Landscaper Experience

The landscaper we hired to perform the improvements in our back yard is a piece of work. He was part of the crew that we have used to get our plants and trees in shape after we moved into the house and he "broke-away" to start his own business. He gave us a terrific deal for the work, and, as is true with most terrific deals, there are hidden concerns. The main one is that he is not dependable and we don't know when to expect him to show up to work. So far, every day that he has worked he has missed the target start time by hours. He is Mexican and is obviously struggling to survive in the U.S. Without getting into a lot of detail, he has not done the highest quality of work. I already had to have him tear out the pavers and start over as they were no-where near level. I'm sure that eventually the work will be completed as desired. He doesn't get paid until it does. My understanding is that he will have another person helping him today, so maybe we will see some real positive progress. He is a hard worker, but not the highest quality.

It appears that, finally, we are out of the 100+ degree days. Yesterday was 107, and the high today is only suppose to reach 98. We'll see.

Next up on the schedule is Halloween and we are taking out all of the decorations that have been in storage for the last 7 years and putting them around. Then, we will do the same for Thanksgiving and then Christmas. I am beginning to miss the simple life we had while traveling...

September Burns Out

September didn't end with any clear sign that Fall was here. It went to 108 here in Glendale yesterday and it was not a "refreshing" day. I believe there is one more 100+ day in the forecast - today - before we finally say goodbye to summer.

Our landscaper was busy digging out and moving plants in that heat and good progress was made in our backyard. We expect to have the sand spread today for the pavers and the (artificial) grass and he may even wrap up the changes today. With all of the work done in the yard yesterday, he stirred up a scorpion that somehow ended up in the bottom of our pool:

We aren't sure how it ended up there, but it was most likely in the rocks around the pool before the landscaper disturbed him. Anyway, it is one less we have to worry about. The good thing is that we haven't seen one live scorpion since the treatment was done.

It looks like I will need to buy 70 more pavers in order for the landscaper to finish the job in our yard. Lowe's has those in stock, so I will pick those up this morning. Once the yard is finished, we will be done with any improvements and/or upgrades. Then, we should be ready to put the house on the market - Ha ha...

Heating Up

It is the end of September and our high temperatures the last 4 days have been 105, 106, 106 and 107! Summer just doesn't want to let go. The forecast is for an even hotter day today before it is suppose to begin to cool down. It is even warmer than usual in Jackson, WY where today would normally be our last day working at the Lodge. The highs have been in the upper 70's there where the high 50's and low 60's are the norm at this time of the year. I'm sure that the animals are all confused - and the plants and trees too.

We were suppose to have our landscaper here yesterday to begin the work on our backyard. He ran into a problem getting the sand delivered in order to begin laying the pavers and the grass, so he plans to try again this morning. Josie is off work today and tomorrow, so she will get an opportunity to watch the progress. I hope we didn't make a mistake choosing this guy to do the work. Sometimes, you think you are getting a great deal on something and it turns out to be a more expensive solution than if you went with a higher quote. We'll find out.

There are so many projects that we have lined up but need some cooler weather to begin. I'm really getting tired of being holed-up in the house when there are so many things to be done outside. I'm sure that the day will come soon when I wish the weather would just warm up a bit. You know how it goes - we are never satisfied when it comes to the weather...

Car Repair

I took the Jeep into the dealership yesterday to have the "check engine" light problem fixed. Four hours and $230 later I left the dealership. It was an emissions control valve that was bad and it was a $200 part. Of course, the days of the $50 part are long gone. That brings me to another point. I heard that cereal prices, along with all other food prices, are going through the roof. For no apparent reason. You can't find cereal in the stores anymore for less than $4 per box, and that buys you about 4 or 5 bowls of cereal. It's cereal this week, next week it will be something else that has prices going through the roof. As Josie says, everything keeps going up except our income. Oh. well.

We have the landscaper scheduled today to begin the work on our backyard improvements. We have the pavers and the artificial grass from Lake Pleasant that we want to use, and he will utilize those for as far as they will go. I will most likely have to buy a few more pavers and maybe another roll of grass, but for the most part, the materials are there. It will be a nice change to our backyard. We also wanted to put a pergola out back but they are so expensive we will probably wait on that for now. The back yard will certainly be ready for use this winter.

My doctor's appointment went well yesterday. The doctor cleared me for resuming all physical activity again. There have been no problems with the recovery for which I am thankful. I will have to go back in about two weeks to have a scan performed to make sure all is well with the device he planted near my abdomen. Then, it will be once a year for the scan to make sure all is performing well. I sure hope the visits to the doctor and, especially to the hospital, are done for now...

More Like It

The two games that really mattered to me yesterday were both strong wins - the Cardinals and the Seahawks. Even though the Seahawks have two losses, they are on a collision course with the Cardinals for the playoffs. Right now, it looks like they are the two teams to contend for the NFC Championship. It was sure nice to see the Seahawks play a great defensive game and show signs of getting the offense going. The Cardinals had a walk in the park against the 49'ers. I hope I'm right on those two teams.

I have to take the Jeep into the shop this morning to get the "check engine" light checked. It came on Friday and I had to wait until today to get it checked. The fact that the light stays on is suppose to be good. It is a serious problem when it flashes, so I guess we will be OK. Famous last words.

I also have a doctor's appointment this afternoon which is the first check-up since my surgery. Everything seems to be going well, so I don't see any problem with that.

I took a picture of the lunar eclipse last night and, here it is for what it is worth. You really need the right camera equipment for these shots, but you get the idea:

That about wraps it up for today...

Big Game Day

Yesterday was the big game with Ohio State, the number one team in the country. Austin's team had already played the number two team, Michigan State, the first game of the season. I don't know of too many teams, especially MAC Conference teams, that have played the #1 and #2 teams in the country so early in the year. They did not embarrass themselves in either game, and Austin played very well in both. Unfortunately, huge penalties and the fact that their kicker had a flat day didn't help the score. Ohio State won the game, 38-12. WMU had one touchdown called back for penalties and another long pass called back that would have resulted in a touchdown. Throw in two missed field goals and the missed extra points following their two touchdowns that counted, and they played a pretty good game. Now they can go on to play conference games.

That pretty much ate up the day as I watched the entire game. I did some other stuff around the house and throw in some cross stitch and that was my day. Josie came home from work at 5:30 and we went to get some dinner at Applebee's before calling it a day.

There have been ZERO sightings of "live" scorpions since we had the house treated. Our fingers are crossed...

Visit Planned

All of the arrangements are made now for Justin and Kristine to visit us in October. They will arrive on Saturday, October 10, and return to Seattle on October 17. We will begin planning some fun things to do while they are here and it should be a nice visit. Justin will be heading out to his Air Force training by the end of the year and it will probably be the last time we will see him for awhile. It will be a nice experience for him.

The scorpions are about gone as far as we can see. There were no more new ones spotted yesterday although we are sure there are more hidden in various places around the house. We are planning to get shelving for our garage to get all of the boxes and other items off the floor. One of the dead scorpions was discovered in the garage which is a place where we haven't seen them before. We hope to get all the garage stuff put away before the next treatment for the scorpions takes place in about two weeks.

Today is the big game on TV between Western Michigan University and #1 Ohio State at Columbus. Patty and Mark are attending the game in Columbus as Mark has an opportunity to accompany a business prospect to the game. They will fly to Columbus today and return tomorrow. Good luck to Austin and his team! Watch for #23 on the special teams for WMU. It sure would be nice to see a major upset in the game.

Josie will be at work today so I will copy the game for her to see later. We are hoping for a close, exciting game...