Day 349 - 02/05/2008

Nothing of importance to note today. Move along.

Day 348 - 02/04/2008

Mundane Monday:

Chicken tortilla soup for lunch;
Hit the gym after work;
Picked up M and Claire from art on the way home;
Played guitar after dinner of leftover white chili;
Read Treasure Island and put the kids to bed;
Took out the trash; and
Watched Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles.

Day 342 - 01/28/2008

I hit the gym this afternoon and picked M and Claire up from art class.

After we got home and grabbed a bite to eat, we watched the rest of "James and the Giant Peach" (which we started last night). It was alright overall, but I don't like the way Tim Burton changed the story from the book (especially with regard to Aunt's Sponge and Spiker).

The kids seemed to enjoy it, though, so I guess it was a successful movie night.

Day 311 - 12/28/2007

Another day off, another day of getting stuff done. Well, almost. Read on, for a run-on description of my day in a nutshell:

After a trip to the gym, I scheduled the van for service and then took the kids to Lowe's for shelf supplies before stopping by the bank to make some deposits in their accounts after which we came home and had lunch and then left to drop the van off. On the way home I was dropped off at a friend's house to help move some furniture and then when I got home from that, D went to the mall and I watched the kids and prepared a dinner of leftovers that wasn't all that great but it did free up some space in the fridge. We picked up the van after dropping M off for a pajama party down the street and N and I drove around looking at lights on the way home. After M came home I headed downstairs to watch some football and play guitar, but I was only successful in watching football as I wasn't in the mood to play guitar.

I called it quits about 1130p.

I guess the shelves will have to wait until sometime before the end of the year.

Day 287 - 12/04/2007

Here's a list of mundane things I did today:

• Got new tires on the Altima.
• Went shopping at Costco. I ended up getting the advent calendar I had my eye on for $20 vs. the original price of $39. I guess hemming and hawing pays off (in this case, I made $20!).
• Added the Win98 workstation to the network so I can access whatever is on it and cannibalize any parts off it (if possible).
  
• Had minestrone soup for lunch.
• Brought the large bin up from the basement and then, after it had been emptied, brought it back down.
• Started getting caught up with the Sopranos on A&E.
• Practiced guitar a little (I canceled my lesson as I wasn't able to practice anything since last time).
  

Day 280 - 11/27/2007

Until just before putting the kids to bed, we were still up in the air about whether the four of us would head out to Illinois or just D. While I wanted to be there, I also wanted to make it as easy as possible for D. We finally decided that we'd all go. M would be able to make up the work without any problems and N wouldn't miss much of anything.

That being settled, we got our stuff together and finished up whatever needed to be done before hitting the road tomorrow, including going to Giant, gassing up, checking the tire pressure, getting the suitcases out, etc.

Mundane stuff, I know, but I'm grasping (and don't feel like saying that I went to the gym and describing that in detail).

Day 258 - 11/05/2007

Nothing of note happened today.

I dropped the kids off at school, went to work, took off early so D could go to rehab, helped the kids with their homework, fixed my computer (the power to the primary slave drive went kaput), practiced guitar and went to bed. Sort of in that order, but not exactly.

I had split pea soup for lunch, as well as some cashews (bless you!), an apple and an orange; for dinner I made a grilled ham and cheese. M had leftover pot pie and N had grilled cheese.

As I said, nothing of note happened today. Or at least nothing I can think of as I type this.

Day 246 - 10/24/2007

Another uneventful day in Northern Virginia with nothing exciting to report.

Well, nothing exciting other than picking up Smokey from the vet. He's now been fixed and his claws have been removed. Hopefully this will have a positive impact on the relationship between him and Butterfly. if not, it's $500 down the drain. At least he won't claw up the furniture anymore!

Day 239 - 10/17/2007

Try as I might, I can't come up with anything interesting that happened today, so I won't try and pretend something did just to bore you with the details.

Let's just leave it at mundane, shall we?

Day 221 - 09/29/2007

What do you get when you add pictures for N, a game for both M and N and D out of town?

