I had to explain to them that these were hand-made, PEACE-LOVING stuffies, and they weren't interested in being in any stuffie wars.  I hope I got the message across. But the next day, Joel, being six and a boy, was swinging his squid around by holding onto ONE tentacle, so I had to reinforce that if he treated him like that, his tentacles might fall off and I wouldn't be there to fix them!  We'll see, I guess.

We weren’t there very long, and things are SO busy in a house with five kids and lots of activities going on.  The kids were all in school all day, and the adults were working, so we were on our own quite a bit.

We did get to hear Aaron preach an EXCELLENT sermon on Sunday.  And we enjoyed what time we did have with them.  Also, they got a new puppy – named Otto – and he is the SWEETEST!  

Of course, I  always show photos of my grandies to anyone who is even slightly interested, and so here is the newest set of them plus mama and papa and Otto.

A couple of my friends mentioned that Lily looks like me.  I said that yes, I thought so, but she also looks a lot like her mother.  But my friends thought Lily looked more like me than her mother, so I did a little experiment.  I showed Lily and she was shocked!

So I’m home again, home again, riggety jig.

A couple of odds and ends to finish up: 

• All of a sudden, as you may have noticed, my photos have started coming out blurry. Don’t know why.  But it doesn’t matter, I guess, because as I got home, I had text messages from my carrier telling me my phone was going to be out of service on Oct. 28, so I would have to “update” to a new phone!  They are shutting down the 3G network, but that’s not really the issue, as my phone does 4G and even 5G – but I have a Motorola phone that I purchased in the states (because my Australian Samsung would NOT work there!) and phones here have to be “configured in the Australian Market”.  So if I didn’t do something, my phone would simply stop working!  Luckily, I still had my Samsung phone, which will work, but you can imagine how difficult and frustrating it is making sure all my apps and connections are updated and working when I haven’t used that phone for three years!  Fun, fun, fun. (NOT!)  Anyway, my Samsung phone does not have the same quality as the Motorola.  BUT…I am hoping that Chris’ phone will not work when he gets home (Nov.5) and that he will be happy with my Samsung and he will buy ME a new phone with a great camera.  We’ll see.

• I made a second koala for the bride and groom in N.C. (Sara and Lourens) and they sent me a photo of how happy they were to receive it!

• Long ago and far away, I had a gecko on my mailbox. But eventually, he rusted out and so I had a naked mailbox for a while. Finally, I found an Azure Kingfisher that I liked and Chris got it installed.  Shortly after that, someone else on our street put up a rooster mailbox that was way cute. Then their neighbour added a kookaburra to their mailbox.  And a house down the street installed a chook (that’s Aussie for chicken) as their new mailbox.  Since then, many of the houses have added birds – and I think it is adorable!  Take a look.

Aren't they fun?

So I’m home alone for another week.  Chris will be here on Melbourne Cup Day, (which is also US election day).  Even though I get to “see” him almost every day on Whatsapp, I will be very happy to have him home.  Meanwhile, I am figuring out how to spend my days alone – unpacking, hot-tubbing, feeding my birds, making sure the new bamboo plants get watered, exercising, and figuring out which shows I want to binge while working on my special secret embroidery project.  When it gets finished, I will try to remember to publish!  Meanwhile, I seem to have plenty of time to work on my blog – so here you go!  This is the “official” last one of this trip.  Let me know if you want to continue to be on “the list”.  Love you!

Hilton Head, NC  Oct 2 - 11

Since Chris and I drove up from the duPisanie’s house in Wilmington, bringing our own car – the big Dodge Durango, we could also bring our bikes along!  So one day we went out for a nice ride and it turned out there was a sculpture path!  You KNOW how I love to take photos of outdoor sculptures!  It didn’t have too many sculptures, but I enjoyed it anyway.

"Sail Around" by Wayne Trapp - and you can see my bike in the background.

Some of the activities were part of the Marriott events, and some of them were self-manufactured.  We went out to eat a bit, plus did lots of cooking at one place or the other.  

This is Nancy and Chip, Jim and Terri, Me and Joyce, Chris, Scott and Elizabeth.

Scott likes to take these panoramic photos.  This is Jim, Chris, Joyce, Barbara, me, Terri and Scott.

And we played a LOT of cards.  We play a game we call "Bone" but it has lots of other names.  Often we played with four, but a couple of times we played with seven players!  One day after lunch we went to play mini-golf.  The gals played together and the guys as well.  

We had a craft day for the girls one day – to paint mugs!  We had fun and had some really lovely results.  So I guess this is the time to show that I have made QUITE a FEW mugs on this holiday, as that was my hostess gift for anyone who wanted one. 

Joyce's says "GJ" for Grandma Joyce. Mine has a K initial and "A cup of happy" on the back.  Terri's hasTE (for Terri Ellis) and Barbara's has a W for Whittlesby and her cat and dog painted on the back. 

Terri’s hobby is kite-flying, and Scott had to convince her not to bring ALL her kites.  The beach is a great place to fly them, and the wind was GREAT, so she was out almost every day (except for the day Milton was going by – TOO windy that day!)  Her is how she stores them, and since they live in Matthews, NC, they brought their own car, so she could bring a bunch!  I think she said she only had 17 on this trip. 

Here’s one sitting on the lamp in her bedroom.  Here’s her new favorite, though we didn’t get to see that one in flight, and here are Terri and her daughter, Barbara, getting ready to fly a couple on the beach.

There were lots of football games to watch, pro games as well as college, (well, I didn’t watch much) and several baseball games as well, as the Detroit Tigers were in the playoffs for the semi-finals for the American league and we have MOSTLY die-hard Michigan fans here!  So one day when folks were watching, I went off to a photo scavenger hunt.

I had to find these dolphins in the middle of one of their MANY swimming pools.  I had to take a photo with at least 10 palm trees in the same shot.  I had to write my name in the sand.  Lots of other stuff like that...There were 15 items on the list, and everyone who finished got a prize.

So as the sun sets into the ocean, we say goodbye to Hilton Head and catch our plane for Denver to deliver the stuffies!

We have a strange tradition in our family - we give a special "goodbye" salute.  Here is Jim with his version, as we drive away.  See you next year!  Bye, Joycie!

Wilmington, NC  - Sept 28 – Oct. 2

When we got to the Dupisanie’s house in Wilmington, there was a crazy weekend to get involved in.  We were delighted that their son, Laurens arrived with his fiancée, Sara.  We have known Laurens since he was five years old when Johan and Chris worked together in Sydney. 

