Filipinos on ice—that's nice

Among our other Christmastime adventures in the greater Toronto metropolitan area last week, we got almost the whole group up on ice skates down at the City Hall ice rink. My sister-in-law Ann offered lessons for the erstwhile ice cadets.



Dennis, somewhat surprisingly, took to the ice like a fish to water—icy water.



Koby loved the experience as well, which gives me hope that Canadian passports might be a reality someday! Now that we're back in Boston, we'll be hitting the Frog Pond on a regular basis.

It's all downhill from here

Koby was afraid of snow when he was two. I guess he outgrew that. We took him on our first sledding trip together last weekend. The hill wasn't treacherous, but a decent way to start things off. If he's going to be Canadian, this is something he has to enjoy doing!

Down in the DR

Well, I made it down to the Dominican Republic last week, where I was greeted by Olga—tropical storm Olga, that is. She dumped her unseasonable moisture all over Santiago, where I was scheduled to give a presentation (for Cengage). With over 150 invitees, we were lucky to get the 20 people we did.



The weather did bring on a craving for comfort food, which was plentiful. My gracious hosts Johann and Manuel took me to a highway-side cafe for some yummy DR breakfast treats: mangú (smashed plantains topped with vinegar-simmered onions) and fried cheese—all washed down with the best organic coffee.



After the presentation and the long drive back to Santo Domingo, we stopped at "La Cool Vita," a drive-thru bar, where they pass you bottles of El Presidente wrapped in little brown paper bags out a window.



The next day I gave a presentation to about 120 teachers at the Instituto Cultural Dominico-Americano (ICDA). Before that, however, Johann made sure I got a little local culture in with a visit to the Zona Colonial and all the "New World of Christopher Columbus" sites. Very impressive.



I resisted buying a hat, but next time I might change my mind.

Check this out

Our little company has received its first check (2 checks, actually). I guess this makes us an official business!



This, along with the fact that we have 3 time-zone clocks on our office wall, was enough to convince my husband that we are legit.

Far from scary

Here are Koby, Jacob, and Andrew, getting ready for a night of trick-or-treating en masse. Koby was thrilled to have friends with him to run through the dark streets. Ninety percent of the proceeds from that night went to the Boston Medical Center "Fatten the Nurses" campaign in the step-down telemmetry unit.

Comme il pleut dans la ville

It rained and rained the majority of the time we were in Montréal last weekend. We rented a well-positioned 3-bedroom flat right on rue Ste-Catherine Est, in the heart of Le Village. We stocked up on staples at Métro supermarket, and spent a good part of the weekend eating cheese and baguettes over some bottles of vin rouge. We still got in a little shopping and playing.


We had lunch at this fast-food Lebanese place. Despite the dishes featured on the billboard, I still chose the vegetarian plate.

On Sunday we had brunch at the lovely Juliette & Chocolat, on rue St-Denis. They're all about chocolate, as the name suggests, and lovely crêpes. Koby pretended to be a waiter with Ben and Anh.

















This was one of the many strange faces that Jason made over the weekend. If you want to know why, you'll have to ask him yourself.



Sunday afternoon we drove around different neighborhoods, trying to get a better sense of what type of area we might like to live in. Looks like visits to the Grande Ville des Fêtes are going to start being a regular diversion.

I just adore a penthouse view...

We spent a glorious 4 days in New York City last week with our dear friend Francis. Francis gave us a tour of the Bloomberg HQ, and showed us some fantastic places to eat... Vietnamese, Japanese, Filipino, Thai, Indian, Mexican. So yes, we basically just ate, walked, ate, walked... and sometimes we rode the subway--Koby's favorite part of the trip.



Dennis enjoyed being able to get some good Filipino food at a place called Pistahan in the East Village. We even got them to make a vegetarian version of Bicol Express. We had to do something to get Francis up from his 28-inch waist.



