By Mary V. Tucker

Independence Day weekend is always a busy time and this year it was busier than ever. The weekend actually started for me on June 30, with the arrival of my out of town families from Georgia and Virginia, both families bringing along dogs. All together we had four dogs in the house, Diego, Jack, Cinca and Dozer. Good thing I do not have cats.

The next day, July 1^st, we all gathered in Berne for a cookout to celebrate my great grandson, Donovan Eden, being discharged from the Neonatal Unit of the hospital in Albany once he regained the weight lost after his premature birth.

On Saturday, July 2^nd everyone attended granddaughter Kristen Tucker’s 4:30 wedding at the Methodist Church in Oneonta, then on to a cocktail hour and reception at the Holiday Inn, followed by dinner at 6:30 and dancing until 11:00.

The week after the wedding was filled with picnics, swimming, hiking and shopping in Andes and Woodstock On July 5^th, the family from Virginia left. Two dogs gone! Then the Georgia family went. I stripped and folded the futon in the spare room, washed and dried bedding on the clothesline, sat down in the chair and fell asleep.

I’m back to normal: having coffee with friends, working at the Thrift Shop and just one dog.