Monday Morning, Mom and Mini Marsupials

I was up at 6:30 and out the door by 7:00 this morning with the pups hurrying to get them out for a walk before the temps got above 70 and in a range where Toby and Allie struggle somewhat, especially with the high humidity we have. Walking at night hasn't been an option lately with all of the fireworks that come alive in the evening. Allie looks to jump into my arms at the first sound of them.

For the most part, they're content to hang out at home next to me. If I'm gone, you'll typically find Allie and Charlie by the back door with Toby in his spot on the family room couch by the dragonfly lamp. We're looking forward to having our deck completed so they can while away the hours out there in the fresh air.

After chatting with Joe this morning and giving him my approval for some decisions we needed to make about the construction of the pergola, I was free to suit up and hammer out some miles on my bike before work. I really love my Monday morning loop. It's not a long ride at 36 miles but I enjoy the challenge of riding the route with a little more intensity than I do on my longer rides. Any time I can bring it home in something over 20 mph I'm happy. Today was 20.2.

We got together with Mom on the 4th. She lives just a few blocks away from Lakeville North High School where they launch the fireworks. Her neighborhood is always buzzing with people trying to find a nice spot from which to view them but that wasn't our focus. We brought over some wine and she put together some snacks for us to munch on while we chatted. Still, I managed to go out and capture a few images of the glimmering blossoms with my steadiest hands possible.

Her right eye continues to make a slow but steady recovery from a torn and detached retina. You could tell that she was grateful for the company. It was a nice time.

Our porch project is probably two weeks behind schedule because of both the wet weather and a delay in replacing a damaged window but it's nearing completion. The pergola gave us a bit of a scare but Joe came up with a solution that should work just fine.

Joe (our contractor) and his wife are the new owners of two Sugar Gliders. Joe told me that they'd gone to the mall to get a basketball hoop when Lisa saw the Sugar Gliders being sold at a kiosk. They're marsupials, native to Australia and very tame, preferring to hide out in your shirt pocket if you don't mind.

Sugar Gliders

Joe isn't overly thrilled with their new purchase but I hope he warms up to the little guys because they have a life expectancy of between 9 and 12 years. Yikes!



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