For all intents and purposes, we have finished moving!  All the boxes have been emptied, and “stuff” that doesn’t fit or belong in the house is stored in the attic (said I’d never do that again) and crawlspace.  A significant water issue remains in the crawlspace, perhaps because of the recent heavy rains, or perhaps otherwise, but it is severely limiting what can be stored there.  Kay ordered several framed prints to complete the basic decor, and those have been hung.  Wow, did she ever do a good job in selecting them as they are very nice pieces of art.  And, she picked out a rug for the breakfast area and a long runner for the hallway, and they too are quite attractive.  Bassett Furniture is in the process of replacing the breakfast table and one chair, and adding an occasional table in lieu of one we delivered but did not order.  They have been very cooperative and exceeding expectations in their business dealings with us, particularly since “our” decorator left the store for another job just after delivering our furniture.  All that said,, we have essentially transitioned from building and moving to housekeeping and maintenance.  We immensely enjoy watching the sunrise from our bedroom, watching a pair of Green Herons, a pair of Mississippi Kites, and several female hummingbirds from the sunroom and the deck, and having a good soak in the hot tub every evening.

On Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, Karyn, Matt, Ridge, and Acker visited for the first time.  As they were pulling onto the driveway, Ridge said it was his new house with DD and KK!  Kids say the darnedest things.  He had a blast playing in the gravel with his cars, and enjoyed getting a “power surge” from the crystals embedded in the decorative landscape rocks.  The Big Green Egg was used for the first time to smoke ribs, and while everyone was complimentary, they were a bit dry.  We cooked hamburgers on the Egg on Memorial Day for a few guests, and the hamburgers were also a bit dry.  I’m having trouble getting the Egg up to temperature.

 We returned to northern Arkansas on Tuesday after Memorial Day for a blood workup for me, and my first Medicare appointment.  Of all things, I forgot my wallet, which had driver’s license and Medicare card.  Fortunately, Kay’s quick thinking baled me out and the cardiologist’s office faxed a copy to the doctor’s office.  While in northern Arkansas, Kay took care of some real estate business, and we both enjoyed a visit with Wayne and Loretta.  Many thanks to John and Sandy Simank for the use of their house.  Wednesday morning we chased down a prescription for Nitro that was forgotten Tuesday, and had a semi-annual visit to the hygienist and dentist in Calico Rock.  Though only living in Hot Springs Village a short while, we were glad to return to our house and home here.

On Thursday, we hopefully finished our recent buying spree with a 2015 Toyota Avalon.  We hope to do some car road trips over the next few years and wanted a more comfortable ride than either of our old autos provided.

We ended the month with a bang, as Karyn and the kids visited over the weekend.  We so much enjoyed having them here, and for the first time in a long time it truly seemed like family in our house.  Ridge and I visited the European national car show at the Ponce de Leon Center in the Village in the morning to see the valve cover races, and some of the restored European cars being shown. The first car we saw was owned and showed by an old acquaintance, Don Wiseman, formerly of Memphis; he was kind enough to let Ridge sit behind the wheel for a photo.

We returned to the house where we spent lots of hours picking up sticks and rocks so he could throw them into the lake.  And Acker was a real joy as well, as she is beginning to develop her own little personality.  We can’t wait for Harper, Jenny, and Brian to visit in the next few weeks, and hopefully we can get all the little ones together for a few hours.  On Sunday afternoon, we attended our second Estrella Lake party, and welcomed John and Sandy Simank for an overnight visit.