It's decorate-your-door week at school.  I commissioned a couple of students to put my favorite new quote--well, new to me, the quote itself is actually over a 1,000 years old--up on my door.  These days all you really need is a windowsill and a Kindle--if you're looking to live the portable lifestyle, that is; me, I still get my kicks from the great wide open.

I've been reading Mycellium Running: How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World, a birthday gift from my mother.  Fascinating stuff.  Don't think I have the brains to go into detail, but let me say this: decomposition is a beautiful thing.

The kettlebell (a cannonball with a handle) was first used as a Russian training device over 300 years ago, so though it might seem like just another gimmick in a long line of fitness fads, it's the real deal.  Along with the hunk of iron that we bought Jake for his birthday, we gave him a copy of Enter the Kettlebell.  Its author, Pavel, a former special forces trainer in Russia, is credited with popularizing the kettlebell in the USA.  Chief among its virtues, at least in my mind, is that the kettlebell develops strength while simultaneously powering up the heart.  Or, as Pavel puts it so wittily, you develop your heart "without the dishonor of cardio."

All the beauty in the world.  We had a wonderful meal with our Sweet on our way to a conference in Augusta.  We stuffed ourselves in the dining hall--Jessie looked at our plates piled high with food and said, "you two are going to get the freshman fifteen!"; but, you know how it is, free food... anyway, we worked off a bit of the buffet with a ramble on Colby's nature trail.  Nice.

My beautiful baby boy turns 22 today.  Gee wiz, I must be an old man.  Here Jake demonstrates the 60 lb. kettlebell we got him for his birthday.  Yes, that is what he wanted for a gift: a hunk of iron.  That's keeping it simple, my friends.  Rock on, Jake!!!

This stump, which is from a tree felled a couple of years ago, looks like it was painted black--pretty cool. But maybe it needs to be seen to be appreciated. At any rate, it's back where we did the big cut, so no need to remove it. I was surveying the land, so to speak, a couple of days ago, and realized we could have a veritable farm if we so desired. Sounds like a retirement plan to me!

Dreary weather, finally. We were blessed with some serious sunshine on this staycation. Now we can catch up on some reading, get our house in order and get ready for the home stretch before the end of school. For all you regular working stiffs who must toil through summer... tough luck!