Sunday March 27th 2022

Sunday morning at six o’clock, and Mr. Sam meets me in the hallway, and he is trying to explain with some urgency the need for his morning treats, but it is my Friday Morning and I was more interested in a cup of coffee for me, but Sam got his treats and I got my coffee so all ended well. Miss Laurie was up by six thirty, and we watched Willie Geist, while consuming a bowl of cereal, before heading to the admissions booth. It is a overcast morning, which means it will be warmer than usual first thing, as the clouds trap in the warmth, but we do have rain and some wind in todays forecast.

The morning consisted of broken cloud cover with sunny interval’s, but that deteriorated as the day progressed, it was not as busy as we had hoped but we managed to keep our selves entertained watching the cardinals most of the morning. The afternoon dragged on and I headed to the coach at about three o’clock, leaving Laurie to complete our shift. I was hoping to see the end of the golf tournament, but with the time change on the east coast it was over by the time I got to watch.

We had planned a couple of adult beverages with the Andersons, this afternoon, but the weather was not co-operating with a strong west wind and some dark rain clouds heading our way, so we moved into the staff lunch room, which is in the laundry trailer. Miss Laurie made some chicken taco soup in the slow cooker today, it had been on all day so she brought some soup over for everyone to enjoy for dinner as no one was going to be barbecuing in the rain tonight.

Again let’s just touch on the rain in the desert issue, so far central Arizona has received less than half an inch of rain this year, so it still leaves most of Arizona in a very serious drought condition, and the State has been in that drought condition for twenty two years now. So we are by no means upset by the little sprinkle of rain we are getting this afternoon.

We got to the coach by seven o’clock in time to watch 60 minutes, then American Idol, as well as a couple of YouTube videos before turning in for a well deserved rest around nine thirty.

Monday morning and I was up too early, so I gave Mr. Sam his treats and after completing the Wordle of the day I went back to bed. And didn’t get up till after sunrise, then I grabbed a quick cup of coffee before we headed to the arboretum for a walk, it had been almost a week since my last walk, so lots of things have changed

After we returned to the coach for some breakfast and I have discovered an issue with the program that is the backbone of this blog, which in simple terms is pretty darn important to making this blog happen in a timely manner, this may or may not be the end result, let’s for now, just call it a work in progress.

Next on my agenda is the skylight, let me just say I’m tired of this particular repair, it has been a very long dragged out process, but today the new one is going into place. I’m not real happy with the new dual-pane skylight, it is not nearly as rigid as the original replacement, but seems to be very close to the original dual-pane that was cracked and leaking, I don’t like the position on the screw holes or the quantity of attaching holes available. It will be ok but will take some time to get it sealed properly on the butyl tape, but with some 90°F (32°C) days coming this week I will get it pulled into place and sealed properly.

After lunch, it was back to the battle of the blog program, and it is a battle I will come out on top of, but it may take a while, let me say that I’m still very happy with the program provider, I guess the issue is that because of the quantity of blogs that we have, I’m trying to get the program to do more than it was designed to do, and I may need to design my own blog site to work for me, and if so that will take a lot of my spare time.

We took another walk into the arboretum after closing this afternoon, after it closed with Tom & Kathleen, to see all the Yuccas that are in bloom, we also took a cold beverage and hiked to a high outlook to just sit and admire how beautiful this arboretum is, and as many growing pains as it may be having it is still beautiful and looks great to the visitors, and visitors stop at the admissions booth and tell us how amazing it was or they even upgrade their admissions ticket to a membership, to return again soon.

Dinner was some of the left over chicken taco soup with tortita chips, always a great dish because it eats more like stew than soup, we were too late for the world news but just in time for American Idol, and a couple more YouTube videos before crashing at near ten o’clock.

Tuesday morning and I slept in till six thirty, it was actually light when I woke, and Mr. Sam had already got his morning treats from Miss Laurie but now he wanted my spot on the big bed, the coffee was perking and I added a touch of the Irish nectar to my cup and sat down to access the start of of my Tuesday, I’m still working on the blog page, and I’m also adding constantly to try to keep up and avoid those marathon editing nights. Miss Laurie broke into her Cinnabon (the in case of emergency) stash a true sign that we will be getting back on the road soon.

After breakfast we decided to head over to the arboretum again, to walk some of the trails that we have not been on for a while, I also decided to wear my new hiking boots, fresh from Amazon a new pair of Sketcher hiking boots to fit my wide feet, and after what I would suspect to be 3 miles (5 kilometers) all is well, the odd little pinch of a new shoe but no hot spots or blisters, all good for new shoes.

