Wander Indiana, wander Indiana, wander Indiaaaaaaana!

I went down to Rochester, IN to visit Sis#1 and Fam last weekend! Sissie came from Seattle, too! Bro couldn't make it, but is trying for September. It was a LOT of fun to hang out with my sisses and Sis#1's Family!

Sis#1, Metal Man and Sissie emerging from Trail Number 4 (the Trail of Death!!!!! Rumor has it that it's haunted!!!! ooooohh!!!!!!!)

Here she is! The Best Dog In The Whole Universe! JASMINE!!!!!



I'm tellin' ya, NO ONE can just plain enjoy themselves like MY family! I think it's because we accept each other, with all our manifold differences; we love each other. We want to enjoy our time together, so we DO! Even if my feet blister up after an hour of walking (my own fault, because I wasn't prepared for a real hike! I only brought little shoes, not sturdy shoes and my feet suffered for it, dam# feet! They blister up like over-cooked chicken skin).

We went to Potato Creek State Park, which I highly recommend to anyone in the northern-ish area of IN. It's a very pretty park, has a beach, a biking trail, camping, good hiking trails and it's horse friendly. It also has a sweet little nature center, which I skimmed over, because I just needed to sit, at that point (dam# Fibromyalgia!!! It just stops me cold and I HAVE to rest).
Sis#1 was so cute - she flirted with her hubby, Metal Man, to get the "ok" to bring the pooch, Jasmine, on our hike. She was all fluttering the eyelashes and giving a sly smile and being genuinely adorable! Of COURSE, Metal Man couldn't resist and we brought The Best Behaved Dog In The World with us! Sadly, the powers that be (in the Indiana State Park system) wouldn't let us bring her in a canoe, so canoeing (or kayaking) will have to wait until Sept., when Bro can be here, too. And, hopefully, Mr Handsome.





There was a very pretty lake and a magical looking stream (hmmmm, maybe it was Potato Creek! HA!) that we came across on our walk. Jasmine was happy to jump in the stream. Metal Man was less thrilled, but went along with it, with good grace. It was a very, very hot, humid and heavy day, but so nice to be outside! I spend WAAAAAY too much time indoors, now that I'm not walking dogs anymore.

Sis#1 refreshed us on the rules for the card game Hearts, and promptly spanked us all. Man, we lost big. She's always been good at math-type stuff and I think cards are kinda in that category. You do, after all, have to remember the cards that have been played and figure out the probabilities of the other cards arising. I always thought Sis#1 would be an amazing and inspiring teacher. When I was in the 9th grade, and failing algebra, she taught me and I passed with a B! Now, keep in mind that this was during a time when she and I were NOT getting along (teen-age rebellion and all that implies), so for her to be able to bridge that bias (mine) and teach me what my paid-for teacher could not.... well, I call that amazing! And, y'know what? Sometimes, to this day, I make up algebra problems in my head to relax myself. Yup, I do. http://www.KissMyMath.com/ Now, I love algebra, thanks to Sis#1. That's what a good teacher will do for ya.

Ok, so, AAAAANYway, we also played Wii, which was TONS of fun, and I did, if I do say so myself (and I DO) excel at Laser Tennis Thingy! I totally rocked! My nephew, Gorgeous Eyes, was an excellent host (it's his game) and made sure we all got a chance to play his Wii. Now, this is more generous than you may immediately assume, because Gorgeous Eyes has muscular dystrophy and is unable to physically play, but, by encouraging all of us to play (and enjoying OUR enjoyment), has a larger spirit than anyone (absolutely ANYONE) I've _EVER_ met. http://www.mda.org/disease/dmd.html This kid (oops, I mean, this man, 'cause he's fully grown, it's just difficult for us Auntie-types to give up the "you're just a kid!" bit!) is a real-life, bona-fide, certifiable inspiration, which would make him blush, but there it is - truth.

Sissie, Gorgeous Eyes (wrapped up in a blanket), Metal Man and Sis#1

Me and Sis#1
Did I already say that I kicked A$$ at Laser Tennis Thingy?!?! 'Cause, I surely did!!!!! Metal Man whomped us ALL at bowling, though. He got 5 strikes - IN A ROW, people!!!!! WOW! And he totally did NOT lord it over us. He was very genteel about the whole winning thing! Very sweet.

It was such a great time, to be with my family. I miss them awfully. They may not "get" me (make-up, clothes, celebrity gossip), and sometimes they may not even like me (cranky; weak; blistered feet), but they DO accept me. And that's a rare, precious thing.