Summer is Flying By

Where has the time gone? We just had another wonderful week-end in my backyard with my local family plus two special guests...my sons Adam and Kyle from Baltimore and Texas. What a treat. And we had nice warm, clear weather. We even got some work done on Sunday in addition to all the swimming and games. The work was removing a large old bush that was pretty but took up way too much space for our "play ground". Bridgette's husband Ben brought over his chain saw and we had it cut up in minutes. Then it took hours to feed and burn the foliage which created more than a little smoke in the neighborhood. We called the fire Dept first to make sure we were legal.

The big show of the week-end was "Baby Sloan's first roll-over" from her back to her front. Maybe it was the other way. She's about 2 months old and got a big hand from everyone wanting her to "do it again". Son Kyle was happily beating most at the croquet competition and son Adam and his partner Greg were kick'n butt in horseshoes most of the week-end. The girls seemed happy playing washers but I did not see who was doing best. Tyler arrived with a cake she made on Saturday and a beautiful plate of scones on Sunday which was quickly devoured by everyone. They saved a few for me since I placed the order earlier in the week and bought the supplies.

This all started Friday evening and ended Sunday evening so I suspect most were as tired as I was. Adam didn't get home until 1 am Monday after a late connection thru Chicago. Kyle and Chrystal arrived home about 8 pm after a 1 hr stop-over in OK city for a short business call. He had borrowed a company truck to move his things out of my basement and back to Texas. We had a nice family breakfast and meeting Sunday morning as an update to my health and living will and it was a real fun week-end. Natalie took photo's of the Scott Clan and me with the boys for sister Peggy's 59th birthday which was last Thursday. I guess you could say things actually started Thursday evening with a nice family dinner at a very nice Mexican restaurant.

I had a very pleasant surprise the previous week-end, when I got a visit from the executive director of Maryknoll Lay Missioners who I worked for in Tanzania. He stopped by the house Saturday morning on the way to a "church talk" in Emporia. Sam and I have the same birthday and he is a K-State grad from '75. I decided to drive over to hear his talk he next day and visit my elderly (94) aunt Louise who just moved back with her daughter in Emporia. I took her to mass and she enjoyed that, I believe.

Last week I met with a KU Cardiac doctor to get a second option on my heart surgery. It was very helpful but a little different opinion from my first doctor who thinks I definitely need the "root" of the aorta replaced, in addition to the valve and ascending aorta. That's about the only disagreement but it is a significantly more involved surgery to replace the root, so that needs to be resolved soon. I really like both doctors. Both have a lot of experience, especially Dr Daon at KU (400 surgeries per year for 10 yrs). The fact that he's cajun doesn't hurt. It looks like the surgery will be in mid October if the chemo ends as scheduled in early September.

I also got an encouraging email this last week from our Tanzanian school head master. The school has agreed to pay for shipping of the 30 used laptops via DHL Express instead of waiting for me to bring them later this year or early next year. That will be expensive (about $100 per PC) but sure save me a lot of hassles at the airports, etc. So that will be my project for this week; getting everything boxed and shipped. It would be cheaper by US Post but much greater chance of theft.