Hello Everyone! Greetings from Oregon and Washington. We are enjoying some great weather - free of tornadoes, thunderstorms and humidity! Ahhh...to be home again in the northwest. Lol!

Tasting Gooseberries for the first time! Now you see me smiling....

I had a wonderful visit! Thanks to everyone who rolled out the red carpet for me. Rose, Sue, Shirley, Margaret, Norm, Joe, Lisa, David, Lydia, Stephanie, Chris, Shelly and all the Larimore clan. (I hope I'm not forgetting anyone!) Even Jalen and Brayden helped me feel at home. I wanted to thank Aunt Rose especially for giving me such a generous opportunity to move freely about Missouri in her comfy car. I hate to admit how many miles I put on that vehicle, but having the benefit of her loaning it to me and helping me with my air fare made the price of gas affordable! I bought a map on my first morning there at the news stand in Clayton at Aunt Rose's recommendation and a coffee at Starbucks and was on my way! I feel like a true world traveler - savvy, experienced and now can say, "I'm from Missouri - Show Me!" (Not everyone can make that claim!)

I finally got my pictures and videos downloaded to the computer and will post a few of them. I enjoyed every minute of my trip! The highlight for me, honestly, was meeting and starting to get reacquainted with my cousins. I LOVED spending time with Sabrina and am still heartsick about the change of plans that made me cancel our lunch date! (Sorry Sabrina!) I got initiated by Randy by falling for one of his gags - I should have known. I caught a glimpse of Stephanie, Dan and Catrina at Nathan's wedding and regret that two weeks didn't afford me enough time to get caught up. I did have a nice phone conversation with Stephanie the day before the wedding and missed a phone to Catrina because time ran out...(Drat! I hated missing that, too!) I brought my Draw Four game to play with Catrina, but it didn't happen. I enjoyed meeting Robbie's sons and was savoring how they love their Peepa and Meema. Blessings to Nathan and Nichole as they start their life together.

The Bride - Nichole.

My few days at the Abbotts were so nice. I felt like I was at home at my folk's house. We went up to Winfield one day and then on up to the Mississippi river. It was interesting to me because I had never been to the Mississippi before but also since my job is a run-of-the-river operation, I was impressed to see the Corps of Engineers and the military, (Marines?) among volunteers working together to mitigate the flooding.

Uncle Norman's garden is impressive and I had quite a bit of work to do in mine since I got home. Thankfully, brother Glenn came by to help "fix" the sprinkler system while I was away. It wasn't really broken - it was working just the way I programmed it to. Too bad I didn't mean for it to run constantly - just once a day. Monica kept the lawn mowed and held down the fort so I came home to a pleasant homecoming. I have been pruning my tomatoes like Uncle Norm showed me, but mine are just now blooming so I won't see any tomatoes for a while.

At the edge of the Mighty Mississip!

I hated to say good-bye to the Abbotts on Father's Day, but was also looking forward to a few days at the lake with Aunt Sue and our much anticipated Turnbo Tour hosted by dear Uncle Joe! For those of you who might not know, we had this trip planned for last summer and were looking forward to having my Dad and Uncle Joe give the tour. Can you imagine how valuable and memorable that would have been? As it turned out plans changed and so this year was especially meaningful to me. Thank you Uncle Joe for being such a fun and gracious tour guide. I couldn't have loved anything more than spending that time with you all!

Uncle Norman and three sisters at the Lake of the Ozarks!

I learned about Marshfield, Route 66, "Dragging the Gut", Grammie's shop, Aunt Louise's house.(uh oh, now I'm forgetting - was it Louise who lived at the little white house where the four darling boys greeted us in their anti-chigger footwear?) I got to see the Cannin' Factory and the Springhouse firsthand. We hiked through briers and brush along with my Mom and Aunt Sue and picked ticks off each other and waded in Turnbo Creek by the falls. When the time came for us to head back into Marshfield, I couldn't have been more disappointed for our day to end. I had my Mom and Aunt Sue and Aunt Vivian, (Mom's sister) to keep me from feeling blue, but it makes me cry just thinking about it as I write this now. I am indebted to you!

At Grammie's house in Marshfield! (AKA draggin' the gut with Uncle Joe!)

Lisa was profound in her assessment of what things might have been if our Grandad hadn't have died so early. All the family were tough and none afraid of hard work. The land there is beautiful and rich - the heritage we hold is richer still. Aunt Rose reflected that our lives are held by a thread. I agree and would add that the thread that is woven through each our lives and holds us together is strong and valuable - I don't want to take it for granted.

Mom, Uncle Joe, Aunt Sue, Lisa, Lydia and David at the Marshfield Cemetery.

I then spent several days in Conway with my Mom, Aunt Vivian and cousins! We attended church at the Washington Christian Church where Uncle Oral is buried. Aunt Viv said she has been attending that church for over 50 years! I got to tour a dairy farm and meet almost all of my cousins on my Mom's side. The "girls' have an annual garage sale which is a good excuse to sit in lawn chairs and drink iced tea and visit all day long. They didn't have much traffic so exchanged "stuff" with each other. I came away with some of my cousin Terrie's bracelets. Nice. Aunt Viv is an avid Cardinals fan so several afternoons/evenings were spent paying attention to the game. We ate at the Rocking Chair which was good food and met after church on Sunday at my cousin Beverly's home for a big meal.

We visited the graveyards where my Grandma, Aunt and Uncle are buried and drove around the gorgeous countryside capturing the vision of times long ago when my mother was a girl growing up. We traveled Route 66 which used to be the main drag and is now the back road to Wal-Mart. I enjoyed the fire flies and the southern cooking and easy pace of a little town. I slept great each night and the heart of the land and the family there has enriched my life. Thanks Mom for sharing your "home" with me.

I guess I should cut my travelogue off right about here in lieu of boring you all to death! There is more I'd like to say about the warmth of all I met and how meaninful it was to me to be a part of your lives for a few days. I look forward to having some of you visit us up here. We have skiing, snowboarding, the ocean, the mountains, the desert, the Columbia River Gorge, Seattle, The San Juan islands, Canada - and yes, coffee and granola!! Who wouldn't want to come for a visit? The company of folks is also of the highest quality! Please, think about letting us return the favor!

See ya!