This has been one of those incredibly
crazy-busy days that are exhausting just due to the sheer amount of things
going on regardless of the fun or work levels!
Since there is so much to write about, let’s start from my wake-up call;
and I’ll try not to miss any of the major news along the way for this update.
Tai Chi by the river was an option, and a
great start to the day; but we then had to deal with thunderstorms and rain for
quite a bit of the day through until late afternoon. That didn’t get in the way of breakfast in
the sunroom that was more fun with Dad home again too, or my walk to school
with Rowen and Rebecca; but it did mean that we were indoors for lunch while a
storm rolled through; and the weather certainly messed up some of the
activities around town – and for my family too.
Topping that list was the ribbon-cutting
ceremony for the new bridge. It opened
today, and that’s a big deal for our little town; but Mother Nature was
apparently not impressed enough to keep from raining on that party. That was particularly unfair for the Malloys,
since they only came here for the day so that Terry could attend that ceremony
and then they could have a visit with our family before heading home after
dinner tonight; and the wet weather also kept us indoors for that dinner –
though that was because everything outside was wet; not because it was still
raining. The bridge did open despite the
weather, and that is really great for everyone in town to have that second
river crossing; so I guess we shouldn’t make a big deal out of a rain-shortened
ceremony.
While I’m writing about the bridge, let’s
cover the news that’s most-closely related to it – and big stories around town
today too. In addition to the bridge, we
have a new walk and bike path that goes along River Road between the two
bridges that gives pedestrians and bikers a safe route from the new section of
town to the park. As I’ve mentioned before,
the new path along the southern edge of the Emersons’ and Seagers’ yards
connecting our street with the new section of town is now finished and open
too; so we have a cut-through to that part of town – and a short-cut to the lab
and med center that Ethan and Ehlana are really going to like having as they
grow up and will be allowed to go there on their own.
It’ll be convenient for visiting Aiden and
Naomi too, and for other, future reasons; but I won’t spoil any surprises by
writing about that today. ;^)
Connecting the paths to the park, all of
the completed, new paths at the park are now officially open; and the work
there is finished for the summer season.
I can now report that the final phase of the park and paths plan will
get done over the next year, starting this fall, but we do have a lot of trail
options at the park right now; and I’m hoping that Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I
might even get to find some time this summer to go and play there. That does fit in nicely with the next bit of
news – the new bike and canoe rental shop.
It won’t officially open until Friday for the holiday weekend, and the
weather wasn’t exactly great most of the day today for renting bikes or canoes,
but since the owners are putting in long days this week getting ready for the
weekend; I have heard that they’ve done a few rentals today; and will continue
to do that this week too since they’re at the shop anyway. While I won’t exactly be in the market for
bike or canoe rentals, that little business is actually an important part of
the recreation and tourism plans that the town is developing for our future; so
I hope it does well during this first summer – especially since Jacob and
Miranda are basing a lot of their plans for the Inn expansion on those town
plans.
Continuing along those lines; that makes
the new Witch Falls Art Gallery opened tonight with a wine and cheese
party. It’s across the road from the
museum in the last building closest to the falls and ridge on the ValleyView
Furniture side of the road. It isn’t a
huge store, but it does have three floors; an interesting mix of local art of
varying types and worldly pieces that are being found and sent here by a
handful of our family business and charity travelers. I’m getting my own update story out of order
now, but I did go to the gallery tonight with Mom, Dad, and the twins to get a
first look at the place – which was one of the reasons why I didn’t have time
for any extra exam studying sessions with my friends and classmates today. Before I get back to that story, let’s talk a
bit more about the gallery; and then I’ll move along. While Bikes and Boats – the rental shop – is part
of the entertainment plans for outdoor fun around town, the art gallery adds to
the shopping and indoor fun options – and is also just part of the town plans
for offering something a bit different for both the locals and visitors of all
types – whether they’re family and friends or tourists at the area
campgrounds. The gallery will fit in
nicely with the museum and antique shop; and there will be more to come in the
future!
Okay, that’s it for the ‘business’ side of
things; so let’s get to the personal stuff!
Our class time today was all about exams
today – and that’ll be true from now until we’ve finished writing them. Since it was raining today and we couldn’t be
outside anyway, Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I had a bonus exam study session at
lunch that a few of our friends joined us for; but that was mostly because
Michael and I couldn’t do any extra study sessions after school today – and we
won’t be able to do that on Tuesday or Wednesday either. I’ve already mentioned my visit to the art
gallery tonight, but Rowen and I also had appointments at the Salon to get our
hair done ahead of the holiday weekend.
It’s been too long since I’ve been to the salon – a fact that Mom
pointed out to me; mostly because I need to keep up appearances with things
like that too despite the fact that we don’t actually need to get our hair cut
at all if we choose not to do that. I
don’t really even think about it, and don’t usually bother with controlling my
hair growth; but could do that – and have sometimes unconsciously done it in
the past. I do like going to the salon,
though, and should remember to fit it into my schedule more often – especially when
I did need to have about three inches cut off like I did today – and that still
left my hair a bit longer than I’ve normally kept it before now.
Rowen and I went straight to the salon
after last class, so I met up with Michael at his house before taking him home
with me to have dinner with my family and the Malloys. Violet and Dillon were with us for the meal,
and we had a blast for that couple of hours of fun; but then Terry and Angela
took their kids and hit the road for home because they’re both working in the
morning; Violet and Dillon went to meet up with Isabelle and Andrew for more
wedding-related action; and Michael and I took care of the clean-up before we
went to the art gallery grand opening.
While I was glad to have all of the fun mixed into my day, all of that
entertainment also meant that I got a really late start to the work and study
parts of my day. After leaving the art
gallery, Michael came home with me again; we did our homework; and then had a
music practice to get ready for our band and teen praise team practices on Tuesday. That took until eleven o’clock; Mom did a
Magi lesson with us after that in the office; and then we took care of getting
Ethan and Ehlana tucked in for the night before Michael went home.
I came up to my room after that and got
ready for bed. It’s been all work since
then except for a bedtime chat break with Violet after she and Dillon got home
at twelve-thirty or so; and it was the family business work that took up most
of my time tonight while I cut back just a bit on the language studies to make
up for some of that extra time. A bit of
time phasing was involved too, but I didn’t try to push that beyond what I
could handle; and worked in ‘real’ time after that. The details from the work aren’t particularly
interesting to most people, so I’ll continue to spare you the boredom of it in
my journal, but for the few that do enjoy those boring details; you’re welcome
to check out the related business archives if you have access to them. Since it isn’t something I mention
often-enough, though, and I’m thinking about it tonight as I wrap up my day
with this report; I will remind you that I do always have a true sense of
satisfaction with my family business work because I do a lot of good with
everything – whether that’s directly through our charities or by making the
money that supports those charities.
There is a limit to what I can do, though,
and I’ve hit my limit for today. It’s
been fun, but this is just the first of my long, busy days this week, and I
need to get all of the nap time I can to keep up with everything; so, until
next time...
...May the Magi Force be with you!
