A busy month

What a whirlwind of a trip to the US!  Even now I'm not sure exactly what I did!  It was wonderful to see my family and catch up with everyone.  The highlights were getting in two days with Stori and the kids (oh how I wish it could have been longer), hanging out in the pool with Mom, Nina, and Trent, breakfast in Velma's with Daddy, and lots of quality time with Grandma and Debbie.  As always, the weeks went by too quickly and the tears flowed too freely when it was time to go.  I am happy here and I do love my life, no matter how much I may cry when I leave you all.  

Here are a few pictures of my visit: 

  

While in Florida, I dropped the Permanent Residency Visa application in the mail.  It was wonderful to receive a prompt email from the case officer.  We are looking forward to a positive response in a few months.  With that in mind, I am going to be back in the US from late September through mid December awaiting my new visa.  It was a very tough decision to spend three months without Ken by my side, but we think it's for the best in the long-term.  We would hate to both be in the US in case Immigration needs something from him in Australia!  We're definitely looking into the future on this and three months is a sacrifice that has to be made. 

It was wonderful to get back home on the 30th after so many hours on a plane.  Brisbane greeted me with a cold, drizzly day and Ken greeted me with his yummy curry and a lovely warm apartment.  This trip has taken me longer to get over for some reason.  A week later, I'm still exhausted and going to bed early every night.  

Ken has been keeping me busy though.  He's discovered the joys of cheese making!  Before I left, I made up a batch of feta that was pretty yummy.  But while I was away, he made three batches of farmhouse cheddar!  It is really beautiful stuff, we cracked open the first round and have been nibbling away.  It's creamy and definitely has a bite to it.  Lovely!  Ken was so excited about doing it, that he made another batch this week so I could observe and learn.  It's drying out for a couple more days, then I guess he'll wax it and let it age a bit.  Delicious and really so easy!  

Some pictures of the process:

   

  

I had the wonderful opportunity to meet a dear friend of Ken's on Tuesday.  Dennis and Ken have known each other for many, many years and manage to maintain a friendship over email and occasional phone calls.  I was thrilled he came over from the West Coast and I was able to meet him over lunch.  He is going to happily report to the other "mates" that I really do exist and am not some figment of Ken's imagination!  

Now it's time for me to get back to the laundry that's piled up in this rainy weather!  I have to take advantage of a sunny day...