Update Grande

I know it's been quiet, sue me.

Lessee, in the last few months I was laid off, found a new job, and celebrated the Fourth with the dog. There's the nutshell.

The Fourth was pretty quiet. My new job is funky with holidays, so I ended up working Friday and having Monday off. That worked out well as a friend of mine is still out of work from the same layoff that got me, so we were able to hang out with a bunch of good folks and enjoy a day of gaming. As per last year, I was the only person on my street to bother to put out the flag, which I still find disappointing for some reason. At least this time I noticed a house around the corner had put up a flag mount and was flying as well.

I ended the day by taking the dog out to a field near the soccer stadium and watching Frisco's fireworks with a couple of beers and a good cigar. The pooch did great, and didn't seem phased much by the show, though I did notice she turned her head in avoidance - a great behavioral sign that she was going to stoically ignore the issue rather than freak out and confront it.

As is normal here in July, we're cooking at around 100 degrees. I still have my lawn service and wouldn't trade it for the world. That said, I have some nasty dead patches on the front lawn that I can't quite figure out. I'm guessing a disease/fungal infestation called "Brown Patch" and am waiting it out. Meanwhile, the backyard grass is about 8 inches high. I desperately need to man up and mow it - though excuses not to are easy to come by.

Kinda bland and boring, but then holing up to avoid spending money puts a dent in the get out and have fun finances. Everything is back on track now and I'm working on building a bigger, better financial cushion.