tap tap tap ** is this thing on?

Sheepishly she asks, "Is anyone still out there?"

If so, I'm back.  Something called life hit me in the gut.  We've had a hospital stay, a new school year starting, the purchase and loss of a new home and the realization that my beautiful home that I KNEW would sell overnight, won't.  I stood back, took a long look at it and said, "Nope.  Not pretty enough.  We'll be lucky to take a loss on it."  There were three floods in our house last year and they have certainly taken their toll on our house.

So ... here we go.  The house hunt continues, school has started, Rick is home from the hospital and ... yes, life goes on.

Oddly enough, the song "Life Goes On" is currently playing on the radio.

It figures.

And ... Houston has flooded.  And not just flooded, but flooded its brains out.  Being a hurricane survivor myself, I'm extremely interested in this weather event.  Not just interested, I'm nervous.  Nervous WITH them and nervous for them, too.  I can live without hurricanes, I can.

But, I promised a few photos and I'm making good on my promise.  If nothing else, I've chosen a few light-hearted ones ... 'cuz, you know, life is funny?

It really is.

So, in no particular order ...

Here's the house we were having built.  Looks small here ... but it really wasn't.  It was my dream house.  And nothing else will ever compare to it.  No, I'm not bitter, YOU'RE bitter.

The condo that we stayed in in Idaho for two months.  Felt like two years while we were there ... it's like the blink of an eye now.

It is going up for sale, too.  Long story, don't ask.

I SAID, "Don't Ask!"

We came home to our little house on this little lake.  

Were we glad to be home?  Yes.  Will we leave again for another summer away?  I hope so.  But being gone for a summer was a bucket list thing.  And I get to cross it off now.  It's time to move on to sky diving and bungee jumping.  Oh wait, wrong bucket list.  Those aren't one mine!

Highlight of our trip this summer?  Denny's.  You think I'm kidding?

When there's nothing around you for miles and miles and miles and miles and ... well, Denny's can look pretty good to you.

Not really.

But I will take Denny's over these two beauties that we ate this summer.

Seriously.  Keep the elk, please.

One last highlight.  We went searching for a church that Rick used to attend when he lived in Spokane.  He was baptised at the little church in Spokane, too.  And ... he wanted to find it.

We think we did.

Windows were all boarded up.  Church was apparently a thing of the past here.  In fact, it weren't even a church when it bit the dust.  I guess weddings and events were a thing of the past, too.

Remind me not to get married in Spokane.  Probably wouldn't last.

And shortly after that, we headed home.

Saw some more of this ....

and a lot of this ...

(which is a lot of nothing, come to think of it)

I looked like this a lot (most of the time) ...

Saw some more of this ... 

And now?

We're trying to get ready for this:

Not really.  I'm not quite ready yet.

And Kitty is just praying for anything from Santa.

She hasn't been so good this year.

;)