Back at the homestead....

Just a quick note, sans pictures, to let you all know that we are home again. Part of me sure enjoyed the freedom of not having to deal with airports and flying weather and the option to stop and walk around a bit. But the other part of me says it was just too long and too far to do it very often. We took a different route home so the scenery changed.

It was great being in Ct and seeing the little ones and Becca but I do love coming home. This morning I played golf with my Wed group. It was a very early tee time and nearly dark driving over but I played really really well so I'm not ready to give up the game this week......and then Paul played also and just came home and beat my score by 2.....not fair I say.
Driving certainly was not the cheap way to go. Mostly we paid about $3.80 give or take a few pennies for gas. But in Ct, it was highway robbery. I found the cheapest I could find and it was $4.21 but most places were over $4.25. Now I realize that this might be cheaper than California but for the east coast, this was exorbitant. If I lived there again, I think I would have to revolt. My own Newtown Gas Party, akin to you know, the Boston one in 1700 something. It's all about the taxes they stick on the price but what do you get for that?.....are the roads any better than NJ, where they not only have really cheap gas, but it's a law that they pump it for you.
Oh, well, maybe I'll pick another battle. After I take a nap.

Greetings from......

CONNECTICUT !!!! Paul had to be at a meeting in NJ on Friday so we drove up......all in one day. We had planned on flying but when the weather became unruly and I decided that I did not want to recreate my last flight into rough weather, we decided to drive up. It is 1037 mi from our house to the hotel in NJ and we did all but 25 miles of it on Thursday. It was uneventful but rather boring. We got good at quick pit stops and eating in the car. We saw nothing of particular interest nor blog worthy. The GPS did route us right thru the heart of DC and it was dark and the Washington monument was in full view for quite awhile, as well as the Capitol, the Lincoln and Jefferson monuments. At night they seem to glow from within.....quite beautiful but not captured on film. We left the house at 7:30 am and arrived at the Hampton Inn at 12:30 am, 17 hours.

We'll slow it down on the return trip.

We're enjoying being back in Newtown. After living here for about 30+ years, many of the roads are just so familiar and we drive along, knowing what is around the next corner, only it's NOT. Suddenly, there is some new structure and a new road and more McMansions. Our house looks a bit seedy and dated and the neighborhood has aged. But the good memories remain and it was a great place to live and raise the boys. It's just so interesting to think that one of them has returned to his roots. How life gives us quirky little surprises.

Becca is spending the summer helping with the boys. I know she has been a bit bored, being out in the country away from shopping and friendsbut she is a trooper and a help to Marybeth. She flies back on Sat.

We will get an early start for Florida on Monday. We'll do it in 2 days this time but won't do any sightseeing. It won't be as hard to say good by as I will be back in a couple weeks to help during scheduling conflicts.

Sizzling summer days

I've managed to crawl out of my depression and accept the fact that Greg Norman is not going to take over the golf world once again. But it was fun while it lasted. Personally, I think golf should be fun.....and not a game to be played in gale force winds with rain but then I've never played for a million dollars. That puts it into an entirely different catagory. Last night at dinner, one of our neighbors says he plays for money.......10 cents a hole and he won all nine holes for a grand total of $3.60. ......(4 guys at .40 per hole X 9 ) Hardly worth the math and brain cells to figure it

A few of the neighbors gathered for an impromptu dinner at the Lopez Country Club last night. It was the Surf and Turf special and was actually very good. However, the risotto appetizer, described very exotically, tasted and looked like rice and peas minus the flavor. Paul tried the special drink of the night, a coffee flavored martini. It could be dangerous if it weren't so expensive. The club is decorated very feminine with galleries of Nancy Lopez tributes, trophies and family pictures. She has a home here also and shows up now and then.

We played 9 holes yesterday and it was HOT. No clouds, no breeze and covered in greasy sunscreen. And just why would we do this you might ask.? ..............because we can and because "golf is free in The Villages" and don't we all like a freebie with sunstroke on the side.?

This morning, a nice young man named Mike is installing our new desk and cabinetry in the kitchen nook.

Pictures to follow........