We got to see Dennis's brother Ojie as well, which was an extra treat. I don't think I'd seen him in about 6 years! We wrestled him into a cheap Ukrainian barber shop after this photo was taken--for a mercy haircut.



Koby and Dennis went up the Empire State Building while I was busy at work, attending meetings at a publisher.



After my meetings, however, we bumped into Olympic gold medalist Nadia Comaneci, Taxi's Marilu Henner, and Omarosa of The Apprentice, who were selling hot dogs for charity outside Penn Station. Ah, the D list, how it does bite! They were perfectly lovely.

A pirate's life for him

My friend Meredith came over to visit, and we spent a couple of days (and late nights) painting a pirate mural on Koby's bedroom wall.



The far wall over his bed now features a HUGE treasure map, including Meredith making a cameo appearance as Meredith the Mermaid.



And on the other wall over the dresser, a pirate ship complete with Koby at the helm, supported by hairy-chested pirates Papa and Tatay.



Let's hope it stays interesting enough for us NOT to need to paint it again for several years! It'll be harder to execute the next mural as we get older and arthritic.

Ain't life Grand?

I just escaped being empaneled in a grand jury of Suffolk County Superior Court. The commitment would have lasted 4 days a week for the next 3 months. Don't get me wrong--I'm probably one of the few people who thinks jury duty is interesting and am even willing to endure the sacrifices this "civic responsibility" brings forth. But not making enough to pay for my mortgage, car, etc., for the next 3 months sounds about as unappealing as the government cheese I received in 1985--the taste of which still lingers in my memory.

So after months of worry about how I may have to completely abandon any sense of scheduling flexibility, I am once again FREE to enjoy myself without the thought of sitting in a room of my peers, eating donuts and drinking bad coffee, doodling caricatures of the DA in my notebook. What a relief.

Photo album updated

I just spent my Saturday morning updating our long out-of-date Family Photo Album. So if you want to see more of what we've been up to from, say, November 2006 to September 2007, go to the link to our album on the right.

Way down in Dixie

Just got back from Gatlinburg, Tennessee, where my sister Rebekah and my new brother-in-law Ben got married. It was an outdoor ceremony in Cades Cove, part of the Smoky Mountains National Park.



The views were amazing.



Koby and Gillian had fun exploring.



Boots were worn by many (but not all).



We even made our way to Dollywood the next day, where Koby, Dennis and Grandpa rode the teacups...or as my brother refers to them, the D-cups.



Koby and I rode the flying elephants, which proves my old saying: "Me in Dollywood? Yeah. When elephants fly!"



Mother and her parasol look almost natural in front of Ye Olde Soape Shoppe.



And finally, pancakes were enjoyed by all. Hard to miss them when every third building is a pancake restaurant.

End of the road

Dear Readers, we are happy to report that we have safely arrived in Boston after 5 days of driving, 9 stops for diesel, 7 deep-fried meals, 6 wi-fi-stops, 3 buffets, and only 2 truck-scrapes (the second one was a stop sign in the depths of Roslindale).

The last two days did feature a few attractions that we thought we should share. The first was the Flintstone House--a private residence situated on a long, curvy road outside Concord, OH. Hint: Do not attempt the road with anything larger than a 22'. We feel lucky to have escaped unscathed in our 26-footer.



In Austinburg, OH, near the Pennsylvania line, we saw a "Large Rocking Chair."



We made it to Aunt Elsie's by 7:15pm, ate dinner, slept blissfully, knowing that Sunday would be our last day on the road. Rebecca had a hard time releasing her driving grip, however...



On the way down Highway 12 in upstate NY, we toured the new wind farms of Lowville. Apparently all this power makes its way hundreds of miles down to NYC.



Finally, this roadside attraction, while blurry, was one of the BEST ones we saw along the way!



So, we made it. Many thanks to all the friends and family who supported us with food, wine, showers, and shelter throughout the entire trip. We all learned lots of new things both inside and outside the cab of the Penske. And despite the many notices we read on the backs of semis looking for new drivers, I think we're all quite happy staying right where we are... for now.

