We Begin May 11

Leaving Brisbane Airport

May 11, 2012  

Dear Friends,

This is the beginning of my travelogues for this year, 2012.  I’ll try to keep you informed of what’s happening – IF it seems to be of any interest.  I’m not going to tell you how many loads of laundry I’m doing, but I WILL tell you that it took FOUR HOURS for my dryer to dry one load and that my kitchen sink does not give hot water.   That doesn’t mean I’m going to complain all the time, either, it just seems that when something’s wrong, it makes for a more interesting story.  Are you ready for this?






If you'd like to follow along our route, you can check out my Google Map at Kathy's Half Home Journey
Just click on the link above and be sure to read the little anecdotes along the right hand side, as I'm not sure I'm including them in this blog.  I'll keep updating it as we go.

Chris and Sam

While in Los Angeles, we visited Sam, the partner of Chris' Aunt Lucy who recently died.  He is a lovely man and made us feel very warm and welcome. Chris also visited with a colleague of his who still works at his Alma Mater, University of Southern California.

Then we had a LOVELY week in Oregon with my sister, Joyce and her husband, Jim.  We went to a fun dinner dance and played a lot of cards.  In fact, when I called Joyce three days after we had left to tell her we had arrived safely in Colorado, Jim was still saying, “It’s YOUR deal, Kathy.”  He claimed he was suffering from Patterson withdrawal.

Pizza night with Joyce & Jim

We spent the first night here in Fort Collins with Aaron and Karla.  It was DELIGHTFUL to hug Lily, 3, who remembered us and snuggled in right away.  We got reacquainted with Jude, 1½, who is a funny, pleasant, darling little guy and warmed up to us quickly.  AND…we got to meet Owen, who was born on my birthday in February.  The kids (the BIG kids, Aaron and Karla) have been so sweet and welcoming – having us over for dinner, dropping by to take us out for dessert, inviting us to church – it’s a blessing to be with family!

Karla and Jude (1 1/2)

Above:  Tutu with Lily (3 1/2) milk mustache and all
Below: Happy Owen - 3 months

About Half of the stuff we had stored in the basement.
You  really can't see how much is there because we did SUCH a
good job of stacking!

We really got stuck in on Saturday.  It was fast going, thanks to our lovely tenant, Laura, because we had stored all our “stuff” in her (our) unused basement for the year.  Now was our chance to “move in” and find out what we really had!  It turns out it is an odd assortment of quirky things!  We had too many lounge chairs, but no couch.  We had a dining room table and china cabinet, but no chairs; a bed and two dressers, but no bedside tables; three frying pans but no sauce pans.  Well, you get the picture.   My dad died and we stored his stuff.  Chris' sister died, and we have some of her stuff.  And we also got cast-offs from my son in New Mexico, even though it was actually MY furniture!   (Basically, he and his wife bought my house with all my furniture in it - so we got BACK any furniture he didn't really want.)  We also have stuff from both my sisters, my grandmother, and now we have bought Aaron and Karla’s couch so THEY could get another one!  We’re calling our decorating style “early in-law”.   We found a great little used furniture store and bought six dining chairs and a computer desk.  We have yet to find a headboard and bedside tables that fit AND match – but we may have to break down and buy unmatching ones!  The only thing we have bought NEW in the furniture category is a TV.  Chris bought a HUGE 50” thing that fits just great on my dad’s long hall table (NOT in the hall, obviously.)  Everything is coming together just fine, and actually looks pretty nice for second hand stuff.  

Empty

The mess during

Dining room - after

Living Room after

Meanwhile, my 19-year-old great-niece has moved in with a roommate and a cat. Amber and Gaby are going to live here when we are back in Oz, and since they both have jobs as part of their work/study scheme, they will be here with us this summer.  Since our condo has three bedrooms, we’re full up now!

This is probably enough for now, I don’t want to inundate you with details.  I’ll write more if things get interesting.  MISS you!

Love and light, Kathy & Chris