Thursday

Well we were awaken by a strong rain shower but that was it for the day. After our quiet times Nancy took off to drive her mother to the beauty parlor for a hair appointment and I got the smoker ready to put ribs on after I got back from pickle ball around 1 PM. Bobby gave me a nice chunk of cherry wood which is supposed to be really good in the smoker so I split it and then sawed it into chunks and immersed them into a bucket of water. I headed out to the library to pickup a couple reads before heading to the rec.

If you want to read a really great read by Paul Theroux titled the Mosquito Coast its a fun book with lots of real family adventure. I read about 1/3 of it yesterday and I'm dreading that it will end so soon. Its so much fun to read and at the same time it has lots of truths about our way of living. Read it, you will have to pay close attention in the beginning to understand the book is being told by the oldest son about his father and the rest of the family. Interesting!!!

We had about 16 players for pickle ball today with some really good games and lots of wet shirts. It was good to reacquaint with some I hadn't seen since May. The caliber of play has definitely gone up for some which only enhances the over all play for the group. After 2 hours I headed home in the heat on the bike. After a quick bite I started the ribs in the smoker with the cherry wood. Amy and the grand babies where there and stayed until about 2 when it was time to head home for the afternoon naps. I was still having some discomfort in my calf from last week so I iced it down for about a half hour then just relaxed on the bed reading.

We had the family over last night for a sumptuous dinner of ribs, potato casserole, broccoli and cold slaw. We were trying not to eat any dessert but both kids wanted chocolate chip cookies which Nancy made about 8 PM. Oh well!! We had a great feast of ribs which undoubtedly was the best tasting with the cherry wood flavor, even better than hickory. So if any of you have access to fruit trees be sure and save the wood for your smoker.

Well we had a great time with the little ones as they played hard and of course the food was great and once again we ate way to much. It seems Nancy's dad is improving daily and is back to driving as his swelling in the feet and legs have subsided and he seems to be in better shape all around so with that bit of news it seems we are planning on heading back to mountains on Sunday the 22nd for a couple weeks before we head back for the birth of Gabriel some time around the end of September. Those are the plans as I write this post. LATER