Great Thursday Visit

So, I am taking today off as a vacation day so I can go out to Lake Orion and my Mother's summer cottage. I have not been there yet this summer, so one reason is guilt, but the main reason is my daughter Amy and her son Carl have flown in to celebrate (albeit a bit early) my Mother's 100 year birthday. Why? Because when Amy told her sister Melissa, (or as she prefers to be known in this Blog as M______) she would be flying in for Mom's birthday party in October, Melissa said, "That's dumb, then you have to share her with, like, 200 people. Come in now and you can get some one-on-one time with her at the cottage." So, that's the plan.

I might mention that it seems like I haven't seen Amy for seven years now (at the party at her Mom's house just before they moved to Minnesota). But, as she reminded me today, she did come to one of the Goerlich Family Christmas parties three years ago. Still, I know I haven't seen my grandson young Carl for seven years! Amy and I have had a turbulent relationship over the years (well, Melissa and I have had that too, but we both drink a lot and don't always remember it, lol!) so I am a little uneasy about this reunion.

I also volunteered to cook lunch, so when I got up at 6:30 AM, I immediately began prepping the food. I sliced (not minced) 10 cloves of garlic, chopped two big shallots and a big handful of fresh parsley for the entr�e, shrimp scampi over linguine. Then I peeled and deveined two pounds of shrimp. For the salad, I made Carla's creation of cherry tomatoes, halved, fresh mozzarella cut into bite-size pieces and a ton of chopped basil. I drizzled olive oil over all of it, with a little salt and fresh ground pepper and let it sit to get happy. Then I loaded the car with all my cooking tools, food, etc., and headed out. I stopped at Westborn and got a fresh loaf of Italian bread, a mixture of various olives and some dipping oil.

When I finally got there, I carried the stuff up to the back stairs landing, and then walked around to the front steps. Amy spotted me first, and jumped up and gave me a great big hug. She then immediately started a pot of her coffee (she has a special roast made and mailed to her). It was delicious, BTW.

Then I was reunited with young Carl. A little bit awkward, as I went to shake his hand (Goerlich-style) and he went to hug me. We settled on the hug. He's a lot taller and broader than I remembered and, as I was to see later in the day, a darn good fisherman!

In a little while, Dave and Melissa showed up (good to see them again). Later, my brother Joe and his wife Cathy, along with their grandkids Devon and Talia came, and then my niece Laura and her son Austin arrived.

There were also a parade of visiting nurses, etc., as my Mother has qualified for some new program in Oakland County.

So, we all visited, got caught up on everything and sat or stood for numerous photos (I hope somebody will remember to email me one or two of them - hint, hint!)

Then it was time to make lunch. My Mom sat on a chair and watched me cook. I will have to remember to print off the recipe and mail it with the blog, as she liked to read them. Lunch seemed to go over well, (at least, everyone was polite enough to say they liked it, lol!)

I was told by my brother, Amy, Melissa and Dave that my brother Carl had left strict instruction I should stay until he got there (he works in Pontiac and gets out around 3:30 PM) but, as I told them, I needed to beat rush hour traffic and Jake and Carla were supposed to come over at 6:00 PM, so I couldn't stay. I did leave Carl a pot of leftovers, though.

All in all, I have to say I had a wonderful time.

Left around 3:30 PM and, while I am sorry about missing my brother Carl (really), it's lucky I left when I did. I ran into heavy traffic on Square Lake Road, going towards Telegraph (I waited for the lights at Woodward to change three times before I got through) and moderate to heavy traffic all down Telegraph. I checked the odometer when I got home and round trip it was 68.3 miles or just over 34 miles one-way to Lake Orion, and it takes anywhere from an hour to an hour and a half to get there.

Just as I got in the door, the phone was ringing and it was Jake, canceling for tonight. So, I could have stayed and seen Carl! (Shhh... Don't tell him, please!) I don't know if it was all of the emotions of the day or the long, hard drive back home, but I was exhausted! So I changed into my workout shorts, climbed into bed with my book, read for a bit and then took a nap until 7:00 PM.

I ate the last hamburger and some chips for dinner, then proceeded to get the last stuff out of the downstairs, not necessarily sorted and put away, but just out in the garage... The last thing to go was my exercise machine. I guess I won't be working out for the next month or two (Oh, wait, come to think of it, I haven't worked out on it for the last two or three months!)

I moved the cat's food and water dishes into the office, and the kitty litter pan into the office closet (long, LONG time readers may remember I cut a little door in that closet door so Scruffy and Mouse could go into their own private bathroom). I swept the downstairs floor, then vacuumed it and then washed it with Mr. Clean. So, I am good to go with them moving in, I think!

So, now its 10:00 PM and I am quitting for the night. I did wake up during the night to a wonderful sound: Thunder and rain!!!