Early Easter at Mark and Margots

Early in April, Mark and Margot invited us and Dan, along with her mom and dad and sister Megan and boyfriend Michael to an early Easter celebration in their new home. We had a lovely afternoon of bridge, followed by a great lamb dinner. Yum, yum!

Flowering Magnolia

The weather here the past week or so has been just lovely and warm and on the weekend we had 2 days of rain. Now our magnolia is blooming! This is the flower that our neighbors and friends gave to us in remembrance of Elaine. So it is very fitting that it blooms so very close to her birthday (April 29).

Off to England

Well, Dan is in England! We transported him and all his belongings (1 duffle bag, 1 backpack and 1 carry-on) to the airport last Monday night to catch the red-eye to Heathrow. It was hard for mom to see him go even though I am so happy for him but you girls will know what I am talking about. I will concentrate on the good side and now have a very good excuse to go abroad!
It was nice to have the family out for Easter. Gram has been here since Thursday and Mark and Margot came down on Saturday and picked up Erin on the way to come for the weekend as well. I think Gram enjoyed herself even thought she seems reluctant to be away from her home base for very long. We played lots of games of Scrabble and managed to play some bridge as well. Erin suffered through 2 games of Oh Hell and I think almost enjoyed it. The weather has been gorgeous (it will be 18 degrees today and sunny) and according to the weatherman will remain that way all week. Time for gardening!!
Now Friday and we have since received emails from Dan and a phone call. All is going well. He is in the process of finding suitable lodging. In the meantime, his firm is putting him up at a hotel very close to where he works. He begins work officially on Monday but has been over to meet everyone and for a tour of ongoing projects. He has a couple of appointments tomorrow to look at apartments and hopes to get that end of things buttoned up as soon as possible.
He finds that all the doors in England open OUT and has been caught every single time. Funny!
All for now.

Dan On His Way

Well, after many days of frustration, it seems that Dan is finally on his way to his new life in England. The last hurdle was obtaining a visa from the British High Commission and although it is yet to be delivered to his hands, it is apparently on its way. So it seems that in a week or so, he will be off. So exciting for him! Off to England with all his belongings in two duffle bags, a carry-on, his bike, and a laptop briefcase! We will sorely miss him but this is an opportunity that he feels he wants and needs to take advantage of. We are looking on the bright side that this will give us the excuse to travel abroad. We will keep you informed of his progress as it happens.