A few updates on life at Wildacres

We've been a bit remiss in updating the blog, so here are a few of the high-lights of life in the world of  Mike & Katy:

Mike left Ingenix and is now with Accoalde, Inc. of Plymouth Meeting, PA. He's is very much enjoying the new challenges. If I do say so, he's the BEST VP of Analytics in the country and they are VERY lucky to have him! They are a high-powered, really dynamic group of braniacs - perfect for Mike! 

Katy participated in the 3rd Annual Candlewood Lake Dragon Boat Races on the 20th. Her team was all-female and they paddled their hearts out in all three timed-heats. Unfortunately, they came in last but lots of fun was had by all and they will be back next year with lots of practice under their PFD's!

Dragon boat racing is all about rhythm and synchronization, not strength. As you can see here, we need to work on the synchro part a bit...

Hurricane/Tropical Storm Irene caused quite a mess in CT this past weekend, with New Milford receiving about 8 inches of rain. There are still over 400,000 residences without power and it's predicted to be 5 days for full restoration. Luckily we fared rather well, only losing power for about 6 hours.

Thankfully, all of the 100-ft trees near the house stayed upright throughout the rather strong wind gusts. We did suffer one fatality: the end of the driveway. It usually develops a new rut or two after heavy rain but Irene left us a major ditch about 18 inches deep. Water was cascading down most of Sunday, creating a rushing waterfall and sending all our gravel down the street. A car stopped on Sunday afternoon and took a video of it. Tourists no doubt!

With our 4-wheel drive vehicles we are able to traverse the ditches to get out and we'd planned to repair the driveway as part of our overall house/property renovation, so we suffered only minor inconvenience. It's really quite fitting that the storm of the Century was timed with the Wildacres Centennial Upgrade!

The foundation for our new garage was poured mid-August and the garage components are scheduled to arrive in two weeks. It will be exciting to finally see a building in place. The added space will allow us to create an exercise area, an office area for Mike as well an extra bedroom for when the kids visit. Oh, and we'll be able to park our cars there, too!

We're looking forward to a visiting Jon, Jess and Eli in Endicott this weekend. Eli is growing so fast. It's hard to believe he's 19-months old. His cousin, Jazmine, born on July 4th, is very petite in comparison. It's a blessing having two such beautiful grandchildren and their wonderful parents!

Sunday we'll return home for a birthday-celebration dinner at with Nancy and Bob at The Hopkins Inn, overlooking Lake Waramaug. Nancy and I share a birthday and this is a 'milestone' year so we'll be toasting to memories and new adventures as we look forward to many more wonderful years as friends.