June 27th, 2007

We are finally getting close to seeing the final product on the yard. This week we have had the house painted, not sure you can tell the color. The trim is being painted over the next few days. We hare working on replacing some doors that a certain puppy was well a little hard on. To my way of thinking its not so much the color of the house that is important but the fact that its fresh clean and done well. I am impressed with the job that has been done so far.

The deck is finished and as you can see in the picture some of the fencing is complete in the front and along the side of the house. The plan is to bring in the plants on the week of July the 9th. We should be mostly done by the end of that week July 15th. Dorothy and I need to complete our purchase of the deck furniture and should be able to entertain guests in a clean, setup yard by the middle of August. Look for invitations about the first week of August. The neighbors have been wonderfully tolerant of all the trucks, painters radio, saws, drills, sprayers and jack hammers. We owe them at least a good party.

Revel and I are completing our last round of Advanced training classes and will then go for the AKC obedience certification, just so we have a nice jacket to say we did it. The bigger picture is that Revel has turned from Demon Dog to the sweetheart of the house (at least in the mind of Dorothy and I, Edward will never be swayed). He still takes food if you leave it out but through all of this work he and I have become very close. When I work on the computer in the office he sleeps on the floor next to me. Elda and I got Libby and Revel together for a nice long walk to Fisherman's wharf this weekend. Despite the inordinate amount of attention that Revel gets when you take him to public places (its like walking Paris Hilton sometimes), we had a wonderful time and the dogs get along so well.

Edward still has not been placed at a job and is going crazy from the boredom and the down time. Teddy also has not found a job, but his busy social life does not really allow him time for one anyway. The baby is doing well through all of this, his health has been excellent and he sleeps the better part of the night in his crib. Dorothy and I had a wonderful trip to Big Sur today. I had to have the Benz serviced in Monterey so we took the rental to Nepenthe for lunch. It was a beautiful 75 degrees and we enjoyed ourselves immensely. Never a word of contractors or children was spoken. After our six hour respite we are back on the job paying the bills, arguing about colors and post positions, and the right size for the front porch. Worrying if Teddy and Amber are getting all the things they need to care for Gavin and will Edward go totally nuts before he gets a routine back. I read a good quote I try to remember now as these things pile up.

Are not the pleasures of the spring made such by the disagreeableness of the winter? Is not the pleasure of fair weather owing to the unpleasantness of foul? Certainly. Were it then always spring, were the fields always green and flourishing, and the weather constantly serene and fair the pleasure would pall and die upon our hands; it would cease to be pleasure to us.

Benjamin Franklin

We are going to enjoy our latter years much more for all the trials these recent ones have given us.

Revel and Libby share strawberry milkshake with Elda.

June 14th, 2007

Progress is the word of the week. There is much that is done, and yet much to be done. The back yard is shaping up nicely. The Hot Tub is in and very much being used. The deck is down and the railing is about 60% completed. Pictures are a few days old so the railing is further than what you see. The planting areas are now designated a little better after the landscaper, the architect and Dorothy and I reviewed the plans again. The front porch is gone, soon to have a new one there. The painter has power washed the house and will begin caulking the holes prior to primer and paint. Dorothy and I have spent several hours clicking away at the Internet to figure out what furniture we need for outside, what quality we want and what we can afford. Don't let anybody tell you they can sell you a cheap teak bench. Teak and Cheap are two words that do not go together. We managed to figure out the pieces now its a matter of style and price. I think the final setup on the deck is going to be wonderful.

The kids seem to be doing very well. No jobs yet in sight unfortunately but I don't think the proper motivation is there either. There are some new photos on the Web Album see the link to the right. Gavin is getting more aware of his world each day. He can now hold up his head himself and he follows things that pass by him more. He is also awake more these days so we see the kids more during the day. That's really nice.

Edward is very out of sorts. He is between the known routine of school, and trips with Mom and Dad and the unknown routine of no work, no school, Dads at work so no trips and he's bored and concerned about the future. That boy needs a job and soon. He is clamoring to go to Grandma's for a few days visit hope that gets worked out soon. He is really getting on every bodies nerves. We want to be supportive but he can be so hard sometimes.

Revel is doing his Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde routine. The differences seem to be getting bigger. When he is good he is great, but when he is bad, lookout. The trainer says more training will make the bad side go away but we are losing Dorothy's trust that he will be good. As you can see from the remodel pictures he is enjoying the deck and loves sleeping in the shade under the Camilla in the front now that its more of a tree than a bush.

Work has been a full time thing these days, with a few days to AdvantaCare to train their new pharmacist. I was hoping to get to Ventana again on Wednesday but had to settle for a walk to Capitola due to things we needed for the house. Hopefully will get out there by the end of the month. Wednesday the 27th is my next opportunity if anyone wants to join me. That trip on the 13th to Capitola was hot. We are getting in the low 80's these days. Its great but Rev is hot and tired by the end of the walk.

June 6th 2007

Today Edward completed his entire Education. He graduated from the Post Secondary program at Pajaro Valley Unified School district. This was a life skills training program teaching him job and life skills that we hope he will now be able to apply to the work world. Needless to say this is a huge step that Edward as usual does not want to talk about. As one of the parents put it today he now has to go out in the work world and apply what he learned to dealing with people of all ages not just his peers. I am firmly convinced that Edward when he finds the job that fits his unique skills will be a wonderful employee that people will look forward to seeing and looking after. Our young boy has grown into such a fine person that Mom and Dad are more than a little proud of.

June 3rd 2007

Here are some new photos of the work on the backyard. I think the deck will be completed by the end of next week. Perhaps the 10th. Wanted to get some pictures out there before they put the top boards down and I missed the pictures of the skeleton of the deck. Not really very exciting at this point not enough being finished I am having concerns that there is too much rock and not enough plants. I guess I will just have to wait and hope for the best at this point.

Everyone here is very tired having spent the day making up for the fact that we did not have a two day weekend but only Sunday off. Edward is starting to understand that Hospital work is not like homecare. Dad will have to work weekend days but when I am home I am not on call or have to leave without warning. He does like that. Today we got up early and brought donuts for breakfast for everyone and then went bowling. He is loading his scores into my new iPAQ, here are the past two weeks. 104, 114, 127 and 108 an average of 113 which he has learned to calculate. He really loves our regular trips to the bowling alley. Despite my scores I am there for time with him. So its ok that Dad is averaging a disappointing 151. I will get over it, just one more thing that is going away with age.

We are having a bit of a setback with Revel in that he has started jumping and biting your arm if he is bored and does not want to return home from a walk. Dorothy had a very bad incident with him yesterday that left here black and blue on the arm (she's ok, but mad at Revel). Today we took him to Capitola to Peets our 6 mile walk and I was very stern with him. He jumped up once and was immediately put on his back with a firm grip on his neck. That was shortly into the walk and there was no further incidents. I have explained this to the trainer we are working with and they are going to get back to us about plans to train this out of him.

The kids are still summer job hunting, Teddy is hoping for a call back from Borders in Santa Cruz. I think he really likes the idea of working in a book store with music. Looking forward to what he will do in the job is huge to how this first job is going to go. I have my fingers crossed. Gavin is getting bigger by the day. He has changed a lot, staying up more during the day and much more animated with his facial expressions. I will get you more pictures with the next post. I am having trouble with my digital camera so I have to borrow and Edward is not happy about anybody using his camera.

Until next time.

Most dogs play with tennis balls, not my big boy he prefers a basketball.