Status Report: August
Monday, August 1, 2011 at 8:34PM 
Sitting…on the couch in the living room.
Drinking…nothing, but I did just finish a bowl of vanilla ice cream topped with hot chocolate mint sauce.
Feeling…tired from the big road trip. We ended up driving for 9 of the 14 days we were gone, travelling over 6000 miles (9500k). If you ask my son, he’ll say he drove nearly half of those miles. If you ask me, I’ll tell you I drove at least 3/4 of them. We attended my niece’s wedding in Pella, IA and visited with my dad, my sister, and her kids in Minnesota.
Finding…it hard to get back to regular life. (Do you find it difficult to return to normal after a trip?) There’s so much to catch up on, like mowing the lawn and weeding the garden. And laundry. So much laundry. I wake up wondering where to start!
Listing…a few of the things I learned on the trip:
- The best food on the Alaska Highway is at the Toad River Lodge.
- There are lots of bears around this year. We saw at least ten, including a mama grizzly with two cubs walking on the side of the highway.
- Tourists can be dumb when it comes to wildlife viewing. Rule number one is don’t get out of the car to take photos of a mama grizzly.
- In southern Saskatchewan there are still major roads closed due to flooding and one that is open is covered with water 4 inches deep for a 1/4 mile section.
- You can’t always trust Google Maps directions.
- Pella IA has 9000 people and 11 Reformed Churches, including a First, Second and Third Reformed Church. The Second Reformed Church is across the street from the First Reformed Church. What do you think happened there?
- My son’s dog David is easy and fun to travel with. He ended up doing everything we asked of him except riding an elevator.
- It can get so hot and humid that my glasses fog up when I exit the air-conditioned car. I’ve never had that happen before.
- Minnetonka moccasins are the most comfortable shoes i’ve ever worn.
- If the front yard doesn’t get mowed for two weeks, it grows twenty or thirty 12 inch saplings. If the backyard doesn’t get mowed for 2 weeks, it turns into a jungle.
Asking…myself why I bothered to bring books on the trip. When did I think I’d have time to read?
Planning…to make jam: Raspberry-peach jam tomorrow and strawberry-rhubarb jam on Wednesday. I love the steaming kitchen and the popping lids of jam making.
Also planning…to get back to regular blogging. A status report is perfect for resuming gently. And let’s see, tomorrow is Tuesday, so I need to come up with a theological term. Any ideas?
Anticipating…being a Grandma.
Forseeing…the end of summer.
Wishing…I lived somewhere with summers just like ours—no heat and humidity, and no dark, either—only twice as long. No, that’s not quite right. I’m wishing the summers right here were twice as long because I’m not going anywhere else.
Copying…Lisa.
Reader Comments (2)
My daughter bought her first pair of Minnetonka moccasins last summer and she wears them all the time and with everything. She wants another pair.
The Second Reformed across the street from the First? That's hilarious, in a not-really-hilarious sort of way. I could probably insert some sort of tongue in cheek comment about our own church split and what sort of possible church names we could have chosen as a result... But, I refrain.
Getting back to regular blogging? If only I could!