OK, so I had this party last night, and it didn't go so swell. It seemed like the lack of my darling wife made the party fall flat. I didn't realize there was any work to being a host - you are kind of responsible for the party's direction. This means I have come to rely on Shelley too much for these things, and need to make sure from now on when we sponsor one that I am there for her and ready to do what she needs done to "get this party started". I felt sick at the end of the party, but I'm pretty sure it was all in my head. I'm very down in the dumps, possibly because Shelley and the girls are away and I'm lonely. Either that, or I ate too much pizza . . .

I tried to fix my fence yesterday, but it didn't go so well. It became obvious pretty quickly that a quick fix was not going to do it. I needed to replace the posts and the 2x6's that were holding the yard dirt back from just leaving my yard and becoming part of the easement. I had to put in 4x4 posts after digging post holes manually and then cement them in and do my best to reinstall the fence boards. Thank God Fred came over early for a beer or two. His advice helped a lot. I needed gravel to put in around the posts, and it was Fred who pointed out that the slag I have from sledgehammering out the sidewalk in front of the house was perfect for that purpose. It was Fred who suggested putting concrete around the posts and allowing it to sink down around the slag to create a good, solid post, especially since I could only get the one dug down about 2 feet, which was about 2 feet shy of the ideal depth.

My fence isn't done because its raining and I don't want to use power tools in the rain (call me over cautious if you must). The batteries on my portable drill gave out as well, and I need it to apply the deck screws I'm using to re-apply the fence boards. Speaking of which, I don't think I'm done spending money on this damn fence yet. I think I may need to replace some of these fence boards that aren't in great shape. I may have to go back to Home Depot again (third time in two days) and get boards.

I also planted roses in pots yesterday to try and get them up and healthy before I plant them in my feature area. I'm keeping them in the house, and I don't know how that will go over with the boss when she gets home either.

I never got to BBQ those burgers yesterday. The burger meat stayed in the microwave for two nights and a whole day before I remembered it sitting in there and by then the blood pooling aroudn the plate had developed this odd brown color instead of crimson, and it had a sort of sour smell. I made it into burgers anyway and ate two of them for lunch. They tasted OK (I cooked the heck out of them to kill any growths). My stomach is gurgling a bit, but that's pretty standard.