Thank you, Peter!

Peter, you had such a great idea when you set us up with this way to keep in touch with the far-flung!

It is not easy to be as interesting as those girls of yours. As for me, I've started a new book that is very promising - Cutting for Stone (Abraham Veghese.)

GrAnn

concert at the Brooklyn Bowl

Hello family,

Thanksgiving was great, I went out to Aunt Caroline's. As is typical of any time I travel, there were a few minor mishaps on my way to dinner. I got to Penn station on thanksgiving morning to catch the Long Island Rail Road but it was absolutely packed and I had to wait in line forever to get a ticket and ended up missing the train because it took so darn long. The lady assured me-- all the while letting me know through her body language and tone that the last place she wanted to be on thanksgiving was in a crowded station answering stupid questions-- that there was another train on the Oyster Bay line heading out at 12:30. Dinner was supposed to be at 2:00, so I would have just enough time.

Of course, they announce that Sea Cliff station is next, and I get out of my seat and ready to leave the train. Out the window goes Sea Cliff, speeding by-- what was I supposed to do, jump? Was this like a rolling stop or something? The conductor came on and said, "Well ladies and gentlemen, please be patient, it looks like we forgot to engage the brakes. We will provide alternative transportation back to Sea Cliff at the next station." are you kidding me? OF COURSE the guy forgets to stop at the one station I need to get off at. UGH. So as to delay inevitable travel mishaps as long as possible, I stayed on Long Island for the remainder of the weekend.

I've started a new job in addition to the sitting. I am working for a non-profit called "Foster Pride," which teaches art classes to foster kids in the city. It is a really really cool organization. I have been doing office stuff so far-- I had to stuff and send out 400 envelopes for our annual fundraising appeal-- but Melanie (my boss, so great, like the nicest person on earth) said that soon I would probably be able to help out in classrooms, which would be so cool.

Last night I went to a Matisyahu concert at Brooklyn Bowl, a concert venue about three blocks from my apartment. Lexy found out about the concert, he's one of her boyfriend's favorites so she figured she should check him out. Not going to lie, I really had no clue about him or his music before the show: I googled him as "Modest Yahoo," thinking that is what Lexy kept saying when she said his name. It was an awesome show though, so cool. He is a reggae/hiphop artist from NYC, and he is a Hasidic Jew, so he performs in all his garb, which makes it a really singular experience. there was a huge disco Dreidel hanging from the ceiling, which would have been worth seeing on its own. So glad I got to see him though, I really love his music. Here are a few links to some of his songs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kS9uTiEY9ag&feature=channel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChV5BZ8SmS0

By the way, I am officially a regular at God Bless Deli. Last night after the concert we went to get food and the guy said "have a good night Grady." Awesome.

Three Weeks...

Today (Monday) marks 3 weeks until I come home! I'm beginning to feel pretty bittersweet about it. I can't wait to come home, but I'm going to miss my flatmates here so much.

Today was Richard's birthday, we spent the afternoon decorating the kitchen with birthday signs and pictures of all of us together. It was fun to look back at pictures of the first couple weeks here, when we still didn't really know each other. It seems so long ago, and at the same time as if I just arrived. Then we took him out to dinner (guess what I had....yup, a cheeseburger) and then came back home for cake and presents. We bought him Toy Story 3, so finished the day with a movie night. It was such a good day, I do love birthdays.

There's tons to do in the next three weeks: we're going to London again, taking a boat trip to the broads, I have two essays and a story to write, Christmas shopping to do, 4 books to read...it's going to go by so fast.

I love you. xo

Thanksgiving Recap

Well what a wonderful time we had at Grandma Ann's and Grandpa Jim's for the Ross Thanksgiving.  It was wonderful to re-unite with cousins and catch up on all branches of family.  Very special and unexpected to get to see Annie WigWealus (favorite cousin-shh,don't tell Mark!).  We got to enjoy all the traditional foods with one exception.  It seems Aunt Hildy's Orange Pudding has been laid to rest.  You in the back!  Quit snickering!  Grandma Ann- let's wait for the jury on Creme de Menthe Pie as a replacement shall we?