Shark watching

I love to watch golf......I have for years even before I started to play. I would easily give up a weekend to watch a major tournament. And I have to admit that the big reason I watched was Greg Norman. That good looking Aussie with the great accent and all the accoutrement's of success.....like flying a helicopter to the course each day when playing in his home state of Florida.
Then Tiger came along and Greg got older and more involved in course design and rarely played. So I have watched Tiger, even from his early days as an amateur. And I have other favorites as well.
But imagine my surprise when I gathered my knitting and my favorite chair and sat down to watch 7, yes SEVEN hours of golf yesterday and who is playing and playing very well???........yep, The Shark himself. Looking as fit and gorgeous as ever,( no doubt buoyed up by the fact that he is a newly -wed.) He and his wife both shed themselves of the old spouses and became a power couple. The cameras have focused on Chris Everett following him around the course. The TV coverage for the British Open is more than any other major tournament and I don't know that I am up for that much golf in 4 days.....or that much knitting. But this morning at 7 am when coverage started, I was able to see the man himself IN THE LEAD !!! at age 53 with all those young guns in the hunt. So, altho I won't watch much today as he has completed his round, you'll know where to find me on Sat and Sun. And if not in live time, it will be recording for future watching and posterity.

Life in the slow lane..

And you thought maybe we'd up and disappeared, or divorced or died or got sick or ran out of brain cells or forgot how to spell.....or something equally serious in order not to publish the BEST BlOG YOU"VE EVER READ....Well, you'd be wrong on all accounts. Chalk it up to pure unadulterated laziness and a deficit in the 'exciting life' department.

Our non-stop, exhaustive social life has had to take a backseat to family issues....mainly getting Aunt Romayne situated. She is happily settling in to her cute smallish apartment and meeting others. She appreciates the more intimate size and the shorter walks to meals and activities. It is a good 45 minute drive from here and we have been doing it almost daily. After this week, I think we will be able to give her more space.

While she was with us, we thought she might enjoy communicating via email with a couple of her close friends who are quite computer literate. Unfortunately, Romayne never learned to type ("I always had secretaries" she said) so the hunt and peck process was pretty fatiguing and she finally cried Uncle and said she 'd rather send a note the old fashioned way.

Since our return, the weather has definitely changed and most days we get an afternoon thunderstorm. The air freshens and the temperature drops about 20 degrees and it really really rains. We enjoy sitting under the protection of the lanai and watching the show . Our early evening golf games are on hiatus for now but we have managed some morning ones but it is usually oppressively humid with the breezes not coming up until later in the morning. Here are some views of the Florida skies. They quite fascinate me with their ever changing colors and depths.

Today I went for my mammogram and a bone density scan. As usual, The Villages medical systems are a model of efficiency and customer satisfaction. Besides being in a gorgeous building, the staff are attentive and personable, I did not have to wait despite an obvious full schedule (the tech said they do 80-90 mammograms a day) and the Dr read the films and then gave me the report........I had everything done in an hour. And they made me an appt for next July. ....... and everything looked fine.

Home

It is good to be home. There is something about the comfort of walking into the house after being gone and being surrounded by all that has meaning. The familiarity, the comfortable and the welcoming. And then, because you've only lived in the place a few months, there is the disconcerting realization that you've forgotten where you put everything.
Ahhh, the memory thing. I remember when I used to say that the thing I missed the most with aging was my eyes.......fortunately, when you have a life long partner, at least one of you can fill that gap or find that word or put a name to a face. Sorta like between the two of us, we manage to have one brain.
The moving process for Aunt Romayne went smoother than we ever could have hoped. Even the flying part was flawless, smooth, on time and we got all of our luggage. However, there might be a glitch coming up. Today we drove her over to see the faciltiy that we chose for her to live in. It is run by the same company as the one she lived in for 3 yrs in Colorado Springs. That one was very large, new and very
active. This one is older and much smaller in every way. From a friend who grew up in Ocala, we know that it is "the best" in the area. She had a spacious 2 bedroom 2 bath apt and now we are looking at a much smaller one bedroom. Much of her things will need to go into storage. The silence after the tour was palpable and we had a long talk. She said she will 'cogitate' on it overnight. The moving van will be arriving on Monday so we need to make a decision.........I'm not sure what our alternatives are. But she seems to be thriving here with us and in good spirits so far. And no, I don't think that is an option.....
While we were gone, the area went from a parched brown crunchy landscape to brilliant green abundant grass. It looks so pretty everywhere and the flowers are radiant. The weeds haven't devoured the yard but we do need to do some tidying. According to my plant sitter (neighbor Sue) it has rained almost everyday. The ponds are full again and the golf courses look luxurious. It thundered yesterday and we saw some significant lightening but no rain so far.
We've been catching up with friends and mail and laundry. A new golf group is forming but it is on my art studio day and I am really in a quandry. Golf, art.....golf, art.....golf, art..............maybe I can do both if I play early (just 9 holes).....90 min and I'm done in time for the 10 am art group.....might work.
We were gone almost a month and we had a wonderful trip. We were left wanting more which is always a good thing, but home sure feels good. Thanks to all of you who made the days special.
There are no fireworks in The Villages on the 4th. My neighbor said that they used to have them but they scared the old people so they stopped..........they also end any event by 9 pm......even New Year's Eve.!!! I think this place is pretty lively and there's an awful lot of aerobic activity going on so this 9 pm turn-off-the -lights plan is pretty lame. The boomers are starting to take over and no doubt they will have an affect on TV just like they affect everything else. For one, they can start with the radio station music. After awhile, oldies but goodies gets really really hard to take.