Manuela is turning 60 this week, so there was a birthday party for her – at the Bubble Tea shop!

There were SO many choices!  I've only had bubble tea once before.  This time I chose Thai Latte with salted caramel pudding.  Odd, but delicious. There was a bunch of chatter and laughter and I was pleased to meet so many of Manuela's sweet friends.  Manuela got LOTS of lovely pressies.

The next day, there was a surprise wedding shower for Sara, Lourens' fiancee – and she WAS quite surprised. We had told her that the neighbour was having an anniversary party, and so Manuela wanted us all to go.  Since they were only down for the weekend, Sara didn't have a lot of choices in her attire, but we convinced her, reluctantly, to put on the one dress she had brought.  She grumbled a bit, but we told her it was a celebration, so we all had to dress up a little.  Later, she was mighty glad that we had insisted!  She was VERY surprised and enjoyed the whole thing, even though she had insisted that she didn't WANT a wedding shower.  Manuela had abided by her wishes, but Manuela's neighbour, Maryanne, told me that she considered Lourens as her almost grandson, so that made Sara her almost granddaughter-in-law, and she WAS going to put on a shower for her!  It was wonderful and fun and Sara got LOTS of great pressies!

One activity that Maryanne planned for the group was an art activity.  All but Sara were given watercolors and a canvas.  Then we were given a photo of Lourens, and we had to draw him.  It was a timed event, and Maryann kept Sara entertained while we painted.  Then, without knowing who did each painting, Sara had to choose the first and second place paintings that she thought most looked like Lourens.

Unfortunately, I didn’t know about any of this before we got here, so I didn’t have any special pressies – just my normal hostess gifts.  So I have promised to make Manuela a special wall hanging with African birds on it (She and Johan both grew up in South Africa.)  And I am making Sara (and Lourens) a koala like the one I made for Owen – which they both fell in love with and cuddled when I showed it to them.

Later, we went out to dinner to celebrate Manuela’s birthday.  We went to the Georges Restaurant at the harbour in Wilmington – on the Cape Fear River.  The food was wonderful and the atmosphere (except for the mozzies) was excellent.

Meanwhile, we spent time situating the boat in its boatyard, tidying up and doing what we can to prevent mice and squirrels and mold and insects from getting inside. We use Bounce dryer sheets and Irish Spring soap - which, hopefully, the critters dislike the smell of.  This is the first time we have had the boat stored outside with no roof – so we’ll see how she goes.

On the actual day of her birthday, Manuela and I did our craft project together and that was fun.  Then we went to the second-hand store (one of my favorite places!) to restock so I can do the same craft with my sisters and nieces when I see them tomorrow or the next day.

Next stop:  Hilton Head - and not too long before I head home!

Morningstar Marina, South Port NC - Sept 20–27

The Marina was nice, though quite expensive.  Here, not only do you pay for the slip, but there is an extra charge for electricity each night! And the bathroom was FAR, FAR away! In fact, I often took the bike or even drove to get close to the bathroom.  It was very clean and well-tended, and close to town and restaurants.  Southport is a great little town – very historical and quaint.  There are darling little houses, and HUGE mansions, all in pretty colors. I think they must all be modernized with plastic siding, because I only saw ONE house with peeling paint. I went tootling around on my e-bike, (which I LOVE!) stopping to take photos.

A lot of the houses have historical markers by the front door.  And almost all have front veranda with chairs or couches and some kind of fun sign or saying or something funky or funny.

At one house, which was a riot of flowers, a woman was working on a watercolor.  She fit right in with her purple shirt.

We went to all the famous restaurants – Fishy, Fishy; The Provision Company, The Edgewater, and the ice cream shop – Flavas, which are all in a row on the waterfront. The first night we were there, we headed towards The Provision Company, but the line was out the door and around the corner!  So we ended up at Fizzy Jane's, which is right across the street from the marina - where we were the ONLY customers in the place - but the food was very good!  We tried the Provision Company again another night, but since we went at 4:30 we got right in.  The food is good, and the drinks are on an honor system!  You just pick up whatever you want to drink – beer, soda, etc. and then at the end, they have your food tab and you tell them what you drank!

The tides are very high on the inland waterway, so according to the water level, we were either parked on a meadow or on a lake!

OSPREY Marina, Myrtle Beach, S.C.  Sept 13 - 20 (Still here)

Chris has thrown his input into the blog.  When we were on our big boat, sailing around the South Pacific, we called it “Boat Repair in Exotic Ports.”  This trip is called “Trailer and car repair in Podunk towns!” 

We were excited about the Augusta Riverwalk, but we were disappointed.  It seems the proprietor is out of town, in Colorado, and the person who answered the phone, Flipper,  was evasive and slick, so we were already suspicious.  When we arrived, there was no one there who was in charge of the marina at all!  Cathy was there in the gift shop, but she didn’t handle anything about the marina, nor did she know much.  She was amazed that Flipper had answered the phone, and she was very dubious about his credentials and his ability to handle things.  After about two hours of trying to ring folks and get in contact with anyone who knew anything, Greg wandered in – he is NOT in charge of anything in the marina, but he has a business tied to it, renting houseboats and kayaks, and he thought he could manage to help us.  So he and Cathy found the paperwork for us to fill out, and then he had to run because he had some business to handle.  Once we finished the paperwork, we rang him and he said he couldn’t come to deal with us until after 4:30.  Well, we weren’t sure how late that would happen, and even if everything worked out, it meant we would have to launch the boat in the dusk – which is never a good plan.  So we got a motel for the night.  In the morning, Greg had not returned our call and there were other things we were worried about –  like there were no showers, only public toilets where Cathy said the homeless people were often found, the gates weren’t locked, and it just seemed to go on and on. It’s too bad, because Augusta looked like a fun place to be, it would have been perfect for the bikes and I would have liked to explore.

And – a rather weird thing happened.  We had parked the car and trailer in the back lot, and luckily, it was fairly isolated because for some reason, one of us left the passenger door OPEN all night!  I’m not talking unlocked, I’m talking OPEN!  We were lucky because nothing was stolen, and the car started in the morning!  The only bad part was a quite wet seat – so my bum was damp all day.

Nevertheless, we moved on to the next spot – so we are in South Carolina, near Myrtle Beach, at the Osprey Marina.  It’s a very nice place, though not close to any town, really, AND, it’s been raining for three days!  It’s the first real bad weather we’ve had, but it means we are pretty much shut in the boat.  Luckily, we like each other quite a bit, and we are enjoying our cards and a bit of movie watching. There are some things you can enjoy inside in the rain. (I put that bit in for you, Mike!)

