Welcome Stephen V

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Exciting times in the Wright household. Meghan and Blue presented us with a baby boy on December 7 at 6:45pm. Little Stephen weighed 7lbs 10oz and was 20 3/4 inches long.

Dolly's first Christmas tree

I'm not exactly sure what's going on. While I was taking a nap on Tuesday afternoon, a beautiful tree with lights and lots of interesting stuff hanging from it grew in my kitchen. Now I like to take naps under it, chew on its succulent branches, and swat the stuff hanging from it. I haven't had so much fun in quite a while.

I have dragged my feet finishing this piece, knowing that when I did the vacation was really over. As long as I held on to the final stop we kept wandering around Rome.
Picture 1 is the exterior of the Pantheon; home to all gods. It was the site of the first true religious freedom as one could go there and worship his or her god of choice without fear of persecution. The building has a domed top with a huge hole in the center to let light come in. Through the centuries the building has has many uses and is currently a catholic church

Who says "you can't go back home again?" Mary Lou is standing outside the entrance to the apartment we shared with Meg and Blue last summer in Campo de Fiore. It was an emotional return for us. The only change seemed to be the absence of the cat. The square, the merchants and the beautiful flowers all seemed exactly as we left them last May.

Fortunately we didn't have to rent a car. Parking and driving in Rome were sights to behold. Every foot of curb and many feet of sidewalk became a parking lot. Double, triple and even quad parking were the norm. On the roads right of way was given to the aggressor and scooters could go anywhere, including sidewalks, as they worked there way through the city.

And, finally, who can look at Caesar's forum and not have a swirl of history in their head. The ancient political center of Rome is spread out before you and the Coliseum loom in the back left of the picture. Central in the picture are the very steps where Caesar was assassinated so many centuries ago.
Arivederchi, Roma
until we reuurn

Tuscany

One of the real highlights of our trip was the return to Italy. This time to tour two villages in Tuscany: Volterra and San Gimignano.
In Volterra we were introduced to the world of alabaster in white, beige , brown and pigmented to any color you can imagine. We learned that alabaster is a salt and porous. It is not hard like marble and cannot last when exposed to the weather. We even saw windows made of it, but they required a separate glass outer window to provide protection.
We also climbed up to the walled town of San Gimignano. In the first shot part of the original Etruscan wall built 500 years before Christ can still be seen. It was an amazing sight and historically dwarfed the excavation of a Roman theater that was closer in toward town.
After our delightful tour we went to lunch at Fattoria San Donato. It is a combination farm, winery and B&B. Looking for a place to stay for a week? Look them up on the web. You won't be disappointed. Our open air lunch is pictured in the third shot. We had plenty of good white and red wine, awesome cheeses, meats and salads. But what dinner is complete without dessert?? Each table was given a bowl of biscotti and a bottle of grappa. Instructions were to dip the biscotti in the grappa before eating. Now this is a decadent dessert.
The final picture shows the Tuscan countryside with the greyish olive trees in the foreground and the vineyard in the background. We would return tomorrow and make San Donato a base camp.

The next day we anchored off Cannes, France and were tendered to shore. We drove the coast and saw the venue for the film festival but no celebs walking the streets. We drove along until our driver, for 156.00 parked the bus under the castle at Monaco. We went up the escalators and elevators until we arrived in the country of Monaco. After a tour of the gardens and a beautiful view of the bay we toured the castle and then the church where the remains of Princess Grace and Prince Rainer are buried. We also got to witness the changing of the guards at the palace.

From there we continued along the coast until we came to Monte Carlo. We parked at the base of the hill and then walked part of the gran prix roadway until we came to the casino. Mary Lou could not go in without trying her luck so she invested 10euros in the slot machines. She came out a short time later with 21.5euros, more than doubling her original investment. Outside there were gaudy cars a plenty. A local real estate company rented red Porsche convertibles for anyone who wanted to drive the gran prix track. It was a 6 minute drive and cost 130.00 dollars and you could tell everyone you had done it. Didn't quite seem worth while with the road so crowded 10 or 15 mph was probably the best you could do. It was fun to watch though.

