Brickworks - A Brick Looks At Life: August 2022

Tuesday, August 30, 2022

Eensy Weensy Spider...

"O, That This Too-Solid Flesh Would Melt..."

He may get his wish... it's been that hot around here lately.

Plus:

Monday, August 29, 2022

Monday Stuff On the Way to Other Stuff: Peaches!

Work, work and more work... but the end to a big job is in sight. That's encouraging.

I also finished a job I'd been dreading. Of course, it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. Why did I put it off??

Still a lot of heat during the mornings -- but it's often cooling off by evening. The garden is responding to that, and our increased rain, by growing like crazy. I planted more greens seeds, and have been picking zucchini smaller, to encourage the plants to set more veggies.

We were headed to Palisade for peaches -- but that trip has to be postponed. Ah well... not that we have nothing to do around here. (snort) KBO*, I guess.

Yay, September's on the doorstep, waiting to come in!

(*'Keep Buggering On.' Winston Churchill's favorite phrase.)

Meanwhile:

Animals reunited with the people they love. It's funny, happy and heartbreaking. As Daughter #2 says simply, "Tear."

Ten reasons chickens really ARE dinosaurs. See, I was right!

Speaking of... Dinosaur tracks -- newly-found in a Texas river. (But not newly-made!)

If you're going to take advantage of the student loan forgiveness, you won't have to pay federal tax on your "gift." But that doesn't necessarily exclude state tax. Just a warning.

The story of the McGhee sextuplets -- 10 years old now.

When you're talking sweet to your pet...and your partner thinks you're talking to them. (Not that the Brick and I ever do this.)

James Holmes' therapist reveals he was getting ready to shoot people... only no one thought he would really do it.

Drew Barrymore is racist... just because she's outside playing in the rain??

A half-million spent by PACS groups -- to protect Shaun King from a libel suit. (Note to Gentle Readers: he founded or co-founded the groups. And they were supposed to be using the funds for other purposes.)

It's all Audrey Thomas' fault that Anna Sorokin is still in ICE custody. Or so we would assume, given the fake German 'heiress's comments -- and court action. Our Deutscher heroine is also trying to sell access to herself via NFTs, plus some personal possessions from jail, presumably for legal costs. Maybe she needs to found a PAC group, like Shaun King. Hey, get me one, too!

Dogs in Michigan have been getting sick -- and now vets and scientists know why.

Doing business with Raggedy Ann. A very funny classic from yours truly's archives.

A DIY dress -- out of a tablecloth! This really is clever...

Secret hacks to give you more for your money at Olive Garden. Plus...

Olive Garden Copycat Recipes. (I am a sucker for their Zuppa Toscana and breadsticks.)

More copycat restaurant recipes here, too.

Secret frugal habits of the rich --

Why many frugal people are also rich. And vice versa.

Seven secrets of frugal rich people.

Thirteen people who were right all along -- but no one listened to them.

A mousetrap exhibit in a museum... caught a mouse!

Hiding inside a bear! And nine more odd stories about bears.

Darn -- the Ministry of Truth Disinformation Board is permanently cancelled.

Lieutenant Uhura will have her ashes blasted into space... seems only right to honor this intelligent, articulate Star Trek veteran.

A new Barbie doll commemorates Madame Walker, an amazing haircare pioneer.

'We're finally broke -- hooray!' I'm not sure what I think about this, but here it is. (From the White Coat Investor)

A safe found in an abandoned hoarder house...filled with interesting stuff!

I'm a teacher -- and my dog ate my students' homework! Oops...

At least he had fun doing it...

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg admits that FB deliberately limited access to any articles about Hunter Biden's laptop -- but hey, it was ok. The FBI told them to do it. And they didn't completely squelch it, like Twitter did. (I am not making this up.) The FBI's response: 'Sure, we notify people of "potential threat information. " But we don't tell them to 'do' anything -- that's their choice.'

Right, uh-huh. No pressure there.

A 17-year-old becomes the youngest person to fly solo around the world.

"It's easy to spend money when it's not yours" -- Rand Paul gives an extremely interesting speech that includes a story about Davy Crocket -- and makes a good point.

An interview with the man in charge of investigating Princess Diana's death.

A cake -- with two ingredients.

Pretzel buns? Why not!

