Water Works

Robin enjoyed a wonderfully productive Saturday in the yard weeding, landscaping, planting, etc. I, on the other hand, had quite a destructive Saturday in the yard breaking our sprinkling system.

We inherited a sprinkling system that came with the house. I tried to turning it on for the first time Saturday and learning the lines, circuits, etc. I did poorly learning the valves. I turned something that wasn’t supposed to be turned. –Snap. Run around to the other side of the house and close the main valve, quick!

After an hour of work with a pocket knife, vise-grip, and hammer I clogged the hole the way one might try to shove an oversized cork into a champagne bottle.

Then I was back to my original problem. Why could I hear the electric buzz of the solenoids and sound of flowing water in the pipes when circuit #3 was turned “on”, but see absolutely no water coming out anywhere in the yard? I double-checked the drain and bleed valves (or what I thought were...). Still no answer.

And that’s how I leave you. If you’re experiencing an unexpected water leak (as opposed to an expected one?), call me. It might be hooked up to my #3.

Happy Mother's Day

...to all mothers everywhere.

We enjoyed the new dimension of being parents on the occasion. How grateful we are to have Talmage, and his wonderful mom. Waffles, letting her sleep in, and a poem go a long way. Plus it was a beautiful day. We walked to our favorite park and set Talmage loose on the ducks and geese. His growling crawl was no match for their quacking waddle however. Picture an intense chase scene in slow-motion. He was still thoroughly content. Robin and I wear smiley beaks for the surprising and indescribable joy we're finding in parenthood.

Block by Block

Talmage hit a couple developmental milestones this week. The first one I wasn't expecting at all, had never considered... Robin called me at work and exclaimed that Talmage was stacking blocks. This was a definite departure from his usual destructive performance with the blocks on the coffee table. It's fun to watch his concentration as he tries to manipulate a block and place it carefully upon another. For his second milestone, he enunciated his first audible word. He knows what it means and will say it whenever the time is right. His first word is (no joke) "chicken"


We visited Silver Falls, OR this past weekend--land of large and many waterfalls. Our ward had the Father/Son campout there and I played substitute dad for a couple boys. Robin and Talmage joined me the next day along with cousins from Corvallis and we enjoyed a short hike and picnic together.


Driving home I jumped into the large Walmart in Woodburn to purchase some badly needed socks. Inside a Mariachi band was playing live music--happy Cinco de Mayo.