Monday - August 31

 Cannot believe it's the last day of August - summer is really winding down!

We set to work today getting Catrina cleaned out (mostly) and Flo loaded up along with stuff in Ruby and Big Red.   Mark wiped off all the polish he put on Flo last week - she is sparkling!!!    It was a productive day.

Took a break and went to Bistro 163 (a favorite "Pay it Forward" place with the nicest volunteers and wonderful food).   Today Mark had the 1/2 BLT and cup of chili; I had 1/2 chicken salad on a croissant and 1/2 spinach/strawberry/avocado salad - all delicious!    LOVE this place and they do so much for the Port Clinton community.   Also got some bread pudding to go....more on that later!

My lunch

Excellent place

Back to work and spent the afternoon dealing with stuff!   It's really warm today and supposed to get hotter as the week goes along + rain off and on all week.

Some neat tidbits from the Gatlin show last night...

Darryl and Andrea did a tribute to Dolly with some of her big hits (the crowd loved this)!

They brought Jack up on the stage to sing - wow....he was good.   Sang alone and then with the Gatlins - that guy is going places!

When the rain started, they shifted their song agenda to include 5-6 songs with "rain" in the title - pretty cool!

So happy to get a text from our nephew-in-law, Ryan that he's doing better....just one issue after another but hoping it's all good news from here on.

Luke and Maeve started school today at New Dimensions Charter School.

Maeve - 5th grade

Luke - 8th grade

Mark and I shared the bread pudding (still some left) with cinnamon whipped cream for dessert tonight...so delish!!!

Had some light rain off and on this evening.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

Sunday - August 30

Rainy Sunday...we went to R Coffee Corner for breakfast (waffle for Mark and breakfast sandwich for me) + our coffees.  Stopped at WalMart for a Rx and on home.

Worked for a while sorting thru clothes on Flo....

Blair called and we did facetime as she was getting ready (all that make-up and "high" ponytail and bow) before she was off to 3.5 hours of competitive cheer practice.    She told us all about her 1st week of 8th grade - loved it!  

Blair

Tomorrow Luke and Maeve are back for the start of their school year.

Mark spent most of the afternoon on Flo and happy to be back in his comfy recliner!  The rain continued till almost 4:00.

We went to Lagoon Saloon  for dinner and entertainment by Gatlin.    This place is on the Portage River and popular with the locals,    Food is always good and tonight's show (5-8) is the last for the summer for Gatlin who have been performing thruout Ohio and the Midwest.    Tomorrow they head to Fort Myers and begin their fall/winter shows starting next Sunday at Tween Waters on Captiva Island.

The rain came back around 7:15 and the outside crowd scurried inside....by the time we left at 8, it had stopped.    Great show again!

No family zoon for us tonight!

 

 

 

 

Saturday - August 29

 Warm sunny Saturday - Mark polished Flo and after lunch we moved her out of the building and beside Catrina - 1 more week to transfer our stuff.

I made 2 trips to the post office to mail some cards.   

We picked up Bob and Donna for 4:30 Mass with Father Jonathan - only 1 more Mass with him next weekend before we leave.   Met Jeanne at Beach Glass Lounge and we all enjoyed a great dinner.    Bob and Donna had been here once before but first time for us.   It was great and such a pretty place.

Mark, Pat, Jeanne, Bob, Donna

Went to Bob and Donna's "So Blessed" for more visiting after dinner.

                                    

Thursday-Friday, August 27-28

 Thursday - we are off to Dixon for my 60th class reunion.   We stopped at Coffee Express for our fix and then on the road....shared the drive but Mark did the nasty stuff around Chicago!    Hadn't driven in all that traffic for a long time!    Ugh!   379 miles to Dixon.   Along the way we watched Iowa vs Ohio in the Little League World Series.   Iowa lost so they were eliminated, but what a great  experience for these boys and they sure provided thrills and chills for their fans!!!    There are thousands of little leaguers out there but such a huge accomplishment and experience to get to play in Williamsport!    

We stopped in to see Karen's workplace (business manager for St. Patrick's Church and St. Mary's School).    Auntie is Mark's sister.

 Rested a bit when we got to Auntie's, changed clothes and off to the reunion at the Palmyra Pub.    What a surprise to walk in and there was Shirley (a classmate one year behind me) who was there with girlfriends for a planning meeting of their garden club.    Shirley is one of those incredible gardeners responsible for the gorgeous petunias in Dixon (Petunia Capital of the World).    GORGEOUS blooms on all the light posts.    We get together in FL with Dick and Shirley each winter.

What a fun reunion with 24 classmates and 10 spouses.   We had some really good hors d'oeuvres during social (and get reacquainted time) and then we ordered off the menu.    Food here is really good and so enjoyed reminiscing with these long-time folks I knew 60 years ago (mind boggling)!!!   Mark knew some of the guys so he enjoyed the evening, too. 35 classmates have passed away out of 92 in our graduating class.

We came up with a plan that maybe in 2 years, we could have an "80th birthday party"???   We shall see....

My classmates from Amboy High School

Class of 1966

On our way to the reunion, we got a text that our niece's hubby, Ryan was back in the OR with a ruptured artery - oh my.....Ryan has just had one problem or complication after another!    Big time prayers for his recovery and no more setbacks.

Back to Auntie's for a good visit and then to bed - switched from eastern to central time today - tired nomads.

Friday - we were up early with the time change.    Auntie left for work and we were off to Starbucks for coffee/pastries.   I'll see Auntie the end of September for Sisters' Weekend.    Sure appreciate her hospitality.

Youngest and oldest siblings

Notre Dame was our next stop to meet Brady for lunch.   He doesn't have classes on Friday so this worked out perfect.   South Bend is almost exactly 1/2 way from Dixon to Port Clinton.    Great lunch and visit!

Grandma, Brady, Grandpa

Golden Dome in background!

Connor called on our way home.   He had a good 1st week of classes at the U of I....a bit different than Danville Area Community College with 300 in one of his classes!!!

Visited with Jeanne and got a tour of her beautiful yacht - "Magic Carpet".    Then visited with Bob and Donna on "So Blessed"   Dennis, his brother Steve and friend Jerry stopped by.    They are leaving tomorrow on a guys boat trip to Canada.    

We enjoyed listening to the special tribute to Dolly Parton on the XM tribute channel singing her many wonderful songs

RIP to the Queen of Country Music

 

Wednesday - August 26

 Nice sunny day here in Port Clinton.    We did 2 loads of laundry and moved a few things over to Flo.

Watched Iowa lose to Nevada 14-6, so.....tomorrow at 9, they'll play again and hoping for better luck!!!

Went to Dollar Tree and WalMart.    The other day Charlotte sent a pic of Halloween ghosts and ghoulies from her Annapolis Home Depot.    But here we are in Port Clinton with the start of Christmas decor at Dollar Tree!

Christmas 2026 is just around the corner!

Maeve and a beautiful field of sunflowers

And from the sunflowers to the classroom...

Maeve met her teachers, saw her classroom and this cozy corner tonight

5th grade.....here she comes next Monday

Had a good chat with Philip hearing about his new job at FedEx and the training he's going thru.   It's soooo hot in Memphis!

Tomorrow we are driving 6 hours to Dixon, IL (Mark's hometown) for my class reunion (60th) from Amboy High School.  We'll spend the night with his sister Karen (Auntie) and come back Friday, so no blog till we return.