This is another quick note with no pics.

I had several doctor’s appointments scheduled this summer when we will be in South Dakota. I moved most of them out into October, but I wanted to move my opthamologist in. I see in the distance OK, but I can’t make out details very well. It is difficult for me to read. It’s nothing terribly bad, just something that might need some attention. The doctor gave me an eyeglass prescription with more magnification so I will have an easier time reading, but he said my corrected distance vision is 20/30 and can’t be improved. He said my problem is that I am developing cataracts. When I can’t stand it any more, I’ll need surgery. I’m a long way from the surgery for sure. But I’m looking forward to getting my new glasses so I will have an easier time reading.

We took part 1 of a 2-part class on Greek art. It’s an adult education class offered through the community college. We learned a lot and enjoyed the class quite a bit. We’ll take the second part on Monday. We’re looking forward to it.

The other fun thing we did this week is attend a show given by the Chinese Golden Dragon Acrobats. It was at the Meyerhoff (where the Baltimore Symphony usually performs). It was quite entertaining. Danita and I had a very good time.

Next week is our last normal week. Joe’s wedding is coming up. Jul, Ryn, and Mark will all be here. People start rolling in Wednesday, May 10. Everybody will be gone sometime the following Monday. We’ll have 2 day for packing before leaving for South Dakota. Thank goodness for Danita’s lists!

I hope this finds everybody doing well.

There are no pics this week.

We’ve had a lot of rainy, cool weather. That means there’s not so much bike riding going on. It’s a good time to catch up on chores & stuff. We’re real caught up.

Danita and I spent one entire rainy day filling out paperwork for our volunteer position at Jewel Cave. We aren’t being paid a salary, but we are still employees of the Federal Government. We still have to meet the requirements of personnel. They still want to know when we visited China, along with seemingly thousands of other details of our existence.

We haven’t attended any neighborhood parties recently. There was a casino night. (We don’t enjoy gambling). There was a concert by a violinist. (We didn’t like him last time he was here, so we’re not likely to like him this time either.) We don’t plan to go to the pool opening party. (Free hot dogs at 2:00, with a large number of other people’s grandkids.)

One of the chores I was working on was pressure washing the deck, porch, garage, and other areas of the outside of the house. The pressure washer has a nozzle with a trigger. When I pull the trigger, the pump is supposed to start and shoot a stream of water out the nozzle at a dirt-busting high pressure. When I release the trigger, the pump is supposed to stop. I cleaned the deck and was almost done with the porch. I released the trigger, and the pump didn’t stop. I turned the power switch off, and the pump still didn’t stop. I press the GFI test button, and the pump still didn’t stop. Finally, I unplugged the pressure washer. The pump finally stopped. I was able to finish the porch, but that was it. I looked at getting it fixed. It’s a familiar story. Labor costs are so high that it doesn’t pay to repair anything less than expensive, professional equipment. So I put it on Craig’s List, clearly stating it is busted and describing the problem. I listed it at $30, figuring somebody would want it, but would feel the need to negotiate the price down to $20. I actually had somebody who wanted it so badly they paid the full $30. It sure beats hauling it off to the dump. I have a feeling this guy will figure out how to fix it and get some more use out of it. I’ll get a new one when we come back in October — just in time for Fall cleaning.

I gave a cyber security talk for our neighborhood last week. It was well received. We had a very nice circle dinner at the Bertch’s yesterday.

That’s all the news for this week. I hope this finds everybody doing well.

It was a fairly quiet week. The highlight was Easter dinner at Ed & Lynne’s. We got back just a while ago and had a great time.

The big news is that we were accepted for a volunteer position at Jewel Cave National Monument in South Dakota. We’ll be leaving May 16, shortly after Joe and Toni’s wedding. We’ll return on September 9, which will give us a couple of days to do laundry and pack before going off to Greece. Busy, busy.

Danita and I are quite excited about this opportunity. We had a blast at Pipe Spring. The volunteer coordinator makes it sound like Jewel Cave will be just as much fun. We’ve never been to South Dakota, and there’s a lot of stuff to see in the Badlands area.

That’s it for now. I hope this finds everybody doing well.

We had a nice week, including a neighborhood party Friday and a Church dinner Saturday. But the best was an impromptu visit to the Inner Harbor for “Light City Baltimore”. Getting to the parking wasn’t fun, but after that the evening was delightful. They had several light exhibits, which was more or less the excuse to have a good time. The evening included live music, expensive light wand toys for the kids, food, craft beers, and local wines.

The portion of the Inner Harbor where it was legal to drink outdoors was quite crowded, but there were plenty of people throughout the area. Even surrounding neighborhoods participated with special colored lighting. This was the second year for Light CIty Baltimore, and certainly won’t be the last. Here’s a few pics .
The other thing I spent time on this weekend was an update for our community website. Some folks claimed the update corrupted their calendar. I spent over a day collecting information about our calendar’s events in case this happened to us. Fortunately, the update went without a hitch. I didn’t need the data, but it’s much better to have things go well then to have to re-enter a bunch of events.

I hope this finds everybody doing well.

Elizabeth

Here’s a few pics of the Reeds. We spent Saturday at Wise Acres, a seasonal pick-your-own farm with activities for the kids. We also saw the new movie Beauty and the Beast. The story is well known, but the telling was very good. Today after Church, Bryon will be fixing breakfast. Then we will paint the treehouse in the afternoon, while the Reeds go to an Easter Egg hunt where the eggs will be dropped from a helicopter. We’re hoping to get the painting done today, because the forecast for tomorrow looks ominously wet.

Pat Bryon Julia

Wise Acres goat

Wise Acres train ride

B & E