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.