It appears that the web log is back in business! Cable One got their problem fixed and I’ve gotten my problem fixed. With luck the system will stay up and operational from now forward, except (of course) when the system comes down to be moved into the new house at the end of July. There have been too many little problems and it’s time for the system to settle down for a while.

I’m at lunch at the office on a pretty busy day. Because of the time differences, 7 a.m. in Pocatello is 3 p.m. in Oudenaarde, Belgium. That means many meetings are scheduled between 7 a.m. and 10 a.m. Pocatello time. Two or three times a week I’ll have meetings at 7 a.m. and every day I’ll have meetings at 8 and 9 a.m. with people in Belgium. The rest of the day us usually fairly open. Every other Thursday, however, is a day packed with meetings. On those Thursdays all the local management meetings are scheduled and any HR training needed is scheduled as well. Since I get most of my work done in meetings (I’m not paid to be an individual contributor), that’s where I spend most of my day. Today is just busier than most.

Last Sunday was the 4th of July. We gathered in Soda Springs, Idaho, at mom and dad’s house. At one point there were twenty-six people there. Dawnmarie, Kirk, and their five children were the first to arrive. Saturday afternoon Heather, Ty, and their four children arrived. Sunday afternoon my sister Eileen and two of her children (Alison and Suzie) came up for the remainder of the holiday. We got a surprise visit from Daryl who stayed through late Monday afternoon. On Monday my niece Amy, her husband, and three children came over for a few hours. Most of the folks visited, played, and ate. But, Ty, Kirk, Dad, and I worked on putting up a roof.

Dad is building a large workshop behind his house in the back yard. He had finished putting up the framing and was putting on the plastic protective sheets on the roof when he fell off the ladder (see the July 2nd post) and injured himself. He’s still in a lot of pain and having lots of gastrointestinal problems. So, the roof needed to be put on. I thought it would be six or seven hours of work. Not so. We worked all day Saturday and all day Monday until Kirk and Ty had to leave in the late afternoon. By that time, the roof was about two-thirds finished. My brother Perry drove over yesterday from Green River, Wyoming, to help finish up the roof. So, I took off early yesterday afternoon and we went back to Soda Springs. Perry and I were able to finish the roof. Now there’s no need for dad to climb up on the ladder until he’s in much better health. It’ll be a lovely shop when he’s finished.

Because sleeping arrangments were scarce at mom and dad’s house, Nina and I (along with Bradica the dog) drove back and forth from Pocatello every day. That meant that Nina had driven back and forth to Soda Springs eight times in nine days. That translates to about 900 miles of driving! So what does she do today? Drives down to Orem to visit Heather and drop off Bradica, the dog. She left about seven this morning and will be back about eight this evening.

The travelling isn’t finished with that, however. Tomorrow morning we’ll drive back to Salt Lake City to catch an airplane to Kentucky for the twin’s baptism on Saturday. We’ll fly back Sunday morning. It’ll be a rapid trip, but we do want to attend every baptism we can of our grandchildren.

Only problem with all this is, while the holiday season has arrived, who’s had time for any holiday-ing? Not much time in this household, for sure. Happy 4th of July!