Getting a pretty good rain , and watching the water flow down the opposite side of the street from the storm drains . It hits a small defect in the pavement and sprays up in a thick arc as it erodes the inside of said defect , making a brand-new pothole . The state and city had the street closed for 3 weeks , supposedly installing a french drain . They re-opened the street after covering the gravel leach bed with blacktop . I don't care how much perforated pipe and gravel you use , when you seal the surface , it's not a drain anymore , just a buried pipe . I really expected a bar grate custom-fitted to the trench . I'm not a licensed engineer , but I know stupid when I see it . Another rain or two like today's inch and a quarter in twenty minutes and the road below will be undercut and destroyed .
   Our oldest daughter and her 2 girls came by so I could fax some paperwork for her , and the girls spent most of the visit picking blackberries outside our back door . These volunteer canes have been producing steadily , and the kids like them . For dinner I had lentil soup with spicy chorizo , and grilled ham and 2 cheese sandwiches on thin sliced Italian bread . Very good food , and filling .
   Now , my friends , after a long but drama-free day , I'm packing it in for tonight . Good night , God bless .