90 and Perky as Ever

Although the lady in today's blog is still a few weeks short of the magic number,
I decided to mention the occasion because we attended a surprise party for her
at Pam's place.  It was a surprise to me as well.  Pam was at her best, constructing a luscious cheesecake topped by a single candle.  Best of all, we
were joined by a few of our good friends who turned out to wish the birthday girl
a cheerful happy, happy.  Amy and Casey, the newlyweds, were there as well as Anthony, Melanie and, of course, Rob, stalwart spouse of the hostess.  Birthday cards were in abundance all cleverly inscribed to add a few chuckles to the festivities.

From left to right, Casey, Amy, Anthony with Melanie in front then Pam with Rob

in front.  Of course, every party has balloons and this one was no exception.

I'm also giving Amy a special mention in today's posting not only because she is
such a dear person to Annabelle and I but also because she actually wanted to be
included as a blog reader of Despicable Tours.  I'll try to meet her expectations
for our coming travels to England and the Baltic cruise to St Petersburg.  Welcome aboard, Amy.  In the meantime,  I'm still in the process of putting all the pieces of this complicated journey in place.  Fortunately, I was able to order our luggage tags for the Royal Caribbean International Cruise that leaves
from Harwich, UK on July 26.  I completely forgot about that task up to this point.  My travel folder is now bulging with documents of all kinds and will
probably add 10 lbs to the baggage.  Now if I can only keep track of the money
I have hidden in all sorts of places.

Hot, Hot, Hot!

We have another hot and dry day here in the Land of Enchantment.  Right now the
temp is a challenging 90 degrees, and that's at our altitude of 7000.  It doesn't
allow for much activity in the afternoon.  Fortunately, The temp cools off in the
evening which is great for sleeping.  The humidity is hovering around 10% which helps somewhat but we do need some rain to help things grow.  The warm start to
our growing season has given us an abundant apricot crop and we are enjoying every bit since we usually loose apricots to our late freeze date most years.

The hot weather has caused me to think about the days to come on the QM2 when we
can pace the deck and feel the ocean breeze.  There is less than two weeks until
D Day and the excitement is beginning to build.  Our first stop is the Marriott
near LaGuardia where we join up with Barri, John and the kids.  We have scheduled a going away evening meal that evening to include Darrell and Rhoda, Norma's sister.  The following day, July 6, we head for the Brooklyn Sea Terminal where
the QM2 should be waiting.  Hopefully, the embarkation procedure will be brief,
however, they always find some new security step to make boarding a bigger task
than need be.

I think I have all the different trip steps under control and hope the schedule
will not be to difficult for Annabelle to manage.  We have been trying to keep in
as reasonable shape as possible, walking early in the morning before the hot sun
bakes the trail we take.

These apricots are smaller than you get at Whole Foods but they are very tasty.

Packed and Ready To Go

We have three weeks before our adventure begins and I have been slowly getting
my things packed.  Everything is in the west room out of sight so Annabelle won't
be disturbed by the gear lying about.  My coming home arrangements have been made
and we are flying American Airlines out of Heathrow on August 7 and taking Southwest the following morning from New York to Albuquerque.  My file of activities is several inches thick but all is in order so I won't have to chase
around looking for the next item.  Of course, like all plans in travel, things
could go awry at one point and I usually have a Plan B in place to pick up a new
direction.  The only thing I'm concerned about is a surprise Israeli attack on

Iran during our month away from home.  This would create a big problem especially if the US or Britain get involved.  All other matters will have to wait until we return.  Roy will be on duty back at the ranch to take care of house related activities; watering the vast array of plants inside as well as the outside gardens. Although it is mucho dry, the roses are doing well and Roy will be kept
busy while we're gone.

The Graduate

We had a great time at Aubrey's graduation from Bowie High School.  She looked
mahhvelous and I was happy to attend.  It isn't always possible for a grandfather
to be able to be at a grandchild's high school graduation.  It was even more exciting for me since she is such an excellent scholar, athlete and exemplar of
what a student should be.  I'm sure that she will carry the banner high when she
starts UT in the Fall.  Now, if I can only make it to her next graduation just like
we did at Anna's college commencement or to be around as when Amber obtained her Ph.D.

Our desire to see these milestones in the family series of successes certainly provides a great incentive for life.  That's why we keep on walking up the mountain.

Not to leave out Walter's band accomplishment and performance a Aubrey's event.
This must be a FIRST, Aubrey's marching into the arena while her brother, playing
Pomp and Circumstance.

I finally booked flights home from Heathrow.  We will be arriving on August 7 at
JFK and will have until August 10to leave for New Mexico.  If we have some energy
to spare we'll make a few plans to do things in NYC during that 2 day stay.

Ian, his wife Anne and their three children have been visiting Pam for two weeks.
Last night, Ian stopped over to say goodbye and we had a delightful conversation
about his work at Baylor.  It's hard to believe that he was a preteen when we
first met.  He was a promising youngster in his teens. Annabelle and I always
felt that he would be successful in all endeavors; his life has borne this
out.