My highlight though was a chance to Skype with Cailin using Grandma Ann's new webcam which meant Cailin could see us but we, alas, could not see her.  I can hardly wait for December 20th, 4:05, Logan Airport, KLM by Delta Flight 6031 to arrive!  Hopefully we won't have to rent a U-Haul for this trip. 

Love you all.  Peace.  Peter

Fanksgiving at UEA

There were two Christmas miracles this morning: 1)Snow on the ground! Only about a half inch in patches here and there, but snow nonetheless. 2)Class was cancelled! I think the half inch of snow scared my professor into staying home. As a result, I have a little extra time to fill you in on my Thanksgiving celebrations, before going back to bed.

Lindsey and I call it "Fanksgiving" because the people here from Essex pronounce "Th" like "F," and Lewis, one of her housemates has a really strong accent. Our conversation yesterday went a little something like this:

"Hi Lewis! Happy Thanksgiving! How are you?"

" 'Ey yank! 'Appy Fanksgiving! I'm well knackered and hungry, could eat a whole bowl a'mash!"

"Yeah, it smells so good. I can't wait for dinner."

"Me efer. I'm just going upstairs to change into somefin' sharp."

Which is translated as:

"Hi Lewis! Happy Thanksgiving! How are you?"

"Hey American Girl Whose Name I Forgot! I'm really tired and hungry, I could eat a whole bowl of mashed potatoes."

"Yeah, it smells so good. I can't wait for dinner."

"Me either. I'm just going upstairs to shower and put on a button-down shirt."

So there you have it. Fanksgiving.

Lindsey, Isabel, Andreas (all her flatmates) and I went to town on Wednesday to go grocery shopping. We bought so much food! Then yesterday I went over to help cook. Keep in mind that the flats do not have ovens, only convection microwaves, so it was a little tricky. I was in charge of the mashed potatoes, and you've never seen a creamier bunch of mash in your life. Delish! We also had turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, corn on the cob, velveeta mac & cheese (apparently it appears every year at Lindsey's Thanksgiving, must be sort of like the mandarin orange jello, except everyone loved this), gravy (purple powder turns into salty paste if you add boiling water!), cranberry sauce and broccoli. We also bought rolls but forgot to bake them off. The table was decorated with golden plates and table clothes from Pound Land (everything a gal could want, only 1 pound!) and we had cut-out turkeys and made signs. Our soundtrack was James Taylor's Greatest Hits and Carole King's Tapestry (Lindsey and I picked the music). For dessert Isabel made a chocolate cheesecake, although we didn't have a pan so she had to use a saucepan. It still turned out well.

It was a hugely successful night, all the Brits immensly enjoyed their first Thanksgiving, and it was the best Thanksgiving away from home I could have asked for. Of course I missed you all, but was able to talk to Mama, Daddy, Connor, and Ellina, so I got to hear from home. Hello to all the Rosses gathering today!

Love you!

Thankful for all of you...

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

Sitting alone in Brooklyn watching the parade with a whole new perspective and enjoying the fact that if I so desired I could get on the subway and be in the middle of Herald Square within the hour. Makes me feel like I am really part of it.

However, kind of regretting that I can't hop on the subway and be with you within the hour. I hope Vermont is doing well and all the homes are beginning to smell like pie and turkey.

I will be heading to Aunt Caroline's soon wearing my new vintage jacket.

Now that's what I'm talking about

Well it's Thanksgiving morning here at the Middlebury Inn.  Anadama roll dough has been pulled from an overnight rise in the cooler, pots of potatoes are about to go on simmer and of course turkey is roasting.  Ten of them to be exact. 

But first a quick cup of coffee and a few minutes to catch up with all of you.  It is so wonderful to read about all the adventures you are on.  Cailin and Grady you are so magical with words we really don't need the pictures (somehow a grainy shot of Roger seems perfect!) but it is great to be able to see photos.

Connor and I will be gathering tomorrow at Grandma and Grandpa's to catch up with a lot of Rosses we haven't seen in awhile.  Rit, Poodie, Beaver, Sonny, Cher, Kim Jong-Il and who ever else shows up. 

