End Of Days

It's time. Up until now I knew Jackson was leaving, but it was easily pushed back - it was a couple months away, a couple of weeks, a few days left. This is like standing on a cliff - it's not like sending them off to college and they come back the next weekend all homesick but ready to go back - this is it. just one giant leap into the unknown for all of us. Jackson I think was alright up until a couple of days ago, now he's leaving tomorrow at 2pm, his home, his friends, Becky. He stayed home last night and we watched our usual Saturday night BBC science fiction crap for the last time - I know this will get better but right now it just sucks. He went outside to talk on the phone with Adam who has been his sounding board and source of comfort for the past few weeks. Jackson is going over Becky's today and we're going out to dinner tonight to Ruby Tuesdays, our favorite restaurant - then the bookstore I suppose. I told him Becky was invited but he thought she might be too upset to go, I'm sure she is at this point.  After he goes tomorrow David and I will resume working on the house, finishing the packing and doing one last deep clean. One of the most upsetting things about the delay in the closing is we are quickly running out of things to do - David has all this nervous energy that keeps him fussing over every nook and cranny in the house. So we figet and wander, one thing is happening too soon and the other not soon enough.

B Is For Bored

The buyers had to go for an additional loan as the sale of thier house fell through and they couldn't cover closing costs. SO the person who was supposed to sign off on it didn't and won't be back until Tuesday as it's a holiday weekend SO it delays us for a couple of days. I personally do not like this as it's all nerve wracking to start with and this late in the game it's over the top.Especially since two of the containers are sitting in Fairmont ready to go and the rest of the house is about 95% packed and everything is scheduled to be switched off/turned over on the 3rd. Plus things will be super boring, my books are packed, yarn and needles are packed, all I have left is my laptop, the socks I'm currently working on, 2 balls of blue yarn I reserved just in case of Emergencies and So Forth, and one book that I'm already halfway through. We do shop but there's only so much of that you can do and I promised the Yarnhater I wouldn't buy anymore yarn until we moved so that shuts down quite a bit of my shopping experience.  Bastards. Jackson's friend James stayed over last night so they were up all night as usual, it's hard to believe he's old enough to join the navy and young enough to still have sleep-overs. Talk about your inbetween age..... he got his book back from Josh in NC that he forgot while he was there and he got an address book all filled out from Aunt Janet (thank you Aunt Janet!!), he's full of nervous energy as we all are and nowhere to put it.  I'm sure he'll spend most of tomorrow with Becky, I'm hoping she'll be alright after he leaves, my heart just breaks thinking about that.

Leave A Message, My Back Is Out

I think I must've slept in an odd position because up to now my back has not bothered me in the least. But this morning I woke up and it was a bit of screamer. Of course my heating pad is packed...... it's not really bad though and feels better now. The first two pods are packed and sitting in Fairmont, we have two more and then we're done. David has called the hotel and for a nominal fee we can have all the pets with us which is a great relief since trying to figure out where to board them and making sure everyone has thier shots that are documented is a headache. The guy buying the house came by last night to drop off thier swingset, he had three of the boys with him - better him than me. While he was talking to David bits and pieces started flinging off the side of the truck with a great deal of giggling - they're actually pretty well behaved for thier ages, but they are little boys and they sent him running more than once.This guy and his wife are foster parents so they have a crew going, I think they have 5 or 6. David helped unload the swingset and they do want Jackson's dresser and nightstands so we'll be leaving them also. Jackson and Becky are in the final countdown, so they're spending all thier time together. He leaves Monday so it's not too long now.

