2 wks of sick leave isn't as much fun as 2 wks of vacation!

I had my operation two weeks ago & am feeling much better. My Mom was an amazing help while she was here & Nick & I were very grateful. I (literally) couldn't have done it without her. I was hoping that I would be up & around sooner so I could show Mom some stuff around town, but I spent most of the time in the recliner! It got a little boring for her I can imagine (I slept a lot), but she got a lot of reading done. =) The last day or two we were able to get out a little more. Mom had her first Thai dinner at the fabulous Thai House here in Fairbanks, we also took her to Hot Lick's Ice Cream where she was impressed by all the real berries in the Raspberry ice cream. The temps weren't to high either which was nice, plus Poppa & Jasmine were very happy to have her home. The worse part about the whole two weeks has been the road construction... They pulled up the whole road to put in storm drains & replace the water pipes. Nick working nights meant of course that he was trying to sleep while they were outside with D-9 Cats, vibrating dirt compactors & Bobcats. Poor guy, he is pretty tired! This lovely road upgrade, besides messing up Nick's sleep, has resulted in water outages, new ways to get in & out of here & tons of dust! We are tired of the construction, can you tell? I will be going back to work this Monday & am looking forward to it, I get through books too quickly when at home, I am definitely ready to get working again! The job I have been being 'borrowed' for came open, so I have applied & hopefully will be chosen for it. The job opening just closed last week & our HR can be rather slow, so I am not sure when interviews will be, but I will post as soon as I know. We have been having too hot weather, but 85 does feel nice driving around in the Jeep with the top down. Way better than standing still anyway! This past week there was a wildfire 11 miles south in North Pole, that plus the smoke from the fires in Canada made the air pretty smoky. Getting the little bit of rain that we did last night will help. Nick & I were able to go out to dinner last night & that was really nice. We drove out to Fox to eat at the Silver Gulch. It was relaxing & yummy as usual, plus we had a nice surprise. Our dinner gave us free admission to an concert from a small band from Ann Arbor. It was very private & comfortable in the upstairs room (due to the wind &rain). If you are ever anywhere & see that the Killarney Broadcast is playing, go see them! Traditional & modern Celtic music is their forte'. They are really professional, one is a conductor, another a music professor. For being so young they have an amazing range of talent!

Well that is us for now, it has been quiet activity wise, just not decibel wise. I'm including some pictures. I was sent flowers by Nick's parents & some from the UAF Bookstore (where I technically work) as well. My good friend Tamara is in one of the pictures with me & Mom too. The rose was from Nick & I had too include a Stock closeup as I love them!