We have a lot of flashlights here, all shapes and sizes, but the other day I bought another one because it has a USB port on it. The flashlight can be recharged using the USB cable either in the car or from a wall socket. It goes the other way, too, and the flashlight can charge a cell phone or another electronic device.

The LED light bulb is very, very bright and it can be set to flash the SOS signal (three short, three long, three short flashes). It's very exciting, and I might have to go camp out behind my house in order to use it.

After some starts and stops the red cabin project is back on. We got sidelined because the builders recommended by the engineer who was drawing up the forms said it would cost more than $150,000. I was thinking more like $70,000 - $80,000. So it took awhile to think about this. We can't tear it down because the other little cabin on that parcel makes it a nonconforming parcel, in other words illegal, but they let it go because the rules were made after the structures were built.

This afternoon there was a knock on the door and it was the retired transportation department engineer who was in charge of rebuilding our river and highway after the big flood in 1976. He wanted to see how it held up in the 2013 flood, has just moved back to the area, and will come up fishing once in awhile. It's a pleasure to talk to him about the lessons they learned in 1976, and we see some of the same mistakes now.