Caterpillars And Moving Pods

The moving pods will be here any moment so OF COURSE it's raining ,what else would it do? David's gone down to meet him and lead him back, anyone who's seen where we live would realize it's not a great place to make a wrong turn. Jackson is still defending his stuff, but since they're not picking up the pods until the beginning of Sept he has time. He will be out of here on Monday at 2pm, the navy is coming to get him, bwah haha. We're currently sleeping on the floor on a full size mattress which is uber-fun of course with Pearl the Bed Hog - we tell her Off, not because she stays off but because she leaves long enough for you to claim your portion of the bed before she comes back. I had my last day at work yesterday, I'm feeling a bit discombobulated today, that feeling that I need to be somewhere doing something. I'll be saying good bye to Susan later in the week as she's on vacation until Friday. We've been playing Phone Tag with the RE here and there, ours calls us for the buyers here, we call ours as we are the buyers there. They'll be keeping the hutch and some of the exercise equipment, everytime we need to know if they want something it's like playing Telephone as the agencies don't like you speaking directly. We called our RE to see if they wanted the hutch, they called the other RE who called them - they did so that came back down the telephone line, yes they do, yes they do, yes they do. This goes on for utilities, phone numbers, who picks up the garbage and who do we use for our cable.... The house is pretty well packed up now, we are getting down to bare essentials at this point, we're delaying packing the electronics of course - I hate that. We've learned to do a sketch though of what wires go where on the tv, computer, etc - you always think your going to remember but you never do.

The Art Of Distraction

Jackson has his 7 day meeting today, he leaves on Monday!  - and he is really starting to freak a bit. I know how he feels, it seemed like we had all this time to do stuff and now, this week, we have hit the hyper-drive portion of the program. Adam has been a great reassurance to him, we've noticed he's been getting nightly phone calls that he takes outside and I'm sure Adam has been a sounding board all week. He's trying to see his friends and girlfriend as much as possible, I'm sure Becky is a mess by now. I'm having my own little crisis, today is the last day of work for me, I have to clean out my car, finish my paperwork and hand in my stuff - three years of my life. I just can't seem to concentrate on anything these days, I get on the treadmill, I get off, I pick up my knitting I put it down - anxiety rules these  days. We have empty rooms in the house now, Jackson is starting to get his stuff together. He's feeling the same way, there's so much he wants to do, just doesn't know what to do first Or last. Or at all.  I'm going to miss WV a lot, people have asked why we're moving at all. First of all the house is too big, it started off that way and as all the projects were completed it has just reached that stage of completely overwhelming. The other issue is the cost of living here, this is considered a "sue me" state so all of our insurances are between double and triple what they would be in Pennsylvania - between car, health, home, contractor's, etc we are drowning and then there are other expenses. It is over all untility wise cheaper but your paycheck is a lot less here so that kind of evens out. Even though I'm very much looking foward to moving, I will miss WV as will Jackson and David - we are moving to where our friends are but we are going to be leaving a few behind.

Sock Of Ages

We are starting with attorneys this morning, working out the logistics of Here and There are quite a headache - thank goodness David is taking care of it! I finished the first sock last night, I'm using the Earl Grey pattern from the Yarn Harlot's website - it's pretty easy and I think it came out looking pretty nice. I started the second one after David tried on the sock - they're wool so he thought he would maybe appreciate it more in in October. And he thought two socks would work better for him than one.As you can see from the pictures I have all of my yarn packed up - I bought those Space Bags they advertise on TV thinking they would be perfect. They stink. They DO suck down flat with the vacuum but when you come back an hour later they're right back to where they were before you flattened them out. I thought it was just one of the bags but it was all of them. So I paid $19.95 for basically 6 plastic bags. David said the only space that was saved was in my wallet....... but the yarn is all packed anyhow so whatever. I have no idea why I occasionally have to buy Seen On TV items, you would think I'd learn after awhile, wouldn't you? The Window Wizard sits unused (it worked fine if you like  the big streaky window look), the Tater Mitts were sad, but it looks so good on TV doesn't it? I am on my last couple of days at work, even that is a bit stressful - I have to sort out and unload my car - I also have to do my resume which I've been avoiding, I suppose I should just stop trying to get fancy with it. The problem is I only use Word Perfect when I'm doing stuff like that and I'm sure there's something I need to do to make it work, I just don't know what it is.

