Not having been invited to go skydiving or fossil-hunting or skeet shooting, I spent the day at home. But I didn't vegetate, for once. What I did was pick up some missing pieces from the last month or two. It may have been just catching up on old work, but some of it has been hanging over my head like a black cloud. It's good to be out from under and ready to move on. It doesn't amount to much, but I love to cross things off my to-do list. And it starts the new week on a high note.

Ever try to read two weeks worth of newspapers in one afternoon? You don't get much out of them that way. I buy the Chronicle every day and usually read it within a day or two, so I've already read the national and international news there. In catching up with the Press Democrat today, I concentrated on local news. There was no time for features on the new red pandas at the Sacramento Zoo, and the health benefits of parsnips. I tried to pick up information on ballot measures and candidates, and most of what I read reinforced decisions I'd already made. There was a piece in Friday's paper about Julian Lage, the 12-year-old Santa Rosa guitarist who played on the Grammy show Wednesday night.

There used to be a page in the paper called "vital statistics." When I was younger, I'd recognize names in the wedding announcements, then later in the birth notices. It's hard to find that kind of information these days, but I suppose I should be checking the obituaries more closely now anyway. I didn't recognize any names in the papers I read today, but I recognized some of the ages as being distressingly close to mine.

I have been struggling with the March 7 primary ballot, and I read through the voter pamphlet today, trying to make some decisions. I'm still undecided about who gets my vote for president, but I've been able to mark almost everything else on the sample ballot. I made up my mind early on the easy choices, and I spent enough time on the hard ones to know what I wanted to do there. Today was for the rest. The only measure I haven't marked yet is Proposition 20, which allocates a percentage of new revenue from the state lottery specifically for textbooks. On one hand, this seems like a good idea, since California ranks near the bottom on textbook spending. On the other hand, why should the state tell local school boards how to spend money?

The rest of the day I spent opening the week's mail, and working on a new color scheme for the March edition of bunt sign. It won't be a full redesign, but that will come. My advanced Web design class starts March 16, and I expect to learn all kinds of new tricks. I almost bought a digital camera last week. The day will come when you won't recognize the primitive beginnings of this place.

We had some news from Iowa tonight, and it seems plans for our family reunion in Colorado this summer are coming together. The Iowa group has less distance to cover, and they gain an hour, so they'll be making the trip in one day. It will take us two days to get there. Eric is working hard to organize a trip to Coors Field, and it looks as if this is going to turn out to be one of the highlights of the vacation. At least, he's had an enthusiastic response from the people he's heard from so far.

I'm still a little bummed that the Giants have managed to sell out their entire season without leaving enough room for longstanding loyal fans. They sold most of the tickets to their first season at Pacific Bell Park to season ticket buyers and groups. This didn't leave much for those of us who can afford to go to fewer games, even though we've been supporting the team all along, even in the bad times.

Eric managed to get us tickets to three games, and that could be all we're able to see, unless we buy into one of the group packages. We'd have to take the bus down to the park, but that's probably not a bad idea, considering how little parking there will be in the area. It's definitely the only way we'll be able to see an attraction like the Cincinnati Reds.