The journey continues...

Brian Bilbrey September 9, 2018

9 September 2018

We've been home from Maine for about 30 hours. It's been raining for approximately 36 of those hours. And I'm having fun with the french drains leading to the sump pump. I think one is mostly blocked ... AND I've got some grading issues along that side of the house. Sigh. Today I back-filled and improved some of the grading. I also extended a couple of gutter drains a lot further away from the house. Hope it helps while I figure out what the next move is. After all, there's rain in the forecast here for each of the next…

Brian Bilbrey September 5, 2018

5 September 2018

How was your holiday weekend? We did fun stuff - got out fishing (but very little 'catching', eh?). We had such a lovely long weekend I lost track of time, and here we are. The best part is that ALL Maryland schools started back on Tuesday. So, everyone's back from holiday, and headed back to work ... plus all of the big yellow things that block roads major and minor for random amounts of time - these are all rolling at once. What. A. Treat! Catching up on work email from a long weekend is no joy, either. * *…

Brian Bilbrey August 26, 2018

26 August 2018

Well. By this time next week, we'll be two thirds of the way through the year. Whew! While it's been a relatively cool summer for us, there have been plenty of storms with lots of flash and bang. Not really Lexi's favorite. Last weekend, she came down to the basement and barked at me until I let her sit in my lap while the storm boomed outside and the coffee was roasting inside: Speaking of Lexi, she's got a couple of growths on her gums. We spotted one of them while prying her mouth open to put in a few…

Brian Bilbrey August 19, 2018

19 August 2018

I spent a couple of days in Columbus, Ohio, and all I got was this crummy head cold. Yay? It was a really successful trip, though. But the cold means I didn't get jack done this weekend. By the time next weekend rolls around, the weeds that overtook the lawn will be sentient. I did get some shopping done, and the coffee roasting. But that's about it. Most of the rest was watching DVR'd food network shows from a prone position, and blasting my way through facial tissues like there's no tomorrow. The real question is: Can I hold out…

Brian Bilbrey August 15, 2018

15 August 2018

Busy times - I managed a fair bit of yardwork this last weekend, and we wrapped with Sunday at the Annapolis Shakespeare Company's August Cabaret Night, featuring Christine Asero. What a talented, lovely lady. From show tunes to her own country songs, she put on a hell of a show. Marcia got herself a pasta accessory for our Kitchen Aid stand mixer. She put it to good use yesterday: Marcia made the fettuccine pasta, we got the sauce out of a jar, adding sauteed chicken. A tomato from the garden, shared, and a serrano chili for me. Yum! Note to…