Hello at last! I'm well aware that it is nearly two months since I've added anything here, so I imagine some people have given up on me. So many times I've thought of what I'd like to write about and what pictures I'd add, but thinking it doesn't get it done, does it? I even thought of an invention - that what I think could be transferred to a computer without me typing it. Just haven't figured out how to do that though. We've been very busy doing projects at home and I've spent much less time at the computer. I've even forgot how to do this!

Vernon has been buying parts he needs for our 1966 Sunbeam Tiger sports car that has been sitting in our garage for more than twenty years. It is his retirement project. Here's a picture of him unloading an engine he purchased through e-bay. The engine hoist is doing all the work to life the engine off the crate in the back of the pickup.

We've spent three weekends cleaning out the garage to make more space for parts and get rid of old stuff, which has been good to do. First thing we do on Saturday morning is go eat a good breakfast so we'll have energy to work the rest of the day.

Another project has been clearing off the growth on our lakefront. Vernon started doing it with a weed-eater but I did most of it with some loppers to cut up the trees and branches. It was hard work but I enjoyed being outside, hearing the birds and feeling the breeze. All the large stuff is gone now but new growth is coming up from the roots that I wasn't able to get out of the ground yet. This picture was taken before I finished, so what you see in the center is gone now. To the right you can see our neighbor's growth. We can see the water better now and the ducks and birds in the water. Tonight Vernon saw a pair of Wood Ducks with their ducklings.

Did you notice the grass in the foreground doesn't look so good? Well another project has been to get our irrigation system going again after more than a year. Vernon was successful this weekend at re-establishing the connection between the lake water and the irrigation pump so now our timer will turn on the pump to water the grass twice a week.

Our Sunbeam Tiger doesn't look so good right now, but here's a picture of it. You might notice the tires are flat and resting on dollies so that we can move the car. We can easily push it , which is great since we cannot start the engine and drive it right now. I'll get a better picture one of these days but for now this gives you the idea. There is a lot of work ahead of Vernon. For now he's just buying the parts he'll need. If you remember the TV show "Get Smart," this is the sports car that guy drove.

Tomorrow, May 1, we fly to Denver, and leave all our projects behind for ten days. The plan is to drive our niece's car from there to Oregon for her. Her husband is based at Fort Carson but is in Iraq until Jan. 15, 2008. She flew to Oregon for the holidays intending to return but decided to stay with her mother when she learned she is expecting their second child. She needed her car but driving it by herself didn't seem a good idea. Vernon volunteered us to drive it for her and we'd get the benefit of exploring the country along the way. So we are excited about seeing the Oregon Trail sites in Wyoming and maybe getting into the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone, depending on the weather and how much time we have. Another niece and her family live in Boise, ID, so we will spend a couple nights with them, hopefully. We are scheduled to fly back to Orlando from Portland on May 10.

And then...I return to my job at Campus Crusade for Christ on Monday, May 14. It was decided just today. I learned about a month ago that the position was open when they asked if I'd return. So the timing is working well for both them and me. I'm ready to return to that job that I enjoyed and they want me back. Hooray!

I still have packing to do for our trip but wanted to get this done first. Here's one last picture,
taken of us a few weeks ago when we weren't working around the house but were enjoying celebrating Gayle Anne's birthday.