May 16, 2009

As is usual for our spring weather, we are experiencing week after week of rainy weather. While it does make everything nice and green it would be ideal to have some balance - a little more sunshine now and save some of the rain for June and July so the lawn doesn't go all brown. A fairly quiet week. The top news - the shower is all done except for the glass door which will take a week to complete. Unfortunately it can't be ordered until the tile work is all done to ensure it is the exact size so now we wait for that to be installed. It is looking good and hopefully, we'll be able to post the before and after photos next weekend. Although, it is giving Jo and I more together time in the morning as I'm using her bathroom. On the more depressing front, we are once again having problems with our tenants in Madison. The are behind of the rent and therefore we have decided not to re-rent to them after their lease is up. Of course, this means we have to find someone else willing to rent the house - but that is what we have a property management company for.

Joann was home more than she was gone although she did encounter some travel challenges this week. As you can see from last week's post, she was supposed to go to Montreal for a day trip. Well she got to Montreal OK, but the return flight was delayed and then cancelled. Meaning she got to enjoy a Montreal airport hotel without a suitcase. She managed it, but came home a tired puppy. Her only other trip was a day trip to the NY office which went off smoothly. This coming week she is off to St Louis for a day trip on the corporate jet - with her boss. Such the uppity-up executive she has become. One nice consequence is that she needs to be in Trenton, NJ (that's where the corporate jet is stored) early Monday AM so to make it easier and to catch up with an old friend she will be staying overnight Sunday with our PA friends Holly and Paul. Holly recently retired from Merck (as in we are downsizing your position would you like to call it retirement instead?). As Holly is the same age as Joann, you can imagine we are somewhat jealous.

Yesterday we saw the new Star Trek movie at an afternoon matinee. Great special effects and enough of a plot to keep you interested between the almost non-stop action. Plus they manage to weave in stories from many of the other movies and the TV show. Today we tackled the outdoor chores as more rain is predicted for tomorrow. So the garden got weeded and we harvested our first crop of the year, lettuce (check the photos - one of our lettuce crops and the bounty from our yard - asparagus, rhubarb, and the aforementioned lettuce). We don't count the meager number of asparagus spears that managed to claw their way up. While we technically have four beds of asparagus we can't seem to make it grow more than a few spears at a time. Unlike our Hangman Hill friends - check out the link to their blog below - asparagus and the Eisenhart's just isn't happening. Grass got mowed and I played around with my new attachment for my power washer - a 24 foot extender pole so that I don't have to be climbing ladders to spray wash the house.

Usual week planned ahead, we are both looking forward to the Memorial Day weekend. Amazing what one extra day off can do. Have a nice week.