Updates as developments warrant

Vince asked how Tom and I were doing. This has been a busy sort of week. Tom and John are supervising a group of ten guys hired to help for several days with the track work at the railroad. Things are going very well with that, but they are wiped out by the end of the day. They have been replacing between 75 and 100 ties each day.

Things in the shop have been up and down. This is a pretty bad August in the Dells. Some businesses are down 40%. We had been holding steady compared to last year, but we are definitely not doing as well as we did last August. Still, we will probably come through the summer relatively well.

I am looking forward to Labor Day, though. Then we move to weekends only, and instead of 50-60 hour weeks, I shift down to about 20. Since my salary is spread out over the year, I will have the same paycheck coming in as I do now, but working only about one-third as much. Yay! Will have time to work on a new book, I hope.

Peter is in Maine for a couple of weeks with Helen and Jay. Peggy and Rich are still in Canada. Tom and I are house/cat/mail/plant-sitting. Tom goes over and pampers Molly every morning and evening. I think Peg and Rich may find he has totally spoiled their cat when they get back.

Tomorrow I will go to a meeting and then have coffee and a chat with Barry in the morning, followed by library volunteering in the afternoon. Tom will be at the railroad with the work crew. Friday John and Jude will join us for dinner, and I plan to do something Mexican. Normally Tom would cook, but he has an appointment with his lawyer Friday afternoon about his will. And I like to do Mexican and we have these great plates for it. It's not just about the food -- it's about the whole experience! (I can see Judi rolling her eyes.)

And that's about all there is.