Canadian Buffoon European Vacation - 30/03 - Endings and Silver Linings

[nebo]

nope nope nope,,, not m,e,,, if I don'[t post fast enough, somewhere it will flip back to Smidy's screen name,, I may have to figue out how to go back into the confuser and erase the history and peanuts or whatever that is being stored on memory to give myself a fresh start.

Ok, cookies,,, not peanuts. But they better not be Oreos!

Or Chips Ahoy

Or Pecan Sandies

or

 

[pkondz]

Ponzi, I'm slowly making headway into you actual trip report, and not only is it very interesting,,, it's also GOOD.

Well, of course.
I learned from the master.

Whoops, sorry,, I will not hit the comma key again this post: although it would be easier to quit kikes and yooze than commas.

yooze guys are gonna have trouble wit dat.

Well so is Blake COMMA ( you have no idea how hard this is) I had to say that if he's going to hurt me agn give me a hug. [/B]

Guess it's not really nebo after all.
Otherwise it'd be: "Well so is Blake comma comma comma comma comma chameleon"

Wait you mean to say that we are actually bgeing watched when we are inside places like that? Get out!

They did!

 

[pkondz]

Taken to the cleaners

Sleeping in.
Is there anything better then sleeping in?

Sleeping in when you're young.
That's better.

Nowadays I consider 8 or 9am to be "sleeping in".
The kids... noon.
At least.


Ironic when you consider the reason we can't sleep in anymore is because we'd gotten so used to getting up to take care of them!

Rotten little ingrates!

I changed so many diapers...
I can't wait until they have to change mine!


Okay... I can wait.


Where was I?....

Right! Sleeping in.



That Wednesday we decided not to go on a once in a lifetime Rhine river cruise and sleep in instead.

What?

I sound bitter? Disappointed?

Well maybe just a tad.

Seriously, it wouldn't have been much fun if no one enjoyed it 'cause they'd rather be... oh, I don't know... rested?


We decide to not set alarms and just get up... whenever.

I have no idea what time Ruby and I get up, but around 10 or so we decide to see if the brats are up.... although we both know it's unlikely.

Elle is up and wants to go see some sights.
The only part of Kay that's visible is a foot that's sticking out from underneath the comforter.

I ask her foot if she'd like to join us for some breakfast and some touring.

A disembodied voice speaks for her foot, "No."
Typical appendage answer.
Feet. Always falling asleep on you when you need 'em.

I assume the rest of her isn't coming either.

I tell her we'll come back later to pick her up.


The rest of us decide to set out to see the Cologne Cathedral and grab a bite to eat somewhere along the way.


We eventually find a place that looks promising and we settle in for a late breakfast.

Our waitress doesn't speak English, but using one of the three German phrases I know, I ask for an english menu and she produces one.

We order continental (which is different from American Continental style... More buns, cold cuts and cheeses) and dig in.

I recall that it was quite good.

Don't ask me why... but we do not take advantage of any of this:



Too early?

Nah. It's never too early for cake!
Maybe we were full.

Yeah. That must be it.


After breakfast, we set out to see the Cathedral.



Looks a little surreal, doesn't it?
There are no buildings very near the cathedral and the sky was a uniform stratiform overcast.

Construction of the cathedral started in 1248, although the reason for its construction dates back to the previous century.
In 1164, the remains of the Three Kings were brought to Cologne from Milan.
(or you may know them as the Three Wise Men who brought gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh)
The old cathedral wasn't good enough to honour the relics and so a new one was designed.

The cathedral construction continued for over two hundred years and was eventually stopped,
with the cathedral still unfinished, in 1473.

For the next 400 years or so the city skyline was marked by an unfinished cathedral with a crane perched on top.

Work resumed in 1842 and the cathedral was finally completed in 1880.
For a time it was the world's tallest structure, surpassed 4 years later by the Washington monument.
A cathedral of this size, however, is never really finished.
There is a constant need for repairs due to wind, rain, etc.
There will probably never be a time where there isn't scaffolding erected somewhere upon it.



During WWII, the city of Cologne was heavily bombed,
and the cathedral was hit fourteen times, but did not collapse.

Because of its size, 475ft by 282ft, the cathedral was easily seen from the air and may have been spared so it could be used as a landmark for navigation.
(compare that to a football field's 300 by 160)


According to Wiki, the choir has the largest height to width ratio of any medieval church.



All I know is, it's pretty darned impressive!



This organ dates from 1988 and sits high above the floor.



Deeper inside the cathedral sits the shrine of the Three Kings.



The "relics of the Magi" were originally from Constantinople, but were brought to Milan in 344.
They were then taken from Milan to Cologne in 1164.

Renowned goldsmiths and artisans worked for 30 years to create the shrine you see here.
It's decorated with gold, silver and precious and semi-precious stones.
I pried off one of the stones for a souvenir, but Ruby made me put it back.
Luckily I had some gum so I was able to stick it back on.

So I don't have a souvenir of Cologne.
That doesn't seem fair, does it?

Oh well.


After touring the cathedral, we headed out and the girls did a little shopping as we made our way back to the hotel to pick up Kay.

She was rested and ready to go now, so we headed back to...

The Chocolate Museum.
Hello! It's chocolate, people!!!

I don't mean there are chocolate people...
I mean there is chocolate there, people.

You can live or die by a comma...

Come to think of it, there were figures made out of chocolate in the shape of people.


I'm gonna stop now...



This time, the museum was open and we wandered through it taking in the sights... and smells.

One of the first places you can visit is a rainforest greenhouse.

We saw several types of plants, like Vanilla plants



and Banana plants



Just to name (and show) a few.

There were numerous presentations on the cocoa bean trade.

There was a table with explanations of how the different types of chocolate were mixed, such as this one for milk chocolate.



mmmmmm.... lecithin.

There was a ton of equipment that had been used over the years to make chocolate... and yes, they still make it here.

I found this and thought people might be interested:



It's the original chocolate mold for this, which you will probably start seeing more of as the Christmas season revs up into high gear.



In the background is the foil wrap that the chocolate bunny is wrapped in.

We spent quite a bit of time watching chocolate being made by various machines.
We even saw the famous Lindt chocolate balls being made.


Afterwards we headed over to the restaurant and had...



Torte!

Everybody say it with me, "Mmmmmmmm."


Afterwards we headed back over to the hotel and just vegged for a bit.
Eventually, we were ready for supper... and

well...

