Summertime and the Livin' is...

This has been a busy summer, with lots of small activities instead of a major occasion.

My brother came to town and we spent a lovely day seeing sights and going to a Drum and Bugle contest. My cousin Ric came to town and we spent several evenings with Ric and Carol and assorted relatives. The annual trip to Loda with the gourmet Group was peaceful, pleasant, tasty and relaxing. What could not be great about a day at a house on a lake with abundant good food and great friends and no pressure? The usual two birthdays, 8/15 for Abe and 8/19 for me. A new to us car, thanks to Harold's mother-in-law. It is a 1999 Saturn SL1 , silver gray with an astonishing 24,000 miles. I'm continuing to make and sell jewelry.

The biggest thing on our agenda is organizing the apartment so that it is showable and looking for a new condo. We are being picky because we don't want to move again, once every 30+ years is enough.

For my birthday, Gene and Abe got together and got a Magellan GPS unit. Love it. Now we have to go on a road trip to use it. Thanks guys.

Yesterday, some monster storms came through Chicago and caused a lot of damage. Many, many trees came down, power was (and in some cases, still is) out, roads flooded and general mayhem prevailed. The lovely russian olive tree that the garden group planted on Grace street was totally destroyed. Very sad, we had planted it as a sapling at least 15 years ago and it had grown to be a beautiful tree that always reminded me of my friends Tom & Peter. It was planted on the parkway outside their apartment, where they could enjoy it. They moved to Washington DC many years ago and I always thought of it as a permanent link to them.