This is gonna be a long one

Since I haven't posted in forever I've got a lot of catching up to do. I decided some bullets would help me to separate things and help me be more concise (my sisters will appreciate that immensely). Here goes...

• A couple of weeks ago I got to spend an afternoon with some of my cousins on my mom's side of the family. The four girls that my mom's oldest sister had were in town from Dallas/Fort Worth, Colorado and Montana to see their dad in Salina and they all came to Ellinwood to see those of us who still live in Kansas (which is most of us). We spent the afternoon at my sister's house getting caught up on each other's lives and laughing over our childhood memories. There was also talk of our next reunion which will be two years from this month.
• I have been to Ellinwood several times this summer just to hang out or attend family functions. One of the trips was intended to participate somehow in the wheat harvests of both my brother-in-law and nephew and my uncle and cousin. Hours after I arrived, there was a torrential downpour and harvest was halted immediately. Neither operation started up cutting again until the day after I left to come back home. Wasn't meant to be, I guess. I think it was that same trip, I went to Caden's house (he's my great nephew in case you've forgotten) and stayed with him while his mom and dad went to see a movie ("Get Smart"). He slept through my visit and I listened to his breathing on the baby monitor, but I feel we still bonded. I played with Copper, the yellow lab, who stayed up late to make sure Andrew and Rachel got home safely and I vacated the premises. Apparently he doesn't like the way I play fetch.
• Met my friends Janette and Kathleen for one of our regularly scheduled girl's nights. We ate, we drank, we paid, we left. In between there was a lot of talking, but I'm not at liberty to discuss any of the topics in such a public forum.
• For the first time ever, I attended the quilt show at Century II. I met my friend Lori B. and her mother-in-law there and we looked at quilts and did some shopping at the vendor booths that were set up. It got me out of the house after a very rough week and I'm grateful to you, Lori, for calling and suggesting it.
  
• Book club was the last week of June at the home of Amy D. in Derby and I took my newly pedicured feet, a crockpot of my (now) famous cheese dip, a bag of tortilla chips, some longneck Bud Light Limes and carpooled with Suzanne, Tara and Deb. It was wonderful to see everyone. Two attendees I'd like to highlight are Jill who now lives in the Kansas City area and hasn't been to a meeting in ages and Kerri who is leaving us for the humidity of Houston. The food was wonderful and the company was even better. Unfortunately, there was another round of layoffs where I was formerly employed and some of the laid-off (welcome, Deb) were among us.
• I've been swimming with my friends who live on a lake out by Maize a couple of times. One of my new favorite things is floating on their lake watching Bella play in the sand or swim around me. One night when I was out there after Steve got home from work (work: what's that?) he grabbed his ski and we watched him get pulled behind the boat. Some of their neighbors did some trick skiing and others used the ski jump to delight us with their abilities.
  
• Joyce, one of my good college friends, lives in Colwich and I visited her and her family one afternoon. Her daughter, Gabrielle, had surgery in June to remove a bone cyst. She's had to be in a wheelchair for six weeks after the surgery, so it seemed easier for me to go to them. It was another afternoon spent chatting and getting caught up.
• Last week Terri and Zach came down for a visit. They were brought here and dropped off by my mom and niece Victoria on Wednesday. They spent one night and then my stick-in-the-mud brother, Mark, came down to get them on Thursday. I thought they were spending another night (so did Terri) but Mark didn't get that memo and they ended up going home even though I offered to buy him some new underwear. He told me to save my money. Zach is now walking on his own. He likes hiking his leg up quite high to get started and when I do that with him he laughs at me.
• With the quilt show as my catalyst and inspiration, I gathered up a project and went to Valley Center one afternoon and did some quilting with my friend, Sue, in her basement. We stitched and chatted and I am proud to say that the t-shirt quilt I started over five years ago is now finished! It's in the dryer as I type this and am planning on sleeping with it on my bed tonight. I'll take a picture and post it later. By the way, this is the first and only quilt I've made for myself. All the others I've made have been gifts.
  
• Went to see the movie "Wall-E" with Jennifer and Bella. It was good, but a little scary in some parts for three-year-old Bella.
  
• Attended a family reunion last Saturday in Lawrence. I hitched a ride with my dad's cousin, Carolyn, to save gas money. It was a good time seeing the descendants of my dad's maternal grandparents. I even squeezed in some time shopping (at a fabric store) on Massachusetts St. and dining at Free State Brewing Co. before the day was over and we headed back down the turnpike to Wichita.
• I've had lunch with lots of friends over the past month and a half: Linda, Heather, Christina, Melanie, Lori B. and Sue. I'm due for another round soon, ladies!

I know it sounds from this list as if I've just been running around a lot. To a certain degree, that's true. These are the kinds of things I wanted to do while I'm not working and I have the opportunity. It's important to me to reconnect with friends and spend some quality time with them and not just a fleeting telephone conversation here and there.

When not lunching or meeting with friends, I've had my nose in a book a good portion of the time. And that grass doesn't mow itself. I've got some beautiful flowers growing in my yard and in pots this year. I've been able to tend them so much more consistently with a pesky job to get in the way.

Do not despair, I've also been searching diligently for a job and have had a couple of interviews and sent out many resumes. I feel like I'm close to a job offer from one company, but I'll wait to hear so I don't jinx anything. So fingers and toes crossed, people!

On the agenda tomorrow: lunch with my friend Laurie and then a root canal. Aren't you jealous?