Sandra's mother is scheduled for surgery this morning. She'll report to the hospital at 10:30. The operation should take a couple of hours. She's eager and anxious and accepting, all at the same time. Sandra and her father will spend the day at the hospital; I'll join them later this afternoon.

My father is doing better. He was able to stack wood for a short while during our visit on Sunday. Trips to the grocery store are a bit much, but he is still thinking about getting his Jeep ready for plowing this winter.

We took the MacGregors' dog, Molly, with us to the camp this weekend. She's a yellow Lab, one year old. Her bounding and boundless energy is good for Marley, although he was quite tired by Sunday morning.

With the weather cooling, the woodland creatures are making ready for winter. We're finding acorns tucked away on various shelves, in corners, and in other seemingly impossible places. At the camp they gather acorns. At home they steal bird seed from the feeders.

A 200F degree sauna followed by a jump into the bracing water is good for what ails you, body and soul.

The return to work this week brought me into my first long traffic jam in quite a while. A car fire had traffic backed up for a couple of miles and it took nearly 45 minutes to travel that short distance. Traffic jams bring out the goofiness of my fellow travelers.

Work itself is ok. I'm still having some trouble focusing, but I am making progress on my assignments.