We had trouble launching the boat this time – steep ramp, bad weather, a hard current and a new procedure.  Probably not a good combination, but the only really negative thing was that we broke a fiberglass pole off the trailer – easily replaced.   

We’ve decided that trailering the boat – with the put in/pull out routine – is not as much fun and certainly more stressful than just parking the car and trailer somewhere, staying on the boat and relying on our bikes to get us around rather than the car.  That’s probably what we will aim for in the future.  We’ve decided to stay here for about a week, and then spend one more week in another marina.

Not much is happening here, due to the rain.  One night the wind was bad as well, so Chris got up in the night and took down the canopy which was flapping around.  That was fine, but when he came in, he didn’t close the top hatch all the way, so I was rudely awakened with  drips on my head!

The rain has finally stopped now, so things are drying out, which is good as we found SEVERAL leaks and things are still kind of damp and maybe a little moldy.  Hopefully today will sort things out with sunshine and repairs.

Odds and Ends:

• Some of you may remember that I always have a song in my head. I go to sleep with one, and I wake up with one.  The different thing that is happening recently is that it is the SAME song for several days.  This ALWAYS includes lyrics – even if I have them wrong or they are missing parts, which is frustrating.  The only way I can stop it is to purposefully sing another song or count backwards from 100 in French, but if I stop or drift and then wake, it comes right back. The song I’ve had in my head for four days now, is “Cool Change”.   “It's kind of a special feeling when you're out on the sea alone, staring at the cool and quite clear water.”  Sort of appropriate, I guess, but I’m certainly ready for a change.

• There are Presbyterian and Lutheran and Methodist Churches down here in the South, and a LOT of Baptist churches, but there are also some very different ones, independent, I guess, so I’ve taken to jotting them down to entertain you. We’ve passed the Church of God of Prophecy, the Church of the Bridge, Sunrise Bible Church, Daystar Christian, Free Life Worship, the Honeycomb House of Hope, the Apostolic Lighthouse, and the Church in the Cornfield – which WAS!  Nothing around it except corn.  Chris said they needed cheap land to build it, so they stuck it there.  It reminds me of my friend from Hawaii, Maggie Mitchell.  She used to say that there was St. Mary’s by the Mountain, and the St. Simon’s by the Sea, but her church was St. Gregory’s by the Gas Station!

We went to a dinner theater called Riga-Tony's Murder Mystery.  It was sort of Italian style costumes and mafia theme set in the 30's.  It was lots of fun and the food was quite decent. It was Italian style - salad with Italian dressing, tomato bisque, manicottia and green beans and a giant meatball, and a canoli for dessert. The audience truly came to participate and I think everyone had a good time.  The actors would wander around between the tables and tell parts of the story.  They would interact with the guests - and some of the guests were actually characters in the mystery.  They were given parts to read, and someone would throw a costume on them (like a hat or a vest or a boa) and often, they would DIE!  There were several murders.  There were about 90 folks there, and the table were divided by colors.  Then the colors were given a family name - like the Chaperelli Family or the Gino Family and each section was given a signal to respond with every time their name was called.  We were the Gino family, and our response was "Ayyyy" (like Fonzy).  The other responses were "How YOU doin'? (Like Joey on "Friends"), There was also "We Lika da spicy meatball!" and "Fogeddaboudit".  Chris really tried to be involved instead of just rolling his eyes at everything, but of course, I was totally into it.  There were clues throughout the evening as the guests were supposed to solve the mystery.  There were clues posted around the room, and we were encouraged to walk around to check them out and to chat with anyone who "seemed suspicious" in order to  ask  questions.  The whole thing was rather contrived and twisty, it was fun.  The audience were asked to figure out who was the murdererr.  And, in the end, I was the only one who turned in a paper with the right answer!  So I won a cap that says, "I got a clue at Rigatony's".  Here are some photos of me (IN my new cap!) with the principals.

We decided that today was our day to go on a bike ride - but first we had to do some errands, and then make sure we bought a tire patch kit - just in case.  We did our errands, we bought a bunch of things at Walmart - including the tire patch kit.  And then we couldn't find the bike trail!  Chris had researched it, but it took over two hours and SEVERAL trials with Google and Maps and talking to lots of folks who had not clue.  It was extremely frustrating!  Finally we found it.  It's supposed to be a 22 mile bike trail - but it's really only a four mile trail - and then you have to cross a major highway and you are in the streets!  We did go the four miles, though.  It was mostly shady and mostly flat, which was great, but it was full of potholes and patches, ruts and ridges, so at times it was slightly uncomfortable. At one point, a chipmunk sprinted out in front of Chris and startled him!  But we found it, and we rode it, and we are proud of ourselves.  This will most likely be the end of Osprey as it is Wednesday, and we leave on Friday.  Tomorrow is laundry day and who knows what else?

Fortunes and mis-                  Guntersville   Sept 5 - 11

Ah well – another day, another happenstance.  The marina was not busy AT ALL over Labor Day, so maybe the other places we wanted to stay turned out to be available as well.  Whatever.  The day after Labor Day we packed up and hauled out.  This is no easy feat, as my bike went in the car, and Chris bike went in the boat.  Plus we had to take down the bimini and the canopy, move the heavy things to the car, like the tool box and the cooler and the ANCHOR – believe it or not - and only keep light things on the boat so it’s easier to haul.  We have procedures for putting the boat in the water and taking it out again – and it’s a good thing!  I have them stored as notes on my phone so they are always accessible, but even with that we keep either forgetting things to do, or remembering things to do that we have to add to the list.  So it’s a lot of effort, especially in hot, sticky weather.  We got off about 11:11 (my favorite time of day) and we stopped for gas, and then pulled onto the highway to head for Guntersville, Alabama.  As we were driving along, a white truck pulled up beside us and kept pace with us until Chris looked over.  (He was driving.) The truck driver pointed back at our boat and then pointed down several times, so we knew something was wrong.  Once before, when the same kind of thing happened, we had forgotten to pull up our centerboard, but no – THIS time it was a smoking tire!  The wheel bearings were very wonky and causing the whole thing to heat up.  Chris checked it and decided it had to be repaired – we couldn’t drive it like that.  So, sitting on the side of the highway, we called around.  The closest spot that would even LOOK at a trailer was 11 miles away, and he didn’t think he could drive it that far.  So the first thing he did was back up car and boat and trailer about 50 feet so he could pull into a side street and OFF the highway.  Then we called a tow truck.  The young man was worried about the length of the thing.  He said his trailer bed was only 20 feet long, and we had a 26 foot boat!  But Chris got out his handy tape measure (because the tool box was in the car!) and found out that from the front of the hitch to the wheel was only 19 feet and about 4 inches.  Therefore, the tow truck said he’d come around and see if he could help.  The young man, Hunter, was very thoughtful and careful – he worried that we might bump the engine or the bottom of the boat on the pavement as he was hauling it up the ramp, so he went VERY slowly and carefully and we only bumped a tiny bit!  Once he got it on, he secured the wheels, which were indeed just a few inches away from the end, even though the boat hung off another ten to twelve feet!  Hunter was amazed that he could do it – he said (with his Alabama drawl) “I’ve had a lot of strange things on this tow truck, but I’ve never had nothing like this!”  And he went around and took photos for HIS story to tell.  He said with it hanging off that much, it needed a red flag and Chris wanted ME to come up with one from what was in the Durango – huh?  I said, “Well, we’ve got a pink blanket!?”  Finally, I found a red strap that went around one suitcase – and it was red enough to work. 