Odds And Ends

We're getting to that point in the packing where you're constantly sorting and then just flinging stuff in boxes, figuring you can deal with it later on down the road. I have a hard time labeling these last  boxes - one has Knitting Stuff, Curtains, Magic 8 Ball, Backpacks, etc.... you get the idea. It's pretty much all the flotsom left behind after all the major packing. David has been shifting it all to the garage and back room and now what didn't seem like very much is increasingly becoming way too much. There's only going to be two of us but we don't want to get rid of things that we'll just end up buying over again later on. We're ditching the couchs this week, both are sprung from Mr. Lee, we had them covered when we first got them to protect them from the pets without realizing the cat was sneaking underneath at night and sharpening her claws. By the time we caught her at it the sofas were ruined. We've got to get Jackson to pare down too - we realize that as he gets ready to ship off all items become near and dear - his old sleeping bag, his Dragon Lance books, his little figures and decorations. I suppose we'll do with his stuff that we did with Adam's - trot it around for a few years. Then, like Adam, he'll come home and when we try to give it back it will suddenly become disposable. We hauled about 5 boxes of Adam's Most Precious Items around through all the moves and then on his last visit home when we asked him about it he not only couldn't remember what was in any of the boxes but then cheerfully announced "oh that stuff, you can just throw it out!" But Jackson is starting to go through the clutching phase, his clothes, his video games, his books, his blankets - trying to get that last part of his childhood in before it goes by the wayside. He has been spending a great deal of time with Becky and James, the other day in the car he was looking at the college students walking to class and was mulling over that he is the same age as them. He said to me he found it hard to believe, that he still felt like he was in high school - I felt like telling him same here kiddo, same here.

We Passed. Feel Free To Throw Up All You Want Now.

So we've passed the FHA guidelines and the appraisal came in at the right number, we have a date for the closing and the pods will be here Wednesday.David has both guest rooms packed up - we've decided to keep both bedrooms sets along with ours, but the hutch is not going as it's too big. Jackson and his friend James have been up all night yakking and playing video games, we did pizza for dinner of course and a great deal of soda is gone. I did scheduling at work yesterday, Monday will be a busy day for me - I know they'd like me to work more but it's a firm NO. I've been through this before and what ends up happening is I don't get my own stuff done - and I'd really like a few days to spend with Jackson before he goes. Of course nothing is written in stone yet, I'm always  paranoid about the last minute stuff going wrong, the eleventh hour has yet to happen - David says I'm a pessimist but it's nothing more than self preservation. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.

We're Almost Ready To Start The Countdown....

The appraiser showed up yesterday as scheduled - I only caught the tail end as I took Jackson to Becky's and Pearl came with us so she wouldn't lower our property value. We don't have the final report - that hopefully will be done by this afternoon, but we did pass the FHA inspection so that's one more down. The appraiser had been here before when the people with the mastiffs had been here and told David the place had reeked so badly of dog urine it was unbreathable. She was a bit taken aback at how much the place had changed and said there would be no problem with the appraisal, but I need to see it in black and white - you know how I am! I'm working a half day today, all of Monday, another half day on Tuesday and then that will be it - the pods come on Wednesday and we'll be packing intensely! Jackson is having his friend James over today - he'll be lurking about for my car I suppose so I'll be trying to hurry on home for that. He's been having some trouble sleeping, he has restless legs but I think it's the anxiety of leaving on the 2nd - he and Adam speak almost every night so I think that's a great comfort to him. Now we're busy playing with the utilities, apparently the buyers have the confidence I lack as every time I go to terminate services they're already switched over for that day - I feel like I'm one step behind them all the way. I'm trying to get ahead of things so in the next week I can spend some time with Jackson, it's good that we have this to distract us, but at times it's too much of a distraction.

One Step Closer

The appraiser is coming this morning so we've been cleaning and David is busy fretting over every little nook and cranny - we're hoping this the end of it. It would be nice to sleep without being harassed by the 2 am Girl who has been having a free for all for the past two weeks. In other news I got my Harmony Wood knitting needles from Knitpicks as you can see from the pictures, they came yesterday morning - on time I might add and I've been admiring them ever since. They came while I was working on my resume - and crying as my word perfect for some reason rearranges the text everytime I try to print it and I've tried everything to fix it. I finally stopped and will try again later today, it's just too frustrating right now. We went out to Ruby Tuesday's last night with Jackson, we all needed a break from our lives for an hour or so - we had a very good time and dinner was wonderful as it always is. We went to the bookstore afterward, how I will miss doing that. Jackson is going to Becky's today, I'm off and will be working a couple more days next week and then that will be it. I've already heard from the nursing agency I contacted and  they are indeed hiring AND thier territory is 60 square miles - considering my current one is 250 that would be a very weird thing indeed.  It's 6 more days until the containers come and we start packing for real - a week and a half until Jackson ships out - time is just moving so fast now, isn't it?

