Read All About It

The house is under contract! We close on June 11 and that seems impossibly close. We are going through farewell rituals now, not knowing when and if we will be back to Missouri.
Logan went to the Jr/Sr Prom Saturday night as a goodbye to Ozark High School since he will be graduating from high school in California next year. He will graduate with kids from his attend kindergarten through second grade years. I wonder how many of them he will remember.

Going to the prom was a last minute decision. He bought a jacket the afternoon of the dance because he needed one large enough to fit around his back brace. I think he looks pretty sharp. He went stag but joined up with some kids to go out for something to eat after. It's very hard for me to let him go, but he's very considerate of my anxiety and reports in frequently.

Tonight I attended what is most likely my last meeting of my book club. I think I've belonged to this group for about three years and have really enjoyed the company of a bunch of interesting women. And of course, the books, the food, and the wine. Here we are at Cathy Gearing's house. It was very well attended. I know Martha Swick didn't make it and maybe someone else can think of others who were missing. Here we are at the end of the meeting where we talked about Mary Coin  by Marisa Silver. It's a novel based on a depression-era photograph taken by Dorothea Lange. Here's the iconic photograph:

And here we are:

I will miss these ladies!

Party On!

 Last night I crossed an item off my bucket list. I had never had Dom Perignon before and I was determined to have it for my 75th birthday. Friend Sharon thought that sounded like a fine idea and suggested a small group of my friends pitch in to buy a bottle and celebrate with me. Well, it sounded like a good idea, but I wasn't too keen on sharing a single bottle with a group of people, so I offered to buy a bottle if the group also bought one. And to sweeten the pot as it were, I had a very fine bottle of Veuve Cliquot on hand, a gift from Lindsay for helping her edit work for her masters degree.
The group also contributed some yummy food to complement the bubbly.

 Sue Walker takes her turn pouring a glass for herself.

 With fierce concentration, Sharon takes her turn. Not a drop was spilled.

 And then the bottle was passed to Molly who has a death grip on the neck of the bottle.

 I didn't think Lindsay would care too much for champagne. I was wrong.

 Andra also said she didn't think she would like it, so she brought a backup bottle of white zin. She never opened the zin and she learned something new about herself.

 Cheers, ladies!

Three bottles and about three hours later, this is how we looked. We felt fine! The wine was wonderful, the food was great and the company fabulous. Now I have to figure out how to celebrate my 80th birthday.

Obligatory, Late, and Final Dogwood Report

This year's photo of my Dogwood tree's blossoms is ten days later than usual for a couple of reasons. Spring is about two weeks later than usual and my enthusiasm is waning. But, here it is:

I had the tree severely pruned last fall, all the lower branches which were beginning to obstruct the walkway have been removed, so the tree now has a taller, thinner aspect than a typical dogwood. Here's a link to last year's picture taken ten days earlier. Notice in last year's April 18 picture the tree is already in leaf. This year, ten days later, the leaves are just beginning to appear. It's been a long snowy winter for this part of the country.

My enthusiasm is waning because in my heart, we have moved back to California.  We will be leaving on June 20, nine weeks from tomorrow. Logan will be travelling to Europe June 2-16 and as soon as he returns, catches his breath, and does his laundry, we'll be on the road. So much to do before that time! So much stuff to sort through and get rid of. So much packing and planning. So much overwhelm!

Logan has started a regimen of walking to build up his endurance for the trip. He is very determined to be able to participate fully. I'm excited for him. I think he has my wanderlust. While he's gone, I plan a quick trip to Charleston, South Carolina. South Caroline is the only state I haven't visited, so I want to check off one more item on my bucket list. Tomorrow evening I'm checking off another item. I'll report more on that next time.

Whirlwind Trip

Logan and I spent a very productive long weekend in California over Easter. We left Springfield on Friday, my 75th birthday. I celebrated by walking through airport security wearing a sweater and my shoes (and a few other articles of apparel), having just arrived at the age of privilege where such wild goings-on are tolerated by the folks at TSA. Nonetheless, Logan and I both had to endure patdowns because of our various metal body parts.

I drove our rental car (a Chevrolet of some sort that was nearly impossible to get in and out of because of the low entry)straight to Davis because I miss Ben too much and couldn't wait to see him. Well, I was able to wait just a bit -- Logan and I hit In and Out Burger before driving to the campus. I don't know why their simple classic burgers, shakes, and fries are so good, but nearly all California emigres drool at the thought of them. Many of the joys of moving back to California are retail related: Costco, Ikea, Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, In and Out Burger, REI (gift shopping for Ben), Crate and Barrel, Cost Plus, Williams-Sonoma, etc. I know these places exist in other parts of the country, but they are all close together and easily accessible from where we'll be living (and shopping).

