Subject: Weekend Update: Labor Day Weekend
Date:    Tue 9/7/99 11:37am

In the wintertime, we keep the Manor cool and make adjustments such as
wearing warmer clothes around the house and spending even more time in
the barn where the woodstove creates our own personal comfort zone.
The heating and electric bills at the Manor can get to be about as
large as the house itself if we are not careful to close certain doors
and turn off unused lights.  And every year we have to begin training
the kids about this time of year so by the time mid-October brings the
chill winds, they will have reformed their habits for the long winter
ahead.

When I see the trees making preparations for their dormancy, I start
to get fidgety about finishing the projects I promised to do all
summer.  And so, I pulled a window from its casing and took it to the
local family-run hardware store to have a couple of panes replaced.
Yes, I could do it myself, but not for about $10 of aggravation.  I
also weather-lined the barn door with felt because it was showing
light through the door jam and where there is light, there is an air
leak!  It's the little adjustments like these that will allow me to
save money or inch up the thermostat a degree or two; especially for
company.  I am still procrastinating over the dirty job of flipping
the insulation around underneath the barn.  (It was installed
improperly with the paper side down.)  It's been two winters already
and I'm wondering if we will ever get it done..

The kids headed back to school last week for three days; this week,
they have four days, and next week, a full week.  Another fall routine
begins.  Brown paper bags run for their lives at this time of year or
they become school book skins.

Andrew taught the five of us how to play "Knock Out" on the basketball
court and we've spent several evenings after dinner and before sundown
having a little fun.

Joy took sick this past week - a nasty cold.  How nasty?  She stayed
home from church... both services!  Despite her condition, I invited
people over on Saturday for perhaps one of the last enjoyable swim
days of the season.  (Who knows, we may have several more.)  We
enjoyed cookouts for lunch and dinner.  We steered a wide course
around the infirmed one on the couch.  I told everyone that it counted
towards their Pearly Gate points as "visiting the sick."  Joy started
to feel a little better on Monday after I bought her the
"put-you-to-sleep" cold medication.  We hope the rest of us have
avoided her germs.  So far, so good.  It's about time she started
getting back on her feet, too; I'm running out of clean underwear!
;-)

Mark
                                                  o                 ,
Mark Metcalfe, Sr. Writer      _ 0  .-----\-----.  ,_0 _      ,__0_/
Cadence Design Systems, Inc. o' / \ |\     \     \    \`o        M
270 Billerica Rd MS04  ________|\___|_`-----\-----`__ /|________.|\.____
Chelmsford, MA 02184           /.|.    |          | .|.\
(978) 446-6451                         |          | metcalfe@cadence.com