12/4/06 (Monday): Lots to report today, so I'll get right to it. Thanksgiving was not so great this year, although in retrospect there's a lot to be thankful for. I had a reunion with my two sons and their families in Michigan and Wiley went to his family's home. When I arrived on Wednesday, my granddaughter, Claire (4 months old), was slightly feverish and fussy. By the next morning (Thanksgiving), she was being rushed to the emergency room with a very high fever. We came awfully close to losing her. She had a urinary tract infection that went to her kidneys and became sepsis. Thank goodness Mark and Heather were there with me to care for Anna, Margo, Hudson and Austin. Poor Kristin stayed at the hospital the whole time, sleeping in the crib with Margo! Tom spent his days at the hospital and came home to help with the girls at night. We had corn dogs for Thanksgiving dinner! We had the Thanksgiving dinner that Kristin had mostly prepared ahead of time on Friday. It was a gourmet feast! We were truly thankful that everything came out okay and Claire came home on Monday.

Wiley's mother had her surgery last week. She's a real trouper--you can't keep a good woman down! There was no cancer in the sentinel node, so she'll have some radiation and that should be that.

We've accepted a summer Workamper position at Betsie Creek Campground near Sleeping Bear Dunes State Park. We're really excited about this position. It's about a 4-hour drive from my Michigan grandchildren and a mile from Lake Michigan. There's supposed to be good fishing, boating, hiking and quaint villages. Here's a link to the campground's website. http://www.michcampgrounds.com/betsieriver. Our duties will be much the same as they were in Maine.

My wrist and thumb are coming along well. I have an orthopaedist appointment today and physical therapy on Tuesday and Thursday.

Work here is going extremely well. We love everything we do! My favorite thing is monitoring the eagle nests. They're incubating now. This picture isn't very clear, but I see them quite clearly through the binoculars! Last night, coming home from our weekend in Winter Park, we saw two foxes in the driveway. We've seen deers, rabbits, feral hogs and lots of birds. I love my life!

That's it for now. Have