Valentine's Day Dance

Daddy Steve:  The girls were busy getting ready for the first annual Gregoropolis Valentine's Day dance.

Holly Belle: How's the decorating coming?

Harriet: Oh, just splendidly!

Holly Belle: Good.  Just remember --

Rhoda: Yeah, yeah.  We know; no tape on the wallpaper.

Harriet: Actually, we're just about finished.

Holly Belle: Great! You're just in time for the yoga class I will be leading then.

Rhoda: Why do we have to do yoga?

Holly Belle: It's obvious.  The boys outnumber us, so we're going to be doing lots and lots of dancing.  We have to be in top form.

Louisette: I do not need ze yoga.  We French women are naturally fit, n'est-ce pas?  We have ze appetite like ze bird and we walk everywhere.

Later that evening, the dance was ready to begin!

Blake was acting as DJ.

Daisy: Do you have 'Mony Mony' by Billy Idol?

Blake: Oooh, rock on!

However, a problem became immediately apparent.  The boys are that self-conscious age where the idea of dancing...and with a girl!...is rather mortifying.

Holly Belle:  Why won't they dance with us?!  They're just milling around and eating!

There were, of course, a few exceptions.  Bowie and Valerie cut an elegant rug.

And Robin believes that dancing is a societal nicety every refined young gentleman should be accomplished at.

Of course, Frank was his usual uninhibited self.

Frank: Boogie down!

Alice: >sigh<

The evening may not have gone exactly as planned, but Holly Belle is never one to give up.

Holly Belle:  Well, I can see that before next year's dance I'm going to have to organize some dance lessons in addition to the yoga classes.

❤❤ HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY from GREGOROPOLIS!  ❤❤

The Games We Play

Daddy Steve:  The winters at Gregoropolis tend to be long...very long.  Fortunately, the kids are pretty good at entertaining themselves.

We have a pinball table (a gift from our friends at Rose Cottage) which provides many hours of fun.  Looks like Barbara and Beatrix are crushing Mikko and Tyler in today's challenge...

Mikko: Wow, I had no idea they were so good!

Barbara: We're not just pretty faces, you know.

Beatrix: Well, we are that, too.

Ezra: I hope you guys didn't bet any allowance money!

The Gotz boys like to play Connect Four.

Kurt: I win!

Rolf: How?

Kurt: I've got four diagonally.

Rolf: Ach! I forget the diagonal.

Kevin: This excitement has made me hungry!

Robin and Blake are attempting to teach Frank how to play Kings in the Corner (the only card game Daddy Steve knows how to play...).  Unfortunately, Frank's attention span is not very long.

Robin: ...so then, if you draw a king, you put it in one of the corners and then you can transfer another string of cards onto it.

Blake: But they also have to be in descending order and alternating colors.

Frank: >Yawn<...

Robin: Right, and then you can put down other cards to fill the empty spaces.

Blake: Whoever puts down all of his cards, wins!

Robin: Any questions?

Frank: Yes.  Is white chocolate really chocolate?

Meanwhile, Holly Belle, Nathan, Marta, and John Martin are engaged in an intense game of Uno.

Nathan: Ha-ha!  You have to draw four cards, Holly Belle!

Holly Belle: Hmmf!  I think  you do that to me on purpose.  John Martin would never do that to me.  He's very gallant; aren't you John Martin.

John Martin: Um, maybe?  I'm actually not sure what that even means.

Marta: Maybe we should play a different game.

For Patrick and Ravi, scientific inquiry is as exciting as any game.

Patrick: Hmmm...I wonder what Mr. Spock would say.

Ravi: 'Fascinating'?

Thank You

Hi Everybody,

I'd just like to shout out a thank you to those who messaged us here on the blog, on FB, or privately.  I really appreciate the thoughts and positive energy sent; it has all made the last month survivable.  

Steve and I will be back reporting on the Gregoropolis clan's adventures tonight or tomorrow.

Thank you again and Sasha hugs!  xx Daddy John

Blogcation

We've had some recent sad news at Gregoropolis, so we'll be on a short break while taking care of family and other things.  We'll be back in a week or two.  

Mastering the Art of French Cooking

Giancarlo: Ciao, Emile!  You're just in time to help set the dinner table.  We've made everyone's favorite: spaghetti.

Emile: Sacre bleu! Not ze spaghetti again!

>collective gasp<

Gino: What's wrong with spaghetti?!?

Giancarlo: Spaghetti is good for you!

Angelo: You wouldn't be so small if you ate more spaghetti!

Emile: Non, mes amis, eet ees because I do not have ze delicious French food that I am wasting away!  Why can we not have more of ze cuisine français in zis 'ousehold?

