Dear Family and Friends,
I don't guess I'll be able to use the excuse of needing a vacation for awhile, having had the last six days off. Periodically, my employer uses a temporary worker to perform a particular task when a certain type of job requires an extra set of hands. For the past two weeks, a daughter of a co-worker was performing the needed function for my employer. As it so happens, she had the job prior to my taking it after she left it for reasons of which I'm unaware. I think it may have been to marry and move to a different location. Anyway, she is currently unemployed, divorced, and needed the work until her unemployment checks started coming. I heard opportunity knocking. I asked her if she would like to work in my place so I could use some of my vacation days. She was agreeable, and after working it out with my employer, she filled in for me while I've been off since last Wednesday.
I haven't had this type of vacation in ten years. As many of you know, I usually end up using my vacation days when it is so slow at work it isn't even worth going in. This happens during periods of the year which tend to be slower than other times of the year. But as a rule, I'll only be able to take a day here and there, rarely being able to rub more than two in a row together. I usually try to save two or three towards the end of the year to combine with Christmas when my employer closes for a few days depending on where the holiday happens to fall. To date, I hadn't used any vacation days for the year that I'm aware of. I've only used three of the ten days I'm allotted so hopefully I'll have a few left by the time Christmas rolls around.
Of course I had great plans for five of the six days (July 4th was the sixth day, and SJ and I had already made plans in advance for it). I was going to do some much needed painting of the soffet and facial of the house (the trim at the top above the siding), go fishing, play a round of golf, and finish the stone walkway in progress I've been staring at daily for the last two years. Well, I got the golf game in yesterday. Does that count for anything? (chuckling)
With the exception of a brief, but hard, rain yesterday, the last rain we had was a week ago today (Sunday). After the every other day rains had stopped, the weather got increasingly hotter and humid. I couldn't hardly stand to be outside for more than an hour, or I'd be wringing wet with sweat. Well, that is my excuse anyway. So with the exception
of the round of golf, actually only nine holes, I didn't get any of the things done which I had initially planned on doing once I knew I was going to get the extra days off. I
probably wouldn't have even gotten the golf in except yesterday morning I took a couple of irons and three balls and went over to the park and hit for a few minutes. After I started making good contact with the ball the bug had bitten. One way or another, I was going to play golf this weekend. Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday I spent most of the time in front of CNN Financial or CNBC, or in front of the computer watching the market or writing. Friday, I did manage to go pay our property taxes and house insurance for the year, and I also went out and visited with my broker for awhile which I always enjoy doing. I even managed to unload six cucumbers off on them. (grinning) Sandy said she loves them.
Jim (the locksmith) and his wife have moved back from Arizona. Her health hadn't really improved in the two years they were gone so they hauled it all back to town. Anyway,
they've got a shop downtown, and Jim works the shop on weekends. I knew he closed around three o'clock, and we had planned on playing a round a couple of weeks ago, but
the weather just didn't want to cooperate. I headed down to the shop early in the afternoon to see if he was interested in playing (I was gonna play yesterday even if it was
by myself, but it is more fun to have someone along). At 3:30 p.m., we were headed for the course. How did I do? We had fun, lets leave it at that, okay. (laughing). I played my usual some good shots, but mostly bad. Still we had a good time, and the course was in the best shape I'd ever seen. All the rain we've had has really put the fairways in tip-top shape.
I'm still confounded by how I'm going to able to do the painting on the sides of the house since the ground slopes at about a thirty degree angle from the top to the bottom. I think what I'll do is get a couple of saw horses and a piece of three quarter inch plywood before attempting the painting. I thought I'd put one of the saw horses at the bottom where its flat and lay the plywood on top of it and then let the other end of the plywood sheet lay where it meets the ground. This would provide a flat surface on which to place the ladder to reach the area near the roof where it needs to be painted. I had thought about just doing it from the roof, but that seemed too risky. Somehow, the thought of falling off of a ladder versus falling off the roof, possibly even head first, sounded better. (smiling)
The 4th of July turned out pretty much as I had expected. SJ and I had expected Greg and Marsh on Sunday after she had finished up with her class reunion activities, but around
two in the afternoon on Sunday, Greg called to say they weren't going to make it. Marsh's employer had called and told her she was going to be needed for work Sunday. SJ and I were disappointed (actually somewhat mad because we've seen this type of thing before with them), but we decided to go ahead and have our cookout as we had planned.
I had picked the green beans the day before for the green bean almondine, and I went to the fruit stand and bought some sweet corn and peaches the day before. We had T-bone steak, green bean almondine, corn on the cob, and a fruit cup of watermelon, cantaloupe, and peaches for our dinner. Except for the corn which I checked for the size of the kernels but still weren't small enough I guess (it tasted like field corn; yuck!), everything was delicious. SJ even sauteed some portabelo mushrooms for me which I put on the green bean almondine. SJ is such a good cook. She even made a no-bake cheesecake for dessert. I was so full from the main meal that I didn't have room for the cheesecake. We
tried it the next day and of course, it was superb. For atmosphere, SJ took her piano bench, put some towels and then a tablecloth on top of it, and set it outside. On top of the tablecloth she placed a hurricane lamp (it was dark by the time we ate), and next to it she placed a peach colored gladiola in a vase. I took a picture of it before it had gotten completely dark. I hope it turned out. We had a good time in spite of what we had previously expected.
