It's Sunday and our vacation is over! Sigh. It's been lovely. Just like being retired... oh, wait, I AM retired.

We didn't go anywhere, we didn't do much, we just relaxed and enjoyed every day at home. Wakana did a lot of prep work for her upcoming semester teaching at UOG. I did a lot of reading, a little writing, worked on my car, and reconfigured my canopy from a pitched roof to a leanto.

It rained a lot, something I begrudge. This is supposed to be the dry season. The weather is cooler but my lawn is still a muddy mess. There is no sharp division between wet and dry season like there is between winter and summer. Sometimes we have dry wet seasons and sometimes wet dry seasons. This appears to be a wet dry season.

It's a pain in the butt because I need to crawl around under the car and the ground is not very inviting. Walking around while working on the canopy each step was a squelching splash. There is lots of grass but the mud spurts up between the blades and muddies the legs almost up to the knees. Sigh.

Gordon and I went to the lumber yard today to get wood for my new workbench. In our family that statement is a cause of some hilarity. My father has built at least seven workbenches at the farm. Mom and my sisters claim that he cannot start any project without constructing a workbench first. So, when I told my parents I needed to build a workbench there was some laughter that rolled through the phone.

But soon I will have an outdoor workbench under a canopy where I can work on larger projects and enjoy the fresh air. I might even be able to fit one end of the Mercedes in there.

As for the car, I need to replace the v-belts, change the oil, replace all the filters, install the windshield washer pump, and replace the rear brake hoses. I probably need to replace the tie rod ends and maybe even a ball joint or two. Time, and a stretch of decent weather will tell. Once I get all that done I can depend on the car to get me to and from work. Now I need to figure out how to pay for the parts.