Trippin'!

When you live 11 hours away from family, that means that your break time is spent traveling.  It was energy sapping to see so many people in such a short time frame, but the rewards are great when you don't get to seem them every day :)

Unfortunately, this visit was also a difficult one because we had to see family members that we don't know if we will have the chance to see again.  Life is short, and we never know how long we have here on earth, but two of Charlie's grandparents are sick: his grandfather suffered a stroke, and his grandmother has terminal cancer.  They are taking it day by day, but getting to spend quality time when we live in the south isn't possible on a weekly or even monthly basis.  It was clear we needed to be there, and we felt so fortunate to be able to have the time off to fly up.  Being a teacher isn't an easy job by any stretch, but to be able to have holidays and "breaks" off allows us the opportunity to be with our family. Charlie works from home, so he is also flexible.  Blessings, blessings :)

 We made the rounds and saw my family and mutual friends.  We spent time with the siblings, the in-law siblings, and my grandparents, too which was great.  We also spent a night at an amazing dive with Charlie's best childhood friends (minus his friends Dan who now lives in California).  These guys are like brothers to me, and it was so great to see them all together.  We laughed a LOT.  I stayed up until 1:30 am, which is unheard of for me!...and then I was sick the next day. :(  Not even kidding.  And not even from drinking (I only had a couple)...my body just can't do that any more!  I don't know how I stayed up so late all the time in college!  A favorite pic of the night from Jess:

The great thing about being sick back home is having my mom take care of me and cooking for me like she did when I was a kid.  THAT was amazing :)

Here's one more picture my MIL sent.  Char and I with my brother and his girlfriend...and William and Kate!  She's throwing a Royal Wedding party.  How cool is that?  She has the hats and everything!  Some of the pictures got deleted, but we had a lot of fun with the cardboard prince and future princess.

In other news, being in MI again reminded me of how much I love the piano (and miss it!)  I always play when I go back...I've played since I was in Elementary school and I used to give lessons back in the day.  It is so much more relaxing than playing my flute.  I have been thinking this for several months, and I officially decided that as my "I'm over the hill to thirty" birthday gift, I am getting a piano.  :) 

We've I've done lots of looking and research (obsessive, really), and I even went to visit a home to see a piano someone was selling on Craigslist for $200.  We are going to probably go the refurbished route, because it's the most economical, and it will offer the best piano.  I'm picky.  My piano lessons were always on Yahamas and I grew up playing a well-made baby grand. I know the feel of a good piano, how the keys come back up to meet your fingers, and if it offers no opportunity for pronounced dynamics, then it isn't for me!

This is the biggest purchase we've made for the house since moving in, so I want to make sure we know what we are doing.  I initially thought (being me and loving free) people sell and give away free pianos all the time on Craigslist!  This is true, but from the research I've done, there is no point buying a $200 piano that is wildly out of tune (most sold on Craigslist at this price are) and then having to pay someone to bring it safely to the home and tune it for you...you're looking at a $700-$800 price for tuning and delivery.  That's assuming there is nothing wrong with it: like a broken sound board!  And then you are really screwed.  I don't know how to look for these things.  Why not just buy completely refurbished with free delivery?  It's about the same price in the end.  I found someone in our area who does sells refurbished pianos and has been in the business a long time.  I talked to him on the phone, and I was impressed.  But I know the pianos will speak for themselves.  :)

I posted this video last year after Christmas...If you can tolerate the out of season music.  I'm rusty, but I love to play :)  I was playing my Mom's piano.