Ah, “Labor Day”. Where we in the US celebrate working by not working.

My plans for today? Well, I’ve already accomplished one of them — sleeping in. Second one, a bit of time surfing the web.

Pam and I will wander up to the cemetery to put fresh flowers on our son Jason’s grave site. I might work on cleaning up the garage a bit. Might be a good idea to vacuum out the car. Pam and I took a weekend trip to Utah last weekend to return grandson Liam (6) to his family. We had him out here for about 10 days to spend some time with Poppa (that’s me) and Grandma, along with his cousins. That’s something we do for the older grandchildren; Joelle (8) had come out earlier.

We had a good time with him. Miniature golfing, movies, more miniature golfing, bumper boats, shopping for toys (and some clothes for school), visits with cousins, movies. A lot of fun.

The drive back and forth to Utah last weekend was uneventful. We took the new(er) car (the 2007 Camry XE). The weather was pleasant (in the 90’s), and traffic was mostly light. Roads are good for the most part. Some construction east of Wells (NV). And I-80 from Donner Lake to Donner Pass is still really bad. The concrete is so worn it’s like driving on big gravel; there are actually about one-inch grooves in the surface. They are replacing part of it, but there are some really worn sections. All of that damage caused by tire-chains during the winter.

The car worked well, though. Gas mileage across Nevada was 30mpg, and that was at speeds of about 80mph (the speed limit across Nevada and western Utah is 75mph on most sections). The trip takes about 10 hours, so is manageable in one day.

Last Monday it was back to work. And then a doctor appt in the afternoon. It was time for the annual physical. Including the dreaded finger (which didn’t find anything unusual). The doctor did order a colonoscopy, so I am looking forward to that (one of the ‘benefits’ of getting old). It was also time for a tetanus shot update (every 10 years).

Remember getting those in grade school? If you were smart, you had the nurse put the bandage on other arm. Because you just knew that your ‘friends’ would be punching you in the arm where you got the shot.

I got it in the right arm, and did get some reactions from it. The arm was sore for about 5 days (and still is a bit). I got a bit of a fever on Wednesday, so went home early from work, and stayed home Thursday.

The doc also looked at the right knee, which has been sore and a bit swollen for a bit. No damage found inside, but ordered xrays anywho. The xray tech didn’t see anything obvious in the pictures. Still get a bit of soreness and twinges if I turn it the wrong way. The doctor suggested a bit more exercise (biking is good), along with some foot lifting while sitting to help strengthen and lubricate the joint. Have been taking Glucosomine supplements for a month, but those take a while to make a difference. Losing some weight is probably also a good idea.

Overall, not in too bad health. Cholesterol is a bit borderline, so some diet adjustments are probably also a good idea. Another full blood test is scheduled for this week to see the current numbers.

So, a quiet day today is planned. Perhaps putting up the other bamboo outdoor shade (assuming I don’t put another drill bit in my thumb like I did Saturday). The bit only punched a bit past the thumbnail, so no major damage. Other than a few shocked neighbors if they were listening at the time.

And I may work a bit on the “Carbon Offset Certificate” site (www.carbonoffsetcerts.com ) . Sort of a goofy place, but you can get some really cheap carbon offset certificates to help offset global warming.