out of place
I am not kidding when I say I only saw three people
with 35+ inch waists
And I can still remember back in 1984 when I had a 35" waist

Other races I have been in always had the weekenders
the guys that were just in the race to have fun and finish
I didn't see any of them in this race
Truth be told, Five minutes before the start I was wondering
where all my mates were
the guys you knew would be bringing up the rear
You don't know them before the race but you form a bond at the end
I didn't see any of them there
At least not with swim suits on

That is why I thought I should have been in the PC group
I guess I'm glad I wasn't
I walked over from our bikes to the beach with a guy with one leg
We talked a bit
In the back of my mind I thought, surely,
over the course of 1.2 miles I will pass him in the water.
I didn't
Actually I don't know when he got out of the water
But I do know he beat my final time by 2 hours and 23 minutes
I did not beat any PC athlete that completed the race

Anyway back to the swim
It was 250 meters straight out
Turn left, swim into the rising sun for 800 meters
(remember the sun rises here about 7am)
Turn let again, and swim toward shore for 150 meters
Turn left again and swim 600 meters
Turn right and swim 100 meters to shore
That's 1900 meters if you swim straight
Which I did for 250 meters
Then I turned left and followed the crowd
There were four huge buoys where you made the turns
Then every 200 or so meters there was a smaller round orange ball
Well I don't know about you but even in my younger years
I'm not sure I could see 800 meters while in water
with about one foot swells
Well neither could the guy at the front of my pack
I'd say at least 50 of us started heading to one of the return buoys
I was probably 30 meters away from an orange ball when I noticed
a lot of people swimming toward that same buoy
from the opposite direction
That is not good, I thought,
Man, all those elite athletes are swimming off course.
It didn't take a rocket scientist to realise I might be off course
Which was good because
There were no rocket scientists with me at the time
But a bout 50 of us sighted the correct bearing
which at the time was directly into the sun
Convenient but a bit bothersome
It was about the third turn when I thought
That 1500 meter Olympic distance sure makes sense
But I finished at the beach in 49 minutes 29 seconds
Great time for me even with the slight detour
I was figuring on an hour

Now most triathletes run to their bikes
They will get some water on the way and maybe a protein gel
They slip their feet, sans socks,
into their bike shoes which are already clipped to the pedals
and they are off, still in their wet suit
These suits have a bit of padding for the bike ride
and dry quick.
The athletes swim, bike, and run in the same outfit

I don't
I walked to my bike
Had some water, had a protein gel, got my bag
and headed to the changing tent
In Singapore they didn't want folks changing in the parking lot
I took off my bathing suit and put on some bike shorts
With a lot of padding
Put on a pair of socks and bike shoes
The elites run the 100 meters from sea to bike and
50 meters out of the transition area (no riding in this area)
in under two minutes
I took almost 15
But I expected that so I was still ahead of schedule by 10-15 minutes

I hopped on my bike and was on my way
In my training I have been riding at about 25k per our
Not terrifically fast but steady
This pace if I kept it
would allow me to finish the 90k in under four hours
Being realistic,
and having not bicycled more then 50k straight in, oh,
25 YEARS
I planned to take the whole four hours to do the ride.
Anyway I am off at about 24-25k per hour pace
I know it is a cliche but
The other athletes passed me like I was standing still
The elites (which I never saw) averaged 43- 45 k per hour
For those stateside, I was averaging 15 mph, they were at 28 mph

The route was 10k from the sea to the stadium
then 4 laps of 20k each
I think it would be fair to say that the only people I passed
were on the curb fixing flat tires
I thought I passed one of the PC athletes
who was pedalling by hand in a very modified wheelchair
But as I went by the stadium to start my 3rd lap
he turned in finishing his fourth
More then once I thought
boy, that Olympic distance of 40k seems perfectly reasonable
I did finish the bike leg
though it seemed to go on as long as this email
The time 4 hours 8 minutes 18 seconds
Which includes whatever time I used to transition to the bike

Now again the elites hop off the bikes
they do slip on running shoes
as the bike shoes are still attached to the bike
and take off
There is water,electrolytes, protein, bananas
within 50 meters of the transition
I didn't see them but it wouldn't surprise me
if they transition in under a minute
I took 10 -15

Again I changed out of my bike costume
and into running shorts, shirt and thick padded socks
to cushion and prevent blisters
and a nice pair of running shoes
Here I was able to sit in a chair to change
The first transition you sit on the parking lot
That chair felt good
But I had miles to go before I sleep
It actually felt great to walk
or at least to be off the bike
Basically we had 2 ten kilometre laps
then a 1.1k loop to enter the stage

