ok, so mean mamma didn't get around to blogging yesterday- but not because of a lackof material........i went shopping on sunday with andrew and stephan in lexington-none of us bought much. when we got back home there were 2 fully loaded tourist bikes on the porch- and that meant only one thing-ernst had fixed one or two tourist bikes, and then invited them home. our 2 tourists were quite a surprise- a father and son team from a small town between haarlem and amsterdam, near the airport. the son was about 36, and works as a forensic auditor for a large corporation- he finds money launderers and tax evaders, etc through both computer and traditional research methods. in holland, the work week is technically 36 hours, so employees are paid for 36 hours regardless of how many hours are actually worked. he takes off the unpaid work time at the end of major projects- this biking trip is 45 days long because that is how much unpaid time he worked. his father is a carpenter. they both spoke english very well, not surprising as they have cycled throughout america on numerous occassions- and have seen more states and parks and sights than most americans. they did seem a bit conservative- neither drank beer, and they did get a bit worked up when i asked about Holland's liberality of laws regarding euthanasia, marijuana use, gay marriage, etc. one could gather that they didn't approve of such laws...anyway, they were both surprised to hear that 3 of us had recently been to holland, and readily commiserated about the lack of parking, the traffic,etc. they had supper with us, spend the night in the guest room. in the morning, stephan and ernst rode with them to harrdosburg to make sure they got on the right road to bardstown. their visit was a nice diversion. of course, now i want to go back to holland.....

today the restaurant is closed, and the entire staff is going to a food show in covington. food shows are free-for-alls- the warehouse that we buy from invites all of its suppliers to being samples of foods it makes, and we get to taste them all. at the end of the day, attendees are allowed to grab what they want, so the suppliers do not have to lug everything back to their vehicles. in the past i have come home with nice jars of capers, anchovies, olives, artichoke hearts, fresh apricots, exotic mushrooms, and other neat foods. there is a party after the show closes, with free drinks. in the past my crew has been really into mixed drinks like gin and tonic or whiskey and diet coke. i am not into such fare. so i am the designated driver. my van is the only vehicle among us big enough to take everyone up to cincinnati- as long as i have my free fresh apricots i am just fine and dandy........