Yesterday Derek had his wisdom teeth out. To the left is the end result. The procedure took less than 30 minutes and went well. He’s doing fine today. A few hours after he got home and everything had worn off he was in agony, that was easily fixed with a Percocet. He hasn’t needed anything for pain today and did yard work for one of the families he’s been working for.
Every Sunday for the last few weeks there have been free concerts on the Common in Topsfield. A local band sets up in the gazebo and it’s free to the public. I know Dot (the woman who made the gazebo possible) would be smiling up in heaven. It was her dream that it would bring people together.
Greg has faithfully gone each Sunday. Today is the first one I’ve made. Actually I’m sitting on the Common with my net book listening to a 60’s band while I’m typing. Derek will be playing in a few weeks with the Goodhue Band. I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to get caught up without the usual distractions when I’m home.
It seems the summer has been filled with plenty of rain and lots of work. Staffing in my unit is very short due to vacations, people quitting, etc., the usual things. I’ve taken advantage of this to increase my time to 24 hours per week. I’ll probably continue until doing this until October when staffing issues should be resolved. Extra money is always welcome with one in college and another one only a year away.
Greg is set to go to Ohio tomorrow and won’t be back until Friday. It always means at least one quiche will be made. I tend to make things that he typically won’t eat.
Mark got back today from a fun weekend in Maine. He christened his ATV on the trails and put about 70 miles on it and had a good time.
Derek has been home the last few days trying to get some work in at the homes of the two families he’s doing odds and ends for. He will be getting his wisdom teeth out on Tuesday and I doubt will feel like doing anything at least for a day. Em continues to get practice driving with the driving school. She has to have 6 hours observation and 12 hours behind the wheel. She also does occasional babysitting. That’s all the summer excitement for now.
Mark has been dreaming about 4-wheelers ever since he was a baby in the front carrier that Greg wore when he rode around the Whitaker Road house. For well over a year he was looking for a truck. He finally gave up when the price and specks wouldn’t come together. He bought a little trailer for his Vibe, installed a hitch on it and started the hunt on Craig’s List for the perfect 4-wheeler. After weeks of researching and once again not getting price and condition of a used machine to line up he went and bought a brand new one today. Greg went with him. They have been doing a lot of father-son bonding and here is the result: (click for larger view)
Here she is, a Yamaha Wolverine, when they drove her home today around 3:30.
Mark is preparing to unload his prize.
Look at the delight on his face , priceless.
A father and son moment.
Here is Derek with Mark and me behind him on one of his earlier machines. He’s come a long way.
On Saturday Mark’s long time friend and distant relative, John, came over to remove another tree. This was an Oak that they think was probably 60 years old. It was close to the house and over the years has grown to lean over the deck and tended to be very messy. As you can see Mark is making sure that John is doing a good job. Actually he was sitting there thinking about all the clean up he was going to have to do. Click for bigger views.
And yes, it is raining yet again today. At this rate we won’t be having a summer.
Greg, myself, Emily, and Mark enjoyed a nice dinner with Sheila and Rich at The Cheesecake Factory restaurant at the North Shore Mall. Emily had been there with friends and really liked it. It was very nice inside.
Emily enjoyed the three cheese pasta.
Mark had the heart attach BBQ burger deluxe. Greg enjoyed the Spicy Cashew Chicken.
And I enjoyed the Grilled Medallion Chicken. The portions were large so we get to enjoy everything another day.
And the sun did come out today. Hopefully our bad streak is ended.
Guess what, that’s right, it’s raining again. Today is suppose to be the last day. I’m looking forward to brighter days. Sheila and Rich are in the area vacationing. They came by last night. This morning I was thinking that I really don’t have a dessert in the house and both Mark and Emily are home so I took advantage of the extra help and made my favorite Whoopie Pie Cookies. They’re a bit time consuming but with the extra help things went smooth. These are a big favorite of mine so its good to have the extra people around to help eat them. (Click on the photos for a closer look).
