We’ve had a pleasant couple of weeks with Mark. The lease on Mark’s apartment expired June 30. He came to live with us for a few weeks before heading out to his new job in San Diego.

We’ve had plenty of activities. The Columbia fireworks on July 4th were spectacular. We met the Chaprnkas at a rock & roll concert at Lurman Woods in Catonsville. Those concerts are always good. We had a neighborhood party, with hamburgers and hot dogs. Mark cooked a couple of fabulous meals for us. Mark is an accomplished cook, plus he used some very good meats that Ryn gave him when he visited her at Mace Chasm shortly before he came to Columbia. The house needed some attention. The garage and deck are spruced up. I still have the back porch to clean and paint. We also have some minor repairs, but that will have to wait until my contractor gets back in town. I have been riding and Danita has been swimming.

Mark is leaving this afternoon to go to Europe for 2 weeks. He and Jiajia are coaching the US Physics Olympics team. That’s convenient, because Bryon and Elizabeth are coming on Tuesday. They’ll be with us through next Sunday.

I hope this finds everybody doing well.