Too much going on at once....

.... but that's what happens sometimes.

First of all, we got back from a few days at the lake and there was a package waiting for me-- a box filled with pajamas from a Vacation Bible School Group in the Houston area. Thirty-eight pajama sets, plus one adorable pair of slippers. I've already sorted them into boy/girl sizes and I will deliver them to the agencies during the week. That brings the number of pajamas to 1,198... and still counting.

Secondly, I'm trying to arrange for a few things from my grandmother's house to be shipped down here from New York.... and that has to be done before the end of next week, because my Aunt Dolly will be leaving that house for the last time and going to her new home in Florida. Right now, my cousin L is helping my aunt go through the entire house.... deciding what to bring, what to give away, what to sell. Big job..... and as my Aunt Dolly reminded me just this afternoon, the family has lived in that home for the past 89 years. No matter how you look at it, that's an amazingly long time, and the amount of stuff in that house is overwhelming, to say the least. Everything that will be shipped from Queens will be sent to our lake house... and hopefully the delivery truck will find its way from the center of town up into the woods around the lake without getting lost.

While we were up at the lake this time, we drove around to some of the other communities..... some larger than ours, some smaller. All of them are so very different. Some look very blue-collar, others are more white-collar. Home prices range anywhere from just over $100,000 to three-quarters of a million dollars, depending on just where you are on the lake..... and how big the house is, and how spectacular your view of the lake is. That's the most important thing up there-- not what your lake-house looks like, but what your lake-view looks like. So far, we haven't found a view that we like better than ours. (However, I did see some larger, more beautiful homes up there this time.) But the big question... if we ever decided to move up to the lake, would we want to live in our lake house? We both say no..... we'd rather find a newer, bigger house in a new subdivision.

With all the new construction going on here in town, and all the high-rises that will be going up soon, this area here is going to be more downtown-like than ever. Not a good thing in our book. Do we stay here and watch it all happen? Or do we move out in the country around the lake? Or do we go one step further and look at options elsewhere? When I think of that option, my mind goes back to the Hill Country. We loved it there...... but do we want to live further west? There are other states, other opportunites, other ideas... so many choices.

As I said..... too much going on at once.

The upcoming Harry Potter lunch....... our five Potter-loving friends are reading the book now and we will all get together before the month is over to discuss it. I bought some small glass bottles of cream soda today at Kroger---- that will be our "Butter Beer" for the lunch. I also have a glass bottle of green apple soda, which we will cover with a label that says "Polyjuice Potion." The possibilities are endless for this lunch, and I will have a lot of surprises on the table for everyone.

If anyone had told me five years ago that we would be hosting a Harry Potter lunch, I would have told them that their Muggle-brain must have been sprinkled with Essence of Dittany.