It's a simple game...........

Simon says has been a popular kids game for centuries. But look at the twist Evie gives it.



Here's Graham doing it correctly

The Cost

(CBS) Thanks to a recently filed Congressional expense reports there's new light shed on the Copenhagen Climate Summit in Denmark and how much it cost taxpayers.

CBS News Investigative correspondent Sharyl Attkisson reports official filings and our own investigation show at least 106 people from the House and Senate attended - spouses, a doctor, a protocol expert and even a photographer.

Read the Congressional Expense Report

For 15 Democratic and 6 Republican Congressmen, food and rooms for two nights cost $4,406 tax dollars each. That's $2,200 a day - more than most Americans spend on their monthly mortgage payment.

CBS News asked members of Congress and staff about whether they're mindful that it's public tax dollars they're spending. Many said they had never even seen the bills or the expense reports.

Copenhagen Congressional Junket

Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., is a key climate change player. He went to Copenhagen last year. Last week, we asked him about the $2,200-a-day bill for room and food.

"I can't believe that," Rep. Waxman said. "I can't believe it, but I don't know."

But his name is in black and white in the expense reports. The group expense report was filed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. She wouldn't talk about it when our producer tried to ask.

Pelosi's office did offer an explanation for the high room charges. Those who stayed just two nights were charged a six-night minimum at the five-star Marriott. One staffer said, they strongly objected to no avail. You may ask how they'll negotiate a climate treaty, if they can't get a better deal on hotel rooms.

Total hotel, meeting rooms and "a couple" of $1,000-a-night hospitality suites topped $400,000.

Flights weren't cheap, either. Fifty-nine House and Senate staff flew commercial during the Copenhagen rush. They paid government rates -- $5-10,000 each -- totaling $408,064. Add three military jets -- $168,351 just for flight time -- and the bill tops $1.1 million dollars -- not including all the Obama administration officials who attended: well over 60.

In fairness, many attendees told us they did a lot of hard work, and the laid groundwork for a future global treaty.

"I was there because I thought it was important for me to be there," Rep. Waxman said. "I didn't look at it as a pleasure trip."

But considering the size of the deficit, and the fact that that no global deal would be reached -- critics question the super-sized U.S. delegation -- more than 165 -- leaving the impression there's dollars to burn. In this case, more than a million.

Austin Caper

Last week we got an email from Jenn asking if it would be at all possible for us to come to Pflugerville and watch the kids while she and Anth went to The Inn over Onion Creek to celebrate the anniversary of friends David and Deedra's wedding. They have done this for 3 years straight............
I was not scheduled to work and Bev can work on the fly so we were happy to do it. Col and Anna are a piece of cake to look after. They both listen well and are patient with Nana and Grandad.
Anth said that they needed to do their piano practice every day before ANY tube or game time. We complied.




We did a lot of interesting stuff. Nana took the kids to Super Target and while you wont see in the pictures the loot they got believe me they did OK. Anna liked her pillow so much that she slept on it! She also got Welligogs that are so cute they need a license.


I made a double portion of Lasagna for one dinner




And we had the pleasure of going to KaPow's for lunch on Saturday (no pics from me but Anth has some)And Anna got all dressed up and even put on makeup




Here's a coupla vids.....

The 2010 Houston Marathon

Luckily the weather was perfect for the runners. It was cold for the spectators. Look at Nana and Evie.


We were particularly interested in this race because Gail Beckley Brooks was an entrant. She's Bev's brother Joe's wife and she has been doing marathons in the last year or so in just a little over 3 hrs. She did 3.05 in the 2009 Tulsa Route 66 marathon and came in 2nd. In 2008 she won in Tulsa with 3. 02. Breaking the 3 hr barrier was a biggee for her.
Here is the group arriving at the first stop-mile 8 water station...


We stood at mile 8 and I got this shot of the first ladies going by .....

Then Gail.....


Then at mile 14 this one.....


We grabbed a Starbuck's coffee and hurried up, climbing over a fence at one point, to mile 23. I thought I had video at the important mile 23 marker, unhappily it didn't record.
We decided at the last minute to go downtown for the finish but detours and cop cars made it difficult. It took us 1/2 hour or more to get there and by that time we knew from the internet tracking that Gail finished in 2 hrs 59 mins and 34 secs. Whooo!!
We are so proud of her.
NAME: Gail Brooks
EVENT: Full Marathon
DATE: January 17, 2010
BIB/DIV: 982 / F3539
TIME: 2h:59m:37s (gun) / 2h:59m:34s (net)


Despite no cell phone coverage downtown??? We were fortunate enough to spot Gail in the thousands of people just as we had given up hope of finding her. Here is a video of that........

Here Gail and her sister Michelle celebrate.


Here's what the crowd looked like downtown...


And another group with the friends...

And finally old Brian. This guy was walking downtown with beer and cigarette after the run. Go figure.


It was a great day...........

I'm BACK!!!!

Wow between Christmas and New Year's and a nagging back ache that lasted 3 weeks I haven't had time nor inclination to post.

