A Little Night Music and Other Diversions

Hi all -- Dianne here.  The closing for the little house has finally been scheduled for Monday, August 23 at 4:00!  Obviously the photo on the right is NOT  the little house.  You'll need to read the rest of the blog to learn why people are arriving at our friends' back yard with coolers, blankets, and chairs.


When the closing is finally over, we'll feel like two birds let out of a cage!!  As soon as we heard the news, we made reservations for Prophetstown State Park (one of our favorite Indiana parks) for ten days.   We'll still be in Indiana until Labor Day weekend, when we have reservations with friends at Patoka Lake.   Then we will finally hit the road for New Mexico and on to California.

In the meantime, we've been filling our days by taking advantage of the best parts of Pendleton.   Roger has been riding his bike, even in the heat.  We took full advantage of a few below-ninety-degree days by hiking and geocaching in nearby Falls Park.  We were delighted to learn there are 10 geocaches within walking distance of the little house!  We never did find the first one, and we were deterred by mosquitos and poison ivy from the next.  It was fun nonetheless, and we might try again slathered with bug spray. 

  Jasper and Chaplin were very happy to go with us; Chaplin especially liked the fact that there are no fire ants in Indiana, unlike his geocaching misfortunes in Texas.  We're happy to report that Chaplin has now made a full recovery; the mysterious growth on his side finally healed, he has regained all of his weight, and is his former happy self.  We changed their dog food to a holistic brand (Solid Gold); don't know if that played a role or not.  

Last night we enjoyed a special treat.  Our friends Jay and Nancy  are very active in supporting the Anderson, Indiana symphony orchestra.  For a fund raiser, they graciously offered their expansive, beautifully-landscaped yard for an evening concert by a few members of the orchestra.  Since we had "connections," we were able to take our chairs over early to claim a good spot right in front of the musicians.  We took our places with a bottle of Chianti and my favorite Tillamook mild cheddar cheese and Triscuits.  

The weather was perfect and the fund raiser was a huge success.   The back yard quickly filled with people bringing chairs, blankets, coolers, and picnics, ready to enjoy the balmy evening.  The music ranged from Bach, opera, violin duets from The Magic Flute, and a Benny Goodman clarinet version of San Antonio Rose.   For a time we felt we were back in Texas! 


 The concert ended with several Dixieland selections, with the finale a Basin Street rousing rendition of "When the Saints go Marching In."  Reminded us of our parade through the French Quarter at Jennifer Kensill's wedding!  (See the "wedding" category on the left if you missed that blog entry).

Our friends have the perfect setting for such an event.  Their yard has a beautiful tumbling water feature (their little grandsons enjoy feeding the fish).  Nancy has always had a green thumb, but most of us could only dream of a potting shed like hers!   We have shared plantings over many years and I learned almost everything I know about gardening and cooking from Nancy.   

It will be hard to say good-bye to our friends, but to soften the blow a bit they have made plans to meet us in California in November for a week of touring wineries and San Simeon.   Can't wait!  Even though we've had our fill of Indiana this summer, we're glad we were still here to enjoy this festive evening with dear friends.