Monday Rears It's Ugly Head. Again.

Everything is dragging and speeding up at the same time - I finished getting the house cleaned, David has finished all the projects on the house, we are more than halfway through packing - and now we sit and wait. I am in the midst of formulating Plan B just in case the appraiser runs late - it's a workable plan and doesn't involve too much crying and vomiting. Jackson has been seeing Becky a lot lately, she comes over after work and they go out for a bit - I'm sure time is nipping at thier heels too, it seemed like  we had forever but it's actually only 2 more weeks now until Jackson leaves for bootcamp and there are going to be a few broken hearts lying around here. School starts back up this week so I have to adjust some of my patient's time schedules as I'm once again racing the school bus. It's odd not having to do any school shopping this year, no notebooks, no pens - no rebuying everything when they bring the list home and you bought all the wrong stuff.... Jackson and Adam have been talking a lot lately, Jackson is now mulling over trying to get stationed with him, that would great if he could. I'm starting to check out jobs, I suppose you can't get picky until you know what you are picking from! Our friend Ray is getting excited, he's called a few times this weekend, I'm sure he'll be our first visitor as soon as we have furniture and stuff - he's sort of particular like that. And of course I'm knitting away, I started packing my yarn up and I have to admit, even I didn't know I had that much. It's a little embarrassing in a OCD way, but then again it's my yarn and the yarnhater will just have to live with it. Speaking of which - I FINALLY got to order my knitting needles, it took FOREVER for them to come out with them -

http://www.knitpicks.com/Straight+Harmony+Knitting+Needle+Sets_NDSTNHarmonysets.html

You know I'll be waiting by the mailbox for these babies!!

Just Shoot Me Now.

Well this week's current event is the appraiser never showed up - and refuses to give a date. If it's not done by Monday we will probably not be able to close by the 3rd which will throw a huge monkey wrench in all of the plots and plans everyone has simmering.  The problem is the buyers decided to get an FHA loan and our side was never informed until last week which had David running all week - FHA inspections are by the government and are a whole other animal - they have strict guidelines and if they're not all followed the house fails, you fix and then they come back. This would all be fine if the buyers had bothered to schedule the appraisal WHEN THEY GOT THE LOAN - we're now down to the last two weeks and I told David if this falls through we can just pull the house off the market and start over again next year. We don't have to move, we want to move and if we end up having to wait another year, what ever. In other news Pearl and David are busy riding around with Gypsy and Tommy this morning, David is showing him all the state game lands so he can hunt them this year. I'm busy cleaning this morning, with all that's been going on for the past couple of weeks that's fallen by the wayside. I got Mr. Lee's ashes yesterday from the vet, I cried for awhile but even though I miss her dearly, we knew it was coming soon as she was 18. I'm currently knitting socks, they're easy and small and don't require a whole lot of attention.

I was doing an injection training the other day when one of the participants asked if I've ever had someone not be able to do thier own injection. I was laughing as I remembered the person involved had sat knee to knee with me, gripping that needle a hair above the injection site, just hovering for what seemed an eternity with me trying to encourage them as best I could. As I related this I said "Yeah, it was a real mexican standoff!" - EEEKKK!!! ARRGH! I quickly finished relating the rest of the story but as I got in my car after and drove away I was dying - how could I say that? What if they called the office and complained? Holy Crap! But as I was driving toward my next case I started thinking, what is a mexican standoff? It's actually a reference to two equally armed opposing sides that cannot make a move against each other. On further investigation, the origin is vague but it's believed to have become a term during the Southwestern settlement of our country, possibly term to describe a duel between two equally armed opponents. In other words it's not a negative slant on anyone. So why did I react the way I did? I think because we've become so afraid of being politically incorrect we're constantly censoring what we say and do - not to say there are some phrases and words we can do without, but I think it's reached a point when you mention any ethnic phrase you immediately feel like you've insulted someone. Somewhere. Somehow. I think we've reached a point that we feel we shouldn't even mention anyone's ethnic background, like it's no longer something to be discussed in polite society, an unsaid insult. But there's nothing wrong with being what you are. I was watching a show one day with a dog trainer and the owner kept going on about how her dog was like a child, and the trainer finally looked at her and said - "But what's so wrong with being a dog?". That phrase has stuck with me for a long time, I guess because to me it sums it all up one small sentence. You are what you are and there's nothing wrong with that.

