Quick note from Miami

Yo, my lovely peeps! I'm totally jet-lagged and still exhausted from an absolutely epic journey. There are pitfalls to life in the sticks, such as the logistics of getting from A to B to C at the right time, etc etc etc. I spent more than 40 hours awake, walking miles in a very large airport or sitting uncomfortably for hours on end. No wonder I have the impression I landed on another planet! I'll try to post as often as possible. In the meantime, here are a couple of nice pictures:

Stylish, thought provoking paintings

I find some of these pictures contain accurate and intelligent criticism of modern life and politics. They're by Marco Melgrati, a young Italian illustrator from Milan, now based in Mexico City.

Blue seems to be a popular colour for vases...

There's hope

Click on the link in the first comment. It's going like crazy.

Double birthday party!

Happy birthday to Sleuth and Queen of Sheeba! 

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As a bonus, have some European delicacies and drinks, but leave the baked beans!

Britain steps back into the last century.

We went to bed feeling hopeful and woke up to the shocking news that Britons had chosen to leave the EU.

One of the idiots leading the Brexit campaign, a jingoistic, racist guy called Nigel Farage, who is married to a German woman (go figure), made a victory speech where he stated: "We won without a bullet being fired." 

How quickly he forgot Jo Cox, who was not only the victim of three bullets, but was also stabbed and kicked by someone who enthusiastically embraced the Brexit rhetoric. RIP, Jo.

They wanted to take their country back (where have I heard this before?). Yes, back to the days before the European Union, with all their "human rights nonsense," without laws that guarantee workers a fairer deal, no rules, no regulations... 

Aah... back to the good old days!

      EDL = ENGLAND DEFENCE LEAGUE

I'll explain what will happen to us when I find out...

Say cheese... or not!

I love this photo!

#littleprincess

This is our granddaughter! We're incredibly happy and can't stop smiling! Billy came up with the hashtag and posted this in a message to me last Friday, when they found out it's a girl:

Billy already talks to Sandra's belly, now he can read the books we sent them. They're by Ted Sieger, who created some of my all time favourite cartoons.

We're planning to go to Munich in October to celebrate Peter's 70th and to help Billy paint a mural based on Ted Sieger's "Wildlife" series.

Here's the happy couple, counting the days until December:

This is definitely priceless!

This guy writes very well... I was in stitches! (Warning: the content is not terribly innocent...)

Just after dinner one night, my son came up to tell me there was “something wrong” with one of the two lizards he holds prisoner in his room.

“He’s just lying there looking sick,” he told me. “I’m serious, Dad . Can you help?”

I put my best lizard-healer expression on my face and followed him into his bedroom. One of the little lizards was indeed lying on his back, looking stressed. I immediately knew what to do.

“Honey,” I called, “come look at the lizard!”

“Oh, my gosh!” my wife exclaimed. “She’s having babies.”

“What?” my son demanded. “But their names are Bert and Ernie, Mom!”

I was equally outraged.

“Hey, how can that be? I thought we said we didn’t want them to reproduce,” I said accusingly to my wife.

“Well, what do you want me to do, post a sign in their cage?”she inquired (I think she actually said this sarcastically!)

“No, but you were supposed to get two boys!” I reminded her, (in my most loving, calm, sweet voice, while gritting my teeth).

“Yeah, Bert and Ernie!” my son agreed.

“Well, it’s just a little hard to tell on some guys, you know,” she informed me (Again with the sarcasm!).

By now the rest of the family had gathered to see what was going on. I shrugged, deciding to make the best of it.

“Kids, this is going to be a wondrous experience,” I announced. “We’re about to witness the miracle of birth..”

“Oh, gross!” they shrieked

“Well, isn’t THAT just great? What are we going to do with a litter of tiny little lizard babies?” my wife wanted to know.

We peered at the patient. After much struggling, what looked like a tiny foot would appear briefly, vanishing a scant second later.

“We don’t appear to be making much progress,” I noted.

“It’s breech,” my wife whispered, horrified.

“Do something, Dad!” my son urged.

“Okay, okay.” Squeamishly, I reached in and grabbed the foot when it next appeared, giving it a gentle tug. It disappeared. I tried several more times with the same results.

“Should I call 911?” my eldest daughter wanted to know.

“Maybe they could talk us through the trauma.”

“Let’s get Ernie to the vet,” I said grimly.. We drove to the vet with my son holding the cage in his lap.

“Breathe, Ernie, breathe,” he urged.

“I don’t think lizards do Lamaze,” his mother noted to him.

The vet took Ernie back to the examining room and peered at the little animal through a magnifying glass.

“What do you think, Doc, a C-section?” I suggested scientifically.

“Oh, very interesting,” he murmured. “Mr. and Mrs.. Cameron, may I speak to you privately for a moment?”

I gulped, nodding for my son to step outside.

“Is Ernie going to be okay?” my wife asked.

“Oh, perfectly,” the vet assured us. ‘This lizard is not in labor.. In fact, that isn’t EVER going to happen. . .Ernie is a boy. You see, Ernie is a young male. And occasionally, as they come into maturity, like most male species, they um . . um . . . masturbate. Just the way he did, lying on his back.” He blushed, glancing at my wife.

We were silent, absorbing this.

“So, Ernie’s just . just . . . excited,” my wife offered.

“Exactly,” the vet replied, relieved that we understood.

More silence. Then my wife started to giggle. And giggle. And then even laugh loudly.

“What’s so funny?” I demanded, knowing, but not believing that the woman I married would commit the upcoming affront to my flawless manliness.

Tears were now running down her face. ‘”t’s just .that . .I’m picturing you pulling on its . … . its. . . teeny little . . ”
She gasped for more air to bellow in laughter once more.

“That’s enough,” I warned. We thanked the vet and hurriedly bundled the lizard and our son back into the car.. He was glad everything was going to be okay.

“I know Ernie’s really thankful for what you did, Dad.” he told me.

“Oh, you have NO idea,” my wife agreed, collapsing with laughter.

Two lizards: $140.

One cage: $50.

Trip to the vet: $30.

Memory of your husband pulling on a lizard’s winkie: Priceless!

Moral of the story: Pay attention in biology class.

Lizards lay eggs!

I'm chuffed!

Peter tried to order a birthday cake that wasn't too ornate. They followed his instructions quite literally...

I love it!

Now, seriously, this is what he got me, from the posh chocolatier:

... And I made brigadeiros:

[Is you mouth watering with all this chocolate, P?]

For Dublin