He drove  us to the truck and trailer repair place and we followed.  It was closing for the day, but we were told to put it in the shed and the mechanic would look at it tomorrow.  So we left it there, not knowing if we would be there for a day or a week.  We found a motel, had dinner, and worried.  The next morning, Sunny rang us to tell us that the bearings had been rusted by water and destroyed and therefore the axle was scored and destroyed and would have to be replaced.  They didn’t have an axle to fit, but they thought they might be able to get one by the end of the day.  so we renewed our stay at the motel for another day and waited.  It turned out they replaced the axle and brakes and brake lines and added brake fluid – which was totally empty.  (And most likely had been for some time!)  So basically, new trailer innerds.  And all this, of course, with the boat still on top! 

We left the boat and trailer at the shop, but we did have our car, so we went to this funky restaurant that everyone recommended called “Rattlesnake Saloon”.  Once you parked in the lot, a truck came to pick us up to take us down a windy dirt road to the restaurant which was inside a cavern!  It was mostly about atmosphere, but the food was good – and for a change, I ordered dessert – deep fried cheesecake!  It wasn’t at all what I expected, but it was yummy!

OK - you get the idea - there were lots more strange and wondrous things to see.  On the way back to the marina that day, we smelled burning and got worried.  It turns out that because the trailer braking system was not doing its job, the car was taking the burden of the braking and therefore the car brakes were shot.  Of course, the tire place was closed by that time on Saturday, and closed Sunday as well.  So we hung out at the boat, got hot, took a dip in the pool, played cards, rustled up something to eat, took photos and waited for Monday. 

Brakes AND tires were replaced on Monday, and the repair shop said those tires had been on for 18 years!  Pretty amazing that we made it this far.  OK – so…basically new trailer and partially renewed Dodge Durango.   

We should be good to go – so we did.  On Tuesday we took off for our next stop – Augusta, Georgia.  But…just another little problem – every time we stopped or slowed down, the truck pulled to the right – and it definitely smelled hot!  When we stopped at a Michael’s store in Oxford, Alabama, I went in to get Safety Eyes for Owen’s Koala, and Chris checked the tires.  Most of them were fine, but the left front tire was STINKING HOT!  Chris said, “We have to get a motel right here and figure this out.”  We found a motel which would accommodate parking the boat, and he went to work again, calling to tire repair/brake repair places in the vicinity.  The first place he went to said they could probably help him, but maybe not until tomorrow afternoon.  He started to go on to the second repair shop, but was waylaid by the owner who said he didn’t like losing customers, and just hang on a second, they could fix it here and now!  So he put it up on the rack and inspected it and told Chris it would cost $1000 for new calipers and new brake shoes and a rotor on the left front.  Chris said thanks so much, he would think about it, maybe get a second opinion and get back to him. The owner, Phillip, who was a real piece of work, did NOT want him going to the competition and really pressured Chris to stay and get the work done.  Chris’ philosophy has always been, “If you can’t say no – something’s wrong, and you MUST say no.”  So he thanked Phillip and took his vehicle – but not before Phillip charged him $20 for the inspection!  At the next place, they inspected it, told him the same thing but didn’t charge him for the inspection and said it would be $700.  While they were inspecting it, Chris called the original place back in Guntersville, who put in the new brakes in the first place.  They had tested it, and Chris says there’s no telling when the calipers will go out, so it definitely wasn’t their fault, but they felt really bad about it anyway and told him that if he could bring it in, they would fix it and only charge him cost plus labor.  

We went to dinner at a cute Mexican restaurant called Los Arcos, watched a little TV and went to bed  wo we could get up at 5:00 am to get back to Guntersville by 7:30 when the repair shop opens.

That's just about enough of this!  But nooooo...that's NOT all!  Driving along again - heading back to pick up the boat, Chris thought the brakes felt wrong - very spongy and too much play.  So we turned around AGAIN, went back to the repair shop AGAIN and they put it RIGHT on the rack, bled the brake lines TWICE and didn't charge us.  Now Chris is convinced that things are better and assured that they did the best they could and were honest about it.  So we lost a little bit of sleep and quite a bit of time on the road, but we saved $500.  Let's just hope that we only have GOOD fortune happening the rest of this trip, hey?

Florence, Alabama     Aug 20 - Sept 2  

We haven’t done a lot of touring around in Florence, because Chris spends a lot of time at the library working on his physics. 

We found out there are four cities in a sort of alliance nearby – the four are Florence, Muscle Shoals, Sheffield, and Tuscumbia.  Muscle Shoals should probably be spelled “Mussel Shoals”, as that is why it is named.  We did go visit the Wilson Dam, which was the biggest hydroelectric dam in the world at the time of its construction in 1924.  There was no tour available, and the visitor's center was closed, so we had to read signs and do our best on our own to make sense of it.     

One evening it was so hot that we went to McFarland Park for a swim.  They have what they call a “beach” that is about 50 feet long.  There are not many beaches along the river at least where we are, because the sides are so steep, but we took advantage of this one and cooled off in the river.

