You were there!

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Oaky, I stole this one from one of the blogs I visit, but it is good. This is the home in Florida of a missionary to Brazil.

Carolyn and Joe have returned

This is Carolyn signing on. I would have reported in earlier, but the blog homepage made me sign in, and I had no idea what my username & password were. Anyhow, I finally figured it out, and can now give my much-desired opinions. Spain doesn't like us much, as far as I can tell. The people in Barcelona and Madrid were somewhat rude to us. Which made it interesting to be stuck in their country for a few days. That is not the best way to visit a place, though. Way too stressful and tiring. Italy and Austria, however, were beautiful and the people were warm and friendly. The language barrier made things interesting. Lots of pantomiming. We saw the Eastern Alps in Italy & Austria, Venice, Florence (statue of David), Pisa (as in the leaning tower), Tuscany (Sienna, Perugia-where the chocolate factory is, Chianciana), Ancona (where Dani's parents' condo is) Naples, Pompei, the Amalfi Coast (the isle of Capri, Sorreneto) and finally Rome (Vatican & Sistine Chapel, St Peter's Basillica, Pantheon, Forum, Collesium, etc). We put 3,000 miles on the rented Fiat station wagon, and enjoyed every minute. Got a little tense at the end when we got stranded, but all is well. We're broke and tired, but had a GREAT time. Trip of a lifetime.

Now to clean up the mess from Frances and Jeanne. Yippee

Somebody told me somethin

Hurricane Jeanne has passed through the area leaving me with power and tv and air conditioning...HURRAY!!!!

I talked to my parents and they said that they lost power during the night but that it came back on this morning. They didn't have any damage. The biggest concern right now is that the courthouse is closed tomorrow and Uncle George really needs to start his job ASAP. Please pray that they open very soon.

Grandma is at Sean's house. Most of her things stayed at her house, and dad was going to go over there to check things out today.

Aunt Carolyn called them this morning also to let us know that she is stuck in Spain.....awwww. I'm sure she is all sad about that!

All in all, Hurricane Jeanne was much more friendly than Hurrican Frances and we are all experts at preparing for these storms. Hopefully though, we won't have to play this game again for a LONG time!

Nobody tells me nuthin either!

I kept meaning to respond to your post about not knowing anything going on with the family because I thought is was pretty funny. I learned more in your post (and on the blog in general) than pretty much anywhere else. I did ask Grandma about the Polaceks buying Willie's house, but she didn't know anything about it. So there...she and I both know nuthin! :)

hard to read

Lambert Polacek Dwyer
By John, bygum
I am not one to complain...BUT- I do not like the color scheme on this blog. I find it hard to see especialy without my glasses. Right now I'm looking at a white background with black print and can see just fine (no glasses on) but when someone comes along and just to be cool puts blue print on a blue backround older folks such as myself are hampered,Yes hampered like a dirty shirt with one sleve periscoping out of the top. So please be kind and use white print.
Oh and another thing, I don't like is haveing to read the post and try to figure who is talking before I get to the end where the name is found. Maybe the power that be...Blog-Brother Bill...could swicth that?
Well now here we go again Jean..Hurricain Jean, is changed her path right for us. I'm sure God will protect us again.
Geroge is to arrive in Orlando and visit Then hitchhike south. Should be here by Sat. Joanne hopes to be here by Thanksgiving.Sounds like she is busy busy busy.

Snakey Story

Okay, this story is mostly for Jay, but you all might enjoy it. Click on the post title for a snake related news item. Comment here when done.

BTW, did you notice how posts that relate to links can have the title linked? And how they look different if they are links?

The Lambert Surname

The Lambert Surname

I found this neat website about the Lambert Surname when looking for something else. Did you know that we have the 292nd most common surname in the US? Or that we are 0.037% of the population. Go here for more details.

LAMBERT - Surname Meaning | Origin for the Surname Lambert Genealogy

LAMBERT - Surname Meaning | Origin for the Surname Lambert Genealogy
Okay, I should be doing my lesson plans for tomrrow, but I got sidetracked. This site has a lot of genealogy information for Lamberts {you Polaceks and Dwyers can do your own research}. Here is a definition of the Lambert name:
Definition: Bright land or light of the land, the Lambert surname derives from the Germanic elements "land" meaning land and "beraht" meaning bright

Go to the site for more good stuff!

The Lambert DNA Project Home Page

The Lambert DNA Project Home Page

As I went throughugh the site listed above I found that it is even cooler than I thought. They have this project to determine the DNA of all the Lamberts in the world, to see how they are related. This is going on at Northwestern University. They do ask that you pay for the DNA testing ($99). Check this site out, it is fascinating!

Jay tells me he has a new job

This post name is a link to the general job description that Jay will have in the Marines. Congratualtions Jay!

Nobody tells me nuthin'

Okay here is what I understand from Jean:
John and Jean have returned to their house and mostly are back to normal after the hurricane.

Grandma is also mostly back to normal, she even has phone service.

Willi is moving (don't know where) and is selling her home to Joanne & George. This is good becuase they will be across the street from Mom. And it lets them start a new life in Florida without too much hastle. I do not know when this is happening.

George starts work there in another week. I have no idea about selling the place in Anchorage or when Joanne is heading that way.

Carrie has found suitable employment in Alaska and will continue to remain there.

Can anybody flesh out some details for me?

