Happy Halloween!

It is a cool fall night here. The smell of fall is in the air and it finally looks like the dog days of summer is past. I really love this time of year!

It has been a tough couple of weeks in the Mendenhall household. Mimi has had some issues going on at work and I am feeling very unmotivated at the moment. Despite that, we have managed to get a few things done since the last time I was on here.

Last week, we closed on our house refinance. The rates were pretty good and we thought it was time. We have heard so much in the news about the mortgage industry right now, but I have to say it was the easiest it has ever been. One phone call, a handful of questions and we were done. No lengthy loan applications, nothing! They even came to our house to do the closing. We did have to sign our names countless times, but still took less than 30 minutes.

We spent some time working on Mimi's workshop (uh, the garage). We put up some new shelves, organized glass supplies and cleared some workspace. The workshop will never be big enough, but at least Mimi can turn around now! I mounted the web cam up high on a newly empty shelf. Not much to see, but at least I am putting it to use.

Our weekly movie last Friday was Dan in Real Life. It was an interesting experience. The movie covered a wide range - funny, weird, boring, heart-warming - you get the idea. Overall, it was a decent movie - not the best I have seen, but probably worth seeing.

I watched a heart breaker on Monday night - Denver Broncos vs. Green Bay. Denver lost in the early minutes of overtime. I rarely get to see a Denver game on the east coast - we have Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York, New England, and a couple of others in the vicinity, so you rarely see anything but regional action.

Not much else going on. This coming weekend is starting to fill up with various activities, with the biggest being a friends wedding. Till next time......

Club Fed

I spent the week in Glyno, GA attending a meeting at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center. FLETC is an interesting place. Even though I work in Criminal Investigation at a federal agency, I am in Computer Support, not a Special Agent, so I did not go through training at FLETC. It is interesting to see all the new recruits from the various federal agencies going through training. Makes me feel a little old, though. The average age is probably somewhere around 22-24 and the training looks intense. And they all look pretty fit! The students probably look at me and wonder why that fat older man is on campus {grin}. Anyway, we stayed at a nice resort out on St. Simmons Island. We had limited time to explore since we were in meetings all day, but it was a nice setting, the heat/humidity was tolerable, and I got to catch up with some old friends.

Mimi spent the week catching up at work and organizing her workshop. She always gets a lot done when I am out of town!

Mimi & I did get a chance to spend the evening together. We went and saw a movie, Gone Baby Gone. Can't say I was that impressed, but not that bad at matinee price.

Have not decided what we are going to do this weekend. Guess we will decide Saturday morning........

Craft Shows and Other Stuff

If you have been reading my blog, you know that we were at the Fredricksburg Wine Festival last weekend. Mimi worked every night for weeks to get ready. Unfortunately, the attendance was light due to the unseasonably hot weather. Not hard to understand - the main draw is wine testing, which is probably not real pleasant when it is 86-92 and humid!
Even so, Mimi did OK and got some more experience under her belt. Even the attendees that did not buy anything were very complimentary of her work and took the time to tell her so. Our friends, Deirdre and Charles, came down to Fredricksburg to help us, so it was not a huge chore to set up, man the booth, and break it down after the show. There was a good band and everyone also got in a little wine tasting (I skipped that!), shopping, and good food. We stayed down in Fredricksburg at the Coate's cabin on Friday and Saturday night. It is on several acres of land away from the hustle and bustle of Washington. We were really tired after long days at the show, so we did not get a chance to really enjoy it, but it sure beat fighting the traffic up I-95 or staying at a hotel. It did cool off at night - we opened the windows and enjoyed the fresh air.

Tonight, I watched one of my favorite shows, Boston Legal. It can really be bizarre at times, but it occasionally has moments that really get you to think. One of the main story lines tonight was a 15 year old girl that had contracted AIDS. She was suing her school for the lack of comprehensive sex education (i.e., abstinence only). Alan Shore (James Spader), the plaintiff lawyer, did a closing that was unbelievable. By nature, I am a fairly conservative person, but it really got me to think about the issue of sex education in all forms and how important it is for our kids. I don't know when this episode will be available on ABC's Full Episode Player or the rerun will be on, but if you missed it, it is worth watching.

Finally, a last bit of good news! We got a call from the Old Town Theater on Monday. They found Mimi's wallet (see 9/15 post). It still had the cash and all her credit cards in it! Yea!

Trip to Black Hills and Bad Lands

I finally got around to adding a few pictures to my Photo Album from vacation to South Dakota. It was a phenomenal trip. I have embedded a slide show here. You can also view pictures in the Photo Album.

The Badlands

Just got back from a week in the South Dakota Black Hills and the Bad Lands. It was an amazing trip. An unbelievable amount of wildlife, perfect weather, and great scenery. I will post some pictures later this week.