Rattling The Doorknobs

The bank appraisal person didn't show so now they'll be coming during the week - I swear, everytime they finish up with one inspection they seem to be able to produce yet another one guarenteed to make you vomit in corners. I think the buyers are not happy about it either, they've been hinting to our RE that they would actually be able to close on the 27th and would like to..... We did tell their RE that they could start setting up thier swingset and bringing a few things (they asked if they could), they have small children so I'm sure they're very anxious to get in here. I told David I fully expect to see a group of people on our lawn shrieking GET OUT GET OUT any day now.... Our big problem is Jackson has to be here in town on the 2nd as he has to depart from this recruiting office so we're trying to figure out a solution, not to mention we would have to swing it by Harry, the RE in Pennsylvania. I guess it's no fun unless you make the agent cry at least once ( I have to admit, Harry does earn his money). I'm doing orientation with the new nurse  they hired tomorrow, I'm glad I arranged my departure the way I did so they won't be left with a big shortage in thier staff. Of course I always find it a bit intimidating to have someone hanging over my shoulder while I work - especially if it's a long term patient that you've developed a routine with. In home care you work with what you have and sometimes what you have does not fall into anything you've ever read in a text book. Like the houses where you follow the trails between the stacks of stuff to find your patient or my favorite - the 120 lb rottweiler tied to the bed - because he's been biting people and is under quarentine - although the family loudly proclaimed the party who had gotten bit had deserved it. I didn't ask either. Sounds like fun, doesn't it?

A Friend To Visit

Cecil and Tommy were over yesterday as David is giving them some stuff - Tommy's dog Gypsy is 4 months old now and about 2/3 the size of Pearl. The two of them spent the afternoon flying around the yard - we sometimes think about getting a 2nd dog but that's way on the backburner at this time. David had to dig up the septic system again, he had dug it up months ago to locate the access - we carefully measured and mapped it so we could relocate it easily. And this plan most likely would've worked had we  not lost the map. Yesterday once again we packed and packed  - and then packed some more. There were mystery items where we pondered where that stuff might have come from and trying to pack the breakables with cushioning items (we actually have a container marked "liquor and linens"). David is finishing up the last of the projects on the list, we have to start with the utilities and get the notepad going - we have discovered in the past that everytime we do ANYTHING we need to write it down on a notepad. Who we talked to, when, etc so that later on we can refer to it when they screw up. We're prodding Jackson along, as much as he won't admit it I think it's hard for him emotionally to pack his stuff up as this is it - his life starts new and as exciting as it is, it's got to be scary. It's been hard for me too, this is the first time we will be moving without Jackson who at times has been a reluctant adventurer but has always pitched in - for the past 5 years it's been the three of us and now it will be just the two of us. And our animal kingdom has dwindled - we are now down to 2 cats and a dog, I've been having dreams of carrying Mr Lee as a kitten through an empty house, you don't need a book to interpret that one. I guess it's normal to be going back and forth between being excited about moving and grieving for all we will be leaving behind. It seems like it will never happen, drags on and on and then I wake up at midnight barely breathing, terrified and overwhelmed by all that needs to be done. So I just keep moving along, I'm currently knitting socks as they're easy to tote and don't require much thought, I exercise every morning - just trying to keep a little bit of normal in my  day.

Back To Work Tomorrow

The only bad thing about being off is going back.I know I'll be fine after the day starts, but there's so much to do and so little time left to do it so working on top of that is a bit overwhelming. David's friends Tommy and Cecil are coming over and are bringing Pearl's friend Gypsy with them so that should keep Miss Pants occupied. She's feeling better, she started eating again last night and the diarherra has cleared up so I'm glad that's over with. We spent a lot of the day packing yesterday and took a major bite out of that activity, we're debating whether to have a yard sale or not as we're not transporting a few rooms of furniture. We have to start calling the utilities to stop services, bring back the cable boxes, on and on. We're also sorting and pitching out old magazines, food we'll never eat, things we don't wear - I don't think I'll start to look for a job until we land on the next planet as it's difficult to schedule interviews etc until you're physically there.  Becky came over last night and she and Jackson went out to a late dinner, that is another thing that's drawing to a close which will be very difficult on everyone - I can't believe how much I'll miss Becky!

