smoke

What a relaxing weekend it's been so far.

I returned to work Monday after nearly 3 weeks away. I found more than 500 e-mails, about half of which were spam and could be deleted easily. However, I couldn't do much about the remainder until Wednesday afternoon, as I was in training the early part of the week. I managed to get through them, though, and handled the majority easily enough. I still have a few of them hanging for action, and since I want to take Thursday and Friday to make a nice long holiday weekend, I'll have to hustle through the early part of this week.

I came home Friday completely exhausted, so I made a quick supper and spent the evening reading a good book. Saturday I slept in, then took a friend to lunch for his birthday. After lunch my friend and I got shakes at Carls Jr. - their orange cream one is great. It reminded me of the creamsicles we ate as kids. We drove out to Hilltop Cafe, just past Fox, then had a bowl of chili at the Silver Gulch in Fox. Their chili is really good, made with nice chunks of beef and stout.

As we drove back to town, we saw large plumes of smoke. I thought it may have been from a controlled burn by Alaska Fire Service. They do this regularly in the late spring and early summer, weather and winds permitting, to burn off brush and grass that could fuel a wildfire. Though it does create smoke, at least it's monitored to prevent a runaway uncontrolled fire.

I really wanted to sit on my bench in the yard, playing with the dog and relaxing, but by the time I was home the smoke had drifted into town and made breathing uncomfortable. I decided it wasn't perhaps the best thing for my asthma, so stayed indoors.

Today it's another sunny pretty morning, just 41 degrees now, but with the promise of warmer air later. Maybe I'll grill a salmon filet this afternoon. I've cleaned off the grill and it's all set for summer quick meals.

I'll be doing a bit of shopping, and have wash going, so it won't be completely idle day, but there's nothing pressing or difficult that needs to be done.

I'm considering a road trip with the camera over Memorial Day weekend. Since I'll have five days off, I can relax and enjoy time off. I lost leave last year because I didn't take all the use-or-lose leave, and I don't intend to have that happen again.

My friend Nancy from Anchorage will be up to show her puppy in his first dog show, and we'll go out to watch. It's great fun to watch all the different breeds, and Nancy's golden retrievers are beautiful. It's always fun.

Have a good week everyone.