Steve Frederick's memorial service.

On Saturday morning I was on my way home by 7:30AM.  I had decided to sing in the memorial choir for the celebration of life service for my former principal and friend Steve Frederick.  Davis Giersch, conductor of the choir, recommended going through the line at 11:00 so that we'd have plenty of time to get through and make our 12:30 rehearsal of the 5 songs we were singing.  I had been practicing the two songs I didn't know well on the way home from the beach.  I got home at about 9:30, practiced with the piano for a while, and dressed for the event, leaving for the high school before 11:00.

I actually met Nancy B. in the receiving line, and we caught up during the 40 minutes it took to meet the family.  I had seen Steve, his wife, and daughter Steph (who graduated with Sam) at Henning's on a number of occasions, so I reminded them of those times, and we laughed a little.

I went to the audion and met up with Donna Hill, a woman with whom I'd done a few plays in the early '80s.  We chatted until the rehearsal began.  The choir was comprised of so many talented singers that the rehearsal went really well, and I had plenty of time to hit the ladies room before going to the auditorium for the service.  We sang 4 songs right at the beginning and then a benediction at the end.

Sean Burns and Matt Klenk are in the foreground - I'm at the left, and a great picture of Steve fills the screen behind us.

The service was long because of all the music and speakers, but it was a lovely celebration of a caring, funny, talented music teacher and principal.  I think it's awesome that I was hired by a musician/principal who continued to be involved in conducting, playing, and singing (he and Frank sang in a few concerts together) until the very end of his life. 

Days #6 & 7 at the beach.

Wow - I'm back home, and somehow the last two days at the beach flew by!!  So Thursday was the day when many people left - the Wilkinson crew and Kelsey.  The Rybickis, Alicia and her friend Lauren, and I went to the Tuckahoe Inn for lunch before Kelsey returned to volleyball practice in Virginia the next day - she's assistant coach besides being a first-year math teacher.  After our return, I accompanied Judy, Fran, Nicole, Alicia, and Perry to the promenade.   We walked around, and Judy talked to people about her car repair issues.  We met up with Fran and Perry at a beach bar restaurnant where I had a beer and some steamed clams -- yum.

It was my turn to cook, so Judy took me to the Acme AGAIN to buy my stuff.  Upon our return, we chilled for a while and then I prepared the chicken and pierogies.  After we ate, Nicole was looking through her music collection for an appropriate song for her first dance at the upcoming wedding (September 2014).  We all got pretty silly -- such fun when the sisters and nieces are silly.

Nicole and Alicia were rocking out to some songs by the end of the night!

The next day preparations for packing started so that we wouldn't have a huge job first thing in the morning.  Nicole and Alicia got mani-pedis while the rest of us were slowly gathering our belongings.  It's amazing how similar their hands are!

Frank also called to say that he was stopping by for the night - yay!  He arrived at 3PM, and we headed down to the beach.  It was absolutely gorgeous, and we stayed for a couple of hours before returning to the house.  And our strong niece Nicole brought beer to the beach!

I mistakenly bought some nasty suntan lotion at Whole Foods (it must be good if it comes from Whole Foods!) -- it was the same stuff that's in diaper rash cream. Ewwww.  It took me forever to get that crap off my skin.  So never buy this lotion -- ALBA very emollient!

Dinner was pizza again just because it was easy, and we didn't want to cook again and have a huge clean-up.  After dinner a bunch of people went to Stone Harbor for Kohr Bros. ice cream, but Frank, Judy, Fran, and I stayed behind.  We finished a bottle of fake Bailey's (Canadian wine-based cream liqueur) and went to bed at midnight.

Day #5 -- The Cootie tournament.

Today was designated for our second annual Cootie tournament.  Last year Aunt Judy won, much to the surprise of the cootie players (especially Aunt Fran and Kelsey!).  This year a new set of rules was implemented: 5 rounds for 5 players and then the top 5 scorers played until someone scored 75 points.

This game was given to us by our Aunt Bobbie - it's really a multiple solitaire game where the person who gets rid of a pile of 13 cards while playing solitaire wins.  Fran and Kelsey are the masters of the game, but different people have amazing nights.

 Earlier in the day, we got ready to celebrate two events: Tyler's 16th birthday and Kelsey's graduation from college and her master's program.

Some of us went to Patti's Party World, an awesome party store near Rio Grande.  We got some fun stuff for both celebrants.

Then we went shopping in Sea Isle.  This was the ocean view from the shops on the Promenade.

 After all returned from shopping and the beach, Steve took Tyler and Kelsey to pick up pizza at Uncle Oogie's, named #8 in best pizza places at the shore (and there's a ton of pizza places!).  Meanwhile, the sisters and families created a party atmosphere.

The celebrants returned, and the surprise was effective! Here we are anxiously awaiting their return.

 The pizzas are here!

And Kelsey is way surprised -- she thought it was just for Tyler!

Tyler allows his picture to be taken!

