Fine Trip - Part 6

Hi All,
1 July 2010, Thursday

This past week has been where I've finally gotten my feet back on the ground and began making headway on the massive amount of work which accumulated for me while I was gone. Ahhh -I wish I was back on vacation - or better yet - retired - but that will have to wait for 4 more years.
Having my neighbor Chris over for dinner tonight as his wife Suzanna and son Tavi have left for the summer , going to her home country of Finland for 6 weeks then to London where she and Chris will meet for a holiday visiting with his family and friends. Menu is burgers on the grill, carrot and cabbage casserole (first time I've made it) and a garden salad.
I left off on the last blog on the eve of the deck party.

11 June, Friday
Hot and steamy - wondering if the weather will force us to the front porch - do-able but tight.
We plan for the rear deck and Christine and I set up. Dave and Ann had brought their furniture up the day before. Christine takes the inside set up, I the outside. Roger and friend Tim arrive at noon with the two 1/6 kegs of New Albanian Brewery beer we had selected earlier in the week. It gets set up and naturally needed sampling to ensure all is right with the world. Roger and Tim hang for about an hour but they need to be off as Roger needs to get down to the New Albany waterfront park and set up for the Irish Fest where his product will be featured.
The menu for the party is Hot and Sweet Italian sausages, Brats, grilled onions and peppers. Christine has some dream potatoes and all other menu items will come from the invitees. (as always there is too much food) to prove that point, Cindy Himburg is found on the couch suffering from the effects over eating - I almost had to have her move over as I too enjoyed the feast.
I start up the grill and get the sausages/brats slow roasting and the peppers cooked on the side burner. As the day progresses, the weather has been HOT and steamy - but the chance of rain has dropped and we are now confident that we won't be chased off the deck.

I need to backtrack to Monday when I decided to install the sun shade sails on the deck. I have an elaborate cable and caribiner system to hang them between the house and the trees on the back of the yard. Dave and I get them all laid out, Ann and Christine make themselves scarce, and Dave and I go to work getting them installed. We have 4 sun shade sails, 6 cables, 5 attachment points on the house 5 trees and a slew of carbiners and turnbuckles. Had the owner of said contraption had taken the time to diagram out the set up (which was different from the first years' set up), this would have been an "easy" install. As time advanced and the various combinations failed, the study breaks became more frequent until finally it was too dark for Dave and I to continue. Naturally Ann and Christine were supportive of our efforts taking every opportunity to question our resolve, snickering at the appropriate times and flat out laughing at us at others, Dave and I ended the evening enjoying the the good natured kidding and the cold beer from the cooler. However I did notice that Dave joined in with the girls and started to make side comments on my lack of foresight.! ! We left the sun sails in place and decided to give it a go the next day where I immediately conceded defeat, rolled them all back up and returned them to their place on the shelf where they will stay until we return and the mystery of the one and only installation combination can be solved. Christine, Ann and Dave's snickering is still ringing in my ears!

Back to the party. I had set the start time to be 5 but knew full well that for the most part , it really wouldn't get started to about 7p. Which was just about right. It was wonderful to see friends from the hospital and neighborhood. My sister Ann and her steady Smitty showed up mid afternoon (following a flat tire in Sellerburg) and also helped get the house set up. Smitty is a college boyfriend of Ann's and they have reunited - and I'm all for it as he's a great guy. Naturally the chosen family arrived and everyone got set up for the evenings festivities . Dave played the guitar and Tom brought his electronic drum kit. After a failed attempt to amplify Dave's acoustic guitar, he returned to the natural sound and we turned Tom's kit down accordingly. - fine music then emanated . John Gage showed shortly later and after eating he gave a sparkling solo performance and then was joined by Dave. I was to have played harmonica - however , my tone deaf ears, the one too many beers and stage fright plus the obvious "Please Don't" look in the faces of the crowd kept me wise beyond my years and off the harmonic accomplishment. (although when all were gone that evening, Dave and I played for Christine, Ann, Ann and Smitty). Cindy brought her fiddle - but she too chickened out. Maybe next time Cindy.
The evening wound down and as the departures progressed, I knew it would be the last time I would be seeing some of these people for at least another 15 months as my next planned return is Sept. 2011 for Beer Fest. It was bittersweet. (I know all are expecting me to return this year however, I've used up my allotted "in country" time of 30 days. Any more and the tax breaks go away- and that 's not going to happen)
So the good byes are said and all depart. The food is put away and any item which shouldn't get wet is moved to dry quarters. Dave and I play play some and they too depart. Bed - exhausted and so filled with the joy of being able to call these people my friends.

12 June, Saturday

Up at 5a - rumbly in the tummy, read for a while and then back to sleep. back up at 8 and coffee. Ann and Smitty departed about 9 . Christine back to bed, me - quality couch time - in and out of sleep. At about 1p, Christine is now up and semi-lucid. She asks me where the tables and chairs are? I get up from the couch - look out on the deck and lo and behold the fairies had come and removed all the furniture. Unbeknown to us - and the dog didn't mention a word, Ann and Dave had come and retrieved them. Thanks Guys ! One big job done. Now the house needed restored.
Christine and I got that accomplished and then it was time for us to go over to Louisville for the last Kentucky HomeFront show of the season with John Gage and friends. It was a great performance by three different groups/artists which was followed by a trip to Sergio's where we all enjoyed some excellent beers (Sergio's has reportedly 1000 different beers in stock at all times - many on tap) One touching moment of the evening was at the end of the first show. John always sends a shout out to a recently deceased musician. This night he sent his shout out to his and our dear friend Drew Patterson . So thus John said " Good night Drew Patterson, wherever you are" There wasn't a dry eye in our circle of friends who continue to feel the loneliness and the empty space that our friend left in our hearts. We know where Drew is - he's with us everyday.

And with that, I'll end this blog.
Love to all,
Scott