The dog days of summer are here..

As I write this blog post the skies are overcast, and we're in the middle of a much needed rain system in the middle of the driest summer I can remember. Not that I'm complaining... on the dry golf courses, I think I've added 20 yards to my tee shots with the massive rolls.

July was full of fun, Jessy visited California mentally preparing for her push to earn her masters. She split time staying with her aunt on the coast, and her brother and niece at the Army base in the desert. She returned last week, and we spent a couple days moving her into her new apartment at Western, and assembling all the great furniture she picked out at Ikea... what a thrill that was.

Dave is apparently having withdrawals from Michigan as he has totally redone his backyard landscaping to include his new sod (see pic). He attempted to seed the yard, but the starving birds were doing a number on the plantings. Also note the recent pic of Dave & daughter. We hope they'll be home for Labor Day so Gramma can spoil Bella a bit.

Kelly & I spent a little time up north after the 4th of July relaxing & fishing with friends... (nice bass pic, and gratuitous Pennington collision plug :0)). Although we didn't ride in the Thin Blue Line this year, we perched on top of M-53 to watch the line of bikes go by... quite a site.

We had a minor computer breakdown this month. I was able to retrieve all the info lost to a blown hard drive caused by a power surge, thanks to a couple conversations with Jon & Justin and their helpful tech tips. I had to call on the expertise of Mike Whelan at your pc Pitstop to bail me out of a few glitches, and to speed up old betsy as best as he was able. He even sat with me at my house to go over keeping my pc clean and running fast with the newly installed firewall and anti virus stuff... very professional, and you can find a link to Mike above if you require a little coaching. Thanks Mike.

Real estate has been sluggish all year (again), but the last several weeks have been busy busy. I posted an article below that was forwarded to me regarding people leaving the state. I'm not sure we can say they're leaving in droves, but we do lead the country in households leaving the state for greener pastures.

Selling a home these days requires aggressive pricing, and/or complete updates to kitchens and baths. It's pretty competitive out there.

As always, thanks a bunch for your referrals. They are always appreciated, and treated as family.

See you in September

Dave