An opportunity for miscommunication, which is exactly what happened. I was supposed to have dropped M off at Riley's house, who was going to give her a ride to the game, take N to his pictures and game, and then pick M up over at Riley's house after the game. What really happened was I took M with me to N's pictures and then dropped her off, before heading to N's game. Riley left with her grandparents, leaving M stranded. (Burke, in thinking that since M never showed up before the game, didn't think she'd be at the game and therefore didn't go to the game which means his in-laws didn't know to take M home.) Fortunately, M got a ride home with another teammate and everything worked out fine. Lesson learned, though. In the future, should something like this present itself, check in with the coach vs. having M (or N) relay the information.

After the games, we regrouped and hit the library, where the kids checked out some books and we got Puss In Boots. I never realized that Christopher Walken could play a cat, but he did so convincingly. Unfortunately, the DVD was scratched, so we kept having to jump forward in order for it to be viewable.

The kids made mini-pizzas for dinner, we went to the library, we went for a run (well, I did anyway, the kids rode their bikes) and ended the day by watching a movie together.

The run, while unexceptional, was great. I kept an 8:15 min/mile pace going pretty much the whole way through and, if it hadn't been for the constant turnbacks to hurry M along, I probably could've gone faster. I'm looking forward to next weekend's race. Even though it won't be a PR (or anywhere near it), I think I'll do pretty good. If I can get a sub-25, I'll be happy. (Heck, I'd even be happy with a sub-26!)

All in all it was an enjoyable day.

Day 220 - 09/28/2007

D left for the weekend. She and a bunch of her friends headed to the Eastern Shore to spend the weekend in Chestertown. So, with that in mind, I went in early to bank some hours. That didn't happen, of course, as I left at 2p to get the van inspected (which also didn't happen because the lines were long, it being the end of the month and all). I then picked the kids up at school and we went home, where they pulled the wool over my eyes saying that D always lets them watch TV when they get home on Friday.

Not wanting to start the weekend off on a sour note, I went along. That gave me the chance to dial into work from home.

After a dinner of leftovers (for M and I) and a Lean Pocket (for N), we headed out to the football game. N has been on me lately about going to a football game and I have no desire to take him to a 'Skins game just yet. Maybe when he's older and can actually watch (and enjoy) the game I'll pull the trigger, but right now, it's not a wise use of dollars.

There were no home games in the immediate vicinity, so we headed up the parkway to Herndon to see Chantilly play. They (Chantilly) have fielded a pretty decent team over the past few years so I was looking forward to a good game. Fifteen dollars later (and $3 for drinks) and we were in our seats for kickoff. The Hornets were no match for the Chargers and at halftime the score was 21-0 (Chantilly). I didn't plan on staying for the whole game, but the kids wanted to see the halftime show with the band and all that, so we stayed. Shortly after the 3rd quarter started, we left for home. As we were walking toward the car, we heard that Chantilly scored another touchdown. I'll have to check to see what the final score was. It could easily have been 35-0 the way the Hornets were (or were not) playing.

We got home and the kids hit the hay. I stayed up and watched Tivo. I finally called it quits around midnight. (It would've been later, but we have a full schedule on Saturday.)

Looking back on it, everything above falls under the "mundane" category. I guess I could've summed up the day by saying that nothing out of the ordinary happened, other than D leaving for Chestertown and the kids and I taking in a high school football game.

Day 170 - 08/09/2007

Nothing exciting, save for a trip home to put the futon mattress in the laundry room before it stormed. The smell was overwhelming so D put it back out on the deck, where the next thunderstorm that came through soaked it through.

We're not sure whether we're going to punt on this one or not. The mix of cat urine and vinegar probably wouldn't make it the most appealing place for guests to sleep.

See, that's the thing about having more than one cat. When one of them uses something other than the litter box for their business, you really can't tell which one it is. Although I'm pretty sure it was Butterfly, I'm not positive. (She has a history of using beds as her personal urinal.)

Like I said, nothing exciting.

Day 169 - 08/08/2007

Nothing worthwhile happened over the course of the day that deserves any mention. I got up, got ready for work, went to work, worked, came home, changed into my evening attire, made dinner, ate dinner and then went and got gas in the van at BJ's ($2.60 per gallon of unleaded).

The real excitement started after returning from gassing up the van. We watched...

...The Princess Bride.

