My Uncle

Been away from the blog for a bit - lots going on in my life! Jason and I drove down to Miami, Florida to get him set up at college. After driving 3 days, I ended up getting terribly sick with the flu - complete with fever, chills, unbelievable pain and vomiting. I guess Jason has learned a thing or two at college, I'm pretty sure I'm not the only girl he's had throwing up in his room!! :)

He knew to double bad the Walmart bags and rubbed my back while throwing up! So I wasn't much help in getting his room cleaned and set up, but I tried, and managed to sit through orientation! I can't believe I was that close to Miami beach yet didn't get so much as a glimpse at the ocean or sand!

Today I agreed to do a small craft show, that I regretted saying yes to, but then tried to fulfill my obligation, only to find out that my uncle was found dead, more than likely having been dead since Wednesday and no one checked on him until today. So sad - he died likely on the day my mom died just 5 short months ago. At least they are together again! He had given me this poem over a year ago, wanting me to make sure it was read at his funeral:

Don't grieve for me, for now I'm free;

I'm following the path God laid for me.

I took His hand when I heard him call;

I turned my back and left it all.

I could not stay another day,

To laugh, to love, to work or play.

Tasks left undone must stay that way;

I found that place at the close of day.

If my parting has left a void,

Then fill it with remembered joy.

A friendship shared, a laugh, a kiss;

Ah yes, these things, I too, will miss.

Be not burdened with times of sorrow;

I wish you the sunshine of tomorrow.

My life's been full, I savored much;

Good friends, good times, a loved one's touch.

Perhaps my time seemed all too brief;

Don't lengthen it now with undue grief.

Life up your heart and share with me;

God wanted me now, He set me free.

My uncle, whom I lovingly referred to as my crazy uncle, was a one-man party - I sure hope his kids remember to play the chicken dance at his funeral! And that he is wearing his "emergency" Viagra ring I made for him, that he is proudly sporting in one of the above pictures. He never met a stranger or a bottle he didn't like, he loved to dance, and had more life left in him - I'm sure its much louder in heaven!!

Miami Heat

Jason and I drove down to Miami Florida over the weekend to get him settled into Florida International University. We took 2 1/2 days to make the drive, and had plenty of time to find the school and figure out where we were going for Monday's transfer student orientation. It was their largest group ever for orientation so it wasn't particularly well organized, and lasted WAY too long by the glass-eyed look of most of the audience. While the campus is nice, I was not too impressed with the condition of the dormitories (his room hadn't even been cleaned!), and there have been a series of frustrations that while individually would just be a minor thing, but have added up to be one bad impression! On top of that, the 101 degrees and 1000% humidity and sub-zero air conditioning temps, I've been terribly sick, complete with 102 temp, vomiting, coughing and losing my voice. I've tried to force myself to do the important things with jason, but the rest of the time I have laid in his bed and wished for a quick death. We've cleaned his room, purchased all the necessities and tomorrow I head home, leaving behind a young man with a bright future, but that in my heart is still my baby!!

Life is good

Yesterday we held a "gathering of the Lemons" party to celebrate all the summer birthdays and to wish Jason off to a good start in Florida. It was so much fun playing with all the kids, sharing good food and kitchen talk with the "women folk"! I especially enjoyed blowing bubbles with the kids, something Noel's mom used to love to do and as bubbles lifted off to the sky, I hope they were carrying messages to her of how much she is missed.

I made a really pretty new necklace I call "A Rainy Night in Paris" - its a 38" long sterling silver chain that has an Eiffel Tower on one end, and 3 briolettes of beautiful blue kyanite on the other, and it ties like a lariat, or can be doubled. I listed it on Etsy if you want to take a look - http://www.whenlifehandsulemons.etsy.com/

Tomorrow we are headed to Florida to deliver Jason to Florida International University. We will take a couple of days to drive, and then I will fly home on the 20th, after jason is all moved in and we've both been through our respective orientations, and hit the beach once or twice of course!

Longest yard sale

We did it again this year, followed the route of "The World's Longest Yard Sale" along 127. We started in southern Kentucky, near Lake Cumberland, and worked our way up, camping along the way. It was a lot of fun - its amazing how much "stuff" people have, and what they have the gull to try to "sell", because frankly a lot of things really should have been put in the trash heap years ago! There were some great antiques, a LOT of glass ware and baby stuff, some downright bizarre (skull for $35 anyone?), and it was fun digging for treasures. However, the treasures were few and far between, for me at least. I found some great stones, a few old pieces of jewelry, a lot of vases for my friend Wendy, clothes for Addy's kids, and my great buy was 5 sheets of un-cut paper dolls printed in Germany back in the 1800s! Don't know what I will do with them, but I just HAD to have them!

Frustration and Happiness

As I write this, I am currently caller number 17 in the cue with the financial aid office at Florida International. Jason is supposed to be in Florida on August 17th for orientation, and we've yet to find out if our Parent Loan has been approved, and he is yet to be assigned housing. Supposedly he is number 45 on the waiting list. How can they do business like that? Do they honestly expect us to drive all the way to Florida from Ohio not knowing these things? Their website is a JOKE and the loan processor website doesn't even acklowledge we have an account! Arghhhhh.

On top of that, Jason failed his "capstone" test for the 4th time, which means he does not officially have his associate degree. The capstone test is a test of all hospitality related classes over the past 2 years and is something put together by the American Hospitality Association. Now Jason has been on the Dean's List and has a 3.8 GPA - how can he be that good of a student and not be able to pass the final test???? Something doesn't add up to me, and of course 3 calls to the Dean and 1 call to the Vice President of the college still have had no responses in the last week. I'm ready to go off on somebody!!!

On the Happiness meter, Andrew arrived home from the Navy last night to much fanfare and friends waiting for him. These boys have all known each other since Tiger Cubs and I felt like the den mother whose babies have all come home! It was so great to see them all, and Andrew's sister, Addy, who is like a daughter to me, was here as well with her two children, so all was well with the world! Braden (with the alien antennae - beep beep) called me Nana instead of Anna, which cracked everyone up, and he called Noel PawPaw. Braden just turned 3. The 2nd photo is of Addy and Alayna, who is 4 months old, and then there is the picture of me with my "boys", who are now "men"!!

This photo is of a hair comb I made for one of Noel's co-workers that is getting married soon. Ah, finally someone is picking up the phone......wish them luck!