The fates took retribution on me for taking the day off yesterday. Yesterday one of the back-office systems we use for the magazine started outputting errors, and I only found out about it this morning. Apparently the software went haywire somewhere around the time I was watching Cleo the sea lion.

Then I discovered a bug in one of the database queries, which would have resulted in even more errors if I hadn't fixed it today. So the whole day was spent glaring at my laptop computer, mumbling to myself, and occasionally pounding out emails to our programmer. No wonder the keys on my computer are wearing off.

Meanwhile, the Florida sun continued to shine, the heat again rose to nearly 90, and the humidity became so thick that you could iron shirts without plugging in the iron. Florida would still be a largely uninhabited place if air conditioning had not been invented. Between the programming problems and the intense air outside, it was a day to spend at the dinette working.

I also invested about an hour in pre-planning. I don't want to give away too much about what's going to happen next, but from our Schedule page you can tell we're going to be doing a lot of traveling in the next month. We've got a lot of things we want to accomplish, so every day I can, I'm spending time researching places to go and calling people to make various arrangements. I only mention this because when things start happening quickly, you'll know what went into making it happen.

But it wasn't all work today. I finally cured the last computer problem by 6 pm, and Emma and I headed off to the pool. It's a great stress reliever to play with Emma in the water and watch her progress as a swimmer. Now she swims 25 feet or so unassisted, either under water or above water. And she dives for things on the bottom like a much older kid.

In keeping with our plan to celebrate Emma's birthday all week since we might be in the car on the actual day, Eleanor and Emma made a cake together. The frosting was Eleanor's own marscapone cream frosting, which is really superb stuff. The middle layer of the cake contained a chocolate ganache, by Emma's request. You should have been here for a taste ... it's a great cake. There won't be any left over in a day or two.

By the way, we are going to hold a Happy Hour or some sort of get-together at the Region 3 Rally in Myrtle Beach, next week. It's for any blog reader or any subscriber to Airstream Life. Anyone who is planning to go to the rally, check this blog in the next few days or the bulletin boards at the rally for information on when and where. We're still trying to work out the plans right now.