So some might wonder why return day after day to the same place, well the reality is that it changes day to day, we have plants blooming that only bloom every so many years, so to see them change every day is an amazing thing. And almost every day we see a new migratory bird species, and the geckos are out of hibernation now and they are always entertaining as they fight for dominance of a sunning spot. Below are a few of todays photos, hope you enjoy.

A couple of barbecued hot dogs for lunch, then catch up on the blog while enjoying a cold adult beverage on the patio, the wind is a little gusty today so trying to stay under the awning, which we only have out around five feet to avoid wind damage, and it is proving a challenge. I spent most of the afternoon learning what is available in this weeks blog program, and while still not perfect seems to allow me to control much more than the last program did.

This afternoon’s distraction was Johnny & Milla packing up, they apparently have some family issues and have to leave early. And in the world of work-campers this seems to always be an issue, I guess it is not a lot different than regular staff issues, but we have learnt quickly that the reference from your previous position determines how quickly you get your next position. And it doesn’t take much for the prized positions to be out of reach, not fulfilling your contractual commitment is a big one, but I guess I’m just old school that way, “your only as good as your word” so if I commit to something, you can be sure that I will fulfill my commitment.

Speaking of commitments, apparently it’s happy hour at the Andersons and I’m apparently now late, so I pack up the laptop and grab a cold beverage and trek the twenty yards to Tom & Kathleen’s coach to discuss everything that is in need of discussion. Today’s topics varied from the health and safety meeting, which is usually a place for some epic stupid comments to surface, Kathleen is on the committee representing the volunteers, but just like most organizations they can get locked up by items that are likely never to happen. Or fall into the rabbit hole I like to refer to as the “what if” to often simple regular issues never get addressed because someone feel into the “what if” hole from which there is no return.

Oh something amazing happened today, remember last weeks sad credit card story, apparently I must have touched a nerve with my American Express customer service story as I received my new credit card this afternoon by courier. Let’s just leave this by saying, it was a shame that it took a colossal failure before they did the right thing.

Tacos for dinner tonight, followed by lots of YouTube videos, we are still not completely caught up, but we are a lot closer, as spring travel is starting for a number of the channels that we follow. We turned in at about ten o’clock, the overnight temperatures are climbing, but no windows open overnight yet.

Wednesday morning and I’m up at five thirty, Mr. Sam was still asleep in his bed on the dash, but it wasn’t long before he was looking for his treats, and as I settle into my chair I was honored with some lap time from the kitty. And it is right about now that I realize that I never completed yesterday’s Wordle breaking my 24 day streak, which is why my last streak got broke, so now you see what happens when I sleep in and don’t get my lap time with our kitty. It is quite windy again this morning, so I’m thinking it may not be a good day to be on the coach roof.

Ray & Karen are coming to visit again today, we were going to install the second SoftStart on the second air conditioner, as it is something that Ray is looking at possibly installing on his fifth wheel, but this may not be a good day to open up an air conditioner on the roof. But because the of the gusty winds today I decided today was not a good roof day, so we just enjoyed a day of conversation followed by a walk through the Arboretum below are a few photos of the park.

We went for dinner at the Silver King Smokehouse & Saloon, we headed there at around 4:30 to join Tom & Kathleen who went to get a table. Only to discover that a number of items were already sold out, so no brisket for Brian today. But we made the best of it with pork butt, smoked wings, loaded fries, and a wedge salad, and we brought home enough leftovers to make another dinner of pulled pork. Ray & Karen dropped us off at the gate of the arboretum before heading back to their park in Gold Canyon.

We were back at the coach in time to see the end of the news, before watching some more episodes of “This is Us”, we turned in early as we have a big day planned for tomorrow.

Thursday morning and I rolled out of bed at five thirty, Mr. Sam who is always glad to get his morning treats repaid me with that very valuable lap time. The Wordle, some email, and then to work on the blog, every day as I sit to review the previous day I realize just how lucky we are to live this lifestyle, and have such great friends. Breakfast today was a grilled cheese omelet, I remember the grilled cheese omelet being mentioned in conversation yesterday.

Today is a kayaking day, we are headed back to the Salt River, for another journey down the river, we are meeting Ray & Karen this morning, as this is the two vehicle adventure that had so much wildlife last time. This will be our last kayaking adventure with the Savino’s as they are heading out for their summer adventures the first of April.