That day that we visited “Ivy Green” we also decided to have an overnight on the water.  So we left the marina and found a little tiny beachy place nearby that got shallow enough for us to anchor.  There was a little tiny beach there, and Chris swam to it at one point.  We drifted very close to the land to the right of where you see the beach - close enough to touch the trees.  We could get into the river and swim, which was SO refreshing.  And then we could sit in the cockpit whilst the water was evaporating off our skin and stay cool for a long time.  We hung up towels to keep the sun off, and then we had our card games out on the deck and our dinner, too.  We saw a couple of very small but interesting murmurations by a flock of unknown birds, but probably starlings, yes?  However by then we discovered that there actually WERE mosquitos after us, so we had to go inside.  Thank goodness for our screens and our fans or life would be unbearable on this boat.   The only misadventure of that night was as I sprayed myself with bug spray, I didn’t pay a lot of attention to what was around me, and in the morning my toothbrush tasted TERRIBLE!  

The thing that Chris didn't like about this spot was that it was not private.  We had lots of visitors down the track to the tiny beach all afternoon and in the middle of the night there were a couple who came out and shone their powerful torches around our boat!  We also had a couple of non-human visitors, but we didn't mind them much.

Chris sleeps in the V-berth in the bow, and I sleep under the cockpit.  It is a really good thing that most of the time we are not sleeping together, because Chris is a VERY light sleeper, and we both snore.  In fact, sometimes I snore so loudly I wake myself up!  Although I DO have a snore guard.  So if I remember to put it in my mouth, it helps a lot!  Also, because my back is so sore so often, it is very difficult for me to turn over, and it takes a lot of struggling to do that, which would disturb Chris.  Sometimes, separate bedrooms is BENEFICIAL to a marriage!

Our second anchorage was full of tree stumps which worried Chris.  At one point while I was floating around, a dragonfly landed on my hands which were resting on my belly.  I guess she was trying to stay out of the water.  When I put my hands under water, she came to rest on my NOSE!  I shooed her away from there and as I was side-stroking my way back to the boat, she rode along on my shoulder.  Good thing dragonflies don’t bite.

Mosquitoes do, though!  We always close the screens up as tightly as possible as soon as I see the first mozzie - which is usually close to 6 pm.  One morning when I got up early, I found about 15 mozzies trying to get in, and three trying to get out!  I guess they had had their fill.  I do have about 20 bites on each leg and a few on my arms and shoulders as well.

Chris complains that he can't float like I do - it's that extra layer of fat that women have - so he is pretending that he can float with one foot up!

Heading up and down the river, we passed these houses on top of the huge rock walls!

We have such a small draft on our boat, that when the center board is pulled up, there is only 1 foot below the water – so we can get into some very tight places, and Chris doesn’t mind much how close we get to things, because it’s a fiberglass boat.  At one point, this tree came to visit.  We couldn’t get it to go away, so Chris finally had to break some branches off.  Sorry, tree. 

The last anchorage was my favorite.  I call it Honeysuckle Cove due to the honeysuckles near the entrance.  The water was clear and cool.  It was fairly isolated so we had privacy.  No sunken trees, no underwater grasses, a bit of privacy, and a cool breeze.   If we had found this one first, we might have continued to go there each time!  There was one small problem there, though – we went agound!  We were playing cribbage and all of a sudden I noticed that the boat was on a slant!  We rushed outside and found that the water level had gone down at least a foot!  We figured it must be because we were so close to the dam, and they let water out occasionally.  Chris got into the water and manhandled the boat around to a deeper area, where he just tied us to a  couple of trees on shore.  We were fine after that.

Critters and Creatures - just for fun

We are on the boat in Florence, Alabama, and we are here a bit longer than we had planned, because Chris forgot about the Labor Day boat frenzy and didn’t make reservations enough in advance.  People feel that Labor Day weekend is the Last Time they can get out on their boat before winter sets in or some such silliness, and so all the marinas are totally booked out.  Well, to be fair, it IS a three-day weekend, so it’s a good opportunity for camping, boating, etc.  Anyway, we were planning to be in Huntsville at this time, but we are forced to stay in Florence, and luckily, our marina manager figured out a way to let us stay, as he is totally booked out, as well.

We’ve been very pleased that there have been hardly any bugs in Alabama while we were in this marina.  A fly or two, perhaps, but nothing really obnoxious – no horseflies trying to attack us or midges annoying us or sweat bees attracted by our perspiration or mosquitos during the day.  At night, we put up the screens I invented and nothing bothers us.

Everyone who knows me understands that I am VERY sensitive to the cold.  Believe you me, I am NOT complaining about being cold here!  It’s been between 98 and 101 degrees all week!  (That’s around 37 degrees Celsius.)  So  we look for places to stay cool.  Mostly we would wake up and have breakfast, then head to the local library.  Chris would stake out a table to work on his physics, and I would work on my blog or my email or my shopping lists, etc.  We would often skip lunch and head out to a restaurant about 4 or 4:30.  As we were cruising through Florence, looking for somewhere to eat, we saw a place called “The Pie Factory.”  We wondered if they had mat pies (an Aussie staple) so we stopped to ask.  “Does the Pie Factory mean meat pies or fruit pies?” I asked the hostess.  She laughed and said, “Pizza pies!”  So we stayed and had a really nice Calzone and some good beer.  After dinner, we head back to the boat, play a couple games of Cribbage and a couple games of what we call Bone, and then it’s bed time for Chris and reading time for me, and it’s still VERY hot!  We could not get by without our nice little fans. 

Whilst we were still at the Dennisons, Chris told me about a surprise he had planned, and he said not to Google too much about Florence, or I would ruin the surprise, so I didn’t.  But he showed Leanne and Paula, and they both agreed that I would really like it.  Chris said I would not guess it in a million years.  I thought I had heard Leanne and Paula talking about “she” so I tried to think of the famous women who were associated with the South.  Maybe Rosa Parks?  Maybe Sojourner Truth?  Maybe even Betsy Ross?  Of course, he wouldn’t tell me if I was right or wrong.  Then he said, “This person is one of the most famous people from here who is known throughout the world.”  And another time he said, “I have always wanted to visit this place.”  So then I thought maybe I was mistaken and it was a man.  Wasn’t Martin Luther King, Jr.  from Alabama?  Have YOU had a guess yet?

It turns out it was the birthplace of Helen Keller!  I was SO surprised, and yes, thrilled!  The home and grounds are called “Ivy Green” and there was a tiny tour through the house and then we could explore on our own.  So now I’m going to go through the story in my own words.  If you know everything you want to know about Helen Keller, you can skip down the photographs.

