From Here To There And Back Again

We've taken another road trip, albeit a quick one. Augie continues to excel as a traveler, we never could have asked for a better car companion. Since last Sunday was both Father's Day and my mother's 90th birthday we drove up to New Hampshire to celebrate the joyous, double event with my parents. It was a beautiful day.  Mom and Dad live in what is known as the Lakes Region of New Hampshire, as we drove north and got closer to their home last Sunday we experienced the mass exodus of motorcycles headed south on the highways and by-ways, having only just concluded the 100th anniversary of Laconia "Bike Week" that day. (another reason that we chose not to arrive any earlier, the traffic is crazy during this event!).  Time spent with Mom and Dad this past week was laid back and easy, they've established a new normal routine since my mother has returned from her rehab stay. Physical therapists and/or Occupational therapists come in to their home daily to work with her and assist her in growing stronger and more independent again. We helped out as we could with repairs, yardwork and household chores.

As you can see, above, Augie did his part too: offering pet therapy in the form of "lap time", as often as needed! We did take advantage of the location to eat some fried clams while we were there and made a trip (or two 😉) to the local ice cream stand for a cone. Ah, summer evenings in New England.

Augie celebrated "National Dachshund Day" on Wednesday, the Summer Solstice, (the longest day for the longest dog)! 

I didn't take many pictures this trip (other than of the pup) but was happy to receive this one yesterday, as we were in the car again, traveling back home. Mom goes every Friday to the beauty shop to have her hair done and, following that, she and Dad have lunch at the diner next door; it's their weekly custom. Yesterday, when they entered the restaurant they were greeted with all this at "their" table: a party tablecloth, balloons, gifts and even a birthday hat! Isn't that just the sweetest gesture? My parents are dearly loved. 💗

Back home again, someone has dragged out all of his toys and settled right back in. I've tackled the laundry mountain, watered the plants and baked a loaf of bread already. 

It's good to be home again; there's no place like it, Dorothy was right!

Life is Good! 

Cool Like That

I had a big weekend. First there was the hair extension; this was followed by a new jewelry acquisition. Yeah, I'm cool like that.  How was your weekend?

Happy Father's Day to all the Dads out there, especially mine; he's always been cool.

It has to be genetic~
Life is Good!

The Evolution of the Grill, Bye-Bye Hibachi!

I wanted to get my husband a grill for Father's Day. Has anyone been grill shopping lately? I knew this wasn't anything I could do by myself, he would need to make the selection, there's simply too many choices. We have an old gas grill on the patio and it's old and worn out, for the most part. It's moved around the world with us, and it looks it. It's been a good grill, but it's served it's purpose... it's time to move on. My husband was happy with the offer for us to replace old (t)rusty. We went together after church to look. OH MY GOSH-- have you looked at outdoor kitchens lately? That's what they are. Seriously. Gone are the days of of the grills of our youth. Remember Hibachis? I do. Now you can get a grill to do everything... I mean everything. We looked at models over $6,000. Yes, looked. We looked and left them there. I don't think I'd even want a grill that nice sitting outside. We saw the 'Green Egg' grill, too. That was an odd looking thing, apparently they're quite popular, the store said they couldn't keep green eggs in stock, they didn't mention green ham. We couldn't find exactly what we were looking for, the search will continue. We're looking for cast iron burners and a smoker, too. Gone are the days of a bag of briquettes and a squirt of lighter fluid to get the party started. Now there's an entirely new language to accompany the price tag: BTU's and infrared rear-mounted rotisseries, there's even lights available for mounting on the lid; the accessories, the custom covers... there's no end. Happy Father's Day!

Life is Good!