Today is the first day of Sandra's mother's journey to recovery. She'll have her operation this afternoon. She will be in the hospital for a few days and then a rehabilitation hospital for a few more before coming home. The surgeon expects a full recovery with no limitations.

Sandra is taking the rest of the week off from work and will be at the hospital most of the time. She's bringing a quilt that she's sewing for our next grandchild, due in November. There's a couch in the waiting area when her father can rest during the visits. I'll come home after work, tend to the dogs, and then go the hospital in the evening.

This journal was off the air for most of yesterday. Our internet service provider keeps its servers in Baltimore. Yesterday morning, a big fire knocked out power for a large area, including the building where the servers are housed. The systems came back on the air in the evening and all appears to be in good order.

We had a rainy weekend and stayed home from the camp. On Saturday morning, a thunderstorm rumbled through, scaring the dog. He came upstairs and slept under the bed.

My father is doing better. He was able to do his own shopping last week, although he had to stop and rest several times. We visited with him on Sunday and made sure that he had a good supply of firewood.

The Red Sox have fallen into a September swoon with their pitching becoming seriously unreliable. They should make it to the playoffs, but won't last long playing like this.

Oh, yes, work. This is a journal about work. Yesterday all of my project plans were approved with just some minor requests for schedule clarifications. The next major deadline is not until November, but there's plenty of work between now and then.