Hey gang - Yes, I'm still alive and kicking (kinda). This has been one crazy, messed up summer for me, but things look like they are finally starting to turn around.
I haven't had time to catch up on all the pages I've missed but did go back about 15 pages - so forgive some of my questions if they were covered earlier than that.
Terry - What's this email loop thing that you've organized? Never heard of it before.
Andy - Dude! So sorry to hear that you're laid up again. Take care of that knee.
Ed - Sounds like you guys are having as much fun on vacation as Devin and I did a few weeks ago.
Darlene - I'm sorry to hear that Sandy is having health problems too. Don't spend so much time nursing the two of them that you end up making yourself sick! Apply some that TLC to yourself too!
Tina - Love the porch! Even if you don't get too much use out it this year, I'm sure that you guys will make up for it next summer.
Devin and I spent the last week of July down in Anaheim, playing with the Mouse and a dead king. I hadn't been to the Disney Resort down there since California Adventures and Downtown Disney went in. We had a great time! The King Tut exhibit was wonderful too. Devin was duly impressed with the detail and artistry of the artifacts, especially once I pointed out that they were created 3300-3500 years ago.
It turns out that the parents of one of my oldest friends live in Anaheim now. My 'other Mom' even works for the parks. It was great to see Mom and Dad for the first time in about 15 years. ('Mom' even insisted on buying all of our souvenirs using her employee discount. She saved us about $100.)
Before anyone asks - Yes, we were down there when the rollercoaster accident happened at CA. We were actually off-site having dinner when the actual collision occurred (around 5:30 PM), but got back to the park just after 6 PM. They already had everything cleaned up. We knew that something had happened because the roller coaster was shut down and there was a crowd milling around the fence for that ride. While we were waiting in line for the Ferris Wheel we saw no less than 5 helicopters flying over the park. That's when we decided that we needed to get back to our room in time to catch the 11 PM news, so we could find out what had happened.
Work has been absolutely nuts. I am now officially second-in-command for a team of 10 computer programmers that will be perfoming the database conversion for this project. It's driving me nuts. I ended up putting 11-12 hour days the last week before we went on vacation, because I was working on some process documentation for the team that needed to be completed before I left for a week. Since the team lead is covering a couple of different projects, I get to be the point-of-contact for all of the team's questions. (Like I didn't have enough to do already... It's been difficult to find the time this last week to get my stuff for the project done.)
We managed to get rid of my brother earlier this week. Mom was initially going to let him stay until Labor Day, but she finally got fed up with his bull@*$&. (Thank God!) He wasn't looking for work or helping out in our yards like he was supposed to, as a condition of being able to stay. There were two big things that finally convinced my Mom to boot him. First - Her topaz ring disappeared this summer. My sister-in-law was the last one in her bathroom that night and Mom's jewelry box is under her bathroom sink. Second (and even worse) - A family friend discovered that they were drying (but not cooking) Meth out in the barn when he brought his field mower over to cut the blackberries down in the pasture for us. I really, really wanted to call the cops and teach them a lesson, but because of the way that the drug laws are set-up at the moment, I was afraid that my aunt would have her property confiscated. That would have put two households out on the street, including two seniors (Mom and Auntie) and a single Mom with three boys (two of them under the age of 4). I just wish that the legislators would realize that the way the laws are written now is actually hampering them in their "war against drugs". (Even our lawyer advised me not to call the police. He said, "Get rid of them, like YESTERDAY! As long as they are still there, all it would take is for the dealer to get busted and roll-over on them and she could still lose the property.") Now that they are gone, we're safe.
Now that things are starting to calm down some, I'll make a conserted effort to get out here to visit with you guys more often.
Everyone take care and I'll yak at ya later!
Dori
aw: This weekend I had 2 puuy chocolate labs...
They wre so cute.. And boy do they love the water..
to you and your family too..
. She still has the pneumonia and asthma and allergies. The air quality has been extremely poor here and I know that is affecting her. Hopefully the ocean breeze and clear air on the cruise will be a good change for her.
53 weeks to go!!!
Please PM me for details and rates or send me an email. The rates I received are guaranteed. 
Maybe I'll just relax 
and maybe have to force myself to 
while everyone is off in the water. 