Be sure and to enjoy this Thanksgiving.  We really are so lucky.  Take time to eat too much turkey, cheer on the New England Patriots (who discovered the Mayflower or something like that) lay back in an easy chair with the top button of your pants undone and grunt about having eaten too much, before falling into a tryptophan induced nap.

Now I've gotta go get butternut squash and fresh rosemary into an oven.

Love you all.  Peace.  Peter

also included a few pictures of prospect park and the city in general.

so now a little explanation....

Had the most amazing last few days. It started on Monday evening. Lexy and I went to see the Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular starring none other than the ROCKETTES. oh my gosh, I never knew a high kick could be quite so high. Absolutely fabulous... Lexy and I kept exchanging glances and being like "OHMYGOSHICAN'TBELIEVEWE'REHERE!"... after we came back to our apartment and her friend Patrick who I have met a few times now came over and cooked us couscous.

On tuesday i had to work until 4:00 or so, but then I took the train into manhattan to meet Renee. First we went to St. Thomas Church for evensong.... The St. Thomas Boy's and Men's choir is one of the most famous and prestigious choirs in the world, and it was absolutely beautiful. We snuck out half way through (a little hard to sneak out of church when you are sitting in the front row, but we managed), so we could make it to Tiffany's before it closed. I had no idea of the sheer scope of it. 6 different floors. My personal favorite was floor 2, DIAMONDS. I almost couldn't breathe. There was a lot of sparkle and a lot of... sparkle. The whole place was decorated for the holidays so even more beautiful than usual. Renee went up to one of the sales people in the Men's lounge (yes, there is a men's lounge, lest the men looking for engagement rings become overwhelmed and need to sit down on a mohair couch in a room with wood so polished you can see your reflection) for a shopping bag and so I now have a large Tiffany' s bag... we used it to carry our empty water bottles and the wrapper from a croissant. Probably the only people in NYC to be using our Tiffany's bag as a trash receptacle. Trash or not, I still carried it around prominently for the remainder of the evening. Good thing, because the next place we went practically required you to be carrying a shopping bag from Tiffany's or Cartier or some other place where you can buy something for the same price that you can acquire a small island.

Renee took me to the Plaza and we had dinner there. Oh my goodness, I was bowled over by luxury. We had the most delicious potato and Creme fraiche flatbread pizza and some steamed milk.

I then went home, but my friend Liya from Midd is staying with me for couple nights and she had arrived last night, so we went out for a late bite to eat and then we returned home and watched TV for a few hours and didn't get to bed until 2:30 or so.

This morning I gave Liya a little tour around Greenpoint/Williamsburg and we went shopping (hooray for the Salvation Army. New blazer and two new shirts, fifteen buckaroos). Had some Pad Thai for lunch at this vegan place that was pretty delish despite the fact that it was vegan.

Then I met Renee again in Manhattan and we started another day of NYC festivity. First we had an early dinner at Le Pain Quotidien, a little organic food chain that has these really good tartines and things. Then Renee surprised me! She had planned for us to go to the Upper West Side to watch the balloons be inflated for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade tomorrow! The line stretched for blocks and blocks, there were thousands of people and it was absolutely crazy. We waited in line for almost an hour, and then Renee approached this policeman and said we were with Entertainment Weekly (one of her friends had some sort of connection there) and so he let us in the VIP section and we got to skip the rest of the line and view the floats going up at our leisure with the rest of the fifth avenue folk. When we got to the end of that block we wanted to cross over to 81st street to see the rest of them, but the guards weren't quite as gullible and said we would have to wait in line again to get there. But Renee was having none of that (I highly recommend doing NYC with Renee) and she approached this police officer and said that we were VIPs who had lost our passes or something and he was like "oh, let me escort you".... so for the rest of the evening Roger was our private police escort. We got to cross all the police barriers and cut through all the lines. Pretty great. The blurry picture of me and a policeman is me and Roger. We were laughing because he definitely did not have the authority to just become an escort, but he was such a Barney Fife, he loved the idea that we were asking him for help and he wanted to be so important and like the guy that saves the day. He kept going on his radio and being like "Sarge, over and out, checking in with the station," and things like that. He probably wasn't even talking to anyone. He also kept using hand motions and signals and saying things like "hang close, hang close".... as if getting seperate from him would be the worst thing that ever happened to us. It was kind of hilarious... but I did a bit of flirting and he gave me his card and said that he was the guard at CNN studios and anytime I wanted a private tour I should just call him. So yay for Roger, he was pretty great.

