Imagine if you will

A perfect day in the mountains of far west North Carolina. The sky is a hard, bright blue, the clouds like gigantic fluffy sheep with light grey underbellies. You're floating in a lake of green water, where you can see to the bottom at 10 feet deep. There are no noises other than the contented chatter of friends as they fish, drink beer, and generally revel in the delights of nature.

That was how I spent my Saturday and Sunday. We went camping with Jim's kayaking buddies at Lake Santeelah. It's a stunning, secluded, enormous lake/river system in Western NC. No pollution - natural or manmade. Just absolutely clear, cold, beautiful water. Our campsite was only accessible via canoe. It was about 1.5 miles of canoeing from the place where we left the cars. At night, all you could hear was the sound of crickets and frogs.

It was a very restful trip.

Now, I'm back. The painting in the house is finished (at least, in the living room/kitchen/library/breakfast nook/great room). All of the boxes are unpacked. The house is mostly ready for guests. I still have to paint the study, spare bathroom, and guest bed, but that will have to wait until my next couple of days off. We're having a lot of company in the months of September and October. I'm looking forward to it immensely.

It's back to work tonight for me, folks.