April 17, 2011

Well the last posting from Waterford is here.  The movers come tomorrow to begin the packing and loading process and by the end of the week we will be on the road to our next adventure in Wisconsin.  Since I didn't get around to posting something up last weekend, due to travel and being under the weather (probably from the plane ride), I'll go back two weeks.  Jo had a conference in Phoenix and for one of the first times, I was able to join her to enjoy the warmer temperatures in the Southwest - one big advantage of being "retired".  While she listened to exciting talks on "Diversity" and "Talent Retention", I lazed around the pool and hot tub, sitting in the sun and catching up on my reading.  I also enjoyed a nice 3 hour hike around the mountain/hill behind our hotel.  We then had the opportunity to spend the weekend with our niece, nephew, and their charming little girl (that's two out of three in the photo and me doing my best finger puppet act), who live just outside of Phoenix.  It was nice to catch up along with enjoying the antics of a 2 year old.  I certainly miss having that kind of energy and being able to fall asleep within 5 seconds.  I must admit, however, that I wasn't biggest hit, as there were many screams for "Jo, Jo, Jo".  I put it down to an easier name to say than Eric - at least that made my ego feel better.  There were only two downsides to our trip to Phoenix:  1) it turned cold and rained for most of the day on our Saturday with our niece and nephew (what is up with rain in Phoenix?), and 2) I managed to catch someone's cold on the trip out so was struggling with a sore throat for the weekend.

After flying back to Milwaukee, I had one more day with Jo before heading back to CT to continue readying ourselves and all our stuff for the move.  I feel that I'm finally on top of everything as I have gathered all of our outdoor items so they aren't forgotten and set aside the critical items we'll need before we are in our new house at the end of the month.  The rest of my week was fairly uneventful since I didn't do too much until Thursday as I nursed the last bit of the cold out of me.  The rest of the time was my usual exercise routine (albeit it was shortened to help recover from the cold), sorting through more of our junk for discard, and disconnecting all the computer, video, and stereo equipment to allow for easier packing.

With all the cold weather this winter, we seem to be finally turning the corner (although Jo did remark that it was snowing briefly yesterday in Milwaukee - yipee?) to some warmer temperatures.  I felt that this blog needed some signs of spring, hence the photos of our garden's daffodils and the magnolia getting ready to burst forward.  Jo is coming home on Thursday for a final round of lobster rolls and a play at the Granite Theater in Westerly with Sheri and Bruno.  Then it will be time to say goodbye to our estate here and hit the road out west (or I should say out Midwest).  One of the things I will have to look into is changing the name of the blog to "Words from Wisconsin".  Stay tuned for life in cheese country ....