Another week has come & gone. Where does the time go?

The past two weeks, the Olympics have consumed our life. I have never been a fan of watching the Olympic games. Desi was hoping that classes would have continued through them so she could watch while I was gone. I don't know what it was about it this year (probably Shawn Johnson & Lolo Jones), but I watched the opening ceremony, and became hooked. Every evening at 7, we turned on channel 13 and watched until bedtime (many nights well after that).

How about that Shawn Johnson? I think she did great. She was very deserving of all the medals she won. I won't say that she was robbed in the all-around or floor exercise, because Nastia was really good too. But, I am so happy she won the gold on the beam. All throughout the games, she competed with that cute little smile. What excellent sportsmanship. Lolo was a champ too. I felt so bad when she tripped over the hurdle and lost her momentum. She had the gold medal in her grasp. Maybe in London, Lolo.

Anyway, not much else going on here. We putzed around the house all weekend. Yesterday, we had breakfast at Panera (first time in about a month!), then took in the farmers market in downtown Des Moines. They put on such a good show. We wandered around and made a couple of purchases. Desi got her usual bag of kettle corn, and I threw caution to the wind and picked up a bag of cheddar cheese popcorn. The orthodontist will love me on Thursday! We also got some sweet corn and a loaf of french bread.

Saturday afternoon, we finally got our gate stained. Late spring/early summer we had our gate replaced because the old boards were warped and rotten. We tried to match the stain as best we could. Alas, it didn't go too well. The new is more red, and the old looks more brown. Oh well. Maybe it won't age gracefully and it will all look the same next year. Fat chance, I'm sure! We'll rip the wooden fence down and replace it with maintenance free white plastic as soon as we win the lottery. Saturday evening, we went to church, followed by a run to the grocery store. Exciting!

This morning, we thought we would get a move on early and go for a walk. We walked on some trails here in town for about an hour & 15 minutes. It wasn't too hot, but it was pretty bright. Not a cloud in the sky. Afterwards, we spent an hour working in the yard. We trimmed the irises back, pulled weeds, and emptied out some hanging baskets. Funny, when you don't water the flowers, they seem to die. Isn't that strange?

We had to make a Target run (of course) this afternoon. Oliver was out of bedding again, and nearly out of food. Desi has also been complaining about her scratched up sunglasses, so she picked up a new pair. Afterwards, we had to drive to the QT on the east-side to get our weekend quarts of pop. Oh, the simple pleasures in life.

We are expecting some company next weekend, so we will be busy this week dusting and vacuuming. Jim & Karen are coming out with the chainsaw in tow to help us take down our little plum tree in the front yard. Poor thing is pretty much dead. Only a third of it has leaves this season. A coworker of mine has the same kind of tree, and it was met with the same fate this year too. Earl May told her it was a goner. We'll have to have Earl May help us pick out a replacement. We'll need something ornamental, with some color in it. The house will be too pale and plain otherwise. Anyone have suggestions?

Well, I better get the garbage & recyclables taken out. Then I can plant my butt in my chair with the Sunday paper for the rest of the day. I hope you all had a great weekend, and have a good week.

-Matt