June 7, 2021. Canyon Lake, Texas. Lake House Renovations.

The home we four purcased was ordinary and ugly but we lived with it for a year or so mainly because we had no money. Ken and I hired a local architect to come up with ideas and a plan which we liked. When I was talking with my friend Butch about the renovations he urged me to not even ask David and Suzanne to share the costs because by then Sarah had come along and Abigail was soon to be born. He told me that if Ken and I wanted to renovate the lake house we should pay for it ourselves. We started getting bids from Builders and we selected the cheapest and also the youngest. He got the job done and on budget but hidden defects appeared over time. We turned the house upside down by putting one room on the second floor overlooking the water, so living room, dining room and kitchen were open. The lower level now held two maser suites with full bathroom opening on the large deck just below the deck off the main room. We extended the house 8 feet and the decks were large. An ugly shed was attached to the side of the house which we removed. That left us with a guest room, office and large childrens room. When the renovations were complete, the house was just what we wanted it to be. Because Ken and I paid for the renovation, Suzanne and David took over paying the mortgage but for a few years we kept our pot of money. Fifteen years after the renovation was completed, David hired a good carpenter to correct the defects all done by shoddy work. If the rain was beating down and the wind blew from the lake, water seeped in the windows of David and Suzanne's bedroom. But not any more. It was an expensive fix. In the future we will never select the cheapest builder. But the house fits our purposes for both family life and for entertaining. We started with a tacky little house with great acess to the lake. After the renovations, we had a lovely home overlooking the lake but still with easy acess to the lake. We accomplished our goal.

June 6, 2021. Canyon Lake, Texas. Lake House Housekeeper.

Over 20 years ago, we hired Carol to clean our house at Canyon Lake. Her daughter in Law helped her. Her task was to check on the house twice a week to be sure all was well, plus clean the house once a month. She never was a good cleaner but she was dependable so we kept her. And we paid her automatically from our bank account so she knew she was getting incole every month. As time went by, without saying to us, she went to checking the house once a week. Then after a few more years she stopped checking the house at all. But she did clean the house once a month. We never increased her payment because she was reducing her hours every month. She always looked old, even 20 years ago. David installed a motion detector in the house. Evidently, this older lady turned on a radio the minute she and her daughter in law entered the house and kept it at hight volume while listening to hard rock music. We all laughter to think of the sight. But two months ago she died. It took a couple of months before the daughter in law contacted us but eventually we stopped the funds going to her. But now we have no one to clean the house. It was surprisingly difficult but finally David hired two ladies to clean once a month at a charge more than double Carol's salary. They have cleaned once. Tomorrow they are coming again. Evidently they speak no English so life will be interesting. I am not imvolved with directions or payment so I do not know if David wants them to come every month or just whenever they are called. But we will soon find out. I bet this cleaning service will not last for 20 years and I feel sure that they will do a better job.

June 5, 2021. Canyon Lake, Texas. Shrimp Boil.

This evening, 20 friends and family joined to celebrate the graduation of Abigail Ruth Dicke from Furman University. David and Suzanne decided to have a shrimp boil for dinner. Earlier in the afternoon, the kids blew up balloons and tied strings to them. They used helium to make life easy. There were lots of balloons so the lake house looked festive, both in the house and on the deck. At 4:00 the guests began ariving. Earlier in the day it rained but by the time the guests arrived the rain was gone and the rest of the day was clear and beautiful. Perfect for a party. David cooked the shrimp boil outside on a hot propane burner. First he heated the water, then added the seasonings, onions and garlic. Next came to potatoes and the sausage, followed by the corn. Finally came the shrimp. When it was all cooked, the food was set out down the center of three long tables on the deck and people dug into the food, peeling the shrimp and eating the rest of the food with a fork or fingers. It was great fun. The food was wonderful with everyone enjoying the company and the food. It took ages to eat. Finally we ate the cake, ordered by Suzanne. It was a chocolate mousse cake. I do not eat sugar but I ate two pieces. The evening was lovely so people sat on the deck and talked...and talked...and talked. I came inside because the evening was too cool for my shorts and short sleeved shirt. The evening ended after ten, with everyone going home happy. Abigail was the happiest of all. And everyone in the family agreed that the shrimp boil was an excellent meal to serve at a group party. We all agreed the party was a big success.

June 4, 2021. Canyon Lake, Texas. Systems at the Lake House.