Giancarlo: Because French cooking is too fussy and complicated.

Emile: Zat ees where you are wrong.  Come, let me show you.

Anthony: "Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child."  I've seen her on TV.  I think it was a program about making omelets for 300 people in 15 minutes, or something like that.*

*Season 1, episode 4.  Original air date February 23, 1963

Emile: Now, look at zis recipe.

Anthony: 'Boeuf Bourguignon.'  Hmm, actually that doesn't sound too difficult.

Emile: Not at all; even for ze non-Français

Giancarlo: Hmmmf.

And so the boys get ready to cook.  However, complications soon arise...

Anthony: Uh-oh.  The recipe calls for bacon.  We forgot to get that at the supermarket.

Gino: I found this in the pantry.  What do you think?

Emile: Imeetation bacon bits?! Madame Child would turn over in 'er grave, that ees what I think.  Non, non, non.  I will return to ze store for ze bacon while the rest of you continue with ze preparations.  Tsk-tsk!

Giancarlo: We have another problem.  I checked in the basement and we don't have any French red wines.

Anthony: Oh dear.  I knew this was going to be more complicated than we thought.

Gino: Aren't we a little young to be drinking wine anyway?

Anthony: It's fine.  The alcohol all burns off during cooking, but how are we going to solve this problem?

Angelo: Well, the recipe does say that you can use Chianti, and we have lots of that*.

Giancarlo: Ha-ha!  That's Italian wine!  Emile would never go for that!

Anthony: Well, what he doesn't know won't hurt him...

*Daddy Steve's favorite wine with pizza

Quite a while later...

Emile: I think eet ees ready to come out of ze oven.

Louisette: Oh mon petit lemon, eet smells magnifique!  Just like maman used to make!

And after dinner...

Giancarlo: I must admit, that was delicious.

Emile: But of course, mon ami.  Eet ees ze wonderful French wine zat ees ze secret ingredient!

Giancarlo: You know what, Emile? For once I agree with you! >hee-hee<

There's No Such Thing As A Minnesota Snow-Ape

Benjamin Roy: Wait a minute.  Tell me that again.

Megan: BR, we know what we saw!

Daphne: Yes!  There's a monster prowling around the backyard!

Rhoda: I saw it too!  I would have kicked its behind, but, um, the other girls were too scared, so we ran right back into the house.

BR: Alright, alright...I'll grab Pete and we'll go outside and take a look around.

Daphne: Oh, thank you BR!  You two be careful!

Pete Dakota: What exactly are we doing?

BR: I told you; Megan, Daphne, and Rhoda say they saw something sneaking around out here.  Rhoda thinks it was a Minnesota Snow-Ape.

Pete: A S-s-snow-Ape?! >gulp<  D-d-do you believe in those?

BR: No, I don't.  But it will make the girls feel better if we investigate.

Pete: Oh, O-o-okay.

BR: Hey!  What's this?

Pete: What did you find?

BR: I don't know.  We'll give it to Stephen Orange to examine.

Stephen Orange: >mutter, mutter<  I don't know why they gave this to me.  I'm a marine biologist, not mammalian.  >grumble, grumble<

Nicholas: Hullo Stephen, whatever are you up to?

Stephen: >And I hate being interrupted, sigh<  I am examining a piece of fur BR and Pete found in the backyard.  >sigh<

Nicholas: Great Richard the III's Ghost!  I overheard some of the girls nattering on about this.  Do you think there is a mysterious local simian roaming the garden?

Stephen: >sigh<  There's no such thing as a Minnesota Snow-Ape.  This is probably just from a squirrel or a rabbit.

Nicholas: Still, awfully exciting, don't you think?

Stephen: No.  Make yourself useful; dump this flask out in the sink and wash it.

Nicholas: Oh dear, er, this isn't some sort of acid, is it?

Stephen: No, it's grape Kool-Aid.  I was drinking from it until I remembered I don't like grape Kool-Aid.

BR: Well, we haven't seen anything unusual.  I'll bet they just saw shadows on a mound of snow and their imaginations got the better of them.  Let's go in.

Pete: B-b-best idea all day.

Ringing In The New Year

Daddy Steve: How did you ring in the new year?  Here at Gregoropolis, the kids were determined that they were going to greet 2020 right at the stroke of midnight.

Mikko: Daddy Steve, can we have a New Year's Eve party and stay up 'til midnight?

Daddy Steve: Hmm.  Do you really think you'll be able to stay awake that late?

Mikko: Oh sure we can!

Tyler: No problem!

Here's what really happened...

7:30 pm

8:30 pm

9:30 pm

Mikko: >Yawn<  I think he knew all along we'd never make it.

Tyler: Yeah, he's pretty smart for an old man.