Ah Aruba 2014

We spent a week at our timeshare in Aruba in June with Mel and Sami, Margaret, and CC and TT.  We celebrated Margaret's retirement, Barb's birthday, Jim going off the VOA board after 6 years, Mel's new house, CC and TT's impending arrival, Father's Day, and anything else we could think of.  Jen and Tom were at their Divi timeshare and overlapped 5 days of our visit, which added to the fun.

Highlights include:  the pool, the lazy river, the beach, iguana spotting and feeding, birding (10), hiking in Arikok Nat'l Park, caving, dining on the beach, ZeeRovers and Balashi Chill, snorkeling and the excitement of FIFA World Cup.  Hup Holanda!  Ah, Aruba.

Feeding the iguanas

48 Hours in NoVa

 We made a quick trip to northern Virginia to attend Michaela's end of year gymnastics program as well as get a grand kids "fix."  As usual we got some great playtime with M and N, and some great time with Jeff and Lexi.  This included golf for Jim and Jeff,  and a lovely lunch out for Barb and Lexi.  

Posted by Barb

Construction and Renewal

This is my 3rd attempt on these next few posts due to glitches on my phone and my own ineptness - but I'm persevering.

So we have Jim deconstructing the wall (and ceiling ) in the kitchen/dining room area in Melanie's new 90 yr old home.

Below are some before/after shots of two bedrooms upstairs.

Then CC and TT whisked me away for a quick trip to Nemacolin in PA for a relaxing few days.  On the way home we visited Kentuck Knob, a Frank Lloyd Wright home near Falling Waters.  

Finally,  Jim planned a great surprise outing for me with my two friends, Diane and Maggie.  We went to Art with a Twist for an afternoon painting party (complete with champagne) then Chez Francois in Vermilion for dinner.  An awesome day!

Posted by Barb

Cuisine and (de)Construction

We spent a delightful Friday evening at the CVI near Huron where two renowned chefs Antonio Bachour and Brad Kilgore   prepared 4 canapés, 4 savories, a pre dessert, 3desserts and petit fours.  They used veggies and edible flowers from Farmer Jones' Chef's Garden.  Wow!  

To work off that meal on Saturday we helped at Mel's new digs ripping up carpet and starting "demolition" in the kitchen.  The floors where the carpet was in the upstairs bedrooms have been refinished and now the beautiful hardwood has been restored.  Looking forward to posting before/after photos when the work is done.

Spicy Lamb Farm and Baseball

We spent a Sunday morning at the Spicy Lamb Farm in the Cuyahoga Valley near Peninsula.  Even though there was fresh snow on the ground, Spring was in the air as evidenced by newborn lambs and the sheep being sheared.

We had a great time, especially with the bottle fed lamb, baby ducks and shearing activity.  While we were having lunch in Peninsula, the CVRR train pulled into the station so we got an up close view .

The Tribe home opener got us in the baseball mood, so this past Sunday we had a rousing game of baseball on Arliss.   

And what's up with Carly and Sami?  I guess you just had to be there .

Finally, progress really is being made on CC and TT's pool / addition.  The last photo was taken from the second floor of their addition, looking down at the pool.

And that's the latest from the North Shore.