All is well.

After I posted that poem on Sept. 22, Nick and I were told the very sad news which anyone reading this already knows. It was too sad to write about, but too important to write about anything else, so I just had to give this blog a break for some time. This was made easier as we started a new housesitting assignment in a place with no internet, telephone or TV. It's a small, peaceful house on Guam's pristine east coast, and staying here has given Nick and me a chance to relax and reflect.
So, all is well. They just hooked up phone, TV and internet service, so now we're online and it's time to get back in touch.

As for news from Guam? There isn't much, really. My paperwork is still in being processed by the department of administration, but I had a phone call from them last week which makes me think it might be done this week; I'm tentatively hoping to be able to start working next week. 
A snafu in the AG's office has resulted in Nick taking on a second court calendar day; he's going to be twice as busy as before, but I don't think he is too worried. Anyways, there is no court this week, so it won't really be an issue until next week.
We're still waiting on the Other Car's insurer to get back to us with our claim - I think Nick plans on calling them today. The poor crumpled Alfa is in its parking spot, just where the tow truck left it. Nick, I think, is pretty well recovered from the accident, but my sprained hand and strained neck/shoulder are still giving me pain.
And of course, the Saints and Michigan both won their games this weekend, so we are pretty satisfied with football these days.
In two days we'll have our seven-monthiversary, and four days later will mark one year since we became engaged. I think it will take another post to share our thoughts on what an extraordinary year it has been, so I'll close this one for now.