Windows with a view

The reason we don't have money this year for a fence in Tennessee is because we are having all new windows and external doors installed in our house in Germany. This is VERY EXPENSIVE. But, the old windows were metal (steel), big, clunky, ugly and some were starting to rust, which was causing damage to the walls. So, out, out damned spotty windows! Out with the old and in with beautiful, new white windows that are transforming the whole look and feel of the house. The job isn't done yet (four more windows and the front door to go), and the finishing work remains, so stuff is piled everywhere out of the way. You can see some of the mess through the French doors in the final photo. We had to sleep in the guest room for a couple of nights, but have since uncovered our bed and are sleeping comfortably. The first thing we do each morning is raise the rolladens so we can see our lovely windows!

Summer Fun, Finally

Most of our vacation in the States was taken up with doctor's appointments and helping our son move, but we finally got away on a real vacation to Tennessee. We met up with our friend, Melody, her son Ivan and two of her grandsons at Dollywood where we had a funtastic day on the rides, watching a magic show and doing a little shopping. We especially enjoyed visiting with Ivan, a former student, and his two boys, ages 5 and 8 (I think). The park has several good roller coasters. We all about pooped in our panties on The Mystery Mine, which I'm glad I hadn't read up on, because the features of this ride came as quite a surprise.

We spent the next two days hiking around in Smokey Mountains National Park and walking in Gatlinburg. We also rode the kabinenbahn to Ober Gatlinburg. We also took a spin around the area where all the craftspeople have their shops and made enough purchases (a doll, a broom, some pottery, a basket, a table runner, etc. to fill a box to mail home). The weather was beautiful, warm, but not hot. We had a lovely cabin with a hot tub on the deck, a red heart-shaped jacuzzi and the most comfortable bed I've ever slept in. We got some well-deserved rest and relaxation before heading to Greenback, Tennessee and the home of our friends, Shirley and Heinz. We checked on our house in Maryville, did some minor repair work on the front steps (a couple of loose bricks) and cut back one plant which had aspirations of being Jack's beanstalk. It was aiming higher than Mother Nature meant for it to aim. I trimmed the sycamore tree, which was either suffering from a hard freeze or other cause. Hopefully, it will do better now. We also checked into fencing the yard, but discovered it would cost an arm and a leg, neither of which we have right now . . . but you'll read why in the next post. Here are Jim and Heinz horsing around at the Maryville library.

Independence Day Heart Attack

For the 4th of July holiday, we were invited to Arkansas to join other family members at my youngest brother, Jerry's home on top of Boston Mountain. After an extra long trek on Tuesday afternoon of the 3rd down HWY 13 with everyone else from Missouri due to the flooding which had closed all other southern routes (such as HWY 71), we pulled in just as the hamburgers were being put on the grill. Some of the cousins jumped in the pool. We chowed down and visited and talked about hiking down behind Artists Point to a waterfall, and maybe swimming in the lake or floating down a river on the 4th itself. Around midnight we soaked in the hot tub at the cabin we had rented with my sister and then hit the sack.

We woke the next morning to find that Jerry had finally allowed his wife Lisa to take him to the emergency room because the tightness in his chest, which he had been experiencing for six days was getting worse. He had collapsed at least twice while trying to get things ready for the family reunion, but had attributed the problem to indigestion and felt better after he rested. But it wasn't indigestion, he'd had a heart attack. He felt bad that we all ended up hanging around in the emergency room and later ICU waiting rooms instead of out doing all the fun things he had planned, but what's a family to do? Life trumps everything else. The cardiologist later confirmed Jerry had nearly complete blockage of the artery leading to the left ventricle of his heart. We still enjoyed visiting with our nieces and nephews and everyone, except Lisa went back to the house for supper, which I prepared. Then they watched TV, swam in the pool, and shot off the fireworks. Some traditions must be observed after all. Jerry was released from the hospital on Friday evening after being rotorootered (angioplasty) and having a stint put in place. He'll be taking it easy for a while whether he wants to or not.

On the way back to Kansas City, we stopped in Bella Vista, Arkansas, for a short visit with Jim's Aunt Sammy and Uncle Hawley. We had a wonderful lunch at their home, watched photos from Jim's cousin Linda's wedding, surveyed the yard and talked about the past and future. We always enjoy visiting with them, and are always impressed with their humor and resiliency.