We finished the book last week and I ordered it from Amazon on Monday. I was hoping to save it for the weekend, but the kids talked me into watching it tonight. It's been years since I last watched it and probably enjoyed it even more with the family on the couch. For the most part, the four of us laughed our way through the movie. Some parts, however, were a bit over the top with regard to intensity for the kids. During these portions of the movie, I felt a little uncomfortable having the kids (especially N) watch it. Since they were familiar with the story from reading the book, however, I looked past it. The one part that wasn't in the book (when Inigo Montoya calls Count Rugen an S.O.B.) took me by surprise though; I wasn't expecting it at all. I've since found out there's a section on IMDB entries that contain information pertaining to the different sections of the ratings. This contained a reference to this dialog and, had I read it, I would've been aware of it and avoided it either by fast forwarding the movie or muting it during that scene.

Live and learn I guess. Hopefully neither M nor M will take up using that phrase, but if they do, they will be quickly taught right from wrong. So far, neither one of them have used profanity in our presence, but that doesn't mean they haven't been exposed elsewhere. Well, N I'm pretty sure hasn't, otherwise he probably would have. He's not old enough to know what to filter. I recall learning the verboten words back in 1st grade, but I also knew well-enough not to use them in front of my parents. (I also probably didn't know what they meant until years later, but I knew that they weren't acceptable.)

Day 127 - 06/27/2007

So I was watching a show tonight on really big things. One of them was the largest binoculars in the world (telescopic binoculars, natch). In the soundbite, the scientist said that the lenses were capable of pulling in a million times more light than the human eye. Pretty cool, eh? Yes. But then he said "the light that we're seeing is over five billion years old so that we're, in essence, looking into the past."

I thought back to yesterday's post on whether time exists and snickered.

Is it really the past? I mean, it could be argued that even at the smallest intervals, it takes some time for the light to travel from its source (or reflected surface) to our eyes (or a telescope's lens) and therefore, everything we witness (in terms of light and sound) is in the past.

Or is it the present? The light is here. Now. What we're witnessing is what the light looks like at this moment. That being said, we're looking at where the light came from five billion years ago.

So, which is it?

(We know it's not the future, as that never arrives.)

Alright, enough with the big questions; let's get on with the mundane.

I rode to work (and home as well!). It was hot. We went to Chuck E. Cheese's for dinner (M's official "birthday dinner"). I read two chapters in The Princess Bride (the second of which was only a page long and the kids begged for more).

Day 123 - 06/23/2007

Today's opening day for the 2007 NVSL season and is also the first year that M decided to join the swim team.

M and I left for the meet bright and early at 730a and headed over to Mantua for the meet. M swam in two events: 8&U 25 meter freestyle and the 8&U 100 meter freestyle relay. For someone who's never swam competitively (and has only been to a handful of practices), she did pretty well. I noticed a few things that she needs to work on with regard to her stroke (such as exhaling underwater), but, overall, she did great. My mom came to the meet and joined D and I cheering her on. N was there as well, but was more interested in playing in the sand vs. cheering on his sister. That's alright, he has to suffer through enough of his sister's events, he deserves to play in the sand every now and again.

Here she is after the meet. I got a few action shots as well, but I thought this was the best of the bunch. Yeah, she's happy.


Afterwards we went to McD's to celebrate her first swim meet. (Actually, we went through the drive-through and ate at home.) She and N both got a McFlurry to help with the celebration, as well as a prized happy meal (they're usually verboten, but on occasion, we'll give in to the pressure).

Mundane: mowed yard, practiced guitar, had a veggie burrito from Chipotle. Watched Cops for the first time in I don't know how long.

Day 86 - 05/17/2007

Happy Birthday, D!

Today is D's birthday. We don't celebrate it today though; instead, we celebrate it on her half-birthday. I suggested this to her a couple years ago (since it was getting overlooked due to its proximity to Mother's Day and our anniversary) and she agreed and ever since, we now celebrate it in November. I'm not sure whether this is going to confuse the kids when they grow up, but I guess we'll just have to wait and find out. For her birthday, I took her out to lunch at Sakoontra where we feasted on some good Thai food. (She had "pad thai no scallions with broccoli please" and I had "pad phed and the spice tray please." Actually, I didn't need the spice tray as it was pretty flavorful already and nothing more needed to be added.)

