Planning

Well, yesterday I finished getting the reservations for our summer trips. 3 nights in Zion NP and 2 days at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. I haven't been back to the North Rim for several years. I suppose the only thing changed was the company the runs the lodge. People always ask me why I like going back to the same spot for vacations. Nothing really changes with the rocks or the mountains or valleys. but actually I go for the scenery and to get a rest from the hustle and bustle of the city. I would actually be living in the Mountains of Arizona if I hadn't got married. Had it all planned out. But change happens. My oldest daughter was asked why she wanted to move to Argentina by concerned friends and family members. Like she was moving to an Indian reservation in the Amazon rain forest. I found Argentina similiar to here except they speak Spanish and drive like they were participating in a demolition derby. Very nice area and they have HBO. Anyhow people asked me why I wanted to move to the mountains of Arizona and away from civilization as they know it. My answer was to go to an area that is quiet and peaceful and I sometimes added to get away from people like you. Sometimes I'm not very diplomatic, but I got to a point that I don't care what people think of me. I'm try always to be nice to people but sometimes I realize animals are alot better to talk to (even the wild ones)
Later

My new tree

About 9 months ago the tree outside was cut down due to the tree dying from root strangulation. I hated to see it go, it was well over 60 ft (20meters) tall and always provided really nice shade. It was one of the original trees in the development. Well today they replaced it with a new tree so hopefully it will grow and provide the nice shade. I guess it will take awhile to get to 60 feet tall. But I can wait. As I was going to the store, I got a stabbing pain in my left foot (that is the leg that goes numb due to my sciata nerve) so I looked it up on webmd and it stated that it was just a nerve problem and to sit down and rest or stand up and walk whichever hurts the least. Now I know why it is a free service. Planning to make another meat loaf this afternoon using a different formula. Maybe this one will come out better. Midnight came in to offer his two cents, He said Meoow, and walked away. Loosely translated that meant hello and is it treat time yet.
Memorial Day as come and gone, I watched the National Memorial Day Program on PBS, it was nice, but sometimes I feel it is like preaching to the choir. There are still too many people that don't realize what they enjoy in life is due to the sacrifices of others. OK enough preaching for now. I noticed Katie got back from her trip up to Buenos Aires, I expect to see pictures any day.
I better go put my leg up to rest it for awhile.

and the Wet/dry vac works

Well today being a nice day in the neighborhood I decided to get the new wet/dry vacuum out and start cleaning the back deck of the winters deposits. It became a larger effort due to the leaves (there is no tree other than evergreens within 500 ft) on the deck (I'm 4 stories up in the back) (where the leaves are coming from is unknown) and a number of packing peanuts that came from a box that had opened by itself in a wind storm. I'm making good headway in getting it clean. I need to finish so I can have room for the grill. On another note, my sister-in-law complained about my allowing my wife to go to graduation with wrinkles on her gown. First, I tried for hours trying to get the old steamer to work, unlike my sis-in-law has kept everything she ever owned even if it doesn't work, I threw out the steamer. I have two steam irons and somehow they are not where I left them but the search will continue. And finally I'm a great believer that one should take responsibility for getting their own clothes ready. I already do all the wash. Next subject.
I see my sis-in-law also refused to do things the way she was told and refused assistance from younger people when she dumped the boxes on moving day. As a person gets older, wisdom dictates one should listen to the doctor and be grateful someone wants to help. Lessons learned.
I got an email from Katie telling me she is taking the night bus to Buenos Aires tonight and coming back Monday. The night bus is very similiar to the Night Bus in the Harry Potter series. There is a hostess who serves food and the seats recline so you can sleep. It beats driving yourself. I almost asked if she was going up to BA for the memorial day holiday, but better sense struck first. I discovered today that Midnight likes Dutch Potato Salad. We are trying to schedule him for his trip to the VET for a check-up. He does not like the VET, any VET. We have to spell it because he understands when we say the name of he who shall not be named.
That's it from Sunny Pennsylvania where the temp is 82 with 44% humidity.

