THISILDO: August 2009

Our family picture, taken

at Christmas.

Hi All,

It has been around 4 months since I last updated my blog. It it hard in some ways to believe that Paul and Dennis have been gone for that long, but in other ways, it seems like an eternity.

Much has happened in the last 4 months. Erin graduated from her Nursing Degree (with honors). My girlfriend Alex accompanied me to Chicago for Erin's Bridal Shower in May and then onto De Kalb for Erin's graduation ceremony.

We were all rather taken back when we walked into the graduation hall to see our family photo on the movie screen at the front. Each graduate was asked to supply a family photo and Erin supplied the one of the family taken at Christmas time (it appears at the end of this blog). It was purely circumstantial that our photo was on display, but as we were all missing Paul on this special occasion, to see him on screen was a tear jerker for us all.

At the end of May, Damien (my son) arrived for Erins wedding, soon followed by Maureen and Michael (my sister and brother-in-law), Gemma (neice), Carmel, James and Jude (neice and her family). Kelly, Nate and Kyler also came several days before the wedding and obviously Chris and Erin were here. It was great to have some of my Aussie family with me.

On the Thursday night before the wedding, we had a very full house, as most of the bridesmaids and groomsmen came to stay for the night.

On the Friday night, we had the rehearsal dinner. This was held at the wedding venue (Brook Lodge). It was held outdoor and it was a wonderful evening. They had a chuck wagon and drinks were served from there. The food was awesome and it was beautifully organised. They lit a huge bonfire for us once it became dark and everyone sat around toasting marshmellows and making smores. Prior to darkness, several people played games that were provided on site. It was a great night.

Saturday (wedding day), was an enjoyable day and largely stress free. Erin was a very laid-back, casual bride and just went with the flow - savoring each moment. The bride and bridesmaids dressed here at the house, which was chaotic, but fun. Erin was determined to be on time, so it was she who hassled the bridesmaids to hurry up. Gemma stepped into gear and very capably assisted me with getting Erin into her dress successfully. In fact, she took over and did a wonderful job - thanks Gem!

We arrived at the wedding venue a little early only to be told that the radar showed approaching rain which was due to arrive in 15 minutes at 6pm (the start of the wedding). They asked Erin if she wanted to move the ceremony indoors and she said no - call all the guests in their rooms, tell them to get to the ceremony site, phone others and get an eta - I will get married as soon as everyone is in place.

Our guests were wonderful and they all hastened to the site and the ceremony begun 5 minutes early, with only one guest (who got lost enroute), missing the actual ceremony. The rain held off for the ceremony and the photos and only produced a small shower during the reception when we were all safely inside.

Erin was beautiful (yes I am one-eyed, but I am also right)! Her groom was handsome and the bridesmaids and groomsmen maintained the high standard set by the bridal couple. Lots of pictures at the end of the blog!

I was very pleased for the food for the reception and it appeared the guests were too. The reception was very informal - the meal was buffet, with food to suit every palate and guests were able to select their own seats.

After the meal the party began and everyone got into the spirit of the evening with the dance floor hopping for the entire evening. The DJ even stayed on a bit later (for a fee of course), as no-one wanted the evening to end.

On the morning after the wedding, most guests met at the Lodge for a lovely buffet breakfast. We had an entire room to ourselves and other rather subdued in comparison to the evening before, it was a nice way to start the day.

After breakfast the guests all followed us back to the house, where we were joined by lots of friends to have Paul's Celebration of Life party and the spreading of his ashes. During the course of the day, we had close to 100 people in attendance.

We all went to the front of the house, formed a large circle, held hands and Sr. Lucille and Sr. Sandi, led us in prayer and a wonderful tribute to Paul. After this Kelly read my tribute for me. At the conclusion, friends and family all went off to the lake, the pond, Paul's hunting blind and his many special places and spread his ashes.

With many helping hands, lunch was soon ready and we had a lovely afternoon largely spent swapping stories and special memories we each had of Paul. Most of the men had some great stories many of which I had never heard before!

All our weekend plans - the rehearsal dinner, the wedding, celebration of life party went well, but would have been so much better if Lauren could have joined us. We missed her very much, but it would have been a lot tougher for her and her absence also leaves such a big gap in everything we do.

Maureen and Michael and Gemma stayed on after the wedding as did Damien. Damien did some excavating for me and mapped out a format for landscaping at the back of the house. He also found people to give quotes for the work and helped me make the decision on who to hire. I was sorry to see him go, for many reasons, but mainly because it was so nice to have him around.

Before Gemma headed back to Australia, we did lots of shopping trips and a trip to Niagara Falls. Maureen and Michael had seen it before, but they wanted Gemma to see it. I drove, and got us there and back safely and Gemma was suitably impressed. I like the shopping at the duty free store on the way back.

After Gemma's departure, Michael became the handyman and did lots of odd jobs around the place, whilst Maureen cleaned and organised me. We also took lots of day trips and helped the American economy a great deal with our shopping sprees.

Fourth of July was a great day which began with snacks at Tom and Linda's, then the boat parade (Maureen and Michael were judges, along with others). After the boat parade we moved next door to the Gattons for a pig roast. Everyone bought a plate to pass and they supplied the pig. It was a gourmet meal. We left around 5ish and went home to rest up before returning at dusk for the fireworks around the lake. There was no evidence of a recession and the display continued on for hours. It was indeed a lovely day.

Unfortunately Maureen and Michael left on July 8 (boo hoo). On July 11th I drove down to Chicago and met Lucky and Nancy for breakfast and then onto Paul's annual family picnic. After the picnic I stayed at Rita and Tom's for the night and headed home the next day. It was tiring, mentally and physically but very, enjoyable. I vowed I would drive to Chicago more often. Rita, Tom and the rest of the family are such good company. I am thankful that the kids bought Paul and I a GPS a couple of years ago, as I am used to be chaffeur driven by Paul whilst I just sat and chatted and took no notice of where I was or how I got there. It is tough, but I am becoming independent once again.

Recently I drove to Dayton, Ohio staying with Doug and Cherie (Kelly's in-laws). Kelly, Nate and Kyler were also there and we spent a lovely four days together. Doug, Cherie and the rest of the family are like an extension of our family - they are great fun, lovely people and we all get along so well together. It was another first for me - driving to Ohio by myself, but it was well worth it once again.

The landscaping at the back of the house will be completed in the next 2 weeks. I am currently getting quotes to finish the basement ceiling and a couple of other jobs, I am shopping for a new car and am selling Pauls. Mine has a lot of miles and I hope to do a few trips - Atlanta for one, so I need a good reliable car. I am interviewing real estate agents as I intend to put the house on the market in the Spring. I expect it will take some time to sell. I am making plans to go to London to meet with Damien and Lauren in mid-December and the 3 of us are going to Egypt for a week and back to London for Christmas.

Well I think I have caught up on everything for now.

Love to you all, Kathy - various photos below for those who are interested,