Greetings from Binghamton University!

Hello everyone! I've been reading the posts and decided to take a minute and contribute today. I am currently on my break between psychology classes during my first day at Binghamton University :) It's been a difficult couple of weeks preparing for my new school and I was a bit anxious walking into my Social Psychology class of 130 students this morning. I am technically a junior but I feel like a freshman walking around campus and staring at the large buildings with awe. This is such a change from the community college I have been attending for the past two years.

It sounds like everyone has had a nice summer. We have had a very busy one here in Binghamton. My mom spent hers teaching summer school and mine started off with a fun tonsilectomy and then work, working out, and the weekly lazy coffee hour with grandma :) I got to learn the ins and outs of a commission job selling tools and fitness equipment. This crash course into the world of tools and men (and sometimes men who are tools) has been fun and I'm thankful to have a job.

The last week of my summer before college my mom and I visited Belmar, NJ. It was beautiful beach weather and we got to try parasailing which is an AWESOME experience! I attached a picture of us getting dunked by our very cool parasailing guides off the shore of Asbury.

I hope everyone is doing well and in good health. Good luck to all of us who are starting off new years and semesters in school (teaching and attending) and everyone else in the family!

Love, T

Talking about grandkids...

Talking to Debra last night, we were sharing stories about the little persons in our lives. Miss Alexa and Jaka, both in their third year, seemed destined for great things. Alexa may become president and Jaka a poet laureate. Whatever else they may become, right now they are pure entertainment. All our babies are wonderful, but here is a picture Carlye sent with a story created by Jaka. Unfortunately the print doesn't show well in this size, so here is the easy-to-read version: Mississippi Mrs. Sipp

"Tell me a story,” I say to Jaka one evening. "Ok,” she says. "This story is about... Mississippi Mrs. Sipp.” "Mississippi Mrs. Sipp!” I exclaim, "what a fantastic name!” "Yes,” says Jaka. "So tell me,” I ask, "what is the story about Mississippi Mrs. Sipp?” "No,” Jaka says, "she doesn't have her own story. She comes into other people's stories.” "Other people's stories?” I ask. "Yes,” she says. "She comes into stories through newspapers, milkshakes, and,” she cups her hand around her mouth and whispers in my ear, "PEOPLE'S NOSES!” We laugh, and Jaka continues. "She goes into ghost stories that love to paint and make pictures to make up a story. At the end you paint something that looks like the ghost's teeth..” "I don't understand,” I say. "Of course you do,” she says. "Just take a deep breath, close your eyes, and count to ten.” I do, and when I open my eyes again she is gone. Hiding. A few seconds later she comes running back.. "So, how does Mississippi Mrs. Sipp come into stories through...” She laughs, interrupting me. "People's noses is silly.” She explains. "Yes, it is,” I agree. "When she comes in through noses she jumps in, and when she comes in through milkshakes she is sweety and milky too. She just walks in through newspapers by painting a hole in them. But she doesn't like getting milky because then she gets sour.” "I see,” I say, "I see.” The End.

Manters in Myrtle

Went to Myrtle Beach with the family for 6 days. We had great weather and a wonderful time! 14 of us stayed in a 6-bedroom condo. Debra ate a lot of clams and oysters....while Greg chose to stick with land cuisine. Grandpa taught Miss Alexa how to use a boogie board while baby Christopher just ate and slept peacefully in a tent on the beach. We arrived a day later than everyone else and had to leave a day earlier due to the race schedule, but 6 days was plenty! Debra took her new laptop, concerned that she wouldn't be able to work while she was gone. When we arrived, there were three other laptops already hooked up! What on earth did we do before computers? We took one afternoon by ourselves to go to the Ripley's Aquarium. Dad Manter would have said, "It's choice." On the way back, we stopped at The Seafood Shack (shack was appropriately descriptive). The food was amazing and we loved the atmosphere.... shells on the floor...the beach outside...and everyone in flip-flops and beachwear! Fun! We are back to reality now, but looking forward to next year's trip!

A little late, but Happy Anniversary Bro and Sis!

Carol's post about tandem biking with the blind, reminded me of this timely event:

August 9th was Jerry and Michele's 5th anniversary. I'm not sure where the tradition came from (on Michele's side) but the first "test" of marriage after their vows was whether they could ride in tandem! Greg is in the far left, videoing the episode. We are glad to report that they managed well enough to get the blessing of the assembly.

Of course this blog was too late to post other summer anniversaries, but June 3rd was Cory and Katy's 3rd, June 8 was our 13th and July 8th was Mark and Carol's 3rd. Happy Happy!

Update from NY

It's been a busy summer for us in NY. I volunteered at a camp where 27 visually impaired adults were staying for a week. Some of the activities were tandem bike riding, hiking, canoeing,kayaking, and belly dancing. The participants have wonderful personalities and there is always a lot of laughter. I enjoy going each summer. I also spent a day in Hyde Park, NY touring FDR and Eleanor's homes as well as a Vanderbuilt Mansion. Last weekend Mark and I tried zip lining which included manuevering through many obstacles. Let me know if you're interested, and I'll send you the link to the pics.

Manters on the Move

Pictured in JT's Hawaiian shirt collection are:

(L-R) Melia (16), Alex (18), Jeff (20)

Melia has just returned from an 80-mile trek through the High Sierras. She will be providing the details of her amazing adventure.

Alex leaves for his first year at Williams College in September. (He will now be a "New Englander", for a while, anyway.) Part of his orientation is a 5-day camping trip with 8 of his new classmates.

Jeff moved to Portland, Oregon last week to seek his fame and fortune. He loves it there!

Rainy in Boise too!

For weeks, it's been HOT and DRY. 100 degree days, over and over, and in the span of 48 hours, we went through the most impressive thunderstorm I've seen in Boise in a long time, which brought in the rain, and it has been raining bringing the temps down to the 50's-60's!! We need it! Not too much though! Enough for our dam, but not too much for the foothills, as that would just be a huge fire waiting to happen.

Anyway, all is well for the Manter's... lost in the most red state of the union. As the bumper sticker says, that's all over the valley, I'm a blue girl in a red state! :)

Karen

Rainy summer in CT

You remember how, two years ago, the well ran dry here on Dog Lane?

Stanley dug the well by hand, of course, and in 50-ish years it had never failed. But in the dry, dry summer of 2007, we had six weeks of getting our water through a garden hose from the neighbor. Our drinking water had to be carried in from the spring in Willimantic.

Anyway, not this year! Here's a graph of the water levels in our well for 2008 (blue) and this year (red). The blue line is an auto-generated "trend" line -- I actually stopped measuring the well last year in mid-August. (I didn't keep records of the drought of 2007, but the bars would have been basically invisible throughout September.)

Today's reading, at 111 inches, is more than we usually have in the spring! The weatherman on the teevee last night said that Connecticut has had its wettest June-July (combined) since they started keeping records.

Hope you're dry, wherever you are.