And it works

Well the new battery came on Tuesday by Fedex and I installed it and this time I did the "proper" conditioning of the battery. 4 cycles of fulling charging and discharging it. Now I have somewhere around 4 1/2 to 5 hours of battery life instead of the 2 minutes. But I did get 2 1/2 years on the old battery. But when it dies it dies quickly. Deb has completed the paperwork for the passport and paid extra to get faster processing, so it looks like there will be two for Argentina. tonight Deb has to go to her college graduation. Faculty members are required to attend. Tried to get her gown un-wrinkled but my old steamer died and is now tossed out. I don't mess with steam. well lunch has arrived. Later

And then the battery died

Well it has been over 2 years and I guess I can't expect the laptop's battery to last forever. But I needed it to be ok and it just went into the great land of dead batteries with a statement saying "Warning, Warning Will Robinson your battery is dying" and then it went into hibernation never to be charged again. So I got on line Sunday and saw that Dell wanted $180 for a new battery and from the reviews I read, the battery was a piece of cr_p. So I found a company called laptopbatteries.com or something like that and they wanted just 88 dollars. So I ordered on line on Sunday, they shipped it Monday and it came today (Tuesday). I installed it and now it is on its first charge cycle of 4. I'm hoping for the best. My old laptop is over 5 years old and is still running on its original battery. Went to the store and got corn (10 ears for 2). My wife's sister came over to help input grades on Sunday and I worked on her laptop, she has in 6 months caused the machine to run very slow, mostly to her opening every program on the computer at startup. So after doing some cleaning up it is now running faster, but still has a way to go. with summer coming along here, midnight is happy to be brushed. He has developed a method by walking up to you and sitting down and giving a quiet meow and then looking at you with a sad look almost saying "please brush me". His cousin came over on Sunday to clip his nails and he was not very happy at all about that. Well that is it for now.

Hola y Bienvenido a mi español lección para el día de hoy

En realidad esto no será todo en español, sólo lo suficiente para confundir a Robin. Ella dijo en Facebook que yo era un buen cocinero, pero sugirió que cocinar sano que yo normalmente. Mi cocina es mucho mejor que la suya porque su comida es tan malo que no comer la caja llegó pulg. OK, de vuelta a Inglés. So anyhow, bright and sunny (partly) day here in EG. Temp is 78 with 68% humidity at 11 am. Has been a busy week for me, I thought I had nothing much other than the talk I gave to the Brookhaven AARP. They love me there, second time there and they want me back in November to talk about Argentina. I really need to complete the schedule for our trips this summer. My Spanish is slowly improving as my english is declining. I have been cleaning everyday and I still can't see alot of improvement. Midnight sitting on my lap as I try to go through papers tends to slow me down a great deal. He is in the "I want to be brushed everyday for 2 hours" mood. I sit down and he does all but hand me the brush. But he likes it. The Mac and cheese I made Wednesday was very good. Baked a little less time as Deb doesn't like a hard crust. Still no movement on Debs passport. Later

Try Try again

Well my cooking skills worked on Wednesday when I attempted to make the Mac and Cheese made famous by my daughter and her Mother. Actually this is the third attempt. The first in Florida met with an overdone mac and cheese, as mentioned in previous post due to the oven not being well calibrated. The 2nd about 2 weeks ago when I misread the pasta as rotini instead of rigatoni, (need new glasses) came out alright but more like Kraft Mac and Cheese than what it was suppose to be. But yesterday success came to East Goshen and a really good mac and cheese was produced. Even Midnight enjoyed a piece of it (very small).
I thought I wouldn't have anything scheduled this week, but reviewing my emails I discovered a meeting last night and another meeting Sat morning in which I'm giving a presentation. Well it is good to keep busy. Thank heaven for the DVR, it is working overtime. At least it has twin DVR so I can get all the programs I like to watch.
This being the tenth day of rain, had .53 inchs yesterday and since midnight another .53. So far this week the unit has recorded over 3 inches and more to come tonight, friday and sat. 30 more days and I'll consider building the ark. Well the sun just came out, temp at 10:45 is 69 degrees F with 85% Humidity. And the grass is growing at a fast rate, looking to see if the grass cutters are coming today.
Well that should be all the news for now, must make some phone calls.
Ciao