Ok, so I was reading this article in the Deseret News about the dedication of the Upper Diamond Fork Project, and it got me wondering when they'll open the road going up Diamond Fork Canyon. The CUPCA website is completely useless as far as construction progress goes--it hasn't been updated since February. So, I started Googling around looking for more info about the road closure (it'd be nice to bike to the hot springs this summer), and I found this Spanish Fork River Drainage website. My eyes were immediately drawn to the picture in the upper-left corner of the page. Doesn't it look familiar? Here's a screenshot just in case it gets taken down (which I'm fairly sure will happen).

Anyhow, the best I can gather is that the road is still scheduled to open in October, and I'm hoping it will be early enough that the fall colors are still hanging around. That's one of the most beautiful areas in the state during the fall, and I enjoy the lower part of the trail much more than the upper half that is still accessible from Sheep Creek Road.

Bleh...not much to write about lately. I've pretty much just been piddling around the house and doing the daily routine. The dishwasher broke the other day--started leaking all over the floor. The part that had sprung the leak wasn't replaceable, so I fixed it with about ¼ tube of caulk. Yeah, quite the professional job.

Since we haven't really had the chance to go camping yet, I decided to do some repairs on the trailer while it was just sitting in the driveway. The floor near the door has always been sagging, so I cut into it with the intention of replacing that section with new plywood, then placing peel-and-stick tiles on the entire floor to cover it up. There ended up being only two floor joists that I can screw the new floor into, and I had to cut a much larger hole that I'd planned in order to get even that far. Now I've got to figure out how to support the other two sides of the new floor, but I think I can manage it.

I'm also planning on running some duct work through to the inside of the trailer so I can hook up our old (and very small) swamp cooler whenever we're camped at a place where we have electrical hookups. My wife's family reunion is in three weeks, and it'll be at the UP&L campground in Huntington Canyon where they do have power (I would hope so, it's right next to the power plant), so I'll definitely want to bring it there. I brought my blender the last time we were there (wink wink) and it helped relieve the heat of being so damned low in the canyon, but I think this year will be even better.

Caedes photography gallery--hundreds of exceptional photos suitable for use as your desktop background. The space gallery is also worth a look.

I am very pleased right now--my dining room is finally finished (here are the pictures). It's been about three months in the making, mostly because of my procrastination. It's by far the nicest room in my house now, so much so that I don't know if I want the kids even eating in there. But hell, it is a dining room, and I'd hate to be one of those people who have nice things but are afraid to use them, so I'll just have to grin and bear it.

Between the dining room, the new fence in the driveway, and the new light I installed next to the back door, I'm actually starting to like this house. It's almost 75 years old, so a lot of it is either out-of-date or simply falling apart, but we're slowly starting to get everything back in order. The kitchen is the next big project that needs to be done, but I won't be able to do it until after next year's tax return, and I don't think I want to subject myself to any more home improvement projects until then.

It looks like I'm going to the next Price City Council meeting. There's an article in yesterday's Sun Advocate that covers last week's council meeting, at which the irrigation ditch that runs through the middle of my block was discussed. Some of the water users (of which I am not one) were complaining that property owners aren't maintaining the ditch and that there are fences blocking them from entering the property and taking care of the problem themselves. Seeing as how the city has no easement or right-of-way through my property, I have no responsibility to clean the irrigation ditch or to allow others onto my property to do so. It would be nice if the city would pour cement for the water to run through, like some property owners have already done, then maintenance wouldn't be a problem. It would be even nicer if the city required water users to pump their water from the front of their properties rather than the back, since the city does own the gutter in front of my house and water runs through it almost non-stop. I'm going to call early next week to make sure this issue will be on the meeting agenda, and if so, I'll definitely be attending and voicing my opinion.

Bradley got to come home this evening, and it feels good to be back to (mostly) normal. He still has to eat a special diet for the next week, which is going to be tough to follow. He can't have any dairy at all, and until Wednesday he can only have clear liquids, and no more than one ounce of that per hour. Starting on Wednesday, he can eat only one bite per hour of either bananas, toast, applesauce, or rice. Then on Thursday, he can eat just about anything.

The past three days have sucked because not only did I waste my weekend, but I had to take today off work as well. I didn't get any of the things done that I'd planned, and getting ready for Bradley's birthday party will take up the rest of the week.

Anyhow, I'm just glad to have my baby home and to feel like a family again. Since either Traci or I had to be at the hospital with Bradley at all times, we were never all together except in room 112, which didn't quite have that feeling of home, you know?

