PS to Vacation Post and She's Gone!

I'll just give a postscript to my former vacation report because there are extensive reports on two family member's blogs. My PS is that our car is old! I know it's old but it has served us well and still does for the most part or at least we thought it did before this trip! and besides, it is very comfortable, so I just try not to think about its age etc. etc. But when in the middle of nowhere in western PEI, the transmission went caflooey, I began to have second thoughts. Okay, so what do we do if the transmission is really gone? Can we get a car rental up here and then return it in the states? How on earth can we get all the stuff now in our car into a rental car??? And are we going to miss being able to use our pricey Anne of Green Gables musical tickets in Charlottestown due to this breakdown? and on and on. . . God had other ideas and fixed our car Himself with a little help from an awesome mechanic. We didn't have to rent a car, miss our musical, or replace the transmission. We just missed a lot of scenery we'd hoped to see, but guess God didn't want us to see it for some reason.

Along with the transmission glitch was the alternator glitch which we battled the whole trip. "Don't leave the car doors open any longer than necessary," battery charger on each night etc. Fortunately, the battery was strong, the alternator was not. Guess an alternator can give out any time on most any car, but we didn't realize how badly ours was behaving until up in Canada.
So now we're going to have to get a bit more serious about starting the process of procuring another vehicle. What? How? Or maybe this one will last forever?

On another note, my baby (as opposed to my Bonnie) will soon lie over the ocean!! Oh my word I can't believe how up tight I've been tempted to feel about K flying alone to Indy etc. etc. etc. I knew she could do it because she's flown quite a lot, but only once all alone and never when she's had to change planes alone. Earlier in the week I was tempted to panic but with God's help I stayed pretty calm, cool and collected. Neil and I left her and I shed a few tears:( at MHT this morning with Neil's cell phone so we could keep in touch along the way. She called us a few different times and everything went like clockwork--even to having her gate for Indy be the same gate she came into from Manchester. KMS picked her up at the airport out there and she's safely ensconced with her big sister. Now all they have to do is make it to Melbourne!! Can you believe their flight from LA there is close to 8,000 miles non-stop? Now that's what I call a long flight!!

Here at home I'm getting a little taste of "empty nest syndrome." It's extra empty because all 4 of my men are at a men's retreat so I'm all alone! Actually I kind of enjoy it, but it's also rather strange. . .

Vacation's Over!

And what a vacation it was! Oh my word, it's been a long time since 6 of our 7 family members all piled into our 12 yr. old mini van along with all the paraphenalia that is needed to go camping, take thousands of pictures, read hundreds(?) of books, play many a palm pilot computer game, be prepared with footwear for many a different occasion (4 pairs!) for one family member, food to stuff 4 men with 6 ft+ frames, travel books, 3 computers, etc. etc. etc. We seem to be a lot larger now and just have a lot more stuff!

Oh well, we all fit one way or another and after picking up C, (who was doing music for a wedding reception in Rockport, MA), we made our way on up to Randall's camp in ME where we camped out for the night. On to Nova Scotia the next day and to our rental house in Pugwash. It was an old house but quite charming and quaint and cheap! and had everything we needed so we could have a good home base for cooking and hanging out in between making trips to various places which we wanted to visit. We were right in the middle of the little town and right next to a huge salt mine so we could hear the trucks and the equipment working through various hours of the day/night. We could also walk to the grocery store, the library, laundromat, pay phone, waterfront and a number of interesting little shops.

Don't worry, I won't bore you with all the little details. No doubt those will be interestingly expounded upon in a family member's blog anyway. Besides, gotta go get some food to put in the frig and pantry now that we're home! Try to write more when I can sometime!

No, You Can't Go Canoeing!

How sad to have to inform my dear Mother on Sunday that no she couldn't go canoeing or swimming down at the lake with the young people Neil had ferried to the boat landing! The sad part is that she could not understand why on earth she couldn't go, but finally decided that she'd take my word for it. Now how on earth would you explain to a 99 year old woman who can barely totter around with her walker that she can't hop in a boat or go swimming anymore??? I just dare you to try it and see how far you get!

And me oh my, it is kind of scary lately because she's begun to think she doesn't need to use her walker anymore!! I've found her creeping along the wall with her walker left in the bathroom behind her, or even worse. . . the other night Mrs. P. went into the bathroom she shares with my Mom and what should be sitting there as big as life all by itself?? Mama's walker! And Mama was sitting in on the side of her bed far from said walker! About that time I heard their voices (11:30 p.m.) so I wandered in to investigate what was going on. Mrs. P. was trying to explain to Mama that she needed to use her walker and that she would bring it to her, but when I asked for an explanation, Mrs. P. launched into a weird explanation of a dream she thought she must have had that isn't printable here! It made no sense at all except that it was hilarious! I managed to encourage both ladies back to bed and left the room wondering if all sanity had left both women--or maybe it's close to full moon???