Moving Right Along

I was going through some old pictures on the computer and found this one Kim sent me of her Dad wearing a "cardigan" that I had made. I hadn't bothered to do a gauge swatch and started knitting and as you can see it  was a bit off in size - it was supposed to be a women's medium. I sent it to Kim and since her Dad was visiting she had him put it on and sent me a picture. So Gene will be forever immortalized wearing a giant pink sweater. Things here are moving along swiftly, we're getting into what I always think of as the second phase of packing where you're just emptying out cupboards and drawers and leaving just enough to survive on. We are prodding Jackson along as he thinks he has all this time when in reality his date of departure for the navy is only 3 weeks away. He'll be clearing out on the 2nd and we'll be following close behind, closing the next day. The pods will be coming soon and we're deciding what to take and what to leave. We're leaving some of the exercise equipment as it's too heavy to transport and the buyers want to keep it so that makes it a bit easier. Pearl is still feeling under the weather, she did not behave at the vet's office (big surprise there) - it would've been easier to throw her into a volcano than try to get her to stand on the scale for 15 seconds. 10 minutes and 3 people later we had a weight and then she spent her time sitting in my lap, all 46 lbs of her. It doesn't help that everyone at the vet likes her, despite her misbehavior and antics she still gets babytalked to death - then she relaxed and danced all over. I'm not sure if she's better today - she got her shots while we were there and than usually puts her out for the day. The vet started her on antibiotics and the diarherra seems better, but she's really not eating too well so we'll just have to keep an eye on her. It's amazing how we won't see the vet forever, then all of the sudden we're there every week!

Pick Up Those Skirts And Run

Thank you Amy for compressing those pictures in a file for me and thank you Janet for taking them. We're running today, things are heating up quickly. We passed the termite inspection, the health department was here and left a note to call them. We debated whether we should vomit before or after since they didn't say why we needed to call. Turned out it passed with flying colors, we just need to have it pumped before we get the hell out of Dodge - I think that was the closest David came to doing a cartwheel. We just have to live through the bank appraisal on Monday and then it begins again. David called the RE and the buyers have registered thier kids in school so we definately will be out on the 3rd. Pearl has decided to make things go smoother by developing a mysterious case of diarherra which means she cannot be left alone in the house for any longer than 45 minutes at any given time. She has a vet's appt at 6pm and we needed a stool sample which we (EEEWWW) have ample supplies of. And in the middle of all this mayhem I'm still dealing with Mr. Lee's passing - we're getting her ashes back in a few days and eventually her ashes and Copper's will be interred where we put Mikio and Setsu's. I think I had such difficulty with these two pets because Copper and Mr. Lee are my last physical ties to Miki and Sets. This visit home was the first time I didn't go down to the beach to talk to them - with Mr. Lee gone it's such a profound feeling of loss, that door will never open again. I sometimes find it amazing how much I still miss both of them, that I think of them a few times a week, that I still cannot walk into an antique shop and think about how much Setsu would have loved this or that. That period  in my life was perfect at times and that's a rare thing. The long weekend brunches, the kids, the yard sales - all gone. And for some reason Mr. Lee passing away has made that, for me, final. I know in my heart they are gone - but Mr. Lee always allowed me to go back when I needed to, just for the tinest second and that was enough, it had to be. And I know in the coming days that would have been great comfort with us moving, Jackson leaving and us being alone for the first time in 27 years - but you cannot hug ashes and that is a hard thing for me right now.