Helen was a normal baby, (born in 1880) but at 19 months old, she had a serious fever (not diagnosed) that caused her to lose her sight and her hearing.  After that, she was coddled and allowed to do whatever she wanted.  She was the first child of her mother, Kate, who was the second wife of her father, Arthur, who already had two older boys.  So as they would have meals, Helen would wander around the room and grab food off of anyone’s plate and scream if anyone tried to stop her.  She had no discipline at all – because she could not hear or see anyone tell her “no!”  By the time she was six, her mother had another baby to deal with, and that’s my idea of why they couldn’t put up with her awful behavior anymore.  Her father was probably worried that she could hurt the baby, so they hired Anne Sullivan from Perkins School for the Blind in  Boston to deal with her.  Helen was just 20 years old 1887 – had never been south, had mostly been in institutions, and was partially blind herself  - she had had nine operations on her eyes!

That first meal at the table was shocking to Anne.  She told the Kellers that not only did she need to learn some words, but she needed to learn some manners!  She said she had to be entirely alone with Helen to enforce her ideas.  The Kellers were not in favor of removing her from the family, but finally, Annie convinced them.  So Captain Keller said she could move into the “birthing house” in the yard, which had also been used as a bridal suite , and he would give her only two weeks!

To fool Helen into thinking she was going far away, they put the two of them in the carriage and drove around for four miles before coming right back to the little house in her own back yard.  Now it was entirely up to Annie to make sure Helen followed the rules, and she was kind but firm.   Helen couldn’t eat unless she was sitting at the table and using a spoon and fork.  Annie was the only person she had contact with during those two weeks.  Of course, there was the famous water well scene, and the revelation that everything had a name which she could understand.  Annie was using the manual alphabet, which is a special way of putting letters into the palm.  And the day that Helen understood “water” she also learned THIRTY more new words!  Both Annie and Helen had to be EXTREMELY intelligent to accomplish all that they did over the years.

“The Miracle Worker” play, written by William Gibson has been decreed as “the official outdoor drama of Alabama” and is produced each summer on the grounds of Ivy Green. The lady who gave us the minimalist tour of the house has played Helen, when she was little and Annie, now that she’s grown!  We learned this from her mother who we met on the path as we were leaving. 

Helen graduated from Radcliffe College in 1904, with Annie by her side the whole time.   As a freshman, she was removed from the freshman English class, and promoted to the senior advanced English class due to her incredible knowledge.  She also took French and German!  Can you imagine??

Here is a view of the kitchen and cook house on the Keller property (on the left) and the little birthing house where Annie and Helen were isolated for two weeks.  Between them in the white fenced area is the famous well.

Here I am pretending to be Helen at the famous well, and also the bronze statue of Helen at the well. 

In the garden there was a display by the Lions Club which contained an appeal by Helen and a response by the Lions Club, vowing to be "knights of the blind" to support Helen.  But the most impressive part was a video with both Anne Sullivan and Helen Keller giving speeches!  They were both amazing women, and we were so inspired that one night on the boat, we watched TWO "Miracle Worker" movies.  There is at least one more, and we hope we've saved the best for last. 

Paducah - Aug 16 - 20 

Our second day on the road towards Paducah, we stopped at a rest area to change drivers and use the bathroom, and about seven tiny little bees got in the car!  Every time we opened a window to shoo one out, two more came in!  So we opened the doors and swished a bit to eliminate as many as we could, and then got on the road again with a couple of stowaways which we had to squish as we were driving.  I found out they are called “sweat bees” as they are attracted to perspiration. We are both allergic to bees, so even though they are tiny, they can still sting.

When we got hungry, we decided to pull off at the first exit that had a Burger King. (Chris’ favorite fast food.) There was quite a bit of road construction leading up to it, and the exit was just a very narrow strip, marked by orange cones.  After lunch, Google maps told us that there was no easy re-entry to the highway – maybe because of the construction?  So she (was call her Karen) told us to take these side roads to the next freeway entrance.  The streets in this tiny town of Benton, Kentucky, were very narrow and we noticed that there were NO cars parked on them, so we figured it must be a town ordinance.  However, they were just big enough for us with our boat, and if another car came the other way, we squeezed hard to the right to let them pass.  So Karen tells us to turn left, go two blocks, turn right for three blocks, turn left again and there we find a dip in the road with a railway bridge over top of it!  Problem is, the sign says 7’6” clearance, and we are hauling an 8’ boat!  No way can we make it under there!  So we squeeze over to the right so that cars behind us can get by and go through, and Chris takes the boat way up a gravel ramp next to the railroad tracks to get the boat off the road and give him room to back up to turn around.   I am in the road, directing traffic and hollering at Chris to “WAIT!” until it’s clear.  Then he backs up the boat to within a FOOT of a very deep ditch (with me yelling “STOP!” at him) and then as he is turning around, misses the ditch on the other side of the road by mere inches!  It was a breath-stopping moment, but he pulled us through!  Whew!   Glad I wasn’t backing that thing up!

Paducah is in Kentucky, and we were hauling the boat down to visit our friends Leanne and Mike Dennison and put in on the Tennessee River.  Leanne takes photos of EVERYTHING, so I have a HUGE number of photos to share. For example, when I fixed dinner one night, Leanne took three photos of me cooking, a photo of me teaching her son, Nicholas how to peel garlic, a photo of the actual food, and a photo of us eating it!

One night, they had mutual friends over for pizza.  When Chris worked for Silex in Sydney, Greg and Mike were shipped over from Paducah to help, (where they already worked for the same company) so they were in Oz for part of the same time and we all became friends.   After dinner, three of us reclined on their lounging sofa while Mike showed pictures on the big screen in the living room.

The next day, Greg was kind enough to take us all out on his pontoon boat to show us a bit of Kentucky Lake. 

We motored into "The Quarry" where on holidays, boats jam in to swim and play and listen to music, and decorate the rocks!

Greg pulled up right on a nice beach, and Mike and Chris hopped out to do a bit of wading, then soon we all got out for a walk on the beach.

So, with apologies to America, I have officially been through the water on a boat with no name.  It was a long day, but we were invited to see the Inglert's mobile home nearby, which was lovely.  Surprisingly, though, no one took photos!  Then we went back to the Dennison's for leftover pizza!

Leanne is a real go-getter, so we did a lot of fun things while we were there, including playing the domino game “Trains” and a card/board game called “Sequence”.