The plan was to launch in the Salt River further upstream than the previous trip, our thought was that the current had been so much stronger the last trip that it should lengthen our journey. Well we totally succeeded in lengthening our adventure, and we took it from a journey to an endurance test, so let me explain. We packed up and headed out to meet the Savino’s in Gold Canyon at ten, the we drove to the new launch site, it was here that I realized that I had picked up the wrong set of keys to unlock our kayaks … looking back this was sign #2 that this was not a good idea, the #1 sign was our launch area, we had never launched here before and while there was current it didn’t seem as strong as the week before.

After some debate as to calling the adventure off, we decided that I would drive back to the coach and get the correct keys, so back to the coach I went, I returned around 12:30, we quickly carried the kayaks to the launch site, then Ray and I staged my truck at the exit point before returning to launch and start this adventure. So by the time we hit the water it was just after one o’clock, and that is when the adventure took a turn for the worst. We had not ventured far when we found ourselves walking in the river, dragging the kayaks, not what we had hoped or expected but some of the joys of the adventure.

At this point we seemed to gain an audience, there had to be fifty wild horses on the shore and at least a dozen people on the other shore with cameras, now we are back in deeper water but our path is blocked by the horses, but at least everyone is enjoying the horses for the time being, because the adventure just went downhill from there. We were in and out of the kayaks at least a dozen times before we made it to the previous weeks entry point. We now know that it is at this point that the Salt and the Verde rivers meet, and it was obvious the Verda river that had been supplying the big current the week before. So at least from here to the exit point there was good water, of course it was late afternoon so there was also some wind now as we paddled across open water to our exit point.

After we got out of the water and got our equipment packed up we went back to the entry point to get the other truck, and it’s now we are after five o’clock, we had planned on shopping for this week’s supplies but a cocktail and some dinner were now more important than supplies. So dinner at Red White and Brew was decided on so we ventured there to wait for a table, dinner was very good, but we all exhausted. We stopped at Bashas’ to pick up a few items to tide us over than headed for the coach, a shower and crawl into bed was all that was on my agenda tonight.

Friday morning just before six o’clock when I rolled out of bed, and I must admit I felt better that I expected, my shoulders were the most tender, with my calves being a close second. Let’s just say I’m glad to have a sit down job for the today, the temperatures are well above normal for March with today forecast to be above 90°F (30°C), so windows closed and the air conditioner turned on for Mr. Sam in the coach today as we head off to the admissions booth.

It was a slow day at the Arboretum today, just under six hundred visitors today, there was a wedding in the afternoon, a couple of school bus loads of students, but generally just an average day with lots of first time visitors, many of which are now members.

Saturday morning and I woke too early, but I couldn’t stop thinking about how I hadn’t done any thing on the blog since early Thursday morning. So I had to get up and start trying to piece the last couple of days together. A bowl of cereal, a vitamin, and a cup of coffee with a touch of Irish cream and we are headed off to the admissions booth.

Crazy busy at eight o’clock and by a quarter after eight I had checked in over fifty visitors, it appears that everyone is trying to beat the heat, as the forecast high for today is 94°F (31°C) which is well over the the normal temperatures for March in Arizona. As the day rolled along our day turned in to a regular day, but we had a strange encounter with one of the other volunteers, I guess strange and inappropriate would be the best description. First and foremost, we have one supervisor, and we do as we are asked, when we are asked, we volunteer for extra shifts when the center is short staffed, so it was very awkward when someone with no interest in the admissions booth stopped to explain how we should be doing our job. But it happened, and in retrospect I most likely should have told that person to just to move on and have the preverbal nice day, but I just listened as the suggestions rolled in, and what little respect I had for that individual disappeared in the verbal diarrhea.

Our day ended with our usual balanced tills, so I guess what we do is working, I watched a little golf, the world news, Miss Laurie made pizza for dinner, and we are settled in watching more episodes of “This is Us” as I plug away at this blog before turning in at the end of our hump day.

Be well, stay strong, & live your best life

Blog 410

Day 1636

Sunday March 20th, 2022

Sunday morning and I slept in till 6:30, Mr. Sam was stretched out beside me on the bed. This is our Friday and it is looking like another beautiful morning here in Arizona, it is also day three of the plant sale, and the sale appears to be very successful. And I woke this morning to a hot coffee, a vitamin and a bowl of cereal, while watching most of Willie Geist on NBC, before heading off to our shift in the admissions booth.

