After the Holidays...

It is the morning of Dec 28th - christmas is past, Maureen is now officially 60 (it was her birthday yesterday) and we are starting to recover some semblence of normal...Dad is still having a hard time as one would expect - but there are days when you can see the 'old Clayton' in his eyes and words.  Hoping that we can start getting it to be more often.  We brought him out to Jim's on Christmas day - but it became a bit too much for him so we took him back early.  He enjoyed the pie though - that I can guarentee.  We got a picture of him with Jim and I.  By then though, all he wanted to do was go home - not take pictures - so we cut that short this year.

Karen arrived in Michigan on the 21st and it has been full on ever since.  The one thing she hasn't seen is the new motor home as we took it in for some warranty service the day before she got here and it isn't back as of yet.  I am hoping that it gets here soon - or she will begin to think that there isn't really a motorhome at all - and that it was all a joke. I have seen it - driven it - so I know that Jim and Maur actually bought one - didn't just pocket the money (not that Maur would - its just Jim you can't be too sure about).  Now I just have to get it back so that Karen can see it too.  I did show her the spot on the driveway where it stood during the snow storm - so she knows something quite large was there...

Abby (Sam's dog) had puppies the day after Mom passed.  Seems that with endings comes beginnings.  They are lovely things - 3 in total - and still being quite good.  Not getting into anything as of yet.  Karen and I have decided that if we can manage it and can get them back into the UK without going through quarentine - we will take one.  Now we just have to wait till they are weened so that we can take one in the motorhome with us...I will post pictures of them in the next few days - they are cute.

In memory of Jennie Howell - Aug 2nd, 1921 to Dec 15th, 2010

I lost my mother yesterday.  She was so tired and wanted to go - but she waited.  For the past 8 months I have lived with the knowledge that she was failing and that if she were to go - there was nothing that I could do.  I couldn't travel, be with her or Dad or with others as we celebrated her life.  She knew that - so she waited - waited until I could get there, waited until she was sure that we would all be there for Dad, waited until everyone was ready.    I thank her for that. 

She lived for 89 years - the last 14 were a bonus - due to her tenacity and determination as well as Dad's extraordinary care for her.  We were suppose to lose her in 1996 - the family had gathered around her and the Bishop came and gave her the last rights.  Instead - she recovered and started looking at life as a bonus.  She enjoyed small things, took life on a day to day basis and loved her family. 

In late Nov, she was doing well, having a day sharing memories with my sister-in-law, Maureen.  She was having some trouble remembering things that had gone before and Maur was helping her, reminding her of funny times, loving times and even sad times.  At some point - she told Maur she couldn't remember what she looked like - so Maureen took her picture to remind her - and here it is.  She probably wouldn't be too happy that I am sharing it (perhaps not her best picture) with the world on the Internet - but I think it is a wonderful picture - one of her best.  When you get past the wrinkles - it is the smile I remember and I thank Maur for having taken it. 

So I will miss you Mom, love you always and am so very glad that I had the chance to know you these past 58 years...

Settling in...

Here I am in Michigan now.  Arrived here Wed. night - stopping by my cousin's Sharon's home on the way to Jim and Maur's.  Sharon had been baking cookies most of the day with a friend - and she wanted me to take some up to Dad - so I needed to pick them up, see her and generally relax from the trip up.

On Thursday, I finally got to see Mom and Dad after a year away.  Mom is still in the ICU at St Mary's Hospital in Saginaw.  She is on the ventilator, under some sedation, and not really aware of anyone when they are visiting.  Dad is doing OK although he definitely is missing Mom a lot.  When I arrived in his room, he was really pleased to see me, but a bit shocked at how short I have taken to wearing my hair lately.  I explained that it is in the process of growing and I am sure that it will eventually get back to a more normal length, but in the meantime - he just needs to appreciate my 'Judy Dench' look. 

