Thessaloniki - The Beginning

Get a room!

Ian and Eleftheria

Thessaloniki from the west. White Tower in the center.

Thessaloniki from the White Tower

Great food. The only place where we ate more than once. We took the bus up the second time!

Our first night hike up to a taverna in the hills above Thessaloniki. (90+ degrees and muggy!) It was worth it.

Our room for our stay. We really didn't spend much time here.

A view from Ian's terrace

The White Tower in Thessaloniki (our meeting point)

Our primary guides (and driver!)

Ian's apartment building (1st floor)

After much pressure from outside sources (we have only been home 4 days!) we are posting the first of many (?) tales of our trip the Thessaloniki. We have only 900+/- photos to go through, so hopefully we will be able to sort a few (900+/-) for your viewing pleasure. We are going to start with our tour guides and our accommodations for our stay. They were very knowledgeable and courteous. We were even allowed to turn on the air-conditioning for a couple of days!

Spring in Ohio Again!

Robin eggs in the hanging fern on the front porch. Pretty cool. Hope they hatch.

(Un)Easy Riders?

Mother's Day weekend in Ithaca

Azalea amongst the hostas.

The garden guard dog on duty!

Here's the chief gardener in her element.







Pink Dogwood

Flowering Crab

Flowering Crab

Thornless Hawthorn
These are some of the flowering trees and shrubs in the yard. With no frost and wet conditions the blooms have been spectacular. Wish they could last all summer.

Group shot!

The "Beer Boys" in the garage!

The "Birthday Boy" on the deck............

The Hat Ladies

The Beautiful Bride

Kids at play!

Something on the couch is drooling............

Mom and the canine boys!

New Artwork!

Icy Jellyfish Feeder?

This is my first attempt at the blog business. Let's see how it goes. These are some pictures from the big Easter weekend, Megan and James wedding, plus Norm's 80th birthday celebration. The weather was as good as it gets for this time of year and virtually the whole fam-damly was here (minus :( LeAnna)! Enjoy!

Snow-

SNOW

...and more SNOW---

Hey guys- Just a note to say hi and happy birthday to Adam, happy Valentine's Day to everyone. There is not much news. Sarah was here this weekend and we spent some time visiting with her Sat morning. She and Bob came over looking for coffee. Bob and Jenn were here from Seattle for their Baby Shower and to visit with friends. It was nice to see everyone. Too bad I didn't take any pictures... Tomorrow is a day off form me and since Dad "fixed" the garage door this evening - so that it won't open - he will be off also.

ohhhhhh...I just LOVE the snow!!!

And then...there is the one who doesn't like the snow so much***

Man and Machine: All the guys in the neighborhood got to play with their snow blowers this week

So, all in all, there is not much new...just wanted to be in touch. The winter continues. There is more snow and cold in the fore cast for the week ahead, maybe that snow day is still out there.

Hope you all got to spend Valentines Day with someone you love or doing something something you love to do.

So, I really do know how to do this now! So...now you will hopefully hear from us more, although, I am not sure the pictures will be too exciting - you've seen snow before and that is about all there is to look at right now. This has been the view out the bedroom porch window for days now. This is what I see from my pillow. It is beautiful, but doesn't make me want to jump out of bed. Love to you all:-)

Megan arrived Thursday night, having just made it out of London before the airports closed due to a snow storm. We spent Friday making her wedding arrangements for April, including a stop to try on gowns. This one was under consideration, but she ultimately decided on a different one. It was a fun day and I was glad to have had a snow day to use. It made the weekend more enjoyable. She leaves Sunday to meet A. Maribeth in Texas to apartment hunt. James gets home from Iraq in 10 days.

It hasn't been as cold, nor have we had as much snow as Keith and Sarah, but cold and snowy, it has been. Arlo loves it and the rest of us are resigned to the grey winter sky, but there is really a beauty to the season and the occasional snow day makes it tolerable.

The Snow Dog: This is Arlo's usual response to "let's go in". He lays down and refuses to move.

For those of you who have not had a chance to meet Stella - here she is with her mom. She is full of personality and is giving G'ma a run for her money. She is a little shy, but once she knows you she is a riot. She and Marley are in competition for the primo spots, like G'ma's lap.

Christmas in Medina

Finally! I think I might get this blog posted tonight. This is a picture from today, but the rest are from Christmas. It was not a white Christmas, but the snow gods seem to making amends now. Today was the first snow day of the year and it worked out great because Megan flew in from London last night so we got to spend the day together. It was fun, but maybe news for a different blog...that way maybe I will post another one this weekend before I forget what I am doing again!

Hope everyone is well. LeAnna - I bet you wish you had a snow day, huh?! Keith and Sarah, suppose you will spend the weekend on the slopes? You probably have more snow than we have? Ian, did you go home today? tomorrow? We were trying to remember what your travel plans are? Did it stop raining guys? Adam, did you find some people to climb with?

It is so hard to believe we are out of one year and in to the next. We love and miss you all. Be healthy in heart, mind, and soul. May the new year be gentle to you and those you love.

Love you all so much. Enjoy-

Ian, this picture was taken especially for you!

Christmas morning at Kurt and Denise's. We were a small group this year. We missed everyone that was not present, but we enjoyed each other's company and the food was great, as always. From here we went to Rockwell's where Keith and Sarah joined us, having travelled early Christmas morning. In the evening John and Vanetta brought a wonderful feast to our house and we enjoyed good food and good company to round out the day

With the fish tank in the Christmas tree spot, we had to figure out a new location. So we went with a smaller tree in the corner of the living room and found that we really liked it! If anyone needs tree ornaments, we have a few extra!

Finally, here are a couple of pictures from the Tea at Miss Mollys. It was fun, but next year I will just have it at home, so mark your calendars Ladies!

fall on the old homefront

It has been a rough week locally, state-wide and nationally, so it was nice to hit the weekend to sort of get a break from the real world. Statewise, the ongoing body count from the mass murders in Cleveland has dominated the news daily. In Medina, there was a house fire that took the life of an 8 yr old Garfield child with older sibs at Claggett. And, the failure of the school levy has dropped a curtain of gloom over everyone. I actually had kids in tears in class. We are all waiting to see what $8million in cuts will look like.

It was a beautiful day today though and with some sleep and sunshine and putz-time, we are feeling much better. After a week of cold, rain and frosty nights, the leaves and colors are all but gone, but Dad took some pictures when colors were at their peek. Not much different than NY, but we thought you might enjoy a couple of fall photos from home.