Bry and Nan came over and visited on the 4th. I had been in the basement writing when I decided it was probably time to let Bear out, so I went upstairs. When I opened the door
to let Bear out, I noticed a note laying inside at the foot of the storm door. It was from Nan to let us know they had stopped by but thought we were gone. I never heard them
knock I guess because I was playing the stereo. SJ was asleep and never heard them either. This was around three in the afternoon. After letting Bear back in, I went into the
bedroom to try and get SJ up. We were going out to the local lake for the festivities that evening, and SJ was going to pack us a picnic to take with us.
Around four o'clock, SJ hollered downstairs to let me know Bry and Nan were here. I about ran into them after rounding the corner of the refrigerator leading into the living
room. I had thought they were still outside, having just pulled up. We sat in the living room and chatted for about two hour before they said they had to leave. We also had to
get going to insure a good parking spot out at the lake.
If you remember, Bry works for Intel. I guess after one has worked for them for a certain amount of time, a person gets two full months off with pay. They told us they had gone to
Belize already and were planning a camping trip to the Banff area of Canada after visiting with their respective parents. Bry's parents live about twenty miles from SJ and I, and
Nan's live in Springfield. Bry has gotten into scub diving over the last couple of years. He spoke of he and his daughter diving in a place called the Blue Hole in Belize. He said when they were rising towards the surface, a group of nurse sharks started circling above them. I've heard nurse sharks are fairly harmless if left alone, and Bry concurred when I made the comment. He did say though it added a bit of adrenaline to the experience especially with
the reputation sharks have had over the years. As he put it, "The sharks were about as harmless as a pack of curious dogs."
Naturally, with Bry working at Intel, the conversation got around to stocks. You could almost see the eyes of SJ and Nan roll in unison once it was apparent the subject was going to get more than a passing mention. Of course SJ just had to bring up the fact that we USED to own it until her brilliant husband sold it two splits ago. Bry made mention it was going to split again (he thought it split June 30th, but he was a month ahead) and suggested I buy some. This then led to why I won't which he countered with several reasons why I should. He was talking about some of the things Intel had in the works, saying at one point, "Mike, I can't tell you anymore without divulging confidential information!!" I guess it goes without saying, even after all of the years he has worked for them, Bry is still gung ho Intel. I did tell SJ though, we have to pay retail for the stock, they don't because of the options they get by being employees. If you're reading this Bry, I just wanted to let you know we really enjoyed seeing the both of you even for the short time it was, and not to worry even if you did say something you shouldn't have because I don't really remember much of the specifics. Besides (grinning), I'm still not going to buy the stock. There is more money to be made with companies with fewer shares outstanding. But I will admit, it probably would have benefited SJ and I more had I not sold our initial investment three or fours years ago.
As mentioned above, SJ and I were planning to go to the local lake for the fireworks the evening of July 4th. We finally got everything together, lawn chairs, bug spray, and food and drink and headed out around seven p.m. I mentioned to SJ while driving through town that I hadn't seen it as dead in town for a long time on a holiday weekend. No wonder, most of the people were where we were going. There were quite a few cars already there when we arrived, but we got the spot we wanted which was just about where we parked
last year. We went out a little earlier this year to see what activities they had set up for the festivities. There was a band and some stuff for the kids to do, but there wasn't really anything I thought would be fun. We walked around seeing who was there. I was surprised when I only saw a couple of people I even recognized, and no one we both knew enough to say hello to. We decided to go down one of the nature trails out at the lake, hoping to make it to the dam. We walked for awhile, but soon came to realize the dam
was a lot farther down the trail than we had anticipated. It was a nice quiet walk, and the path was well worn and easily negotiable. We only saw one other group of people on the
trail, speaking to them when they turned to go back.
We got back to the truck and had our picnic. A few of the people, seeing us sitting in the back of the truck, asked if we were going to be able to see the fireworks from where we
were. I answered with an affirmative. We had done the same thing last year. Let everyone else try to find a spot for viewing up front; not us. Besides, with all the rain, the chiggers and mosquitoes must have thought it was Thanksgiving with all those people in such close quarters. The stuff SJ brought to eat was delicious, and we finished pretty soon after we started. We had to wait quite awhile before the fireworks started. We had a good time and
got out before most of the people had gotten back to their cars when it was over, yet we were able to see just about everything they did. The only thing about being there this year I found annoying was the number of cars and people driving through the parking area during the shooting of the fireworks. I think when the out of towners saw it wasn't going to be an extensive event like in a bigger community, they slowly started making their way to leave after the show had begun. Oh, and this year, I don't remember one car alarm
going off when they would shoot off the shells which sounded like a sonic boom. Last year two or three were going off every 15 minutes. It was kind of funny actually.
About all I've left to tell for this installment concerns a rash I've somehow managed to get. It started just under my chin a couple of weeks ago, but has since spread down my neck to just above my collar bone. I think I may have gotten into some poison ivy about a month ago, but am surprised it took so long to start bothering me. If it is poison ivy, this will be the first time I've ever been afflicted with it. I thought it was a couple of pimples at first, and naturally I couldn't just leave them alone. Then it started spreading. It itches, but there is also a burning sensation, and the area where the rash has overtaken is a bit tender. Friday, I went out and got some stuff called Cal-Gel which a receptionist told me about after her husband had contacted poison ivy. I've been using the product, and it does seem
to help, but the rash still seems to be spreading. I think I'll go ahead and keep the appointment I made for Monday to have it checked. Maybe they can give me something which is better. At least I hope it is something which keeps the rash from spreading. The receptionist did mention their had many cases so far this year.
I guess that is about enough for now. Talk at ya all later and hope you're well.
Love ya,
Mike, SJ, & Bear |
