On the ground with the extended family

Miss D. and I are in Iowa, where her family has gathered for the funeral.  There was a get-together at a local restaurant yesterday evening, at which I met a large number of relatives-by-marriage who were new to me, and vice versa.  There were several visibly emotional reunions of people who hadn't seen each other in ten to fifteen years.  In that sense, even though the reason for coming here is a sad one, at least it's also got its positive side.

The funeral service will be on Monday morning, followed by a rather long drive to where the deceased will be interred next to his late wife.  It'll take most of the day to get there and back.  I'm not yet sure whether we'll depart for home on Monday afternoon, planning to overnight somewhere near Kansas City, KS, or whether we'll return to the small-town gone-to-seed motel where we're staying at present, to spend another night there before heading for home.  I guess it'll depend how long the proceedings take, and how tired we are.

Thanks to all of you who've kept us in mind as we traveled.  So far, so good.

Peter