My company has come and gone. Now for the adjustment period. My sister came first and stayed in my guest room for a week. The thought flitted through my mind that she might never leave. But I'm being uncharitable.

    We are both fans of the work of Frank Lloyd Wright, so we planned a trip to Oak Park, the suburb of Chicago which features a number of Wright designed homes.

    Our tour picked us up at 401 Michigan Avenue. You know the place. It's where you can have your picture taken with the sculpture of Marilyn Monroe, the iconic scene from "The Seven Year Itch."

    The bus took us out to Oak Park where we disembarked for a walking tour of the neighborhood. The heat was brutal. A better time for the trip would have been October. The homes are privately owned (lucky people) so the tour was limited to sidewalk views. We were able to enter the Wright designed Unity Temple, though, which seemed like a religious experience in itself.

    After the departure of my sister, my son came for a few days of cycling and swimming. The one day it rained we spent hours touring the Milwaukee Public Museum. We had a gorgeous day for our trip to Point Beach State Park.

    I'm feeling a tad wistful, I must admit, now that my company has all gone home. I breathe a sigh, shed a tear. It will be another year till I see them again. But now it's time to assess the damage.

    I got off easy, I feel, a broken glass, a broken door handle, the two pounds of weight gain from all the feasting and boardwalk ice cream cones. I can mail the shaving mirror left in the shower and the hairbrush I found under the guest room bed. I miss them already. I hope the coming year flies right by.