The Sunburn Edition

It's been such a lovely week here in So. Ont. sunny and warm-ish. I even have softball practice this Sunday. I guess this 'end of winter' isn't just a mirage after all. Last weekend we had a little cookout for my USA300 class and both my profs, Rick and Chris, as did my pals Alex and Jen. Renee, who has had Rick as a prof before as well came out for a little reunion. Luckily the backyard was in semi-good shape and though we're overdue for building a deck, the patio managed to suffice. It is still too early for the garden, though we do have a few little buds starting to peek through the grounds. Alex of course never misses a chance to mug for the camera: Dan and Trish, Mike and Zara came later and we had a nice evening watching Harry Potter and raiding the ice cream freezer in the basement. I was probably a poor host by then as I was fighting my spring cold AND a wee bout of sunstroke I think I received earlier in the day. I looked like a tomato and I felt like a stewed one. Sunday was our 2nd anniversary and we spent the day relaxing and recovering from the party. Shell sat outside and lounged with Dixie. I got her a necklace and earrings that she really loved and she got me the golf lamp for my golf room. Right now my mother-in-law is probably shaking her head and laughing at such a decorative nightmare (I know this because her daughter did roughly the same thing when we first saw it at Home Depot)...but I LOVE IT!!!! Tuesday Shell and I had another midwife appointment. The baby's heart rate was 144 and all the test results for potential problems came back with great numbers so we're feeling pretty good about everything. Want to see a pregnant lady?? Since classes are done I had Monday and Tuesday off and spent a great deal of it out in the sun with dogs. Dixie was looking in the neighbor's yard for Sheba, the Doberman that lives next door. While Willow and I played frisbee until she eventually wore out Of course by the end of the day Will was just exhausted and collapsed in a pool of her toys in front of my office door So life rolls merrily along as I prep for my finals and work in the ice cream mines, try to keep up with the house and yard, and look after my wife and the little gator. In the meantime I'm doing lots of reading. I'm just finishing Jeffrey Toobin's book about the Starr Investigation called "A Vast Conspiracy". I've read several books on the Clinton scandals and by far this is the most balanced. Toobin pretty much takes everyone to task but in a clear and legally informed manner. I've got lots of stuff I want to read this summer as well. There's a Nixon book Shelley bought me a few months ago, and a few things I have to read in prep for my research trip to South Carolina. I was listening to Tony Kornheiser this morning and they were talking about a party last night in Maryland at George Will's house that was attended by Baltimore Orioles owner Peter Angelos, Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig, and Vice President Dick Cheney. An emailer wrote in to ask: "If Angelos, Selig and Dick Cheney were all at this party, who was guarding the gates of Hell?" Now THAT'S funny!! So did anyone catch Tiger win his 4th Masters? Shelley actually watched a bit of it with me on Sunday, she had just popped in downstairs and sat down when Tiger hit the chip in on 16. She nearly jumped out of her chair. What a fight Chris DiMarco put up though! He's one of those second tier players that will likely win a major at some point because he's really good and a streaky type of golfer, so he could get really hot on a weekend and win a Masters or a US Open. It's time to get back to studying... Cheers