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always full of Thanksgiving. 

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 I always look forward to Birthday Month!

     Joyce and I have been looking at wedding dress ideas - mom's dream come true!  hopefully I will get to be the one to create it. 

     on the first day of the month, at work they hold an annual car show made up of employees' unique cars.  there was also a band, and some lawn games.  a pink golf cart showed up to give us all free ice cream!   

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Fall is just around the corner 

     and we have a new product in the garden ... a watermelon!  over time nine have emerged! 

     I'm not the only one enjoying the gardenias. 

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finally plans are set! 

     I know I said may-be back in May ... well, all things happen in good time.  Joyce's daycare situation changes in August, so I'm going to go be a grand-baby-sitter for part of my sabbatical from work!  that's right, two super things in one month!  my sabbatical starts mid-month, so I can rest and gather strength LOL, then the last week of the month we fly northeast to see our kid, kid-in-law, and GRAND kid  :-D  I haven't been able to stop smiling. 

     they took him on his first rally, and Nan'Ana decided he needed a helmet ... so she made him one! 

     I noticed a singing opportunity publicized on FB, a chance to sing barbershop with an all-female choir!  the ladies were all so welcoming from the beginning.  they tested me and decided I'd make a great bass ... our color is purple!  meant to be!!

     The garden is being blitzed by heat but a few of the plants seem to love it.

  

  

  

  

     the second weekend of the month was another Support Group lunch at a local Mexican restaurant, where I enjoyed the company as well as the Mole Chicken Enchilada.   

     after a couple of rehearsals with the barbershop ladies I realized that the volume of fragrances in our group was going to be a problem.  they were "of a certain age" and there would be no getting them to stop using them, even though that was a group rule.  sigh!  

     I resumed getting my hair styling at the local styling school, now that my chemo curls had calmed.  my stylist is named Anabel and we hit it off like gangbusters!  

     went to see a couple shows the third weekend of the month.  first I went to see my P&P director in Tarzan Jr.  the next afternoon I went to see the hilarious Young Frankenstein.  both of these productions were at local theaters within a few miles of home.   not sure why, but that evening I broke out in hives, and had to convince my GP to prescribe over the phone a prednisone prescription ... she did.  that's the benefit of having the same medical corporation for decades. 

     before our trip, we had dinner with Stephany & Jim at a local seafood restaurant, and caught up on all our health issues.  of course I shared my Grandma's Brag Book with them so they could see the cuteness of Finn.

Sabbatical Trip

     Craig used the last of his miles to book us in first class.  we flew out early enough that we would land in SoDak just before dinner.  it was a gorgeous day as we flew over the American River and surrounding crops.  we had a delicious breakfast and splurged on Baileys & Coffee. 

     we had a little over an hour layover in Denver, then landed in RapCity and picked up the rental car.  Craig liked the sound of the restaurant I went to before, so we visited the DD&D ramen spot and got the appetizer of sweet chili peanut cucumbers and scallions; Craig had the bison ramen bowl and I had the Oku Bun.  just as delicious as last time. 

 

     we drove to the town of Keystone and checked in at the charming antique hotel Roosevelt Inn.  Mount Rushmore is only two miles away, so a perfect location! 

Day 1

       our hotel is named after the first Roosevelt.  they had a cardboard cutout for selfie poses.  besides the quote on the elevator doors, there were many more of his quotes scattered around the halls.  across from the front porch is an adventure park where you can ride a zip line. 

 

     we spent the day with Joyce, first having brunch with her, Finn and her in-laws Ryan and Londa. Finn fell asleep in my arms within the first hour of meeting him <3  then we went back to the house so Joyce could work and I got to babysit!  we took a bunch of pictures so Stephany had a "namesake" photo.  in reading up on activities, we saw that there was an illumination ceremony at Mount Rushmore, so we went to dinner at the park, then stayed for the evening event. 

day 2

     Joyce said she didn't need us Tuesday, so we spent the day sight-seeing.  

Day 3

     we

Day 4

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Day 5

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heading home

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