Carter's New Room

We now begin the project of getting our son to sleep in his own room. Yes, he will turn 5 soon and still sleeps in our room. So, it's new paint and a new bed! We are going with a rocket ship/space theme. And hopefully that will get him in there soon.

He did fine when he was younger but around the time he was 2 years old he got scared of a thunder storm. That week was HELL. We slept about 2 hours a night since he was up screaming for either me or Sue. Then we would go into his room and one of us would sleep on the floor with him... so, the most sensible thing for us to do was to have him sleep with us. Most books and Dr. Phil probably tell you DO NOT LET YOUR CHILD SLEEP IN THE SAME ROOM AS YOU (or eat cookies) but they, of course, have 'people' who take care of their children. If they don't sleep one night they have the nanny take care of the child while they go on vacation to the south of france. Or they have someone who looks like them sleep in their room so they think their parent(s) are there to keep them safe.

Watch Out Summer!

Some people do rain dances to conjure up a rain storm.. some people have their lucky trinkets with them when competing for a game show.... I START DIGGIN' when I want summer to get here! Or I sometimes have a Corona (with a slice of lime)

That's right... it's time to get the garden going! Today I went out to Home Depot and picked up 6 tomato plants, 6 green pepper plants, and 3 cucumber plants. Last year was a bad year for growing or at least in this part of PA. I had a rabbit problem with the pepper plants and I'm still looking for a solution (anyone?) to keep the rabbits out of the garden; besides building a 4 foot fence (which I have thought of). I had 4 plants and the rabbits literally ate the plants right after they started to flower.

I did grow cucumbers once (when we lived in Washington, NJ) with little success. I got about 4 good cucs... that's why you see the trellis in the photo... it's for the cucs! Wish me luck this year! I'm usually pretty good with tomatoes. The year before last was a great growing year. I had about 70 - 80 tomatoes off of 6 plants... and considering all the plants cost a 1.99 it would have been about $80.00-$100.00 at the store to buy that many (not that I needed that many; I do give some away).

If you are wondering about the rocks in the photo I just placed them there for now ... and will probably keep them there since Carter has been catching crickets; they live under the rocks.

Tune in next time to see how the garden grows..

Old Brown Dog

Tonight I am trying something new: Smuttynose Brewing Companies 'Old Brown Dog Ale'

And 'no', it doesn't taste like an old brown dog .. not, like I would know what an old brown dog would taste like.. it actually tastes pretty good and at 8.99 a six-pack it's a fine outstanding beer - By the way, I use BUD to clean the bird-poop off of the deck.. works pretty well...

OLD BROWN DOG ALE
Winner of a Silver Medal at the 1989 Great American Beer Festival.

AWARDED BEST BROWN ALE IN THE NORTHEAST - 8th Annual US Beer Tasting Championship

Old Brown Dog has been cited as a classic example of the "American Brown Ale" style of beer. Compared to a typical English Brown Ale, Old Brown Dog is fuller-bodied and more strongly hopped.Old Brown Dog has been around for many years. It was first brewed in 1988 at the Northampton Brewery. In 1989 it won a silver medal in its category (American Brown Ale) at the Great American Beer Festival in Denver.

VITAL STATISTICSOG: 1060, TG: 1016 Grain Bill: Pale Brewers, Munich, Crystal 60°L, ChocolateHops: Cascade, WillametteIBU's: 15, ABV: 5.7%Color/Number: Deep brown-amber, 25°

What's on my jukebox (or should I say XM):

Fleetwood Mac - Don't Stop

Kansas - Dust in the Wind

Ricky Nelson - Garden Party

Little River Band - Happy Aniversary

Grand Funk Railroad - We're an American Band

Carol King - It's Too Late

Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - An American Dream ('might be the answer to this hillbilly beer')

The end of our vacation

On Thursday we went to Hollywood Studios (used to be called MGM). Carter got to meet some of his heros - the Power Rangers! After days of only being given the choice of Hamburgers, Hotdogs and Dry Chicken Sandwiches there was finally a Pizza place! Sue can't eat Pizza (namely the sauce) so while we went on the 'movie ride' Sue went off to find something to eat. Carter really enjoyed the movie ride. You are in a car and go past these elaborate sets made to look like the actual movie sets with animatronic actors; John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, the munchkins, etc. One of the sets was set up like a town in the 1930s and once the car stopped a gangster jumped out (a real person), there was a gun fight and he took over driving our car. That was until he got greedy and tried to steal the jewel (from Raiders of the lost ark) and was turned into a skeleton.

