I'm back!

We took my brother, his wife, and their beautiful daughter Chelsea to the airport this morning about 7 a.m., and with great sadness, said good-bye to them. It was a wonderful visit. However, I was distressed to learn that when he had his heart attack a couple of years ago, it destroyed part of his heart. He does seem to be trying to get a handle on his diabetes (after having one episode of high blood sugar that went up to 480!), but he is greatly overweight and is having skin cancers removed. His wife, who used to have waist-length straight black hair, now colors and curls her reddish-blonde hair. She's no longer stick-thin, but she's still reasonably normal. Chelsea could be a fashion model, though she's a bit chubby through the middle, the way some girls are these days. (Tight jeans push up the muffin top middle!)

I've included a video clip of Curtis and maybe of Tina and Chelsea, too. It is one of four clips I took while they were here, so I don't remember everything that's on it. We took photos, but those are on my husband's camera at the moment. I'll have to get them downloaded to mine soon.

We took some minor trips (out to Lake Michigan, for example), but mostly, we sat and looked at photo albums, old yearbooks, and each other. Back and forth, we asked, "Do you remember when...?" and usually our memories were different, but not so different that we couldn't connect. Sixteen years is a long time not to see each other, and we vowed not to wait so long before we visited again. Of course, it wasn't like a scene out of The Waltons. Tina confessed to not liking me (or anyone else in the family) when she and Curtis were first married because she was jealous of us and thought we didn't think she was good enough for Curtis. However, we now are good friends. Today, in fact, is her birthday. We had a cake for her last night. She's trying to get me involved in her passion, quilting. I've got the interest, but sadly, not the time. Maybe next summer.... Right now, I've got to get caught up on the two online classes I'm doing. I ignored them while my guests were here.


The daybed and trundle arrangement worked out well. Chelsea seemed comfortable on the camp cot, except for the night when Simon decided he would join her, which scared her. Simon was very friendly with all of them after his initial "What have we here?" distress, and today he's been looking for them and calling for them plaintively. When Curtis called to say they had gotten home, I asked him if his two dogs were happy to see him. "Yep. And the kitty cat, too," he reported. He has a miniature dachsund and a chihuahua and a long-haired cat. One of the memories we shared was how he brought home strays all the time. All of us are animal lovers. I guess we have that in common, even if we have nothing else. But after this visit, I'm happy to report that we appear to have quite a bit in common.