Hi! It's me again. Sure is nice to get up and get a drink of fresh water in the morning. There's nothing floating in this water. I haven't figured out how to use this other thing, but it makes neat sounds and also provides a nice drink when that lid's up.

Today we had a second breach of faith. Dolly saw a squirrel on the telephone wires and the temptation was more than she could bear. Mommy walked around the block to fetch her. As I waited to point out her location I looked to my left in the hedge. If you look closely you can see a second head peeking out under the first. Now we're in even deeper water. Mommy swears we'll never go out in the backyard again. All trust is lost and our faith in a cat's honor shaken.
If I had only known these guys were in my yard I never would have strayed. I was simply looking for someone to play with.

Thanksmas 08-09

This was a Christmas to remember. After all, it lasted for 6 weeks. We knew we'd be heading for New Jersey some time in early December to be on scene for the birth of Stephen V. Therefore, Mary Lou decided we needed to have our home Christmas early. Easily done-- we simply combined it with Thanksgiving and had Thanksmas the last Thursday in November. We put up our tree, sprinkled inside with decorations and invited Master Brown, the Hiser's and Ginny and Howard. We had a great gathering and Dolly got to jump in boxes and shread paper for the first time.

Soon after we took off for New Jersey and the arrival of our latest addition, Stevie V. He arrived on December 7 as we pulled into the parking lot of Morristown Memorial. Blue escorted us into the delivery room before they even had a chance to freshen Stevie up. He was gorgeous and had long dark hair. He came home 2 days later and immediately took control of the household. Meanwhile, a subplot was brewing as Harley tried to scare off the relentless advances of Dolly. We had days of hissing and posturing before a truce was reached.

Grandpa and grandma Coltharp arrived on Christmas eve, so we made room or them by going to Becky and Mike's in Wake Forest to celebrate our second Christmas. We had a great time with the children and even got to spread special reindeer food on the front lawn to make sure Santa was attracted to the house. Dolly had a tough but busy first Christmas. The tree and the wrappings were great sport but her day was clouded because Dunkin was enjoying his first Christmas around the tree as well and couldn't seem to understand that behind the tree was a "cats only zone."


After our wonderful holiday in Wake, we headed back to N.J. for New Years and the arrival of Beth, Katie and Emily so we could celebrate our third Christmas. And what a great time it was. We opened presents, made snow angels even got in another trip to NYC to enjoy the holiday decorations.

All in all, it was a marvelous Christmas and one we will remember for a long time.

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.