The floats themselves were absolutely amazing. So huge... bigger than you would imagine. I will never watch the Thanksgiving parade in the same way again. It was amazing, it was such an insider NYC experience.

Then we went to Magnolia bakery and got cupcakes. afterwards, we got gelato at this Israeli gelato place. i had tiramisu and chocolate whiskey brownie gelato, both of which were delicious and more.

Also, Renee took me to a vintage shop and I got this adorable vintage wool riding jacket. i am wearing it tomorrow to Thanksgiving dinner at Aunt Caroline's. I will be missing all of you very very muchly. I love you all to pieces. Happy Thanksgiving! xox

a few blurry pictures for your viewing pleasure

P.S.

Grandma, I got your letter today! It was wonderful, I loved the picture of fall on campus (so beautiful, I missed it!).

Guess where I'm going this summer?

Olivia has invited me to stay with her in Costa Rica! We looked at tickets last night and they are as low as $450 round trip, so it looks like I'll be going to Costa Rica this summer. Richard and Dom are trying to plan it so they can come to Vermont for a bit and then we'll all fly down to visit her together. Eiether way, they're definitely coming to visit me at some point in the next year.

Guess I better call up Craig and Chris at Jackson's on the River and see how that Chicken Modena is selling.

Christmas in Norwich, Cambridge

Okay, since I can't be bothered to actually study, I'll take a minute to update you on my life!

The Christmas season (as I mentioned before) is starting here. The other night we went downtown to see the lights be turned on, it's this great big ceremony and tons of people are there and there are carols and a carousel. Unfortunately Richard just haaaaad to use the bathroom at KFC (aka he really wanted popcorn chicken) and we were late and missed it. But we did get to walk around after and see the lights and eat some roasted chestnuts. After we went to a pub and had banoffee pie and played FRUSTRATION!! (the boardgame known as TROUBLE in the States...Grady, I believe this was a Christmas gift one year? The year before BLURT! maybe?)

These are some pickies of Norwich at night (it looks better in the dark). Just kidding! It's actually a charming city, but it does really look beautiful with the lights.

On Saturday my friend Lindsey and I (she's from Tennessee) went to Cambridge with a group of tourists. It was amazing! Everything was so old! We ate lunch at a pub, the Eagle established in 1525. Yes, this pub existed before America was civilized. Amazing. The picture of the of the open window is from here. A long time ago there was a fire and two seven year old twins were trapped in this room. They tried and tried to get out, but the window wouldn't budge. Ever since then it has been written into the lease that the window must always be open so the souls of the twins can escape. It was also at this pub that Crick and Watson ate lunch everyday while researching in the Cavendish laboratory, and where Crick exclaimed one afternoon over his meat pie, "We have discovered the secret to life!". DNA was born.

It was also where all the air force soldiers went, and they all burned their names into the ceiling with their Zippos (The Pressure Boys picture).

The picture of the giant black door is the elephant door. Every time the circus came to town, they kept the elephant in here.

There is also a picture of me in front of King's College, Cambridge. I will show you the rest when I get home.

Lindsey and I finished our day with Tea for Two at a little tea shop, with scones, clotted cream, and jam. It was lovely. We felt very British.

So I can't really figure out this whole picture thing, I'm not sure how to actually get them in the middle of the blog, so bear with me.

Love you all! Countdown begins: 27 days until I'm home!

Our family may be a little weird...

But we look completely normal next to these people.

http://awkwardfamilyphotos.com/category/photos/the-family-portrait/

Awesome contribution, Grady.

spectacular spectacular!

Paris Pictures!

Getting cold!

Bonjour everyone!

It is getting so cold in France and making me think of how I will definitely not be missing the bitter cold of Middlebury! I can't wait to be drinking hot chocolate with Cailin and Grady and watching My Fair Lady (we have been planning it) once we're all back under one roof.

