…..how quiet it was here because my dog is at summer camp at the Lake.
…..how hard it was to decide what to do with the landscaping in the backyard of the lake house.
…..how hard it was to choose a restaurant to eat lunch at when I’m in New York City.

But then Dan called me first thing this morning and
told
me
there
had
been
a car accident last night
and
the
daughter
of our General Manager
was
in
the
car
and she had passed away
and
she
was
only
sixteen.

And suddenly I felt foolish and sad and helpless.
What does it FEEL like to get THAT PHONE CALL?
The one from the Police, or the Hospital, or the Priest?

and taken up residence at TheHouseAtTheLake for the summer.

My dad will arrive soon and I’ll have so many honey-doos for them they’ll be BEGGING to go back to Florida!!!

My dream of having a walkway of peonies is almost a reality…except for the rain. This year, we bought some peony holder-uppers and they are kind-of working. I only wish peonies lasted all summer………

On another note…
GRADES have been received and BOTH our kids IMPROVED and did a GREAT JOB!

Hooray, Hooray, Hooray, Hooray, MeganAndMatt got good grades.

(sing this to a tune from the old Sharon, Lois and Bram Elephant Show and do a little dance!)

Mary Morrison is my mother’s oldest friend, and also MY friend, and she reads my blog!
I remember her as SO interesting, SO musical, and SO nice. She was a music teacher in Carroll…but never at the school I attended. I was SO jealous, because when my school visited her school and we did a little music show for each other, THEIR show was so wonderful, creative and fabulous. My school was deflated when we performed. Our music teacher was a very old man….who didn’t care anymore.

She let me babysit her beautiful daughter and we had lots of fun. And she did the music for our wedding. It was MORE than beautiful. Thanks for being so supportive of me!!!

******************************************************************************************************

We had a bit of a scare these past days with Scout. She has been LISTLESS…..laying around…NOT chasing her ball……not eating…….not Scout-Like.
My mom was petting her and said that her ears were hot.
She was NOT gettting better.

I called the vet here at the Lake and they got me in within an hour. The vet here even called and got her records from our Blair Vet. We went through the history….
1. Found a Tick on her neck about two weeks ago.
2. She stopped eating.
3. Went for a loooong walk on Monday evening and seemed very stiff the days following.
4. Fever.

After some blood tests, two diagnoses…..Leukemia or Lyme’s Disease.
The vet gave her two shots….tylenol and an antibiotic.

She was better by dinner.
And Today, she’s bouncing off the walls!
She is taking people’s antibiotics….amoxacillin…..and will be on it for a month. We got the pills at the HyVee…and Scout Hunt now has her own record at that pharmacy! I even had to sign a HIPA form for her. (that’s government work for ya!)

We get her blood test results by Tuesday, but I think the Vet was right on. Lyme’s disease.

All
from
one
tick!

the
start
of
Lake
Season!!!

Two big goals for this season. The first, I have almost done. LAST year, I never put my feet in the water!!! I don’t know why. So, I did that already. Maybe I’ll get IN this year.
AND
I’m gonna ride the Roller Coaster this season!!!!!

PS. Our own Deb Bass from Bass and Associates received the Omaha Chamber’s Women in Leadership award and a story about her and the company was featured on the front page of the Omaha World Herald Sunday Business Section.
We’re pretty darn proud OF her and proud to KNOW her.
Way to go, Deb!!!

Groundbreaking party for the new hospital on this perfect Blair evening. Beautiful setting and some great speakers, including Dr. Bagby who said…
This
Is
It!

So much has changed in medicine in the last 50 years. Back in the day, when they built the first hospital, they made food from the fruit trees in the back yard of the facility. My friend Patty says you can’t have a good community without a great hospital and school. She’s right.

Here’s to the next generation of babies born here and their mothers who get to rest in RoomNumberOne. And the souls who will die here, after a lifetime of care by some wonderful nurses and doctors and staff. And the families who will grow up here, under the care of a new generation of doctors, who will use new equipment to diagnose and treat diseases.

But one thing will remain the same.
If you get a COLD, it will either take a week to get better without medicine or 7 days if you take medicine.