Nancy at 54 For Nancy's birthday I got her some see-through18 gal. storage containers, bird seed, and lumber and supplies to build a 92 foot-long fence along the northeast side of our yard.  My second week of vacation this summer ( Aug. 6-13) was spent clearing the fence line and digging fence post holes. This year we did not get a garden in except for these Stargazer lilies.  I'm using the shot on the left as wallpaper on many of my computers this month.  It's 1280x1024.  I hope I'm not just a sports photographer.
< While running with the SPU XC team at Green Lake, Nate took a short cut under a tree and didn't duck quite enough -- resulting in a long cut at his hairline. No doubt his team mates will remind him of his run-in with a tree for months to come.
Adam and Katherine Kidwell come to visit Family can visit from the east coast but a cute baby will still attract most of our attention.  Left, Katherine (and mom Debbie) hold Tori Ellis.
I discovered that Adam is also a fan of Nikon and I sent my 70-300mm lens back to Maryland so Laurie could play with it on her new D90. Don and Judy entertained Adam and Katherine up at the lake and then hosted them and much of the Sleight clan at their house. Along with coming to visit Laurie's family who did not travel to Maryland for their wedding, Katherine visited the University of Washington to check out their graduate M.A. in Museology program.
JB Stars as Mistress Ford in The Merry Wives of Windsor Jeannie Beth got a plum part as Mistress Ford in the Taproot Theatre Shakespeare Super-camp production of The Merry Wives of Windsor. Her jealous husband was the good looking fellow to the left. Her acting continues to improve and I suspect that she'll seriously consider any Spring Musical over Track & Field in the next two years.
The Run-up to Fall Jeannie Beth is hoping to rearrange her classes to get what she wants.  It may mean dropping Spanish III and picking it up in 2010. She did not get in her 200 miles this summer but may be the 3rd fastest on her XC team this season.  We'll know on the 10th of September. Nathanael has been running hard all summer and hopes to also move up to challenge for 3rd on the SPU XC varsity. And September 1st Annie starts three weeks of classroom observation as she begins her 5th year teacher preparation courses.
Property Assessment Falls on 1228 99th Fallout from the national economic crisis was welcome in one respect.  Our property tax assessment fell over 20%.  Since we don't intend to sell our big box, it's nice to get a tax break. Clicking on this image gives the layout of our neighborhood.  The 92.5' line for the fence is clearly marked. ___________________________________ Many aspects of August have left me depressed.  The fence building has been slowed by Nancy's "perfectionism."  It's a cedar fence not a piano. The national health care debate shows more than anything that you can't get constructive work done with colleagues you verbally abuse.  A house divided indeed!  My own bias is that health care and hearth insurance is none of the Government's business.  They add significant layers of bureaucratic waste and stifle free enterprise with every project they assimilate.  "Resistance is futile!"  I am unwilling to join the collective just yet. On the home front the Qwest DSL has been acting up (or playing dead) all month.  First the modem started stopping regularly.  (Or often stopped starting.)  Then it ran at 10% speed.  So, after getting no useful help from Qwest Technical Support, I purchased a new modem -- thinking the high heat from July had damaged our modem. The Catch 22 is that I must be home to meet a repair person and they only work when I am at SPU.  Our problem is that we cannot get the DSL signal -- except when we do -- which is only about 5% of the time.

Bits and Pieces

  Adding to the emotional load is the fact that the summer down time at work has ended.  A number of large projects have piled up.  And while I work hard to make the lives of my colleagues easier, they don't do the same for me.  "I don't have all the pieces ready for my new web site, but how soon can you finish it?"  "Can I have that project done now?  I'll be on vacation for two weeks."  "Can you email me the papers I was supposed to evaluate last month, so I can get them to you just a few days less late?" 

I purchased the commentaries on Hebrews by both F. F. Bruce (1910-1990) and William Lane.  I knew Dr. Lane who was on the SPU faculty and passed away in 1999.   Lane's work is highly respected and I've trusted F. F. Bruce for many years. 

Nikon came out with the 70-200mm VR II lens.  But $2399 is steep when the older 70-200 VR can be gotten for $1600 on eBay.  And I have to admit, my 80-200mm really does do a fine job.  Forgive my envy (but I still want one.)