On the Trail Again

You probably heard this old Texan, Willie Nelson, singing his classic refrain, On the Road Again. Well this

morning with the weather a delightful 65 temp, we headed to the mountain for a short stroll. It's difficult

getting used to the altitude and upward hiking but we managed to do a mile. Annabelle also got behind the

wheel for the first time in 4 months and did just fine since we returned home with our 4Runner in one piece.

The photo is a rose amongst apricot blossoms. We decided

to enjoy our apricot tree before old man frost kills the fruit,

a very common occurrence in the East Mountains where

the last frost date is May 31. However, the weather may

surprise us this year and grant us a few apricots.

Welcome to Emma Scoon, new baby girl, daughter to Max and Megan,

who arrived Thursday. We are proud great grandparents and wish

the new Scoon a long, happy and healthy life. I guess she is probably

part of the new Y generation.

Growing old has its pitfalls, one of which, is forgetting where you put things. Case in point. As usual, I couldn't

find my reading glasses this morning and, as usual, Annabelle began her lecture about my keeping them in one place where I would always find them. Since I had been to the hardware store and the Triangle Grocery yesterday, I might have left them there so I called , to no avail. Then, the search began, both of us scoured

inside and outside the house and in every conceivable nook and cranny but with no luck. Despair set in and

I promised myself that I would never let go of the next pair of glasses. It then dawned on me that the one

place we failed to look, Annabelle's purse. You guessed it, there at the bottom, was my missing specs and I

let out a Whoopee! and rushed to Annabelle who was now busy baking bread. She looked at me and with

a look that spelled out relief and a touch of disbelief, said that I probably put my glasses near her purse so

she dropped them in thinking it was hers. We looked at each other, gradually smiled, then began to laugh

louder and louder until we embraced and shook our heads. Growing old has its pitfalls but humorous moments as well.

I received notice from Cunard that our final payment for the July 6 cruise is due by April 7. I still have several

other tasks to complete before the trip plans are finalized. I am thinking about leaving London Heathrow on

August 8 with a short layover in Iceland before heading for New York and on to New Mexico.