Quickest Weekend in the History of Weekends!

It's hard to believe the weekend's over it's gone so quick! Music class, soccer game, play gym, library, and visits to local parks. It's no wonder I haven't got anything done in the house. But I did manage to ring my mum and wish her a Happy Mothers Day and I also got to tackle a bit of the smelly laundry mountain in my basement. I meant to ring and Skype at least 3 other people but it just flew by (sorry)! I also wanted to swing by my friend Eric's house to meet his new cat, Miss Butterfinger. What a fabulous name for a cat! Can't wait to see her & take her a bit of catnip.

Kevin, the blue Power Ranger, flexes his muscles in the back garden. And here's some pictures of our park visit this afternoon ...

Another great thing we did this weekend - We booked our summer holiday! A week in Michigan at a lovely campsite in the countryside. We are staying in a big cabin with a deck that looks out onto the river. I can't wait. We can canoe the local Pere Marquette river and go fishing (for salmon and trout!) and swimming. We can go for a homemade ice cream in the local historic town and most importantly we can take Cody. I had a nightmare finding a cabin that would allow us to take him and I got so frustrated at campsites listing themselves as pet friendly when they weren't, but there was no way I was leaving old yeller behind. I can't wait anyway. I really needed to get something booked so that I had something to look forward to and plan for.

One sad bit of news this weekend is that our elderly neighbour that has dementia got his car taken off him. Well, actually it's good news for us (and the rest of Ohio) but not good for him. The police came yesterday and towed it away. He got his license revoked about a month ago but the stubborn old bugger was still driving. Anyway, he must have hit something as his wing mirror is missing but he can't recall what he did. His daughter finally ratted him out and called the police and by sheer coincidence, as they came by he was pulling into his drive. Of course we were all hovering about like nosey neighbours while the tow truck took away his last little bit of independence. I feel really bad for him. He served in WW2 and was stationed at Burtonwood in Warrington, England. He was devoted to his wife, who he lost about 5 years ago, and now his mind is going. He's unbelievably active and healthy but was diagnosed with Alzheimer's about two years ago. The next step is to move in with his daughter (and reviled son-in-law), or maybe even assisted housing, which will crush him. When I had Danny, he came over for a visit and he brought his shoe box of WW2 photos to share with me over a cup of morning coffee. It was a lovely visit and he was so vibrant and lucid that it's hard to see him fall apart like this in such a short period of time.

What else? - well me and Jack picked up colds again this weekend. Barnacles! as Jack would say. My nose has been running so much that I have flame-red sore nostrils. Lovely. Poor Jack's throat is so raw that he sounds like a 50-year old soul singer. Danny and Craig are so far in the clear.

One last thing - I'm reading "Romancing Miss Bronte" by Juliet Gael and I'm loving it. Since I was a teenager I've had a fascination with The Brontes and Haworth (probably inherited from my sister who's obsessed with it all). It's a great read about Charlotte's family, the books and her romances. It's also a bit sad and so typical of anything you read from Britain's working class in the 1800s, where it seemed like everybody died of consumption by the time they were 30 but kept the stiff upper lip and carried on with no fuss. Makes me feel a bit ashamed for posting that I have a sniffle.