Here's Kelsey in her graduation gifts.

 And Kelsey and Tyler posing for the crowd.

And a couple of secret service agents showed up to monitor the Cootie championship.

And Kelsey won the championship, with Fran in second place and Tyler in third.  So much fun!

Day #4 -- two non-beach aunties visit the beach.

This morning Bob called to say he would be able to stop for a night!  Wayne also came for a visit, and Tracey, Denise, and Amanda were due at some time during the day/evening.  We had a slow morning and then, when Wayne arrived, Judy, Wayne, and I went out to lunch at the Windrift for lunch.  I had sushi, which was quite good.

Judy and I had our first visit to the beach, which was beautiful.

After our beach time, Judy got ready to make dinner.  As she was preparing the potatoes, she realized that the milk was gone, so off she went to get some milk. Then Steve discovered that there was no propane in the tank, so he scoured the countryside to find gas.  He was gone quite a while, and Judy and Fran had just put together a sort of broiler pan (there wasn't one in the house) to start the filet mignon we were having for dinner.  Steve returned with the propane he'd found at the Sunoco in Avalon just in time to grill all the steaks. Tracey and company were delayed by a bus accident and ate on the way up, so they didn't arrive until after 10 PM. Bob and I went to bed, and many air mattresses were blown up!

Beach - day #3.

I woke up feeling much better -- what a weird feeling.

Perry and Steve were troubleshooting Internet issues on Steve's computer.

And Nurse Nicole arrived after working three 12-hour shifts!

Grandma Judy helped Sam get some breakfast.

And we finally threw out the dregs of the birthday cake.

Even though I didn't make it to the beach, Connie sent some great pictures of Sam and Uncle Perry.

And a great shot of Alicia styling her glasses yet again.

And what trip would be complete without some food pictures? Here's one of Fran's delicious chicken tacos.

And Aunt Judy's melted cheese taco.

Apparently, Tyler doesn't like to have his picture taken.

A beautiful full moon.

Sea Isle City - day #2

We awoke to a gorgeous but hot day - not as humid as Saturday, though.  After sliding into the morning helped by Mallon's sticky buns, we ran some more errands to pick up things for Judy's grandchildren, who were arriving later today.

  Another trip to the Avalon Acme; another bunch of groceries.  Those of us not at the beach decided to have lunch in Somers Point and look for the elusive Sauza non-alcoholic margarita mix.  We decided on Baia, a place that has outdoor seating by the bay.

Before lunch, Connie took a one-hour walk while Steve, Judy, and I ran the errands. 

Alicia and Ed were on the beach, and Alicia chose to wear her 21st birthday glasses -- styling as always!

After our lunch, Judy and I relaxed while waiting for niece Kelsey and grandchildren Tyler and Sam to arrive.  They got here at about 6pm, and everyone came back from the beach, not because of this ominous cloud, but because Ed was leaving to get ready for work the next day.

By dinner time, I had a raging headache (which I NEVER get), and I just didn't feel right, so I went to bed and slept for 3 1/2 hours, got up for about a  half hour, and then went to bed for the night.  The rest of the family played cootie...

Hess sisters beach week.

On Saturday I awoke at 5am and was on the road by 8am. Judy and I planned to meet for breakfast in Avalon -- Connie and Steve also joined us because they were able to get on an earlier ferry from Lewes.

After breakfast at Uncle Bill's, we headed north to Sea Isle City. We checked in right at 1pm.

The place has a new sofa - looks great!

After settling in, Steve, Connie, Judy, and I ran some errands for this evening's festivities. 

We drove down the Ocean Drive to the party store, which was closed.

So we ended up at Walmart's, where Connie modeled our purchases for a text to Fran.

We also stopped at the Avalon Acme and then came home to margaritas and hotdogs, hamburgers, and sausages.

Fran and Alicia toasted to Alicia's first legal margarita at the beach.

A group effort resulted in a festive table at which to celebrate Alicia's 21st birthday!

We surprised Alicia with a cake and  accompanying birthday props.

Here's the birthday girl!

And here's Ed, the birthday girl's awesome boyfriend!

Busy or bored.

I have finally come to terms with the fact that if I'm not totally busy with school or travel, I get bored and lazy so quickly.  Bob and I have discussed this before because we feed off of each other in terms of being happy just reading stuff on the computer or catching up on our crime shows (we watch Inspector Lewis, The Killing, NCIS, and White Collar together).  So here I am on the computer instead of trying to clean up more of the house after the construction in the kitchen.  I've actually filled the cabinets that can be filled and caught up on my laundry, but I could be reading Brit Lit books and making up vocabulary quizzes, neither of which appeal to me on this hot summer morning.  Oh, did I mention that my computer is right next to the air conditioner in our living room? 

This is my view right now -- the boxes are empty, so maybe I should take them back out to the garage or something.

Anyway, I have a mani-pedi scheduled for 1:00, and then I'll decide whether I feel like driving to Trader Joe's for a few items to take to the beach...

