Tuesday, September 18, 2007

The Age of Technology

On the way home from a quick shopping trip, Henry asks me about Frau Marion. (A little background... Frau Marion watches Gracie when we go away. She takes great care of our little G. She keeps the dogs-how ever many there are- in the house with her. Now, I'm a dog person, but can you even imagine? Gracie comes home smelling like a rose. I don't know if I could say the same about Frau Marion's house. I've never been inside.) Anyway... back to our conversation in the car. Here's how it went:
Henry asked "Mom, have you ever picked up Gracie?"
"Maybe once or twice.", I said. (Usually Mark picks her up.)
"Do you know the way?", he asked.
"Vaguely.", I told him. "Do you know the way?" (I wouldn't put it past him, he does have a remarkable memory.)
He tells me, "No I don't know the way. And even if I did, I couldn't pick her up....I can't drive!"
"BUT, in a few years, I can GPS it and drive there myself!", he said.
Our good old "Edna Mose" the GPS! By the time he's ready to drive, what will technology be like? We can only wonder!!!

Sunday, September 16, 2007

Memory

No, not the song from Cats.
I was all set to go on and on about our wonderful, hilarious children until I couldn't remember my password. I know my work email and log in, home, (most) important birthdays, some anniversaries, the names of children that I taught years ago. I can not remember what I wore yesterday or today....my password. I was frustrated, my blood pressure was rising and there was no chocolate in sight. (The fat free syrup that I accidentally bought does not count.) Needless to say, you all will have to wait to hear about our funny, precious boys.
I'm off to eat scavenge for an Oreo.....

Sunday, September 9, 2007

The Polish Prince

A recent road trip with the family was interesting, to say the least.
Mark makes up words for songs. Those verses that you can barely make out what is being sung...Mark just improvises. Years ago, I had to stop and ask him what on earth he was singing during "Evil Woman" by ELO. His version...'Medieval Woman". (Sing it to yourself, I'll wait.) I couldn't help but laugh. Imagine the video to that one. We have a CD from the UK with a song on it by Catatonia. The title is Road Rage. Mark sings Brogue Rage. Like people would go deep end over the way someone pronounces a word?
The other day we are in the car and Another One Bites the Dust by Queen comes on. The radio gets turned up a bit higher, the guys start jamming in the back seat. (What a sight to see Owen bounce to it!) Henry starts in with his air guitar. Mark and I start the chorus, when I had to stop, turn to Mark and ask him what he is singing? He wanted to know what the words were. Tell me your version first, I ask him. Here you need to start singing the chorus to yourself to get the full effect. Here are the lyrics:
Are you happy, are you satisfied
How long can you stand the heat
Out of the doorway the bullets rip
To the sound of the beat.

Marks version....
Are you ready, are you satisfied,
How long can you stand the heat
Out of the doorway, THE POLISH PRINCE
To the beat.

Freddy Mercury is rolling in his grave. Another fine example of Mark's great ability to make up words that fit into a song. When I hear Polish Prince, the first thing that comes to mind isn't Queen, it's Bobby Vinton, THE Polish Prince.

Thursday, September 6, 2007

So here we are...

First a bit about how we came up with the name.
I have been pondering it for a long time. Even had friends suggest ideas. (Wrob, you still get the box of treats, watch for them in the mail....good ideas!)
We used our initials and came up with ohms and mhos. How appropriate for an Electrical Engineering Dad, huh? Apparently these describe the flow of electricity. One is resistance (ohms) and conductance is the other (mhos). The resistance thing sounded kind of well, like a resistance government movement or something. We went with mhos. (I think Mark liked the idea of being first, too!) Now we don't want to leave out the beloved pet, so would you believe the symbol for conductance is a 'G'. So the whole family is represented in one warped electrical way or another. I don't get any of it. I never really got science for that matter.
So, welcome to our blog. We hope to share our adventures, misadventures, stories, and life in Europe with you.
Enjoy!