A brief respite in quiet Ohio

Dear Faithful Readers, my apologies for shirking my blogging duties on Friday morning. Thursday had been, shall we say, eventful? Despite our best attempts to get out of the Greater Milwaukee area at a decent time, our innocent stop to fill the diesel tank resulted in an unforeseen delay… At a gas station near Elm Grove, WI, I was trying to maneuver the Penske out of the tight space and knicked the gas pump. I was expecting to get out and see a fountain of diesel fuel spouting into the air, but gladly saw only a mildly beat-up pump.

The police came to file a report. The officer was very nice, and filled out the necessary paperwork for the gas station to collect from our Penske insurance (we will be getting our money’s worth, that’s for sure). I was a bit too distraught to photo-document the event, though Rebecca did. Maybe someday those images will make their way here.

After our rather auspicious start to the day, we spent the whole day driving, and didn’t reach Smithville, Ohio until around 10pm. We were all getting VERY tired of the Penske, and looked forward to bed, and to a day of smoother rides.

Friday we spent the day in my old stomping grounds, and toured Amish country around Wayne and Holmes counties.



In between our shopping for locally-made cheese and trail bologna, we took time to see the world’s largest cuckoo clock.



From here we went to visit the world’s largest Amish buggy, a.k.a. the Amish version of the Penske.



As we enjoyed the idyllic landscape and its slower pace of life, we tried not to think about our fate the next day—the return to the highway in the great yellow beast.

In the heart of the Midwest

Okay, folks. We need a QUICK update, because yesterday was a LONG driving day, which included navigating the Penske through downtown Minneapolis. We've got to hit the road this morning and head on to Ohio!

Yesterday was quite eventful, and it's a shame I don't have more time to expound on the beauty of the "world's largest twine ball rolled by one man".



It's a bit hard to see, as it's encased in its own little plexiglass pavilion. No one seemed to be around to open the museum for us, but we did find a guest book in the large mailbox in front of it.



Not much else is going on in Darwin, MN (at least we didn't find it). But we did visit the Twineball Antiques shop, where we bought commemorative T-shirts.



Back on the road, much work was accomplished (believe it or not) with our double-socket cigarette-lighter laptop plug. Just learn to ignore the bumps in the road.




After making our way into the heart of downtown Minneapolis, we popped out to pay tribute to Mary Tyler Moore...



...and rewarded ourselves for getting out of the city in the 26' foot in one piece by spending an hour in the Mall of America.



We did have a couple of other planned sites to see on our way. "Large Chicken" was not impressive enough to stop, though we saluted it from the highway. "Another Giant Mouse with Cheese" also didn't merit a side trip (though we saw it through the window). However, we did stop for Paul Bunyan and Babe. Who wouldn't?



So now we're off again. What lies in store? Tune in tomorrow to find out.

On the road, you betchah!

The TRUCK! Although most people are thrilled when they're upgraded at a car rental place, we were slightly stunned to find out our 22' Penske truck had been substituted with a 26' one. Oh well, perhaps size doesn't matter after all.



With all of Rebecca's things packed in the Penske, we were ready to head out! But not before stopping at the Siouxland Buffalo place, which features the best of the buffalo: meat...



...and moccasins. Here we see the backroom slaughter-boy-turned-shoe-salesman luring Sally into a sale.



After a quick stop for lunch at the Beehive Cafe in Reynolds, ND, where we donated $5 to the local pull-tab industry, we were ready to head down to Fargo and across the border...



...into Minnesota. You betchah.



First stop in the Land o' Lakes? Rothsay.



Rothsay is the home of the world's LARGEST "Booming" Prairie Chicken. (I wonder where the second largest one is.)



But our fowl play didn't stop there. Next we stumbled upon the world's LARGEST Crow in Belgrade, MN.



In case you don't believe me, here's the proof:



And after a night at Rebecca's friend Dean's house in Willmar, MN, we boarded the Penske and headed out once more.