I was supposed to lead N's practice, but since D wasn't feeling well (allergies), I called around and got one of the other coaches to take over for me (I was taking over for Mike as it was). M had a game, so I needed to take over for D in keeping stats. Sometimes I think we try to do too much, but I don't mind (and hopefully the kids enjoy their parents being involved). We're not supposed to keep score at this level, so stats are strictly kept to determine whether they got five runs or three outs (at that point, the inning is over). With that in mind, no official score is kept so the girls are always told it ended in a tie. The focus is to teach the kids the fundamentals, but I think the competition would be good for them. That being said, I kept minimal stats on the other team (e.g., runs vs. outs scored in an inning) in case the coach wanted to see whether they needed to work on getting the outs or what. As it turned out, the score WAS tied at the end, so maybe there's something more to it than I'm aware of.

D also had bunco tonight, so it was a good thing I was able to get someone to cover for me, otherwise she would've had to go later than she wanted to (and would've had to drive as well). As we were coming home from M's game, we saw her leaving the neighborhood w/ Molly on their way to bunco.

After we got home from the game (where they actually tied), I got the kids ready for bed and started ripping CDs. I discovered that there are quite a few CDs in my collection I had yet to convert to MP3s, so I took advantage of D being at bunco and started ripping them. I'd like to have all my CDs converted to MP3s in the next few months so I can pack away all the CDs for good. I never really listen to them, except for when I'm painting, so having them out in the open is just silly.

Day 71 - 05/02/2007

I'm getting behind in my posting. Do I need to do a diary-like entry every day? Or do I just punt on days where nothing out of the ordinary happens and just report the mundane in order to keep the daily posting format going?

This isn't really a big question, but more of where I want this to go. I think it would get pretty boring reading this if all it was was a recap of my daily events. Well, maybe not to those in the know (or not in the know, but in the know about the cast of characters). To those who just happen to stumble upon this and start reading, is it really that interesting? Should it be?

But if you really want to know what I did today, I'll share it with you: I know went to work. I worked (and ate lunch). And then I came home. Since it'd been a few days since my last run (and I've been trying to get a cardio session in on Wednesday), I decided to go for a run vs. 40 minutes on the bike at the gym. I was hoping to duplicate Saturday's effort of 3.1 miles (5k) in 25 minutes, but I started out too fast and was never able to slow it down. I was contemplating cutting it short when I ran through a swarm of gnats and swallowed about half of them. That made the decision for me as I couldn't get them out from my throat and it was bothering me to no end. I ended up doing about 2.5 miles, but walked the rest of the way to equal my time goal. Oh well, maybe Saturday. (The good news is that my knees didn't bother me much more than they usually did before my tendinitis! Am I truly on the road to recovery? Let's hope so!)

After returning home, I continued my chore of washing the deck. I forgot to close the laundry room door, though, and after I was finished, the house smelled like bleach. Fortunately I was able to air it out (somewhat) and it dissipated over the course of the evening. Only one more section is left to be done; hopefully I'll be able to finish that this week.

I'll finish this post with a story (after all, I did say I'd offer something along these lines when I introduced this blog)...

Captain Quackers landed on the water, his two feet out in front of him as he skied to a stop and settled into life on the water. He had been patrolling the skies above his home, looking for intruders and other malfeasants, but grew tired as it was getting late and he needed to get some dinner before knocking off for the night.

Paddling towards the shore, he saw Drake, his neighbor who lived in the reeds and went over to talk to him. Drake was a nice duck, as far as ducks go, but had a temper when the swans swam by and tried to feast on the grass growing in his water garden.

"Hey, Drake, how's it going?"

"Same as yesterday, Cap'n. My beak is acting up again and water's not going off my back like it used to do. I guess my age is catching up with me. One of these days, I'm going to head south for the winter and not return. Like them snowbirds I think they call them. Spend the rest of my days in sunny skies and not a care in the world."

"'Cept for alligators, of course," Captain Quackers inserted.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Drake responded, "Except for alligators."

"You ever seen one? Up close? They're big. And their teeth are about the size of your beak."

Drakes eyes opened wide and his beak opened a little wider.

"Yep." Captain Quackers paused before adding "...that big. You still thinking about becoming a snowbird?"

"Well, maybe I won't stay this year," Drake answered. "Do you think that's what happens? I mean, when they decide to become snowbirds; do they get eaten by alligators? Is that why they don't come back?"

"Can't say for sure. The last time I was down there, I saw plenty of alligators. They weren't very happy."

"Why weren't they happy?" Drake asked as Captain Quackers paused to think back on the days of his youth when he was but a cabin boy on the great schooners that sailed out of Flamingo Bay.
"Not sure. I never asked them. But they were always crying. Crocodile tears they call them. Why alligators cried crocodile tears I never understood, but that's what they called them."

