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Showing posts from July, 2008

Quick Getaway

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Last Monday, my parents and I took the two little boys to Inverness for a couple of days. It is one of my favorite drives, because to me it has a little bit of everything: some east bay, a nice bridge, some quirky Marin, rolling golden hills with oak trees, some redwood forest in the Samuel P Taylor state park, and then you've arrived in Inverness, with Tomales Bay on the one side and the Pacific just over the hill. Here is Sebastian, lavishing affection on a cement mixer left at the house. He took it down to the beach and put shells in it and rolled them around for a while. He was a great sport even though the three adults he was with were pretty dud playmates, and went running up and down the beach trolling for objects worthy of attention. He found several rocks he thought were geodes, but he calls them GeoTrax like his trains at home. Then grandma discovered a three foot snake that was sitting on the toilet seat in the bathroom (which picture I have spared you, unlike the Freu

(From Rob) Goodbye, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Adieu

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Our last day in Austria--and it snowed in the mountains. On the 23rd of July, mind you. We made the best of the weather and managed to keep everybody happy and active today. A quick run down, because we have to catch our train in an hour. We fly tomorrow morning. First, the Kids played in a kids' club run by the local hoteliers. Check out the potties in the Kids' bathroom. Freud came from Austria, you may have heard mentioned. Then we caught the ski lift and headed right up near the snow line. If you can't beat 'em, join em. The ride up defies description. So I won't try... We hiked about half an hour and found the Wenger Alm, another mountainside farm/restaurant. We ordered Schnitzel, and I had a Tiroler thingy with potatoes, bacon and a fried egg. Oh, Ja! Ja! JA! Maddie is always chipper, but despite his spatte of bad luck, even Will was a Wonnepfroefchen. We ate, played cards, laughed, and maddie nearly slid off of the mountainside when she went down a chil

(From Rob) A Good Day to Turn Ten, a Rough Day to Stay Seven

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Maddie enjoyed her birthday today. We made sure she had presents, cards, a cake, candles, a lighter for the candles, and all fo the logistics that go along with these things in a hotel room in a foreign country. She kept saying " I don't feel different now, but I am a double digit! Will helped me to sneak around and get everything wrapped, signed, etc. If only I could report that teh weather had played along. Instead, it was raining every other five minutes, with a few blessed but short lived sunny minutes. The swimming pool was closed for inclement weather. The pool closure was the beginning of a streak of bad luck for Will (here seen with his patented corkscrew lollypop holder). It is hard under the best of circumstances to be the brother of the birthday girl. He held it together admirably until he fell and split his lip (see the mention of the skating ramp from yesterday, only add more rain so that it got slippery). Then his Kinder-Egg had a girlie toy in it, he

(From Rob) Maddie Turns Ten

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Our Maddie Lou turns ten today. Wa Hoo! It is sad that Mama and Sebi and Joss are not here, but we are doing our best to make her the queen of the day. Will and I wrestled with Maddie, and then we brought her breakfast in bed. Then she and Will took off to Schlecker to buy some present-wrapping tape and who knows what other abomination from the candy aisle. When I turned ten, I was sad that I would never be just one digit again. Not Maddie. She says she is looking forward to teenagehood. Oy gevalt. However, let it be made very clear: I hope that each of you, gentle readers, has a Maddie Lou in your life. This is a girl who is nearly perpetually up-beat, who makes sure that everyone is happy and getting along, and who is excited about anything that you are doing. She loves as easily as most people sweat--it just happens. She is ultra responsible, creative and a goofy, funny, lovable chick. Happy birthday to our happy Maddie! We can't believe we have had a decade with her. The fir

(From Rob) The Hills are Alive with the Sound of McFarlands

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Today was a drizzly, cool day in Dorfgastein, and for a moment I panicked this morning. What do do with the kids? They, of course, had a full schedule planned. They headed off to Schlecker, the village drug store, and bought candy (the first of three visits today). They also wanted to watch TV. I asked if they would like to take "a little bike ride and a hike" that would end with a Krapfen, their favorite Austrian piece of deep-fried love slathered in home-made berry jam and dusted with powdered sugar for good measure. They new that the best Krapfen can be found at the Almoser Alm, a little old hut on a steep, green mountinside several kilometers away from Dorfgastein. They love the place, but they have only ever been up there in a car. I had them. BUA HA HA HA. It was still not raining, so off we went... We pedaled down the valley to the next dorf. Despite some bickering (Will always has to be first) and some tears at not being able to make it up a steep stretch of road, w

(From Rob) "It Takes a Real Man To Wear Lederhosen" or "Horseshoes from Hell"

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Will is showing off the Alpine version of horseshoes, made to be thrown by men in Lederhosen who drag trees up the mountain and kill wolves with a dirty look. They are called, in typical understated Austrian fashion, "Plattn" or "platters." In reality, they are heavy little rings of death with spikes in the bottom of them. Object of the game--to throw them closest to the "Hasen-Ei" ("Rabbit's Egg"), a little wooden block. Only problem: The block is about 65 feet away. And to make sure they don't just roll away and scalp a neighbor kid, you have to make sure they have a high arc and land flat. Oooof. Here is the owner of the Haus Tirol, Harald Bukovics. He is showing me the techniques involved in hurling one of these little death-savers. He invariably dropped the heavy little metal thing with a satisfying "Thud" a few centemeters from the block. He played on a local team for years, and is something of a legend around here. Never