Hottest Day Ever

...well, at least since 1859 or thereabouts. 108 degrees. I'd say more about it if my life force hadn't evaporated. And it's raining in Oklahoma. WTF? (Stands for "Weather's Terribly Fickle", Mom.)

The Week in Review

Let's see... 100-plus degree heat for days to come, found out Bugg (the pug) is diabetic (two shots a day from now on - yay), major layoffs at work (Why are they still called that? It's not like they'll be calling anyone back. I guess "mass firings" just doesn't sound very good), Duke (our tenant) sliced his hand open last night and came down to bleed all over our kitchen (Brought the health care debate into sharp focus since he lacks health insurance. People in this country shouldn't have to choose between getting a serious laceration stitched up and groceries). Oh, and I can't breathe - at least not easily. Not sure what that's all about.

OK, I guess that was mostly the bad and/or ugly. On the bright side, I'm still employed, which means we can afford things like insulin and air conditioning. And food. And health care. And I have a supportive and caring family. Come to think of it, things are looking up. :-)

Fireworks Fun

Spent the 4th with our friends Kevin and Kelly and their sons Adam and Jordan. Here are some photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/pdxbears/July42009#

Austin Goes to Camp

Took Austin to Camp Westwind yesterday and we're childless until next Thursday. This is the first time he's been separated from both of us and it was a little hard to let him go. But, Westwind (see link above) is a phenomenal place to be a camper, the staff is excellent and he's in good hands. I'm not sure he grasps quite yet how fantasticly beautiful the setting is and how lucky he is to be able to go hang out there. He's boarding a ferry in the photo because the camp is only accessible by boat (or helicopter, I suppose). The first day, they give them all a serious talk about how to avoid being attacked by a cougar or bear (never hike alone; stay calm; don't run away; if "buddies" walk too far apart, it's usually the smaller of the two that gets eaten, etc.). I'm not sure how many campers have actually been eaten, but the counselors don't have any problem keeping the kids in their cabins at night. :-)

Anniversary

Ten years ago today, a certain sneaky friend of mine invited me to go see a movie at the Bagdad Theater. The sneaky part was that he also invited this handsome and charming guy named Rudy. Well, y'all know the rest. :-)

Water Works

Some photos to go with Austin's blog:

Installing the main water line:

Azalea with Borg-like feeding tube:

Forts and Planes and Growing Pains

Since Austin didn't post any fort pictures, here's one . He was building airplanes out of scrap lumber on Sunday when he missed a nail and smashed his thumb into a bloody pulp with the hammer. Ugh, it brings back all the pains of childhood - skinned knees and gravel-abraded palms, bruised shins and smashed fingers and toes. It's a wonder we all lived through it.