Paul, Emily, Dick, Sue

So. Choir tour.

It was long. It got chilly. I bought two shirts from the women's section of Old Navy.

The first home stay that my tour roomie and I had was great. We stayed with a couple, Emily and Paul, both of whom were retired. They talked about the yacht club a lot -- they have a boathouse (not a house boat). And Paul had a Jag in the garage. A red one. He's had it for a year.

I thought the yacht club was pretty exciting, but then I stayed with two of my choirmates in a couple's retirement home on Lake Michigan. On Lake Michigan. As in, "Why don't you girls walk along the bluff after breakfast for a little bit before we take you back to the bus?"

You see, Dick and Sue are the sort of people who donate the art to the museums. One of their yard sculptures, which we could clearly see from our breakfast nook while eating French toast, was already promised to the Milwaukee Art Museum. Dick said that it would probably be in a rose garden.

And another thing: we stayed in the basement, where we got a suite to ourselves, JoFo, ShanNaNa and I. There was a wine cellar just across the way. (No, we did not try to open the door.)

Dick "dabbles" in photography. There are stunning shots stuck up all over the house with pushpins, intermingling with art from rather well-known artists. Dick's sailed over 50,000 miles. He's been everywhere in the world. Twice.

Dick told us that part of his company's mission statements is that the company "is directed by Old Testament wisdom of Jesus' example."

He also told us to read Stephen Covey's The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, because it is imperative in this day and age.