Date: Mon, 20 Aug 2001 10:53:24 -0400

The pace has not slowed at the Manor.  Michael Magnuson spent a few
nights with us so that Eric and Linda (his parents) could go away
for a few days, alone, just the two of them.  Sounds like a good idea.
Eric is a school teacher and you-know-what is just around the corner
so they seized the time and enjoyed a B&B somewhere.

Delivering Michael out one door when his parents came to pick him up,
we received Holly Flint (Emily's friend) in another door to stay for
the weekend.  Holly helped Emily and the teen group on Saturday morning,
washing cars in the Wal*Mart parking lot.  It was the teens' second-most
successful fund-raiser ever (at least in my memory).

While Emily and Andrew washed cars, and Joy took Miranda for some
pre-school bloodwork, I stayed home and took a belt sander to the
roof of Ol' Lazarus.  That car's roof had been peeling and rusting
in spots and so I felt that I couldn't damage it much more than it
was. And I wasn't about to "do it right" for the money the car isn't
worth.  Joy picked up some primer and the girls can later do
whatever hippie painting expressions they want on the roof of
the car.

After a few other odds and ends around the yard and a dip in
the pool, Joy and I went to pick up Jessica at the airport. 
Her return trip was happily ontime but not uneventful.  Apparently,
Mrs. Young thought it would be nice to give Jessica a plastic bag
with Amish Friendship Bread in it.  The security officers who x-rayed
Jessica's luggage didn't think it was so nice, and required her to
open her bag and explain the substance she was transporting.  (Amish
Friendship Bread is America's first chain letter.  You add ingredients
to the dough on certain days before baking, and just before you bake
it you separate out three cups of dough and give it to three friends
to repeat the process.)  The Young family saw Jessica off at the
airport so she wasn't going down alone if there was any ingredient
on the list that was contraband.  Jessica had a great week and she
and David are still friends.

Miranda continues to work on her summer mural in addition to wrestling
with the school about semester living arrangements. I won't go into 
details here but it involves rigidly interpreted policies that don't
take mitigating circumstances into account. 

Miranda baked Jessica's birthday cake.  Jessica turned 19 on Sunday
along with Paul Beausoleil and Bill Clinton (who turned different
ages).

The Clarks stopped in for a swim Sunday afternoon, and I was 
pleasantly surprised by a pop-in visit from my brother John.
He was taking his youngest son out for a bike ride (motorcycle)
and ended up in Pepperell.  After a dip, I sheared Joey's head
(since it hadn't been done since the Fourth of July).  I hope
his mother approved.  While the clippers were out, I dusted off
my own son's head. I guess my other nephews are due, as well.

Sunday evening, the kids went out miniature golfing and for ice cream;
oh, the privileges of having siblings that can drive.  Joy and I brought
home a small pepperoni pizza for ourselves and enjoyed the peace and
quiet.  Not the couple of days that the Magnusons had, but treasured
moments, nonetheless.

Mark
-- 
+---_-----------+ Mark Metcalfe, metcalfe@cadence.com
| c a d e n c e | Cadence Design Systems, Inc.    Phone: (978) 446-6451
+---------------+ PCB Systems Division, Technical Communications Manager