"The episodes that changed my mind" - about some enduring mysteries. (He may be right -- he may be wrong. But it's worth considering.)

Famous images -- that turned out to be fake.

Ten Really Weird aviation incidents. Including the plane that landed sideways! (Everyone was fine.)

Ten times that dead people won elections. Makes you wonder, huh...

Steve McQueen's favorite off-road bike goes for $186,500.

A Canadian dance troupe...who pretend to be sheep! No, I am not making this up.

Weird scam texts. Including an offer to show their dog's diahrrea. (eww)

A week's worth of food on foodstamps...except he 'cheats' a lot.

A former movie theater -- as a schoolbus depot?? And other uses, as well.

Joseph Boulogne -- the famous French musician you probably never heard of.

Found -- a medieval map dating to the 13th century.

Cruises, back to back -- for three months. About the same time as our world cruise -- only we spent the last month trying to get home, after Covid hit. All the same, we've done two cruises, one after the other -- and it was a great idea.

A young boy rushes up to the Pope -- what happens next.

Jackie O's wonderful wardrobe -- and secret shoe trick. Bet you didn't know this...I sure didn't.

Sixty intriguing abandoned places.

Things hidden behind walls -- shoes, mummified cats with mouse skeletons in their mouths...a classic from yours truly.

A shoe -- with a foot in it -- is spotted in a hot spring in Yellowstone. What happened?

A fascinating look at the history of the Antarctic Snow Cruiser.

An ecology photo competition -- some really weird winners here -- and some wonderful ones.

Is this professor Banksy, the rogue artist?

Another case of faking your credentials -- and paying for it.

Soda pop cupcakes -- soda and a cake mix!

A letter for the man who hates shopping. (A classic from yours truly. Actually, I feel this way sometimes.)

Dirt farmer fudge. Made with milk and butter...and peanut butter. (Or not)

Dead bodies from the Battle of Waterloo were ground up and used to make white sugar. Ewwwwww.

Getting ready for the inevitable colds and flu. (And Covid!) A classic from yours truly.

Have a good week.

Sunday, August 28, 2022

An Immodest Response to A Modest Proposal

...not mine. Jonathan Swift's.

If you're not familiar with this essay, Swift proposed a way to solve Britain's ongoing problem of starving Irish beggars: by having desperate Irish parents sell their children to British highborns as banquet items:

"A young healthy child well nursed, is, at a year old, a most delicious nourishing and wholesome food, whether stewed, roasted, baked, or boiled; and I make no doubt that it will equally serve in a fricassee, or a ragout."^[1]

I'd thought this was Swift's way to getting Brits to notice the misery of the potato crop failure in Ireland, later called the Great Famine (or the Great Hunger). But that was more than a century later. A Modest Proposal was written in 1729.

Lord Bathurst wrote a response worth considering:

I did immediately propose it to Lady Bathurst, as your advice, particularly for her last boy, which was born the plumpest, finest thing, that could be seen; but she fell in a passion, and bid me send you word, that she would not follow your direction, but that she would breed him up to be a parson, and he should live upon the fat of the land; or a lawyer, and then, instead of being eat himself, he should devour others. You know women in passion never mind what they say; but, as she is a very reasonable woman, I have almost brought her over now to your opinion; and having convinced her, that as matters stood, we could not possibly maintain all the nine, she does begin to think it reasonable the youngest should raise fortunes for the eldest: and upon that foot a man may perform family duty with more courage and zeal; for, if he should happen to get twins, the selling of one might provide for the other. Or if, by any accident, while his wife lies in with one child, he should get a second upon the body of another woman, he might dispose of the fattest of the two, and that would help to breed up the other. The more I think upon this scheme, the more reasonable it appears to me; and it ought by no means to be confined to Ireland; for, in all probability, we shall, in a very little time, be altogether as poor here as you are there. I believe, indeed, we shall carry it farther, and not confine our luxury only to the eating of children; for I happened to peep the other day into a large assembly [Parliament] not far from Westminster-hall, and I found them roasting a great fat fellow, [ Walpole again ] For my own part, I had not the least inclination to a slice of him; but, if I guessed right, four or five of the company had a devilish mind to be at him. Well, adieu, you begin now to wish I had ended, when I might have done it so conveniently.^[24]

Well, maybe not.