Wave your flag and have a wonderful holiday.....!

Japanese, Colorado style

Tonight we went to a Japanese hibatchi-style restaurant for dinner. Lizzie is starting the celebration for her 10th birthday a bit early and this was her request. Her actual birth-day is July 1 but 10 is a milestone and one can never have too many parties.
We began with a first course of edamame. For the uninitiated, these are soy bean pods, very warm with salt. You just eat the beans out and leave the shells. Very tasty and very healthy......well, maybe not the salt part. Jenna says you can buy these at Costco in a pouch and just pop them in the microwave to heat. They are really good and sort of like eating potato chips in that you can't eat just one. Next up for the brave souls was sushi. These are left to right, tuna roll, yellow tail, and a spicy tuna with avocado. I think I could eat the vegetable ones but I don't like cucumber or avocado and I'm not partial to raw fish. But most everyone else tried it. (It's certainly not cheap)Then the main attraction started with the flames to get our attention. Between the knife tricks, the egg twirling (for the fried rice) and tossing broccoli at us to catch in our mouths, it was quite a show. The food was spectacular. I had the filet mignon with lobster tail....cooked to perfection. Paul had the salmon and the kids tried chicken, shrimp and beef dishes.
After dinner , Lizzie received her ice cream with a candle and a hug from Kelsey, Nicholas' girlfriend. To change the subject quite a bit. Mike and Jenna have started on an immense project, a salt water fish tank. This is the tank, and it is huge.....210 gallons. They have another smaller tank that they have set up in order to learn the ins and outs of this major hobby. So far, they have kept an original anemone and he has even split in two but have lost a few fish. They are pretty close to putting fish in the large one. The entire thing is so complex and requires extensive plumbing , analysis and monitoring. Once it is established and stable, it will have stunning corals and colorful fish and creatures that just don't look real.
Monday and Tuesday will be moving day with a lot to be accomplished and on Wed, we fly to Orlando and home. This trip has been beyond our expectations and we are reluctant to end it. Funny how that is......I was not anxious to leave a couple weeks ago and not I'm not anxious to return. Well, I am anxious to get home but I will miss all that we have seen and done and all the good times we have had. Guess we'll just have to do it again. See you in Florida in a couple of days. Thanks for stopping by.

Down time....

We are currently camped at Chatfield Reservoir State Park, SW of Denver. It is about 15 minutes from Mike and Jenna's. It is a beautiful campground with spotless facilities and full service, except no TV. But the antenna picks up anything we want. The weather is on the hot side with afternoon storms but the dry heat is a nice change.
We are playing lazy today and just cleaning and running errands and paperwork. The weather right now has potential for a summer storm so we are inside. Josh, in the middle, is my great nephew...my niece's son. He is spending 2 weeks in Colorado. He is learning to adjust from being an only child to a house of 4 kids. And 3 dogs and 3 birds and assorted fish. There used to be cats but Casey lived over 21 years and there are no more.
The drive down from Wyoming, on the right road this time, was busy with RV'ers. We have noticed from Minnesota on that they are out in full force. The KOA in Wyoming was almost full and the State Park is full for the weekend. People do make comments at gas stations but mostly its just curiosity and not derogatory. We have decided to leave it in storage here in Denver and hopefully, come out before fall to do some more traveling and then maybe drive it to Florida.
On Monday, we are packing up Aunt Romayne for her move to Florida. At almost 97, she is spry and sharp and excited about the move. She has outlived all her friends and her husband. She has lived most of her life in Colorado Springs and she and Pat are well known for their service in the community. She drove a 1968 standard shift black VW Beetle and just gave it up 3 years ago. She was the principal of the elementary school at the Air Force Academy and after her retirement, she volunteered in local schools until her late 80's. We have admired them for many years for their energy , vitality and generosity. We will enjoy having her near.