My plan was to walk a bit to get my legs back
I hoped to slowly jog in the shade and to walk if I was in the sun
It did feel good to be on solid ground
My plan here was to go at a steady clip of basically fast walking
Last spring when I was walking for exercise
If I walked fast and steady, I averaged 15 minutes a mile
If I jogged the straight aways and walked the curves I brought that down
to 12 - 13 minutes a mile
I was realistic
Remember, I biked and swam to prepare for this race
I hadn't been able to put in many miles on foot
Especially after hurting my foot this summer
So I thought 15 - 17 minutes per mile was doable

A marathon is 26.2 miles
so this is 13.1 miles
I ran a half marathon in 1979 in Phelps, NY at the sauerkraut festival
At the time I was running about 50 miles a week
I did the race in just over two hours
15 minutes per mile is just over three hours for 13.1 miles
Certainly doable

I won't bore you more with the details of the run (walk)
But there were two complete downpours
Pretty typical for Singapore
My shorts and shirt and hat are quick dry
The rain felt good

Remember those thick padded socks
They may have been quick dry also
If it didn't rain the second time
or there were ways to cross the huge puddles
Basically I walked in sopping wet socks for about ten miles
(The padding felt great the first three dry miles)

In any case
I did try to jog a couple times
but it never lasted more then three or four steps

That is until the end
As I entered the stadium area
the announcer said
"Hey guy in the yellow shirt
The official clock stops in three minutes
Who is this guy ... 251... Sean Murray
Hey Sean you have about two minutes and 30 seconds
Crowd can we get a rousing cheer for Sean here
Let's bring him in to finish the inaugural Singapore Ironman 70.3"

And the crowd, what remained of the crowd
stomped their feet on the metal bleachers
and let out whoops and hollers
I forgot my feet, knees, back, shoulders, and neck
and slowly jogged through the finish
with 8:58:21 showing on the clock

My walk time was 3:49:58 (including the second transition)
Meaning if I had started my walk
when the winner started the race
I would have beat him to the finish line by one second
Yes that is right
The winner crossed the line,
from first splash to last step,
in 3hours 49 minutes 59 seconds

Since the clock started at the gun
and I was in the fourth wave
my actual time was
8 hours 48 minutes and 18 seconds

I can tell you for certain
I did not pass anyone
who didn't pass me later
or who dropped out of the race

I also personally thanked every volunteer
who was still at their post on my first walking lap
I wasn't sure they would still be at their post
An hour and half later when I passed this way again
And I was right
There were a few still on the route on my second lap
and if they were there I shook their hands
They should have given me a wagon
I could have picked up the cones along the way
as no was behind me


There was supposedly 1300 who signed up for the race
The race results seem to indicate 838 athletes started the race
which breaks down to 676 individuals and 54 teams of three
Forty nine teams finished
Six hundred forty individuals finished
I know as I finished 640th
Thirty six DNF or were DQ'd for some reason

I can tell you that 61 of 66 men and women
older then me finished ahead of me
And I finished ahead of the current 70.3 world champion

This was truly the hardest physical thing I have ever done
And it was an amazingly inspiring day
And when the pain goes away
I am going to be really happy I
trained, entered, participated, and finished

Thanks for listening/reading

sean

Brendan News

Not much to report. I have now begun to plan for a trip south.

Well, i haven't actually started the planning yet but i hope to, soon.

I have a good few days in Canada. Labor day weekend saw some of the best weather of the summer.

we're having so-so weather in VA. And by "so-so" i mean blue skies, sunshine and 80's.

I hope all is well in your parts.

B

Family Dinner!

 

The first day of school!

Day one of Sheila's high school experience... where has the time gone!?

Mango's tail meets new kitten!

Well, we have two new kittens, actually - but I couldn't resist posting this video of "Tiki" and Mango - hope you can connect to Youtube and view!

Quack

How I spent the 4th of July - 8:00 a.m.

Evan Arrives for Mice on a Stick

Hi Friends and Family

As the title suggests, I arrived safely in Malawi this afternoon after a long series of flights (total time in transit, approximately 36 hours). All in all the trip went smoothly, although I narrowly avoided having to pay 325 pounds ($650) at Heathrow to check my second carry-on bag (they only let you carry on one, and were going to charge me 27.50 per kilo). Fortunately, they decided at the last minute to allow me to pay the fine I would've incurred in Boston had I checked it there (only $100). Next time, I'm not going to try and carry four laptops onto the plane I guess.

