I guess that steam burn the other night was worse than I thought. This morning I noticed that it actually scabbed over a bit, and with all the soaking is trying to slough off.  The good news is that within the first 24 hours it had more or less stopped hurting so I haven't really paid it much attention.

When I swam this morning I had planned to add more lengths, but the altitude (bumping 9000 feet) still seems to be an issue for me even after being here a week.  It was soon apparent that my original goal of adding 4 lengths each day might be a stretch, but had hoped to at least improve on yesterday's 8. But when I had to stop and rest after each round-trip I quit after 8 again today. Still 8 is better than none, right?

I rewarded myself with a pleasant soak afterward before cruising back down to the house for breakfast.  After fortifying myself it was up to the Party Pool with Tom.  I did try to construct some rock arches, though my attempts (which I did document with a photograph) were rather feeble compared to those I watched go up yesterday.  Sadly those had all been dismantled so I had nothing to guide me.

Most of the kids we encounter here are well-behaved (taking into account their age) but unfortunately that was not the case this  morning.  My first clue was when Dad arrived with his two boys in tow and (sensibly) wanted them to stash their towels, etc. together.  One son, who looked to be about 8 or 9, gave him a big argument, wanting to put his things on a bench on the other side of the pool.  Then a bit later I was hit in the back of the head with some rocks; turns out one of the boys was flinging them backwards over his head even after Tom had 'suggested' that was not a good idea. Dad, sadly, was at the other end of the pool and not paying attention at all.  So we decided it was time to exit the pond and go elsewhere.

I read In the shade by the swimming pool for a bit.  At the house I'm reading Maud's Line for bookclub the end of this month, but at the pool I'm reading a Michener paperback (The Novel) I picked up Cortez when Tom got his copy Michener's Space. 

Back at the house we got the first update on Elinor's surgery in Denver. The first part of the surgery, from the front, went well and 'only' took two hours, and they've flipped her and are now working on the back.  This was going to be the trickier part, and the surgeon wasn't going to know how many vertebrae would need rods until he actually got her opened up. 

After lunch Tom is heading down to The Row to visit Reggie, and I'll hang out here at the house with Neil while Terry goes to take care of Elinor & Richard's kitty "Q" (much sweeter and friendlier than their old cat.) Once Steve returns from Denver (tonight?) I might a company Terry on those daily trips.  No idea how when Elinor and Richard will return.  She will be in the hospital through the weekend, and then a decision will be made as to whether she can return home or need to go into rehab up there for a while.