Home Again

I still can't figure out how to put my sister's pictures of the party into a downloadable file so you'll all have to use your imagination as to what an attractive group we are. I could kick myself for forgetting my camera, but given the circumstances of our departure it was the last thing on my mind at the time. This trip home was wonderful, the only good thing about family fights is you no longer have to waste time visiting with people you only see because you're related and it frees you up to spend that extra time with those that you DO like. The day before we left I got to the nursing home early and pleaded my way in, Grandma Hendrickon looks great as usual - I'm sure she'll attend my funeral before I attend hers! She's still the same, she had to put on her face before we went for a walk but we had a nice visit. I went to see Grandpa Carter, it's sad to see how he's declined in the past year, I know it's a part of life but that doesn't mean I have to like it. I got home early afternoon and off to the beach with Joyce, her son is also in the military (airforce)  and we've known each other since grade school so we had a lot of catching up to do. I went back to Hope's that night and had pizza with David's family, Sue, Grace and Kim came over again. We left early and met up with our RE Harry and BACK in the car again(!!!) - to look at more houses. We headed off to the hotel and then back in the car again. Jackson called to ask me when we would be home, when I asked why he said the dog had an accident on the new carpet. I think the gist of the conversation was Jackson trying to figure out who was cleaning it up. Hmmm. That would be Jackson I believe.The reason the dog had an accident had more to do with someone not getting up that it did with the dog and that is all I'm going to say on that subject! We had to drop the car off in Waynesburg - I'm glad we decided to rent a small car this time. It was great on gas and it's nice not having to worry about the milage, etc.. The termite inspector showed up around the same time we did so that's out of the way. David and I are just hanging out tonight - it's been a really busy week

Yes, I am Still Alive. Thank You For Asking

There are no pictures because A) I am a guest and B) I forgot my camera in the frantic run out the door when we left. We didn't end up leaving until after 11am - but the time we got back from the vet and made sure Jackson would be ok it was almost lunchtime so we drove straight to my sister's house. It was a pretty sad ride as you might have guessed - it hasn't been too bad but I'm sure when we get home the absence of Mr. Lee will truley hit home. We stayed over Janet's and made it to LI in good time, visited with David's parents and then off to the party. Most of the family made it there, it was wonderful seeing everyone together again - the kids of course seem to be new people every time you see them. Amy's latest is adorable as are the rest of them. Grandpa had his cake, there's such a difference in him since the last time I was home, it's almost unbelievable - he's declined so much. The ambulette brought him back to the nursing home around 5 and he looked more than ready to go back. I spent Sunday with Liz, we speak on the phone and write on the computer but we haven't seen each other in 6 years! That was a very good afternoon and we did a bit of shopping too. David's brother Kim, his sister Sue and Grace made dinner at David's parents house - that was really fun, we laughed the whole evening. Yesterday Mom and I went to see my Dad, Rhienon is 6 and her room is completely Disneyed out, princesses and Hanna Montana peer at you from every angle. After Dad's we went out to lunch at Eckart's - I didn't think I'd ever been there but I have - I did private duty years ago and the patient took me out to lunch there a couple of times. We visited Grandpa, I missed seeing Grandma Hendrickson as Eva had taken her out for lunch. We had chinese for dinner (David came over) and then that was about it. I'm heading off for the beach later today with Joyce - you can't come to the Hamptons and not tread the sandy shores at least once I suppose. David and I meet with the RE on the way back, we have to find something SOON - our RE called and the buyer's house went into contract. The termite inspection and septic are tomorrow which Jackson was none too happy about as that involves having to tote Miss Pants around for an hour or so. So it's been a busy visit, but a good one.

Mr Lee

From what we can see, Mr. Lee had a stroke last night - her left pupil was blown and she was barely able to walk. Dr. Goeff was wonderful, Jackson and I were with her when she went and she went very peacefully. We are of course grieving, we've had Mr. Lee through everything, Adam was only 6 years old and Jackson wasn't even born yet when she came into our lives. It's not good timing - but is there ever a  good time for this? Even though it breaks my heart I know we did the right thing - she went as she deserved to - painfree and surrounded by her family who loved her.

Just When You Think Things Are Completely Out Of Control

The grand plan was to get moving around 6 am this morning - we have lots to do! and it all has been circumvented by a 5 lb individual. Mr. Lee started vomiting last night, we don't know what's going on with her but it doesn't look good. We know she's 18 this year and given her previous injuries that she shouldn't have recovered from we realize that every day we've had her has just been a day's grace. But that of course doesn't help in the least. We have had Mr. Lee from the day she was born under Adam's bed and she's been on every adventure with us - from the hysterical move to Missouri - and the subsequent hysterical move back, to everything in between. We don't want to put her through anymore and very much don't want her to suffer but this is never easy and who knows, maybe it's a little thing that can be fixed. But I don't think so.