Up and Running!

I have not written a blog since mid-June! Frankly, I was surprised that I had kept things together enough to post something that far into the summer! I reread the blog I wrote, titled "Company", and was astonished at how much I had accomplished in the month of May and half of June! ...and life just got busier after that! Here is a quick synopsis of what I have been up to, beginning May 1.....

• my niece and family came to visit the first weekend of May

• we celebrated my husband's 79th birthday at our kids' house in Missoula on the 7th

• our grandson, Alex, graduated from college on the 11th, and we had a great party

• I took Mom out to brunch for Mother's Day on the 12th

• We went to our youngest grandson, Michael's concert in Missoula on the 15th

• On May 16, I took a roadtrip to Conrad, MT, to see my niece and family

• On May 18, we went to another of Michael's concerts in Missoula

• ...and then celebrated my daughter, Mishel's birthday

• the next weekend, Memorial Day, my niece and family came to visit again!

• my girlfriend from India, and her husband, came to visit the first week of June

• because we were so busy in May, my daughter took me to lunch and a pedi, June 22

• my stepdaughter came to visit the final weekend of June and got to meet my sister and niece (finally) and bond with my great nieces and nephew

• ...and we all got to shop our hearts out on the 50 mile yard sale!

• I watered plants twice in Missoula, for my daughter, while she and her family were in Greece for a month (lucky people!)

• We traveled to Tri-Cities the end of July. We toured the B Reactor, golfed, went to Art in the Park, spent a day thrift shopping in Yakima, and went to Deadpool and Wolverine

• back home, we attended a private outdoor concert on August 2, enjoying the music of Dave Stamey

• grandson Alex, came to stay that weekend, and golf with grandpa

• Larry and I took a short roadtrip into the mountains to check on Lost Horse Creek

• my sister, niece and family came to visit and we spent a great day at Lost Horse Creek, having a late picnic lunch at GG's house afterwards

• that same weekend, my brother-in-law, Kenny, sanded and painted our deck! (I did the trim). He also tackled a few other small project around the property

• August 12, Mishel treated granddaughter Elly, GG and I to lunch at our favorite riverside restaurant in Missoula

• that weekend, our Elly came for shopping, sewing, and long chats

• August 17, Michael came to stay and helped me with yardwork here and at GG's

• August 22, our kids Dan and Michelle from Tri-Cities, came to visit

• August 23, we had a terrible windstorm come through, blow down one of our huge pine trees, and knock out electricity for 24 hours

• So...that evening, we had a great porch party, to candlelight

• August 30, Larry's sisters came to visit and we had dinner at our favorite steak house

• Labor Day, my niece and family came to visit again (we LOVE the babies!)

• my brother, Jon, and wife, came to stay that whole week with mom

• that week, the forest fires finally began in earnest, and the smoke got thick

• September 16, Larry had facial surgery

• right about that time, mom got a bad flu bug and chest congestion and I spent a couple of nights with her. It took her a month to recuperate...I spent a lot of time with her, needless to say...

• September 21, after 8 different appointments, I finally got 6 lower crowns finished!

• the following weekend, Alex came to visit again

• the final weekend of September was Salsa Weekend. Mishel came to help one day. In 3 days, I put up 120 pints of green and red salsa, and 12 quarts of Chile Verde

• we lost power, again for 24 hours, October 5, but spent the day in Missoula and got to see the kids for lunch (a nice silver lining, there!)

• and last weekend, my sister and niece came to visit one last time before the nasty weather sets in. We spent many hours shopping the My Kids Closet bi-annual sale

If anybody has ever given you the impression that retirement is the time in life where you slow down, smell the roses, and sit on your porch and read all afternoon every day....well, at least in my experience, that is not the case!

There was a time when I could multi-task. It is hard now, for me to believe that I was able to accomplish all the things I did 10 years ago, when my schedule was like this and I was still working! Something had to give this summer, and that something was composing my blogs. It is Autumn now...snow will be here soon. The days will be darker and slower, and more time will be spent in front of the fire. And my blogs will be written and published regularly once more...