An Irish family in Galway during the Great Famine (all photos from Wikipedia)

Saturday, August 27, 2022

Traffic Puzzles

Yet Another Modest Proposal

Our current state of events just brings these ideas out in me. It's easy to get caught up in what's going on...then off on a tangent. Small-minded, I guess.

Yes, Marjorie Taylor Greene received a PPP loan that was forgiven, to the tune of slightly less than $184,000. (She and her husband own a construction company -- the money went to that.)

PPP loans, in case you're wondering, were issued to companies who applied because of hardship during Covid times. Paycheck Protection Plans were basically loans in name only, with the assumption that they could -- and would -- be forgiven by the SBA (Small Business Administration). And this happened -- a lot. As of July 4, 2022, more than 11 and a half million PPP loans were issued to 707 borrowers. Of those loans, more than 10.2 million have been forgiven in part or in full.

Bear in mind that we're not talking money yet -- we're talking the number of loans. Although the average loan, according to the Pandemic Oversight website, was a little more than $72,000, a number went to the max: TEN MILLION DOLLARS. Each. According to the website:

If borrowers use at least 60% of the loan to cover payroll within 8 or 24 weeks after receiving the loan, they can submit an application to have the loan forgiven. Our data shows that 97% of PPP loans were used for payrolls.

Back to Marjorie Taylor Greene.

Greene is someone President Biden is not terribly fond of. He pointed out with great clarity that she did not support his student loan forgiveness plan. And he's right -- she said the plan was unfair to people who'd never taken out a student loan. (Let alone the ones who did --like us -- and paid the money back.)

She's also one of 13 Republicans in Congress who received PPP loans that were forgiven.

(I have no idea whether this includes family members -- or not. Greg Pence, by the way, is Mike Pence's older brother.)

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Florida) with a $476,000 loan
Rep. Greg Pence (R-Indiana) for $79,441
Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Florida) for $2.8 million
Rep. Kevin Hern (R-Oklahoma) for $1.07 million
Rep. Roger Williams (R-Texas) for $1.43 million
Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-Kentucky) for $4.3 million
Rep. Ralph Norman (R-South Carolina) for $306,520
Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pennsylvania) for $974,100
Rep. Vicki Hartzler (R-Missouri) for $451,200
Rep. Markwayne Mullin (R-Oklahoma) for $988,700
Rep. Carol Miller (R-West Virginia) for $3.1 million

The White House didn't go easy on them, either: "The Biden administration also noted that Republican critics of the student loan plan, like representatives Vern Buchanan, Markwayen Mullin and Kevin Hern all each had over $1m in PPP loans."

This is awful -- and any redblooded American who DID pay their student loans has the right to protest. (The Republicans are pictured in this link, in case you want to look at their photos -- and spit at them.)

Shame on them. Make them pay it back!

That'll show them for hypocrisy, double-talk, and defying the President!

BUT --

In their zeal to point this out, the White House opened a second can of worms:

How many Democrats in Congress also took PPP loans they didn't have to pay back?

The White House doesn't want us to look inside this particular can. And the specifics are carefully hidden -- in spite of extended research, I could not find the exact number, except for a comment that there are "many of them." But here are a few:

*Sen. Ron Wyden's (D-Oregon) wife, Nancy Bass Wyden, received a $2.7 million loan. Forgiven.

*Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-Pennsylvania) got one. (No numbers listed)

*Rep. Susie Lee's (D-Nevada) husband is the CEO of a casino that got one. (Again, no $$ listed.)

*Even Paul Pelosi, Nancy's husband, has a financial stake in a restaurant company that had $1.7 million in PPP loans forgiven. (Nancy joins him, too.)

Update: add some more to the list, including:

Senator Jeanne Shaheen
Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell**
Rep. Devin Nunes

**Actually Mucarsel-Powell's loan was returned in full, all $15 million of it. Good for her - and them.

What will you bet that there are more?

Shame on them. Make them pay it back!

That'll show them for hypocrisy, double-talk, and supporting the President!

Maybe it also will help balance the drain all those forgiven student loans are going to take -- on our economy, and on our country's burgeoning debt.

Jonathan Swift would be proud.

Thursday, August 25, 2022

Frugal Hits & Misses: August Report

It's finally cooled down some.

