July This and Thats

Happy July!  I hope everyone enjoyed their 3 day weekend, here in the states anyway.  I've been feeling like I should post lately but there is nothing big to write about.  So this is another one of those start-typing-and-see-what-comes-out posts.

• We had no plans for this holiday weekend other that some projects around the house.  Things did come up, like my sister in law wanting to see her dad so she calls my wife to fetch him for her for a visit.  We see him a lot, if she wants to see him she should go get him herself, I think.  Also, Kate helped her friend, Terry, clean up her boat - not go out on the lake, just clean it up while it is docked at the marina.  It has got to be a sin to own a nice pontoon boat, pay to store it on the water, and rarely, if ever, use it.  Sigh.
• My plans for this holiday weekend were to cross things off my list, and I did pretty good.  I got the garage power-washed, also cleaned some foundation which we got painted yesterday morning.  It looks a whole lot better and the fresh black matches the windows better.  Now only 3 more sides of the house to go!  I also got some sidewalk edging done, put gutter covers on the porch (free after rebate!), mowed, removed more irises, and later today I want to fertilize the lawn since rain is expected tomorrow evening.  Aside from fertilizing, I am now done for the weekend.  My feet hurt.  A lot.
• I've talked about getting bicycles, but we have not yet.  I still want to because I feel we would use them more often to get out to local places that we like to visit.  But in actuality that would probably be once a week in the summer time.  It would be nice but not the highest priority when we think about it.  Meanwhile, I have started getting on the exercise bike downstairs 3 times a week to start trying to get into better shape.  There's a great ice cream shop that opened last year that is less than a ten minute bike ride away, only 15-20 minutes away walking but we just never seem to do.
• Not just bikes, everything costs money and it seems like we have been hemorrhaging money lately.  Not even counting having the tree removed and buying a new vehicle.  Just purchases for house projects, cds and dvds, concert tickets, and the like.  On the bright side my wife received a long overdue promotion at work that will help.  Congrats, Kate, you've deserved this for a long time!
• Speaking of concert tickets, we recently got tickets for Garbage's upcoming tour.  It is the 20th anniversary of their debut, self-titled album and they will be playing it in its entirety on this tour.  Garbage started here in Madison and we do like to claim them as our own, though none live here anymore.  Also, Nightwish has announced their 2016 American tour and it includes a stop at the Rave in Milwaukee.  I may never get the chance again, I have to go.  The Garbage show is not until October and the Nightwish show is not until next year February.  They are both quite a ways off but I didn't care, I will be there and wanted my tickets now.  
• I broke one of my commenting rules recently when I commented on Delcatto's blog about his weather.  My personal rule is that if I only discuss me in my comment not to post it, but I did.  He wrote about the heat there and my comment was how we had not turned on the air conditioning here yet despite it being July already.  It has been very nice to have the windows open for this long.  We've been tempted to run the A/C a few times, but have not.  I was even tempted earlier today, but if I look at the next few days it cools off and we would want the windows open again.  I will not start it for one hot day, but if I see a stretch coming I won't hesitate.
• The 30th reunion of the people I went to high school with happens this year, and soon.  I have to decide in the next, like, day if we will be going.  I have not been to any of my previous class reunions.  I did not grow up with them, moving to town for 7th grade.  I had few friends and got picked on a lot.  I was the first in my class to get my ear pierced, I got picked on a lot for that my junior year.  When I came back for my senior year most of those that picked on me had their own ear pierced.  I hated them for that.  I know I was an awkward, stupid teenager and so were they as the jocks, cheerleaders, and geeks that they were.  There are exactly 2 friends that I would absolutely love to see, out of about 100-150 classmates (I forget).  I am certain there would be some others I would enjoy seeing, as well as others that I wouldn't.  But it's been 30 years now.  Do I care?  Do I go?

That's enough for now, more than I thought I had to say so I'm glad I did another This And Thats post.  There's something to be said for just sitting and typing and seeing what happens.  I'm not even a writer, I just pretend to be one on the internet.  PTFO