I should be painting today, but we received 2 1/2 inches of rain during the night last night and there is a good chance of more rain today. The thunder and lightning was so loud it woke me up during the night, and the wind was howling also! It reminded me of some of the times it stormed just like that last year while I was on my hike and I was in my tent, praying that I would not get blown of the top of the mountains! Last night I was so thankful to be indoors!
Yesterday, a year ago, I met these two happy guys up in New Hampshire!
This is Jerryatric and Peppermint! Jerryatric lives in Ft.Worth, Tx. and Peppermint lives in Nashville, Tn. and they are both college professors. Jerryatric began his thru-hike six years ago and has been back each year since then to do another section in his attempt to complete it. He made it to Katahdin last year and summited the day after I did! Peppermint fell, just before the Kennebec River in Maine, and broke his ankle and had to be rescued and had surgery, so he still lacks a little finishing his hike. I could not keep up with these two guys, however I would catch up with them sometimes at shelters or in towns. Tom and I have met up with Jerryatric and his wife , Jane, for dinner a couple of times since our hike.
I think I have eaten my weight in watermelon this summer! They have been so sweet and juicy and delicious! On a hot day, there is not a better snack that a big slice of ice cold watermelon! My horse, Tex, loves the watermelon rinds, once we've eaten all we want out of it!
Mary Ann and I are still meeting twice a week for a 7+mile walk, and yes, BooBoo is enjoying walking again!
Had lunch with my Saddlebag women friends on Thursday. There were 13 of us at lunch! Do you think maybe because we were all talking at one time, it got a little loud??!!
Evie and Mary W. apparently think so!! What great fun and fellowship it is with these gals!
Wow! Only 24 more days to get ready for Ireland!
We are experiencing the "Dog Days" of Summer in Texas! When I first wake up in the morning, it is so nice to open the doors and enjoy the remnants of the cooler night air, but by late morning, when the sun gets higher in the sky, and the muggy heat begins to creep into the house, I close the doors and turn on the A/C. Such is life in Texas, following the wonderful, wet Spring we had this year!
My friend Mary Ann and I are still meeting twice a week to walk seven (or more) miles together, and Tom and I are trying to go for shorter walks on the days in between . It is very warm, and we sweat a lot, but I suppose that is part of getting fit and staying in shape. I tell myself when I sweat profusely, I am sweating out the impurities in my system! Ha!
My house painting project is nearing completion! Yippee!! After applying lots of caulk and a coat of Kilz Primer, the back of the house is ready for the layer of color. After that, I just have a lot of little "touch-up" areas, doors and screendoors, a few more plces to caulk and and then repaint, and call it finished. I had no idea when I began this project in late April, that it would take me this long, or that it would be so labor intensive! Also, my fear of heights, while working on the three "peak areas", slowed me down more than I thought it would.
I am beginning to get excited about my trip to Ireland in September! Only five more weeks, and my sister, Norma, and I will be on our way to the Emerald Isle! I look forward to vacationing with Norma and also going "across the pond" for the first time in my life! What a great opportunity this is for me!
Tom has a week of vacation coming up in October, and since it has been five years since we went on a Cruise together, we decided to book a Cruise! I emailed Tom's brother, Tim, and asked if he and his wife, Kathy, would like to go also. What a wonderful surprise, they said "SURE"! So, the four of us will set sail from New Orleans, La. for a 7-day Carnival Cruise, with Ports-of-Call in Isla Roatan, Belize, and Cozumel. I am so excited that they are going with us on this vacation! Several years ago, the four of us met in San Juan, Puerto Rico and went on a Royal Carribean Cruise to Aruba, Curacao, St.Marteen, and St.Thomas, and that was so much fun having Tim & Kathy vacation with us!
I enjoyed Sue's pool again last week when several of my Saddlebag women friends and I met there for a shared covered dish lunch and a swim. Mary Ann brought her two daughters, Jill & Ellie; Pam brought her four granddaughters, Metchie, Crystal, Lexie, & Ginny; and of course Sue's son, Alex, was there. It was so much fun watching all the teens & preteens have so much fun in the pool! Poor Alex was so outnumbered by those six pretty girls, I'm sure it was overwheming for him!
Betty, Mary Ann, Pam, Gillian, & Sue, enjoying the shade!
"The Girls" and Alex doing a group "jump"!
A neat gate I saw on my way home from the pool!
I left BooBoo "home alone", and this is how I found her when I returned! Silly monkey!