We had Paige overnight last week and I missed taking a picture of that event. We had crab for dinner and PK loved it.
This week was Graham's turn and he wanted crab too but got award winning chili con carne instead. He loved it and had two helpings. Next morning I made full English breakfast and he ate like a starving prisoner........
Here's a vid...

Coronado Christmas

Today was my second meal at this terrific Downtown dining club in the past week. My belt is tightening.

Steph and Al have such an easy way of making an opulent meal and an incredibly lavish event seem like its done just for us and their lovely family. I am thankful.
Here is our picture with Santa Claus....


We had a great meal and the kids were so well behaved. I didn't take any
movies until the end of the event when I took these vids of the kids with Santa's talented elves.........

Nelson is neighbors Will and Lisa M's son. He's the little guy in the first two vids. He is so cute in this bit with the elves. I missed some of his better stuff too!

Ferry Hut

Along the Manchester Ship Canal in Runcorn there is a strip of land called Ferry Hut. The name is a vestige of the ferry that operated across the river between Runcorn and Widnes until the MSC was channeled and opened in 1894. The ferry cost 2d per person per trip.The hut was a little protective building for the ferryman.
There is a song famous around the area about the ferryman and a family who wanted to get across the river cheaply.
Here's link. You'll need to hit the return button after listening to get back to my blog.
This is how the unspoiled Ferry Hut looked.


In 1905 the Transporter Bridge was built as another means of crossing the river. As you can deduce from the proximity of the railway bridge in both these photos its footprint was right on the hut building.

In 1961 the bridge was demolished as a new road bridge was constructed to allow cars
to cross the river easily.

One of the most prominent memories I have of Ferry Hut was an unpleasant one- I was 3 years old and reaching for a stick in the water and I fell in. I was with my mate Joey who was 4. Luckily I had on an overcoat which I think had a little buoyancy and kept me relatively close to the surface until 16 year old Jackie Gleave, who had a magnet tied to the end of a length of string, swung the magnet my way and on the second attempt, just as I was going down for my third gobful of canal water, I grabbed it and they pulled me ashore. I vaguely remember being carried/dragged up the wall to safety but I remember well grabbing the magnet.
I have good memories of all the football matches that we played down there. We seldom had a real soccer ball. Usually it was a (new at the time) plastic ball about 1/2 the size of a regulation soccer ball. It wouldn't last but 1/2 an hour before bursting under the pressure of all the scrambling feet and from being in the cut (water) every 4 or 5 minutes. Then they'd fill the thing with rags and kick it about for another half hour till it was so split it wouldn't hold rags..

I remember pogging (throwing stones)at those stumps that came out of the water near the hill (under the bridge)by where the original hut had been.
We'd make a game of seeing who could hit the most stumps with 10 stones each, or we'd line up glass bottles on the wall and pog at them till all were broken.
Another activity we enjoyed was digging. We would spend all day digging 6 ft deep trenches in the sand at Ferry Hut. High up enough above water line so it didn't fill with water and cave in. Alfie Collins had a shovel that was cut off at about 7 inches of blade and he could dig like an prairie dog with that thing. His brother Leslie was my friend and we would watch with awe as he went deeper and deeper.

Climbing the sandstone wall that led up to the Transporter was another scary thing some kids would do. With lifelong acrophobia I was only able to go up the wire alongside the wall about halfway, Joey went all the way. However on the western side of the approach road there was an easier climb where I got a real scare one day. I climbed about 8 ft high and grabbed a wire coming from a little utility building. I got an electric shock so bad that my hand was frozen to the wire and I was dangling 6 ft off the ground. Fortunately the electric sputtered and I was able to let go and tumble to the ground scared as hell but grateful.

Another great memory of Ferry Hut is the American ships that would come carrying goods to Manchester. Ships as big as 10,000 tons were able to make the trek up to Manchester from Liverpool. We knew which ones were American because the same liners came year after year. Lykes Lines had a few repeaters. When a ship came into view by the bridge you would hear the kids in the street yelling " Big feller" and everyone would scramble down to FH and beg the Americans to "Throw us summat Mister"
And they more than not did. They threw cigarettes, apples, oranges, candy and chocolate. Every one would fight and scramble on the shore for the goodies. One guy tried to throw a watermelon. It dropped real close to the ship and after the ship was gone we spent an hour pogging at the water just beyond the melon to make it come closer to shore where we could wade in and retrieve it. It tasted great and was the first watermelon I'd ever had. Must have been the same for my mother too for she put salt on her slices!

Ferry Hut was unhealthy because effluence from the sewers overflowed into it, and also the petroleum sludge from the nearby Stanlow Refinery was evident throughout the year, still many people swam in the canal every summer. It was a growing up rite for boys to be able to swim out to the gantry wall separating the river from the canal. You had to go out about 50 feet and look both ways to be sure no boat traffic was coming. Some of the tugs and smaller ships moved quickly and once you decided to continue on to the gantry, speed was required.

My sister Sybil recalled the time I took my nephew Roy out to the gantry on my back. He could not swim but had more guts than sense and was confident I could do it. It turned out OK.

There's other stuff I could pass on but this has already become too hefty.