Back in the Middle Again-Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. Tell us about a time you found yourself 'in the middle of nowhere'. Was this deliberate?  When DD1 was about 4 years old, we had just moved to Cincinnati, so on Sundays we would go for a drive to get to know the area.  Sometimes we would go somewhere specific, and other times, we would get on a highway and drive, they have some beautiful barns in the country. One Sunday I said, "Oh, let's just get lost." and DD1 started crying, "I don't wannna get lost." We explained....and after that she would always want to know if we were lost, when we were out and about.  I always tried to choose my words better after that.

2. What's something you're 'in the middle of' today or this week? We are in the middle of our week with the grandsons and having a wonderful time.  They have grown so much and are little men.

3. At what age do you think 'middle age' begins? What does it mean to be 'middle aged'? I think middle age is your prime of life and begins sometime in your 40's and lasts a long time.

4. Ravioli, stuffed peppers, samosas, deviled eggs, steamed dumplings, pierogis, or a jelly donut...your favorite food (from this list!) with something yummy in the middle. Your favorite not on the list? They all sound yummy, I like cannoli. 

5. Albert Einstein is quoted as saying ''In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.' Would you agree? Have you found this to be true in your own life? Feel free to elaborate. I had a job in my younger mommy days that I didn't like. The bank was laying off and since I was 'last hired' I figured I would  be the first to be laid off and I could spend the summer with the girls and look for a new job.  They called me in and I was ready.... and they didn't fire me.  I had to scramble to find summer care....My Mom to the rescue!  About a week later I found an ad for a different job and was hired that day...I stayed 26 years with them loving most every day.

6. What's a song you remember loving from your middle school years? Do you love it still? Any of Chubby Checker's Twist music.  That was one dance I could do...no problem! They can still make me time travel! 

7. May 18th is National Visit Your Relatives Day. Will you celebrate? Which relative would you visit if time, distance, and expense were not considered. On that date I will still be in Santa Barbara with the boys, they would be my top choice any time.

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8. Insert your own random thought here. These pretty well sum up my grandparenting.

Maybe a Travel Blog for the next Month?

I spent most of Sunday finalizing our itinerary for our trip.  We are taking a tour with a company call GoAhead Tours  I guess I will have more to say on that when the tour is over. Trip Advisor and other sites had primarily good reviews.  I liked this company because it had some group touring and time to plan on your own.  So that is what I have been doing the past week.  So much to do, so little time, in London, Paris and Rome. 

The plans are made the passports renewed and now I have to pack.  Mr BC and I have decided to go with one larger suitcase, and carryons. This will be the challenge.  To not, over pack.  I am one who wants to be prepared for every contingency, which is why we have a Motorhome....the way to pack, for everything!  One suitcase means that I will have to gather every thing together this week and then start paring down to the essentials. I think I have read every packing tips story on the internet, 

We plan to use the public transportation on our free days and I have been pouring over Google maps.  We also have looked into hop on hop off and have decided against it in London (underground and Bus), using the Batoboats and Metro in Paris, and give the Hop on Hop off Bus in Rome, along with the scheduled tours we have booked with the group.

Whew! What Stinks? Memory Monday

Once again, it’s Monday, and time to join Judy @ Retired-Not-Tired for more memories.  This week we’re continuing our travels down the road entitled More Vacation Memories… Since I didn't participate last Monday mine is just..................
                                        
                                         Vacation Memories 
We always took camping vacations or vacations to Oklahoma to see our relatives when I was young. My brother and didn't have a lot of say about where we went, but we usually enjoyed ourselves.  I had been asking my mom and dad to take us to Yellowstone, for a long time because I really wanted to see Old Faithful.

