My boss and I got back from Kalamazoo last night, having left Memphis on Thursday morning.

K appears to be a nice place. I could stand living there, probably.

We walked around a bit downtown. It seems the area took an economic hit when Pfizer shut down some facilities. But we didn't get the impression that K was a ghost town, by any means. The parks and shops and things looked pretty cool. They have cultural events all summer. Everyone here tells us that the winters must be horrible, but apparently Lake Michigan has a somewhat moderating effect on temperatures, although there is a fair amount of snow. The cooler summer weather is a definite plus. I could easily get used to not wondering if I was going to get from my car to my front door without melting into a puddle on the driveway.

This was our first meeting with the lab people at that facility. We had a long discussion about procedures, and quality, and logistics, so forth and so on. It's a different culture than what we are accustomed to, and actually, more like it should be for what we do. But my boss and I probably have a good bit more autonomy right now than we will if we move, and that will be another adjustment to make. They appeared to like us, and that is a plus.

If we move, it will be next year, probably. I'll continue to look around here and keep my options open. But it's a relief to know that if we relocate, we'll like living there. The biggest negative is that we would be so far away from our parents and other family members.

In other news, today R and I are driving F up to Sikeston, MO, to Lambert's Cafe, Home of the Throwed Rolls. Yes, it's an enormous restaurant, big as a warehouse, and they actually throw rolls to the customers. "Hot rolls!" they shout, and these delicious rolls come arcing over people's heads to be caught by laughing patrons. OK, it's kind of fun. I guess you have to be there. Her friend in St. Louis has invited her to visit, and she and her parents will meet us there to take F the rest of the way. We'll reverse the process next Saturday. And now that the kitchen is papered, and looks really nice, and we're still all speaking, we have some more work to do on the trim and so forth, which will keep R and me busy. Sigh.