As usual Miss Laurie helped out in the store, stocking shelves, moving and uncovering racks while I opened the admissions booth, certainly a slower day for admissions today, but it seemed steady enough to keep us occupied. I skipped out at three this afternoon, while Laurie worked till five helping the membership office run their credit cards through our machine, as there terminal is still a down.

I got back to coach in time to watch a little of the golf tournament from the Players Championship from the TPC Sawgrass golf course in Florida, apparently the weather has been a little rough in Florida with two days of heavy rain and the players appear to be dressed for winter while playing today. So the tournament will run into Monday as they have not even finished the third round yet today.

And just when you hoped that Covid was finally over, Tom Brady announces that after five weeks of retirement, he is making a comeback, I can’t imagine anyone who didn’t see that coming, oh boy something to look forward to this next NFL season … NOT.

Dinner was barbecued chicken, with a salad, while watching the news, then 60 minutes, and that’s when our YouTube streaming service decided to pack it in for the night, so we watched the most recent two episodes of the marvelous Mrs. Mazel on prime video, before turning in for the night.

Monday morning at 5:15 and nature called, Mr. Sam was good with early treats, and I decided to stay up, and knock off today’s Wordle, then enjoy some lap time with the kitty. Miss Laurie got up around six, and I decided to head to the arboretum for an early morning walk.

As you can see it was daybreak, as I was headed to the arboretum, at 6:30, but it was cool only 42°F (5°C) when I started. The walk was filled with all types of bird song, I must have seen a dozen cottontail bunnies, and the cardinals were everywhere this morning.

The gallery below are a few of this mornings photos, during my arboretum walk, I love what the morning light does to the views, but it can change in just a few seconds.

I made it back to the coach by eight o’clock, Miss Laurie made a grilled pepper omelet for breakfast, a vitamin, and of course a blessed cup of fresh perked coffee, while I sat and caught up on this weeks blog, it’s now ten o’clock and I’m going to walk to the visitor center. to check on some Amazon packages for some ongoing projects.

As I walked to the visitor center I had to walk by the garden that Miss Laurie had been working on last week, it is referred to as the “Blue Star Memorial Garden” and It is looking pretty good, don’t you think, it is being photographed for a publication, and needed some tender loving care.

Today was just a day of rest, so we spent most of the day kicked back in the antigravity chairs on our patio, it wasn’t a quiet day on the patio as migration season has brought with it a lot of new hummingbirds to the area, many different species, and they just don’t play well together. And Miss Laurie was trying to get photos of all the different species of hummers today

Its 4:30 Monday afternoon, but my laptop thinks it is 5:30, some how it keeps getting confused on where it is located, so I have to take a few moments to let it reprogram itself, it often seems to think it is Sacramento California, and I have not been able to figure out why, we are operating on cellular internet but I know the tower is not all the way in California, but I just ask it to check it’s location and we seem to be all fixed again.

We closed out our first day off with Miss Laurie making pizza in the Ninja along with a little red wine, then some time to catch up on world news then settled back to watch YouTube videos, before heading to bed.

Tuesday morning and by six o’clock dawn is breaking, and Mr. Sam is explaining the need for his treats, today’s Wordle was one of those a double letter words, which seems to wind up so many people. Miss Laurie was up early as well so the kitty has quickly headed to the big bed, and by seven o’clock I have had to closed the window blind as the sun is moving further north in the sky now is almost blinding me. An early breakfast (cheese and pepper omelet) today as we have a kayaking trip planned for today, we are meeting the Savino’s in Gold Canyon and heading back to the Salt River today.

It’s been a while since the kayaks were used so I have to mount the roof racks onto the toad, then load the kayaks, so a busy morning for me today, temperatures forecast for Superior today are 75°F (20°C) but in the Salt River valley the temperatures are forecast for 88°F (28°C), it this still amazes many just how much difference a little elevation change make’s. We are meeting the Savino’s in Gold Canyon on our way to the Salt River to redo the route down the river, this was the trip where we got a glimpse of the wild horses in the Salt River valley.

Well today was a jackpot kayaking trip down the Salt River, the water level was much higher, this made for more current and a much quicker trip, we found a number horses right on the river’s edge, we seen turtles, a giant blue Herron, some Canada geese, a king fisher, mallard ducks, and a river otter. Here are a couple of the photos that I was able snap with my iPhone.

