Hello from Londonderry, Northern Ireland! We have finished our part of the trip in Scotland and have been in Ireland for the past 3 days. It's been spectacular so far with many pictures which I will share here after I return. Where did everyone go? Thanks Arlene for the posting. Cannot take much time, I'm 'borrowing' the hotel's computer with it's clumsy UK keyboard :-).

I've been enjoying the conversations. Just wanted to wish Lee and Terri a great time on their trip, and to Jay, I will keep Margaret in my prayers.

I probably won't be blogging from Scotland or Ireland unless I find a cyber cafe or whatever they call them these days. But I'll make sure to post some pictures when I return. Everyone take care and be nice to Homer so he'll post to the weblog and not delete his stuff after a day :-).

We'll make sure keep your wife in our prayers, Jay.

My God, Homer...! In no way did I mean to offend! I was just reminiscing (I hope I spelled that correctly!) of how wonderful it was to spend a birthday with one of my closest friends. I'm sure that your tastes have totally refined since we were 17. I can't even handle Wild Turkey anymore, but a shot of Jameson(my youngest's middle name) every once-in-a-while, brings that nice, warm feeling into me. Lee, let me know when you may be coming back. It would be great to see you again. We had a great talk the last time. It's amazing how close we came to hanging together on a regular basis... I would like to enlist prayers for my wife, Margaret, who found "lumps" in two areas where they shouldn't be. Ultrasound to follow... I'll keep you all posted...

Hi Rich, there's nothing wrong with making pithy postings. I think pithy postings are what we strive for in the weblog and I always enjoy reading your postings, it's just when they disappear that I despair that we can't go back and reference them for the value they bring to our discussion . In any event, I'll be out of here for a few weeks so you guys will have to carry on and sustain the weblog without me. Perhaps Rob (i.e. Doc) and I will run into each other in the old country and wouldn't that be great?! Oh, by the way, I'm referring to this posting by Rich:

"First - I don't drink Wild Turkey - it's either Jack Daniels (Gentlemen Jack or Jack Green) or Makers Mark. Second my taste in wine does not directly correlate to it's cost or it's popularity - just like clothes - I would rather wear a pair of 25 dollar pants that fit confortably than pay 150 dollars to advertise someones name on my butt. Third - yes I cover my tracks - let's just call it paranoia and leave it at that. Fourth - what's wrong with being pithy? One can be efficient by getting to the point without mounting a fillabuster. Fifth - I'll pass on the rocky mountain oysters - perhaps it has something to do with where they are grown.

And I should be given a little credit for chimming in from time to time - unlike those out there who are 'lurking' - but not posting.


Finally Lee - are you going to give us another geographical obscurity to identify - or was that a one time deal."

Jay keeps sending me these wonderfully photogenic pictures of his grandson, and I keep using them. I've given him the html on how he could include them in his own postings, but he just keeps letting me put them in my postings, because he's so generous .

In any event, to defend Homer, just because one acquires a taste for a particular wine, that doesn't mean that it in any way diminishes one's taste for a particular bourbon, such as Wild Turkey. I can hardly believe that I'm sticking up for Homer here, since he routinely deletes his pithy and insightful postings, much to my dismay. Homer, must I save and re-post your musings under a new name so you can no longer delete them? You are the only one who is covering your tracks on the weblog and it makes our comments seem inane since 100 years (or even a few months) from now, people are likely to wonder why we are commenting on these postings that are no longer here....

Homer!!!!!!!!! I'm shocked and saddened to hear that your taste has gone from Wild Turkey to some God-forsaken wine that we can't even pronounce in English! Woe is me!!!!!!!! It really was a great evening that you, Toozer, Paulie Lawrence, and I had, wasn't it? It was not really a night to remember, but I remember spending it with good friends... I guess that's what special dreams are made of... AND WHOPPING HANGOVERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Say "hey" to Rose for me if you talk to her.... I haven't heard from her in a while... I'm sure all of our families and careers are keeping us busy... Take care, everyone!!!!

Ricardo, I offer you a bottle of one of the finest wines from the Piedmont region of Italy (value $150) and you instead request a Hungarian vintage whose name loosely translates to "bull's blood"? I shall defer to your sophisticated palate, as you strike me as a connoiseur of fine libations. Next time you're in the neighborhood, I'll make sure that we treat you also to the finest Mexican food along with Margaritas that will ruin your taste for all others. Perhaps we can even make a stop at Bruce's Bar, which is just a stone's throw from Greeley and located in Severance, CO for some Rocky Mountain Oysters. You do like seafood, don't you?

You guys do check in frequently! Although they are all good guesses, the prize belongs to Rich Hometchko, who was the first to correctly identify the picture as being set in Tuscany, Italy, in between Florence and Sienna. I have been to Italy a half dozen times as well as a few other countries in Europe, but Italy is by far our favorite. Beautiful scenery, great food, and friendly people make it the place to visit. Whenever we visit, we usually rent a motorcycle for a day and tour the back roads and it has always been a wonderful experience.

Rich, as the winner, we will share a dinner along with a bottle of Pio Cesare Barolo (1980's vintage), my treat. You can come out to Colorado to collect your prize.

Rich seems to have a fine grasp of the Italian language so perhaps he's spent a little time there himself...

Ciao, Lee

Hello Everyone,

I know I know, I haven't been adding much here, but I have been reading. Just to let you know Lee I hated Geography and still do but I'll take a guess anyway. I do agree with Homer that after looking at the picture it will probably be Italy but my 1st. guess was Ireland as that is where you're planning to go on vacation. By the way, did you ever find that wedding ring you were detecting for or other wonderful treasures???

Lee,

My guesses would be --

a. Switzerland or Austria (outsdie of Salzburg) or
b. British Columbia

As you probably noticed, I've changed the headliners again. I have nearly 4 years to cycle through every senior picture and so it won't be a challenge to give everyone their 'day in the sun'

It still amazes me that after nearly a year, no one has managed to post a single link or a picture to the weblog. I'll give Jay Tobias a pass since he sends me lots of photos of his grandson Aidan. In fact, I've given him the code to embed Aidan's most recent picture in his next posting since I felt a little guilty of sprucing up my postings with is very photogenic grandson. It's really easy to embed pictures, if you send them to me so I can size them and place them on the web server so that they can be included in your posting. I'll then send you the html to add to your posting. I usually size them so that they are small enough to see on a web page (typically 600 pixels in width or less) and then you can just add some text to your postings and it really adds a lot of pizzazz when your postings have pictures embedded.

Take for instance the photo shown above. I would challenge anyone to give me the country and region where it was taken to win the grand prize. I'll give you a hint... It's not in the U.S.