"Un pomeriggio pigro di domenica"

Today is "a lazy Sunday afternoon". I did a little house maintenance today; I had to seal an open space in the attic vent that was allowing some water to get into the attic during our monsoon rains we have been having. So other than that I plan on laying on the couch and watching Palermo take on Rome this afternoon. What I am really waiting for is the Rugby World Cup that starts in September. I feel sorry for the American team; they start off against the defending champions England. The bookmakers are giving France the edge this year and after watching them in the 6 Nations Cup they do look tough but I’m holding out hope for the All Blacks to win this year. Let’s go Kiwis!!!!!!!

Yesterday while Lisa and I were running errands I stopped and looked into SCUBA lessons. It looks like I will be taking my classes in November and doing my open water dives in December. Now that may sound strange but they do the open water portion in New Mexico’s Blue Hole and the water is around 85 degrees year ‘round. That won’t help when I step out of the water and its 20 below but hey that’s the price I have to pay I guess. I’m doing this for our 2009 vacation to Bermuda with friends. We are renting a dive boat for a week and will be diving the wrecks around Bermuda. This is a picture of our friends Val & Marty who we are going with. Thankfully Marty is a Dive Master and Val has lots of dive time so they can keep a eye on me. Next year I plan on going to Mexico for several long weekend dive trips to get as much time in the water as I can. I have always wanted to learn how to dive and now I have an incentive to learn (also I can afford it now!)

Well the game is starting and I have the house to myself for now so I’m going to plant myself on the couch and watch the game and get a nap in. I worked some late nights last week in support of an upcoming GPS launch (the ops crews had a week long exercise and needed Braxton Support) and I’m still a little burned out. I’m getting way to old to work crew!

Our Crazy Squirrels

"Try that again and I'll be kickin' yer furry, brown bahooky!"---McSquizzy (you must say this with a Scottish accent. A few glasses of scotch whisky usually helps) In the movie "Open Season" Billy Conolly plays a deranged squirrel who thinks he own all the trees, well I think he has moved into the trees on our property.

The squirrels have free reign on the deck. They run back and forth and are even brave enough to come right up to the sliding glass door and stare at us through the window. I guess it doesn't help that I have a feeder out for them. They took over one feeder to make a nest and a bird house that my Dad made to make a nest.

Years ago my Grandfather told me that if you want to know what the coming season is going to be like just watch the animals. This year we have had some weird weather here on the divide. We have been getting HUGE rain storms lately and what is got me a bit worried is that the squirrels are already build nests. They have raided the deck cushions for the stuffing. This guy looks like Santa Claus! They have pulled all the stuffing out of the top pocket of the cushion. They just sat there as Lisa open the sliding glass door and took this picture. They are amazing.

My birthday weekend was nice and some what quiet. I got some very nice presents from my family here in town and I enjoyed a nice piece of ice cream cake with my nephew who turned 3 on the 10th. I got a call from my God-Father who also has a birthday on the 10th and birthday power point presentation from my friend Val. All in all it was a nice weekend. The weather was hot and I spent Saturday morning out in the fields with Kate. As you can see it was very warm out there and she went through a gallon of water to stay cool and hydrated. We worked on the "Whoa" command and our hand signals. She is doing really well in the field and I can't wait for hunting season to start. I am also looking forward to getting my other hunting partner Luke into the field. He is an amazing bird dog (also a German Shorthair Pointer) that can hunt all day long. I don't get to work with him much since he is also very involved in running agility with his owners.

That's all for now I guess. I think I am going to relax on the couch and watch Rage Against the Machine and a live performance by Henry Rollins on DVD that I got from Netflix. I'm so happy that Rage is back together and making music again. I have also become a big Henry Rollins fan and I Tivo his show on the IFC, it is great stuff!

Remember Blind acceptance can be dangerous and always question your leadership.

una nota rapida (A quick note)

Today is my birthday. I made it to the age of 42, which as some of you now is the ultimate answer to the universe. What makes today even more special is that it is my friend Val's birthday (she is way behind me in years), it is also my nephew Zach's birthday (he is 3 today) and Uncle Bill's birthday (my Godfather and he is way ahead of me). It makes this day all the more special to be able to share my birthday with these very special people.
I know it is actually the 11th where Val lives (she and her husband are on the other side of the international date line at the Kwaj) but I want to wish everybody a very happy birthday today. I will get to see my nephew tomorrow but I won't get to see Uncle Bill and Val this year. I miss you guys.

"La piattaforma posteriore" or better known as the back deck

As many people know dining "al fresco" is a way of life for the Italian people, so our deck is a central point in our life for dining al fresco and drinking al fresco and anything else al fresco! It was one of the two features that sold us on this house (the great room was the other feature). Lisa and I have been known to enjoy our morning coffee and the newspaper outside before starting our day or ending the day with our evening meal and a drink on the back deck. Thanks to my Dad we have a beautiful new table to enjoy our meals at.

Our main deck wraps around to the front of the house so we follow either the shade (for Irish people like me) or the sun all the way around the house. We also have our tomatoes and spices growing on the deck and will push them around to follow the sun or get out of a hail storm. The deck is also a little wider than most decks I've seen so we have that much more room when we have a large number of friends over. The only down side to a deck that large is having to clear all the snow off of it when the storms come. It usually takes a few hours to clear the snow.

We recently hosted our annual Tiki Party when we gather family and close friends to celebrate the summer and catch up on all the "goings on" of every body's very busy lives. In typical Italian fashion we have lots of food & drink and it is always a good time. Lisa and I enjoy it even though I always "ping" right up to the day of the party (many of you know I am a hermit at heart but I do enjoy seeing my family and friends). This year my parents were here to enjoy one of our annual parties and they got see some of my AF friends who were able to make it.

The Tiki Bar is a key point to the deck. My friend Dan Reyes and I made the bar while I was assigned to Vandenberg AFB and we had the movers bring it to Colorado. The top is getting worn so this winter in order to protect the great art work Dan did I will be moving it to the garage and determine a way to cover it in some kind of resin so it will last for ever. Dan did great work and I don't want to loose that great art. For those of you have seen the Tiki Bar you will know what I mean. The art work is done in a "Shag" style and somewhat resembles his wife Julie. We love it and never want to loose it.

Ciao!