When I was in high school (maybe freshman or sophomore), my parents finally took my brother and I to Yellowstone, one fine August. We were tent campers in those days, Mom and dad slept on an interesting platform in their 1958 Plymouth station wagon storing all the camping paraphernalia under that platform. They had a mattress cut down to fit the platform perfectly.  Bro and I slept in the tent.   We had to put all the food in the car every night to discourage bears.  That worried me just a little. The food was safe, but how safe were we under canvas? Earlier we saw a bear captured in a device that was going to take him further into the forest.

There is more in Yellowstone, than bears and Old Faithful and we would spend time every few days visiting many of the bubbling mud pots, paint pots and various geysers.  What no one had told me, was how badly much of Yellowstone smelled!  After a visit or two, I wouldn't leave the car to see another sulfur smelling hole in the ground. Dad spent the rest of the trip reminding me that, "You were the one wanting to go to Yellowstone."

Dad got in some fishing in and we got to see the beautiful Yellowstone Falls and I did get out of the car to see Ol'Faithful spout, I was somewhat disappointed, as the viewing we saw, was not as spectacular as the one above. 

Our visit was coming to a close when the weather turned cold, it was late August.  That next morning I wakened to mom furiously shouting orders to dad, so I stayed quiet to sleep in a little, soon I was jerked awake when the foot of my sleeping bag fell of my air mattress and soaked up freezing water that I was floating on.  When I yelled, Dad came and got me and carried me to the camp toilet and shower.  It had rained that night and somewhere around freezing that am, it started snowing in August in Yellowstone.  Mom and dad were packing up....every thing was soaking and we made a mad dash for a Motel and laundromat in Jackson Hole. The rest of the vacation was spent in Washington State and Oregon, on the way back to California. We dried the tent out at cousins, in Oregon.

I have had other vacations that have been more fun....but this was funny and memorable.

Birthday Celebrations

I found this on Imgur this morning and it perfectly described my night.  I had things to think about and laid awake for quite a while.  We are taking off for CA next week, for Caшa, Лука, and DD1's birthdays.  They are a day apart and Caшa shares the day with his Mama. We haven't been able to celebrate with them since moving to MO.  There is still so much to do to get ready.

At Christmas, we were both going to see the kids for Christmas, because we think it is important for the boys to celebrate our traditions too. I ended up flying to CA without Mr BC, since they were going to be in the process  of moving into their new lovely house.  Mr BC loves Christmas and would be sad that the usual Christmas goings on would be neglected.....as many were.  I left him behind to celebrate with DD2.  It was a good idea since there was so much work to do that Christmas afternoon was spent cleaning the old house so they could get their deposit back. Mr BC would have certainly complained about that.  Christmas comes every year so we will be back next year.

Addis Ababa courtesy of Flickr

The boys are lucky in that, SIL celebrates Orthodox Christmas as well in January, and this year they traveled to their cousin's home in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to visit and celebrate.  The boys are well traveled and since SIL's cousin has been transferred to Africa for his job (he heads a humanitarian aid program for Ethiopia), they decided to make the trip for Orthodox celebration. The whole Serbian family was going to be there. The plans were made well before they found the perfect house in the Santa Barbara area, and since they had the tickets, they decided to go on this trip anyway 3 days after Christmas and the move.  This of course meant that we had to work fast which made the whole moving process even more difficult. I can't wait to hear more about the boys trip and see their pictures. Лука got a camera for Christmas

How I Should Have Spent My Vacation

I would love to say that our vacation to Santa Barbara was an unqualified success.....but that would be painting too rosy of a picture.  The Boys, including my son-in law were in the middle of a virus.....that just kept giving.  SIL brought it home from Florida, the previous week.  Two days later DD1 came down with it and was hit harder than the grandsons.  Then Caшa, who had seemed to be improving, got an ear infection, so off we went to Urgent Care.  Everyone would have a good day then the next.....be really congested, or coughing.....Grandma and Grandpa Bankerchick came down with it the second week  and all bets for fun, were off.  Gratefully the Au Pair never got it...so we all got ....some... rest.  But it put a damper on the plans for the visit