When I opened our blog I realized that 5 months have past and in that time a lot has happened.

 

When Joost and Laura left, Yerik slowly started to prepare himself to go back to Kazakhstan. He'd decided to go to William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA. instead of AU (American University) in Washington,DC.

 

Pat and I coped with Yerik's imminent departure each in our own way, but we both knew we'd miss him a lot. However before his departure he had the "joy" of having his Mom being operated (May 6) and being her caregiver, because Dad had to go on a business trip shortly after the operation. As always with whatever he undertakes Yerik did a great job of taking care of me!

My knee surgery went well, but the doctor did say that my knee was like a Swiss cheese (full of holes).

 

Ofcourse I wouldn't be Margit if something didn't happen to me during the course of my rehabilitation at home. Exactly one week after the operation I fell down the back stairs!  I layed there for a while and when I had enough energy to get up I did so. I felt like throwing up as I was in so much pain. Yerik was at the other side of the house and yelling wouldn't have helped at all. He realized that something was wrong when he heard my crutches. Ofcourse he wanted to call Dad, but I kept him from doing that. I asked him what Dad could do at that point. After giving that some thought he agreed that Dad couldn't do anything anyway, so I asked him to help me upstairs to my bed!

Although Anneke and the kids knew, no one told Pat of what had happened until I did some days after he'd come home. Pat took advantage of his business trip to Germany to stop at Oenkerk (Friesland) to see our latest grandson, Lucas. I'm sooo jealous of him, because I haven't seen him yet.

He also visited our dear friend Anneke in Heemskerk and they had some fun time together. Anneke, thanks for the drop!!!

 

Yerik and his team made State Champions Ultimate Frisbee and we were very proud of him and his team-mates. All of  them were invited to our house for a big farewell BBQ later that month.

 

May 27 was D-day. It was the day Yerik would leave Durham and our home, but not our hearts and lives! He'd been packing, sort of(!) don't look in his closet and in the library. Any one wants shoes, slippers, shirts or school supplies?!!? But that morning he was as ready as he would ever be. It was difficult to say goodbye to someone who came to our home as a complete stranger and had become so much a part of our lives that we now see him as our 3rd son.

He had a long trip ahead of him and although he left on a Tuesday he didn't get home until Thursday. He called us to say he had arrived ok and we were very happy to hear his voice again.

 

One week later, the night of Monday to Tuesday June 3/4 when watching TV at 03.00AM (I had to work Tuesday night so I stayed up as I usually do)  I received a phonecall from Laura. My mother had passed. For me she'd gone a long time ago when her Alzheimer's became worse and she didn't recognize me anymore, but all the same it came as a shock. She was never physically ill, but she passed in a very peaceful way. She was joking with the girls in the nursing home and went they came to give her breakfast she had passed sitting in her chair. Ofcourse I called my work to explain that I had to travel to Spain and was told to take the time I needed.

Many of our friends and old patrons of the Sandwichshop attended her funeral. The following week Joost's cousins Pere and Jaume, who own two fishing boats, took us on the smallest of the two out in to the Mediterranean to throw out the ashes of both my parents. Laura had been so thoughtful to bring my father's ashes with her from

Ibiza. 

 

By the time I got back to Durham it was time to get ready for our summer guest, Leire, from Durango, Spain. She arrived on June 27 as part of a group organized by Terra Lingua/Terre Langue. French and Spanish highschool  students who will spend a month with a host family in the US.

She tought us a lot about the Spanish Basque Country and it was great to hear her speak Euskera on the phone with her mother and brother. Euskera is one of the four official languages in Spain being Spanish (Castillano), Catalan, Gallego and Euskera. Euskera is a very old language of unkown origins. The language doesn't resemble any language I know.

Life in the US was all very strange to Leire. There is no towncenter as she is used to in Europe. Kids her age can't go out to discotheques till  three or four in the morning. Are not allowed to drink alcoholic beverages and is pretty boring compared to her normal life in Durango.

