Hello, Fall.

Summer ends officially this week, but in real life it ends when school starts. Dan's homecoming is this week; he has been seeing the same girl for 2 years now. She's still his homecoming date, even though she graduated last year; she's taking courses at the local community college.

Meanwhile, I have embarked on a gardening project in line with my gardening skills. I'm killing the lawn. Technically, it's just a step in the process of renovating the back yard, but plant death is a gardening skill that I may be best suited for. Then again, the first application of Roundup left patches of green, so I had to do a second chemical raid this weekend.

We've finished three sessions of obedience classes with Brownie, and it's made a big difference. It's all in the judicious use of treats and the squirt bottle, it seems. Now he doesn't bark at every dog he sees - he rarely barks at all - and he doesn't try to pull our arms off on walks. Very nice.

Meanwhile, we are poised to start our biggest remodeling project yet. We're redoing the kitchen and the bigger bathroom upstairs. New cupboards, sinks, countertops, tile, wall treatments -- the works. Should be nice and disruptive. Yes, we're having a contractor do it. We want it done in weeks, not years, and we want to keep the deaths and severe injuries, not to mention expletives, to a minimum.

Meanwhile - Go Cubs!