Company

There is a saying in Montana that our state is comprised of nine months of winter and three months of Company. That is not much of an exaggeration! We had snow (documented on m Facebook Page) on May 24th. Granted, it did not stick to the ground for very long, and granted, it was barely freezing that evening, but still...we had plenty of snow in May!

We also had plenty of company in May! And three birthdays...and Mother's Day...and a college graduation...and two high school concerts...and a Cinco de Mayo party...Whew! It was a busy month!

We actually have had 6 sets of company from May 2nd to yesterday, June 14th. We have one more weekend of company coming this month, and then I think we are actually done with scheduled house guests. In fact, in July, we may actually be house guests somewhere ourselves!

Having house guests is like a working vacation. You bust your buns to get your house clean, the guest room ready, the yardwork done, the meal planning and grocery list and shopping done. You try to anticipate everything that might happen and everything you should have on hand and every activity to keep each contingent of people entertained:

-What are the guys going to do?

-Did we make tee times?

-Are we going to barbeque?

-Do I have enough Adult Beverages?

-Do I have enough children's beverages?

-Do I have enough entertainment planned for kiddos if it is raining?

-What if it is hot out?...or too hot out?

-Do I have food that the vegetarians can eat?

-Will Mom be able to join us in that activity?

-What are good movies for family movie nights?...do I have enough popcorn?

-What snacks can I give the little one who cannot eat dairy products?

-Can I fit in a craft that we girls can do?

-What time does Farmer's Market begin and end?

-Is there an estate sale of a garage sale we can go to this weekend?

-Is the Ice cream shop in town open?

-Do I need to change any appointments during the time the company will be here?

The list goes on and on....

Then they arrive! Everyone is so happy to see each other! We give and get lots of hugs. We have so much to tell each other! And, if I did my job right, I do not have any work beyond meal preparation and clean-up. I can talk and play and go, go, go with the rest and best of them.

(Almost) all too soon, the time is over and done. Everyone packs up their cars and hugs all around and they are gone and the house is both blissfully quiet and sadly empty of the sounds of the voices we love so much.

AND WE START ALL OVER AGAIN FOR NEXT WEEK!!

Try not to fret too much. Remember that you must be very wonderful if so many people want to come stay at your house. And keep in mind, always, that people grow up and move away and their visits will eventually get further and further apart. They could move to Louisville or Chattanooga or (gasp!) Boston!....and worst case scenario of all....Greece!!!

Enjoy every minute of every visit.

Come October, the snow will be heading our way, and the company will not!

Little Plates

You might call them appetizer plates or salad plates. I have a "thing" for them. I cannot say what the attraction is exactly. But they fill a need in my life that I apparently have. Let me share with you some of them that I have:

I found these over 30 years ago, at a yard sale in Amarillo, Texas. I bought the set of 12, along with a big salad bowl, for $5. They are of a rather thing porcelain and over the years a few of them got broken. I happened upon a lady selling another partial set on eBay, and bought them. This is when my obsession for small plates began...

I found a set of eight of these at goodwill years ago and thought they would be sweet for Christmas Morning.

Then, a few years ago, I found a set of four of these at a yard sale, for $5. And I thought they would be fun to have to serve crackers and cheese on with a nice glass of wine...

These and the next set are a bit smaller in size...you might call them a Bread Plate size. But they are so cute, a little chunky and heavy... more like pottery. This set of six plates I found at Goodwill a few years back for $1.99 each. They are William Sonoma, and I know they cost a lot more than that! They each have a different wine stamped into them.

These sweet little plates I found at an Estate Sale last year for $8 for the set of six. They are Sur La Table...and you just KNOW they cost more than that in the catalog! What fun for July 4th parties!

This last set of plates I found at Goodwill, for $1.99 each, not long ago. They are called the Millennium Series and are from Pottery Barn. "The Nineties" plat was missing, and I suppose that is why they were disposed of. But it could easily be replaced on eBay...it will however, cost about $20....FOR ONE PLATE!! Right now, I have them listed on eBay...but if they do not sell, they may come back home...

Now you know one of my sordid little addictions...do you have one?...addiction, that is...