summer time

It's hotter here than it was in CA. Had 96 or so yesterday and its up to 98 on my porch thermometer. Don't know what the official temp is, but I don't really need to know. Not too bad in the house if I don't do anything physical. Have the fans going and a nice big glass of iced tea. Ahhh!

When I got here yesterday I had a note on my door that the MDU guys had been here changing the gas meter and needed to get in to relight my gas appliances. After I called necessary people to let them know I arrived here safely, I was in the process of calling the 800 number when the MDU guy came back. He had just been 3 houses away and decided to see if anyone was home yet. I was so he came in and lit the water heater. My furnace would relight itself (which it did - I tried it out early this morning while it was still cool - had to turn it up to 75 to get it to come on and when it did I turned it back down as far as it goes). Everything else is electric. He had done the meter at 3:30 and I got here at 4:30, so timing was good for this trip. I never did get anyone on the 800 number, I was still waiting when he came back.

Our CA trip was great! The weather was beautiful. Was only 79 at Baker when we crossed the desert. Was 103 on the way back, but it didn't last long. Ed was in front with me so Gma couldn't see what we were doing with the air conditioning. She was real surprised to find out how hot it was, sure didn't feel that hot. We stopped at Peggy's Diner for a break. We always pass it and think we should stop there sometime. This time we did. It's strictly a tourist trap, but has lots of 50s era stuff. I liked it. There were a couple of Betty Boop things there so I got picks for our Senior Citizen cook. She's a Betty Boop collector.

We got Ed home just fine. He drove to Vegas from Jean and showed me how to get out from his house. It was really easy and his directions were just right. No problems. We were in all the correct lanes for all routes. Just like I really knew where I was going.

The wedding was very nice and Katie was beautiful. Andrew was at his handsomest (hmm, wonder if that is a real word). The bridesmaids were in mermaid colored dresses and shoes. The groomsmen had tuxes, but their vests were the same color as the girls's dresses. Even Gracie was at her best. Libby never squawked, at least not loud enough for anyone but her mother to hear. The ceremony was short and to the point, the reception was fun with really good food. Some of us stayed at Pachenga for the wedding and the accomodations were great. We got in some good visiting too. My kids all had to try out the gaming machines and I think they all won a little, but don't know how much they spent to win something.

Graduation was impressive. Lex didn't like getting her picture taken, but she was resigned to it and did cooperate quite nicely. We got lots of pics. There were 725 graduates or something in that neighborhood. She even had a small cheering section in front of us. We didn't know who they were, but they knew Lex was the one with the pretty eyes. The graduation reception was on Sunday with lots of the SD relatives. Was good to get to see them all again. It's been many years since I've seen any of them. Most of them was at K&M's wedding over 20 years ago.

It was a long 10 days for Gma, but she did well. She's just super tired now. After we got home we were busy. Went to the Larsen annual Father's Day barbecue the next day, then Mon & Wed we were in town for coffee and Senior lunch. Tues we had to make a quick trip to Cody to the highway dept. There were 9 campers on our hill and our contract says "no camping". We no sooner got back than the foreman was at our door to see if we'd reconsider if they offered to pay. But Gma said "NO! No camping means no camping". She felt someone should have read the contract. Not sure if they have all moved yet or not, but I do know where 6 of them relocated. The road construction is really coming along fast. They are repaving from the main street to the Wood River bridge. Its 6 miles out of town and that one main street. Its moving right along. Who knows, they might be done by the time I get back. Then another company comes for the final overcoat and chip sealing (I think).

While we were in CA the Game Warden mowed the rest of the lawn that I didn't get done before we left. That was a relief because it was getting really tall. The front part that I had done was as high when we got home as it was when I did it the first time. I did get one little piece done again. Maybe the Game Warden will come back again while I'm in Hdn.

Sometime while we were in sunny CA there was a cloudburst and hail storm in Mtse. It flooded a bunch of the little gullies and the barrow pit and culverts couldn't handle all the water, so some flooded almost up to our house. Didn't quite make it to the house, but here was debris all over the yard. I did get some of it picked out of the fence along the highway and out of one side of the yard. Had to mow some to find were the gunk is so I can rake it up. We heard that the house up by where the big rock with the crack in it is located had water in their house. If they opened up their back door and front door it would have run right on out. There were a couple of places where it was over both sides of the highway and a couple of lanes had to be fixed, but don't know which ones. Glad we missed that storm.

I did get another album on picasa, but it took 3 hours. I went to the library to see if it would work faster on their wireless connection, but couldn't get it to work at all. Must not be doing something right. I'll keep working on it. Have to go back to the library tomorrow and take pics of all the quilts.

Sunny Southern California

Gma and I had a good trip. We stayed in Cedar City and left after breakfast at the motel. When we crossed the desert it was only in the high 70s all the way. What a pleasant surprise. We had lunch in Baker and it said 83 on their big thermometer, but my car one said 79. It did get up to 83 after that for a short while, then we went over a hill and it cooled off again and never go to 80 again the whole trip. Sure a difference from June two years ago. It's been real pleasant here too as its been overcast every day. Have met lots of family members we met years ago and haven't seen since and some new ones too. It's been fun. Graduation was nice and got lots of pics. Sunday we had the grad party and it was fun. Went to a farmer's market one morning and bought lots of fruit and veggies. Then Gracie got to ride on a tractor which she didn't ever get the hang of, so the guy gave us back the ticket and suggested we take her on the canoes instead. So we did and she loved that. Even told the attendant that she was a flower girl. Saturday she got her hair cut and her nails done. WOW!! Nail polish was almost off before we ever got home. Couldn't wash her hair again either, at least not the top of her head because she had sparkles in it on top. This evening we had the mini-wedding shower. The kids were thrilled with all the "stuff". And they knew what everything was. I"m impressed. It's been busy every day, but everyone is surviving just fine.