Colleen and Robby met us in Davis and Ben "bought" all of us dinner loowith his student dining

commons card after we spent some silly time in my hotel room at the Aggie Inn. I spent the night in Davis while Logan went home with Robby and Colleen.

The next day Logan and I checked out the apartment we want to rent in El Dorado Hills. It is quite nice and conveniently located to retail (!) and family. Amenities of the complex include a pool, clubhouse, basketball court, dog park, washer and dryer in the unit, and three bedrooms which we will somehow squeeze into. I am so ready for this move.

Sister Valery and Jim Piper were married at Saturday noon. They said their beautifully-scripted vows on the beach at Negro Bar Beach on the American River and then we went to the nearby Sudwerks for lunch. The weather was sunny and mild and the very small select company sublime. 

 Colleen and Andy wait for the ceremony to begin while Susie Lee and I fool around taking each other's pictures. Susie (she calls herself Sue these days) and Valery have been friends all their lives, 61 years. Our families lived next door to each other.

 Logan made it down the stairs to watch the ceremony. He did amazingly well on the trip, schlepping through airports, sitting in cramped seats, sleeping on couches, and maneuvering over rough terrain.

 The bride and groom just before the ceremony, and (below) while exchanging vows.

 The happy couple hosting the reception at Sudwerks.

Valery shows off her wedding band while Jim proves he never grew up.

 Ben and Logan paid their respects to Missy while we visited Jim and Valery at their home after the wedding festivities.

 Silly cat at Valery's thinks Colleen placed this bowl under the table just for her comfort.

Silly Ben thinks this hammock was placed in Colleen's backyard just for his comfort. Valery looks on while he reads from an assigned book for one of his classes at UC Davis.

Today we are back at home and things are gearing up for our move. The house is listed and we have already had a couple of people express interest. One opted for another house, the other hasn't seen the house yet, but wants to have a big house in this neighborhood and ours is the only large house in our neighborhood on the market. 

All Clear

A momentous doctor's appointment today! Logan has been given clearance to travel to California this weekend and to Europe in early June. It's like a new sun has been hung in the sky. We are both feeling very optimistic and positive about his future plans. Here's what his spine looks like these days:

The titanium brackets hold a carbon cage filled with boned fragments from one of his ribs. The fragments will fuse to build solid bone.
In further progress notes, he drove from doctor's appointment, his first behind-the-wheel experience since March 6. And I didn't even cringe once.

Moving On

Logan and I will be moving to California this summer.We will be living in an apartment in El Dorado Hills to be near Colleen, Valery, friend Lisa, brother Rick and his wife, Kathy, Ben, and probably lots of other folks I forgot to mention. Logan will be able to finish high school with some of the kids he started kindergarten with/ He looks forward to trying his hand (feet?) at snowboarding with Danny as teacher. I am looking forward to the end of home ownership responsibilities.
So, that means I'm going to be very busy selling, trashing, and packing. I expect the new place will be around 1,000 square feet with no garage,, going down from 4,500 square feet with a three car garage. Big changes, welcome changes. Somehow, we'll bring it off.
Logan is healing well, although we are both suffering mightily from cabin fever. He is too old (and so am I) to be spending so many hours with me. It's exhausting and grueling for both of us.

Improvement

Today has been a really good day. Logan went to school for half a day and I experienced that euphoria that comes when your youngest child starts kindergarten. You know the kind of day you torture yourself trying to decide if:

1. You should run naked through a meadow whilst tossing daisies in the air, or
2. Stay in your jammies all day eating Godiva chocolates while reading bodice-bursting romance novels, or
3. Begin a movie marathon wherein you go by yourself to the movies, get a really big box of really buttery popcorn, and a slurpee, and milk duds and catch up on all the Oscar nominees you failed to see
4. Have a late champagne breakfast (does Dom Perignon go with with Cheerios?)
5. Meet your best girl friend for lunch and gossip and dis all the people you mutually feel superior to
6. Do your income taxes

Well, at least I've narrowed the list down to five items. I'm sure I'll get at least one of them accomplished today, but I have many days ahead to work on it.