When Astroworld shut down a couple of years ago, I was bummed out. I never dreamed that I would have a roller coaster, a real one, a wooden one, right in my back yard. It is probably two miles from me as the crow flies (as the seagull flies?), and four or five miles by land. Between the rainy summer we've had and some problems actually getting the coaster to coast, it didn't open until this past Friday. I think Guppy spent most of the weekend riding it, and I would have liked to, but there was too much to do at home.

Friday afternoon the builders said we need to have our bathroom tiles, the fireplace stone, and the front door picked out muy pronto. They do this a lot -- no information, no answers to our questions, then, wham! something is needed NOW. The Professor and I originally had planned to go visit his son & family over the weekend, until we got our list from the builder. The first thing I had to do was go look at model homes to see what in the world they're doing about bathroom tiles these days. I know everyone is fixated on bathrooms now, but to me they're just a place where you do necessary, but somewhat unmentionable, things. I will make it look nice, but I am not pouring a bunch of money into it. No marble, no gold-plated faucets, not even a heated towel rack -- although if I lived in a cold climate, that would be on my list.

And have you priced a door lately? The builder gave us a catalog and told us that showroom was so reasonable, he got his front door for less than $2000. We did NOT think that sounded like a bargain, so I ran down to Home Depot, figuring I could get a front door with two sidelights, in wood, with leaded glass, for aboout $600. Try $3800! I'm still shopping.

I am also back and forth between brick and limestone for the fireplace. It is so much easier to see something and criticize it than it is to make all the choices in the first place.

I am leaving for Portland tomorrow for a regional meeting to rehearse our year-end presentations before our sales meeting in November. I do not understand this rehearsal thing at all! We do our sales presentations all year all by ourselves. The dollar amount of our annual sales is what it is. We all have the same slide template to fill in with our particular information. Just what is there to rehearse? But since I have only worked up the energy to fill in one slide so far, I guess I'd better get to work on it. God, I am such a stereotypical salesman: give me people, don't give me paperwork. So off I go to labor on Labor Day.