Am I the only one who is desperate to see more photos of Grady's new haircut?

I am officially broke, and I think once I'm back at MIddlebury I will be kissing the floor of the dining hall. I can't wait for unlimited coffee and the panini machine...I've been eating canned vegetables and cheese for days now. I'm dreaming of BBQ chicken pizza.....sigggh.

What ever became of Beads N' Things in Middlebury? Has it been taken over by another owner? Is it still a knitting store? What else is new in the town?

Connor-when is Midd done for Xmas?

Bisous,
Kelsey

I'm here!

Hello! I'm here! sorry I haven't written in a while, as time begins to run out over here I find myself busier and busier.

I'm off to the gym and to study now, but you have a post about Cambridge (with pictures!) to look forward to.

love you!

Where ARE you?

OK, you Rosses and associates. Where ARE you? I keep checking for new entries and leave the site disappointed, although delighted that Kelsey has reported in. (Hi, Kelsy!) Then I realize that I haven't participated lately either, so ............. Does anybody care that I won big in a Mah Jongg game with 3 friends last night? or that I can't seem to get the best of another friend in our weekly GO games? Otherwise, I am beginning to focus on getting ready for Thanksgiving guests and the feast. Some of you, but not all of you will be here. We will miss any of you who are feasting elsewhere - Montana? Norwich? NYC? Paris?

Bonjour!

Hello everyone!

Checking in from Paris. I've been thinking about the family and am so happy to hear everyone was able to be together during a difficult time. Lots and lots of love!

Well, I've officially run out of money and am eating canned vegetables. Luckily I get to skype with Cailin and Grady and we are able to put all of our little mishaps into perspective.

I've added the blog to my favorites tab so I will be able to keep up!!

Lots of bisous (kisses)

Kelsey xox

Post

Ever since I found out there was a Halloween package coming my way (Thank-you Renee!) I've been going to the Post Room everyday, and everyday the skinny man behind the counter looks very sadly at me and says, "No post today, Love."

I'm beginning to get very concerned because I know how organized Renee is and if she sent it for Halloween I know she allowed plenty of time for it to get here, and it is now a month later! So if anyone sees Renee, please tell her that I will let her know as soon as it comes in, and many thanks!


Love you all!

He was as tall as a 6' 3" tree..

These are real metaphors that high school teachers have seen in essays...courtesy of Kelsey. I haven't laughed this hard in ages.

http://www.english-blog.com/archives/2006/06/really_bad_metaphors.php

It's been absolutely forever since I contributed! I was in VT last week, as everybody knows, for Grandpa Leo's funeral. It was really nice to see everyone and have the whole extended Connor family together, but it was also nice to get back to Brooklyn and into routine. I went straight to work from VT-- I had to be with Izzy overnight. I finally got to go back to my apartment on Saturday night, after a long day in Prospect Park with Izzy. On sunday morning Lexy and I went out to brunch, then spent the remainder of the day watching tv and movies, which was nice and relaxing. Today we went shopping in Williamsburg, there are so many cute little shops, I can't wait to go Christmas shopping there. Tonight I have to go to Izzy's again. I am there tonight, tuesday, wednesday, thursday, and friday overnight. whew. but good money at least.

Next monday Lexy and I are going to the Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular. Oh my gosh, I'm so excited!!! Love you all and miss you all. xox

Winter is on its way.

I finally broke down and bought a proper coat, the $20 pleather jacket that I brought with me was not doing so well against the winds and rains of Norwich, and winter is certainly on its way. Frost on the ground this morning, and I could see my breath on my way into campus. Also it gets dark around 4:30 so my days seem so much shorter. Because there is no Thanksgiving here everyone has already begun Christmas, and trees are going up and music is playing in the shopping malls. On Thursday night we are going to the city center where they are lighting the tree and there are roasted chestnuts and toffees and carolling and fireworks (the English LOVE their fireworks). Did you know that at 23 meters high Norwich has the tallest Christmas tree in the UK? I'm so proud.
I just got back from Costa Cafe where I heard three different versions of Jingle Bells. Richard and I went to write papers. The Vanilla Lattes there come in soup bowls and are the most delicious things. I was working on a story for creative writing. The assignment is to write a story with the first line "So much depends upon..." and ends with "Beside the white chickens," lines of course from the William Carlos William's poem, which happens to be one of my favorites, and with a prose story in between. I'm stepping out of the box with my writing style on this one, trying something new, which scares me a little. Maybe I'll let you read it when it's finished.