We still get warm days, but it's nothing like the toaster-oven temperatures earlier in the month. Cooking, especially baking, was kept to a bare minimum -- any prolonged effort really heats up the fifth-wheel. That's nice three seasons out of the year, but not when you're watching the sweat trickle down.

The Covid the Brick picked up in July -- and 'generously' shared with me -- kept us busy into August. It wasn't any worse than a bad flu, but we have had a heck of a time picking back up, energy-wise. This makes bout #2. In case you're wondering, we never were vaccinated. In case you're also wondering, family and friends who were vaccinated have been sick just as much as we were -- and in some cases, moreso. And no, we didn't get it any worse than our vaccinated contacts. (So much for that theory, at least in our case.)

Speaking of frugal misses, we have greeted President Biden's forgiveness of student debt with less than joy. When the Brick graduated, we owed a little more than $10,000. So did we put it off, and try to ignore it? Nope, we paid it a little at a time, month after month, year after year. It took quite a while, and we had to give up some things (like extended vacations, new furniture, newer cars, ATVs, etc.) to do it.

It wasn't easy.

So how do you think I feel about others getting up to $20,000 automatically forgiven -- or payments suspended (yet again) until January? Do I believe that people who owe more will cheerfully pony up in the new year, and start paying again? Do I think this is fair? Do I believe people will now gratefully worship at the President's (and his party's) feet... and vote for them in November?

They don't know Americans very well, do they...

FRUGAL HITS

(Yes, these are a few days early)

*Kept track every month of expenses/income. I started doing this the past 10 months. Not only does it tell us exactly where our money is going -- it reminds me to plan ahead for needed repairs and yearly commitments (like car insurance).

*A surprising amount of rain, and a bit of hail -- sometimes a scary amount, all at once. (But we're fine. No flooding.) One tiny zucchini harvested from the perennial garden! I replanted more greens, hoping that the grasshoppers will spare this crop. (Hope springs eternal.) We did get some zucchini later, some greens, and our friend gave us zucchini 'clubs' that fried up nicely. These zucchini fries will get a tryout, too.

*Went out to a late lunch -- but the kitchen served us dinner-sized portions, and charged us for lunch prices. Two substantial 'doggie boxes' left -- enough for two more meals!

*Somehow managed NOT to use allergy medicine. It makes me groggy, but I usually must take it. This month, I powered through. Sneezed a LOT.

*Used my allowance to order some goodies from Goodwill Books -- including Star Trek, The Scarlet Pimpernel, Hogan's Heroes, Babette's Feast, a Gamera collection (what can I say) -- and Rusty Wilson's Bigfoot stories. Plus a bunch of Christmas presents. Free shipping - plus a 15% discount in celebrating Book Lover's Day. The prices were reasonable, to begin with, so that was just gravy.

A few $2 videos from the library's used book room added to the savings.

*Went to spend money a few times, on memberships and fancy stuff. Looked at them -- debated -- then closed the website.

*The TABOR check arrived! Colorado has a TABOR amendment that forces the legislature to only spend so much -- then return the extra to state taxpayers. They hate it, and keep trying to get rid of it. We love it. What's extra funny -- every time we get one, we also get a letter trumpeting how kind/wonderful/generous the legislature is, to be giving it to us. This year, it was Governor Polis taking credit. Yeah, whatever.

*Free Rockies game tickets -- balanced out by the $18 we had to pay for parking. OUCH. We brought lemonade, Coke and snacks to the game, so didn't pay their exalted prices for food. (The Rocks beat the Cardinals 16-5. Amazing.)

*Managed to preserve our card rewards -- cancelled one card, but somehow they decided it was our other (main) card I was talking about, instead. Fortunately, I had applied rewards from it before moving through the process. (The card was finally restored. Two weeks later.)

I don't often mention this, but we often average $20 or more monthly in cashback because we put everything possible on the card, and pay it off in full each month. And we don't pay an annual fee. That adds up to at least $240 yearly -- and often more.

*Got a new Sam's Club membership...basically free! Paid $45 -- but that money will be credited during our first shopping trip there, provided we go in the next few weeks. You can get this deal, too -- it's good through Sept. 12, 2022.

*Saved on gas - didn't go much of anywhere, due to Covid, except to help Daughter #1 and her partner at their new house. Helped them over several weekends with painting, repairs and packing.