Still, she had some fun with kids her own age, went to the Mall and the pool with Lucinda, a future AFS student to France where she will live for a year with a French family,  and had dinner with some of Yerik's friends Matt, Thomas and Emily.

 

On July 4 we had a very bad storm over Durham and when we came back (early) from a 4th of Jly party we realized that lightning had struck one of the trees in the side yard and a branch was hanging on an electricity cable. We did have power in the house, but not in the garage and the apartment. The power company acted effectively and came on Sunday july 5 to cut down the branch. Later that week power was restored to the garage and the appartment.

 

During Leire's stay we had another death in the family, that of our wire haired Dachshund Zidane. Pat discovered a growth near her ear and it was not only bothering her, but also hurt her. I could get a vet appointment the following day and Dr. Heagren did a puncture. What came out was not pus, not blood but a brownish fat-like substance.

We decided to have him operated the next day. At 09:45 I received a phonecall and before even answering I knew the call came from the vet's office with bad news. Gut feeling, 6th sense call it what you want, but the verdict was that there was a cancer in her inner ear to which the growth was connected. The prognoses was bad and after talking to Pat we decided to have him put down while he was under on the operating table.

 

Pat and I had always talked about what to do after Chica, our nearly 16year old wire haired Dachshund would die. We had decided to look for a suitable German Shepherd, so Rocky, our 4 1/2 year old GSD would have a playmate his own size. I had already looked for breeders on the web and found some near us. Also had a list of phone numbers.  When Zidane passed I took the list and called some of them for information and possible litters. One woman in Caswell County, near Durham, had a litter with parents on site and after some talking we realized we both knew someone who had worked for Durham 911 but had passed last year.

I had a "good feeling" and went out there to take a look at the 2 females she had left. One of them was a quiet pup. She played , ate and then dropped down on my feet! I was sold!!! And although I had not discussed this with Pat I took her home with me. When Pat came home he was sold at the first sight of her and now she's the joy of our life and goes by the name of Skye. When I asked Pat: "Do you like her?" He only said "what is there not to like!"

Next week Pat and Skye will start puppy class. That will be an experience for both of them. Pat had never had dogs before knowing me, let alone a pup!!!

He picks up consistent training quite well, but needs to be more firm and consistent, ofcourse he's never has had kids either so that makes it double hard for him. Training dogs is like educating kids, but easier (they don't talk back!!)

 

Summer is here, but it started late this year. June brought us a lot of rain. We needed rain badly because of the drought and it brought some relief to the lakes we use for our water supply. In July our AC decided to quit when it was in the high nineties (35C and up!!!) and with a humidity of 85% it was unbearable in the house and outside. The old unit was 12years old and we needed a whole new unit. After a few days we realized that, although we have a 2zone system the upstairs was still 86F (30C). They finally found a solution and it appears to be working, but we had to wait til Monday of this week!!

 

We also got some unsettling news from Yerik. William and Mary had been taken of the list of their State Scholarship Program (AU was still on there, but he had not paid the dues to that University) He was not able to get a scholarship for William and Mary and since he was not registered at AU he could not get in there either!!

This is all very disapointing and he now has to look into going to college in Kazakhstan. There may be a possibility of getting in to AU next year, but I don't know whether he will do that, although both Pat and I wish he would.

 

Life is good, Pat and I still love each other very much and spend a lot of times with the dogs and our work.

 

Through the web I reaquainted with a cousin 3rd removed who lives in France. I immediately sent her website to our other cousin in Canada, because they are both very talented artists! Comes from my father's side of the family. It's amazing the similarities they have in their drawings. Marijcke has written children books and done her own illustrations, while Jelly has done murals, paintings and drawings. They are both amazing, but that gene definitely did not get to me, because I'm not artisitc at all.

 

I wish all of you who read this a very good summer and hope to hear from you. As always drop in at the Summit Place when you near North Carolina.

 

 

Margit