Memphis Democrat
April 10, 2003

What nice weather. Oh wait, what terrible weather. Oh wait . . . I can't keep up with the changes and can never remember whether to put on shorts or longjohns in the morning. We've been glad for the rain, even if we don't like to be out in it. And we had the perfect cool and sunny day to plant trees between the rainstorms. We planted 375 trees from the state nursery along our creek to prevent erosion and provide more habitat for the woods-loving creatures. And with our crew of nine people, we were able to plant, mulch and install tree guards for them all in one afternoon. That's teamwork!

And we couldn't have done it without Andra's guests Becca and Rebecca. They came for the weekend from Kansas city, Andra's hometown. They were voted Best Tree-Planters and Most Likely To Return To Dancing Rabbit This Summer. They were lucky because they showed up just in time for Jacque's party on Friday night.

Jacque lives in Kirksville and likes to invite us to her place for delicious food and fun. It was supposed to be a Back To The Future trilogy movie marathon, in honor of daylight savings. But all the videostores in Kirksville only had the 2nd and 3rd movies, and not the first. So decided instead to watch movies about boys: The Outsiders and Goonies.

Our friend Allette Brooks, who is a singer-songwriter from the West Coast, came for a visit. She was driving in from Saint Louis and brought Cecil and Stephanie home from their trips with her. We really know how to coordinate our trips so we can share rides! It was not only nice to see an old friend, but we got treated to one of her shows in Kirksville, at the Aquadome.

Folks must have been inspired by the singing, because there was a super singalong the other night. Not only did we sing old favorites, but we were treated some folks' original songs. Now, if only they could remember all the words.

I think we're awfully lucky that Cecil and Jacque go to church in Rutledge, and that right after church is our Sunday meeting. We always start our meetings with check-ins, where people talk about how they are doing. They fill us in on all the news that Bob did not hear down at the Zimmerman's Cafe. It's nice for us to feel more connected to the goings on around here.

Those of you who felt sad about our little red Jetta's demise, dry your eyes. Folks have been weighing the pros and cons and they decided to install a new engine in the Jetta. We looks forward to the car's return and to having three cars at our disposal again.

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