*Found money! Two very clean quarters in the washer. A dime, quarter and penny in Daughter #1's office. (Gave those back.)

*The Brick emptied all the condiment packets from the silverware drawer and organized them into bags -- I didn't realize there were so many. For my part, I emptied the hot sauce and filled a third of a bottle. The ketchup topped off our Heinz bottle. Much tidier.

*Greens, beans and tomatoes from Daughter #1's garden. Plus two meals gratis. (Thanks, Dears!) We shared our zucchini "clubs"with a friend, Daughter #2 and Son #1. And I practically wallowed in fried zucchini, plus cubed some for the freezer. Thank you, Sharon, for the zukes!

*One more time on the Red Robin $10 special, the day it expired -- and used up a $5 coupon we had, as well. This earned us a free burger on my rewards card, which we used for a second trip.

*Sold some Red Robin shares -- took some profit. (But I'm losing on other shares, although I'm alllllmost at break-even point. Ah well.) Hey, go out to eat at Red Robin -- it will help the stock price go up!

*Grocery specials: Veggie and fruit bliss! We ate a lot more this month, thanks to careful shopping -- and lower prices. (Still higher than last year, but that's life.) Half-gallon milk 99 cents, gallon milk $1.99. (Safeway). Half-gallon milk 99 cents, clementines $3.89 for 3 pounds (not too bad for being this early -- three spoiled, and I got a replacement pkg free), a dozen or so roses for $6 each, clearance egg noodles for 59 and 99 cents, huge jars of cheez curls 'Chester's paws' $2.99, 99-cent/lb pork shoulder, blueberries $1.77 for a pound and a dozen doughnuts for a buck! (King Soopers) I'd not been to King Soopers for months, due to their higher prices, and was surprised at the number of emptied shelves. Continuing on: Australian corned beef, about $4.33 each, mandarin oranges for $1.49 for a 15 oz. can -- and an astounding $4.25 each for cans of lump white crabmeat, now nearly $13 at Wally. (Amazon Warehouse) Muskmelon 50 cents each and 4 ears of corn for a buck. (Wal-Mart) One of Sam's Club's best bargains: $4.99 rotisserie chicken. Free bread from the thrift shop was an extra bonus.

Just got the best bargain of the season from Amazon Warehouse: 13.76 oz boxes (instead of cans) of diced tomatoes from Italy -- at 33 cents each! Shipping was free; I bought some for the kids, too. Ooh, chili, tomato soup, spaghetti, pizza...that's less than I've paid in YEARS.

*Four antique vaseline glass cups from the thrift shop -- $1.70 each. These are also called 'uranium' glass; they fluoresce under blacklight!

*Kept air conditioning off as much as possible -- fans helped, as did a little more rain than we normally have this time of year.

*Donated a bag of books. Others went as birthday presents. (The Brick tradition: if you're giving them, you must read them first!) We gave other birthday presents I'd been collecting -- so no cost except for birthday suppers, cheesecake and birthday cakes.

*Designated Survivor: $20.99 and free shipping for this wonderful series. (Yes, I used my allowance.) I only wish it hadn't been cancelled before a few issues were resolved.

*Held the fort while our friends were in Phoenix. Took supper to our friend...who also ended up with Covid. (We're thinking/hoping we didn't give it to him.)

*Supper brought in while we were sick -- thank you, Laura and Margaret! Another friend picked up holds at the library for me.

*Went to Panera for coffee with friends -- saved a little to do that, instead of paying for lunch. (I didn't even get a sweet roll...and split the coffee with the Brick. Now that's being a true Hollander. He, being more Irish, got a breakfast sandwich. Boooo...)

*Did some appraisals. Finished up a whole lot more.

*Salvaged the contents of an abandoned fridge and freezer....in a trailer our friends loaned to someone. Some of the food had to be thrown away, but some was still good. (This is a bit ironic, considering we had to throw away a freezer, with contents solidly frozen in place, when we moved. Ah well.)

*Spread mulch in the front flower bed. Also scrubbed out the trailer, a task which I've been dreading and putting off -- but it was surprisingly easy. Daughter said to look for treasure, and I found some: three adult diapers and a large cookie sheet. Weird.

