Update

Cowboy here. Things have calmed down a bit since I posted here last. Company has left; the house is ours again. It's good to have the imp to myself for a change. Holiday meals were outstanding of course; my wife's a great cook. Sar + her dear friend Alli ate more than their share of chocolate, jelly beans, countless other sweets. When they were high on sugar the house fairly rocked. When they came down they slept soundly giving Paul, Allie's husband and I a break. Even the animals in the house seemed to be relieved. Just imagine the havoc those 2 created as kids.

We flew to DC and back, a much needed medical checkup for the imp - recovery from various health issues is encouraging. Medics are pleased, more so I think because my wife didn't seriously injure any of them this time around. One young doc that tried to touch her without permission ended up with a broken thumb. Another got a bruised knee – Sar's an experienced kick-boxer. All in all, a decent record. The "patient from hell" has been known to break bones, leave black eyes, nose bleeds, etc. Should be a lesson to medics everywhere: don't touch unless asking first; don't assume patient is a moron or impressed that you have a medical degree. Sar has several degrees of her own – all impressive.

We stayed in David's condo, close to Bethesda. Sar brought several Boston cream pies for the man, his favorite dessert. In return, he gave my wife a couple of "Calvin & Hobbs" books. The man has a mean sense of humor. Just what I needed – more inspiration for the imp's creativity. Going through them, she giggled all the way back to Quebec. My hands itched at the thought of the mischief she'll be into in no time.

Speaking of pie, for those interested cooks/bakers, Sar put the recipe link back – off to the right side of the blog. The kitchen smells good; Sar's feeling better, cooking more. The best news is that she's creating fiber art again – a sure sign of good health – it's been a hard year, a few challenges; things are better now. When Sar works at her craft, she hums – all the critters relax when that happens. When my wife's happy—that's about all that matters in my world.

Before we head back to Washington, we'll probably take a side trip to Iceland again – numerous friends there. Also want to get back to Cape Breton in Nova Scotia. Happy memories there – the summer is mostly pleasant. Snowed in June one year we were there. Hoping it will be balmy this time around. Plans aren't solidified yet. I remember a "canoe" incident when we were there – Sar stood in the canoe. I told her to sit. She didn't. Got spanked right there on the water. Had to eat out for a month. The imp's got a temper and a half. Good thing she loves me – could have been eating out for a year.

Cowboy