Tuesday this and that...

This morning Sarah and I finalized the big honkin' audit that she was working on. That leaves us seven fairly small straightforward audits to complete by next Thursday. I think that we'll be able to do it okay and without it coming down to the 11th hour.

We had a meeting scheduled with our grocery chain client for 2pm. My house is located on the far westside of San Antonio and her office is located on the far eastside in a crappy industrial area which is where the grocery distribution center is located. And Sarah's favorite little Italian bistro Ciao Lavenderia is conveniently located in between which means just north of downtown. So guess where we had lunch? We were the only two lunatics that sat outside on the patio in the heat. It really wasn't bad outside either since we were in the shade and there was a breeze. Sarah had her favorite pannini and I had the tomato basil risotto. The food was great as usual, and it was a nice relaxing lunch. We arrived at the client's office right on time only to find out she had called in sick today. Her boss was shocked that she hadn't called to reschedule, but we figured if you're sick and let's say barfing all day the last thing on your mind is calling to reschedule a meeting. I think that her boss thought that we'd be angry or something. Come on, that's silly. Things happen. Plus what's to complain about anyway? We just won two projects and were asked to invoice the work even before beginning. Sarah and I figure it all worked out anyway. We got a break from the report grind and had a nice lunch, and we got back here early to work on a few things that we didn't think that we'd get to because of the project meeting. So the day didn't go as planned, but it turned out just fine. What more could we ask for?

I ordered the new file cabinets and they should be delivered tomorrow. I thought that they were kind of expensive for being two big pieces of sheet metal, but we need them. So oh well. So by tomorrow afternoon the corporate office should be looking a bit neater and more organized.

Brad will be in Norfolk, Virginia this weekend doing drilling fieldwork. The property owner that is possibly selling to our client doesn't want his employees to know he's selling so he would only allow the drilling on the weekend. And boy what a tough time we had finding a drilling company to work on the weekend. I can't say I blame most for not wanting to do it. Drillers work long hours in the summer and usually have more work than they can handle so there's no motivation. Of course Brad is acting like he's being a real trouper for working on the weekend...but do you think he's been over to work on any of the Sundays that Sarah and I have worked? No need to answer that question I think!

Tomorrow morning I take my parents to the airport for their two week trip to Latvia with a stop on the way back in Amsterdam. Mom emigrated from Latvia when she was 10 years old and so still has relatives in Latvia. Her cousin, Maija is a few years older in her late 60s, and her health has been a bit iffy the last few years. Last year she had knee replacement surgery, so Mom isn't sure how well she'll be getting around on foot. I think Mom's afraid that this may be one of the last times that she gets to see her. Maija's grandson, Andris, is Erik's age and they've e-mailed each other once in awhile, so it would be nice for all of us to go to Riga sometime to meet our Latvian relatives. Maija and Andris visited the folks in Florida a few years ago when they still lived there. Unfortunately we didn't get a chance to go visit them then.

Mom and Maija are the last generation of the family with a personal connection, so I'm afraid once they both pass on we'll lose touch with that part of the family. I think it's important in the next few years for my sister and I to have the opportunity to meet them so that we can stay connected as a family. Plus Andris has a 10 year visa for here, so hopefully he'll come over now and then.

As I write this, I'm surprised that my mom hasn't called to remind me to pick them up in the morning to take them to the airport!