July 20, 1998

Have not heard from Amy in a while, guess she has been busy! So have we, we had a good weekend, working on cleaning up the place, getting the dingy out of the water, going to the movies - Armageddon was a very good movie! - and going out to a party! Good times. Nate and I have played a lot of games on the networked computers, he still is much better than I am, he knows where all the hidden things are and I am still trying just to maneuver!

OK Sue and Al, what are the results!!!!

Nate and Shannon at Mom and Dad Loiselle's (where we caught the big fish).

July 16, 1998

Pictures of our sail;

Work is going crazy! We have more work than we can handle! Nate might come in and help! Purchased 4 new computers  and two modems for work, along with ModemShare software. Will be setting up the new computers tomorrow.
Nate went fishing tonight on the beach, he says the shrimp had died, that is why he did not catch anything!

July 14, 1998

Has it ever been interesting! We have been very busy at work and with Nathan and Shannon and Shannon's parents! We went out sailing on Sunday and had a great time. We went down to Shell Island and had a picnic. We took the dingy and had fun running all over. Got some sun and sand!
Today at work I finally got the program working to serve the Internet up to all!! That was very satisfying! Only two more tasks which I am faced with and do not know if I can solve, getting a modem up and served to all (for fax and other non Internet services) and getting remote dial in capability. All in fun and war!

July 6, 1998

Guest author Al McVetty:

Hello,
It is that time of the year when we, here at Stone Mountain Farm,
give all of our friends an opportunity of a lifetime. Some of you, who
are not too senile, remember last year's Lab Lotto. Well, we are about
to do it again !!! I can hear the sounds of excitement coming from all
parts of the U.S. and Canada. The rules are going to be basically the
same as last year. You have to guess the number of puppies, their color,
and the gender of each. The individual who turns in the most accurate of
all the guesses and remains within the guidelines of the above rules and
regulations will receive the GRAND PRIZE.
Many of you are asking yourselves," what exciting, daring,
thrilling prize do those wonderful people at Stone Mtn Farm have in
store for us this year?" You won't believe your eyes when you see it in
writing !! We are going to give away to the most accurate guesser a
free week, yes a whole week, at Stone Mtn Farm !! Be still your heart.
You read it correctly, a full week at Stone Mtn Farm. All you have to do
is to correctly guess the number, gender and color of the pups that Abby
is going to have on the 19th of July.
To enter this chance of a lifetime contest, you must e-mail, fax
or write us with your guestimate on or before midnight 7-18-1998. This
entry, along with a dollar, which must be sent along with your entry,
will enable you to participate in one of the most exciting contests that
has ever occurred in the thriving metropolis of Guildhall, Vermont,
05905. In addition to this exciting opportunity, we are departing from
our usual method of payment and are going to accept, for the first time,
Visa, MasterCard and any other major credit card as a form of payment.
If you intend to use a credit card as your form of payment, please
include your card number, expiration date, and a sample of the signature
on the card. All of this information is to merely expedite the
processing of your entry.
In order to help you to guess more accurately, the following
information is provided. Abby is a Yellow Lab, bred to a Yellow Lab.
Last year, when she was bred to a Black Lab, she had a litter of six
puppies, five of which were black and one of which was yellow, two were
males and three were females. Any of you who are genetically inclined
may have an advantage in this contest. Those of you who are
mathematically inclined may have an advantage there as well.
The winner[s] of this contest will will have their choice of either
residing in our spacious 8 ft.X 12 ft. camper located just off the
shores of McVetty Pond or they may stay in the more luxurious 8ft.X
32ft.camper located on the shores of McVetty Pond. As the more luxurious
camper is booked until Dec 02, 1998. it is suggested that the smaller
camper be chosen at this time.. Taxes, title and all meals are excluded
from this offer. Proof of personal liability insurance must be given
before occupancy of the camper is allowed.


May the best guesser win,


Al and Susan

We had a great weekend. We sailed down to Sarasota Bay and anchored out. The winds were calm and it was warm but we slept well nonetheless. The TV reception is incredible out there in the bay, we get 40 or so channels! Then we went to visit Dad and Mom Loiselle. We borrowed their bikes and rode the 8 miles to town where we watched the boats in the offshore races. On Sunday we pulled anchor(s) - a process that took 20 minutes as the anchor rodes had twisted. Then we motored home. The wind had been at our back and we had sailed all the way down, the wind did not change however and was on our nose all the way back.

A kid in the marina helped me when we got back. I winched him up to the top of the mast (all 62 feet up) where he straightened the wind vane, then on the way back down he brought the end of the line that had gotten away during our sail to Cuba last year. The line hoists our signal flags, a task that was not needed but fun when we are in a race!