A busy weekend in Richmond, UK.

We arrived at Axel and Steffi's home after 8PM and had a light dinner and said hello to their adorable children before they went off to bed.  They all had just flown in from Frankfurt after visiting Steffi's parents, attending a wedding, and having a holiday near Lake Como.  We talked about possible things to do over the weekend, but Bob and I go there to visit, not to sightsee, so we weren't planning any forays into London -- maybe a massive barbecue or two on the Weber grill.  Axel is quite the master of the grill.  And we knew that we would not be sharing any pictures of the children online, so I've included some stock pictures or pictures without the children, who are gorgeous, by the way.

On Friday Axel went into work, so we had a relaxing breakfast, played with the children, and walked to a local restaurant, The Plough.  It's a bit of a walk through lovely neighborhoods.  Mark rides on the back of the stroller while Annie rides in the stroller.  They're both very good on walks because that's the mode of transport - no cars for them in Richmond!

Because the weather was sunny, we sat outside and enjoyed a very leisurely lunch.  We arrived there at about 1:30 and left at about 4:00!! The children were pretty good although Mark insisted on running around a bit after we had eaten our main course, but he didn't seem to bother the other guests or the wait staff.  

We came home and again played with the children until Axel came home, and then we had another delicious meal and chat before bedtime.

Saturday morning found us having a lovely breakfast and delicious coffee -- Steffi has an awesome coffeemaker that grinds the beans and froths the milk - yummy!  Steffi and I went to Richmond proper to buy some gifts and look at shoes; we took Annie with us, who slept most of the way.  We also picked up items for the barbecue we were having for dinner that evening.  Bob helped Axel set up a wading pool for Mark -- Annie won't go near it!  And they have a sandbox which supplied loads of entertainment along with sand in many places...  My iphone also supplied entertainment because I was taking videos of the children and then letting Annie watch them, so she'd often come up to me and say, "Pictures!"  Axel, ever the immature 39-year-old, has also taught her to say, "Bombardier," which is the name of some beer, I think.  Anyway, she says it quite well, and it's really funny when she says it randomly (without prompting). 

Axel's dinner consisted of haddock, shrimp, squid, and sweet potatoes (my contribution). We also bought some wine from a terrific wine shop that we've bought from in the past.  You have to buy at least six bottles, and they have really knowledgeable salespeople to help you.
http://www.majestic.co.uk/richmond

After dinner, Annie and Mark got ready for bed, an arduous process right now because they'd been away from home for five weeks.  Plus, both of them were covered more or less with sand.  

We sat outside and drank some delicious wine -- it was warm during the day (though not anything like home!!) and quite pleasant in the evening.

Sunday was birthday party day.  After breakfast, Steffi took the children to a party nearby while Axel and Bob bought more barbecue meats and I packed as much as I could and then relaxed for a while.  Axel started the grill earlier in the afternoon, and about an hour after the children returned, we had burgers and sausage on the grill along with zucchini and asparagus -- another stellar effort by Axel.  Mark played in the pool a bit, and Annie played in the sandbox and rode her scooter.  We also read some books at some moment during this day. 

Again, putting the children to bed involved baths to get rid of the sand, etc., but we sat outside earlier than we had the previous evening.  They are planning an 80th  (40 + 40) birthday party in November, so they discussed possible plans for the event.  We talked about Axel's favorite movies and discovered that his taste in comedy was very similar to Sam's, so I sent him the link to the blog I wrote using his reviews.

Monday morning we said good-by to Axel and then had breakfast with Steffi and the children.  We left Richmond at about 9:00AM and were home by 4:00 our time. 

From girls with dragon tattoos to pregnant princesses --er-- duchesses.

Today was our last day in Sweden. We started the day with another good breakfast, and then we finalized our packing and checked one last time for Bob's Oyster card -- it probably ended up in the trash by mistake.  Oh well.

We then walked to Sodermalm, the setting for parts of the Stieg Larsson's Millennium trilogy. On our way, we saw these locks on one of the bridges. I had read about this somewhere.

We again walked through Gamla Stan, where I took a picture of the restaurant where we had reindeer.

This is another view of the Old Town.

This is a phone booth that had a lot of tourist interest....

And here is the Nobel Museum.

I took this picture because of the "allies" banner.

And here are enjoying some delicious coffee at Stieg Larsson's hangout! The latte was excellent.

And here are the coffees.

We decided to walk to some water that was supposedly nearby -- after about 20 minutes, we gave up -- we'd been walking most of the morning. Not sure what this building was, but it was striking.

Here's some artwork in the subway station -- pretty cool.

And another example of random art.

This was the view from the subway just before we went underground.

Fun. We had lunch near here and took the express train back to the airport. We had an interesting chat with the Englishman seated next to us, who worked for an airplane software firm.   We arrived in London at 6:15 but ran into traffic and arrived at 8:00 at our destination -- and we never did see the pregnant Kate!