Spring Cleaning in Summer

 We've hired a junk removal company to haul away a bunch of our junk tomorrow! It's been a long time coming, and we're very excited! I must admit a little trepidation on my part, though. Some of this junk has memories, and it can be hard to get rid of things. 

To help lighten the load, and perhaps the total cost of the job, I've been carting things out, trash bag by trash bag. It's been both cathartic and draining. BUT I'm looking forward to reclaiming the space, especially in my home office! I've love to get a sleeper love seat or futon, and add some plants too. 

 

The photo above is not our home, but in my mind's eye, the pile has been pretty big! It includes some boxes from cleaning out our parents home a few years ago. Going through those things has been bittersweet, and I'm not done yet. But progress! 

Lunchtime Flute Lesson

 

I had my weekly flute lesson during lunch today, which was unusual. I arrived feeling a little flustered from my busy morning at work, and hungry, to boot! It ended up being really nice, though, to take a deep diver into music for a midday change, and work on different aspects of my flute development. 

New Goal: Walking a 5K

 Life has been challenging lately, so I've decided to set a new goal to get back in shape. I'm going to walk the Divine Llama Haunted Wine Run 5K on October 5. I've got a training plan mapped out, and did my first training walk today! 

Here's a fun YouTube video about it:

Flute Lessons

 I had my second flute lesson this morning! I've set up weekly flute lessons before I go into work, and it's going to be great! This is my first adventure with the flute, and I'm very excited about it! My goal is to get proficient enough to join a community band in my area. 

I do have a musical background, learning piano as a child, picking up the violin as a teenager. This is my first woodwind, though. I'm so excited!

My Bucket List: Turning 60 Tour

 It's still hard for me to believe I'll turn 60 later this year! Yowza! To help me make the birthday something

to look forward to, I decided to create a bucket list, and have dubbed it my Turning 60 Tour. It's still a work in progress, but I've already started working on some of the things on my list. Items on my list include a trip to Asheville, North Carolina, to stay at the Grove Park Inn, having lunch with five different friends, and attending home games of each of North Carolina's professional sports teams (Carolina Hurricanes, Carolina Panthers, and Charlotte Hornets). I'm excited about the adventures ahead!

Summer 2022

 Summer 2022 is coming to a close, and I want to record some of the events here to help me remember the fun, busy summer! 

In late June, George and I traveled to Easley, South Carolina, for  a Looper Family Reunion. Pam, a Looper cousin, and I had just two months to plan and pull it off, but we did it! We had a lunch-time reunion at a local church where many Loopers have attended, and the church cemetery is one evidence of that! We had about 25-30 people in attendance. We'd hoped for more, but were pleased with the turnout and really appreciated all who attended, especially given the short notice!

 In mid-July, I attended another reunion, one for the descendants of Eng and Chang Bunker. I'm not a Bunker descendant, but am related to their wives,

sisters Sarah and Adelaide Yates, so the Bunker descendants are my cousins. This was another lunch reunion, this time in Mount Airy, North Carolina. It was a really interesting and well-run reunion, about 80 attendees strong. In addition to the Bunker descendants, I met some Yates cousins, as well--fun!

In late July, George and flew/drove to Lake Tahoe, Nevada, for my oldest niece's wedding. We got caught up in this summer's air travel drama on the way, spending an unexpected night in Salt Lake City, but we made it in time for all the festivities, and had a wonderful time! We were pretty exhausted by the time we returned home, but it was a wonderful time with family in a fantastic location!

Reunions

This past weekend, I attended a couple of events for my high school reunion, and had a really fun time! I hadn't seen some of these former classmates since the last reunion I attended, 20 years ago. Others I hadn't seen since HS graduation! I almost didn't go, you know, the usual excuses. But I'm so glad I did!

In other reunion news, a cousin and I are planning a Looper Reunion for next month. This cousin and I just recently "met" on Facebook, and we're the reunion organizers by default--no one else wanted to do it. Although we just recently started planning for the late June reunion, we hope it'll be a success, and the start of a new family tradition!