Ethan and Ehlana:
We’ve had a cool, dull weather day, but the overnight rain moved out of the area; and we need to start getting used to normal fall weather – even while wishing for more warm and sunny. Tai Chi by the river was still a chilly option; we followed that up with a hot breakfast; and then our school day didn’t include anything newsworthy beyond the usual weekend gossip and football reports that didn’t include anything new from our locally-favorite college team because they didn’t play on Saturday. Naomi and Aiden came home with us for a band practice; Mom did a Magi lesson with us after that; and then our best friends went home while we had a quiet dinner with Mom and Dad ahead of a family business meeting.
We had a handful or two of guests with us for that meeting – possibly the last we’ll officially have for the rest of this year; and we covered a lot of ground that included ongoing project updates and new plans. We won’t go over everything, since the official record is available elsewhere in the archives; so we can stick to writing about some of our favorite moments. Plans for Cassie and Michael post-college weren’t the first item on the agenda tonight, but that is fairly-important to us; so we’ll begin with that. Yes, they still have a year-and-a-half and change to go before they’ll be finished college, but Uncle Blaine will be here for work this weekend; and we’re going to get him started on designing the house we’re going to build for Cassie and Michael. We’ll all pretend that it will be a big surprise for them; and have fun with the prep work – and then the building that will begin sometime next summer or early-fall. We made some plans for the work they’ll do too, but didn’t get into the more-dangerous parts of their future when not everyone in the room knows about that part of our future.
Plans for the galleria were a highlight of our night too. That project is why Uncle Blaine will be here from Friday to Sunday or Monday; and we’re overdue for an update on that construction progress. The exterior work and the atrium walkway are finished; the elevator and ground floor entrances and hallways are built; and the crews will spend the winter getting the interior construction and finishing work done. We can also report that the shops and owners are either already set or will be finalized by the end of the year – probably before Christmas; they’ll be able to start getting their new businesses set up from between early next year and early-spring as the construction for each space is finished; and then the galleria will open in time for the Memorial Day holiday weekend and the summer tourism season. We’re really going to love the new shopping options that will includeclothing and jewelry shops; a music store with a recording studio; a couple of specialty-themed places, and a coffee-and-bakery-snacks cafe to go along with the atrium walkway seating. We’re especially-happy to help all of those new business owners – including some of Cassie’s and Michael’s friends.
That leads us nicely into our review of our next group of high school grads. We don’t need to help all of them each year, but we are happy to help when needed – and offer opportunities to our teens that weren’t possible before Mom and Cassie moved here. Our favorite grads this year include Jessica Bassett, Lindsay Faulkner, and Geraldine Sheldon – though we don’t need to help them through the family business – at least for the college parts of their future. We will be helping some of their classmates with some scholarships; and the nudges toward careers that we’ll need around here have already been done; so we’re pretty much already set up for next year’s group of college freshmen. We went over plans for our upcoming graduating class of collegians too, but this update is getting a bit long; so let’s save those stories for another day.
Ehlana and I were interested in the plans and progress of work on the trails and Quarry Lake, and while we’re excited about the trail to our favorite campground getting finished in time for next summer; another significant addition of a water park to Quarry Lake is going to be amazing; and work on another trail that will head south from town and eventually connect to the rail trail that links a bunch of the towns south of us together will give us some amazing biking options as we head into our teen years.
That’s enough for tonight. We’ve had a good day, and looking ahead to our future is always exciting; so we’re fired up and ready to continue with those adventures. That won’t begin with any major changes for us by morning, but we do need to get some sleep now to be ready for school and the rest of our plans for the day; so, until next time...
...this is Ethan and Ehlana Proctor; live from the hidden home of the Magi of the Light – and May the Magi Force be with you!
