Hallelujah!!!!

We are celebrating. The results of Ken's P.E.T. scan proved not only that there was no cancer present, but the suspect site had diminished in size. We are grateful and appreciative of all your good thoughts and prayers. The mystery of the dizziness has not been solved, but he is about two thirds of the way though various checks for that, and nothing has come to the forefront.

We have come to the end of the 'Gathering' or 'Sift and Sort'. It was even more delightful than I could have imagined. We tried to remember the last time just the six of us sat around the table together, and we figure it was probably about 1981; right after we moved back to Washington. It was fun, but it it will be even more fun when there are spouses and children present as well. It is so seldom that the entire family is together.

Keith incorporated a business trip into coming out here so we had him here with us for a week, but it was a tight schedule for Brian since he left Virginia after work on Friday and returned home on Sunday afternoon. However, it was a direct flight both ways so that helped. Craig and Colleen spent the weekend here as well.

We spent time going through boxes of photos, boxes of momentos, and just generally having the kids reacquaint themselves with what is here and the history behind some of it. They each compiled a list of those items that held some meaning or interest for them, and that was all shared among the four of them.

Craig, Brian, and Keith spent a few hours on Craig's boat Saturday afternoon, and came home with five freshly caught crab........which we enjoyed along with grilled bison roast (excellent), and grilled Alaskan salmon fillet from the summer fishing trip. That along with several bottles of nice wine and topped off with huckleberry pie.

It was fun to watch and listen and learn what various items meant to each of the kids; and this was all just easy and fun because nothing is going anywhere at the moment, but when the time comes to seriously downsize, we know where to send the shipping crates!! And if Ken and I were to meet our demise at the same time, there is some direction for the kids. This is an easier process than going through it while planning funerals!!

Now we have to move on to getting ready to take the motor home to Leavenworth this week to join Rod and Karen at a rally during the Fall Leaf Festival. I am excited to be on the road again. We will be at the rally from Wednesday through Sunday and then spend two more nights in the area before coming home on Wednesday. The weather here today was lovely, but the thermometer continues its downward trek so I expect it to be pretty dang chilly in Leavenworth. We will definitely go in with a full tank of propane and charged batteries because there are no services where we will be.

Ciao