"Oh. Maybe when I become a snowbird, I'll ask them."

"Don't forget about their teeth. They're as big as your beak."

"Yeah, yeah, I won't forget about the teeth. I wish we had teeth. They look fun." Drake attempted a smile, pretending he had a mouth full of shiny teeth, but flinched as his beak went beyond his comfort zone. "Well, maybe I'd smile with my beak shut anyway. Probably better anyway."

"But then you have to brush them. And floss."

"Do alligators floss do you think?"

"That I don't know. All I know is that their teeth are as big as your beak."

"Yeah, you said that already. Hey, here come those swans again. Could you help me run them off, they're always eating out of my water garden and never listen to me."

"Sure, but this time, why not add a please and not yell at them from the get go. Swans respond better when they think it's their idea to do something. Get them to think that and your battle's already won."

"Thanks, Cap'n, I'll give it a shot. I'm sure going to miss you when I become a snowbird."

"I'll miss you too, Drake. You're a good neighbor. Well, enjoy the evening...and good luck with the swans."

And with that, Captain Quackers and Drake parted ways. Captain Quackers kept and eye on his neighbor as he swam towards his nest in the reeds. He could see Drake speaking with the swans, but couldn't hear what he was saying. Whatever it was must've worked, though, as the swans all started bobbing their heads up and down and the next thing you know, they were swimming away.

Another crisis averted, Captain Quackers thought to himself as he snuggled his head under his wing and quickly fell asleep as the pond came to life with creatures of the night.

Day 62 - 04/23/2007

Monday, Monday, can't trust that day
Monday, Monday, it just turns out that way
Oh, Monday, Monday, won't go away
Monday, Monday, it's here to stay.

While not as good as California Dreamin', it's still a fine song (sort of like Brandy, who's a fine girl).

But the only similarity it has with this post is that it's about a Monday. The first day of the workweek for both me AND D. Yes, you read right. After almost 6 years out of the workforce as a full-time mom, D went back to work today.

What's funny about this is that she indicated to the school last week that she was interested in subbing next school year, once N started kindergarten. We've been discussing her going back to work off-and-on once N was in school full time. Her concerns were that she wanted to have something that provided a somewhat flexible schedule so that she could be home with the kids, as well as something that wasn't stress-filled, so that she'd be able to leave work at the office. She reached the decision that being a substitute teacher would meet those needs and she ran with it. I stand behind her 100% as it makes the most sense. Why go back to work and have to shell our money for day care when she doesn't have to go back to work in the first place. (Sure, it'd be nice from a financial standpoint to have some extra cash for vacations and the like, but it's not like we're this close to being sent to the poor house or anything.)

Anyway, about 730a, Mrs. Jardine called, asking of D would be able to sub. Remember, she only expressed interest last Wednesday and hadn't even filled out the paperwork yet. So, with that in mind, she drove the kids to school and stayed to work for a couple hours. She subbed for the other preschool class, so she was out when N was out, which was convenient.

I joked with her that she can bring home the bacon AND fry it up in the pan. She laughed. I laughed. It was a pathetic attempt at humor.

As for my day at the office, I worked on the usual stuff, went to they gym (where I put in 40 minutes on the bike as I had to pick up M from softball) and then went and...yes, picked up M from softball practice.

I had two Lean Pockets for dinner and burned my fingers taking the plate out of the microwave (not too bad, they were fine later on that evening). That's the first time that's ever happened; hopefully it'll be the last as well.

Day 59 - 04/20/2007

Supposedly it's hemp day today...or something like that. The things they have these days; they never had that when I was growing up! Actually, a quick check of snopes.com says it's been around since 1971, so I must've not been that hip as a misspent youth. And now that I'm a mature, responsible adult with charges of my own to look out for, I have no interest in pursuing such folly. Ah, wisdom, what would I do without you?

Now that that's taken care of, I was smart enough to ride my bike to work today and got a great morning workout at the gym. I was somewhat surprised to see a turkey over by Stonecroft Boulevard on the way in. I've only seen one one other time in this area, so it was a nice treat for the morning ride. (Looking back on it, I wonder if there was any significance to me seeing it and it being a day of remembrance for the Hokie students and faculty gunned down earlier in the week. I'm sure it was just a coincidence, but the thought did make me think twice about it.) The weather was a bit cool when I started, but I dressed appropriately this go-round and I ended up a bit on the warm side by the time I got to the office. After working out (weights only this time, the ride in to the office served as my cardio/warmup), I hit the showers, got dressed and went to work.

