A Quick Catch-Up

Hello all,

It has been so long since I have written and much has happenend...but I'll not go into details. Basically, it goes like this:

I was in the states from 17 August to 3 September. The first week I spent in Chicago with Shannon, Bob, and Mom. I was fine the first three days and then I was sooo sick. But, by the Tuesday I was on my feet again and up to Wii-ing. What fun it is! I may still be the record holder for distance on the ski jump. We also golfed and then, as it was Friday and fish-fry night, we had the fish fry at the club~yummy.

During the week we (me, Mom, and Shannon) also took a couple other wee road trips. One day we drove down to Davenport, where we lived for about 3 years while doing our undergrad studies. (Actually, we were going to go to Palmer College of Chiropractic, but changed out minds and went down to Logan in St. Louis.) We visited some old haunts, had a bite of lunch and I bought a painting, a Bev Doolittle. Google her stuff, she's great and I have coveted her work for years. And now, finally, I have one!

We also went up to Wisconsin for a day. Cant remember the name of the town, but it is quite touristy and right on a lake, really charming. They had some supurb art galleries, but the prices started at £3,500 and the canvases were HUGE! Maybe someday...sigh.

The big event on holiday was that my borther, Sean, graduated on the 23rd. So he is now a chiropractor as well and it is our hope that he will be coming over to practice with me. Anyway, we got there late in the evening and checked into our hotel (me and Mom). The next morning there was an awards breakfast, which we all attended. Then the rehersal for the graduation. Then Mom and I went back for a nap. And my Uncle John had called and it turned out that he and Aunt Carol had come out to St. Louis to surprise us all! They were even staying at our hotel.

That evening we all went to a Mexican restaurant for a nice dinner and other family joined us. Then there was the graduation the next morning...yeah! There was a lovely reception after and Sean had a really good turnout of friends to wish him well.

At three o'clock we (about 40 of us) descended on Hot Shots, where they reserved a large part of the bar, the part with lots of dart boards, for us and we partied the afternoon away. Sean got some lovely pressies and I am sure, with all the folks that came from near and far, he felt very loved and supported. We were away by about 11 and a great time had been had by all!

In the morning it was all go party again as Sean and Julie had invited us over for breakfast. So, once again, there were about 12 of us and what a great breakfast we had. John and Carol were talking about going to Busch Farm, so we decided we would all go! So, into three cars we piled and were off on anohter adventure. We took the tam ride round the park and ended up in a petting zoo for goats! It was hysterical to see Bob try to give them bottles and feed them!

After all that we went to (duh) the bar area and had a beer. It was great...we got to the counter to order and noticed a sign that said "beer sammples limited to two per customer, please". And, guess what, they were pint sized samples...whoo-hoo!

Through all of this holiday, the weather was never cooler than about 90. So, while we did have a lovely time, it was sooo hot, the beer was VERY welcome! I did, however, end up with the first tan I have had in years, without even burning, or even peeling weeks later...again, I say whoo-hoo!

Well, there is still another week to cover, but it's late and I have to leave in 6 hous, about 5 a.m., for a dog show in Durham. So, more when I get back...keep your fingers crossed...