Many people advised us against buying a home with our son and daughter in law. I heard horror stories of difficulties between family members who co owned property. My friend Irmgard told me of her experience of inheriting a family home in Maine where once friendly siblings were estranged because of the joint ownership. So we all four had heard those stories. We established systems to prevent any difficulties. First we established a bank account with a pot of money available to use for the expenses for the lake house. Suzanne handled the money. Each couple put equal money into the account. Out of the account was paid the utilities, mortgage and anything that needed to be bought for the house. If the fund fell below $1000, we each added $500. Next we agreed that if anyone wanted to buy something for the house that was under $100. that person could be reimbursed. But if the purchase was over $100. each of the four people must agree to the purchase. And we could reimbursed from the pot. If anyone bought something for the house for over $100., with no consultation, that person just bought the house a gift. Those rules were simple and they served us well. We have had no difficulties with our joint ownership. To the contrary, the house has served us all very well. The children love it. David and Suzanne entertain there regularly and Ken and I have used it as our home base in Texas for the past 25 years. The whole thing has been a huge success. The simple systems certainly helped.

June 3, 2021. Canyon Lake, Texas. Purchasing the Lake House.

Ken and I wanted a place to stay when we visited David and Suzanne and David and Suzanne wanted to have a house at the lake. For both of us we were tight financially. They had no children but David was just getting his business running and Suzanne was a teacher. I had just taken a new job where my income would be substancially less than my income as an agent. We decided to buy the property together, each paying half the down payment and sharing expenses. We bought the house in 1997 or 98. We bought a house that had excellent acess to the lake. And it was a very good decision. When we decided to purchase a home at Canyon Lake, Ken ran off every house and lot that was for sale on the lake. Suzanne, Ken and I went to look at every property for sale. We wanted to look at the acess to the water. First Suzanne and I knocked at the door. If someone came, we told them what we were doing and I gave them my card from Maryland. No other agent was with us. Much to our surprise, many folks offered to show us their home. We noted only the acess to the water. Several homes were on top of a steep drop which as we hoped for grandchildren would not work for us. If no one was at home, we shamelessy trespassed and looked to see the lake access by going into the yard. Ken kept the car running incase we needed to make a quick get away. We three selected five homes to see the next day. We stopped in a real estate office and a pleasant older lady agreed to show us the homes the next morning, which we did. We bought it the next day. The house was not a bit pretty but it had a wonderful path to the lake. And we knew we could fix the house, which we did. We purchased the home before Canyon Lake was trendy. Now we probably could not be able to buy it. But the lake house has been a wonderful spot for our Texas family and for both of us from Maryland. It is now a lovely place and we often congratulate ourselves for purchasing the place when we could not really afford it. Fortunately, we were not risk averse. And we also plan a long way ahead. And for that we are grateful. We all, which includes the children, love this home.

June 2, 2021. Canyon Lake, Texas. Pink Eye.

Monday afternoon, after everyone had gone home, my right eye startd draining. And it hurt. I knew I was in trouble. By morning, my right eye was stuck closed and it was swollen and dark pink. I called Suzanne who found a clinic in Sattler where I could just drop in. I called the lady at the clinic and gave her all my information into their system. I assured her that I would be there as soon as I called for a Lyft. But Lyft has no drivers so after 90 minutes I tried to call a Taxi. But there are none. So I was stuck. My eye was getting worse. I told Suzanne my plight ans she came immediately to bail me out, driving from San Antonio to take me to the clinic. Gold star to her. No waiting at the clinic. The phsician Assistant dignosed my eye as Pink Eye, which was no surprise to me because Samantha had just gotten over a bout of Pink Eye. After getting drops for my eye at the drug store next to the clinic, I had lunch at home, made for me by Suzanne. All was well. My eye was on the way to recovery, although my eye is not perfect yet. But like everything else, something good comes from any difficulty. While at the Clinic, I mentioned my difficulty of getting transportation. They told me about a senior system, similat to the Mississippi and Nova Scotia companies who are in business to help people like me. So I spoke with the lady in charge and on Friday she will meet me at home here to get me into their system. And I think I will hire them to help me a few hours a week, perhaps 5 hours one day a week. Neither Suzanne nor me knew anything about the Loving Senior Care Company. Now we know, all because I got Pink Eye. This is a good thing.

June 1, 2021. Canyon Lake, Texas. Suzanne's Fridge.

Suzanne has left the fridge with food for me when I am alone at the lake. And the food is all organized very nicely. The food is mostly leftovers from the weekend si I know what I will be eating. On the top shelf I will find containers of vegetables and salad. On the left side of the same shelf will be found berries for breakfast. The next shelf down holds leftover meat, smoked by David, all in separate baggies. Tonight I ate two lamb chops. The next shelf down holds supplies for making a sandwich, sliced turkey, sliced ham and sliced cheese, all set to make my lunch. I am set for the week. Last week every day when in San Antonio, I dove into Suzanne's fridge to eat leftovers for lunch. Last week I did not know what I was going to find which makes life interesting. Her fridge is always more interesting than mine so I had fun. No question at all that Suzanne's fridge must be the best fridge in towm.