Took the kids and Cody to Cold Stone Creamery last night. They seemed to enjoy it. My tastes run more towards grilled asparagus and grilled shrimp these days. And salsa. We went to the drive-through Mexican place a couple of nights ago and I got three beef tacos with rice and beans. Really delicious. And I got a big tamarindo drink. Really satisfying.

Ordered some new clothes for Cassidy. An on-sale skort and top set, some pajamas, a nightgown and a bathing suit. I'd ordered both kids some new underwear last week.

Cassidy's school supplies and a rolling backpack are secured. I think that I'd like to find some thin self-adhesive label material I can run through the inkjet printer to identify her school supplies.

I made a new dish last night with some skinny Japanese noodles, pork, cabbage, carrots, green onions, garlic and tamari sauce. It turned out very nicely. Cassidy asked for more!!! A sure sign of success.

Called one of Cassidy's kindergarten pals to see if she'd like to play with Cassidy. Cassidy nearly died of jealousy yesterday afternoon when Flynn had his friend Cody over.

Flynn has been pretty unhappy about summer school. I keep reminding him to make an effort and avoid being invited back again next summer. You just have to get off your ass and do your work, Flynn, there's no point in sugar-coating that bare fact.

Yesterday I assumed operation of ByteBrothers since Mal was having trouble with his ISP and I had noticed a "Mailman" mailing list option on Hostway. Go figure.

What else is new? Nothing much. Cleaned the kitchen yesterday. Cleaned the dining room yesterday. Scrubbed the bathroom the day before that. I like things clean. The cleaner they are, the better I like them.

Finally removed the sweet peas, which were gorgeous all spring and half the summer, and planted some moonflower and morning glory seedlings. Dusted that area with "Corey's Snail and Slug Death" hoping to keep the seedlings from being devoured.

The tomato plants are loaded with tomatoes. I've only harvested a few, first on the 4th of July for pizza sauce and to put on cheeseburgers and then last weekend for more pizza sauce. I made some 24-hour pizza dough and grilled it in two rounds and it turned out VERY, VERY well. Incredible flavor. Cassidy picked off four pepperoni bits and called it a night. Arrrrrgh. Can't make her eat. But, God, that pizza was stellar, really outstanding, easily the best I'd ever made and one of the best pizzas I'd ever tasted.

What else is new? What else is going on? Well, we get up every weekday morning and take Flynn to summer school and then go and pick him up every weekday at noon. The middle school where he's attending summer school is a real anthill to get into and out of. Which I dislike. I do not like traffic at all. People turn into instant assholes as soon as they get in their cars.

I need to go to the market. We need more milk. And apple juice in little green boxes. I have some chicken on hand that I grilled last night. I'd like the kids to eat more fruit and more vegetables. I bought some red and green pears at Stater Brothers last week and they're just ripe now. They're truly delicious. Good flavor and good texture.

I sawed up the closet doors from Cassidy's room, which I've always hated. Those stupid little wheels they were supposed to hang on never worked. I replaced the wheels. I was happy to work in the July sun to chop them into pieces. It'll take a few weeks to dispose of them in the trash barrel. I need to chop up the closet doors from Flynn's closet next.

I'd like (if we keep this house) to remodel Cassidy's room to provide her with her own bathroom and to remove Flynn's closet. Ideally I'd like to move the water heater to give Flynn slightly more space. And a door into the garage would be really, really great. I would love having a door that opened into the garage.

I'd also still like to get the windows double-glazed to provide a better thermal barrier. And install a whole-house fan to empty the trapped hot air above Cassidy's room and hopefully also remove the trapped hot air in the garage.

Another big household wish project would be solar panels. Unsure if I'd have to get a lawyer to get the community asshole association to accept that notion. That's an expensive idea, about $15,000. But it would pay for itself and then some in about 10 years.

What else? Not much else. Just live day to day and raise the kids as best I can. They're growing up fast and seem to be doing ok. I'm disappointed that Flynn is in summer school. He has got to change his attitude towards school and homework. He's going to get broadsided in middle school, and I'm going to be busy helping Cassidy with her school work.

I finally removed the Queen Anne's Lace or heliotrope or whatever that huge flowering plant was that I'd grown by the black gate. It was past its prime. There's a cosmos that's still growing that's even taller than the plant I removed. It has yet to flower.

I'm surprised at how long the sweet peas lasted (and happy how good they looked!). Hopefully the moonflowers and morning glories will establish themselves and grow up the trellises I'd put on the fence for them.

I removed the last of the carrots from the planter boxes along with the dill, which had bolted. I planted some marigold seeds after deadheading the marigolds.

I had to put gas in the Prius yesterday. I think I fill it about once every three weeks, and then only about 8.5 gallons worth of gasoline. I was getting about 40 something miles a gallon. Better than the 15 mpg the Santa Fe and/or '76 bus were getting.

Time to go clean more or do something useful. Go and get Flynn in about an hour and a half.

Drag the kids to the beach eventually. Or to the pool. Or something. I need to get myself to the gym eventually, somehow. I stepped on the scale last Thursday and was disappointed to see that I'd GAINED weight. Jesus. Disappointing. If I expect to live to see the kids grow up I've got to reduce my weight.