After several months of not much going on, things are starting to pick up around here. Not business-wise, just in general.

We are still waiting for an estimate on a new metal roof. The roofer claims they are very busy with repair jobs while the weather is nice, but I think he could at least get the estimate to us. It is too late now to get our roof right away because we have various paying guests coming in July, so now the project couldn't start until some time in August or even September. The roof isn't going on the house they would be staying in, but we plan to move the cat over there, and we don't want guests to be subjected to all the noise of that 6-day project.

Monday the plumber and electrician are coming up to look again at how we can put in a standby electrical generator. The electricity part is not a problem, it's our propane system that is not compliant with building codes. It was set up in the 1980s and things have changed since then, plus it may not have been entirely to code in the first place, and the codes changed again June 1, 2011, I'm sure not to be more lenient. One big issue is distances between the propane tanks and 'significant structures' of which an outhouse is not one, and bodies of water. Unfortunately we have cliffs and streams and rivers, so there aren't a lot of options for tank placement other than what we already have. There are a lot more complications, but you'll hear about that some other time.

Tuesday I should drive down to the southwest part of Colorado to my aunt's funeral. All the cousins will be there, and I should go because it's the only time we see other - at funerals. I will have to drive out to visit with my uncle at the trading post because he won't be coming to the funeral due to not being able to leave his house unattended.

I'll stay out there overnight, at a motel in Bluff, Utah. Can't stay with Uncle Robert because in some respects his set-up makes those Hoarders shows look tame. At least his feet touch the floor when he walks around, but he doesn't have a lot of time or inclination to deal with the dust that blows in the ill-fitting windows, and he never throws junk mail away, it's piled around his living room. Over the years his living space has contracted as he closed off the rooms so he's down to kitchen and living room and bathroom, and he sleeps in the living room on a twin bed behind the door that goes into the store.

But I have to get back because Mr. Troutbend is leaving for bowling tournaments in Las Vegas on Friday or Saturday, and the first renters are showing up on Friday for two nights. They are Harley riders from Nebraska, and one couple looks okay, but the other couple's teeth look like they are meth users. They are all very nice, of course.

If I'm going to be gone, I need to get some things in shape around here - change the beds, do laundry, line up some cans of soup on the counter for Mr. Troutbend to heat up for his meals.

All this to do, I need to stop telling you about it and get started.

This cow has produced triplet calves three years in a row: