3/21/04:
This is my down weekend. I needed a break weekend just to sit in the hammock and in front of the computer and do little stuff. The deck contractors installed the screens so now I am bug-free when I lay in the hammock. I am starting to focus on getting the web site going for Blackwell cabinets. I am excited to get that site up and running. I have ideas.

Last week I spent my time in Ottawa, Canada. It is a very nice city. Clean and organized. It reminds me of any number of cities in Switzerland. I had a great class of students last week. They were energetic, enthusiastic and fun. I needed a week like that. I created a web page with some photos I took while in Ottawa. Next week I am in Orlando, FL to teach an advanced class. I like those classes best b/c they are a challenge and I learn as much from the students and their questions as I teach them. The trips I have taken in these last 2 weeks constitute my oxygen tour. Ottawa and Orlando. Two extremes in temperature.

My next focus on the house is to seriously dive into the kitchen cabinets. I still have a few pieces of equipment to buy. I am going to set up a woodshop in my garage and move anything I can into the unused downstairs area outside the garage. This will give me a lot of area to work with and build. Once I start building the cabinets I think it will be a fairly quick process. What am I talking about? Everything I think will be a quick job ends up being double the time. We will see. I am looking forward to the work/ challenge.

Spring is in full bloom here and I am excited to see the buds on the new tress that have been planted as part of the landscaping project this past Fall. I worked hard on getting the grass going last year and I think my work is paying off. I still have a lot of weeds but I guess the good grass will eventually drowned out the bad weeds if I have enough of it. Every weekend I make it a point to go out and pull weeds for about 20 minutes. It makes of bit of a short-term difference and over the long-term it does make a huge difference. I am like a warrior out there doing battle. I usually lose the battle but I promise I will win the war (insert theme music here). The grass is looking great and green and healthy. My front yard is a spaghetti mess of hoses on timers. I suppose I should add an underground irrigation system to my list of things to do. Waaaaaaay back burner for now.