Marley, I'm so impressed with your art! Someone in this family is artistically inclined, I find this surprising! Especially love your self portrait, the photo of Athena's Spider hair (so cool!) and the picture of the swings at the fair.

Also I never commented on the little red-headed boy, who's just the cutest thing. He looks British, there are so many gingers over here. There is an elementary school near by and the little boys always run me over with their bikes on their way home. They have to wear uniforms and are always a little bit wrinkled and askew. The girls have bows on their shoes. The other day I saw a little girl walking her bike and crying, her entire left side was covered in mud. She'd clearly fallen off her bike. I wanted to give her a hug and a cup of hot chocolate. Hopefully her Mummy did when she got home.

One month and 5 days now! So soon until I come home, and still so much to do over here!

Phoning Cailin

Cailin,, Renee has talked with someone in Switzerland and a woman in Norwich whom she roused from her bed to answer the phone at 10:30 one evening recently, trying to reach you with that old-fashioned instrument. Do you have a phone number that I could pass on to her? GrAnn

Oh, thanks for the recent contributions, you girls! Keep them coming. How great that you can post a portfolio of Marley's artwork, Patty. I don't even have any worthy news, unless having just seen Connor at Fire and Ice is worthy. It's beyond worthy from my point of view.

Love to all,
GrAnn

and...

Cailin I LOVE that website!
(and those new shoes are so you!)

Marley's Art Portfolio

http://marleyartportfolio.tumblr.com

Marley

The best new site on the World Wide Web...

www.ilikeyourjacket.com

It will change your life.

Daddy, you said that when you went out West, you could look up and see Cassiopeia and see the "M" and think of Middlebury. Here in Norwich, I can't see any stars, but I still think of you. Sometimes I get very homesick for red leaves and football (American, not soccer) and Thanksgiving and constellations and all of you, but I also know that wherever I go, I have all of you right there behind me. How lucky are we to have such a family? I went running yesterday through the woods, where ivy falls off the trees creating "Hidey-holes" like none other, and I know Grandpa Leo would love that. He would have been very happy underneath the leaves. I wish more than anything I could be at the funeral with all of you, saying goodbye and celebrating a long and fruitful life, but know that in a short time I'll be walking through Logan airport, home again.
i love you so much!

Grandma, as always, it was great to hear you voice. I'll talk to all of you again soon.
XOXO,
Cailin

Thinking of you

I am thinking about you tonight Abby, Cailin, Grady, Connor and Beth.  I'll see some of you tomorrow and miss the others.

Love you all.  Peace.  Peter.

Lucky me!

Well, lucky me! I reached Cailin this afternoon by Skype and had the pleasure of hearing her voice, clearly recognizable in spite of the static. But she couldn't see me in spite of my new webcam, gift of our Gunilla and her Christer (now ours, too.) We had such a wonderful 3 days/4 nights with them!

I wanted to be in touch with Cailin, knowing how sad it has to be for her to be overseas when her whole family is gathered here in Middlebury to mark the passing of her Grandpa Leo. I am pretty sure he would be very proud of her, absent because she is studying in England. She told me she regrets that she has only 5 or 6 more weeks there, but has plans in place to return at the first opportunity. That's a happy girl.

Tomorrow we will bid a final, fond farewell to Leo. What a guy!

Love to everyone,
GrAnn

Just for fun

Go to Google
Click on Google Maps
Click on Get Directions
In first box type Japan
In second box type China
Check out Direction #43

What What!

It's Saturday morning early at the Inn and just quiet enough to spend a little time here.  I have to get caught up at work because internet access up in Ripton exists but is very slow.  We pull it in off a satellite and I think everytime a cloud comes in the internet goes out.  Of course I can look out the window at a great shot of Worth Mountain and the Ross Trail!  A good trade-off I do believe.

