Another busy day....and a GREAT evening!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This morning......up at 6:30, made the Fr. Roast coffee....read the online newspapers, and after the 1st Lady was up and moving around, I took care of the morning rituals. Then for quite a bit of the morning hours, I did some manual trimming around the shrubs, flowers, the AMAZING butterfly bush which has grown to about 10 feet all.....and twice that size around.

This morning I talked with Mark Hilke, a former student who now hails from Chicago, and is currently in STL with his son's ball team in a national tourney. We agreed to meet early evening up there....and so, for the remainder of the afternoon, I just kicked back, did some work online, and enjoyed a relaxful afternoon.

Left here about 4pm......HAD, just HAD to stop at the Bauhaus Koffee shop in Farmington and get a cappuccino "to go" and then drove on up to STL...the west end, the Chesterfield area where he and his family were staying at the Hilton Homewood Suites.

After a bit of difficulty, I found this really nice hotel tucked very discreetly back into the trees and shrubs......filled with young boys who are playing in the 158 team tournament. LOTS of people everywhere...the lobby, the hallways, the parking area.......tons of participants staying there.

Find their room, it was soooooooooooo GREAT to see him again, and WOW.......has he ever lost the weight!!!! GREAT JOB, Mark!!!!!!! Keep it going......... We chatted for awhile, and then he and I left Leah and Tom in the room....and went to the Olive Garden.

We never came to a period the entire evening....and it was the entire evening. It was after 10, the doors were locked, before we departed for the hotel again. I ordered a good cabernet sauvignon and the Seafood Portofino: a wonderful flavorful dish of linguine with mussels, shrimp, and scallops.....and it was sooooo sooooo good!!!!!! The salad preceding the main entree was as always in the Olive Garden......really fresh and soooo tasty!!!! And the bread sticks....??? Well, they were hot and just so fresh and buttery with garlic over the top of them.

Mark and I, as I said above, just kept sooo busy talking that the poor waiter had to wait and wait and wait for us to finally place an order from the menu. But...when the food arrived, we did devour it, but oh soooo slowly.......too many things to discuss!!!!!!

And so, I finally left the hotel about 10:30....and drove into the driveway of the stick/brick at midnight...JUST before I turned into a pumpkin!!!!! WOW.....it was soooo good to see him and to visit for those few brief hours!!!!!!! We just have to do this again......soon!!! (Hear me, Mark?)

And so,.......a GREAT DAY......and, as always....

LIFE IS JUST INCREDIBLY GREAT!!!!!!!!!......And, I hope it is for all of you, also!!!!!