Family, spurtles, and work!

Mom and I just got back from a great visit out east. I was teaching a class last week, while Mom visited family and then we spent the weekend with family together. It was wonderful to see everyone.

First, though, I got a great gift from my friend, John Schomaker, who teaches the class with me. He will be retiring soon and has taken up wood turning as a hobby. He made us this amazing Spurtle! It is hand turned from tulip poplar wood. You can read about spurtles here.

Marianne got to visit with Tanya and the kids, and also got to see Kirstan and Hailey. Then on Friday night we had dinner with Diane and Dick, Chuck and Marge, and Dina and her boyfriend Mike. On Saturday we drove down to southern Virginia to see Diane and Dick's property and had a picnic lunch right where they will build their new home! It was fun to walk around their land and down to the lake. Now, when they fill us in on news and progress, we'll be better able to picture it. We ended our visit with some hard fought battles of Crokinole, but unfortunately for Marianne and I, "Dead Eye" Dick and his able partner Diane, were too accurate for us!