Wow, busy times!  So much to cover and so little… errrr… interest.  But hey, you know what, I’m going to type something up.  Because I can.  Or should.  Or something like that.  I’ll start with the new puppy I so briefly alluded to last time I bothered updating this, little Nacho.  She is a small (5 llbs) mixed breed puppy from the same rescue that we got Quinn from.  We like to go up there on the occasional Saturday and check out their new rescues, which they get in weekly.  For people that like dogs, this is of course a monumentally stupid idea.  Honestly, I’m surprised we held out as long as we did, being of rather weak constitution.  Things went all wrong when they posted some pictures on Facebook of a new litter they’d just brought in, which were some little pit bull mixes.  I was fairly comfortably going up and checking these pups out, because in all honestly there is a pretty non-existent chance of me getting a pit at this particular time.  Lots of rationalizations behind that, but suffice to say it just probably wasn’t going to happen.  But, wouldn’t you know it, little Nacho and her twin sister were right next to the pittie pups, looking all sad and lonely.  (OK, they were rolling around like little maniacs, having the time of their lives.  But they were probably lonely sometime.)  Two hours later we were driving home with Nachito in the car.  What happened?  I still don’t know.  Our time together honestly started off almost too good to be true.  We brought her home on a Saturday afternoon, so we had all day plus Sunday to get acquainted.  Things could not have gone better.  Not one single accident in the house all weekend.  Then on Monday, the rain came.  And it just kept coming.  The winter has been unusually dry so everyone was referring to the sudden monsoon season as the “March Miracle.”  We were calling it the “Kenagy Curse.”  I will grant you, I wouldn’t want to go squat in the rain to do my business either, but c’mon.  This little monster would look out the door, then scurry across the room and poop in the corner.  Over, and over, and over.  When the rain finally stopped two weeks later she miraculously turned things around, but not before I nearly went crazy.  I definitely remembered why I said Quinn was our last puppy ever.  Slow learners I guess, but then we knew that.

Other random notes?  Well, our friends the Aushermans came and visited us last weekend, and that was a blast.  We ate some good food, hit the wine-tasting circuit, and did some relaxing.  Good times.  We also celebrated the retirement of a friend by joining her and her family at a very nice dinner at The Kitchen.  I had never been to a place like that, and it was pretty awesome.  It was, I guess, the proverbial “Dinner and a show.”  The head chef was out in front of everybody cooking all the courses, and he’d explain everything he was doing, all the ingredients, etc.  From the seating until we left was nearly four hours, and it went quickly.  Very cool and very entertaining.  And, very pricey.  Hey, cool things cost I guess.  What I thought was funny was that they’re part of the Sellands group, which we go to often and enjoy their “two for $25” dinner.  Suffice to say, this place did not have that option on the menu.  Hey, whatever, it was an awesome dinner, even if we never get to do it again.  My requisite food pictures aren’t quite ready for posting yet, I’ll do my best to get them done tomorrow. (Edit:  Pictures are added!)

Yesterday we wrapped up the holiday weekend with a great brunch at a friend’s house.  It was one of those “extended brunches,” which means the weather was awesome and we wasted the entire day sitting on their patio.  Whew, I needed one of those days.  We indulged in some serious gluttony, which was probably rare for their family but pretty much an average Sunday for me.  Maybe slightly in excess of my usual Sunday, but I do tend to inhale some calories towards the end of the weekend.  It was a fine sunny day filled with ham, cheesy potatoes, many salads, pork verde, cakes…  The list goes on and on.  It also marked the first time we’d left Nacho out of her kennel alone.  This experiment did not go well.  Back to the kennel for the puppy.