Sightseeing

Today, we opted to try a different route than originally planned and headed to western South Dakota. Much of the middle of the state is flat prairie and signs tout that Dancing With Wolves was filmed nearby. It looks much like the broad expanses in the movie. The area is home to the Sioux Indians.We drove off the main road (not literally.....I'm really a pretty good driver of the Roadblock altho P does all the hard parts) and ended up in the Badlands. I think that the North Dakota Badlands are more impressive but its been a long time so the memory cells from that era might be a bit weak. Before long, we had our first view of Mt Rushmore. We are unsure if we ever saw this as a couple or just as children with our parents. In any case, it is always a thrill to see it looming in the distance. It has a quite beautiful entrance and walk way to the best viewing area. There is an excellent museum detailing why and how the sculptures were built. The memorial took 14 years to construct with 400 men doing very dangerous work and there were no fatalities.

On our return to the RV, P went on ahead . I opted to stop for some ice cream cones. Little did I know that they would tower the scoops (there was only one size) and I had to move very quickly to get back before they melted. I was only partially successful keeping up with the rivers of melting praline cream.

We had intended to spend a leisurely afternoon in a campground in Hot Springs SD, south of Mt Rushmore but due to our lack of attention (one of us was dozing.....) we took the wrong road and ended up in WYOMING!! So we slogged on with less enthusiasm and finally arrived at this nice KOA with free WiFi.

Haven't decided our itinerary for tomorrow but we are closing in on Denver. We're a bit ahead of schedule so may have to find the scenic route.

Summertime and the living is easy....

We arrived in Detroit Lakes , Minnesota on Friday afternoon. For the few who are not aware, DL is the center of the summer people in the midwest. For generations, families have come to this area rich in lakes and tidy cottages. Over the years, the cottages have enlarged and the numbers increased but I doubt that much else has changed. The popular beaches, bars and social season are in full swing and the golf tourneys are frequent. It reminds me of one of those good beach novels.

Guy and Judy Hatlie, of Manhattan Beach, Ca and Lake Sallie welcomed us to their delightful cottage. You can see the lake and the sun setting as a reflection in the windows. It was a splendid gathering of old and new friends.

Here are Judy, Guy , yours truly, and Lynn Marr. All of us attended Jamestown High School, (North Dakota) too many years ago....and don't we look FABULOUS???Here are Ginny Marr and Bob (the Marr's lake neighbors) .And Jean, Bob's wife, and also the resident History expert, and the briefly unsmiling Paul. It was a spectacular evening of great wines, food and lively conversation.Followed by an sunset ride in the Hatlie's luxurious pontoon boat. This picture was taken about 9 and it stayed light until almost 10 pm.
The next morning, we ventured out for a tour of the lakes. Some ingenious person invented this contraption to get boats from one lake to the other. The boat is eased up in front of this structure and the attendant on the land raises a raft that is under the boat and guides it over by cable and lowers it on the other side. Guy deftly positioned it perfectly for the carry-over. Here are the cables and tracks to guide the raft over. A crowd gathered to watch the operation.

A look at us suspended half way across. The charge is $5 round trip plus a generous tip for the guide.

After traversing the first obstacle, we had to cross under a highway. This tunnel was very low and Guy learned last year the hard way when he tried to go thru with the canopy up.... But this time , we ducked low as we went thru and came out on the large Detroit Lake.That evening we tagged along to a cocktail party. Altho we grew up in ND, we did not stay long so it has been years and years and years since we have listened to that midwestern twang. And heard the names of towns and places once so familiar. We welcomed the simple surnames of Johnson, Peterson, Olson and appreciated the beauty of the Scandanavian blondes. We ended the evening with a dinner of walleyed pike and skipped the popular whitefish livers.

And then today, we had another pleasant surprise. We learned of another classmate living on the lake and stopped by to say Hi. Judy ( Schultz )Anderson and her husband Gary who grew up in Hillsboro the same time that Paul and his family lived there......And they just bought a home in The Villages.!!! just too many coincidences for one weekend.

It was a perfect few days and we thank Judy and Guy for their generosity and wish them a wonderful European holiday this wee

And finally.....it's been too long since we've had the gratuitous grandchild picture...at least 3 days. Jon and Marybeth had a moving sale and among other things, sold this Little Tykes large plastic play set. Here is Mason watching it go away...I hope he understood.

We head for Denver today and a couple long days of driving.