The Tigers are finally ahead of the Royals, 2-1 in the top of the 6th.  We follow four teams:  the Yankees (oh, I miss them!), the Tigers, the Phillies and the Orioles.  It is rare that all four win on any given day.  I can watch the Phillies and Orioles on our home television, but the Tigers and Yanks are available only on MLB and the occasional ESPN.  We saw the Orioles play the Tigers at Camden Yards earlier in the month and it was fun texting with Karen, who, of course, was watching at home with Mike.  Whenever the Tigers play, we know that Karen, Mike and Ray are watching.  Feels a little like home.

We had the best Father's Day weekend in Philadelphia.  On Saturday, we saw How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying and it was hilarious.  Really.  It was at the Walnut Street Theater, an historical theater, smallish and lovely.  We then went over to Vedge, a well-regarded vegan restaurant within walking distance to the theater.  We drove in, as the SEPTA regional strike had been called.  It was interesting to drive west out of the city to 1, then home from there.  Many neighborhoods of varying characteristics. 

On Sunday, we saw the Phillies lose to the Cubs.  They then went on to sweep the Braves this week, so timing is again everything.  There is something about being at the ball park that encourages happy silliness.  Unlike Camden Yards, we did not make the kiss cam.  Too bad!  As the strike was cut short, we took SEPTA from Marcus Hook, which is the much preferred way to get in and out of Philly.  After the game, we took the subway back up to Market Street, then walked over to Chinatown to eat at Xi'an Sizzling Works, which was totally yum!  Enough left over to eat it again on Monday night. 

It's been hot here all week, making the pool once again a wonderful place.  I volunteered for the early shift at the Food Bank of Delaware on Monday, and will work the CSA pick up at Cool Springs Park in Wilmington this afternoon.  I'll work twice a week at the Food Bank for the rest of the summer.  It's quite a place and I am slowly getting to understand its depth and breadth.  Other volunteers and the staff are all interesting. 

This weekend and next before our good friend Kathy comes in from Michigan.  We are planning a wealth of activities for her, then she and I head west to Kansas City for the 4th of July and Ken goes to Grand Haven to luxuriate with his Mom, Dad, daughter, sister, brother-in-law and nieces.  Nice!  We'll be back home on July 7, preparing to enjoy my favorite month - July. 

Just in case you are interested in our house renovations, Ken has been working all week on refreshing the floor in our bedroom.  We moved into one of the guest rooms and think we'll be back into our room on Saturday.  The floor looks marvelous and completes the floor redo on the 2nd floor.  There is a minor issue of the difference between the hallway and bedroom floor stain color, but Ken will deal with it, or we'll ignore it.  When you come and visit, you may comment or not.  We are getting bids on the hall bathroom, but not enough to make a decision.  It doesn't help that my thinking evolved and that the last potential contractor we saw had the most information. 

We did make a small, but high impact improvement on our deck:  a kitchen tent, which means I can sit on the deck without being constantly bitten by mosquitos.  I'd say major!  It won't be much of a protection against a big rain, but works during sprinkles.  Compared with the expense and downside of building a screened-in porch on the deck, I'd again say major! 

Cheers!

We're in the middle of bathroom renovations.  We have two small bathrooms, one off our bedroom and the other off the hall.  We are doing the bedroom bathroom - 'master' bath is quite the misnomer for such a small space - ourselves.  We (and that's the royal 'we' as Ken has done most of the work) put down a Snapstone porcelain tile floor, put in a pedestal sink, put a stone border around the floor, and painted.  We are thinking we will put a border around the existing shower, which is made from a product called Swanstone.  As we were trying to do a modest renovation, which of course is about spending modestly, we did not replace the medicine cabinet or the shower stall, which I don't like much, and which we've done much to put visually in the background.  When you come to visit, you can tell us how successful we have been in that effort.  Linda, Mom and Dad, Karen and Mike, Jody and Nicole, you'll just have to come back to see the changes.