On our journey back to the coach, we made a supply stop in Gold Canyon at the Basha’s grocery store, and we’re still able to get back to the arboretum before the gates closed. It was a busy day with lots of things going on, so it was nice just to lean back for a while. Dinner was barbecued sausage, with cold slaw and potato salad, before watching a couple of episodes of “This is Us” before turning in (a point of correction, we are still a whole season behind on this series) for an earned rest.

Wednesday and again for some reason I’m wide awake at two in the morning, it was even too early for Mr. Sam, although he did come and visit with me as I sat in my chair (ah, un-bribed kitty love), I completed today’s Wordle, responded to a couple of emails, and I read a few articles regarding some planned repairs before heading back to bed. Before waking again after seven o’clock, apparently I had slept through Mr. Sam capturing another mouse, our kitty earning his keep, if you would. All I really remember was the smell of coffee. After breakfast I just walked to the front gate area to admire some of the the arboretum plants in bloom, below are a few of the photos.

Today is going to be another busy day, Ray & Karen are coming out to the arboretum at around eleven this morning, as Ray is going to help with a couple of RV projects that I have started. The thing with full time living in our coach, just like a home there are always things that need attention. And if you have to get someone else to fix everything that goes wrong, your going to spend a lot of time in RV repair shops, and you are going to learn a lot about patience.

Because we are heading to Vancouver Island this summer, and most of Vancouver Island is a “Rain Forest” so I need to get a couple of persistent leaks resolved, so I enlisted a second set of eyes to look at the problem and listen to any thoughts and ideas that he had toward a solution of these issues. And Ray made a couple of suggestions that I may have seen, but had pretty much ruled out, but with the second look and an open mind, and obviously my previous failures, I decided to try everything that was suggested, as sometimes that second opinion, can change one’s perspective. I also asked his opinion on the skylight concern, and he agreed that there had been some mediocre to poor repairs of the coach roof in that area, Ray also agreed with my plan for a suitable repair to that area. The dual pained skylight in in transit and should be here by the weekend, so I should be able to get it installed before the next possible rain event.

Ray and I worked on the coach leaks for close to four hours today, and while I still have more to do, I was left feeling that we had accomplished a lot in the process today. Miss Laurie was preparing dinner for Ray & Karen, and being this close to St. Patrick’s Day, corned beef and cabbage seemed the only appropriate meal. And Miss Karen made cheesecake for desert, I have not had Karen’s cheesecake since we stayed with them in Florida, many, many years ago, and did I mention she makes it from scratch! Now I have had lots of cheesecake, from lots of places, even from the Cheesecake Factory, this beats them all hands down, and did I mention it’s been years since I have had some.

I for one was completely exhausted from two days of activity, so after I let Ray & Karen out of the arboretum, and walked back I knew we wouldn’t be up very late tonight, so a little mindless television, before turning in for an early evening.

Thursday and again I’m up in the middle of the night, this is a habit I need to break real darn fast, again I sat for a while to respond to email, complete today’s Wordle, spend a little time with Mr. Sam before returning to bed, to wake up close to seven to the smell of perking coffee. The previous couple of days were hectic to say the least, so I have things to accomplish today but it should be a better paced day.

The day started with a check for any mail at the visitor center, the problem is that I have been waiting for a replacement credit card since February the 3rd. And what should have been a non-story, but after six weeks it is a problem that I’m going to have to deal with today.

So a little background is needed, to understand the problem, when ever we use a Canadian dollar credit card to make a purchase here in the states we are subject to the exchange rate at the time of the purchase, so if our Canadian dollar is having a bad day, our purchases made that day reflect badly for us. So I applied for an American dollar card through our Canadian bank, and because I use an electronic wallet I was able to start using it immediately through my electronic wallet. For some reason the physical credit card did not arrive to our Canadian address before we left in November. So I used the electronic version a few times before it started to decline (and no it wasn’t that I had not paid the bill) so I called the credit card department of the bank to get the issue corrected. And here is where it seemed to go from bad to worse, so my call to Visa way back in February was almost an hour long, and at the end of it we agreed that sending out a new credit card from our Canadian bank, and that is what I have been waiting for, I did receive the PIN number for the new card about three weeks ago, but no card has showed up yet.

Which means another phone call, which I have been putting off till today, it’s just has the makings of being a long drawn out process, and I was correct, an hour and a half later and I’m almost very positive that I may receive a replacement credit card with in the next month. Compare this to an American Express card that needed to be replace that was in our hands and also sent from Canada in less the ten days, here is a company that understands customer service.