Jacob and Nicholas are quite special to me, as when Leanne and Mike were in Australia, she was pretty much stuck at home with two special needs kids - physical therapy, occupational therapy, special diets and so much more every day.  So when I found that out, I volunteered to kid-sit once a week for several hours so she could go shopping on her own, go to a movie, or just sit in the park and enjoy time without the hyper-vigilance of a mom with two little kids,  Believe it or not, even though they were just three and five, those boys remember ME, too!  So there is a special connection here. 

And a side note is that Austin was conceived while they were there (thus the name AUStin - get it?)  And I was the one who confirmed that Leanne should go to the doctore because although she thought it was impossible, I decided she was pregnant!  So I was the first person (besides his parents) who knew Austin before he was born!  Haha.

So good-bye to Dennisons for this year!  We are hauling our boat away to Alabama.  TTYL.  Don’t forget to write.  Love and light.

Back to Lowell   Aug 14 - 17 

We had rain and sun all day in spurts.  And terrible traffic outside of Chicago.  It felt like a very long day, so I was hoping to have a bath before bed.  Our  motel room had a tiny little bathroom with just a toilet and a bathtub (yay!).  The sink and counter was outside in another section.  There was JUST enough room to get in and close the door with a tiny spot about four tiles square beside the towel rack to either use the toilet or step into the bath.  So after dinner, I closed the door, made the water nice and hot, and hopped in with my kindle for a good soak.  I always close the shower curtain to keep the heat in.  While I was enjoying my relaxing reading spot, Chris opened the door to use the facilities.  He couldn't see me behind the shower curtain, so he said, "Where are you?"  That just struck me funny.  Where ELSE could I be in that teeny room?  He wasn't even trying to be amusing and that cracks me up.  Part of why I love him so.

Mt. Clemens, MI  and Stratford, Ontario   Aug 8 - 14

In Mt. Clemens, we visit Larry and Peggy.  This year, I was slightly delayed due to the car problems.  Usually, I would just drive from Lowell to Mt. Clemens, but this year, we had to have an exchange.  So we met in the middle at a restaurant that was about an hour and a half drive for each couple - lunch, and then their return trip.  I am SO appreciative of good friends.  Peggy and Larry managed to get Chris picked up at the Detroit airport (after his time with Elisa) so we were retunited, and I am happy!  I SHOULD have had a photo of the two couples with us in the middle, but I didn't - what good am I???

The next day, Larry and Peggy and Chris and I, and another friend, Patty - headed off to Stratford, Ontario (Canada) WITH our passports, to go to the annual Shakespeare Festival.  It was a two and a half hour trip, and I was sitting in the way back of Larry's big car, missing out slightly on the conversation, but getting a LOT of crocheting done on Lily's lamb.  And speaking of the stuffies, I forgot to tell you a funny story.  I started on the squid while I was still in Colorado, and Joel (who is six) was impressed how far I got.  "Wow!"  He said, "It's big!"  But I told him I couldn't do any  more until I bought the safety eyes.  Ezra, who is eight, said, "Why don't you just crochet eyes on it?"  But Joel said, "NO!  I want safety eyes."  Ezra said, "But safety eyes hurt!"  I was confused.  "Do you mean they hurt the squid when I attach them?"  But he answered guiltily, "No - sometimes we have stuffie wars!"  OH!  So they hurt when you get hit with them!  Hmmmm...and unfortunately, I'm afraid this squid is going to be a pretty good weapon for swinging around, whereas Ezra's penguin might only be good for throwing.  Sigh.

OK then - back to Stratford.  We got there in time to see our first show - "Something Rotten".  It. Was. Outstanding!  Even Chris who doesn't much care for musicals REALLY loved it, and three days later while we were playing Euchre, Larry said, "I REALLY enjoyed that show!" It was SO funny!  The basic premise is that the Bottom Brothers, Nick and Nigel, are keen to produce a new play to compete with Shakespeare, and their patron wants it NOW!  So Nick goes to a fortune teller named Thomas Nostradamus to find out what the new trend in plays is going to be so that he can be on the forefront of it.  The fortune teller says "Musicals!"  Nick says, "You mean, people are just going to burst into song in the middle of a scene?"  And Thomas says, "Yes!  And Dance!"  Then Nick asks Thomas to tell him the title of Shakespeare's most famous play in the future.  Thomas hums and haws and then says, "I think it's going to be...Omelette!  Yes, and something about Danish!"  So Nick makes up this play about breakfast and calls it, "Omelette - the Musical".  It was just hysterical, with Nick singing about his envy with "God, I hate Shakespeare."  The Shakespeare character is a take-off on some vain Jesus Christ Superstar Rock Star celebrity with groupies and everything.  At one point he sings, "It's Hard to be the Bard, Baby!"  The whole thing is a parody of Shakespeare as well as famous musicals.  We laughed SO hard!   

 Twelfth Night is a Gilbert and Sullivan type play with mixed up identities - and they did some gender switching as well, so in this poster, you see Feste (with the lute), Malvolio (standing) and Viola dressed as Cesario.  The next photo shows how well they cast Viola with her twin Sebastion who is holding the hand of Lady Olivia.   The setting for this interpretation of the play was the 1970s - thus the paisley dress and the mini skirts with high boots.  It was quite well done, and we all enjoyed it once we got the characters straight.

We stayed at the Shakespeare Inn (of course! Lions and all!) and the next day we went to Romeos for breakfast - which was delightful. All five of us had Eggs Benedict, though Larry and Chris had the "Classic", Peggy and I had the "Juliet", and Patty had the "Benvolio"! And, by the way, although the rest of the world calls it "Canadian Bacon", in Canada it is called "Peameal Bacon."  Go figure.

Back to Peggy's house, and we worked a lot into a few days!  Peggy had a nice dinner party for us, we had lunch with Donna Plonkey Parkhurst and Roz Runnels, we managed to squeeze in a chance to meet with Karrie Glassford and her friend, Kathy, who were off to a hooking class (rugs, that is!) 

I had a G&T haircut!  (It turned out great - never fear.) And we played lots of Euchre and patted Peggy's sweet dog, Winnie.  We made hostess gifts together and cooked and had just a lovely time.

Peggy took me to her exercise class, twice.  And the second time it was all about "stations".  For the warm-ups below, you can see my pink jacket in the reflection and Peggy is beside me in the light gray.

Lowell, Michigan    July 31 - Aug 8

Things are really happening here in Lowell, Michigan -  MOST of them fantastic - SOME of them not so hot.

I am with Rene and Dean, the rhyming couple.  I've known Rene for about 40 years, from when Jim and I lived in Westland, Michigan.