*Donated an old tv to an 'electronics roundup.' The Brick was big on this. After all, the tv was at least 11 years old! (And since it belonged to the fifth-wheel's previous owners... maybe somebody died on it.) Me, not so much...the Hollander blood was kicking in. We got rid of it, anyways.

*George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, plus some other bendy figures, given to Mexican kids, plus a Christian school class (Got Bigfoot figures for the holidays, as well. Really.)

* Still using up stored stuff -- including baking items. Our storage bins are gradually emptying as squirreled-away items from the now-defunct Friday/Saturday Store are used up. (I'm trying not to think about how much it's going to cost to replace them.)

*Eating down the freezer. We brought four packages of elk for grilling to friends' house for a potluck, and have been steadily going through the elk meat left..

*Two checks from class action suits came through -- one for Safeway ($17.40), one for Amazon ($150.40). I am still not sure why we were included -- something to do with how they billed on credit cards. Anyways, we were eligible.

*Brushed Ruby -- a lot. That dog can kick out more fur than you ever thought possible. Swept more than usual to keep the fur 'drifts' to a minimum inside the trailer.

Brushed Ruby -- not Daughter.

*Sorted through quilts - many went into storage, to lighten the trailer up. I'll pull some back out for a lecture at September's Higher Ground Fair in Laramie, WY. I've got some judging to do there, too. (More on this soon.)

*Didn't go out much for much of late July and early August -- Covid will do that to you. We did go to a movie ($5 discount day), just for a break, sang on Worship Team a few weeks at church, and hung out with friends.

*Finally earning interest money on our investment accounts. This took a while.

*Another batch of Colorado Curiosities ordered -- the books are selling well, we got a good discount and shipping was free. Plus I got another wire display spinner. The hard part, of course -- we have to pay for all this up-front.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

We're going to pass the discount on to you... order a copy of Colorado Curiosities ($20 plus $4 shipping) -- and we'll throw in the kids' version of my Ghosts & Legends book, a $12.95 value, for free! These make great Christmas presents, too.

Just write us directly at cindyjbrick@gmail.com, and we'll take care of it for you. Credit cards, Venmo, checks and cash accepted.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

FRUGAL MISSES

*An old emergency room bill resurfaced -- I didn't realize we hadn't paid this off. (It is now.)

*WAY too much for shipping on two quilts I bought: at my friend Kathy Kansier's auction in TN. Then when the box delivered, the person dumped it on the ground -- during a rainstorm. We were away at the time. I won't be doing that again anytime soon...

*Lost our beloved Karma. Yes, we got extra dog food, dishes, etc. But I would have given a million of them away if we could have our granddog back. She was a Very Good Dog. (But we gained a new granddog: Freya. More about her in coming weeks.)

Charley loved her, too.

*After sending in our taxes, and re-submitting them, just in case, the State of Colorado suddenly decided we owed extra money. So instead of a refund, we got to pay... oh boy. (We actually didn't owe what they said, but didn't dare NOT pay. So we'll protest it, and hopefully get it back -- minus the $5 fee they levied, of course.)

*And has our federal tax refund arrived? Nope. Yes, we filed on time.

*So I ordered a tube of foie gras for the holidays. I blame it on Babette's Feast, and an urge to make sarcophages (quails in little 'coffins,' out of puff pastry.) I may use Cornish hens, instead -- we don't have quail hanging around much. What's next -- a savarin? (Probably.)

*Paid a dollar of library fines. Renewed the trailer license. Ouch - but just a small wince, compared to:

*More items for trailer repair -- seals and such. But they're needed.

I couldn't resist. Thanks, Wikipedia.

*More than $1200 for truck repairs. Sigh...

*Let some produce go too long -- and got a runny muskmelon and bland sweet corn out of it. (We ate the sweet corn.) A package of rolls and some prepared rice developed a colorful pattern of mold, too. Who knows -- when I threw them out, I may have lost the cure for cancer.

*Went to all the trouble of adding Too Good to Go -- because I'd heard all sorts of good things about this "goodie bag leftovers" program for restaurants and bakeries. And the only way to find out more was to add the app. So I did.

And it doesn't work in this part of Colorado. Ergh.

July's report, from last month, is here. Last year's August report is here. And 2020's version, just for fun. So to speak. Now comes one of my favorite times of year: fall. The weather cools, the leaves change and life evens out a bit. Come on, September -- we're waiting!