To blog, or not to blog..............

Sometimes I wonder about what sort of things are appropriate to blog about. We've had lots of things going on and while some of them were happening, I had the urge to blog about them, but I wasn't sure if it was a good idea or not because of the "public" aspect of a blog. I think that aspect is probably partially responsible for the popularity of blogs, and I don't think that there are really all that many people who are taking the time to read my blog, but it is "out there" for people to see, so I find myself wondering whether or not I want to post certain things.

So, at least now I probably have managed to elevate the curiosity of both people on the planet who do occasionally check in on my meanderings! And I think that I will mention the occurrence that I'm alluding to because it has had a happy ending (so far.)

We spent last Sunday afternoon hanging out in the emergency room of Bethesda North Hospital because my father-in-law had a stroke. It's not a pleasant way to spend a beautiful Sunday afternoon, but I'm thankful that if this had to transpire, it happened in close proximity to a place that was equipped to deal with it. I'm pleased to report that my father-in-law is now in his own home with no apparent side-effects or damage from the whole ordeal. Steve spent a couple days with him to make sure he was truly doing ok, and to talk to his family doctor and get him set up with a medic alert system.

Steve reported to me that the medic alert system is pretty amazing regardless of how dumb the commercials make them seem. When you're talking about maintaining independence and dignity for a relative who's going to be 80 years old this summer, it's nice to find an alternative to a nursing home or assisted living that's inexpensive and sensible. Steve says that when they installed the system and checked it out, they told his dad that he could use it if he just wants them to call one of us for any reason or if even if he's just feeling lonely and wants to talk to someone. I suppose it could make you feel a little paranoid, almost like you're being spied on, but I think it's definitely going to give Steve and his siblings some peace of mind regarding the well-being of their father.

I have a couple other pieces of news to report. The first thing is that we're still not grand-parents. Apparently "baby Stuie" is unaware and oblivious to the fact that he was supposed to have made his entrance into the world by now. I suppose he's going to take after his Uncle Dan, who was 2 weeks overdue and required surgical coaxing to see the light of day. And to provide yet more evidence that it must be genetic, I have to submit that Danny's lack of motivation can be traced directly to his father, the guy who put the "pro" in procrastination!! So it appears that we will have become official grand-parents by Monday (or Tuesday at the latest) because as of right now, the plan is for Megan to be induced if she doesn't show any signs of going into labor over the week-end.

In the midst of all this excitement we somehow managed to buy a new home. Well, technically, it's not a "new" home, it's actually a rather old home! But it's new to us. We bought an 18 acre property near New Castle, Indiana with a lovely old farmhouse and a beautiful 3-car garage that will serve as a wonderful pottery studio!

As I mentioned in a previous post, we had been looking in the Brown County area and weren't finding anything that looked extremely promising. I had also been having some concerns about the distance between Brown Co. and Steve's family in Ohio. So, I had started searching for properties between Indianapolis and Troy, rather than south of Indy. We came across this place a couple weeks ago, went to see it, liked it, made an offer, and it was accepted. Now, barring any unforseen issues cropping up during the inspection, it looks like we'll be moving in the last week-end in May! And with everything that's going on with Steve's dad, I think it's good that we didn't end up in Brown Co!!

I'll attach a few photos of the place since I haven't included many photos lately.

Here is the exterior of the house..........

It has a verrrrrrrry long lane! I won't need a Y membership, getting the mail will provide daily exercise!

The living room. I love the natural woodwork! That window will be the perfect spot for this year's Christmas tree!

No sliding down this bannister without a little reinforcement!!

I think it's going to be a fun place to live and have the grand-kids come and visit us! It's a little more house than we were thinking that we need, but this way we'll have plenty of room for family to stay in!! I'm pretty excited!

On Tuesday we have an inspection scheduled to determine whether or not there are any issues that may require attention (and money) in order to live in this house. Hopefully they won't find anything serious. We already have some fears about the septic system and some parts of the roof. We'll know more next week.

Also, next week, I will hopefully have some news on my grand-parent-hood status. And maybe I'll be able to post a few more pictures of the farm.

Until then.........keep on bloggin'! (that sounds lame!)