August 2023

A few weeks ago our neighbor had a friend trim her oak tree. While he was on her hill, he looked over at our tree and told Mitzi that it looked in bad shape. He came over and looked at it and said it was stressed and needed attention. Of course, he doesn’t trim trees for a living, so I sent feelers out to about 15 different arborists and they came by to see the tree over the next few weeks. The general consensus was that the tree had been under stress (maybe due to our years of drought??) but was perking up and showing healthy signs. They recommended that the dead limbs be cut back and the weight over the roof lessened a bit. The bids have ranged from $1400 to $4500. We will make the decision in September and have the work done in October. Then next spring we will douse it with fertilizer. I just want it to last longer than me.

Rog had coffee with Mike and lunch with Dan and then he and I took Ryan and Beth to lunch for their anniversary. We went to the Sandwich Shoppe. Great spot. Then Rog and Ryan had their afternoon at the shooting range, which also includes lunching together. Ryan and Beth had their backyard renovated with new plants, new cement, and pool tile. They had all of us over for the grand reveal. Looks pretty nice!!!

Karissa officially became a teenager and she was justifiably excited. She challenged each of us to wow her with coolness….and she really wanted a comic strip. So Rog and I spent the week doing our best. Her party theme was Rock and Roll and folks really dressed up. Beth with her tattoo sleeve and heavy makeup, Ryan and Eric with long hair and Michelle and Karissa in full punk. Of course, Rog and I were more 50’s rock and roll so we predated them all by 3o years. Eric grilled hamburgers and we had ice cream and cupcakes. Karissa spent the week with celebrations, finishing up with a trip to Six Flags with a friend.

We left Karissa’s party and headed over to a neighborhood party. We have 3 new neighbors who have moved in over the last few months so this was a chance for them to meet us. The weather was perfect and we sat in the backyard with a projector movie keeping the kids entertained with movies. A very fun day! The weather has been pretty nice. We did have a couple of hot streaks but lately the night temps are down in the 60’s so the house has a chance to cool off. Meanwhile, school is back in session....