I find it so interesting that being an adult and owning a home can be so time consuming! I think the most time consuming part of each day starts just after pulling the mail out of the box. Such is one of the reasons I love "the road" so much! Our Scotty trailer doesn't have a mailbox! (or a yard, or a fence!) Granted, our wonderful neighbors have been collecting our mail and sending it to us occasionally, but life just seems so much simpler when you don't have to open mail each day! Is that crazy, or what?
We started the huge project of staining our fence last week. We knew we needed to get it done now, during our short visit home, otherwise it wouldn't get done til next summer. So... I dove in and realized after just a few fence boards, that Justin and Michelle (nextdoor) were not kidding nor exaggerating when they said, "it takes forever!" I love working outside, especially when the sun is shining, so the labor and the time commitment didn't bother me. What did cause a little bit of angst, however, was wondering if we would get the job finished by the time we needed to get back on the road and head to Colorado Springs. I calculated my time, and figured that if I worked hard and had little to no distractions, I should be able to get the job done.
Dotti, Aunt Dot, and Uncle John (Corbin, KY, April 2006)Our intentions were to have several days to re-pack and prepare for leaving home for another few months, but when Life Happens, you gotta hang on for the ride.
We put ourselves into high gear, finished staining the fence, threw our gear into the Suburban and the Scotty, hugged our neighbors and we were off for the airport! Without our wonderful friends, we may still be in Blaine trying to get ready! Let me brag on our friends for a minute and tell you how they touch our lives, and how they go out of their way to help:
Michelle & Justin (nextdoor neighbors) got online and made our rental car reservations for Kentucky, as we jumped in the car and drove off. In addition, they agreed to finish staining the lattice on the fence and plant our new tree for us!
Cathy & Ronna invited us over for a delicious Copper River Salmon dinner, as we drove through Bellingham enroute to SeaTac airport.
We owe a huge thank you to all of you, including our neighbors, Lynn & John and Brad & Dinah as well, who, along with Michelle & Justin, continue to care for our home and collect mail (which is where this whole blog started). Without all of you, this journey would not be possible. We love you all and feel very grateful for your friendships!
So... back to the story of trying to get to KY for Uncle John's funeral... we dropped the Scotty and Rylee off in Everett, before scrambling to the airport. We got the car parked and rode the shuttle to the terminal. We made the trek to gate A-14, which felt like a mile walk in our dress shoes! We waited... and watched... only to learn at 11:40pm, that the flight was completely full, and we would not be getting on. Bummer. So... we took the shuttle back to the lot, drove back to Everett, and by around 2 a.m., we went to sleep. Uncle John was a very dear man, who loved and accepted Dotti and I without reservation. We really wanted to be there to celebrate his life and to support Aunt Dot... so it was worth a try.
We decided to stay another couple of days so that we could have dinner with our new friend, Laurie Cox. (Laurie sponsored us for the Soulforce Walk) In addition, Dotti had a dentist appointment. We even got to take Rylee down to Judy's in West Seattle and meet her new cousin, Goddess. Goddess is a 13-week old black miniature poodle. (See photos near end of blog. Also see our news update today for more photos, and some of the same you see here.)
We have had a very eventful week, filled with all of the the stuff that makes Life Happen.
Life is an adventure! Enjoy the ride!
Goddess taking shelter with Aunt Roby!
