Last Saturday Nancy and I traveled to Birmingham for an overnight visit with Mark, Jenny, Jackson, John Michael, and Margaret. We arrived just in time for a grilled hamburger lunch and a drive across town to the baseball field where Jackson (7) was scheduled to play. Margaret, now 14 months old, arrived a little late. Not being all that excited about baseball, she took a little nap before getting ready for the big game. The Dodgers won thanks to a 9-run first inning that included a clean single between third and short by Jackson.

First up for when we returned home was preparing for a new crop of blueberries. We really don't like sharing our blueberries with the birds. We had a go-round with a family of mockingbirds last year, but this year I'm trying to be better prepared. We bought new netting and spent a couple days hanging it around the plants. We'll see how it all turns out in June, when the fruit ripens to a nice Dodger blue.

Then I took on a project that I've been putting off for a couple years...refinishing our front door. I planned to un-pin the door, carry it outside, and work on our front walk. It turns out that the door weighs a ton. We decided that we couldn't carry it back and forth, so I hung it back up and began sanding it down INSIDE the house! Nancy was none too happy about that. We did close off the entrance way from the rest of the house, but dust is dust. I figure I should finish the job early next week.

Today we (Huntsville) are preparing for the first big round of storms for 2010. This afternoon is supposed to be quite severe, which is too bad because we were planning to attend a concert today by this year's winners of the Van Cliburn piano competition. We were amazed last night by the silver medal winner, a young lady from Korea. But today we'll stay home because it's simply not a good day to be out and about.