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| Everyone digging into fresh steamed crabs! |
I feel like I’ve been traveling for months right about now!
We finally made it home from our east coast trip yesterday and I felt like I
was still driving in my sleep last night. Every time we go back, I swear the
traffic is exponentially worse. It was certainly worth it, however, to see
family again.
We all gathered at my Mom’s house in Westminster , Md Ohio . Libbie could only stay until Monday morning
but it was so awesome to see her. We
were talking and I don’t think we’ve actually laid eyes on each other since we
were teenagers. She hasn’t changed a bit, still a beauty and a great
conversationalist, as well. Camille and
I have always been joined at the hip, even though, we too, haven’t had a lot of
face time over the years.
My cousin Rick and his wife, Shawne, picked up Becca at the
airport on Monday, kept her to themselves for a day and brought her to the
festivities on Tuesday. We figure it’s
been at least twenty years since Rick and I have seen each other, as well. I
spent a good deal of the time he was around, trying to convince him and Shawne
to come out here to Buffalo
for a visit.
The last to arrive was my Uncle Kip, from Georgia . He had to miss some of the fun as he runs a
newspaper and couldn’t leave town until it had been put to print. He’s looking
as handsome and debonair as ever.
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| L to R : Rick, Mom, Me, Becca, Camille, Kip |
We had a great time all week, running all over, eating
everything in sight, shopping our fool heads off and catching up on the family
goings ons. I am lucky to have such an intelligent bunch of folks I’m related
to, the conversations were fun and we laughed our fool heads off!
I did manage to sneak in a fabulous sushi lunch with Mom and
Camille and on Thursday evening, Rick and Shawne brought some live crabs over
and we steamed those suckers up for an old fashioned crab feast. I am proud to say that I haven’t lost my crab
picking skills and while everyone else was busy talking, I was busy picking and
eating all the crab I could stuff in my poor little western mouth.
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| Sisters Debby and Kathy and Rob's Mom Eva, with Rob |
While I was doing all this visiting with my relatives, Rob
spent almost all of his time just down the road at his sister’s house, visiting
with his Mom and sisters. He kept Miss Thistle with him for the most part, as
well. Thistle had a blast visiting with
her grandmas, being spoiled rotten, of course. At Mom’s house, she had 6
Tibetan Spaniels to play with. They were
all so cute together, the Tibbies are all only about 8 pounds apiece, but that
didn’t stop them from enjoying the 70 pound Golden!
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| Mom's gaggle of Tibbies that played with Thistle |
While we were there, we also had a chance to stop in at our
old American Legion where we used to be officers and saw a lot of our old
friends. One of my girlfriends,
Stephanie, had called everyone for us and told them to come down and we were
overwhelmed at the turnout. Even “Uncle Fester” who is getting up there in
years and now walking with a walker, showed up to say hi. My bestest friend back east, Paula, was
there, as well. She brought her
daughter, Cassie, who is now 3 years old and quite a little lady. To keep her entertained, I danced with her
half the night and she’s quite a good little rock and roller!
All in all, it was a fantastic visit, although I must admit
I’m glad to be back out of the humidity. I had forgotten how freaking hot and
humid it is back there! We dropped Camille off at her sister’s in Columbus on our way home,
so I even got a little extra time with her.
So, we’re back and back to the grind. My little ATV was in the shop getting turn
signals put on while we were gone so I have to go pick that up this
morning. There’s already a little nip in
the air in the evening here, signaling that summer is almost over in Wyoming . We got home to a fully loaded veggie garden
and went right to work picking the fruits of our labor. The corn is ready, great timing
actually. We called Bob and Beth and
gave them a 5 gallon bucket of corn yesterday afternoon, along with just about
everything else we have growing. Bob brings Rob firewood off the mountain and
in return, we give him veggies, but most importantly, the corn.
I had hired my girlfriend, Rebecca’s, son, Colby, to water
the gardens and flowers and lawn while we were gone. He’s eleven and quite a little businessman.
This was his first garden to take care of and he did an excellent job. He came
running down the hill as we were unpacking the truck, eager to get paid “real
money” and find out if he’d done a good job.
He wouldn’t even accept the cash until we had walked the whole garden
and he’d pointed out everything he’d done….so cute. He was tickled pink when I
gave him a bonus for doing such a good job. He’s already looking for other
things to do around our house for more spending cash.
We did have one tragedy while we were away. We had a couple
that was here visiting from Maryland ,
who were planning on retiring here next year. They had already bought a lot and
were working on it. Well, right after we left, Bill and Cindy were out at their
lot doing some work and Bill started not feeling well. Cindy took him in to the hospital and his
kidneys were shutting down. They ended up life-flighting him to Casper and his aorta
burst and he died. Such a horrible thing to have happen! Luckily, Karen Henry, from the Blue Gables,
was able to go with Cindy to Casper ,
so she wasn’t alone through all that. Bill did say that he didn’t want to go
back to Maryland ,
but I don’t think this was what he had in mind. Such a funny, warm man, we’re
really going to miss him. I’ll be calling Cindy in a few days. I have no idea
if she is still going to continue with their plans now that Bill’s gone….poor
dear.
Anyway, time to get my butt in gear! Got a lot of soggy east
coast humidity to get outta my laundry and get the house back in shape. The next few days is going to be all about
canning green beans, I think! Have a
fantastic day and week. Be kind and
loving and know I’m thinking about you!
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