By this morning, Bradley still hadn't stopped puking and shitting everywhere, so Traci took him to the doctor, and the doctor ended up admitting him to the hospital. Apparently, his entire intestinal track has shut down, a condition called ileus. His doctor said it is probably due to the constant vomiting from having the flu, and it's apparently somewhat common in very young children who get the flu. For now, he can't eat or drink anything at all, and he's got an IV stuck in his arm to feed him and keep him hydrated. Traci is staying with him at the hospital tonight while I stay home with Michael, but I'm dropping him off at Traci's mom's in the morning so I can go relieve Traci for awhile. He'll probably end up staying at least another night in the hospital, so this is probably going to be pretty emotionally draining on everybody, but hopefully it won't get as bad as when Michael was in the ICU for 10 days after he was born.

RemindMe: better than tying a string around your finger, but easier than installing reminder software.

Does this shit happen in other states? It's just as bad as when the Morons hold halloween a day early when it falls on a Sunday.

We're all finally starting to get over this flu, or whatever illness it is. I never really got sick, but I did feel queasy a few times and didn't have much of an appetite, but I managed not to miss any work over it. It's been a lot of work taking care of two sick kids, so we didn't have time to get ready to go camping this weekend. Next weekend is Bradley's first birthday party, so we won't be able to go then either.

So this weekend, I think I'll work on a few projects around the house just to keep busy--otherwise I'd be inclined to catch up on all the sleep I've missed since Friday. Our dining room has been essentially finished for a couple of weeks, but there are a few finishing touches left to be done--I should get some before-and-after pictures up during the weekend. I'm also going to install a light just outside my back door this weekend--we've always needed a light in the driveway that can be operated from inside the house, but I'm just now getting around to installing one after living here for more than four years. I bought all the electrical conduit, wire, junction boxes, light fixture, and switch, but the only thing I'm worried about is cutting a 4" hole in the outside of my house for the junction box. If this project turns out being easier than I'm expecting, I'll probably add some more lighting around my garage so the back yard can be used more easily after dark. I just hope I don't electrocute myself doing all this electrical work (as I'm apparently prone to doing).

Saw one of these wheelbarrows at the local hardware store today. One question: are they trail rated?

Some examples of horrible website navigation: Silverchair, and the worst I've ever seen, Estes Rockets.

Both of my kids are sick, and I feel awful about it. Watching a 3-year old dry-heave, and then cry because he doesn't understand what is happening or why, is a pretty helpless feeling. Bradley started out getting sick at Mike's house Friday evening, and when he was still puking yesterday morning, we decided to pack up and head home early. By yesterday evening it was starting to look like we had acted prematurely, since he hadn't been sick since before we left Mike's, but then he threw up the first meal he had eaten since the night before. Michael got sick this morning around 4:00 am, and I ended up sleeping on the floor next to his bed so I could take care of him, while Traci slept in our bed with Bradley so she could take care of him. I hope this is over soon, but seeing as how Bradley is going on his second day of being sick, and Michael is just starting his first day, it doesn't look like we'll be that lucky.

It looks like next weekend I finally get to go camping for the first time this year. So far, every weekend I've wanted to go there's been something going on that prevented us from camping. I haven't even registered my trailer yet, and the registration expired in April. All next week, I think I'm going to spend some time getting the trailer ready (filling propane & water, charging batteries, loading food, etc.), and we'll head out somewhere on Friday when I get off work. The temperature has been getting up around 90° the past few days, so we'll have to go somewhere higher up so we don't bake. I just hope my truck doesn't give me any shit, since it's had some cooling problems the past few years.

This weekend, I'm going up to Mike's (Traci and Bradley went up yesterday, and I'm following today with Michael). I've got some shopping I need to do up there, and I want to at least look at some backpacking gear. It's not really looking like I'll be in good enough shape to hike King's Peak this year, not unless I get off my ass and start hiking and biking more in the next few months. It probably helps that I'm on a sort-of diet--when I went to the doctor last week for my back, my blood pressure was pretty high, so I've been eating differently trying to get it down. In fact, I ate a banana and an apple for breakfast today, which is a pretty rare occurence--I haven't eaten a banana since I was a young child. I don't drink soda anymore, and I've stopped eating sunflower seeds since I normally go through an entire 1 pound bag in one or two weeks, which equals more than 1 gram of salt. Besides eating more fruits and vegetables and trying to eat less salt, I haven't really changed my diet too much, except that I probably eat smaller portions now as well. I've also stopped getting migraines, which were probably in part caused by the high blood pressure, so hopefully it's actually on its way down, though I don't know if less than two weeks is enough to make that big a difference.