Val is here

I'm settled back in Carlsbad and Val is visiting. We are doing a lot of things around here like the Zoo, a play and walking on the beach. Friday we will be at a Padres game (Craig has tickets and can't go). After the game we may go into the GasLamp district of San Diego where Craig and his band are performing. In spite of his hectic schedule and travels, he is dedicated to his weekly practice and the occasional Gig.

Last week we went up to Laguna to have lunch with a friend from Merck, Liz Stoner. Her daughter has been at Chapman University in Orange for the past three years and now is in Vet shool. Chapman moved to Orange in about 1953 and took over my high school campus when our school moved to new quarters. So I had 2 years of high school at the buildings that are now a part of Chapman. They have expanded a lot but he old buildings are still there and look great. We had a good time catching up with Liz.

This week we spent a day in Redlands with Boyd and Helen and went to the Redlands bowl where the Dallas Brass was performing. They were very good. Yesterday we came back from Redlands through Orange where we had lunch at a soda fountain with some of my high school friends. A "panorama" picture of the lunch attendees is here.

Meanwhile, Lorrie has been knocking herself out trying to get the house in perfect condition for a sale. Some remodeling has been done and the yard has been manicured. The realtors should be staging it as I write this. So I'm hoping for a quick sale--you gotta hope. Lorrie says it has never looked so good and I believe her. I'm rather glad I am not there to see the changes that have occurred.

Pretty busy

I am back in California for the rest of the summer, I hope. Lorrie is supervising the process of getting the house on the market including getting everything looking great for the sale. The realtors will be "staging" it soon. I hope it will sell. It is a lot of work for Lorrie. She is an expert in interior design (has a bachelor's degree in that from CSU) so she is perfect for this challenge.

Since getting back to California, I have been traveling some. I spent a week on the east coast First I was in Princeton, NJ for a meeting and then went to NY to meet up with Barry and Laura, my friends from Merck days. NY is warm these days. On the weekend, we went upstate to their country place which is near the MA border. It was much cooler and fresher there. We were joined by three other couples from Merck or ex-Merck. The so called "Old Farts Club". I hadn't seen any of these folk since I retired in 2002. So it was great fun swapping stories. Saturday we went to Tanglewood, the summer venue for the Boston Symphony, Sunday we went on a 6 mile hike before returning to the city. I was experimenting with a photo app on the iphone that allows for 360 degree panoramas. It is posted here if you are interested.

Hope my next post will be about all the imminent sale of the house.