As promised it’s time for the great backyard update. Here it is: the backyard is still a big pile of dirt. Wait, wait, let me start over. Once upon a time there was a backyard that would not grow grass. But the people who lived there refused to accept this and went to great expense to sod it. Fast forward two years and what do we find? Like I said earlier, a big pile of dirt. So we said pshaw! to grass and hello to an all-patio backyard! Step one: a sub-panel for the yard. Why a sub-panel you ask? Ah, that would be to allow Chuck to pursue his dream of the Best Christmas Light Display Ever. Last year he managed to blow the circuits out no less than three times and killed our DVR in the process. So we spent over $3000 to get the electrical work done to city code. After the electrical work was done (which involved the digging of a deep trench down the middle of the backyard and the complete destruction of Chuck’s lovely pond), we waited several days for the city permit guy, who when he finally came out delivered his edict: all was good except for something about Section 80 valves or caps. We then had to wait a day or so for the electrical guy to come back out, and then it turned out that they were going to have to special order this stuff so it will be another week before the electrical is all done, which means the big pile of dirt that is now opur backyard is with us for probably two more weeks. *sigh*

Good news on other fronts, this Tuesday is D-Day, when the fence guys will demolish the sorry excuse that currently calls itself our side fenceand replace it with a lovely new fence made, we hear, out of cedar. Cool! Of course, this will solve only half of our fence problem – we still need to find somebody who does wrought iron fencing so we can close off the side yard and give Mia back some grassy yard to poop and pee in (hey, it’s her world, we just live in it). Currently she is pooping at the base of the pile of dirt where there is about two square feet of grass left. We have a line on a place in West Los Angeles that does custom wrought iron; that should be expensive! Oh well, this is the money pit we’re talking about, and nothing is too good for the money pit!

More on the new fence after Tuesday, if all goes as planned. Lovely pics of the action are here.