THISILDO: June 2010

Dear All,

As I promised last update, I am going to update more reguarly in the future, so that the blogs are not too long and boring. This way, they will only be short and boring!!!

I did forget to mention last blog, that I did put my home on the market! It was listed on April 1st. The home is way too large for one person and I am keen to downsize. My memories will go with me where-ever I go! To date, there has been little to no interest. We have only had one couple look through and although they loved the house, they wanted more of a beach and lake access. I anticipate little interest and will leave it on for only 6 months and then will take it off until the economy recovers a bit.

I also did not mention that I no longer have Mack. It was a very tough decision, but I gave him to John and Alex! Mack still missed Paul, and with my frequent trips away, where John and Alex minded him for me, I thought it best not to continue unsettling him. He really loves John and Alex and it has always been his second home. I visited there at the weekend after a long absence and I did receive a very over the top welcome. However, when I left, he didn't seem to care at all - it was as if he was truly home. He is happy and healthy and really enjoys playing with Mork and the numerous cats that Alex fosters.

I have to say, I really do miss him - the house feels very empty without him and it is so quiet. I have unlimited access to him, and I think that is best for Mack. I am now his AuntyMum! I will not feel so bad in the future when I take off travelling and have to leave him.

Although I miss him, the animals around here certainly do not! They are much braver than they used to be and now I find racoons wandering around the lawn during the day, deer grazing brazenly on my garden, and squirrels and chipmunks gazing in my back door. The best thing however, was when two sandhill cranes bought their newly hatched chicks within 10 feet of my back door and stood guard over them whilst they pecked at my lawn. I was not game to run for the camera for fear I would scare them, so I sat and savoured the moment.

Life has been fairly busy since my return. Our snowbirds have returned from their warm havens in Arizona, Texas etc. the ice has melted and the lake is now covered with pontoons and fishing boats. The weather has been unseasonaby hot, but has now returned to our warm, average temperatures.

My plans to attack the garden with gusto have fallen by the wayside - instead I am seeing a chiropracter 3 times a week in an effort to get my back on track and to motivate my legs to perform as they shoud! I think if I wait long enough - the deer will ensure that I have no garden left to weed!

I am renting out barn space to a local landscape gardener in exchange for having my lawns mowed and my road ploughed in the winter time. So far, the arrangement works well.

It is now less than 3 weeks til I get to see Lauren and we drive to Atlanta together. I am getting very excited and am looking forward to the two of us, meeting up with Kelly, Nate, Kyler, Erin and Chris in Atlanta for several weeks of fun, fun, fun. I am going to pick her up in Chicago and drive to Atlanta from there. We will do it over 2 days.

Erin is keeping well and is providing a safe, healthy haven for my little granddaughter and whilst we are in Atlanta, we will be decorating the nursery together. I am already armed with a box of beautiful butterflies purchased from the internet. Chris' parents - Jim and Maura are going there in a couple of days and they are going to paint the nursery.

Since my return, I have had two dinner parties here at the house - sounds kinda formal - but not so. My friends and neighbours assist with the food and basically, we just sit around, eat, drink, talk and laugh. We always have a great time together.

I had a friend from Iowa come to stay for a weekend. He is currently involved with a friend in Australia . Anyway, we had a nice weekend whilst he was here. I took him to our Saturday breakfast club which is now back on, to introduce him to my friends there. After that we headed to the Gilmore Car Museum to look at old cars. Surprisingly enough, although I expected to be bored, it was quite enjoyable.

On the Saturday night, I had another group of friends come over for dinner - John cooked the corn beef and the trimmings, I did the deserts and friends bought the appetizers, so once again, it was a lovely evening.

On the Sunday, we headed to Kalamazoo for breakfast after which he headed off back to Iowa. He met his girlfriend on the internet - I actually introduced them at my sister's suggestion and they have really hit it off. She is coming over to visit in October, and I am looking forward to seeing her, but John is very, very excited.

Memorial Weekend was especially good as we had a barbeque here on the Saturday night (we did intend to play croquet, but it was too hot). I went to Tom and Lindas for another barbeque on the Sunday and then to John and Alex's on the Monday for yet another. It proved to be a lot of fun all around.

A group of us went bowling on Friday night - it was such good fun, that we intend to do it more often. None of us are really bowlers, and unfortunately, we had league bowlers all around us - topping our scores by nearly 200! I am sure they didnt have as much fun as us though. Our scores ranged from 30 to 119!! Needless to say, none of the league bowlers tried to poach us! At times it was difficult to bowl because of the laughter. We did all improve our score on our second game, so if we continue to do that, by the year 2020, we may be up to league standard if we can still walk!

We had our own cheer squad - they clapped, cheered and whistled even if we just managed to hit one pin!!! I have to say though, that each of us got a strike before the night was over! I was the last to achieve this, and was getting very worried about it, but my second last ball of the night, saved my bacon!!!

After our game we went to a local Sports Bar for a very late dinner (well, we are sporting jocks now eh?). All in all, it was a wonderful evening and we are expecting our numbers to grow, as we continue to bowl.

Today, I am having a quiet day at home - the weather has turned chilly, and very, very wet. Yesterday, I went to breakfast with the gang, and later that day, Linda and I travelled to Battle Creek for a party (Pampered Chef), at her daughter's house. We were supposed to have a late dinner together, but the rain had increased, and our appetite and energy decreased, so we called it a night!

Well folks that is all for now............. I am aware that I still owe some personal emails, but will get to them soon. Life is always so busy and I don't seem to be at home a great deal...... not that I am complaining. (PICTURES BELOW FOR ANYONE INTERESTED)

Love to you all, Kathy