Cosmetic Renovations on the Balcony

Summer is finally here, well at least the last few days, and we've been talking and mulling over the idea of re-modeling the balcony. The "original" balcony, for those of you that didn't know, had a wood floor that squeaked and creaked with every step. If that wasn't bad enough, we've had an assortment of "friends" living under the floor including the birds and the bees.


Step 1. After moving everything we had on the balcony into the living room, we were able to dig in and uncover the floor, and what lurked beneath. Years of accumulated pine needles and leaves were packed underneath. We found a once bird's nest and even little bee hives.






Step 2. After lifting all the boards and sweeping up all the crud, Barb got to work mopping up the years of dirt and grime. Once she was done, things were looking good. And since Germany is so adamant about recycling, we now have a spare wood slat floor taking up precious space in the storage room. Anyone need some wood flooring?




Step 3. By now it's getting late in the day and still pretty hot. After a few colds drinks, it was ready to lay down the floor. Putting the floor together came easy due to those many years with Legos and building blocks; they just clip together. Luck was on our side since no cutting was needed and the tiles all lined up perfectly. In less time than it took to take up the floor, we now had a new one in place.


So there you have it. In a short period of time and quite a bit of sweat, we installed a clean-looking, non-squeaking balcony floor. Hopefully, now we can spend more time out on the balcony enjoying the few summer days Germany offers us.


* How many Ikea products can you spot on the balcony? Too many should be your answer!

A New Addition to the Family

Proud new parents, Kristy and Joseph

I would like to congratulate my brother Joseph and his wife Kristy for bringing a beautiful baby girl into this world. Sophia Grace Ribaudo was born June 10, 2009. She weighed in at a healthy 8lbs 7oz (3830g). All went well for mother and baby and Sophia Grace is now home; loving her new room, I'm sure!
I give you Sophia Grace Ribaudo.

Top: Proud new grandparents again; Bottom: Joseph now has a little sister to play with

Meet the Gorillas

After a lot of planning and saving, we arrived in Bwindi Impenetrable forest, Uganda; the home of the mountain gorilla. There are about 600 left of these magnificent animals and we are about to meet 6 of them, the Mubare family.
Once in the park, one group no more than 6 people spend one hour with each family per day.
After a short briefing by the UWA (Ugandan Wildlife Authority), we take off on our adventure with one guide, porters, and armed guards into the hills of Bwindi.
Finding the gorillas could take up to 5 hours, we got lucky! Tracking for an hour or so uphill, we finally meet the great mountain gorilla!!!
The first one we come across is a young one in the tree, the rest are just a few meters away.
We tremble through the high bushes and find the rest.


I meet Maraiyka as she's eating leaves sitting on a branch right in front of me.
The view is amazing! We keep following the family and end up back on the path. Three of them just sitting there eating. One of them has a 5 month old on her back. He's curious and checks us out. The only female of the family disappears quickly as she is very protective of her little one.
As I'm filming the entire scene, I hear a rustle in the bushes behind me. As I turn around, there is a juvenile gorilla behind me waiting for me to move out of the way. Since touching the animals isn't allowed, I had to restrain myself from reaching out to touch the youngster.
There is another one up on the hill right next to the path eating away on some yummy leaves, which is all they eat. Out of nowhere, the very lazy and large Ruhondeza appears; the 35 year old Silverback. He takes a few steps and sits down right in front of us as if he wanted to pose for the cameras. He's much bigger than I thought. Eventually he gets up and disappears into the forest.
It feels like only 5 minutes have gone by when the guide tells us to take our last photos, I can't believe one hour as already past.
It's not easy putting this experience into words. As we walk back down the mountain we come across a young boy and his family. The boy is carving little gorillas out of wood and staining the carvings with black ink. He is really talented!
We leave the forest and tears come to my eyes. It was so overwhelming, emotional and amazing.
I hope some day I'm lucky enough to go back, I would recommend it to anyone. One of the most amazing experiences of my life, so far...

-Barb