"Christmas morning"

Thats what it felt like the other day when Paul and I were rummaging through our stuff that we have in storage. We brought to storage a few things that we don't think we need  anymore in the trailer- like the tennis rackets that I swore we would use now that we don't work anymore. More importantly (and fun) were the very few things that we had access to once we got there.  In the big metal cabinet near the entrance, we found the carpet shampooer!  We were able to reach both bikes, and one of my favorite small flower pots.  We didn't actually need or get that much stuff, but it was fun to sort through and see what we might want.  And being able to get the bikes was a nice bonus.  I hope we use them more than we did the tennis rackets, though.   The timing is good since we have to come back here in a month or so anyway, we should have a good idea by then as to whether they are worth keeping with us.
      I took a leap and booked my foot surgery today.  They are already booking in October and I will need to be here for a minimum of 6 weeks, maybe even 8,  which brings our stay here very close to the potentially nasty winter weather in November.  Our only other option is to put it off until spring, and we really don't want to do that because it will interfere more with our activities than if we do it now.  We may winterize the trailer for the last two weeks and stay in an extended stay hotel, but we'll decide that later.
   We had more visitors yesterday (friends from my work) and had a great, relaxing afternoon with them!  Paul really enjoyed meeting all my friends, since he has been hearing their names for years.   Last night was our last social outing- we went out to dinner with a friend of Paul's.  When we lived here, we would meet Al and his wife occassionally for dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant.  Al's wife couldn't be here last night, so it was just the 3 of us.  She is in Texas, staying with their 31 year old son who was just diagnosed with oral cancer and is beginning Chemo and radiation therapy.  Thats not something that any parent should have to handle, and they have dropped everything to be there for whatever he needs.  In addition to that, they are in the midst of planning their daughter's wedding, so their lives have been in quite an upheaval lately!
   Our visit here has been whirlwind and short, but it's nice to know that we will be back this way sooner rather than later.  Tomorrow we hope to head north.