Hot Grumpy Weekly Ramblings

My dad had abdominal aneurysm surgery last week and all is well! It's been a big cloud hanging over him for a couple of years so now he can plan things and hopefully will come to visit next year. On the same day as his surgery my mum fainted and got taken to hospital to get checked out. Heat stroke probably. Then my step-dad Tom got bitten by a dog a few weeks ago and is still having major issues with his toe. It happens in 3s! All are okay, thank God. It was a rough week though, worrying about them all.  Being 3,000 way from them is terrible and I miss them so much.

Jack and his buddy W
at Cub Scout Camp

The boys went to Cub Scout Camp last week and had a great week doing shooting, archery, creaking, fishing and a whole range of outdoorsy stuff.  Parents took turns chaperoning them and my day was Tuesday but it was so damn hot! It's been 90 degrees every day now for at least two weeks with no end in sight. The problem with this 90 degree heat is that there is NO WIND,  so you basically spend all your time outdoors sweating like a thoroughbred racehorse. While I don't particularly miss the mild rainy weather of northern England, on days like Tuesday I would happily have jumped in the teleporter had one existed.  And I have to say that while I adore Cub Scouts and everyone in our little dens, I really do, there are some weird ass people at camp. "Come gather, all of you with social awkwardness, lack of manners (errrrr, aren't they supposed to teach that?)  and a desire to wear your pants half-way up your chest!"  I'm going to hell.

Calamity has knocked on our door this week. The truck alternator packed up, we flooded the basement, broke the waste disposal unit, and I fell over backwards while mowing the lawn. Thankfully the lawn mower didn't end up on top of me, obviously, or I'd be typing this from the other side. Hopefully our little run of bad luck is over.

Dolly!

Erika & I went to see Dolly Parton at the Ohio State Fair! She was so good and sang all my favorites. She sat down and told stories of her hard upbringing and poor life in the Tennessee hills. She also played half a dozen instruments and poked fun at herself the whole time. I was stood next to a middle aged man who danced along with me while his teenage son rolled his eyes. Afterwards we ate funnel cake and tried to sober up for our Uber driver. Good times.

Getting ready to educate and pester
Leanne to death about Pokemon.

Leanne will be here two weeks today! I can't wait to see her. Got lots of things planned, too much probably. Daniel is already gearing up to have her play Pokemon with him. He's obsessed. It's always hard when someone comes over as you know they've spent a fortune to get here and you don't want them just sat in your house all day watching awful American television but too scared to leave the house in case they get shot. And now, in particular, it is not a good time to be in Ohio. As a swing state we are very important to both presidential candidates so we are swarmed by TV, radio and newspaper, and public conversations about the election. Sigh. I wish it was November the 9th already. I'm beginning to think that Trump could bring a live dog on stage and skin it and people would still vote for him. It's depressing.


It'll be the 1-year anniversary of Eric's death on 1st September and I'm already getting anxious about it. What can I do, to commemorate it? Shall I reach out to his sister or is that intrusive? Maybe sit on my porch with people who knew him and raise a Maker's Mark toast. God I miss him. He'd have loved our pop-up camper, and would have given me lots of advice how to pimp it up. He'd also have spent hours on our porch this summer, laughing with us and enjoying life. It's so unfair.

Well on that cheery note I shall sign off. I sound like a right grumpy pants don't I. Life is good and we're all happy. But It's nice sometimes to have a damn good moan.