Hot And Humid In Virginia

Tampa Bound

A Spring Green Morning In Virginia

It's 7:20 and I have been up for an hour, a gray, overcast morning here in Bristow.  So different from Chautauqua because everything is in bloom, the trees full, now enclosing the Bissell's home in a wall of green, so different from winter time. It's 68º at the moment, the high will be in the mid 80's, with thunderstorms predicted for the next three days.

We left the lake as we hoped by 7:30 yesterday morning and had an easy, uneventful drive of seven hours.  It was overcast when we left, having rained overnight and our drive was through mostly cloudy skies, an occasional ray of sun would highlight a distant hill.  We know the drive by heart, so no need for maps or GPS though I did take a wrong turn once I got to Bristow...only god is perfect!
Lots of yards sales in the various towns we passed through, as well as flea markets where locals could bring their stuff to sell.  It was tempting to stop but more tschotske is the last thing we need.

Hayden, The Good Student

We hit Bristow at 2:40, stepped outside and almost wilted in the 85º heat, but Halle came charging out to give us a welcoming hug.  Nothing like granddaughters.  Drew was working in the yard, of course,  and Jill was off grocery shopping.  Hayden was up working on homework, but rushed downstairs when she realized we had arrived.  Both girls are great, happy and busy with school and their lives.

Making Salad With Halle And Jill

Jill was home soon after we arrived, so we all sat and relaxed in the living room, as it was too warm to sit outside despite the neat, new umbrella they just got, which hangs over all their porch furnitue, shielding it from the sun.  Jill had just read an article on 'tidying up,' not realizing that I had read and started implementing Marie Kondo's book.  Hayden and Halle got interested in Kondo's idea, so within an hour, Evie and Hayden had completely redone Hayden's drawers in the Kondo method and Hayden was really excited about it.  I guess there is 'life changing magic in tidying up.'

Grilling In Smoke And Rain

We were having burgers and a salad for dinner and as luck would have it, it began to pour just as Drew went outside to grill the burgers, a hard, pelting rain.  Fortunately, he had an umbrella and within ten minutes, we had our burgers and dinner.  After dinner, the girls wanted to watch a movie and we had been talking about Bill Murray, so we were able to find one of his older classics, WHAT ABOUT BOB.  All of the adults had seen it but not the girls.  It is a funny movie, worth seeing again I might add.  By 10:00, Drew was yawning as he gets up very early, and the rest of us were tired as well, so were in bed by 10:30

It's now 7:40 and Jill and Drew will be driving off to the airport in a half hour.  Drew is at huge Special Operations Conference in Tampa and Jill is tagging along for the fun of it.  And we get to take care of the girls until late Thursday when they return. And, Coco, the dog who I get to sleep with!