Any of you monkeys want a banana?

The biggest news of the year, so far, is that Caleb had heart surgery and is making a good recovery. This means that Jonathan and Kimberly will be leaving N.D. soon and coming to stay with us until they get established on their own. That should be fun, for the most part. We're all hoping that they will find gainful employment, but that part will have to wait and see. In the meantime, the prospect of having some assistance in keeping the driveway clear this winter is pretty appealing (remember how the snowblower works, Jonny?). Having Jonathan and his family close at hand should be a very good thing, and one we're all looking forward to.

The summer is done (what there was of it) and will be missed by all. I've been very busy, and have been gone quite a few weekends (I know because Rose keeps telling me how much I've been gone). Blissfest, Sugar Island Fest, and Wheatland last weekend were the main events. I finally managed to get to the Grand Marais festival and heard some pretty good music (and some not so good as well). I swear that this group called New 3rd Coast were channeling Crosby, Stills, and Nash. The big disappointment was that there was no picking in the camping area after the stage shut down! I couldn't believe it. It's not too likely I'll go again, since the after-hours picking is the main reason I go to these things. The Sugar Island Festival was really good this year, at least the music was good. The attendance was not great, but the number of people camping seemed to be quite a few more than last year. Buz actually missed our first set on Saturday, and didn't really have a good reason. We harassed him mercilessly about it of course. It was sure fun, and playing with Gary, Wayne, Josh, and the others was as good as I thought it would be. Joel (from Alpena) came and picking with him throughout the weekend was a lot of fun as well. Joel, we usually don't mix music and politics. You have been warned.

Gabrielle is pregnant again, so that will make...let's see...Laini, Sara, Leia, Charlotte, Sofia, Sam, Natalie, Xander, Isabelle, ???, Taylor, Trenton, Caleb...13? Oh oh, somebody needs to step up and make it a nice round 14. So who's it gonna be? I can't keep up with all the birthdays, that's for sure. That's Rose's job, I guess. It's amazing how she can keep them all straight. I'm beginning to suspect she's got it written down somewhere.