Hello from the Lake of the Ozarks. We need more family news from around the country. Please, please, send us more "Greenwood Items." And to our Blog Contributors, please post early and often.

Donald and Vita visited Pete and Janet this month. They went to Yellowstone and other places of interest. Pete and Janet's grandson, Eric, was very taken with Donald and told him he looks like Steve Martin. Janet, unfortunately, had to skip the travels because of her shoulder and back pain.

The Abbotts have been spending a lot of time at their lake lot with Sally and Don and Nancy. I have been at the Lake as much as possible, leaving only for doctor and dentist appointments. I saw my neurologist last week. He continues to be delighted with my progress and calls it nothing short of miracle.

Brother Joe continues his rehab alongside travels with his family. The family took in a show at Branson. I have been urging Joe to come here for a day or longer, but he can't fit it into his schedule yet.

Bernie and Maudie are preparing for their 55th anniversary celebration in October.

Rose is here at the Lake with Maddog and me. We've had a wonderful three days of play and some work. She traded her Lexus for Scott Kanter's pick-up truck for this trip to bring various things of mine from the Oakland House, the most important of which is my exercise cycle.

Shirley was too scheduled to make this trip and has sorely missed being here. She is awaiting word from her 'shoulder' doctor about surgery. That decision will most likely be made in very early September. She is doing intensive physical therapy but has reached a plateau in regaining use of her right arm, and she still has a lot of pain.

This coming weekend is going to be wonderful one here. Jana, John, and Ellie are coming from St. Louis. Debby, Joe, Sabrina, and children are coming from St. John, KS. I am looking forward to their visit.

Weekend before last Liz, Dave, Josh, Tommy, and two of their friends were here. I've known Liz for 27 years. We worked together at GMAC; she still works there although she says it is a far different place today. The four boys are college age and were great house guests. They took up the slack from Maddog who spent the weekend with friends. The trash can never got full, and the boat and waverunner tanks never got empty.

Mark Goldman and Scott Kanter are now settled into the Oakland House. They tell me they have great landlords.

Chris and Shelly's dog Tucker underwent surgery on his leg last Friday. He is doing well but will need lots of care in the coming weeks.

Mark and Drew have been backpacking in Colorado during their annual father-son week. They climbed a 14,000 footer and lived to tell me about it. Mark and Karen are planning a bike trip through the Napa Valley this fall.

Scott took Brayden and Jalen on a camping trip weekend before last, the first since the terrible scare when the tree fell on their tent last year. It didn't sound exactly like roughing it. Scott called to tell me the boys were in the tent with their DVD player and their video games after a day at the nearby waterpark. Not exactly camping like we did when Mark, Scott, and Chris were boys.

Stephanie now has a most interesting Blog: www.from-my-own-little-corner.blogspot.com Clearly Stephanie is someone who thinks deeply about the issues of our day. I recommend you give it a read.

Rose and Chris are putting together a Chris Comedy Sketch and will submit it to the Apple ipod site. We'll let you know more about it when it is available online.