The 'rents are back from their European vacation. They had a great time at the wedding, ate a lot, saw family and friends, and slightly heavier, continued on to Ye Olde Country, where they also ate a lot, had a lot of fun and gathered further poundage as they visited friends and family. My dad called home almost every day to inquire after the health of the assorted wines. It's like he doesn't trust me or something! Ha ha. Mom called to let me know it was really but really hot in Hungary (she used a rather colorful expression that means it's quite hot indeed, but I can't reprint it. Suffice it to say I got the message that it was pretty darn hot over there). When they returned, my dad went straight to the wine and counted heads. Man, steal some wine and you're marked for life around here!
So then he invited friends and rels to watch the matches, which again resulted in a full house and a lot of noise, plus the usual massive quantities of food. Steve was here too, and his brother, and his dad, and a whole bunch of other people.
Maria Eugenia had left the day before, sadly. I'll miss her. We had a great time here and in NYC, and of course doing pálinka duty at my uncle's. So now she's learned a skill and can make the stuff with the best of them. We'd made a mess of the house, so several of us took a few hours to clean up so my mom wouldn't have a stroke as she walked in. The kitchen and den were the worst areas, looking like Attila (the Hun dude) had given a huge party for 2000 of his closest and rowdiest friends and they had ordered out from every Chinese, Italian, and Greek joint in the plains. But we worked as a well oiled cleaning machine and soon there were no traces. And a big thanks to the Mark-Antal-Bettina team for their amazing handling of all the garbage. Their team was as well organized as Navy SEALs. A special mention goes to Steve and Val, the Magic Maids (Steve looks lovely in an apron and with a bandanna tied around his head, by the way) for the excellent way they Febrezed everything.
So now we're back to our dysfunctional, normal selves. It's midsummer, though, so there's still time to get into more mischief. Stay tuned.
