I should get Sprint to pay me for that last little rant. :)

Cool, overcast. Nothing like the rest of you have been encountered, but we are reminded that it is winter. The trees in the region are mostly deciduous, so this is a gloomy time of year when there is no green and no snow, just grown and gray. That's why I planted several evergreens in my yard. The juniper, several pines, and an Italian cypress keep the place more cheerful this time of year.

This morning I emailed an organization that sent a donation solicitation to a former tenant at this address. The house history has the original builder living here for about 10 years, then they rented it out to several parties, the last family was here for 10 years. They tried to buy it but the owners weren't interested at the time. It was on the market for nearly 2 years when I came along, and I found a house that hadn't been updated by "investors," it was one that needed updating, and I convinced the owners that they couldn't ask the full price as if the updating had already been done. I still haven't finished the work, but I still have managed to make it look a lot different. I've had this nagging idea that one of these days I'll have a party and along with a few of the nearby long-term neighbors, invite back the old renters. Has anyone else ever done anything like that?

SRS