Ya know...
No matter how much you want it,
things do not always go smoothly on vacation.
You strive and strive for the "perfect" trip, but, well...

Maybe it's because we were tired.
Maybe it's because I didn't get to go on my cruise.
Maybe it's because we were still adjusting to the time change.
Maybe it's just because we're normal (Do NOT start with me!!!) people,
just like most other married people.

Yeah, we had a... 'disagreement'.


Funny thing is, at first, I didn't even know we were having one.


Yeah, and all you ladies out there who are rolling their eyes right about now...
Just settle down!


We had been having an odd issue since the trip started.

The kids didn't know where we were going to walk.
Heck Ruby usually didn't know where we were going to walk.
(She leaves the trip planning and subsequent navigation to me.
Ruby's navigationally challenged.
I'm not being mean here, she says so herself.
But my experience has been that when I'm not around, she does just fine.
I think she just relaxes and relies on me to get us from A to B.)

So the kids can't lead.
Ruby can't lead.
And we don't want to leave the girls behind us, in case we get separated.

So what happens is; I lead with one kid and Ruby follows with the other.

Which makes it very difficult to have a conversation.


Me: "If you look over to your left, you'll see the magnificent pkondz castle!
Built in 1532 as an homage to greatness and modesty, it took over 350 years and 1,300 craftsmen to build.
It was a miracle of engineering and the pride of the city for centuries.
It covers over 2,000,000 square feet and is surrounded by one of the deepest moats in Europe, to keep out the riff raff."
Ruby: "What?"
Me: "Over there! To the left! pkondz castle! Really big! Big moat too!"
Ruby: "I can't hear you if you don't turn around! You're facing the wrong way and I'm way back here!"
Me, at a complete stop and turned 180 degrees: "The castle! The castle! See?"
Ruby: "Yeah, I know it's a castle. I can see that."


Repeat for virtually everything and anything.


So we set out for supper from the hotel in our usual formation.

Bear in mind that we'd walked this route twice already.

I say something, I don't even remember what it was, and it wasn't important.

Ruby's had enough.
"I can't hear you! You keep talking, but you're in front of me and I can't hear you!"

So I, being a man, completely fail to see the warning signs and "fix" the problem.


Guys, women do not want you to fix the problem.

Ever.

They want you to listen and be understanding.


Ladies, men will never understand.

Ever.


I'm pretty sure the human race is doomed as a species.


Anyway....

I "fix" the problem.
"Ruby, you lead, I'll follow."
Smart, no? This way she'll be able to hear everything I say since I'll be facing her now.
Did I mention she's navigationally challenged?

Ruby starts marching off in the appropriate direction.
I, oblivious to the coming storm, follow merrily along.

Eventually, I notice that Ruby is not talking.
When she turns left a few streets too early, and ignores my comment of, "I'm pretty sure it's a couple of streets ahead, still."
I start to clue in that perhaps all is not well in Ruby's world.

Now, I don't know what to do (hello! guy here!),
so I follow along hoping something will happen and I can apologize for... for... I don't quite know what yet.
(Toldja. Guy.)

After a few more minutes of silent leadership, our captain steers our ship into a dead-end.

Ruby throws up her hands in frustration (She really did that. Threw her hands up) and cries out,
"I TOLD you I'm not good at directions!"

I "fix" things again.
(You'd think I would have learned by now.
You would be wrong.)

I politely show Ruby where she needs to go to get to our destination.
She leads us over, and then announces she's not going to eat supper, she's going back to the hotel!

I watch her go for a bit, then dutifully signal to the girls to follow and set off in pursuit.

I'm worried that she won't find her way back.


After allowing her a cool down period,
(a time that is difficult to gauge, I've found.
It's usually somewhere between a few seconds and forever)
I catch up to her and we do what all normal (I told you! Leave it alone!) married couples do.
We make up.

During this time, the girls kept their distance, except for one amusing little detail.
While Ruby and I were talking, a woman came up to us and smiled and handed Ruby a rose.
She said it was from our children.

Really? Isn't that sweet...
Until she demanded money for it.

Uhh... no. She went away.

Later in the trip we'll have another exposure to this 'rose gambit' scam.


We gather up the rest of the family and head back to our original destination.
It's the same square where we had had that wonderful meal on our first night in Cologne.

We're in Germany, we've come from France, we're going to Italy next...
So of course we went to an Italian restaurant.

Ah well, at least the food was pretty good.

Back at the hotel, Ruby and I said goodnight to the girls and headed back to our room.

Ah! Our laundry is done.
All our shirts and socks and unmentionables are nicely washed and ready for the rest of the trip.

I looked at the laundry bill.
I turned it over.
I rotated it.

Nope. Still the same number on it.

I guess I was in shock, because I didn't write it down.
I do know that it was over 100 Euros, or over $135 US.

Talk about being taken to the cleaners!

We did not let a hotel wash our clothes after that.


We went to bed, wiser and poorer.

Nighty night.

 

[MAGICFOR2]

]

Hey dere all youse guys,,,, I'mnot ecven going to try to get into all the lame excuses as to where I've been,,,, but please, just believe me it'[s been a tough last couple months. But,,,,, and this , as usual ,, is a big but,,,,,,,, you have no idea how much I've missed all of you, I want a hug from each and every one of you,,, ok,,, maybe not from Dee dee's husband Blake,,,, he',ll probabkly break something again. Ok, ok,,, still don't have much feeling in 3 fingers in my bad wrist hand,,, that,,, more than the wrist itself has kept me from postin g,,,,,,,,,doc says may need a nudder operation,,,, but stil too soon to decide. But honestly,,,, no idea hkow much I missed kyou all,.

\
\ Ok,,,, need to get back to Ponzi' thingy that he's writing. I'm sorry Ponz,,,, I know I've let you down. When I get all better finaly, then we can go outside and shoot me, fair enough?

Sorry to hear you have been injured Of course I will respond with another DIS hug you are shamelessly requesting

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Ponz! I'm so sorry to hear that you also cannot read your wife's mind. It is a disability brought on by testosterone. Given that we don't want you to turn in your man card, there is no cure for this disease. Maybe we should start a fund raising campaign. J/K Just had to do this after my recent posting on my TR

Too bad for Kay that she missed out on that amazing cathedral tour. It is hard to believe they could build something like that back in the 400s or even 1700s. I guess they had a little trouble, since it took so long. I find it curious that the 3 Kings were buried together, since I believe they were from different countries. It made for a beautiful shrine, though.

Yikes on the laundry! I did that once at the Hyatt Regency in FL, too. 130 for about 16 pcs. plus undies for 4 of us. It was bad because Jim's uncle was paying for the trip and they would not take payment to cover it. I was so embarrassed.

Thanks for writing!

 

[pkondz]

Ponz! I'm so sorry to hear that you also cannot read your wife's mind. It is a disability brought on by testosterone.

So that's the cause!

Given that we don't want you to turn in your man card, there is no cure for this disease.

Considering I just got that puppy back!

Maybe we should start a fund raising campaign. J/K Just had to do this after my recent posting on my TR

Too bad for Kay that she missed out on that amazing cathedral tour.

I know. And it killed me to have her miss it...
But I hope that someday, she'll decide to go back and see it, when she's a little older.

I find it curious that the 3 Kings were buried together, since I believe they were from different countries. It made for a beautiful shrine, though.

For an interesting read, Google "Biblical Magi" and peruse the wiki link.

Yikes on the laundry! I did that once at the Hyatt Regency in FL, too. 130 for about 16 pcs. plus undies for 4 of us. It was bad because Jim's uncle was paying for the trip and they would not take payment to cover it. I was so embarrassed.

Thanks for writing!

So you feel my pain!
And you're welcome!

 

[Thumper_Man]

Ruby's had enough.
"I can't hear you! You keep talking, but you're in front of me and I can't hear you!"

So I, being a man, completely fail to see the warning signs and "fix" the problem.


Guys, women do not want you to fix the problem.

Ever.

They want you to listen and be understanding.


Ladies, men will never understand.

Ever.

I'll comment a little more later, but I needed to post about this right away.

Lady H showed me a video a while back on youtube. It's called "Tale of Two Brains." I don't know if you've ever watched it or have ever heard of it, but in case you haven't; its an educational video about marriage, but its very funny. If you ever get a chance to watch all of the different parts (again, if you've never seen it), I think you will really enjoy it. Ruby might get a kick out of it to.

Anyways, there is a part in the video where the presenter (Mark Gungor) talks about what you just wrote about. I thought I would share it with you. Beat Lady H to the punch.

TALE OF TWO BRAINS - FIX IT!

 

[Thumper_Man's Wife]

Taken to the cleaners

I do not like this title, Sam I am…It sounds more foreboding than the last one.

Sleeping in.
Is there anything better then sleeping in?

I’m sure I could name a few things better…but um…Family board!

Sleeping in when you're young.
That's better.

Or we could go with that…

Nowadays I consider 8 or 9am to be "sleeping in".
The kids... noon.
At least.

I remember when I could sleep until noon or 1. Now I’m lucky if I sleep past 8. What’s worse, is I used to be that child that would scowl at my parents/grandparents for getting up so early or telling me off for sleeping so late…wondering what in the world they would be doing up so early in the first place…*sigh*

Ironic when you consider the reason we can't sleep in anymore is because we'd gotten so used to getting up to take care of them!

I wish I had that as an excuse.

Rotten little ingrates!

I changed so many diapers...
I can't wait until they have to change mine!

Hmm…Not an image I needed before lunch.

Where was I?....

You were on the topic of sleep and the differential of adults and kids when it comes to sleep and how sleep deprivation comes from those kids…

Right! Sleeping in.

I just said that!

That Wednesday we decided not to go on a once in a lifetime Rhine river cruise and sleep in instead.

I think the word “we” should be bolded or in quotes…it seems like such a strong word…

What?

I sound bitter? Disappointed?

Not at all…

Well maybe just a tad.

I wasn’t going to be the one to say it…

[Seriously, it wouldn't have been much fun if no one enjoyed it 'cause they'd rather be... oh, I don't know... rested?

I agree…but it’s always sad and disappointing when things don’t go the way you hoped.

[We decide to not set alarms and just get up... whenever.

I miss the time of whenever…It’s no longer on any of our clocks at home. I don’t know what happened to it.

[I have no idea what time Ruby and I get up, but around 10 or so we decide to see if the brats are up.... although we both know it's unlikely.

Ingrates…brats…I’m sensing a pattern here…

The only part of Kay that's visible is a foot that's sticking out from underneath the comforter.

At least you know she’s still there…

I ask her foot if she'd like to join us for some breakfast and some touring.

A disembodied voice speaks for her foot, "No."

Seems like this is a common occurrence if you have no trouble turning to her foot for answers.

Typical appendage answer.
Feet. Always falling asleep on you when you need 'em.

I assume the rest of her isn't coming either.

It would be very interesting if the rest of her did…I can see the argument with her foot now.

Kay: Wait a minute…I want to go…
Kay’s foot: Nope, sorry. I’m not budging and you need me to stand and walk.
Kay: I have another foot you know.
Kay’s foot: Yeah, but unless you want to hop all over the place on only one foot, I suggest you just lay back down, close your eyes and be quiet.
Kay: Damn! Fine…

The rest of us decide to set out to see the Cologne Cathedral and grab a bite to eat somewhere along the way.

Sounds like a good plan to me.

Our waitress doesn't speak English, but using one of the three German phrases I know, I ask for an english menu and she produces one.

That’s better than me…I know one phrase in German. And I don’t think the waitress would take too kindly to me telling her I love her…I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t get an English menu out of it.

We order continental (which is different from American Continental style... More buns, cold cuts and cheeses) and dig in.

Don't ask me why... but we do not take advantage of any of this:



Too early?

Nah. It's never too early for cake!
Maybe we were full.

Yeah. That must be it.

CAKE!

After breakfast, we set out to see the Cathedral.



Looks a little surreal, doesn't it?

There are no buildings very near the cathedral and the sky was a uniform stratiform overcast.

Perfect backdrop for a picture I say…

In 1164, the remains of the Three Kings were brought to Cologne from Milan.
(or you may know them as the Three Wise Men

who brought gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh)

Oh…those 3 wise men…

The cathedral construction continued for over two hundred years and was eventually stopped,
with the cathedral still unfinished, in 1473.

Maybe it was the ghosts of the cathedral construction workers who were haunting Sarah Winchester and telling her to continue construction on her home for years on end?!

A cathedral of this size, however, is never really finished.
There is a constant need for repairs due to wind, rain, etc.
There will probably never be a time where there isn't scaffolding erected somewhere upon it.

Sounds a lot like the NM highways…

Because of its size, 475ft by 282ft, the cathedral was easily seen from the air and may have been spared so it could be used as a landmark for navigation.
(compare that to a football field's 300 by 160)

That’s pretty big…

According to Wiki, the choir has the largest height to width ratio of any medieval church.

Is there a choir that is larger in height and width that is not medieval?

All I know is, it's pretty darned impressive!

I agree.

This organ dates from 1988 and sits high above the floor.

I would hate to be the organist here…

Deeper inside the cathedral sits the shrine of the Three Kings.

Very impressive.

Renowned goldsmiths and artisans worked for 30 years to create the shrine you see here.
It's decorated with gold, silver and precious and semi-precious stones.
I pried off one of the stones for a souvenir, but Ruby made me put it back.
Luckily I had some gum so I was able to stick it back on.

Hmmm…leaving DNA behind may not have been your smartest move…At least you could have asked Ruby or Elle for their gum.

So I don't have a souvenir of Cologne.
That doesn't seem fair, does it?

But a piece of you will always be in Cologne…

After touring the cathedral, we headed out and the girls did a little shopping as we made our way back to the hotel to pick up Kay.

I hope the foot was amenable this time around.

She was rested and ready to go now, so we headed back to...

The Chocolate Museum.

Chhhhooooooccccooolllaaatteee!!!!!!!

Hello! It's chocolate, people!!!

I don't mean there are chocolate people...
I mean there is chocolate there, people.

You can live or die by a comma...

Reminds me of a meme I saw on facebook that said,

“Let’s eat grandpa.
Let’s eat, grandpa.

Correct punctuation can save a person’s life.”

I thought it was funny.

One of the first places you can visit is a rainforest greenhouse.

We saw several types of plants, like Vanilla plants

and Banana plants

Just to name (and show) a few.

Very cool. I don’t think I have ever seen either one of those before.

There were numerous presentations on the cocoa bean trade.

I’m an avid Food Network fanatic and one of the shows, called Good Eats, did a special on chocolate (probably around the time of valentines day or maybe even Halloween I can’t remember which) and it was extremely interesting to find out where Cocoa comes from. He went into detail on the whole history. Very fascinating.

There was a ton of equipment that had been used over the years to make chocolate... and yes, they still make it here.

I found this and thought people might be interested:

We spent quite a bit of time watching chocolate being made by various machines.
We even saw the famous Lindt chocolate balls being made.

T-Man loves those!!

Afterwards we headed over to the restaurant and had...

Torte!

Everybody say it with me, "Mmmmmmmm."

Mmmmmmm…

Ya know...
No matter how much you want it,
things do not always go smoothly on vacation.
You strive and strive for the "perfect" trip, but, well...

Maybe it's because we were tired.
Maybe it's because I didn't get to go on my cruise.
Maybe it's because we were still adjusting to the time change.
Maybe it's just because we're normal (Do NOT start with me!!!) people,
just like most other married people.

Yeah, we had a... 'disagreement'.

On a more serious note: Happens to all of us. T-Man and I have had some interesting disagreements on vacation...I think a lot of it is, because we want the entire vacation to go perfectly, and the moment something doesn't go our way, it changes the entire perspective.

We had been having an odd issue since the trip started.

The kids didn't know where we were going to walk.
Heck Ruby usually didn't know where we were going to walk.
(She leaves the trip planning and subsequent navigation to me.
Ruby's navigationally challenged.
I'm not being mean here, she says so herself.
But my experience has been that when I'm not around, she does just fine.
I think she just relaxes and relies on me to get us from A to B.)

So the kids can't lead.
Ruby can't lead.
And we don't want to leave the girls behind us, in case we get separated.

So what happens is; I lead with one kid and Ruby follows with the other.

Are the streets or areas so small that you couldn’t all stand together?

So I, being a man, completely fail to see the warning signs and "fix" the problem.

Guys, women do not want you to fix the problem.

Ever.

They want you to listen and be understanding.


Ladies, men will never understand.

Ever.

Now I know T-Man has already posted a video regarding all this…and that is a MUST see…but I’m going to add another one here that I use when I do presentations to the middle and high school kids…

It's Not About The Nail!

I "fix" the problem.

Now, I don't know what to do (hello! guy here!),
so I follow along hoping something will happen and I can apologize for... for... I don't quite know what yet.
(Toldja. Guy.)

Ruby throws up her hands in frustration (She really did that. Threw her hands up) and cries out,
"I TOLD you I'm not good at directions!"

I "fix" things again.
(You'd think I would have learned by now.
You would be wrong.)

I'm worried that she won't find her way back.

I’m guessing that is not what you told her or you wouldn’t be here to write this TR

After allowing her a cool down period,
(a time that is difficult to gauge, I've found.
It's usually somewhere between a few seconds and forever)

That’s pretty accurate…Plus or minus a few years and remember to take into consideration, Daylight Savings time.

I catch up to her and we do what all normal (I told you! Leave it alone!) married couples do.
We make up.

We're in Germany, we've come from France, we're going to Italy next...
So of course we went to an Italian restaurant.

Makes sense…

Ah! Our laundry is done.
All our shirts and socks and unmentionables are nicely washed and ready for the rest of the trip.

I looked at the laundry bill.
I turned it over.
I rotated it.

Nope. Still the same number on it.

And now, because of the bill, you have soiled your clean unmentionables…


Thanks for the chapter! Great stuff…Can’t wait for more!

 

[pkondz]

I'll comment a little more later, but I needed to post about this right away.

Then I guess I better reply right away.

Lady H showed me a video a while back on youtube. It's called "Tale of Two Brains." I don't know if you've ever watched it or have ever heard of it,

Nope.

Anyways, there is a part in the video where the presenter (Mark Gungor) talks about what you just wrote about. I thought I would share it with you. Beat Lady H to the punch.

TALE OF TWO BRAINS - FIX IT!

<sigh> Well, I haven't been home for more then a few minutes since Sunday... and I probably won't be until Sunday or Tuesday. So it's going to have to wait a while longer....

I do not like this title, Sam I am…It sounds more foreboding than the last one.

Maybe my next title should just be: "Muahahaha"

I’m sure I could name a few things better…but um…Family board!

Oh really? Send me a PM, then.

I remember when I could sleep until noon or 1. Now I’m lucky if I sleep past 8. What’s worse, is I used to be that child that would scowl at my parents/grandparents for getting up so early or telling me off for sleeping so late…wondering what in the world they would be doing up so early in the first place…*sigh*

Yup. I remember my Dad would yell at me for sleeping so late.

Hmm…Not an image I needed before lunch.

Oh really? Maybe I could market myself as a weight loss tool.

Nah.
Although I'm sure the "tool" part might fit.

I think the word “we” should be bolded or in quotes…it seems like such a strong word…

Or maybe just changed to "she"?

:

I miss the time of whenever…It’s no longer on any of our clocks at home. I don’t know what happened to it.

It went wherever.

whatever.

It would be very interesting if the rest of her did…I can see the argument with her foot now.

Kay: Wait a minute…I want to go…
Kay’s foot: Nope, sorry. I’m not budging and you need me to stand and walk.
Kay: I have another foot you know.
Kay’s foot: Yeah, but unless you want to hop all over the place on only one foot, I suggest you just lay back down, close your eyes and be quiet.
Kay: Damn! Fine…

Ha. Yeah, I could see that.
Truth is, that the rest of her didn't want to go.
The most involved part would be her mouth.
While it was mumbling, "no." Her brain was going, "zzzzzzzz....."

That’s better than me…I know one phrase in German. And I don’t think the waitress would take too kindly to me telling her I love her…I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t get an English menu out of it.

No. But you might get jewellery, which is better than a menu, no?

CAKE!

Oh…those 3 wise men…

No, I did mean the stooges.

Maybe it was the ghosts of the cathedral construction workers who were haunting Sarah Winchester and telling her to continue construction on her home for years on end?!

I had to stop and think about that one for a second.
"Who's Sarah Winc..... Oh! Winchester!"

Sounds a lot like the NM highways…

We have two seasons in Winnipeg.
Winter and construction. So I hear ya!

Is there a choir that is larger in height and width that is not medieval?

yes....

maybe.

I would hate to be the organist here…

Hard to play the notes while you're hanging on.

Hmmm…leaving DNA behind may not have been your smartest move…At least you could have asked Ruby or Elle for their gum.

I never said it was my gum.

Reminds me of a meme I saw on facebook that said,

“Let’s eat grandpa.
Let’s eat, grandpa.

Correct punctuation can save a person’s life.”

That's exactly what I was thinking of!
Only I remember it as grandma

T-Man loves those!!

Who doesn't? They're amazingly good.

Are the streets or areas so small that you couldn’t all stand together?

We tried that when we had three kids.
That's how we lost the one on the outside, nearest (i.e. on) the street.

Now I know T-Man has already posted a video regarding all this…and that is a MUST see…but I’m going to add another one here that I use when I do presentations to the middle and high school kids…

It's Not About The Nail!

I'll have to wait a day or three before I can check it out.

I’m guessing that is not what you told her or you wouldn’t be here to write this TR

You would be correct.

That’s pretty accurate…Plus or minus a few years and remember to take into consideration, Daylight Savings time.

Of course. And leap years too.

And now, because of the bill, you have soiled your clean unmentionables…

Thanks for the chapter! Great stuff…Can’t wait for more!

Thanks for all the comments!

 

[lisaviolet]

I can't even remember if I have replied. Lord, my head. I think not. But I will. Loved it as usual. I need to eat. And no, there's nothing better than sleeping in - well it's in the top three.

 

[pkondz]

I can't even remember if I have replied. Lord, my head. I think not. But I will. Loved it as usual. I need to eat. And no, there's nothing better than sleeping in - well it's in the top three.

Nope you hadn't replied yet.
I was beginning to wonder if I'd offended everybody... which is, of course, the goal.

So.... what are the other two? Hmmmm????

 

[lisaviolet]

Nope you hadn't replied yet.
I was beginning to wonder if I'd offended everybody... which is, of course, the goal.

So happy you came to your senses and typed in that last part.

So.... what are the other two? Hmmmm????

 

[lisaviolet]

Okay, I've eaten. Here I go.

Sleeping in when you're young.
That's better.

Yes, so true. But you know what was also a favourite of mine. Scheduling all my classes very early at university and coming home for a nap.

Rotten little ingrates!

I changed so many diapers...
I can't wait until they have to change mine!
Okay... I can wait.

Rotten little ingrates. Just perfect with the Christmas music I'm playing. And YES YOU CAN WAIT. Trust me.

Elle is up and wants to go see some sights. Crap! I'm screwing up your BLUE, aren't I? Anyway, impressive. Elle is impressive here.

Our waitress doesn't speak English, but using one of the three German phrases I know, I ask for an english menu and she produces one.

So intensely curious what three phrases you've kept all good and ready. I have a very sarcastic one for Dirk Nowitzki before he got to finally getting his ring. It's ugly, and hardly compassionate, so I won't share. But you need to!

We order continental (which is different from American Continental style... More buns, cold cuts and cheeses) and dig in.

I recall that it was quite good.

Don't ask me why... but we do not take advantage of any of this:



Too early?

Nah. It's never too early for cake!
Maybe we were full.

Bang on. Not too early. I eat a lot of dinner for breakfast. It's something I brought home from Japan.

After breakfast, we set out to see the Cathedral.



Looks a little surreal, doesn't it?
There are no buildings very near the cathedral and the sky was a uniform stratiform overcast.

Wow, simply breathtaking. It's not even my kind of architecture. I often say I could eat buildings for lunch but regardless, it's BREATHTAKING. Thank you.

Construction of the cathedral started in 1248, although the reason for its construction dates back to the previous century.
In 1164, the remains of the Three Kings were brought to Cologne from Milan.
(or you may know them as the Three Wise Men who brought gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh)
The old cathedral wasn't good enough to honour the relics and so a new one was designed.

The cathedral construction continued for over two hundred years and was eventually stopped,
with the cathedral still unfinished, in 1473.

For the next 400 years or so the city skyline was marked by an unfinished cathedral with a crane perched on top.

Seriously?!?!. Well I guess seriously. Thank you for all that.

Work resumed in 1842 and the cathedral was finally completed in 1880.
For a time it was the world's tallest structure, surpassed 4 years later by the Washington monument.

Wow. The thoughts of that time period. Sighing.
A cathedral of this size, however, is never really finished.
There is a constant need for repairs due to wind, rain, etc.
There will probably never be a time where there isn't scaffolding erected somewhere upon it.



Gorgeous shot. Well done!

During WWII, the city of Cologne was heavily bombed,
and the cathedral was hit fourteen times, but did not collapse.

Something. It's like that small church in Lower Manhattan that stood with no issues while there was damage all around it. Loved the pictures, I'm assuming they are above this writing. Crossing my fingers.

Deeper inside the cathedral sits the shrine of the Three Kings.



The "relics of the Magi" were originally from Constantinople, but were brought to Milan in 344.
They were then taken from Milan to Cologne in 1164.

Renowned goldsmiths and artisans worked for 30 years to create the shrine you see here.
It's decorated with gold, silver and precious and semi-precious stones.

Interesting.

I don't mean there are chocolate people...
I mean there is chocolate there, people.

Cute.

I'm gonna stop now...

Why? You were being so thoroughly and brilliantly annoying. Why stop?

In the background is the foil wrap that the chocolate bunny is wrapped in.

We spent quite a bit of time watching chocolate being made by various machines.
We even saw the famous Lindt chocolate balls being made.


Afterwards we headed over to the restaurant and had...



Torte!

Everybody say it with me, "Mmmmmmmm."

Mmmmmmmm.

Maybe it's because we were tired.
Maybe it's because I didn't get to go on my cruise.
Maybe it's because we were still adjusting to the time change.
Maybe it's just because we're normal (Do NOT start with me!!!) people,
just like most other married people.

Yeah, we had a... 'disagreement'.

A given. I really don't understand the other side of this more. The people who never ever do.


Funny thing is, at first, I didn't even know we were having one.

OMG, the best line!


Yeah, and all you ladies out there who are rolling their eyes right about now...
Just settle down!

Maybe rolling in laughter and sighing. Both.

Me: "If you look over to your left, you'll see the magnificent pkondz castle!
Built in 1532 as an homage to greatness and modesty, it took over 350 years and 1,300 craftsmen to build.
It was a miracle of engineering and the pride of the city for centuries.
It covers over 2,000,000 square feet and is surrounded by one of the deepest moats in Europe, to keep out the riff raff."
Ruby: "What?"
Me: "Over there! To the left! pkondz castle! Really big! Big moat too!"
Ruby: "I can't hear you if you don't turn around! You're facing the wrong way and I'm way back here!"
Me, at a complete stop and turned 180 degrees: "The castle! The castle! See?"
Ruby: "Yeah, I know it's a castle. I can see that."
Repeat for virtually everything and anything.

Oh no. Here we go........

 

[lisaviolet]

So we set out for supper from the hotel in our usual formation.

Bear in mind that we'd walked this route twice already.

I say something, I don't even remember what it was, and it wasn't important.

Ruby's had enough.
"I can't hear you! You keep talking, but you're in front of me and I can't hear you!"

So I, being a man, completely fail to see the warning signs and "fix" the problem.


Guys, women do not want you to fix the problem.

Ever.

Age brings such clarity. . Good work. Fine work!!!!

They want you to listen and be understanding.

Yes.

Ladies, men will never understand.

Ever.

Boo.
Ruby starts marching off in the appropriate direction.
I, oblivious to the coming storm, follow merrily along.

Oblivious to the coming storm was an utterly satisfying line to read.

I start to clue in that perhaps all is not well in Ruby's world.

How long did this take you? I'm so curious, it's killing me.

Now, I don't know what to do (hello! guy here!),
so I follow along hoping something will happen and I can apologize for... for... I don't quite know what yet.
(Toldja. Guy.)

The best line EVER.

_____________________

I politely show Ruby where she needs to go to get to our destination.
She leads us over, and then announces she's not going to eat supper, she's going back to the hotel!

And wonderment and shock set in? Is this what happened? Sort of like that big abominable snowman from Ruldolph a la HUH? What just happened?

We make up.

Yeah!

We gather up the rest of the family and head back to our original destination.
It's the same square where we had had that wonderful meal on our first night in Cologne.

We're in Germany, we've come from France, we're going to Italy next...
So of course we went to an Italian restaurant.

Of course.

Ah! Our laundry is done.
All our shirts and socks and unmentionables are nicely washed and ready for the rest of the trip.

I looked at the laundry bill.
I turned it over.
I rotated it.

Perfect.

Nope. Still the same number on it.

I guess I was in shock, because I didn't write it down.
I do know that it was over 100 Euros, or over $135 US.

Nighty night.[/B][/COLOR]

Ummm, I don't think that's that bad.

 

[pkondz]

Yes, so true. But you know what was also a favourite of mine. Scheduling all my classes very early at university and coming home for a nap

I did that too. Except I was a bad and would wind up skipping the first class anyway.
Took me a while, but I wised up eventually that maybe that wasn't such a good idea!

Crap! I'm screwing up your BLUE, aren't I? Anyway, impressive. Elle is impressive here.

Don't worry about it. Who wants to be blue all the time anyway?
Actually, I only do it on my own TRs so it (theoretically) makes it easier for people to distinguish between my (the TR writer) posts and others.
So don't worry about saving the "blue".

And yes. She is. She did a similar thing in Hawaii.

So intensely curious what three phrases you've kept all good and ready.

The other two are (in english)
1. Do you speak English?; and
2. Where is the toilet?
Which sounds rude, but is actually correct.
If you ask for a restroom, washroom, bathroom or WC (which is on the freaking door!!!),
they'll look at you as if you have a third arm growing out of your neck or something.

I often say I could eat buildings for lunch

Well, you did say you had to eat first before you could comment.
So....

Gorgeous shot. Well done!

Thanks!

It's like that small church in Lower Manhattan that stood with no issues while there was damage all around it.

St. Paul's Chapel. A really remarkable story.
Here's Cologne after WWII. Nothing left undamaged, but the cathedral looks (relatively) untouched.

Why? You were being so thoroughly and brilliantly annoying. Why stop?

I'm glad I could annoy you.

A given. I really don't understand the other side of this more. The people who never ever do.

I think couples who never argue/fight/disagree/whatever just don't care enough, anymore.

Oblivious to the coming storm was an utterly satisfying line to read.

And yet.... unfortunately... so true.

How long did this take you? I'm so curious, it's killing me.

Many, many minutes.

(I told you. Guy! Hello!!)

And wonderment and shock set in? : Is this what happened? Sort of like that big abominable snowman from Ruldolph a la HUH? What just happened?

No. It was kind of a gradual thing.
Kinda like this:
<humming a merry tune as I stroll along> All is well with the world.
...
Hmmm.... Ruby's kinda quiet.....
....
Ummm....
....
Uh...
....
Time to test the waters. "Hey Ruby, I don't think we should turn here!"
<silence> (Oh, God. The horror of that silence.)
...
Oh.
Crap.

Ummm, I don't think that's that bad.

Really? We were floored!
I was really expecting $40... tops!
Pretty sure we would have found a laundromat instead...
or just stayed filthy!

Thanks for all the comments!

 

[nebo]

Apparently I had too many smilies!

Happens to me all the timje; I';ll be walking downt the strret with a big smile n my face, and people can't refuse noticing and taking part in it.

Most of the time, though, it's somebody moving into my face and now saying, WHAT'S SO FUNNY?
This uis what happens when you live in a slightyly German, but mostly Italian/Irish, neighborhood.

Yes, Vancouver Island. It's quite expensive to live here but it's the price you pay for living in paradise[/QUOte}

Well, nice jobe Pnzi in getting Kris out of her burrow, not easy sto dom, took me 2 packs of Oreo'[s ns on od , and thoat won't probsbly be happening again anytime soon.

so I guess the little drop kick dog resembled the one from the Blade movies? sweet one second and all vampired out the next?

http://ts1.mm.bing.net/th?id=H.4626230750741567&w=103&h=103&c=8&pid=3.1&qlt=90&rm=2
http://ts1.mm.bing.net/th?id=H.4803003009534658&w=103&h=103&c=8&pid=3.1&qlt=90&rm=2


glad to be able to catch up. Have a couple of days off one for the holiday and tomorrow I get to take the hubby to see what kind of cast he will get on his leg/foot.
yep he broke his leg. we are 55 days out and hoping that he will have the cast off in time for WDW. If not we will just have to rent him a scooter and he can be "that guy" you know the one I am talking about the one who runs over us at the parks

Bet/s , if possible, you are thw onhe I really want og give a hug to,,,, so sorry this all too pladce just receeny.
You and Lantz were wonderfull companyand I look forward meetinmg u-p agian to meet with, or , goig like in the oldn days,,,, and just meet up aieht somebody else.

Well, since his stroke he was told to walk everyday for exercise. So since or granddaughter was born he has been walking with our daughter with Scarlett in her stroller pretty much every day. Last Tuesday he slipped and the ankle went one way but the rest of the leg stayed put until it fractured that is. So long story short is he laid up for 6 weeks or so. this of course happened right after we paid for our trip in Jan. But the doc said he should be ok for the most part by then. \



to add to the irony of this we really wanted to take scarlett to WDW (yeah she is young but they are just so darn portable at this age) and in order to do that we need to take the food source and ok I guess the son in law can come too we will make it work either way and make sure to pack some bubble wrap for lance I guess.
Lady H said she should come out with a bubble wrap cothing line and between Nebo and Lance she could make a nice bit of cash just from them

Thank you on Mom.

And can't wait for the update.

You see, now that instruction type of manuel is just the kind of liter that will get me in trouble,,,,, sorry, doin it again,,,,,,,,, GERMAN Potato Salad.

Now,, there should not be anything tyoughh in that ordere on iy'd oen,,,,,,,nuttin,,,, whatsoever....... untill you talk to Neebs,,,,,,,,,,,, Oy VEY~

But it still all worked out cool never even ahd to use a mag pullout,,,,, take care all, see you sonn

 

[KRIS10420]

Yes, Vancouver Island. It's quite expensive to live here but it's the price you pay for living in paradise

Well, nice jobe Pnzi in getting Kris out of her burrow, not easy sto dom, took me 2 packs of Oreo'[s ns on od , and thoat won't probsbly be happening again anytime soon.

Funny guy. I miss reading your stuff and hope you recover from your injury sooner than later so we can have you back.....There must be some kind of program where you can dictate what you want to say and it will type it out for you???? I was hoping to hear your take on Disneyland but since you are in no shape to do a trip report perhaps you and Smidgy could chime in on the Thumpers' report every so often?

 

[Thumper_Man]

Funny guy. I miss reading your stuff and hope you recover from your injury sooner than later so we can have you back.....There must be some kind of program where you can dictate what you want to say and it will type it out for you???? I was hoping to hear your take on Disneyland but since you are in no shape to do a trip report perhaps you and Smidgy could chime in on the Thumpers' report every so often?

There is such a dictation program. We use it here at work. At one point in time, I suggested we take up a collection and buy it for Nebo. It's not a cheap program, but works really well. Plus, depending on what OS you have installed on your computer, there is already a built in dictation that you can use under accessories. Just need to have a microphone.

The Thumper's are writing a report? Interesting. I'll have to go read it.

 

[nebo]

Apparently I had too many smilies!

I have fouhnd out it's illegal to post too many smilies, or in Ponzi's case, Similies, but to this day, the best smiley ever is still the one kyou get from a baby after feeding him the green beans,,,, and you can see he is now in the process of getting rid of them via the back door,,,,,,, now THAT"S a smiley! Smidgy kind of get's that same look too when she's,,,,,,,um,,,oh,,, did I just say that outloud/? Never mind!

Well, since his stroke he was told to walk everyday for exercise. So since or granddaughter was born he has been walking with our daughter with Scarlett in her stroller pretty much every day. Last Tuesday he slipped and the ankle went one way but the rest of the leg stayed put until it fractured that is. So long story short is he laid up for 6 weeks or so. this of course happened right after we paid for our trip in Jan. But the doc said he should be ok for the most part by then.
to add to the irony of this we really wanted to take scarlett to WDW (yeah she is young but they are just so darn portable at this age) and in order to do that we need to take the food source and ok I guess the son in law can come too we will make it work either way and make sure to pack some bubble wrap for lance I guess.
Lady H said she should come out with a bubble wrap cothing line and between Nebo and Lance she could make a nice bit of cash just from them

Lance, or Bets,,, I'm here for you, any time you want to talk. I like the bubble wrap idea though,,,,,, I can see us in the Wizard of Oz,,,,,,,dressed up in it,,,,, We,,,,, represent, the Bubble Wrap Boys, THe Bubble Wrap Boys, the Bubble wrap boys

 

[nebo]

Hey that might be more fun.

Think about it.

<Blam!>
T_Man: "Well.... what do we do now?"
pkondz: "Dunno."

Or!

