Sunday, January 25, 2009








The Way to A Man's Heart.....






Isn't he handsome? His name is Rudy and we are temporary roommates. My brother and sister-in-law try to get away to Palm Springs every January. Last year they were only able to stay for a week, but this year they are staying three weeks. While they are gone, I get to spend time with their collie, Rudy.

Mr Rudy and I have a great relationship. He truly seems excited when he sees me! Today when I got a call from Tom and Vicki, I told them how and what he was doing, then asked how many doggy treats he got each day. When Vicki told me very few, some days none at all, I knew I was in trouble! Its not that Rudy told me he was suppose to get two each time he came in from outdoors, it just seemed like that is what I should do. Then, last night he wanted out a lot...not for more than a minute or two, then barked at the door to be let back in. Now the weather here in Kansas City is COLD, in the teens, so I can understand his not wanting to stay out very long. I open the door, he bounces in and heads straight for the laundry room where the treats are kept. It finally dawned on me early this morning, when he wanted out and then back in at least 4 times in an hour, I was being hoodwinked by a dog! I have to think this problem can be reversed, I know Tom and Vicki don't want to come home to a 200 pound spoiled puppy! One week is gone, so that leaves two weeks to correct the situation. This calls for tough love! I can probably pull this off as long as he doesn't look at me with those precious little eyes....I mean, look at the photo...who can resist that face?

Okay, let's face it, I'm doomed!







Speaking of adorable faces, look at this one! His name is Lincoln.


He is one of my Grandpuppies, I am his Mimi. He also loves treats! He has two cousins, Murphy and Louie that will show up here on my blog very soon!




Two Old Broads Abroad...the final chapter!



So far, we have traveled through the vineyards of the Black Forest in Germany, enjoyed the life in Alsace, drove through Switzerland with out stopping, lived it up on and around Lake Como in Italy, soaked up the scenery in Austria, and finally, drove all over Bavaria drinking beer and eating a ton of food! Today, we finish our trip and arrive back home. Thanks for letting me tell you about my trip, I love sharing it!

Part 6

Friday was reserved for repacking our bags and resting. It was still a very interesting day….Inge had to find room in her bags for all of the beer steins she had purchased here and there, as well as the Hummels, the purse and scarf, the candy, the crocks, the cookies, etc. Mine wasn’t much better, actually. I tried to lift the big one, it felt like I was carrying gold bars!
Friday evening there was one more final family dinner at Fini’s. Once again, we drank too much and ate too much. Would we never learn?
After much hugging and kissing, and tearful good-byes were said, we staggered off for our last night’s sleep in Bavaria.

On Sunday morning, exactly one week after the flea market, we packed the car, doing serious injury to backs and shoulders. Inge actually had me practice picking up my carry-on bag, to see if I could do it without wincing in pain. You never want the airline personnel to see you act like your bag is too heavy, or they will make you check it. We were already at our limit of checked bags. I’m not a very good actor!
Car loaded, good-byes said, we turned the Cruiser towards Frankfurt. Our destination was a small town on the outskirts of Frankfurt, one where we could spend the night and still be close enough to the airport to make our early morning flight. This leg of the journey was my least favorite. No mountains, no vineyards, no castles. It was pretty boring, once again, we could have been driving through Jersey.
We missed a turnoff due to some construction, so we saw more of Frankfurt and Weisbaden than we wanted to. We finally found ourselves driving parallel to the Rhine with vineyards on the opposite side of the road. The sun was setting, turning the vines golden with its last rays. The river was getting rougher by the moment, the wind was picking up as gray clouds moved in. We quickly found a tiny pensione for 44 euros for the two of us, with breakfast included. At this point in the trip, I was counting every penny!
We wandered along the river, found a lovely Greek restaurant that was the perfect spot to un-wind. And they had marvelous wine!

I suppose this tale isn’t complete without a thorough description of the torture of flying home. I was searched more than once, dropped my carry-on that we all know was too heavy. It landed on my toes, causing me to limp through the airport, couldn’t get ice for my diet coke, and a Pakistani was seating in my seat when we boarded the plane! After a few moments of confusion, he moved, we buckled in and went winging towards America and our wonderful husbands.

Thinking things were going well, we stood as our plane stopped at our gate in Newark We stood, and we stood, and we stood some more! It seems to take forever when you are getting off of a plane, but this was ridiculous! The Pakistani was standing in the aisle right in front of me. Finally we reached the aircraft door. There stood four armed guards waiting for Mr. Pakistani. I suppose since he had been in my seat to begin with, as they escorted him through the airport, I was asked for my passport and ID, again, then had everything searched, again. I was finally released to find Inge. Newark Airport is a big one. At long last, we found our way to the baggage claim, then headed for customs.

I don’t even like to think of this part of the trip! It was torture. Wait in line and make sure your toes aren’t even touching the yellow line on the floor. Every employee was a non-English speaking person. No one was in an even slightly pleasant frame of mind. I felt like a criminal waiting for sentencing.

By hand, we carried all 1000 pounds of luggage up a flight of steps, then a quarter of a mile down a long passageway to a sign that tells us we have gone the wrong way! Re-tracing our steps, and I do mean STEPS, we then made the long journey the correct way. We crashed (possibly a poor choice of words for airport talk) at the gate. After a 30 minute rest we were informed the gates were all full and we would have to carry our luggage down a flight of stairs to the ground level ,across the tarmac, then UP the Steps into the plane! ONLY IN AMERICA!


Actually, we were glad to be back in America. I, however, would have preferred to see more American employees in America’s airports, Americans who spoke English! It was particularly important to me as we left the runway and flew over “Ground Zero”. That empty space in the skyline rips at your heart. The tiny little Statue of Liberty below tried her best to mend the hole. It was very, very good to be back home!



The flight to Kansas City was good, no "problems" on board. Inge and I both freshened up to greet our husbands. When we landed we rushed through the gate to their open arms. What happened next was amazing….it astounded me! While I flew into Arch's arms, Inge yelled at George to get her luggage as she sprinted out of the terminal to have yet one more cigarette! She is quite a companion! Thanks, Inge, for driving me around Europe!




© Copyright 2008 photographer: Roy TennantFreeLargePhotos.com.



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Ponte Vecchio, Florence, Italy

Ponte Vecchio, Florence, Italy
oil painting by Kay Tucker

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Somerset Autumn on Wea Creek
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oil painting by Kay Tucker, Private Collection

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Tempo al Tempo....All in Good Time
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