Peruvian Nights and Jamaican Days

THE UNION FOREVER..

Golly. I've been neglecting this thing. Nothing to say? Well, maybe. More, though, that my work days are kind of a frenzy from start to finish. Not always, but just about never have much down time. We have to track "billable hours," which means I have to put 28 hours per week toward work that we get paid for. The rest of the time can be administration (everything from fixing computer problems, managing files, emailing clients and co-workers) to marketing (finding more billable work). It hasnt been hard for me to meet that goal. They're finding that I'm kind of a generalist, and am relatively adaptable, so I do everything from bird counts to stormwater management plans to GIS work. So..I pick up lots of work from just about everyone, and my billable hours average more like 35 per week. Of course, I do that parly by working 45-50 hours per week, on average. I hope that will change. I also hope there's enough billable work for me this winter, when the slow period hits. I'm sure there will be, but I assume I'll be doing more marketing and admin., so my current 17% over my billable goals will probably drop quite a bit.

In other news, Fargo went for his first swim last week. I'll try to share pictures soon. He had a good time - he went almost 100 yards out into the lake before he finally turned around. We were a little concerned he'd never come back. He's doing well. Still hardly ever barks, except at mysterious noises. He has some kind of stomach problem now - maybe just a nervous stomach. But he has medicine (Prilosec, Amoxicilin, etc.), so hopefully that corrects things.

I'm building a compost bin. Cedar. 4' x 8', with 2 bins (as per G-Had's recommendations).

I tore up the carpet in my living room, and found a (mostly) beautiful oak floor underneath. Needs some repairs. I also need to put trim (baseboards and crown molding) up in the living room and hallway. Kinda procrastinating on that because it's doable in the winter. Other projects coming up: erecting my shed, organizing the garage so I have some working space, build a chair and ottoman, coffee table, bookshelf. Replacing our living room windows (sill is rotted, and it's so expensive to replace just the sill, that we're going to do windows while we're at it).

Abbie came to visit for almost a whole week last week. Unfortunately, I was out of town for work for 2 1/2 of those days, so didn't get to hang out with her alot. We did have a bit of a shindig at our house while she was here, with our new friends from Kansas. Was pretty good times. Got a keg, played pool, listened to music, debated about tree species, etc. Abbie gave me a union suit for my birthday:



I've been wearing it a fair amount, since it got cold here, finally. I wore it under my overalls while I was doing some woodworking (I felt like a pioneer). I also wear it to bed. Instead of a button-down flap in the back, it just has an opening, not unlike that in the front of a pair of boxers. I am NOT brave enough to try to poop through that little hole.

Snowed yesterday. About 2 months behind our first snow last year in Laramie. Dang hot climate.

Probably stuff I haven't covered. That's what comes to mind.

-m