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Dear Ellen,

My head is spinning…so much going on and I’m not sure how much more I can take.  Much is very good, much is interesting and much will help us build our future, but good grief!  I just wish I’d get a day to sleep.

Last week was the grand opening of the house with a wonderful party that the builder threw for the Parade of Homes.  They included us, our immediate neighbors and several of their other clients.  According to Jared (our fantastic architect shown here with his parents), there were over 130 people in the house at one point.  As I had no clue there were that many, it proved out our intent to design it for good flow while entertaining.  We heard many, many very nice comments about the property and the house.  They announce judging results tonight…we are hopeful.  It would be fun bragging rights to have, but we really are hopeful for the folks at Custom Home Group who were so incredible to work with throughout this experience. Dale thinks his garage floor alone (2 part epoxy terrazzo) warrants best in show.  This was definitely the high point for almost all the men who were at the party…and something Dale has wanted his whole life.  I have to admit, it’s pretty nice.

We stayed in a hotel near BWI the night of the party — poised to fly to Tampa to watch Tom graduate from Plant High School and to attend Jim’s retirement dinner.  (He’s now out of the Army and in the private sector.)  Tom’s wearing a coat from his Uncle Ted (Chris’ brother) who got it from their dad.  He died fairly recently so it was quite an emotional moment for everyone.  We had a far too short, but very good time with the family.  I continue to be amazed by Chris’ ability to deliver the best of high end hospitality without seeming to break a sweat.  She juggled a million people and a wild event schedule that was just perfect.  I only wish I would have had more time just with her. We did get a few minutes with our friends John and Betsy.  If your memory is very sharp, you’ll remember that they live in Norfolk, not Tampa.  Believe it or not, but they were at the graduation as their nephew was in Tom’s class and they sat just 5 rows ahead of us.  We met up for coffee Saturday morning highly amused that we had to travel to Florida to get a chance to see each other.

While on the road, I finished up a cap and booties to go with the overalls for my friend’s baby.  Then I decided I needed to redo the booties as I wasn’t perfectly happy with them as they seemed a little small for the size of overalls.  I also knit the hat for Master’s Level I…not done with the I-cord for the embellishment yet, but the basic hat is knit — as you can see there are ends with which I must deal.  I have to say, I really do like the jogless color join that they recommend.  I had been using the “knit the last stitch into the stitch below the needle”, but this is better and doesn’t distort the row.  (Edited to add this link to a very good description.)

This week I’ve been in a military transition course, a euphemism for retirement preparation.  I don’t think I’m retiring quite yet, but at this stage of the game they want you to have taken the course just in case they know something you don’t know.  It was a good course, but it kept me away from the office and home (long days!) and I’m behind at both.  You’d think I’d be breathing a sigh of relief with the weekend here, but instead I am gritting my teeth for even more fun.  I leave tonight for a few days in Southwest Asia — back mid-week.  …and then comes packing and moving!!  (Most stuff heads to Fair Winds, but enough to live on during the week will stay behind to go to a small place we have yet to find.)  At least I got this sock started.  It will come with me and hopefully return with a friend.

Love, Jan