I was pleasantly surprised to see lots of colleagues wearing maroon and/or orange as a visible way to show support/grief/acknowledgement of/for the victims of the shooting at Virginia Tech. The director of our group is a huge Tech fan (he graduated way back in the day) and he stopped by to thank me for wearing my orange shirt in support. Uh, certainly, Mark, I wouldn't have thought not to do so. The tragedy that occurred down in Blacksburg didn't just affect those on campus, but, as evidenced by the impact it's had on the media, is a nationwide affair. (I would add that it may even be an international event, but I doubt not all the world is impacted by this event, even though some of the victims were from other countries.) As it turns out, the shooter went to the elementary school less than 1/4 mile from our house and one of the victims went to M's school. When D told me that she went to St. Tim's, I thought she meant she went to the church, not that she was a student there. That's when it really hit home for me. Is there something about this area that makes kids grow up dysfunctional? Last year a Westfields student killed two police officers at the local police station. This year a Westfields grad kills 32 of his fellow Virginia Tech community members. Is there something more to it or is it just a coincidence? I hope it's the latter and we don't see more events like this one coming out of our community.

Headed out to sushi for lunch. I hadn't been to the sushi-house in a couple of months, so Matt and I headed down 28 for some raw fish and seaweed. Of course, not all of the sushi consists of raw fish and seaweed, but we had our fill of both of those (especially the salmon and tuna...yummy!) before heading back into traffic to finish out the day at the office. Matt had taken the doors off his Jeep, so the ride to and fro was a bit chilly, but after the past week, the weather was beautiful. Like I told him on the way to lunch, it was a Ferris Bueller day. Unfortunately, we had work to do back at the office so we couldn't emulate Ferris and take the day off...but we did consider it.

The ride back home was uneventful. I got home to an empty house (well, empty except for D, who was on her way to Molly's to watch the kids). There were pot pies in the oven for dinner (one of which was for Molly and her girls as they are without a kitchen until their new one is installed). I delivered hers to her house and got the grand tour of their new kitchen. It was neat to see what a difference taking out a couple of walls, cabinets, posts, etc., made and it completely modified the flow. It also gave D and I some ideas on what we can do to ours to better utilize our space. (Molly's floor plan is very similar to ours, so it's fun to compare the various projects we've both undertaken.)

Day 53 - 04/14/2007

Opening day for the 2007 CYA T-Ball league!

To sum up what these games are like, I would liken them to "Organized chaos." Nine kids scrambling for the ball, diving on it when it comes to them like it's a fumbled football. Or, like I thought while standing out in the field trying to coach the two players under my stead, like a soldier falling on a grenade, except that all of the players were fighting to fall on it as well.

Each game is made up of three innings. No score is kept, not stats are kept, no outs are made (and if, by some miracle they are, the player stays on base). Each inning is made up of all players hitting the ball of the T. After hitting the ball, the players advance a base. When the last player comes up to bat and hits the ball, the bases are cleared and the inning is over.

Of course, distractions are bound to occur, such as bathroom breaks during the middle of the game (sure, just leave the field if you need to go) or the playground calling the players from beyond third base.

N started out as pitcher (well, he didn't pitch, but stood in the pitcher's position) and stopped most balls hit his way. The second inning he played shortstop, followed by a stint in left field. No matter where the ball was hit on the field, the players all ran to the ball to try and stop it. It was quite comical, to say the least.

Like I said, organized chaos.

Afterwards, Riley came over and played with M while D went out to run some errands. I took advantage of the quiet and did some work on the migration (yes, it's a Saturday, but I wasn't able to finish up on Friday), before heading back out and finishing up on some of the yardwork I put off completing on Friday. Of course, as soon as I got to the point of no return, the rain started, making the job a wet one. (I planted the lavender and catmint next to the mailbox, but still need to cover it with mulch before I'd call it finished.)

Dinner was made up of pizza pie. Doug and Nancy dropped off Michael before heading over to an anniversary party and we all enjoyed a quiet evening at home.