I think we have discovered what bitter sweet really means. Gordon and I love spending time at home with family and friends but it makes saying good-bye to return to our adventure the epitome of bitter sweet for us. I dragged my feet on departing, denying it was approaching . Amidst the watery eyes and sniffly nose, I hugged the kids and grandkids and vowed to return soon.
We had nearly three months of time to visit. We were able to spend some time with each of our children and a few of our friends and siblings. Jackson, 8 years old, and I spent some quality time reading from the book "The Magic Faraway Tree" written by an Australian author and a gift from our wonderful friends, Beth, Callum, Kathy, and Geoff of the S/V Glide. Owen, 3 years old, and I spent plenty of time enacting Star Wars with light sabers Nana bought for Jack and Owen from Target. Hannah, 17 months, and I played the game "You want me to go where? No, I'm going this way". This last game gets old pretty fast except Hannah gets such a cute smile and twinkle in her eye you have to laugh as you chase her. Gordon and I spent some quality time with our grand-pets as well. Chris and Niloo's kittens are quite playful, even if it takes a little time for Pambeh to warm up to you. Maloos on the other hand is likely to be at the door to greet you. Jincks, our son Gavin and fiancee Monica's dog, is a Korean Jindo. He is so smart and friendly as well as polite. He will sit and watch TV with you until you mention the word "walk". Scott, our oldest son, became a pet owner himself after visiting the Camarillo Animal Shelter. Ripley is a five year old black labrador mix and a sweetheart. We were worried about her at first because she developed pneumonia, probably from the shelter, and spent at least a couple of weeks on antibiotics. Afterward she was getting eye and ear drops for infections. She is now quite friendly and spry. Scott's working on obedience training with her. Chris, Niloo and Scott take hikes with Ripley and on one of these hikes we were included. It became evident that Ripley was a water dog when she bee-lined it for the water at the bottom of Rainbow Falls with Gordon in tow. Fortunately Gordon wasn't knocked off his feet, but he did get a little wet.
Monica and Gavin are getting married this August so we all have been working out the details. We met Monica's mother and father, Harriet and Mike for the first time in December. Our kids are all so blessed to have the greatest in-laws. We missed not getting together with Mahvash and Shoja this time , but we saw a picture of Mahvash with her new haircut and it definitely works. Niloo acts as our messenger since her family is so far away. We were lucky to see Kathleen and Bill a couple of times this trip. As usual we were treated to fantastic gourmet meals. When Kathleen, James, and Heather get together they surpass the repast of all the local restaurants.
We were able to get together with both of my sisters this trip, because both of them were willing to do some travelling. I wanted to visit them in Sonoma, but there just wasn't time. I checked in with my brother, Roger, by phone. There is never enough time to do everything.
Boating friends Doug and Andrea met with us for lunch in Newbury Park and we were able to get together with other boating buddies, Alison and Allan who have had to return to work (sorry, I know that's a bad word)
Gordon and I dutifully made our yearly dermatological and dental visits. The upsides of this is meeting with really wonderful people. Dr. Lisa Wolfe is a friend and an awesome dermatologist. Gordon left the office with a lot more frozen off lesions than I. Thank you, Lisa. Dr. Bryman fixed the front tooth I chipped in a fall on the Ile des Pins. Gordon temporarily fixed it after I fell but Dr Bryman permanently restored it. Thank you Mike. Gina and Lois cleaned and polished our teeth. Thank you hygienists. Though we unfortunately were unable to get together with Mike and Jan we were able to spend an evening out with Lois, Bill, Gina and Nancy. We met at Lois and Bill's beautiful abode and we all went to Meridians for dinner. I made a short trip to see friends at the hospital in the CRU where I loved working. Nancy and I were able to get together for coffee, but there were many friends Gordon and I were unable to meet this time. We will try to make contact with them this December.