In the middle of nowhere

Gosia has kindly hinted that it is time for me to post again. It has been about a week since my last post and not a whole lot has happened, at least not much I really want to blog about.

I spent two great days with my grandparents. Papa tells some funny jokes and good stories (both of which are even better the tenth time you hear them... in a day). We were lazy and talked all day and then went to the Moose club for happy hour the first day and the American Legion on the second (they LOVE their happy hour).

Most of our time, those two days, was spent trying to escape the heat wave by not moving. If you don't move, you don't notice how you're sticking to the furniture.

I'm going to skip over my trip from Buffalo to home because it's largely uninteresting and I want to get to the part where I woke up my nephew out of his very peaceful sleep, just so I could see him vacuum. I'm not kidding. I am selfish enough to wake a sleeping child for my own entertainment.

He was cranky till he got a sippy cup full of milk. That perked him right up, and the fun began. He's 18 months old and he actually likes vacuuming (my mom's dustbuster is the perfect size)! You have to turn it on for him, but once he gets started it's hard to tear him away. My sister is so lucky! House cleaners are not cheap, and she's got one for free! Okay, so he's not free, he's freaking expensive, but he's damn cute.

He also does other things like "big man" where he does the muscle flexing thing and makes a sound like he's crapping his pants (it's supposed to be more of a grunt, but it's funnier his way), and, like all kids, he likes to play with his food. Watching him suck on a piece of peanut butter sandwich and then spit it out was probably the most disgusting thing I've seen in a while, but I guess he's allowed.

He does have some behaviors which make me wonder a little though, like how he head butts people. My brother kindly calls it nudging, but either way, it's something we're pretty sure he learned from my sister's dog (who died before I got home). When it comes to dogs in general, he's a little "different". He barks back at them and greets them with a kiss before laying his head on them. He's just a touch "feral" as my brother says.

Aside from my evening with the nephew, I didn't do a whole lot until the weekend. Friday and Saturday was like Becca boot camp. On Friday, I went on a short, but very hilly bike ride. Saturday morning, I decided to suffer through some Tai Bo, which is a registered trademark (just want to be safe), and then go on a little walk with my dad.

I should preface by saying that I called him to go for a walk. He chose the route though, and man did I suffer. He said it would be six miles each way, when we got there the map said seven, but in reality it was closer to nine (especially with our off-trail walking added in). So 18 miles, which (for those of you who work with kilometers) is more than a marathon at 28.8 km. It was fun, walking all the way up to Dresden for icecream, but my legs have never been so sore from a hike! The worst thing was I was already tired half way through. We still had to go all the way back. My dad, of course, whizzed along (as if I wasn't already feeling out of shape).

In the end, it was a really cool hike, and we got to see a lot of run down mills and wonder about how important they were once upon a time. My dad told me the names of lots of things I wish I could remember and helped me improve my poison ivy identification skills. We found fossils and crayfish in the creek and I let minnows eat off my feet. Actually, I yelped every time they did it, even though it didn't hurt. We saw lots of bugs, two turtles, a blue heron and a baby toad. Good stuff! Afterwards, we ate Chinese and went home.

I slept well.

Today was spent eating and playing volleyball mainly. My brother had a picnic with his friends and their families. So, I went, exhausted myself and here I am. I'm ready for some of that relaxation stuff again.