I am still currently in Hartford, NY with my sister and brother in law. I have been away visiting my family in Albany, NY and they don't have wireless internet. It has been a bit of time since I last posted. I saw two great movies while in Albany; The Bourne Ultimatum and No Reservations. I went to the Knickbacker arena to watch my grandson play hockey for LaSalle. My daughter and I went for a long bike ride of Slingerlands. There are several lovely residential communities there and checking out the landscaping is always fun. But I am back here in Bearfoot sorting mountains of paper that have accumulated whilst I have been playing. It is cloudy and threatens rain today but still quite humid. I am planning a family reunion to be on August 19th at my son's home in Pawlet. I think there will be nearly 100% attendance excepting my daughter and her family from VA. She will be back teaching part-time by then and my granddaughter is working. My grandson who attends officers training at VA Tech is currently at Ft. Knox training in Air Assault helicopter training. Please include him in your prayers. The conditions, weather and entire Army program is designed to present these young trainees with the harshest conditions possible. 20% of the cadets dropped out in the first 3 days. He will be there for 3 weeks if he makes it. It is difficult to witness the tremendous toll taken on a beloved young man in my family.
My granddaughter, the horsewoman, is at horse camp and attending a few shows. She has done very well for her second season of showing. She is an excellent rider. Having been a competitive rider myself, I know the rigors of training that she is enduring. I also know the disappointment as well as the excitement of winning and losing. I hope to attend at least one of her shows this week.
Some of the Vermont schools as well as Virginia are starting their teachers early and my girls go back this month. Seems like a short vacation for them. Some people are critical of the hours that they suspect teachers put in but I'm here to testify to the extra work they do all year long. Grading papers each night, staying at school late in the day for meetings and tutoring and going back two weeks before the students return. They don't get paid enough for what they do either.
The images are taken at my daugher's home in Florence, VT. The granddog is Denzel.
Keep smilin', keep dancin', keep prayin'.......