Us

Beth, Shawn,
Katie and Emily
Meghan and Blue

and Harley




Mom and Dad
Meghan and Blue







Becky and Mike
Mandy, Alex and
Jessica

What a great morning. I got up at 5:10 and was ready to challenge the world. I've been working on a new project this week and I believe I finally got it right. I knew there was a reason why mommy kept referring to these things as "ladderback" chairs. Obviously, it's because they were built with climbing in mind. I hope, Harley, George, Daisy and Pickles can come and play because there are lots of these ladders around.

I couldn't resist the picture from the farmhouse in Tuscany. It reminded us of "Under the Tuscan Sun." However, it's memory is dwarfed by the lingering taste of biscotti dipped in grappa!


What note would be complete without a door. Of the many we shot this remains our favorite. On another day it may have been replaced by a "bug on flower" picture that my daughters and I love to pass back and forth. It used to be dad's signature piece. Now it's a family tradition.

To all our dinner friends, here are the table pictures. I hope you enjoy them as much as we enjoyed your company. You helped make a memorable occasion even more enjoyable. We hope you are all well and planning your next adventure.

One of the places we visited in Amsterdam was a Catholic church. I had to get a picture of the mother of the bride and her beautiful hat.

The picture format I am using is at the challenge of our daughters to get in to the 21st century. A click on any picture will enlarge it.

The party raged on well into the night as Uncle Jim was again a super star. However, Sunday's activities took on a crustier tone than Friday's. After a swim and a nice dinner we settled down to some tasteless present opening, some so edgy they even took Jim's breath away. It became a mixture of old and new as the storied, and much travelled, blow-up walker made its way to Jim. New to the scene was an "old fart" remote control car complete with sound effects. It made Ryan jealous because it was not his birthday. The highlight was when Jim opened his new, non-nagging, non-spending blow up wife. She will be a great companion for him when he cruises the beach in the red convertible.

It is really fun to clean the pool with daddy. There are so many exciting things to see and do. This morning I made a new friend . He kept backing up and making funny clicking noises with his silly looking paw. I sure hope he's there when I go back out. He's much more fun than those fronds!

Last night was a very big occasion. Little Jimmy was treated to an outing to a Florida Marlin's game to celebrate his 60th birthday. I wish we could have captured the joy on his face when we all arrived at his workplace unannounced. What a happy guy. And he was sooo cooperative. The evening started with a tailgate party complete with fried chicken and a great Marlins logo birthday cake. The Marlins played poorly but no one even noticed. There was great joy in the stands. Everyone that passed our seats wished Jim a happy birthday. In fact, two Marlin Mermaids stopped by to personally wish Jim a happy birthday and led a short songfest in his honor
The night's highlight came when Jim, Christopher and Ryan went to stretch during the sixth inning. The sight of a vendor made Jim thirsty so he decided he'd get himself and Chris a beer. What happened next is the stuff of dreams and legends. Jim went to the counter with his "I'm Jim, 60" tee shirt on and was carded! Obviously the Marlins are a benevolent employer of the visually impaired. Nonetheless, nothing we could have done, no Mermaid, could have made his day like this poor misguided child in the beer booth. Centuries from now this tale will still be sung.
Everyone had a great time. The party was a great success.

This has been a wonderful morning. Daddy was doing something with water that was not fun so I needed an activity to keep me occupied. Boy, it sure was neat up here with all the fronds. And I could really see far. The only problem was figuring out how to get down when the fronds became boring. Daddy and mommy were trying to figure that out too. When daddy showed up with the ladder I knew it was time to jump. It was scary but really a good time. I can't wait to go back out so I can get on the roof.

The glasses were just too much to refuse. Dinner the 4th we were offered unending Lemoncello in a special glass to go along with our dessert. It was a perfect way to loosen the joints before the party on deck.
As the pictures would indicate, the Lemoncello had the desired effect. Everyone was limber and ready to twist. Mom had a great time dancing with Darlene and Susan until, thanks to the magic of Dr. Jordan, Dad actually got up and fast danced for the first time in years. It probably also had something to do with the magic of Lemoncello!
Finally Dad got his chance to pour and liked it so much he did it twice. We needed champagne to wash down the Lemoncello so we had to keep filling the glasses.