Dear Kids,
      Paul is on his way home, and he should arrive here tonight. He has a small traveling companion, a kitten named Simba. But Oreo and Xena don’t need to worry, because the kitten won’t be staying here; he belongs to Paul’s manager, who paid him good money to bring it to Utah. Paul and the kitten have visited in Boston and Ann Arbor along the way, not to mention other stops to get the kitten to eat and drink, and to change the litter box. I’m anxious to see this important little creature, and to see Paul, too. He should have lots of good stories to tell.
      Other news: I’ve bailed out of the Great Utah Ride. I loved the original idea, riding to Kanab in a group, averaging about 15 mph, stopping at motels along the way–at least I think that was the original idea. But it’s morphed into a stage race, with different sections in different places, including a side trip to St. George, because Andy and Charlie have connections there. Besides, I haven’t trained as hard as I’d hoped to, while Andy and Richard have upped the ante and are planning to go faster. Andy let me know that if I couldn’t keep up I had to have my own support vehicle, and of course it would have been Dad, but I just couldn’t see riding alone through various parts of Utah with Dad creeping along in the truck. So I’ve bailed out. But I still enjoy my long morning bike rides. And I still like the idea of riding to Kanab–sometime.
      I ordered the metal roofing for the ag shed, and Dad will be picking it up today, I hope. It cost less than a fourth of the estimate I got for having the whole job done. I think we can put it up just fine.
      I was ready to ditch my Palm Pilot and move into the 21st century, with some clever gadget like Tom uses, because my Palm (probably the 3rd or 4th one I’ve had) was eating batteries, and it had spider veins on the screen. But then I discovered that it could take NIMH batteries, which recharge just fine. And then I found a brand new Palm Pilot at the DI for $1.50. So I’m trucking along just fine now. And why not? I ride a battered mountain bike from the 90's. I drive a minivan with 253,000 miles on it. Why shouldn’t I keep using a Palm?
      Life is good! I love you all. Mom