I arrived very late on Wednesday night - but that worked out well for them, as they had a cornhole tournament that night and it ended after 11:00.  They didn't place, but Rene's daughter, Bridget, WON!  

Thursday night, their local club "The Moose" was having a fund-raising Bingo night.  The Bingo playing started at 3 pm and went until 9 pm. American Bingo is very different from Australian Bingo, but I don't think I'd want to play either one of them for six hours straight!  We got there a little after 6, so it was fine.  The cost was 25 cents per card, per game and you could play as many cards as you wanted at one time.  Rene and I usually played two or three cards per game, and let me tell you, the quarters really added up quickly because the games went very fast!  Rene won once, but had to share the pot with another Bingo-er, so her total was $7.25.

The day after the pool party, Newman was REALLY rank!  We could hardly bear to have him near us, let alone pet him.  So I decided to give him a bath.  We waited until it was quite hot in the afternoon, and although he was NOT fond of the hose, I just threw his toy in the pool so he would jump in and get wet.  Then he would come to me for some loving, and I soaped him up.  When he had a good dose of that, I just threw his toy in the pool again!  So not only does he smell a LOT better, but you'll be happy to know that the pool will not be gettin any ticks or fleas!

There is always a LOT of trivia going on at Rene's because she claims no one will play with her unless I am here!  So she and I play together a lot, and whenever friends come over, Rene bullies them to play as well (but secretly they love it!)  They actually WON once!  But the next time we played, we used a newer version that we thought the younger women might enjoy more, but that night Rene and I won both games!

Now for the not-so-good news.  Our boat is stored here in Bridget's barn, and our car stays winterized and covered up in Rene's driveway.  Bridget's son, Brady, and Dean were good enough to take off the wrapping and reinstall the battery, and it started right up!  Yay!  But, when I tried to drive it, it wouldn't STEER at all!  Chris was thinking that maybe it just needed Power Steering Fluid, so while we were shopping, we picked some up.  When we got home, Dean helped me figure out where the fluid went and poured it in - a little too full - but by the time I had climbed in the car and started it, the resevoir was already almost empty!  So we figured there was a leak in that little tank, or in the line, and as we were looking for it, we noticed a few frayed wires, and then a few little acorns and then some wires actually bitten in two!  It seems some little critter (Dean thinks probably a red squirrel or a chipmunk) came to live under the hood and had to taste a bit of everything - some of the plastic, some of the wire, some of the rubber coating, some of the insulation.  So obviously we weren't going to be driving it anywhere soon!  I had to call the tow truck to come get it and haul it off to get repairs.  Sigh.  Waiting today to see what the pronosis is...

Los Alamos, NM    July 22 - 31

etc., and try to stay out of their way.  Dave took this photo of the two of us, sitting at his table, hashing out travel plans!  It seems our plans are always evolving and changing, and sometimes no one quite knows where we are or where we are going - including us!  We are always SO appreciative of our friends and family helping us to stay flexible, even though it's a challenge at times.  In this photo, I think Chris is looking at hotels and I am researching rental cars...but who knows?  And it's before breakfast! I haven't even finished my coffee!  

We had dinner with Vreni and Mike Welser, and their family who live next door!  We always enjoy chatting with Leslie and Manolo and Alex. Vreni always has wonderful food and Michael is thoughtful with his wine!  Next time we need to have dinner at OUR place in Oz!  Come on down under!

I was so pleased I got a chance to meet up with my Los Alamos Book Club group - even though it was not an official book club meeting, my friends from Chamisa met me for lunch, and we DID talk about books, among other things, so I added a few more to my "To Be Read" list! We all 

Summer of 2024 (Well, Winter in Oz)

I'm starting this year off with my natural state of confusion as to which Blog site I should be using! I've tried Wix, Weebly, Wordpress, Webador (all W's for some reason) and Blogspot. I'm quite sure I started earlier on ONE of those sites, but I can't find it! Then I decided on Wix, but I exceeded my allotment of photo space uploads. So I'm going to try this one for now.

Usually, when we leave Oz, we have a morning flight from Brisbane, and we arrive in the States before noon. This year was quite different. We left Brisbane at 10:00 pm! That was great for us on the day, as we could spend the time making sure we hadn't forgotten any packing and making sure the house was ready to go for our housesitter. It was also good for sleeping on the plane - well...at least ONE of us slept a LOT on the plane (it wasn't me.) Here is a photo of Chris - He has a special neck pillow that has straps that loop around the airplane headrest, so it won't fall or tilt. He has attached the loop on the back of his cap to the straps on the pillow so that his head won't fall forward and wake him up. In this photo he is also wearing his face mask, his eye mask and ear plugs - to shut out the world! He thinks he slept about 9 hours! I slept about three.

We arrived on Thursday, and I drove to Fort Collins on Sunday while Chris stayed with Elisa to work on her projects. It is a long drive - Google Maps say it's a little over seven hours. But since I am driving alone, it takes a bit longer - I stop for power naps and gas and snacks almost every two hours. But I made it safely - no hassles.

It was great to see Aaron and family. They have a lovely guest room in their basement - very private and comfortable. The weird thing is that it's summer here, and so their air conditioning is on in the whole house - and the only way to keep the upstairs comfortable is to freeze out the basement! So they actually put a heater in my room to make it bearable. My body schedule was off almost the whole time I was there, so I didn't get much sleep until the last day. And believe me, FIVE kids is a LOT of kids when you haven't slept much! (I imagine Karla and Aaron would say that five kids is ALWAYS a lot of kids!) There is such a range between Lily, who is almost 16, and Joel who is six - but I absolutely LOVED being there with them! It is summer and their school vacation, so all the kidlets were home most days - unless they went off to the pool or to a friend's house for a birthday party or some such. I so admire Aaron and Karla for finding things to do as a family that spans the whole age group. One day when the parents were out, we had a craft day. I won't tell you what we made yet, as I am making the same kind of thing for hostess gifts and I like to keep it a surprise - but all of the kids were involved and enjoyed it. The three older kids are quite good at helping the younger ones.

Lily has her driver's permit and needs hours with a supervised driver, so I went with her for a bit. She's doing a nice job.  She will be 16 in September.

It's quite amazing how the whole family can play together and enjoy each other.  After the lake, Lily drove us to the ice cream store!  I reckon that if she can drive a van with EIGHT people in it - some of them yelling and all of them talking and laughing, and the radio going full blast, so some of them singing - and still do well, then she can handle most any situation!

Now I have just a bunch of sweet photos to share.