Touched down in Nairobi this morning at around 6am local time. It was just starting to get light and my first glimpses of Africa came as we started to descend through the sparse cloud cover around the airport. Had some excellent views though on the flight to Lusaka, including a breathtaking look at Mount Kilamanjaro and and equally spectacular volcanic crater lake thingy just past it.

Zambia passed by in a rush, and I didn't get too many looks at Malawi until we were on the ground. A former PIHer was kind enough to pick me up at the airport, and drove me the half hour to the place I'm staying, which is just around the corner from the headquarters of the Clinton Foundation.

Two things about the drive stuck out: one, we were driving down the left side of the road, something I realize I never really did when I was in Ireland and is a little freaky, and two, there were lots and lots and lots of young kids selling mice on a stick perched right on the edge of the road. Apparently the tail is really good, but I'm not sure I'm going to be going for that just yet.

I'm going to try and set up a blog this week and will post some pictures to it once I do.

Thanks for all the help you guys have given me, and talk soon.Best,Evan

Asia Adventures Continue

Just thought we would send along a brief e-mail update on our most recent Asian adventure.

We are in currently in China and have had a great visit so far. We spent four days in Beijing-- saw the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace and much more. Sean and the kids spent a day visiting with a local Chinese family and touring the local community. We then flew to Xian, the historic Capital of China. We went to a fabulous. Chinese Cultural dinner and performance completet with a dumpling banquet. More dumpling than you could imagine and certainly more than we could eat. There must have been ten courses of dumplings-- there were beef dumplings, eel dumplings, chicken dumplings, squid dumplings, pork dumplings, veggie dumplings, pumpkin dumplings and more. To be honest by the end of the meal we were just plain dumplinged out!!

The next day, we toured the old town of Xian saw the beell tower, a drum concert in the drum tower and strolled through the Muslim shopping street. Later, we went to see the Terra Cotta Warriors Site and Museum. These are thousands of life size Warriors, horse and chariots that were buried near the tomb of Emperor QinShihuang the First Emperor in Chinese History. It was only recently discovered in 1974 when a group of local Chinese farmers were digging wells in search of water. It is an absolutely amazing site. They call it the eighth wonder of the world and we clearly feel it deserves a place in a wonder of the world list-- right there with the Great Wall!! For those who can, you may want to look it up on the internet-- I am sure there is a website for it so you can see a bit of what we saw. It was another unbelievable Asian experience!!

We are now in Guangzhou. Shannon and Connor have been trying out their Mandarin while they are in China. There is no substitute for being thrown into a foreign speaking country to force language skills not to mention humbling one a bit on their personal skill level!!

Connor is like a rock star here with all the teenage girls. No matter where we go with him there are girls pointing at him, wanting their picture taken with him. Now, we know he is good looking (though we admit to being a bit biased!), but we are still not sure what the deal is-- is that he is so tall, has "blondish hair (by Asian standards that is!) or that he is a westerner-- what ever the reason, he certainly gains lots of attention!!

We leave tomorrow morning for two days in Korea and then five days in Japan. Our move to Singapore continues to provide us with wonderful opportunities to see the world. We are so thankful for the wonderful family adventures the move has provided. Hope all is well with you all. We will write again from Korea. Love to all.

A (very) short video of Erin jumping with "Grace" - a new horse which Erin recently began leasing.
You should be able to view if you have decent-speed Internet connection.

comments

just added a comment to Brendan's post, so check it out. this may not make it because I keep being told that my password isn't correct - and I have no idea what password I used to use for blogs.
too bad :-( Maybe I have to make up a new blog for myself. THAT'S It !!!! I deleted my own blog. nsm

We're not twins

Separated at birth or at the bar?

Open the Cottage

Opening day starts with the pump
In addition you must work on the sump
We struggled all day
For a new pump we did pay
Now a flush rids all waste from the rump

Summer 2006. Additional Pic

The pics in the previous post include the shortest Henry the Heron and a pic of the house as some would like to see it. These pics below include the shortest international bridge, the photographer, and a guy who went along on the ride.

Summer is coming. People get ready

We hit the 80's in VA this past weekend.

I'm looking forward to a fun-filled summer. here are some pics from last summer.

Spring in New Hampshire!

Just wanted you all to see - and appreciate our beautiful
spring here in the Granite State!

And, our snowblower just conked out!