Matthew and I in NYC this summer

Here is a picture of my brother Matthew and me, when I stayed with him last summer. His one man show was off Broadway. Monte and I came to visit him. Matthew and I are excited to spend time together this weekend, visiting Dottie.

Dottie and I, together 5 years ago.

Here is a picture of Dottie, one of my favorite people in the whole world. She is 89 years old now I think. My brother, Matthew, and I are going to meet up together tomorrow and go visit Dottie. She lives in a nursing home in Quincy, IL.

I am taking an AMTRAK train overnight to St. Louis, and Matthew is flying into STL. We will rent a car and drive together to Quincy, and spend the weekend visiting her. I can't wait to see both of them.

This is Aunt Dottie and Uncle Bob Hunter. I think it was taken in the 1940s but I am not sure. Bob died a long time ago, and Dottie has been in Quincy, Illinois. Sure do miss her. I wish we lived closer to her and could visit more often.

I talked to Dick today when he arrived in Atlanta, from Denmark. He was going through customs and should be home soon. Can't wait to see him.

Dick now in Copenhagen,Denmark

Although I haven't heard from him today, Dick's itinerary says that he should have arrived in Denmark. He sounded great when I talked to him yesterday. The boys and I are doing well, busy with work and school. Tonight (Tues.), my friend Renee and her two sons are going to spend the night. We are going to have a sleepover, just to do something fun. We are going to make homemade pizzas, play games, and put our feet up. Looking forward to it.

Dick's trip takes him to Germany

Dick finished his visit to Salzburg today. I included this picture of Mirabel Gardens in Salzburg where the Sound of Music was filmed. This is the garden where the "Do Re Mi" song was filmed.

He went to Frankenmart, Austria and toured the Voith Plant. Then he flew to Frankfurt, Germany and when I talked to him today, he was in Munster, Germany. He sounds very relaxed and is having a great time.

Salzburg or "Salt City"

Salzburg is named for the Salt Mines that are nearby in Berchtesgaden. Dick is going to visit the salt mines tomorrow. I was looking up information on the salt mines and learned that the visitors don traditional miner's wear and ride deep into the mountainside on a mining train. They also go down into the underground area via slides and dark passages to visit an underground salt lake and a salt grotto. He said the weather is balmy in the high 40s. Here is a picture of tourists "sliding down" into the salt mines.

Dick in Salzburg today

Dick just called me from the bridge going over the river in Salzburg. It was 6:15 AM here and it was Saturday. He was thinking that it was a weekday and that we were all getting ready for work and school. I guess that is what jet lag will do to one's mind. He forgot his camera at home. I have been getting pictures off the internet to add to this blog. It helps me not miss him so much. Ten years ago, Dick and I went to Germany and Austria together.

Dick toured the Salzburg Castle this AM (also known as Festung Hohen Salzburg). You can see it in the above picture. It is a fortress overlooking the city on a 400 foot hill. It is over 900 years old and he said that it was neat to walk around. I wish he brought the camera with him. He said that the Bavarian Alps were beautiful to see from that vantage point. The castle is an engineering feat in itself, as it is constructed into the high rock. He rode a funicular up to the castle. He said it reminded him of the one in Pittsburgh that is a cable car on a track up to the top of the mountain. The top picture is a view from the castle that I found.

In Salzburg, Austria...wish I was there...

Here is a picture of Salzburg, Austria where Dick will be until Monday. He sounded good when I talked to him this afternoon. They are 7 hours ahead of us. He is there with his boss, and coworkers for meetings with the parent company and to purchase some looms for the plant. Sam is having a friend spend the night tonight, and Kyle has "teenager plans". He played Ultimate Frisbee after school and should be making an appearance here at the house anytime. I had to work half a day at the Cancer Treatment Center.

Here is a picture of Frankfurt, Germany where Dick flew into before going to Salzburg.

Dick in Europe

I took Dick and his coworker Brandon to the airport yesterday AM before work. They flew together to Germany on business. I talked with Dick this AM and he was in the Frankfurt Airport. He sounded good, but was very tired and couldn't sleep well on the plane. They had a delay of sorts in Atlanta (there's a shocker), but he was in good spirits and couldn't wait to get to the hotel to rest after being awake for 24 hours.

Don't you love travelling?

Mystery Dinner Who Done It?

Dick and I were invited to a mystery dinner at our friends' home last night. It was so much fun. We had to come in character. The invitation told us who we were supposed to be. The setting was 1962, thus I tried to do a beehive hair do. Dick was Harvey the Magician, and I was Hope Diomonde. The mystery was a jewel heist and a murder.

The men are holding pink "diamonds" that were part of the story.

We had so much fun. Here is Nova Dawn, me, Teri, and Sophronia. The dinner was at Mark and Teri's home (a cabin with a tin roof in the country). We had a huge thunderstorm with 2.5 inches of rain while we were there. It really added spookiness to the ambience of the mystery. Teri is an excellent cook, and we had a blast.

Dick learned a few magic tricks for the party. Here he is showing the rope trick.

Nova Dawn masterminded the mystery dinner. She found the story on the internet with clues and everything. We found out that the culprit was.......me! I was the murderer and the theif of the Fate Diamond.

Sunset on Lake O'Pines Texas

This is a picture that I took when we went camping last fall with our friends from our Sunday School class. We had a nice visit and I can't wait to get the pop up camper out again this spring to go camping again.