The Best Part of Summer in Central IL

The best part of any summer is when the gardens come into full bloom. This year's heavy rains, combined with hot, humid days and sultry nights have produced heavy foliage and prolific blooms! All the backbreaking work in the springtime pays off when everything comes together like this in July!

Under this past week's full moon, the yard looks wonderful!

Note the giant tomato plant, left background near the corner of the house... it seems to grow about 6 inches taller every day!

In the daylight, the vibrant oranges, yellows, reds, blues and fuschias in the gardens make the back yard a garden party just waiting to happen!

Even the new plantings are doing well because of all the moisture.

And the grandkids love to pick the flowers... fine by me, since deadheading makes them bloom even more!

July 6th - Abby's 7 Months Old Today

July 6, 2008 - Abby is 7 months old today. She decided to celebrate by basking in the wading pool.

4th of July Weekend

Even with Papa over in Egypt, we still managed to keep up the tradition of Joe & family coming to spend 4th of July in Decatur. Here we are, in the boat on our way to watch the Lake Decatur fireworks. We were treated to THREE NIGHTS of fireworks on the lake this year, thanks to the Lakeside Music & Arts Festival taking place over 4th of July weekend.

Abby likes the boat!
And of course, so do Sissy, Robbie and Alex. Alex enjoys the motion and the sound of the motor.
Abbers zonked out on the five-minute boat ride!

We're anchored now, waiting for the fireworks to begin, and watching some that lakeside residents are setting off.

Abby woke up at the first volley, and as you can see from their expressions, all the kids enjoyed the show!

After the fireworks we returned to the house, and the back yard for a "campfire" and to have s'mores before calling it a night. Robbie and Sissy are waiting patiently for the fire to be ready. Rob-O is entertaining us with a campfire song.
Abby was yawning in Mommy's lap, but made it to have a taste of her first s'more with Daddy.

Serenity shares her s'more with Nana.

Rob enjoys his own.It was a fun 4th of July, but we sure missed you, Papa! We love you! We are all looking forward to having you home for three weeks in August.. AND getting together with the WHOLE family for a big Hootennanny!

I Taught I Taw A Puttytat

Back around the first week in June, we had some fledgling Goldfinches hanging out in the back yard at the feeders. One liked to perch on top of the Hummingbird feeder in the window and "knock" on the window. It drove Merlin the Magnificent absolutely nuts!

"I did tee a puttytat... I did! I did!"

Flooding in Decatur!

Yesterday, June 3, 2008, central Illinois got hit with 4.5 inches of rain! There's flooding all over the area, with many roads closed. The water levels on our lake rose considerably... flooding about 15 feet over the bank in front of our place!

The pump house across the road from our place - looking north toward ours and our neighbors' docks.

Jerry & Ann's dock and watercraft.
Our dock... what dock??? Note the shed. I'm sure there's about 6 inches of water in there!

The properties just to the north of us.
You can't tell where the land ends and the lake begins!

Jerry on his dock... looks like he's walking on water!
Only the end of our "high" dock is showing. It's actually floating because that part of the dock isn't attached to anything!
There's Jerry walking on water again, trying to get a long line on our pontoon boat to secure it to a tree on shore. He's actually standing on the dock, which is almost a foot under water.

On the Road Back to Tel Aviv - 4 May

I had to catch an early flight to the States on 5 May, so we drove back to Tel Aviv the day before. We had time to stop and take photos of some of the more interesting sights in the desert.

I absolutely love these signs... they are the biggest signs on the road, measuring about three meters square, at least. Conversely, signs warning you of unexploded land mines along the road are about 12 inches square!

Bob kept telling me we would stop and see an ancient rock carving of Moses in the Sinai, and naturally I believed him. Not Moses, but this thing is HUGE!!! I wonder who carved it, when and why. Whomever and whenever, they had a sense of humor. I think it's supposed to be a camel's head... what do you think?

Return Trip to North Camp on Bob's Birthday

We celebrated Bob's birthday by flying back to North Camp in the MFO CASA. This is a smaller prop cargo plane flown by the French Air Force. As you can see, we needed a cargo plane to get all our stuff back to North Camp!

Getting ready to go up the ramp and find a seat.
My honey and me on the plane.
The Sinai from the air... I wonder how deep that sand is between the peaks...
Several aerial shots of North Camp... an oasis in the desert, as it's the only green for miles around!

Old Sharm - Lots of Local Color and Ambience

Sharm el Sheikh has become a resort city with many modern beach hotels and condos. However, like all cities in the Arab world, it has a charming old section where you'll find the souk, restaurants and older architecture. Naturally, being on the sea, fresh seafood is abundant in the restaurants. We found a great seafood place with tables out on the sidewalk, where we could watch the day's catch being unloaded and the ice being ground to keep it fresh for the night.

I have to say that my single most favorite thing to do on these trips (aside from being with my wonderful mate and just simply enjoying each other) isn't the sightseeing, but just sitting around in these cafe's or walking the streets watching people and soaking up the culture.

I think Bob liked his calamari!

Bob with a merchant in a shop where we bought a camel saddle.
Yep... Seven-Eleven in Old Sharm!
Horsing around at the entrance to the Old Market. Note the Seven-Eleven is right next door to the Camel Bazaar!