Back from vacation

And all is well. Beautiful weather -- warm with a little breeze -- and this was our view: I had the opportunity to spread out all my scrapbook stuff on the big table and "play" whenever I was inspired. I got quite a bit done and had lots of fun with the new products from Memory Works.

DD spent most of her time in the water. She's at the age and ability now where she can go down to the dock and jump off, swim and play without constant supervision. Sweet. She got to ride the tube all by herself and as you can see she had a great time. She also learned how to use a Spyrograph...remember those? DH spent most of his time cleaning and organizing the cabin (his mom recently put it on the market and he is such a good son) and he did some fishing (but nothing worth keeping). His mom came up on Wednesday and we drove up to Alexandria on Thursday for shopping. Found pieces to match my great grandmother's china and so now I have eight place settings, two serving pieces, and 12 cups. Found a great little scrapbook store [insert wry smile here], and on the way home we stopped at Terrace Mill.
Friday, we headed down to Owatonna to visit our old stomping grounds. Turns out, it was their annual Crazy Days Street Dance and Festival of the Arts! Perfect timing! Except for the fact that were no available hotel rooms. Fortunately, Tom & AnnaMarie were gracious in offering their home to us and our dog. We stayed up until 1 am talking and laughing. Saturday morning, I had lunch with my amazing friend, Diana, at Costas. After some more shopping, we sat down to watch The Tuition Daddies and they invited me to the stage to perform three songs with them - - yikes, it's been two years since I sang with them! But it was fun and I didn't get too nervous. We were back in Iowa by early evening.

Sunday was the "day of reckoning" and we had unpacking, laundry, gardening, lawn mowing, and watering to do. Even though my mom & Uncle George harvested twice the week before, I still had 7 buckets of cucumbers, 2 buckets of beans, and a 5 gallon pail of zucchini. Froze 3 gallons of shredded zucchini to be used later in breads & cakes. Yesterday, I invested in an 18 quart pressure canner and hope to can pickles and green beans this weekend. Also, neighbor David called and said that the sweet corn was ready for the taking . . . so, it'll be a very busy weekend!

All in all, glad to be home!