Trip twittering

I must admit, it makes a journey on the Interstate a heck of a lot more interesting when you are also tweeting as you go. If I'm not driving, I'm thinking of amusing things to say and observe. I'm looking for likely photos to snap and then fling out onto my Twitter page. I'm simply more engaged in things and not at all a lump in a seat.

And if I am driving, as long as I have a willing travel partner who can take my Tweet dictation (or Tweetation as I coined the word yesterday evening), then I can still make my thoughts and observations come to life.

But as is the case with WWYG?!, the question is always . . . is anyone listening/reading? Or am I simply using yet another digital medium to scream out into the uncaring darkness? I'm quite certain the answer is the one that I don't want to hear. But I'll keep screaming until my throat is sore and my vocal cords protest.

Why?

Because, why not?

I'll keep asking you to follow along from my Twitter page (www.twitter.com/dtm1971) or from the Twitter sidebar on the right side of this blog page. I'm trying to make it interesting and if you join in, you can send me back your reactions, retorts, and recriminations.

*****

In other news, Party Month is effectively at a close for another year.

For the new WWYG?! readers (and I know there are a scant few new ones), I call the stretch from late June to late July Party Month because it begins with Grace's birthday, quickly followed by Lynda's birthday, our wedding anniversary, a brief interlude, and then Sarah's birthday.

As I said, Party Months 2009 was foreshortened and truncated because last year's kid birthday parties yielded so few attending kids, leading us to move both Grace's and Sarah's party to late June/early July before kids disappeared for vacations. This definitely yielded more kids at Grace's party and it ensured that Sarah's sleepover captured the few kids she knew she wanted to come.

Grace's party theme was "Summertime Fun" and we held it at a nearby park. I grilled hotdogs on one of the park grills and about twelve of her kindergarten and/0r daycare classmates had those with chips and juice. They played on the playground equipment and then Lynda set up a costume changing/relay race game that they enjoyed. The cake was nice and simple this year as well, with loaf-sized pound caked decorated with Cool Whip and licorice to resemble flip flops.

How did Grace like it all? Well, I don't think she's yet to open all of the presents she received and I know she was happy with the strong turnout. And it wasn't stressful (that much) on Lynda or myself. So, successful? You bet! And now she's six.

Sarah's party was her second or third sleepover (at our house) and she invited three other friends to join in. My most intelligent contribution to the entire two day affair was convincing Sarah to locate most of her fun/sleeping to the basement. It confined the mess and helped localize the girlish shrieking that always accompanies these types of affairs. This party was definitely less work and prep that the two Harry Potter parties Sarah has had in the past. And when it was over the next day--after the late night fun, and the local restaurant lunch, and the additional fun at the swimming pool--she said "Best birthday party EVER!"

You can't get better than that, huh?

With the kid's parties out of the way, it was down to Lynda and I. Her birthday was on the first and I got her the large picnic blanket she's been wanting. She quickly used it July 4th weekend when she took S & G to see the Westerville fireworks.

For our 14th wedding anniversary, we did a few things. I got her some hanging picture frames that I want to put up in the bedroom, replacing a shelf that has hung lopsided up there for several years. (I'll get to it when we return from our Georgia vacation.) We also got some babysitting help from our neighbors who watched the kids midweek, allowing us to pursue the rare Dinner and a Movie combo.

Unfortunately, the dinner choice (mine) wasn't the best. But the evening got significantly better after that. We couldn't decide what movie seemed worth our time and money that night, so we decided instead to drive around the city to Grandview and visit Stauf's coffee shop, where we used to go when we were new to Ohio, kidless, and living in the southwest side of town. As we travelled down the interstate, circling the city, we were almost circling backwards in time, tracing back the eleven years we've lived in Ohio, moving back toward the areas we used to live when I was in grad school and Lynda commuted from our first apartment to McGraw-Hill every day.

As we walked up the sidewalk to Staufs, what did we happen to encounter? Nothing else but the fabled Jeni's Ice Cream that my lunch friends had been pestering me to experience for the last several months! Because there isn't a branch in Westerville, and because I never go anywhere, I had failed again and again. But here was the Grandview branch swimming in front of me! And I'd forgotten all about it!

Lynda and I saw it at the same time and started to laugh. (You may remember that when Sarah was honored at the State House, I alluded to our first attempt to eat at Jeni's in the Short North. It was a disaster bourne out of it being a busy weekend, there being no parking, having a family of kids in dress shoes, and us being suburbanites. So, given that most of those things don't usually change, I thought we'd rarely get another chance.

But here it was. I sat down on a bench, fake miming the need to faint. Once inside, we sampled a few of the seasonal flavors (if you're around, I do recommend the sweet corn and black raspberry). But then we settled on a sundae that consisted of 1.) Goat Cheese with Roasted Red Cherries and 2.) Thai Chili.

It was great.

After our surprise ice cream experience, we moved down to Staufs and had coffee and relaxed.

But our anniversary wasn't over yet. (In fact, it wouldn't actually occur until the next day.) We were lucky enough to throw together a quick, informal spaghetti dinner for our old friend Lulu, who was away from Missouri, visiting family. She and her boys gathered at our house with some friends from work. It felt like old times, sitting around and talking. Lulu's kids are growing up into fine, nice kids and I was glad to have the chance to see them and talk to Lulu face-to-face for a change.

(Now if I can only find time to get over to Missouri and see them all in their own natural habitat.)

*****

And now we've embarked on our vacation. Work is an afterthought and currently we are enjoying the hospitality of Lynda's parents in north Georgia. Tomorrow is church, a pot-luck lunch and relaxation. On Monday we're all going down to Atlanta to experience the Georgia Aquarium. Then, we're down to Tifton for the balance of the week and (you KNOW) we'll be seeing Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince on Wednesday night.

So, that's a pretty lengthy wrap up of what's been going on lately. I promise I won't let the time between posts stretch so long again, but--as you can read--it's been a busy month.

Come back again soon to see what comes next (or visit www.twitter.com/dtm1971).

And THANKS for the patronage.