August Wrap Up

               I can’t believe this month is nearly over!  It turned out to be fairly eventful what with one thing and another happening. Hillary started back to her day program in the beginning of the month and she couldn’t be happier about being able to spend time with the staff, even though they are new to her and she to them and her peers for a few hours every day.  Of course, there had to be paperwork to be filled out by her doctor before she could go so I was busy with making the appointment and filling out forms and making phone calls but all was accomplished in less than 2 weeks so I thought that was good, all things considered.  For now I am her transportation which keeps me on somewhat of a schedule so that’s not a bad thing.  The down side is that if my van is out of commission she can’t go which is the case today.  Hopefully it will be repaired and we’ll have it back before Monday.  Fingers crossed!  We took a little road trip to stay with my husband’s family for a reunion weekend.  It turned out nice, but the drive up was not.  First the traffic came to a sudden stop on a highway and we were in the left most lane when I saw an 18 wheeler passing us on the median very close to all the vehicles.  My husband was driving and he said the truck had been about 6 cars back and was going too fast to stop so thank goodness the driver had the sense to use the median to avoid hitting anyone in what would surely have been a tragic accident!  Shortly after that, traffic resumed and we saw that the reason it had stopped was because someone broke down on the right shoulder and a tow truck was there with blinking lights which I suppose caused people to want to look.  I never understand why traffic comes to a screeching halt when something is happening on the shoulder but I guess that’s just the way we humans are—curious!  So a couple miles after that there was suddenly the deafening sound of 20 motorcycles except there were not motorcycles or trucks near us.  It was us!  Something to do with the muffler/exhaust system broke, and we were miles from an exit.  Frantically I googled car repair shops in the area where we were, and after asking at a rest stop and then at an information center at the end of an exit ramp we wound our way through a village or two   (sounding like a jet plane by now) to a muffler repair chain.  There we spent 6 hours, on arguably one of the hottest, most oppressive days of the year in their little waiting/office area with 2 local gentlemen who had their cars in for service, and an assortment of other locals there for inspection, and one for a flat tire.  As our van was up on the lift in a service bay, we had no access to the snacks or drinks we brought for the 4 hour drive we expected, so my husband walked to a little shop maybe ½ mile away and brought back cheese doodles and bottled water.  It was the most delicious bag of doodles and water I ever had!  We were thankful that we had an air-conditioned place to wait and a clean restroom to use. The people were very nice, the girl running the office was very nice and adept at calming people upset about not having any appointments available that day or because their service was taking too long.  The most interesting patron was a gray haired hippie and his companion, a well behaved little dog who he said belonged to his granddaughter originally.  The counter girl gave the dog a bowl of water, and the man made small talk with everyone there while he waited.  We were thankful that we had such pleasant company and not someone talking loudly on a cell phone the whole time.  Once we were back on the road, with the van patched enough to drive, the gps took us not back to the superhighway, but along roads through the countryside which was pleasant.  By the time we stopped for dinner there were thunder clouds overhead and the rain began while we were wolfing down our fish sandwiches in the car.  About an hour later we were safe in the arms of family and they helped bring in our things.  It was still stifling hot and oppressive despite it being 9:00 pm and in the mountains, but the weather broke during the night and it was more bearable the next day, which was the day the cousins were coming for a cookout. It was a sunny and breezy day marked by hugs, laughter and chatter, rides on an ATV to see the property, (the host lives on 74+ acres of forest), my husband played the bagpipes and those who didn’t leave after that stayed for a campfire and some fireworks shot off by members of the family.  It was a fun but exhausting long weekend away.  Sprinkled in among the rest of the days this month there were breakfasts and lunches out with my friends and family, a game day, and various projects I’ve kept busy with.  Yesterday the van decided it was time to have the permanent repair made and suddenly on my way home from a trip to Target I sounded like a jet plane again!  Thus the van is in the shop to be repaired and we are staying home for today.  It’s still oppressively hot and humid, but supposed to be better by the middle of next week, which is when September begins!

               If you looked at my calendar it doesn’t look like it was a busy month, but the calendar doesn’t tell the whole story.  At least it went fast—time flies when you’re busy! 

                                                            clematis

                                                            busy bee!

                                         ready for sunset and campfire!

Campfire!