Thankful For...

With Thanksgiving just around the corner...thought I would share just a bit of what I have been blest with and am very thankful for! For now, Captn Paul and I are both safely back to my lakehouse (no new pictures here yet)! Brief thought about the way our trip back to Guatemala and warmer weather turned...while disappointing...right now, just very happy that his surgery went well and PT begins in another week! On to picking up my mom at the Knoxville airport, a quick visit with Captn Paul's daughter, Beth (by the way, congratulations again on your well deserved awards) and where we had a great time shopping (thank you so much)! Then a quick pictoral review of some of the fun my mom and I had on our road trip......Smoky MountainsDollywood...Dollywood...Dollywood...Dollywood...Dollywood...And, more Dollywood....Cade's Cove...Cade's Cove drive...

The music we enjoyed both at Dollywood and all the way across country! We had the BEST Sunday morning church service ever from inside Higgins!

All in all...the entire trip was a wonderful reminder of how beautiful this entire country is. But most especially...as we came over the pass into Western Washington...the yellows, reds and greens were the most vibrant I'd seen on the entire trip...and I thought...how much I have to be thankful for right here in my own backyard! So...along the same thoughts...telling it like it is...My youngest daughter and her S/O who slept on the couches while my mom and I had their room...my son for the use of his truck again for delivery of an electric love seat and a REAL bed for Captn Paul and I to sleep on...my oldest daughter who met Captn Paul at the airport, brought him back to my mom's house, had his favorite beer and fritos waiting for him AND spent much time and energy helping me move back into the lake and return her brother's truck! I truly do have so much to be THANKFUL FOR....

Next....

Oh, heavens...I just looked at the last blog. I had forgotton how long it had been! Ever so briefly...Seattle was wonderful...albeit hard work for me. I worked hard on the lake house...yard work (over five loads of trees and brush, one load to the dump - thanks again to my son for the use of his wonderful truck for the entire summer)...painting two inside rooms...one of the bathrooms...and other maintenance items. This was my only day of relaxing...(thank you Lori for enjoying with me on such short notice)!! I did enjoy working three days a week too...making some money while assisting with Capital Asset Management...always fun! Of course with all the time I was away from the lake house and busy...I was not able to spend the time with or give Captn Paul his usual attention...hence Mayday. She started out a sickly little Maine Coon kitty...and so far has turned out to be a most wonderful and very loving healthy kitty! If you want to get Captn Paul off of the subject of politics...just ask him about his kitty...oh, how he loves this cat! The best part of Seattle was that I was able to spend precious time with my loving kids...yet not enough...never enough! I left feeling as if I wasn't quite ready because there was still so much more I could do to help...but the flight time was upon us! Captn Paul's mobility had truly gotten bad and painful before we even left Guatemala. I had suggested that he make an appointment with his doctor on our way to Seattle...he said no he was going to make the appointment on our way back to Guatemala. So, I guess in a way, I was relieved to be so busy all summer as I continued to see Captn Paul's mobility deteriorate and the pain increase. So...to the doctors appointment...my suggestion that he get the first appointment he could...they had a cancellation...surgery the first week of October...and...we haven't made it back to Guatemala. In fact I write this from a hotel in Atlanta...with his kitty...and him still in the hospital...finally off IV's. The surgery was more involved than the doctor had planned so he will be going to a rehab center for a week before flying back to Seattle. I on the other hand will be driving...well, we haven't named him quite yet...not sure if it will be Herbie, or Harry, or Higgins the Honda (open for suggestions)...anyway, the best co-pilot in the world (my mom) will be flying out to Knoxville to join me! My mom and I will spend some time taking in the fall colors of the Smokey Mountains, a day in Dollywood...then off to visit family on our road trip back to Seattle! When Captn Paul returns to Seattle we will move back into the lake house (sparcely) so he can continue his rehab and get stronger! I can continue my projects and then get it rented by January (hopefully). It will be wonderful to be able to spend more time with my kids and mom. More and more I truly appreciate them! AND, Thanksgiving and Christmas with family will definately be a plus! I'm also looking forward to connecting with friends that I didn't make the time for this past summer. Skiing at Crystal anyone? For now our etched in Jello (thank you Dennis) flight back to the boat is January 7th...with plans of spending the rest of the season in the Bay Islands enjoying the warmth both above and below the water! Oh, and on a side note...after one of the more particularly rough days at the hospital...I came back to the hotel and made arrangements to go to ...the Grand Ole Opry 85th Birthday Bash...yes, it was a lot of driving in one day...but it was a wonderful diversion and gave back to me something I had been too busy to remember...I had forgotten...how much I enjoy music...