May 8, 2012

The crash of the thunder followed immediately after the brilliant flash of lightning. That was too close! The rain was falling in torrents so heavy that the eaves troughs couldn’t keep up with it. But we were safe and cosy on the Elk’s screened porch, enjoying some of their barbecued pork.

We had finished the closing up of the boat after our 0800 haul-out, showered, bid farewells and headed off down the highway, with a stop at the nearby Elk’s Lodge to enjoy their weekend barbecue. Some of our friends were still working on their boats and we hoped that they didn’t get too drenched by the storm.

The rain continued to be very heavy as we headed northward but slowed and stopped as we neared the Georgia border. On the other hand, the traffic picked up and got extremely heavy, in fact mostly stop-and-go through all of Georgia. Afterwards we found out that month-end is not a good time to travel. This is especially true in the spring as the snowbirds mostly have monthly rentals and often tag their health insurance to month-end. This increases the already heavy traffic on I-95 especially.

We ducked off the interstate as soon as possible and made our way cross country to Columbia, SC and onto Hwy 77 northward to Rock Hill. By now it was getting towards time to find a place to sleep. But, believe it or not, every hotel and motel in Rock Hill was FULL. Back onto the highway we went and drove on to Charlotte NC. By the time we got settled, it was after 10 pm. A very long day and it isn’t over yet. Perhaps dinner might be in order. A fast food restaurant was adjacent to the parking lot so we walked over there. It was not to be quite so easy – the dining area was closed and the drive-through did not accept walk-ups! Back into the car and drive someplace else. Finally it was time to crash into bed.

April Fools Day was very good to us with no tricks being played on route or at the border and we arrived at our own home late that evening. But there the tricks were in evidence. Although our Bell services had been turned back on Feb 1st ( thinking we needed to return home to deal with issues re Mom ), neither the telephone nor the satellite TV worked. Oh well, open some mail and deal with all this stuff in the morning.

It took very little time to un-pack the car and get back into the swing of things at the house. Murray started three major projects at once – the screened porch, the guest bathroom and the new blinds for our bedroom and living room. The money flew out of our bank account as we ordered new toilets, a new vanity, screening and velcro for the porch and cellular blinds.Thank goodness Murray was also helping out at the farm and bringing in some cash.

As Murray heads off to cultivate the fields several times each week, I take the car and visit Mom at Caressant Care Nursing Home in Woodstock. She is having some difficulty accepting her new living situation but enjoys the activities available to her there. Her memory issues are increasing and there have been a couple of unsettling incidents. One Sunday, she visited a couple of other patient rooms until she found one where she could remove the window screen. Then she proceeded to crawl out of the window! Needless to say, this disconcerted the nursing staff. If these incidents continue, we may have to find another facility with more secure accommodation.

So, the bathroom renovations continue, the screen porch project has stalled momentarily and the blinds look lovely. In my spare time, I work on promoting and selling The Pig That Couldn’t Swim and editing the new book ” Penny Dives In “. Murray fills any spare time with painting etc in the guest bath and we have both enjoyed spending some time with family and friends. The doctor just gave us both a clean bill of health. What more can we ask for?

Basically, life is good and we are enjoying our time together. This month we will celebrate our 45th Anniversary! Who’d a thunk it! It seems like only a few years ago that I walked down that aisle in Kitchener towards the man of my dreams.

Hugs to all,
Heather & Murray