Sprintime Activities
For those folks wondering how we’re doing with our electricity situation, we’re doing just fine.  Last month’s bill indicated our usage was down by over half.  Even better, the power company decided to implement the rate increase effective April 16 – the day of the avalanche that took out the power lines for Juneau’s hydroelectricity source – which means we got billed at the pre-avalanche rate last month instead of the anticipated higher rates.  We’re also informed that rates will come down at the end of June, when repairs are now expected to be complete.

On to more important things.

I [Michael] promised Sheryl that we’d set up the kids playground once the ice was gone in the back yard.  When Mother’s Day weekend rolled around it was time.  The fence came down easily, and even the posts set in concrete came out of the ground with some effort.  With substantially more difficulty Sheryl and I managed to move the structure from the side yard to the backyard.  Once there it wasn’t too difficult to level things up and bolt on the roof and swings.  Last year Sheryl got a trail for Mother’s Day.  This year a swing set.  Maybe next year she’ll get the first hole in our much talked about miniature golf course.  Maybe, but I doubt it.

Sheryl also had a birthday this week.  The kids loved it.  We (me and the kids) went shopping and the kids got to pick out the flavor of cake mix to make, in addition to having input on what presents to buy (“Do you think Mom will like this toy boat?”).  At home they got to help (mostly watch) with the cake, and with wrapping presents (ditto).  The steaks came out from under the broiler shortly after Sheryl walked in the door, and we all enjoyed a happy birthday celebration as a family.  The weather even cooperated, so we were able to try out the R/C boat in our pond without getting rained on.

It’s that family thing that makes for such good times.  Becky “gets it” more and more, and with her vocabulary and other progressing cognitive abilities she’s fairly easy to communicate with, and she has a sense of humor too, as evidenced my her smiles and laughs when I catch her in a prank.  Michael does not have Becky’s range of vocabulary but uses what he has with somewhat more ease than Becky.  The interaction between the two of them is remarkable to observe, with Becky teaching Michael vocabulary and Michael keeping Becky’s attention focused much better than most adults do.  Both of the kids are also interacting more and more with Sheryl and me, and it all certainly fits the “family” description.

The house Sheryl owned when I met her went up on the real estate market this week.  We’ve rented it since buying this home, and with mortgage rates where they are it seems like the right time to sell.  I am also selling property I own in Nevada (to the woman who has been renting it since I moved here in 1992).  The idea is that we’ll be able to take the proceeds from these two sales and refinance our present home, leaving us with a lower mortgage here, about as low as we were paying when we lived at Sheryl’s house.

We’re anxiously watching gasoline prices rise as our impending trip to Fairbanks and Anchorage looms closer.  We’ll go almost irregardless of gas prices, unless of course gasoline becomes unavailable at any price (highly unlikely).  At some point we’ll have to rethink the whole road-trip paradigm, I suppose, but there’s more to life than what we can see and experience in Juneau, so as long as it’s still possible, we’ll still be trying to wing it.  We’re still talking about using our Metro to tow our travel trailer too.