May 28, 2019--Heroic efforts made by Pat and Marge loading our ponies (Marge and Pat's, twice) the truckload and muscle of Wendy, John, and Keoni (Aidan had school), and my STUFF arrived in my new apartment. Thank you, thank you, over and over, forever.

Boy, was it a surprise to see how clean and nice this little apartment is! It actually has a very nice view--WNW. All painted; every nook and cranny spic and span; brand new carpet; walk-in, linen, pantry closets all with built-in shelves; coat, bedroom closets. Galley kitchen with plenty of cabinet space for my upsizing.

OK, the before pictures...

The living room and Dana who showed me around and conducts great orchestrations of government and non-profit paperwork with grace and professionalism. I want her to run for President.

May 29th the brand new queen size was delivered and set up.

The woman who runs the resale shops here pushed the chest of drawers I'd purchased earlier in the month, all the way from her shop to my bedroom on furniture sliders!

 (Pause here. Take a moment to appreciate furniture sliders.)

Shelf paper day.
Ouch.

I was introduced to measures that keep track of residents so nobody slips under the radar and a card for access from outside the buildings (all connected with a beautiful hall system). I received keys for my little kingdom and did all the signing while the caravan of friends and family began moving stuff into the apartment. I learned about the laundry room, how to dispose of recycles, garbage, etc. There is a café associated--buffet with four different types of foods that are actually good eating...

A fresh bouquet of flowers, and napery every evening mealtime. 

... library; game and billiards; exercise/workout place; swimming pool. So far, I've taken advantage of the café since the fare is really good, and the prices very low. All this and many more amenities are connected by hallways with plenty of windows and expanded seating areas looking out on beautiful landscaping.

The people here wear smiles and are very interesting and interested. Every single person I have come across introduced themselves and welcomed me.

I'm a little in awe of the circumstances and though immersed in the efforts of situating my stuff pulled out of banker's boxes and Trader Joe bags, I'm also deeply appreciative of my good fortune.

***

That was May 28th and now it is June 8th. Whew! The rest of this blog is going to be a little incoherent, but then--we all know what The Cat Said...

The late afternoon weather of May 29th, Wednesday, brought a destructive storm to the area. Though a lighter version was here at Dock, the heavy damage to trees and power lines nearby was extensive. The farm was out of electricity until Saturday. Many trees were felled and Asplumbh Tree Services trucks were fulfilling their contracts everywhere I drove; plus, huge phalanxes of power trucks and cherry-pickers dotted the roadways.

I miss local newspapers that had the lowdown on these localized happenings. I guess if I could stop thinking poorly of Mark Zuckerberg's behavior I'd look on his FaceBook.

Thursday, the 30th, was shelf paper day. By the time I put the kitchen things away on the shelves and in the pantry closet on Friday, I was in trouble. Oh, my achin' back. It took my mind right off my aching feet.

So, slow down. And, a good way to slow down was riding the (now nearby!) train into Philly on Sunday for Aidan's final and biggest concert of PYO's season. They did a remarkable job with a very, very ambitious program...

Taking a bow afterwards.

After the concert. With his 11:00 a.m. rehearsal call, Aidan had been playing for a total of seven hours. I meet and visit a little with Wendy and John sometime during their "hanging out in Philly" time and then we walk to the concert.

Soon after my last posting, I learned that Dimetrios was able to go home from the hospital in time for his birthday, May 26th! Yay! All are relieved. Sonja shared some photos...

Kingston, Dimetrios, and Elijah.

Happy Birthday, Dimetrios!

And, a couple more...

Kingston.

Elijah's team.

Elijah.

May 30th, Keoni and his friend Julia at the powerless farm...

Aidan, Keoni, and Julia.

...were picked up by Michael and his parents who took them through another traffic-stopping storm to JFK to launch them (just in time) on their way to Amsterdam and points beyond eventually to wind up in Rome for the music festival where some of them are playing on June 17th and 18th in the McDuffie octet posted earlier. They are a celebratory explosion of youth encompassing the world. They shared some images that Keoni sent along...

Keoni, Julia, Michael, and Lukas in the Riijksmuseum. And, yes, they did see "Nightwatch" and many, many other wonderful pieces.

Julia, Lukas, Keoni at one of their Airbnb lodgings they're all sharing.

Lukas, Michael, and Julia. Concertgebouw in background, Amsterdam.

They've met friends they know from other venues, or parts of the world, as well, enjoying all the connections. Less than enjoyable, Keoni Skyping said, was trying to board the plane between Berlin and Rome when the boarding personnel said they couldn't bring music instruments on board. Keoni gained more experience in smoothing out airport dilemmas with supervisory personnel and marked a success notch wherever he keeps score.

Meanwhile, sister Susie and cousin Jackie went on a foray into a riverside community for a satisfying day trip and shared a couple of moments on the Illinois side of the big river...

Jackie's "bridge" smile.

Over at her place, Marge had a Redbud Tree planted out by the fish pond...

Wendy shared a Toby moment...

And, John sent over a view from the back deck. A view I've loved for a long time now.

The setting sun will happen pretty much the same direction from my windows. I'd hoped to get home from a gathering at my church a few minutes earlier to capture a pretty sunset last night in my "new" view but got back home too late. Still, here's what was left...