Echos of so much fun the other night!  Thanks so much Mom and Dad (and Renee).  The remains of the kitty litter cake are sitting on the kitchen counter.  Much harder to look at and eat in the daylight.

We are so lucky to have such a great family that only seems to get better as it expands.  I love having so many.  How wonderful to be able to almost travel to Norwich but I do hope for a webcam at both ends of the conversation next time.  Of course what I really hope for is in person conversation.  Though I'm not sure Grandma and Grandpa's table could handle Cailin and Grady talking about their travels at the same time Patty and Chris (Swedish spelling?) are discussing Japanese culture!

I got to see the Butch video through a Facebook connection.  I watched it on a computer that had no sound and I was crying.  I can't imagine getting through it with sound.  Probably need 2 boxes of Kleenex.  You are right of course about Middlebury and Midd Kids.  The trick is to take that outside the bubble and do good in the world.  Which I have no doubt will happen.  (Because you've got a lot of good in you!)

Love you all.  Peace.  Peter

Was it almost like being here?

Cailin, was it almost like being here? - everyone talking at once, and all? We did have a wonderful time, including skyping (new verb) you as if there were no great body of water between where we are and where you are. I'm beginning to think that I may be able to one day accept that there are all these new ways to stay connected. Grandpa, on the other hand, may refuse to go along!

I hope you're getting all caught up with the reading................

Lots of love,
GrAnn

Talking to you was the best best best

I loved skyping with all of you last night! All my friends are jealous that I get to have skype dates with my ENTIRE family. Made me miss you even more though.

The flat is very lonely tonight. Most people have gone home or are travelling, because this week is reading week (we all have class off so we can catch up on our reading...like that's gonna happen).

I watched the Picking Up Butch video. Duh, of course I cried. Makes me so proud to be a Middkid. Can I get a "what what!!" for Middlebury?
Marley, is Middlebury on your list of colleges? It should be. Imagine the throw downs we would all have (now that Connor drinks beer).

Love you and miss you all.

Thanks so much from all the boys for that wonderful birthday dinner, Grandma and Grandpa! Everyone loved everything and it was great to get to talk to all of you (including Cailin).

My friend Zuki saw this video on Sportscenter this morning, and I thought everyone else should see it too. Its a bit of a tearjerker, so Daddy, get the tissues out.

Not sure how to embed videos, but copy and paste this link and it should work:

http://search.espn.go.com/picking-up-butch/videos/6

Cailin - I don't have a camera on my computer.
We'll have to be content with hearing each other's voices. I hope to hear that the headache is gone.

Hugs,
GrAnn

SKYPE!

Of course I'll be there! I'm trying to find a friend with a webcam so I can see all your beautiful faces while we chat, otherwise you'll just hear my beautiful voice.
Wish you could send some vitual Mac&Cheese...

Save the Date

Don't feel bad Cailin- I need two pairs of glasses.  Or no glasses.  Depending on how fast the signs are speeding by me on New Jersey's Route 17.  Wasn't that our exit Grady?

Hey everyone!  This Thursday night Grandma "Mac and Cheese" Ann and Grandpa "You have to leave now the Red Sox are on" Jim are hosting a birthday dinner for Connsie Connie Connor.  Anyone not within 100 miles is excused, the rest of you better be there.  Those of you not able to make it we would love to have you with skypeability.  We should be gathered around 6 pm or so.  Maybe go online around 7?  Hope to "see" you then!

Love you all.  Peace.  Peter

I think I need new glasses...

I think my eyes are getting worse. I've had a horrid headache for the past two days, it feels like there is a vice grip on my temples, and everytime I try to read anything and focus my eyes I get really naseous. I'm taking lots of advil, but it's not going away.

Anyway, just thought I'd alert all of you. Nothing to worry about. Just an excuse for more naps.

I'm currently sitting in a cafe at the seaside. Richard and I have taken a roadtrip to Great Yarmouth to see the North Sea. It's kind of like Atlantic City, tons of tacky arcades and fish n' chips booths and broken, blinking signs everywhere you look, except it's deserted. It feels like we're the only ones here, which is kind of spooky.

Proof that I DO study sometimes...