Wow. It's late August already--kids are back in school, people are posting about yearning for hot chocolate and bonfires. Yikes! It was just a moment ago when I was planning it all out.
I looked back to see when I last wrote...I've got so much to tell you. (Did you ever watch "Anne of Green Gables"? When Mrs. Lynde ran out of the house saying that to Anne after she had been gone teaching for a year? So that's what I've become...Mrs. Lynde!!! :)
We tried something new for the 4th of July this year. Our daughter-in-law, Jenna, has spent almost every 4th of July of her entire life at Okoboji with her family. When Logan entered into the Davies clan, we were told to NEVER expect them at our house on the 4th. (Well, maybe they were more diplomatic than that.) So this year we just joined them. And, you know what?? It was so fun!
They stay at the same Inn every year, just because they've always stayed there. Now that we've been there, we know which room we should book next time. No one happened to mention to us that the lakeside rooms are so much nicer!! We ate and talked and mini-golfed and ate and played dominoes. Some boated. Some swam. And all ate.
Probably the biggest thing about that weekend was that was the weekend Logan and Jenna announced their pregnancy. (They had told the immediate family a few weeks earlier, but this was making it public.) Little "Bubba Dub" is due on January 17 and we are all thrilled!! (Actually, they won't find out until tomorrow about gender, but I've nicknamed him/her for now.) Jenna is now feeling good after some weeks of not so much. She's got the cutest little bump!!
Loy had two consecutive baseball trip weekends with Grant, but I chose (or was not invited???) not to participate in those trips. I was busy packing and moving a house!
WE ARE ALL MOVED IN!!!! And our old house sold within a day of the sign being put in the yard (but closing has not happened yet...I never feel totally at ease until the check is in our account!) I had always wanted to see if my dogs liked water. We brought them out, on leashes, to let them get the lay of the land. Sniffing, pottying, normal dog stuff. We let them off the leashes. Calm, more sniffing, then, WHAM. Out of the blocks they went. Racing and frolicking and biting the itty bitty waves. Here we were, the new kids on the block, wandering on our neighbor's beaches yelling, "Pip...Sparky...come back." They were, of course, ignoring us totally. I'm just hopeful none of the neighbors saw.
But, after 3 weeks they are doing pretty well. I take them out with a pocket of bones. Each time they come back to me, they get a bone. It's not foolproof, but they're still a work in progress.
The first day they ran into the water. Well, our beach has a kind of drop off about 2 feet in. Each of them, separately, dropped off. So, I know that they have the ability to swim, at least. But they haven't stepped off again on purpose. They love to wade in to get their tummies and legs wet, and they drink the water, but no more swimming. And, by getting their tummies wet, they insure that they can carry the maximum amount of sand into the house.
Our new house has this terrific master shower. A walk in big enough to hold meetings inside. I was in there, showering (not holding a meeting) when I opened my eyes.
Dogs. In the shower with me. Now, they may be my babies, but I am not showering with dogs!!! So now I have to keep one eye open and flick them with water when they come in, which they hate, then they leave. Or, maybe not leave, exactly.
Now, if you've heard enough of my dog stories...we took Amtrak to Oregon last week. We had always wanted to take an extended trip on the train. So, we looked at where Amtrak went and picked the place that was farthest and that we had never been. Portland, Oregon, it is!!!
It takes 32 hours on the train to get there (one way). We scheduled arrival on a Tuesday morning. Loy said, "And we can make the return trip reservation for Tuesday afternoon." What??? I told him we had to stay out there a little while, even though Portland was not a destination we had totally desired to visit. So, our return was on Thursday afternoon, arriving back in Minneapolis at 8:00 a.m. on Saturday.
The train was fun. On the way out, we got what is known as a "roommette," a small compartment with two chairs facing each other. At night they fold the chairs down to make one twin (well, almost twin-sized) bed. Then they bring down a shelf and make a very narrow top bunk. And you share a bathroom with the rest of the sleeper car (there's even a shower!) Loy took the top bunk and it was quite humorous to see him trying to navigate up to that level. There was no floor space.
While we were walking around (meals are included in your ticket price when you get a sleeper!) we noticed others had rooms that looked more spacious than ours...so when we reached Portland we disembarked and Loy marched right to the ticket desk to upgrade us for the way back. The "bedroom" had a couch and a chair. Still bunk beds, but you had enough room to stand in one spot to get dressed, as long as you didn't move. And, the real draw...IT HAD IT'S OWN SINK, SHOWER, AND TOILET!!!!! Now, you did have to almost sit on the toilet to shower (kind of like an RV bathroom) but it was all ours!!!
Would we do the train again? Yes. Would we do it exclusively instead of flying? No. They do treat you very much nicer than the airlines do. No security checks. Really pretty good food that you order in the dining car. (They do seat you with other people at your table, though, so you have to make small talk every meal! I loved that! Loy...not so much.)
Now we are home until October 1...time to finish off those boxes and get settled in. Time to learn all the walking routes around these lakes. Time to try to remember all the new neighbors' names, kids' names, and dogs' names. (BTW--everyone on our cove/block has at least one dog!!! No one gets too upset when they run wild and free.)
Oh, also, this summer, I took a class at Wesleyan: Life Lessons. It was very interesting, talking about a different topic each week (grief, mindfulness, strengths, and so forth). I learned that I am resilient. I learned that I have planned my funeral much more than your typical 21-year-old has. I learned I am an Activator and Communicator(according to Gallup). I learned what LGBTQIA means. I learned social work students, for the most part, are really nice people. That was over in late July. Then I am halfway through a Diversity class and my Intro to Social Work class (online) started Monday. I'm still not sure how far I will take this schooling thing, but, so far, it's been interesting.
You can come visit me anytime (OK, probably not ANY time...) Because, you know, this is how living should be!! :)