Some of the rides remained the same from when Sue and I went in the early 90s; Tower of Terror and Star Wars (flight simulator). Carter seemed a little scared when we went on the Star Wars ride but he was totally into the characters and the light-saber battles outside. He even got to meet Darth Maul but ran away when he showed him his nasty 'green' teeth! He is still talking about it and saying he's Darth Maul (then showing me his teeth). I told him that your teeth can turn green if you don't brush your teeth every day.

Friday we spent most of the day at the pool. Sue's mom and dad checked out at 10am and headed to their next destination (Treasure Island). They are retired so they'll be in Florida for the next 2 or 3 weeks. We hung out at the Hilton Grand Resort.. plenty to do.. about 4 pools, music, games, a bar and tables where you can eat. Carter got to paint a snake and played on the playground until he fell and hit his chin on the ground. It wasn't a good day for Carter. While I was leading him to the bathrooms he hit his head on one of the walls (don't even know how this is possible), then his chin, then at the airport he had a nosebleed right before we were to be checked over, and to top things off he fell off his chair (while sitting at a table) and hit his nose on the table before falling to the ground with the chair behind him.

So we are back home in Bethlehem. Got back around 10pm last night. It's funny when you return home after just a week.. things look different for some odd reason. The cat was especially glad to see us. As I got to the front door he was scratching at the door (having heard us arrive). He was epecially needy all night but then bit Sue as she came up the stairs. Cats get weird when you're gone for awhile or maybe he was just hungry.

Here are some more photos:

Universal and Epcot

UNIVERSAL STUDIOS

On Tuesday Sue and I went to Universal Studios by ourselves. Some of the rides have changed since we were last there (it has been 14 years) but I was amazed that the Lucy exhibit was still there. We got to see some of Lucy's dresses, some old Lucy scripts and her Emmys; just to name a couple of things.

We caught the Blues Brothers show (performed outside their brownstone), the Horror Makeup Show, Men In Black ride (I won), The Mummy Ride (a rollercoaster; Sue thinks her back is now fixed), The Simpsons Ride (replaced Back to the Future) which is a flight simulation; towards the end of bouncing and flying through the air after your roller coaster car lets loose a Giant Maggie puts you in her mouth and spits you out. The park closed at 7:00pm so we didn't get to see FEAR FACTOR and the live taping was for some wrestling show.

Here are some photos:

EPCOT

On Wednesday Sue, Carter, Grandpop, Grandma and I went to Epcot. The first ride we went on was pretty cool. You go through the history of technology. There are some games you can interact with before getting on the ride (almost like playing a wii; without the remote). As the ride starts moving your pictures are taken. There is a computer screen in which you plug in some information (what you like to do, where you are from, etc.) and then before the ride ends it places your faces into the video. Although I am a little worried since this was supposed to be our future and I was no where to be found (Sue told me I better buckle up!).

Carter especially liked the Character Depot where he got to meet Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Chip and Dale, and Goofy (after about an hour wait). In the old days you would wander the park and get to meet the characters; now you have to wait in lines and sometimes just to see one character. Kind of funny when you see kids with autograph books waiting in line to have goofy give you his autograph. You have to train them young to be autograph seekers! At least these characters weren't charging.

We spent some time in England where we saw a bad Beatles band. Ok, they were ok.. but just putting on a wig and outfits doesn't make you the Beatles (although anyone could be Ringo); the Fab Faux are much better. Sue bought some AERO bars and Carter got a set of Peter Pan figures. We ended the night in Mexico and watching some of the 'illuminations' .. fire, fireworks and lights.. before heading to the parking lot.

Here are some photos: