That's a Lot of Zucchini

Yesterday when Blaine, Hilary, and the kids stopped by, they gave me a very large zucchini.  Blaine asked if I could make bread out of it. 

Of course.

This morning that was my task---making zucchini bread.

I didn't know where my usual recipe was, but I did what people do now....looked online.  One called "Mom's Zucchini Bread" sounded much like the one I had used before so I printed it for use.

The next task was, as I always tell Landon, to check for ingredients.  I knew there was enough flour and sugar.  We had one unopened box of baking soda, had just opened a new box of baking powder, and had several new jars of cinnamon.  A recently purchased container of Morton's salt was in the shelf also.  The oil bottle was nearly full, and I had just opened a new bottle of vanilla.  However when I opened the fridge to check the eggs, there were only 8 and since I needed 3 for each batch, I would be limited to two batches.

The next task was to shred the zucchini.  This one was LARGE so after I washed it off, I cut off the stem, then cut it in half horizontally, then sliced the bottom half vertically.  I scooped out the seeds and fiber in the middle, then started to shred.  From the first quarter I had enough for nearly four cups, and each batch required two cups.  I shredded more to complete that requirement, then shredded the rest, placed it in a ziplock bag, and saved it for another time, hopefully soon, to make more bread.

 


Using the KitchenAid makes so many things so much easier, and mixing up zucchini bread was no different.  It was so easy to just toss the ingredients in the bowl, lock it into place, and turn it on. While the ingredients were mixing, I found several loaf pans, including my favorite Corning Ware one, and greased and floured those.  THEN I remembered one thing I always had to chide Landon about---preheating the oven.  I was so focused on the large zucchini, that I forgot to turn on the oven.  If Landon had been here, he would have laughed at me for sure!

Pans in the oven, two more pans ready to pop in when the first batch finished baking, shredded zucchini in the bag in the fridge, kitchen cleaned up, and dishwasher running. 

The only disappointment in the final product is that the centers of the breads are sinking  I don't remember that happening other times I have baked the bread.  Maybe it was the recipe.  Maybe it was using the KitchenAid to mix everything. Maybe it was the new oven (even though it is now two years old, but I hadn't made zucchini bread in this house yet).

Gary and I sampled a piece after the first two loaves cooled.  We agreed.  The taste is what is important.  Who cares if the center sinks? 

It is delicious! 

I may have to keep all of the loaves and freeze them instead of sharing with Megan and Hilary!

I Needed a Nap!

Cooper and Lynnlee spent a couple of days with us.

I love having the kids here, and they seem to enjoy their time with us.  But these two days were exhausting for me.

Why?  Because Little Miss didn't want to go to sleep at night!

Cooper is never a problem.  I remember when he went to Wooster with us three years ago.  We were cleaning out Mom's house, which took us most of the summer to do, and his folks were going to a conference for a week.  He went with us to Wooster while they were gone.   He was just a little guy, only 3, not yet to his 4th birthday in August, and I was worried about how he would be without his folks in a strange place for a week.  My fears were unfounded, though.  He was great!  He traveled well.  He slept well.  He was fun to have around.  He helped when he could.  Plus we made time each day to do something fun - a meal at Farmer Boy, ice cream from Hartzlers, a trip to Buehlers where he could pick out treats, playing in the neighbor's yard on their swings. 

But Lynnlee?  She likes me.  I am happy that one of the five grandkiddos really like me (usually they prefer Papaw).  But she  wants to be with me ALL the time, is glued to my side, wants to help, and thinks that my phone is her property and she can listen to 'Baby Shark' constantly.

She didn't want to go to sleep at night.  Saturday night it was 11:30 before her eyes closed and on Sunday?  After midnight before she finally gave up.  Plus sleeping with her is like being with an octopus---all arms and legs, everywhere.  Sunday afternoon she did nap with Papaw for an hour or so, but there was no nap on Monday.

Despite the lack of sleep, there were some fun highlights.

• Swinging on Grandpa Norm's swing by the fire ring
• Playing in the ga-zee-bo
• Eating oreo blizzards from DQ
• Lynnlee pulling the Paw Patrol couch up the stairs from the family room so she could sit on it to watch a movie on the living room tv
• Lynnlee requesting a bath----all the time  (she took two baths and had one shower in 2.5 days)
• Cooper's excitement that Major League ball games were on tv
• Making pitcher after pitcher of lemonade
• Playing with bubbles
• Lots of hugs
• Listening to Lynnlee repeat everything we said and understanding more of what SHE said
• More hugs
• Lots of laughter
  
• Playing in the Water Wiggle
  
• Watching Cooper be SO excited that his cousins were here to play with 

But after they left, and the house was quiet, it was Naptime for Mamaw---and it felt SO good!  Even though there were no sheets on the bed.  Even though there were no pillowcases on the pillows.  There was a bed.  There were pillows.  I had Great-Grandma's quilt.  And some quiet time.

Ahhh...sleep!

Re-energized now and ready to do it all again!

UNO!

Landon spent the night on Tuesday.

I like for him to spend the night for several reasons.

He is easy.  He doesn't create a mess.  He doesn't have to be entertained.  He goes to bed without a  fuss.  He sleep well.  He gets up when he wants to and sleeps late if he can.

And he is just fun.

We played several games of  UNO that evening.   It was not a quiet game.

In fact--it was VERY NOISY!

We were using reverse cards quickly so we could get rid of our cards.

Then one of us would plop down a +2 card for the other person to draw two.

One time I had THREE Draw +4 cards in my hand and I kept playing them every time he would work his way down to one or two cards.

I loved it!

Finally Papaw told us we were being very loud (Ok...we were the only ones here and the neighbors weren't close enough to hear us so who really cared>?) and it was getting late.

We started out by keeping a tally of how many times each of us won, but we lost track after it was Mamaw 3 - Landon 4.

The next day there was a tornado warning.  In the rush of gathering things to take to the basement, I grabbed my purse (essential items in it, you know!), my book (always need something to read) and Landon was grabbing flashlights (in case the power went off again), plus the UNO deck AND the card shuffler!

We set up the card table and Gary brought two chairs down from the back of the Escape, the ones we take to ball games.  We also had a large canister type of flashlight to put on the table.  Gary brought us a couple of bottles of pop from the fridge, then he returned upstairs to keep an eye on the storm.

Once again ---laughter, fun, more Draw +2 and Draw +4 cards. 

We stayed downstairs for probably 40 minutes or so.  In that time we played a number of hands of UNO.  And it wasn't quiet this time either.  '

Who won?  Not sure. 

But it was fun.

And that was the object of the game.

Just a Little Sad

The Carroll County 4-H Fair is over.

Now I know.....it was different this year with all of the COVID-19 fears and precautions.

I know it isn't our home county, but it is becoming the home county of three of our grandchildren.

And the disappointment is not just with the fair itself.  It is with what it encompasses.

Because the fair is over, the projects are finished.  When Megan and Hilary were in 4-H, I was SO glad when the fair was over BECAUSE the projects were finished....except for the State Fair entries.  If there had been a Grand Champion in foods or flowers or something else that was perishable, it had to be re-baked or re-picked to take to Indianapolis; otherwise, everything was done and we could relax.

But this year....projects being finished means one thing.  We won't see the kids as much as we have been.

Landon won't be having cookie-baking sessions with me.

They won't be coming over twice a day to feed the animals.

Pigs won't be washed often or walked every day.

Goats won't be walked and washed and trimmed.

No more impromptu meals in the party barn.

No more sitting in the gazebo after walking the pigs and chatting about the day's events.

Sitting on the deck in the evenings will be finished.

We won't hear the chime of the doorbell and see Owen peeking in the door to see if we are coming so he can step down the steps as he waits for the door to open.

Tessa and Owen won't be chasing around after Finn, looking in the barn and along the soybean field to find him.

The supply of popsicles and kid drinks won't need to be replenished since the kids won't be here as much.

No more activity in the barn since the pigs will be going to the butcher shop on Monday.

I am sad.

I understand a little more how Leo and Agnes felt after the fair when the girls stopped going over every day to work on the calves.

I dread the sense of emptiness that I will feel when I anticipate that the kids will be here sometime in the morning (and maybe for breakfast) and always in the evening (and something for dinner).

I will miss hearing about their days and seeing Owen's smile.

I will miss the hugs before they leave.

I will miss the sneaky requests to spend the night.

I am just a little sad.

Jangled Nerves

Seriously...I just thought that I needed a pill or something to calm my nerves.

If it weren't just 10:30 in the morning, I would have grabbed a bottle of Snapple Diet Peach Tea, added a splurt of peach whiskey, and headed to the gazebo to sit and cry.

I usually don't feel this way, but today my nerves are shot.

Why?

Yes, I admit that every morning I wake up with a feeling of dread.  What news about the virus will I hear?  How scared will I become because of it?  Will I make the right decisions to keep myself and Gray safe?  Am I putting myself in danger by going to the fair today to watch Landon show goats....from a distance? 

Which news reports do I trust?  Which experts have the correct information?

Why do I feel like I am always wrong and having to defend myself ?  (that is a big one that bothers me)

Gary's doctor told him last week that the method of reporting numbers of cases by the CDC has changed.  When the virus started, if someone tested positive, the number was 1.  Now if a person tests positive, and that person lives in a house with five other people, the number reported will be 6, the person PLUS the five other people he/she lives with even though they haven't been tested and they might test negative if they were.  This came from Gary's doctor.   

This morning Hilary told me that Blaine had been told that after Vanderburg County, which is Evansville close to where I grew up, had a spike in number of cases after their fair opened recently.  She was concerned about our going to the fair this week and reminded us to take our masks with us.  She would have chairs set up where they were prepping the goats and we could stay there and go to the arena only to watch Landon show.  Since I was curious about this (and because I knew that the Vanderburg Co Fair was usually later in July -- always after ours on Posey County), I checked.  The fair board cancelled the fair in May and if it were to be held, the dates would be July 20-28 which hasn't even happened yet.  So that information was wrong, wherever it came from.

Are scare tactics being used to manipulate everyone?  Even with 'fact checking' how can anyone be certain that the information is actually true? 

Another thing that jangles my nerves is the arguments.  Differences of opinions that end up with one person saying that everyone has a right to his/her own opinion, it just happens that that opinion is wrong.  It happens with those that lean toward the liberal viewpoint; it happens with those who lean toward the conservative viewpoint.  It is happening.  It hurts.  Of course I have a right to my opinion; it's just that my opinion is wrong and I shouldn't hold that opinion and someone else can argue with me on why my opinion is not valid.  Why is it that what I think is so wrong?  Why is it that everything I listen to or read is the wrong information? 

A friend who is a county coroner and a mortician told us that there were directives to coroners and morticians that all deaths after the COVID virus began had to be listed as COVID deaths, whether they were or not.  Will someone argue with me if I shared that information?  A person who dies in a car accident of a broken neck still has to be listed as a COVID statistic, even if that had nothing to do with his death?   That just doesn't seem right to me.  But I am fairly sure I would be told I was wrong to have that opinion---based on factual information given to me from a source I trust.

Should I meet my friend for breakfast at Cracker Barrel tomorrow?  Is that too public?  Is there a stronger possibility we might pick up the virus there since it is along an interstate and travelers might have stopped there for breakfast?  Is this what I have to think about each and every time I make any type of decision now?

So jangled nerves.

I am telling you...if I weren't going to the fair today to watch Landon show his goats (with my face covering handy), I would be grabbing that bottle of Snapple Diet Peach Tea, with a splurt of peach whiskey, and sitting in the gazebo.

Sudden Summer Storms

How's that for alliteration?

Always the English teacher, I know.  

I made the mistake the other day of mentioning that I really liked summer storms that just pop up out of nowhere, dump some rain, and then move on.  

I always notice, later when I check the radar, that these storms generally move from northwest to southeast, rather than coming in from the southwest like other storms do.

At our other house, I would notice the storms building in the north, over the empty area in the woods that we could see from the backyard, or from the kitchen windows as we looked over the chicken house and to the northwest.

But at this house, most of the northwest view is totally blocked by trees.

This time, however, I was sitting at the dining room table, working on paperwork, ordering a baby gift to be delivered from Target, paying some bills, marking a few events on the calendar, when Tessa came running to the house from the barn and shouting that there were storms coming.

Everything happened so fast after that 

Tessa and Owen in the house, Owen scared.

Landon trying to be the 'big man' and be helpful and not scared, but he was.

Hilary taking off in our pickup to check out things at their house.

Gary mowing at the end of our lane.

Blaine jumping on the four-wheeler to head down the lane to alert Gary.

The radio going off with warnings for Iroquois County in Illinois, then Benton County, then White County, then Tippecanoe and Carroll---heading closer and closer to us very quickly.

Lights flickering, going out, power returning, then going out again.

Grabbing flashlights for the kids and hearing Landon trying to be calm and herd his siblings through the garage to the basement door.

Seeing Blaine flying by to the Party Barn on the 4-wheeler and Gary zooming as fast he could on the mower in the same direction.

Hilary appearing and grabbing flashlights, helping the kids head to the basement.

Listening to the wind and the rain (and later we realized it was hail too) pounding on the outside walls of the dining room above us as the kids explored new territory (I don't think Tessa and Owen had ever been in the basement!)

Finally coming upstairs to find limbs down, little springs of leaves attached to small sticks, small branches all over the yard.

Listening to Blaine's radio going off with dispatch calling in the fire department for help with damage in Rossville. 

Watching the kids dragging  limbs, branches to the creek and tossing them. 

Leaning longer sticks against a tall tree to make a teepee of sorts.

Picking up  smaller sticks that littered the yard.

Seeing the blanket of small leaf clusters everywhere.

Moving the kettle of fresh green beans, potatoes, and sausage to the grill burner to finish cooking for our dinner.

Smelling the freshness in the air and relishing the cooler temperatures.


Sitting in the Party Barn after inhaling bowls of The Best Summer Dinner Ever and shouting for joy when the lights came on!

Driving through the country and seeing what was tall corn stalks, reaching for the sunshine, freshly tassled and putting on ears, lying crumpled and broken in the fields.

Seeing trees on the tops of houses, across drives, along roadsides.

Mother Nature was out in full force yesterday afternoon and evening

It could have been worse.  Fortunately it wasn't for us!

But a statement was made in this sudden summer storm.

God is still in control.  It gave us another focus for an evening besides viruses and racism and what is happening to our country.

And for an evening, no one cared about color or diseases or masks or social distancing.  Everyone pitched in to help.

All because of a sudden summer storm.

Summer Nights

One thing I love about summer is the longer hours of daylight!

I like summer rainstorms.

I like hearing thunder in the distance and seeing the sky darken with the expectation of rainfall.

I like listening to the crack of the baseball bat as my grandson is playing a game.

I like sitting on the deck and listening to the quiet.

I like hearing the sound of an approaching train, then the whistle that seems to be a chord in harmony as it approaches the crossings along the way.

I like the feel of the warm air on my arms and legs.

I like sitting in the gazebo and watching the cars and trucks kick up dust on the gravel road to the south.

The fields of green soybeans and corn extend endlessly.  Beautiful!

The flowers blooming around the gazebo, in the flower bed by the deck, in the hanging baskets - bursts of color to do the landscape.

I love summer nights.  And days.  And the season.

The "To Be Continued..."

Yesterday I was puzzled about the two Amazon accounts and finally straightened those out.

In the evening I sat on the deck with both my iPad and my phone and tried several times (really many times) to download the new book to my Kindle on the iPad.

It didn't work.

I gave up finally, and since I knew we would be at Megan's house today and her WiFi was much stronger than what we have, I thought that maybe, just maybe, I could download the book there.

No.

I synced the Kindle app several times.  I connected to their WiFi and tried again and again.

I reviewed the order from Amazon for the book and finally received a message that I had been trying to check it too many times (re-directing too much).

I was sitting on their deck after lunch in one of the Adirondack chairs.  I thought about downloading the book onto my phone, just to see what happened.  What do you know?  I didn't have the Kindle app on my phone (side note:  In ENGL 112 one semester we were reading a book which had a free download so the students could read it on their devices.  One student read the entire book on her phone, little page by little page.  I was amazed that she did that! But I alsot think that is why downloading the app to my phone was NOT going to happen.  Who would read an entire book on one's phone?)  I opened the app on my phone, logged in with my email and password, and lo and behold---the book appeared.  Not only did the book I bought yesterday show on the list of books, but the one I had 'purchased'  for free a month ago appeared also, along with a couple of others!  I hit pay dirt!

I opened by iPad again.  I checked the Troubleshooter tab under the Help button.  It said that after checking to be sure the item had been purchased (it was) and that the payment method was current, (ditto) and if the book still did not appear, to un-register the device, then re-register it.

I had been afraid to do that because usually the password I enter is wrong and I need to check my magic cards that I keep in a special drawer at home which is not where I was.  BUT...I had just added the Kindle app to my phone and used my email and password to register it.  I was good!

I unregistered the Kindle.  I went out of the app, then returned to it and completed the re-registration process.

Did you hear me yelling "YES!" at the top of my lungs around 1:30 this afternoon?  I am surprised if you didn't!  I was SO happy to see both books in my Library!

I proceeded to open the new book The Good Life, by Derwin Gray.  He was interviewed by Lysa Terkeurst in a YouTube segment from Proverbs 31.  I was intrigued by his conversation with Lysa and decided to search for the book on Amazon.  It was available in Kindle form so that was the option I chose (it was cheaper too!) since I have a ton of hardback books that are cluttering my shelves now.

This book focuses on the Beatitudes from the book of Matthew in the New Testament.  So far I am really enjoying the narrative in the book.  The author is black, he is married to a white woman from Montana whom he met while attending Brigham Young University in Utah on a football scholarship.  He is now a minister at Transformation Church outside of Charlotte, NC.  He also played for the Indianapolis Colts.

My purpose in reading the book is several -fold.  I enjoy books endorsed by the staff at Proverbs 31.  I have not studied the Beatitudes before so this would be an interesting study for me.  Plus the current stress of racial issues in our country leads me to know more about how a black man does feel about the situation and what his godly advice would be regarding our beliefs and our actions.

I have read only one chapter. The commandments can be boiled down to two basics:  Love God.  Love others as yourself.   That's it.  Do it.

If people would just do those two things, think about how great the world would be.

Problem solved with the Kindle app.  Now to work on other issues.

How Did we Get Two Accounts?

I was puzzled.

I know.  That happens to me a lot.

Especially lately with all of the COVID stuff and staying at home and limiting the number of people we see.

I, along with many other people, have been keeping Amazon busy.  I order things from Amazon that I would usually pick up in the store, like my hair gunk.  I was getting low and I knew that stepping into Meijer any time soon was not going to happen. I checked on Amazon.  There was a deal of BOGO50% off so I added two items to my cart and bought it.  I ordered some fragrance bulbs from Bath and Body Works yesterday that came with a $5 shipping fee, but it was worth it to NOT go to the mall and buy them in the store.  Funny how that is working now, isn't it?

Anyway...back to Amazon.  This morning I was listening to a video by Lysa Terkerst who was chatting with a man who had written a book about racial issues.  He is the pastor of a church in Charlotte, NC and he and his wife are good friends of Lysa.  Anyway, the book sounded like one I  would like to read, so I checked on Amazon.  I was surprised to see that there was a shipping fee because we have Amazon Prime and have had that for several years now.

