You may recall my recent blog “Hanging Out with the Guys.” The one about Hubby D and me driving to Missouri’s Lake of the Ozarks and passing two of his fishing buddy friends who were parked alongside Interstate 70. We wound up inviting them to stay at our Casalago family retreat while they spent a few unseasonably warm days winter fishing, to which the guys agreed but only if they could treat us to dinner each night. How sweet was that, a win-win deal too good to pass up. 

D had been nursing a horrible cold for endless weeks, one that he’d passed it on to me, so we avoided the usual hugs and handshakes with our house guests, and focused on an aggressive steering clear between those infected and the vulnerable. Although, now that I think about it, the four of us did occupy the same vehicle while driving to our dining destinations and then gathered around one table where we ate and commiserated for several hours. No sampling from each other’s plate; for that we get an A. But we did use one knife to cut individual slices of bread from the same loaf. Should that count against us—as to how many nasty germs can rest on the handle of a serrated knife? Wouldn’t you know, after our healthy house guests went home, both of them came down with colds that bore an uncanny resemblance to those we finally got over around the same time theirs started. Ah-h, the inevitable hazards of friendship, the sharing of unwanted organisms that keep us connected long after we’ve moved on with our separate lives. 

As for D and me, our moving on has consisted of more trips to the lake, more overseeing of the construction of our 900-square-foot addition to Casalago. We (as in the family/owners) are now in what I call Phase Two. On the minus side with temperatures fluctuating between zero and fifty degrees, and weather conditions ranging from sleet to freezing rain to snow and bright sunny days, we’ve dealt with backed-up plumbing, old furnace versus when to install new furnace issues, and delays in receiving materials that were ordered weeks ago. On the plus side, our diligent carpenters have shown up when they said they would, and that’s saying a lot in the laid-back Ozarks. In a matter of harsh winter weeks they have prepped the foundation and after the concrete was poured, constructed two levels of floors and exterior sides, put on a roof that’s ready to be shingled; and installed the exterior doors and all but one window.  

Our Casalago project is nowhere near done, but we’re getting there and hope to be enjoying the extended digs by Memorial Day. So what about you? How are you spending your long winter days? Hang in there … next week we return to Daylight Savings Time. Talk about time. It sure flies when you’re having fun, right?  

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