Sandra's parents have gone to the Cape for the weekend, so we're babysitting their dog, Molly. She's a lively, nine-month yellow Lab. Our dog, Marley, is more than eight years old. The difference in energy levels is quite dramatic. Marley can run around the yard once and then needs to come in for a rest; Molly can keep going for a long, long time.

Grandson Michael graduates from the eighth grade today. We'll not go to the graduation; seating is quite limited. He's looking forward to playing freshman football next year. Last night he and his sister, Krista, performed wonderfully at their annual piano recital at the town hall. They are truly talented. It's exciting to watch their skills develop. They worked hard this year. We didn't get to granddaughter Lily's ballet recital last weekend, but I did talk about it on the phone with her. Great kid.

We'll go to the Cape tomorrow for a combination celebration of Father's Day and the upcoming birth of Russell Alexander Dias MacGregor, the first child for Sandra's brother, Scott, and his wife, Val.

These family events have been fun and a great way to change the subject. Thoughts and talk unemployment and the job search can fill a room pretty quickly, so it's good to be with children.

As it's been pretty much throughout this time, I have some interesting prospects in the queue. Until there's something on paper, though, I will keep up the search. I have many good friends working on my behalf. I'm very grateful.

We've slipped into a different time, learning how to care for our parents in new and different ways. As Sandra's mother observed, we're having to think about things that we didn't have to think about before and we don't always like it. But, think and do we must.

It's been good that I've been around. I don't know what this means in terms of my next job, how much travel will be ok, how long a commute. It would be wonderful to have a work-at-home job. It would be even better not to need a job, but we're not in a position for that, at least not yet.

Today I'll reschedule the phone calls that I missed on Monday. I've heard that there have been some reorganizations at IBM that may be affecting some people I know. I'll try to make contact with them. I'll also donate blood at UMass. The day will fill up quickly, I'm sure.

A quick note. My father fell yesterday and spent the night in Leominster Hospital. The only visible injury is a massive shiner on the right side of his face. The CAT scan disclosed an old blood clot on the left side of his head that's probably unrelated to this fall. As expected, he was not happy being confined at the hospital. I drove him home mid-day today. (He'd driven himself to the hospital. Sandra and I will deliver his car to his house later today.) It's a worry, but he's more resilient than most folks half his age. Stay tuned on this, though.

On the theme of doing different things, we went to the chicken barbeque at the Phillipston Congregational Church on Saturday evening. We arrived at the appointed hour and learned that the barbeque was sold out for a couple of weeks. Disappointed, we walked around the town common. The flea market was ending and the leftovers were free for the taking. We found a small basket and a 1940 map of Cape Cod. We met a friend who suggested that we might ask in the church kitchen, that there might be some tickets available. We were able to buy one ticket. So, we shared a dinner. The people serving the meal took pity on us and gave us extra bread and cranberry sauce. We dined under a tent and watched a fine talent show with singers, dancers, musicians, and a hula-hooper. It was a splendid evening. Now we know that the barbeque is held on the second Saturday in June and that we should buy our tickets in May.

Saturday night is sauna night. When I was a kid, we’d have company which meant lots of food, talking, and old Finnish folk songs on the record player. Families would take turns in the sauna and the last guests wouldn’t leave until 11:00 or so. Now it’s a quiet time, most often just the two of us. We sat on the bench at dusk, overlooking the lake and watching the bat swoop along the shore, eating the mosquitoes before the mosquitoes ate us.

We finished putting a float together. It’s about six feet by six feet, made up of half-height cubes similar to the ones that we use on our dock, pictured here. Once the water warms up in a week or two, we’ll paddle the float into place. We’ll anchor it with some cement blocks. It’ll be fun for the kids to swim to the float.

During the week my father slipped on the wet ground and sprained his wrist badly. Fortunately (I guess), it was his left wrist, which is now a gruesome shade of purple. He’s very lucky that he didn’t break the arm or worse.

We returned home mid-afternoon on Sunday. Sandra’s sister, Barbara, her brother, John, and his wife, Suanne, were visiting with her parents. We shared a bit of John’s birthday cake. Later in the afternoon, Mike and the kids came over for a visit. We had pizza for supper, followed by a Whiffle® Ball. game in the back yard. We went to bed tired and happy.

Today I have a couple of job-search phone calls, one in the morning, and the other in the late afternoon. In between, I’ll shop, pay the bills, and tend to other chores around the house. The good stuff of the weekend seems to have lifted me out of last week’s glum mood.