I also recall seeing a few offers in my Yahoo mail for a 30-day free trial for Amazon Prime which also seemed odd because....we have had Amazon Prime for several years.

I was using my iPad so I looked more closely at the information there.  There was a banner that said Amazon.  The greeting was "Hello, Beth."  Then I looked at the app on my phone and saw Amazon with the small word Prime under it, but the greeting was 'Hello, Gary."  Hmmmm...

I checked the book through that app and there was no delivery charge.  I also clicked on the Kindle version and it was about $5 cheaper than a hardback so I went that route.  I added it to my cart and checked out with delivery to Beth's iPad.

But I was still puzzled. Could it be that we had two accounts for  Amazon, one on my phone and one on my iPad.  I was sure the account on the laptop was in Gary's name too. 

Next step---call my tech director, Megan.  She verified what I thought had happened.  When I put the app on my iPad, it had gone into my name and used the yahoo email address.  What to do now?

With her help I found the location where I could log out, then exit the app, return to the app, then log in again.  I logged in with our gmail account and password and guess what?  The greeting was "Hello, Gary."

Whew!

I checked my email and there was a notice that the book had been purchased to be delivered to Beth's iPad, but when I opened the Kindle app, it wasn't there.

That was strange because I had purchased a book by Joyce Meye which was a study of the book of Galatians and I had been reading it (and posting on here about that as well).  Hmmmm...

Further checking revealed that there was a note on my order that said the purchase was "Pending" whatever that means.  Megan said she had had some issues or delays with delivering books to her iPad as well, so maybe that is something that is happening now.  I don't know.

But I do know that the laptop, the iPad, and myphone are all on the same account again.  I can order something now and there will be no delivery fees.

This also explains why I was ordered some things earlier and was frustrated because delivery fees were popping up and I didn't think they should be there. I was using an account that didn't have our Amazon Prime attached to it.

Technology.  Great when it works.  Mind-boggling when it doesn't/

Hidden Potential Chapter 3

I haven't said much about the Proverbs 31 OBS.  It started three weeks ago, and I was behind.  

It sounded like a good study, so of course I registered and ordered the book which arrived promptly.

Then it was summer.  I was trying to keep up with outside things, projects that I wanted to complete, things I wanted to spruce up since both of us were able to do these things.  The kids were here often.  We were eating meals in the Party Barn.  There just didn't seem to be the time or the motivation to start the study.

But isn't that what the Devil wants?  For us to be so consumed with other things that reading the Bible, praying, or participating in an OBS can easily be pushed aside?

Last week I started the introduction and the first chapter.  I was amazed that Jim's sermon on that Sunday followed the same topic: the various names we call God.  I learned a couple of things I didn't know before from two sources.    Did you know that sometimes Lord is spelled with a cap and lower case letters, and sometimes it is spelled in small caps, which I can't do here but there would be a capital L and the ORD would also be caps but smaller sized.  There is a different in meaning too.  I didn't, but I won't forget because I heard it from Jim and I read it in Wendy Pope's book!

The second chapter I finished yesterday.  The focus was failure.  Failure at a task is not the same as BEING a failure.  Throughout the chapter guess who came to mind often?  Mom, of course.  How many times did I have to listed to the entire list of things I had done wrong or all of my failures every time she wanted to 'put me in my place"?  She tried to make my failures define who I was and who I would be.  Unfortunately she didn't realize that our failures don't define us, that God uses them for our own growth, and that he moves on from them as we should do also.  One that I used as an example when discussing this chapter with Rhonda was preparing a lesson for my students.  I taught several sections of the same class and at the high school, the ability levels were different.  I guess the ability levels in the college classes were different too...since the night classes seemed to be more of a 'working during the day' people.  Anyway, I could spend SO much time preparing a great lesson, present to one class and feel really good about the effects of that lesson, then teach it to another class and it would flop big time.  Why?  Different kids.  Different time of day.  Different learning styles.  You know me...I would focus on the one that flopped rather than the one that was successful.  Finally I realized that I had to adapt to the different learning styles of the students.  For instance the Honors class, usually college bound kids, were more focused and more academic.  The group that came in after lunch (always a bad time to focus on literature) was usually coming back from vocational classes also and they needed to be motivated in a different way.  That failure really turned into a difference in the way I taught...and for the better.

Now on to this week.  The focus?  Fear.  Oh boy.....fear.  That is me all over.  I am so scared of so many things right now.  I could write and write and write about all of it and this blog post would be SO long.  Guess what?  I won't.

What I will say is that immediate fear is natural.  Turning fear into faith is a major act that needs my focus.  God can see us through everything if we let Him do so.  There is power in prayer, in reading the Bible, and in trusting Him.   God will never let me down.  He will always be with me.  I need to trust him and turn my fear into faith.

I am a work in progress.  I slip back into my old habits easily.  But I am trying.  I really am.

And hopefully this study will alleviate my fear of everything.  

Year #3

On June 25 we started Year #3.

It was on June 25, 2018 that we signed the papers to buy this house, barns, and property.  We came here that evening, unlocked the door, and started the adventure in our new house.

Through the remainder of June and into July, we painted rooms.  We ripped out carpet.  New carpet was installed.  Remaining carpets were cleaned.  Megan's old bed was moved into the spare room so we would have a place to sleep (and not bother the girls anymore by staying at their houses) and we lived out of suitcases.

A new stove and a new dryer were delivered.  Gary and Blaine picked up two new islands for the kitchen.  We ordered a custom built cabinet for our kitchen pantry.  New furniture was delivered for the living room.

Finally on July 28 the BIG MOVING DAY arrived and Matt and some of his baseball players, Caleb, Amanda, Clay, and others helped us move everything out of the house on 550S where we had lived for 42 years, where we had made a house into our home beginning on our wedding day in 1976, where we had brought both of our daughters home from the hospital.  There was quite a caravan of vehicles pulling out of the drive, heading west on the Pulaski Blacktop, then south on 700W, through White County to 39 and south to Carroll then Tippecanoe County, turning in at the lane just outside of Colburn.

For the last two years I have said often, several times a week, if not a few times each day, how much I like living here.  I mention it when we leave Lafayette for the drive home, and it is only 15 minutes, not over an hour.

I mention it each time we run over to Hilary's house to drop off Landon after cookie baking or to pick up Owen and bring him to our house while they take the big kids on some errands.

I mention it when we drive to Megan's house to pick up Cooper and Lynnlee for the day or to take them a pan of cinnamon rolls.

The topic comes up when I step out of the shower, dry my hair, dress, and make the bed, all before I even walk down the steps to the living room or kitchen.

I think of it when I take the dry clothes off the hangers in the laundry room and am thankful they are not hanging from the shadowbox in the living room.

It was so nice yesterday to walk into the air-conditioned house from the heat of  the outdoors.

As we celebrated the 4th yesterday there was plenty of room to enjoy a noon meal in the Party Barn where tables were set up for dining.  We sat under the shade of the many trees in the afternoon watching the kids play with the hose, the water balloons, and the wading pool, filled with a hose and the water pressure didn't disappear.

There was conversation in the gazebo, sitting on the deck, and we could have enjoyed the wicker chairs on the front porch if so desired.

But I realized this morning as Hilary and I sat at the dining room table, enjoying the leftovers from yesterday's lunch, that it was time to stop.  Stop comparing.  Stop mentioning how happy I was that we had moved.

We live here now. "Back home" is just that.  It is back there. We left it behind.  We aren't going back.  We don't want to return.  There is nothing really there for us anymore.

Friends who want to remain friends will do so.  We know who our friends are by how much contact we have had with them in the past two years.

As we begin Year #3, it will be different.  We are here now.  We belong here.  We are both happy that we moved. We feel comfortable here.  It no longer feels like we are living in someone else's house like it did for several months.  It is our place. We live here.

So...as we move into Year #3 it will look different. It will be different.  It is home.

And I am happy we moved.