We had four craft people over to inspect the hall bathroom and give us a bid.   We are going to tile the floor, replace the tub, tile around the tub, replace the medicine cabinet and the sink and bring natural light into the space which now has no window.  It's a small space, so hopefully, the renovation won't be too expensive.  Each of the four people had different specialties and points of view and we learned something from each of them.  It will be interesting to see what the bids are. 

With these renovations, we think we will be done with whatever we are going to do with this house.  What have we done?  Fixed the garage door opener, took up carpets in three rooms, refreshed hardwood floors, replaced window coverings on all windows, installed dishwasher, built a compost, acquired a rain barrel, installed a new gas stove, painted both bathrooms, replaced Luan doors throughout, including closet doors, took down a half-wall between the dining room and kitchen, painted the living room/dining room, built a gazebo for the garbage and recycle containers and carved a utility room out of the garage.  We also bought a sofa, chair and ottoman for the living room. 

As Linda knows, we have an extensive garden, especially in the fenced-in backyard.  Three volunteers from New Castle County Master Gardeners came out yesterday to tell us what we have, what we should get rid of, what we should move, etc.  We liked Sande, Marilyn and Fred a lot and they were knowledgeable and helpful.  Now, of course, the question is, will we do any of it?  Ken already got out there with a tree saw and lopped off limbs.  He dug up major weeds as well.  I've washed our jumpsuits, which I am hoping will provide tick protection, along with knee-high rubber boots.  So we're ready. 

It's been gray, rainy and cool this week.  I've been able to swim each day, today in the rain.  But no pool closures, so I'm grateful. 

Until later...

Adventures continue...

Living in a new state offers many opportunities to learn and do.  We are just completing our first year in Delaware and, as my abundant energy no longer has work to focus on, I am planning events and activities like mad. 

We are just beginning to understand what it means to live in a state with an ocean coastline.  On Saturday, we went to a training session with MERR, or Marine Education, Research and Rehabilitation Institute.  We think it should be called MERRI, but hey, no one consulted us.  It is one of federally-mandated 'stranding' organizations in the states that border the Atlantic, meaning it is the 'official' organization that deals with the stranding of marine mammals and sea turtles.  The website is http://merrinstitute.org/. 

The training session was a revelation.  What marine mammals are found in the Delaware Bay and the Delaware part of the Atlantic Ocean?  Dolphins, porpoises, 6 kinds of sea turtles, humpback whales, finback whales, minke whales.  I am not kidding.  Plus sand tiger, spiny dogfish, smooth dogfish and sandbar sharks.  I feel stupid about how agog I am about the fact that the ocean is the ocean, with all the life in the ocean right here. 

So we are going to be part of a stranding event team at some time.  We are 'upstate' in Delaware, so will be called for events in the Delaware River rather than the bay or the ocean proper.  I am very jazzed about the idea of doing anything involved with MERR.  Apparently most events are not helping marine mammals return to the sea, but are perhaps heartbreaking events of ill or dying or dead animals who are necropsied and even buried on the beach. 

Another major attraction for me is that we are surrounded with Civil War sites.  I went to Harpers Ferry on Sunday and it too was amazing.  It's 135 miles from home; not exactly next door, but doable as a day trip.  I drove the few miles in Delaware to Maryland, then went through a tiny bit of Virginia to West Virginia, the location of Harpers Ferry.  I think of it primarily in connection with John Brown and the Civil War, but it has a long history of strategic importance to the US.  It is at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers and in the Blue Ridge Mountains.  Very beautiful.  A mere 18 miles to the east is the Antietam battlefield.  No actual Civil War battles occurred at Harpers Ferry, but it was the site of the largest American surrender until World War II.  Confederate soldiers took more than 12,000 Union soldiers into custody in 1862.  It was too cool.  I then drove back to Frederick and had dinner with Paula Larson at Ayse, a very good Turkish/Lebanese restaurant.  It was a happy day. 

I suppose that retirement will one day be much quieter, but as long as we have the wherewithal and interest, we have much to explore.  Lucky!