Home!

I'm home!  I tried, I really did try to comment on all of your lovely posts but I finally gave up.  I did read most of them and hopefully, starting today, I'll be back in a somewhat normal pace of life.  But, oh, how I miss my girls!  Being torn between two places is pretty hard.  I couldn't wait to be back with Dennis, but now I'm missing Mandy and Piper.

It was a beautiful flight to Omaha.  I had a layover in Minneapolis each direction and, I must say, people were really nice there.  I had a little over two hours with each layover, timed right at mealtime so I picked up some very unhealthy airport food, and the people working there were so nice.  The wheelchair pushers I met in the concourses and the golf cart drivers who whisked by me as I walked always smiled and said hello and have a nice day.  It really gives me hope that the world isn't nearly as bad as the news would have us believe.

Look at this face!  I mean, really.  Who could resist that smile?  Not this Grandma. :-)

There was a sign outside her preschool classroom on her birthday.

Mandy and I made these tutu's for the little girls who came to the family party.  Mandy did most of the work.  All I did was sew the waistbands.  She painstakingly tied each piece of tulle onto the waistband.

Then she clipped them to a ribbon tied to the railing.  We made them different sizes to fit the different girls attending.  The tiny one second to the left is for a 6 month old.  Isn't it precious?  They were a definite hit with the girls.

Piper got a Belle dress up dress from Dennis' Mom, Pipers great-grandma.  To say that was a great gift for her would be an understatement.  She loves Belle.  Here she is sitting on her great-uncles lap,  (Brad's uncle) showing us their matching clothes. They definitely have lots and lots of family around in Omaha.  Quite a difference to when they lived in Maryland.

One of her birthday gifts was this fairy garden.  Mandy had to work the day after I got there so Piper and I had fun with the garden.  She painted the dish and some of the ceramic pieces and then we planted the grass and other seeds.  This was growth after just 8 days or so!  It really is quite magical when you think about it. 

I think she did a beautiful job.

When I got home late Tuesday night I found out fall had arrived while I was gone.  The trees were still green in Omaha but this is what greeted me here in Spokane.

Gorgeous!

After Piper was in bed in the evenings, Mandy and I spent time knitting together while watching Netflix.  Here I am all comfy on the loveseat with both of her cats.  Amelia and Franny always remember me and love to sit and sleep with me.  If you look closely there is a cat on my lap and one of the arm of the loveseat.  They look just alike and blend in with the furniture.  They are great cats and are getting up there in years, but they always remember Grandma!

I finished a pair of Hermione socks and left them for Mandy without remembering to take a picture.  I finished these on the plane home and they are the Petty Harbour pattern.  Sorry it's a bit blurry.  It's very overcast and the lighting is awful today.

I bought this yarn at Hobby Lobby to make a chemo cap for a friend at church who was diagnosed with Leukemia. 

And this is a mystery project that I began yesterday.

All was not roses when I got home.  Our neighborhood had some issues with unruly teenagers over spring break.  While I was gone, last week virtually every house for a 3 block stretch was "egged" including ours.  All of the neighbors have an idea of who may have done this but no proof.  Then, at 2:15 am Wednesday morning, after I got home from the airport late Tuesday night, we woke up to someone hitting the front of our house with bats or sticks, by the time we got our wits about us and got to a window, they were running down the street.  We went outside and this greeted us.

They had broken both of the lights by our garage doors.  The infuriating thing is that we had just replaced the old lights with these last month.  They automatically go on and off with sunset and sunrise and were not inexpensive.  I had to go buy two more yesterday and Dennis will replace them tomorrow. 

I talked to several neighbors yesterday and apparently we were the only ones hit with the vandalism this time.  Eggs to bats.  It sure sounds like things are escalating.  My question is, "Where are the parents?"  Who lets their kids roam at 2:15 in the morning?  The lady that lives across the street from the teen everyone believes is the "ringleader" says that he comes and goes at all hours and has already broken several windows in their house this week.  The police won't do anything because we don't know without a doubt who is doing it.  I filed a Crime Check report but they told me nothing will be done.  They don't even send the police out over vandalism.

We have lived here over 15 years and never, ever had any problems before.  It's always been a very quiet neighborhood and this makes me just sick.  I'm almost afraid to go to sleep now.  Not a great welcome home.

On a much happier note, we're hoping to take the small trailer out for this weekend before winterizing it.  Dennis closed up the lake trailer while I was gone so that's done for the year.  We really would like to use the little trailer at least once this year, but snow is falling pretty close to home today.  We'll see what happens.

I had a good time while in Nebraska.  I was able to spend a lot of time with Mandy, Piper and Brad.  Mandy started working every other weekend as an RN so Piper will be at home with Daddy those weekends.  A nice arrangement with no need for daycare.  And there is family to fill in when needed.  I'm happy about that.

I also spent a day with my sister and we drove to the very southern edge of Nebraska to Beatrice and visited our aunt who has recently had to move into an assisted living facility.  I try to visit Aunt Joyce when I go back home, but was unable to go when we were there in July so I was really looking forward to this visit.  I also saw my cousin who is only 11 days younger than I am.  We grew up together so that was a special treat too.  :-)

Dennis' brother was also visiting from Florida and I hadn't seen him in over 10 years!  We were able to have lunch together too.  I also had several visits with Dennis' mom and sister.  Family is such a blessing.  Because everyone lives there, we are struggling with the decision of where to live after retirement.  We love Spokane, but family is family.  Decisions must be made.

Now I need to get some cleaning finished before Bible study here tonight.  It's good to be home, my friends.  I'll try to catch up with you all soon.

"Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace.  And be thankful."  Colossians 3:15

Blessings,

Betsy