Lambert Polacek Dwyer

Lambert Polacek Dwyer
Well Ivan is gone west. The new kid comming to town is named Jean,althoug still a tropic depression. WE are downstorming today (Wed) will be taking moms funiture back to her house. All well here except one loose roof tile on peak (laid nicely back in place).and one orange tree which was stood back up and roped, grapefruit tree next.

Fine in Florida

I spoke with Jean today. She called to tell me that they are going alright there in Florida. There is no electricity at their house so they have been staying with Mom at her place, where there is no phone service, but electricity. Air condidtioning trumps connectivity but they also are under a boil order for the water, so things are interesting if not great. They expect to get power by mid-week but Mom's phone may be out for up to three weeks. Who knows about the water.

They still have not taken down the shutters or moved furnature yet as Ivan is looming on the horizon. It looks like the eye will pass south of them and then come up the west coast of Florida. It is another large storm with 165 mph winds so it could still cause problems. And could delay the restoration of power and phone service. She tells me that South Florida has pretty much hunkered down to wait this one out.

They are eating all the food from their refegerator, the stuff from Mom's was eaten last week. No power, no air con, no phone, no water, shuttered windows, car in the family room, moving in with other people, taking a shower in bad water or no shower. Ah the joys of the Sunshine State. Heck it is so nice that Joanne and George are fixing to move back down there.

Yup, that was the other news, George has accepted a job there and will start Sep 27. I do not know when Joanne is expected or any other details but I will try and find them out.

So long

This is Carolyn signing off - I'm headed to Europe tomorrow (Fri). Very exciting, and just in time to avoid another storm in the sunshine state. Jay will be holding down the fort and feeding Rusty. Mom's electricity has been restored, so she is at her own house for the time being. John and Jean are staying there, too, as they do not have power yet. When Ivan arrives, even if it's not that bad here, I expect they will remove Gram L to either their house or ours. Problem is, Mom's phone was working but has given out again tonight. Keep trying, eventually it'll come back on. Anyway, you'all have fun, 'cause I PLAN ON IT! See you on the 25th back in Florida.

Happy Birthday

Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday to you
Happy birth-day dear John-ny
Happy birthday to youuuuuuuuu.

I'm getting a little crabby!

OK, I'm tired of this hurricane thing. I've been at it since last Wednesday (that's 6 days). Hauling furniture & trees, cooking outside, putting up plywood, and suffering w/no air conditioning. I can handle the no-tv thing, tho, no problem. Anyone who would like to vacuum Gram L's house so we can put the furniture back would be welcome. I want to take my planned vacation on Friday! I'm sure Jean and John would like to have their living room back in order soon. That is if the next hurricane goes somewhere else.

I'm back on line, as I am in the office today. However, there's no a/c here either. Joy. Thank the Lord we're all safe, tho.

Will Frances visit here?

I was just looking at the projected path for Hurricane Frances and noticed that by Tuesday is is expected to be over Indiana, the state where I live. What is the deal with that? I thought hurricanes were supposed to be for people in Florida or Louisiana! Well maybe by the time it gets to the midwest it will have mellowed. You know how we are here in the Midwest, we don't make too big a fuss over anything. It is flat and boring here and so are the people. Now an occational tornado, that suits us fine, but a hurricane is too big for us to deal with, and it blows in the wrong direction, it would confuse us.

So far so good!

I have heard something about a big hurricane coming but we haven't seen much action yet. In fact, my roommate and I just got back from trying to go lay out at the pool in the blazing sun. It was locked so we tried to go to the beach. The cops wouldn't let us go over the bridge, so we were forced to enjoy the sun while driving around in my convertible with the top down. So far, I really like Hurricane Frances. I have gotten several sets of papers graded and we've watched 3 movies. :) Hopefully nothing drastic changes.

Well, gotta go. We are going to begin the Lord of the Rings marathon. Hope all is well with everyone else.

Hurricane Frances

Here is a link to a Five Day Storm Forcast Map for Hurricane Frances. It truley does not look good for Palm Beach County ---> Frances

Grandpa

I have a good idea! Why not go to my blog and see the pictures of my new Grandchild (step-daughter Amanda's new baby). PLEASE!!! Click and enjoy.

Bill

Francis finds Florida

Ah, the joys of living in the Sunshine State. It seems no place on Earth is without its downfalls. Among them in FL are an occational 150 mph windstorm. I feel for you in your fear, in the frustration of having to prepare for something that may never happen, and if it does can devistate the area you live in and all the people there. I pray that all will work out for the best for you all. It is no fun for Mom to see her "treasures" being moved out. I hope she realilzes that it is the best thing for them.

I have a question, though, for you, Carolyn. How is this likely to affect your travel plans. Are you likely to be able to get out of town before the 'cane hits and closes the airport? Can you make alternative arrangements, like driving to Tampa and flying out of there?

Storm tracking

Latest projections on Frances is to hit land a county or two north of here, but still it COULD give us a direct hit. That means Gram L's house needs to be emptied of the antiques and memorabilia (which is considerable...) into everyone else's house. What a nightmare! Please pray that she will not get upset, as these things usually affect her physically. The grandsons have been put on notice that we need their help and their trucks for this project, and they're willing to do what they can. Of course, everyone has their own preparations to do - John has boats to secure, Sean has shutters to put up, etc. What FUN.