Karen stayed back in Hilton Head for the next 10 days to try and finish up some of the things that we wanted to get done prior to the next rental season.  Smart move on her part as the snow came in droves on Thursday making driving quite hazardous.  Took me a bit of time to get use to Michigan winter driving again.  Ran a couple of stop lights when I couldn't get the car to stop just to prove it.  Nothing more fun than watching your car careen into an intersection - blowing your horn all the time trying to get all cross traffic to stop for you - being optimistic that they are any more capable of stopping than you are...Fortunately - it did work out and I managed to make it around - see everyone and still get home in one piece.

So now - I will settle in for the next 6 weeks or so - driving Jim and Maur crazy - getting the motor home ready for the big trip.  I don't have my camera here - so I will try and borrow someones, and download a picture or two of the travelling mega home in the next couple of days.  In the meantime you will all just have to take my word for it - it will be big enough for us...

Here we go...................

I am embarking on blogging again - this time to maintain a record of our time travelling across the USA in our 'new' (used!!!) Motor home. I was going to affectionately name it Tara in honor of the Motor home we used in Australia in 2007 - but decided since I haven't seen it yet and only Jim and Maur have had any experience with it - I would wait to name it till I get to Michigan and get the feel for it.

As for this trip - we have already had quite a few adventures even though we have only been 'officially' on the road since Tuesday afternoon...Scotland has been blanketed with some severe weather over the past few weeks - Edinburgh airport was closed last week as well as Monday of this week - the train service between Dundee and Edinburgh had been cancelled and generally it looked like someone or something was desperately trying to put enough road blocks in our way to prevent us from leaving. But - we had a Sir Galahad in our corner under the guise of our neighbour Brian who volunteered to challenge the road closures and took us down to Edinburgh where we had booked into a hotel for the evening before the flight. Good thing too as we would never have made it the next morning for a 9am flight with all of the luggage that we had decided to take.

One strange but true point I want to make about luggage...no matter what the weight of the bag in your home - by the time it arrives at the airport and is about to be checked in - it is always 1 to 2 kg over weight - even though you had plenty of spare weight when you last checked. I think the problem is that when you weight it and see that you are under by 4 to 5 kg - you remember just 1 or 2 things that you really wanted to take and WHAM - it is over before your know it...

We had dinner with Karen's Auntie Liz in Edinburgh on Tuesday night and that is when some things started to go just oh so slightly wrong. Karen ordered pate that while not smooth - wasn't that rough either and somehow managed to split a tooth. She immediately recognised that it was going to be a problem - but had no idea how big of one - (more on that later). In the morning we somehow got all of the bags to the airport and onto the flight with what turned out to be minimal hassle...The flight was uneventful - actually quite pleasant as we had an extra seat in our row that allowed us to spread out a bit. Got into Newark - and fairly quickly got to our connecting flight to Savannah. The tooth bothered Karen somewhat - but she was fairly stoic about it and I can only appreciate what that must have been like. By the time we got to Savannah - what would have been so easy 5 years ago seemed like a trip to the moon today. Couldn't believe how tired it made us - me in particular. But we got here and by Thursday morning - all the memories of the trip were only good and the view from the deck still as amazing as ever. Saw dolphins right away - plenty of pelicans fishing and it just brought a calmness over me like it always does. In fact - I took a picture of the view and have loaded it for all to share...

We caught up with some friends - Felice and Lucy dropped by - and Karen decided to try and deal with the tooth issue before it got worse. Somehow (God only knows how) Karen managed to find a dentist who said if she could get into the office in the next 15 minutes (it was 2:30pm by then) - he could take a look. She did and he dropped the bombshell that she was going to need a crown with post - along with a root canal - and proceeded to handle it there and then - all the time with me waiting in the car. 2 1/2 hours later - out she comes - definitely worse for wear and a lot poorer - with a prescription for pain medication and an appointment in 6 months to finish the work once she is back in Hilton Head. How's that for a start to a 6 month adventure...

So - we are back to square 1 - ready to begin. I have already had to change my plans and am now going to Michigan earlier than planned. I will be leaving here tomorrow for Michigan and Karen will remain in Hilton Head till the 21st of Dec. when she will join me. That way - we will get things done here that we were planning and I will get a chance to see Mom and Dad a bit earlier. So - keep tuned to this space and we will try and keep all updated as to what is happening...