Now to explain why we want an America dollar credit card, all purchases are in American dollars, then I can watch the exchange rate daily and pay it when the Canadian dollar is having a good exchange day as opposed to the rate at the moment of purchase.

On a welcome note there was an announcement out of Canada today that on April the first we will not need to have a negative Covid test to return back to Canada in May, another welcome savings.

I was able to complete much of the resealing of the roof to rain gutter joint on the left side of the coach, or at least until I ran out of sealant three inches from the end, I need another tube of sealant anyway. After lunch I settled into the antigravity chair, and I could hear a diesel running, and I made the assumption it was just another delivery, but to our surprise it was Tom & Kathleen back, they had taken their coach to the repair shop, and were supposed to go visit their daughter in Colorado, but an illness had derailed that plan so they were back a couple of days ahead of schedule.

And I know you may find it hard to believe, but we got together for a welcome back happy hour or two, before breaking up for dinner shortly after six. Dinner was left over corned beef, cabbage, potatoes and carrots, then we watched three more episodes of “This is Us” before turning in around nine thirty.

Friday morning and I’m back to somewhat normal morning with a six o’clock start, treats for Mr. Sam, followed by the appropriate cuddling time before Miss Laurie rose. And as this is our Monday morning a bowl of cereal, a vitamin, coffee with a little Irish helper and we are ready for whatever the day will bring, and we were headed to the admissions booth by 7:45. I open the booth and Miss Laurie helps out in the store, restocking shelves, there was a lot of items to price and get out to the displays, so it was close to eleven o’clock before Laurie made it to the booth.

There was another school trip today with over 100 children, which just makes people cringe as they try to enter the arboretum, once the groups are in the park, they are kept busy which keeps them quieter, until it’s time to leave. It also caused a little bedlam in the picnic area around lunch time as well, the attendance today was just under seven hundred visitors, not including the school trip.

Our replacement skylight made it here today, I unpacked it and took it to the coach roof to confirm it was the correct one. Looks good, will try to install it over the weekend, it is just too much wind this afternoon to attempt any repairs today. So I watched a little golf before dinner, tonight dinner was barbecued chicken and salad, and as we try to catch up on “This is Us” to at least get to the current season, so we are a few episodes closer after tonight.

Saturday which is our hump day, and at 5:45 I rolled out of bed much to Mr. Sam’s delight, and after his morning treats, he spent some time on my lap, it was another double letter Wordle this morning, but my 22 day streak is still intact. A bowl of cereal again this morning, as we watch some local news before heading off to the admissions booth, it should be a busy day at the arboretum, lots of tours, spring break, and an 80°F (25°C) sunny day forecast, the only restriction today will be the traffic from the Renaissance Festival which creates a real traffic hazard on highway 60 for a couple of months each year.

Admissions was busy today but not really, we have it down to such a science, we have dealt with pretty much every thing that can cause havoc to our day so now we just roll with the punches. Today’s attendance was just over seven hundred visitors, not as busy as we expected on a “Spring Break” weekend but still not too bad. I’ve been kind of baiting a cardinal with regular sunflower seeds just beside the admissions booth, this has been happening for a couple of months and at the beginning the seeds would be there all weekend, but over time they disappeared regularly. Now if I put out some seeds Mr. & Mrs. cardinal are there within a few moments, so now I will feel guilty when we aren’t working, but they are so beautiful and every one around gets some great pictures, just another thing I will have to figure out.

So after work today I did the next step in the process for the installation of the new skylight, a little repair of the fiberglass surrounding the opening, and tomorrow I should be able to prepare the roof to fit the new skylight, so either tomorrow after work on Monday it will be in place, and sealed, after many resealing efforts.

Tonight was burgers on the barbeque, which used to be a Friday night thing, but now seems to be a Saturday night thing, either way it is good. Another few episodes of “This is Us” and Miss Laurie is headed for bed, I’m working on this blog as always, it is in reasonable shape, and with a few touches, and maybe a photo or two more it should be ready to publish soon.

Tomorrow is the first day of spring, and I hope that means some good weather for most of you, we have 0.05 inches of rain in the forecast in the next day or so, that’s like ten or twenty drops on the windshield, we would get more dew on the morning grass on a summer morning back in Ontario. But in a land that survives on two to three inches of rain a year it is newsworthy … jus’saying.

Happy first day of Spring!

Blog 409

Day 1629