<Thwack!>
Nebo: "Ow!"
T_Man: "Heh, heh. That's awesome."
pkondz: "Heh. Yeah. Let me take a shot."
<Thwack!>
Nebo: "OW!! What the...?"
T_Man: "Ha! Nice shot. Pass the slingshot."
pkondz: "Yeah, got him right in the small of his back that time. Here ya go..."
<Thwack!>
Nebo: "Ouch! Darn it! You two better cut it ou...."
<Thwack!>
Nebo: "Ow! Ow! Ow!"
pkondz: "You took two shots there, so I'll take two to even it up, okay?"
T_Man: "Sure, here ya go. Better make it quick before he wises up and goes back inside."
<Thwack!>
Nebo: "OWWWW!!! That's it! I'm going..."
<Thwack!>
Nebo: "OW! Inside!"
<Thwack!>
Nebo: "Youch!"
<slams door behind him>
pkondz: "Sorry, I guess I took three shots there."
T_Man: That's okay. It was for a good cause."
pkondz: "True."

Uh Oh. RUN!!!!!

Smidgy's coming.

I'm just so glad you all are having such fun at my expense.
And I wouldn't worry about Smidgy,,,, she's just got extra ammo!

[COLOR="blue
[COLOR="blue"]Of course we turned into a board.
It's mandatory.

Sheesh, where do you think the phrase, "All a board!" comes from????[/COLOR]

I got back online for this?????????



Nope. They were Death Eaters... that's why we wound up on the train with Satan.

I always wanted to take a train ride with Santa.

HUH/ oh, never mind.
Great, now I' going to have Satan Baby running through my head all night



title
...

And then went to research a construction date and wound up eventually reading about King Herod and his family line, or lack thereof.[/B][/COLOR]

"Jesus I am overjoyed to meet you face to face, You've been getting quite a name, All around the place,,,,, Healing cripples, Raising from the dead, and now I understand you'
re God, at least that's whay you've said,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
"

Okay Pkondz, there's late, but there's also fashionably late, and I'm going to claim that I am the latter of the two.

Don't look at me, I have to room to talk.
I'll let you in on a secret, I actually read your suitcase from hell chapter the day it was posted, but I just haven't had a chance to reply yet. Isn't it interesting that most of us have had a suitcase that tested the limits of our endurance.....but what I have not had were the Mt. Everest size steps that you, bless your heart, had to overcome.

Well, sure. You don't have to worry about it. You are married to Jeremiah Johnson, who will beat the hell out of a tree if it ticks him off by, oh, maybe being in his way.

I know for certain he's gladly take Brussel's Sprouts, in a cheese sauce as a substitute. (No, don't thank me, just doing my informative job.)


Seriously, if you didn't deserve a zebra dome or hundred then, I don't know when would qualify!!

But I intuitively heard the siren call of Nebo's non-accented type voice and I knew, come hell or high water that I simply must post. Gah, I love that guy, clip clops and all. And DH said he has a hug just waiting for Nebo! And we love Smidgy too of course. I think elder DD would gladly stay with Smidgy any time.

And Pkondz, no kidding at all, DH and I were talking about you this morning. DH said I needed to ask you about the intriguing Mayor of Toronto!


Why, of course, Ponzi taught him all he knows! He's now setting his sights on mentoring an easier target;
the mayor of Vatican City.

So yeah, today was our ten year anniversary and tomorrow is Tinkerbuzz's first birthday! Can you guys believe she is one? She is such a precious, sweet, determined, sharp little girl. What a blessing she has been to our family!

Ok, I'm going to come out and show how stupid I was; but did anybody else first think that after reading that sentance up above,,,,,, that the baby was born ONE day before they got married? Ok,,, I' admit it,,, I'm a dumb bunny, but that was the first thing in my mind.,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

resume

I almost forgot to say that I agree that T-Man's devil story was bizarre. Just wow, crazy! I thought you handled it well though T-Man.

And Pkondz, all the hell talk in the chapter had me remembering Dante's Inferno and the various circles of hell. Have you read the book?

Have you ever noiced that the book is NEVER called Inferno? It's always "Dante's Inferno". What's up with that? I mean most other books and novels have stand alone titles,,,that work out just fine.
Really, does anybody always say Robert Louis Stevenson's "Call of the Wild"? Or Goerge Orwell's "Brave New World"?











Right!

(I knew there was a reason I liked you.)

Aren't pronouns great You can throw them in a sentence and no one knows who you mean, so we all take it to mean ourselves,,,, and feel better.





Ah yes... Nebo and I are quite familiar with this phenomenon.

One of us posts a chapter that has cost us dearly in time and sweat and blood and tears...You left out whiskey and Vicodin!


Then the other posts a brief quip.


Yup, you have stolen my "thunder" many a time,,, but I'm still glad you did,,, beats the alternative.
And who gets the accolades?



And "non-accented type voice"?
Really?

That's right, I don't have an "Accent" Wanna make something of it?

Most people should all sound like they came from Shi- CA- go. In case youse dun't know it, that right dere's American, and youse can find it right over by dere in dat book!

How many more commas does he have to post before it's accented type?

I believe the typo should have read "coma"


TMI!

Just kidding.
Yeah he's a lovable old coot, ain't he?

What is this, fun with adjectives?
OLD? I think not,,, not for a couple weeks, anyway
COOT? Um, anybody, help me here? what the H is a coot?



What am I? Chopped liver?
I want a hug from your DH too!

Ruh Roh, I forgot who played this hand. Hmm.
Please tell me it wasn't addressed to Diane from Ponzi, K?



Ok?


OK?

O- KAY ?

to little Bat Buzzette.


Yeah, Happy BDay Laurie,,, I like her, she's the one that didn't run away in terror whn we met.
Of course, whe was only barely able to roll over on her own at that age but that doesn't count.






I've also read (numerous times) Inferno by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle.
It's based on Dante's hell but written from the point of view of a sci-fi author who thinks it's not the real thing.
It did so well that they wrote a sequel called Escape From Hell.

Both are fun reads and I recommend them.[/B][/COLOR][/QUOTE]

You holding out on me? You know I just loved Lucie's Hammer by those two, and this is sitting there? I will say though,,,, I did not care for Footfall in the slightest. Right now, reading a novel of Asimov's short stories,,,, 20 as a matter of fact,,,,,,, aaaaaaahhhhhh. no good twists at the ends, and if its a short story,,,, sorry,,,, I want a "Gotcha".