Life in the Fast Lane in New Immigrant

Hello! Everything is fine! Tom returned from his marvelous ("all we did was laugh") trip with his buddies. Since then we've been here, there and everywhere in Iowa and Illinois and it doesn't look like it's going to slow down. I regret my absence here has caused some of you concern. I understand that feeling and I should have written. I'm sorry. I find after four and a half months basically alone at the river, I am relishing every moment with Tom. It's been a welcome reunion for both of us. Last night I began noting some of you and will continue to do more noting than writing.

Surprises: In one day we received three startling letters. From the city of Cedar Falls came a notice that someone thinks we're a rental property and we need to register if we are. Along with that was a a stern letter that we were growing noxious weeds on our property. We believe someone thought the daisies in our lawn were weeds (they hadn't bloomed yet). While Tom was on vacation I had mowed but hurt my ankle in the process so couldn't finish the back yard. As soon as I finish writing here I'll be going outside to trim. Our yard has never looked better, the daisies are gorgeous and we remain proponents of plant diversity in our yard, which is not the traditional all grass lawn most Americans prefer, but it is tidy now.

The third letter was the most alarming and came from Tom's hometown of Centerville, IA. In 1915 his great-grandfather bought three vacant lots which his sister couldn't part with. They've been paying taxes on those for decades and now have actually paid in more than the three lots are worth! A certified letter notified Tom and his sister that the city would mow one lot for $75 and also fine them $500! Yes, we jumped in the pick-up and headed down to mow (three hours south)! For all these years the adjacent homeowner had used the lot and mowed it. We learned she is gone now and so the grass wasn't tended, in fact it was so tall we had to run the mower at a 45' angle to get through it. A neighbor arrived with a riding mower and helped Tom. Turns out this may be the very neighbor that had the city send the letter because he made it clear he owned most all the lots in this block and was interested in buying this one. Tom is now busy getting that taken care of. As part of that process we spent a remarkable afternoon with Tom's 93 year old Aunt Margaret. She's quick-witted, up on the news and, we learned, writes one of her grandchildren each day of the month, thereby interacting with all thirty each month! She thought it "was a kick" that Tom and Penny had paid in more on taxes than the lots are worth!

Violet's High School Graduation: After the mess of Tom's departure, his return flights went off without a hitch. We headed from the airport directly to Illinois for Violet's graduation. She was beaming and "pumped," as kids used to say, to get to the University of Colorado in Boulder. In fact, she and her family are in Colorado now with her two aunts who live there. She registered to be a Colorado resident which will lower her tuition for her second year and on. She's planning to major in environmental engineering.

Bariatric Surgery: Please, if any of you have experienced this or know of others who have, I'd appreciate hearing of your/their experience. Violet's Mother will have Roux en Y, an irreversible type of bariatric procedure, soon. Having read about it, we are concerned about the side-effects. Not that we are trying to discourage Heather, her mind is made up. I hope her positive attitude will make the difference.

Mary's husband, Leo: Sadly, Mary's husband passed away. She was the first to notice he was declining. It was a gradual process and all his and Mary's family were able to visit him before the end. Mary is grieving but also thinks "he's in a better place." She is understandably plagued with the sensation that "I need to go see Leo." Mary is back in her assisted living apartment, a cutback in her medications has stopped the pancreatitis and she surprises us with her resilience.

My Health: I have been having much more joint pain throughout my body. On Tuesday I will see the oncologist (routine) and ask again whether he thinks it's the Anastrazole, the anti-estrogen drug I take. Some of the joints, like my knees, have been bad a long time. Something has to "give" though because the pain is limiting my exercise. I have not been on the treadmill in several weeks. I feel increasingly "crippled."

Although I have been silent you have been in my thoughts.

Carpe Diem, Friends.