Subject: Weekend Update: Labor Day Weekend 2000
Date: Tue, 05 Sep 2000 16:50:28 -0400

Jessica's room remained spotless all week, as testament that she is
really gone.  Miranda's room now becomes the repository for the
laundry to go up to the youngun's rooms, where it used to be on
MY side of the bed, often delaying my appointment with my pillow
at night.  We have begun to really feel the hole, the four of us,
waiting for another person to join us down by the pool or in the
car before heading off somewhere.

Jessica has called a couple of times (and Mandy once on Jessie's
phone).  Both are doing fine and obtained on-campus jobs.
Miranda is in at Kinderhaus and Jessica is at the Library; seems
right to me somehow.

Emily and Andrew are back in school.  Andrew has a new paper route
which he has taken over full bore after a couple of weeks on the
job.  Many times, he'll have an extra paper, but it only serves
to underscore why I don't want a paper. because I rarely get to
read the free one as it is. He's making his own scratch now and
measures his success by the amount of tithe he contributes.

On Saturday, we did a bit of window shopping with the goal of
thumbing our noses at the coming New England winter.  I have
worked for Cadence for over 5 years.  Thanks to a good manager
(who is on this distribution list), I was given some stock options
when I joined that have given Joy and I pause to ponder how to
"cash in the chips" as it were.  When we lived in Nashua, we had
a hot tub which helped to melt away snow shoveling backaches and
the winter blahs. Nothing purchased yet, but we are gathering our
data and watching the ticker for an advantageous moment, and for
the estimates to come in for building a room around the tub.  We
hope that both numbers come to agreeable terms.

Not to throw too much of a wet blanket on the fluff of life: our
van decided it would no longer serve as our conveyance.  We drove
it to church Sunday evening, where the topic of the sermon dealt
with having joy in all circumstances. When we tried to start
the van to go home, it would crank but not fire.  Although the
clouds of annoyance hung over my brow, silver linings were evident
because of where the van was disabled and by the help we got in
getting home that evening.  I waited until Tuesday (today) to
arrange a tow - even tow truck drivers didn't want to work on
Labor Day and there was no point in rushing the tow.  On Monday,
when we returned a borrowed car to the Pape's, we detoured by
the church to see if the van would behave itself to Pepperell.
It wouldn't.

I tried not to think about the van on Monday, as much as possible,
after leaving it in the church parking lot again. We busied ourselves
trying to catch up on yard work.  We stripped one peach tree and
pruned it, garnering a precious few peaches from the sadly neglected
arbor. It had lots of "mummies" on it.  I'll do better with it next
year... like the Red Sox playoff hopes.  The grapes are just beginning
to turn; perhaps they'll be ready AFTER the choir picnic, to be held
this Saturday, rain or shine.  At least, parties are always good
incentive to try and catch up on the chores around the Manor.

Soon we'll order some wood and put the storm windows back in place.
My breath was visible this morning for the first time since the Spring
thaw.

I was glad for the company we had on Saturday and Monday. The pool
got used by brave or crazy youngsters, and we grilled some various
forms of beef and other meat by-products.  Played cards Saturday
night with the Hedlunds; a game, Joy and I commented, that her
mother liked to play.  Watched a movie with the Mattoons on Monday.
That's where the meaning is in life, you know; in one word:
relationships.  Everything else is just fluff, folks.

Mark