Update

So, since we returned from vacation:

My stepson has arrived for a month of summer visitation. I've laid in a supply of hot dogs and juice. He's grown several inches since the last time I saw him (and, thankfully, all the extra weight he was carrying has now translated into height), gotten a deep California summer tan, and--most exciting of all--has actually deigned to try new foodstuffs. In my presence.

Not a lot, mind you. But he tried homemade bread, cinnamon bread, zucchini cake (I was shocked, normally he wouldn't touch anything with visible green flecks) and chunky tomato sauce. He's also eating salad and carrot sticks. It's so great to watch him eating, and actually enjoying eating. It's a long cry from the days when he would literally go 24 hours without eating.

Speaking of Stepson, we opened a 529 for him. I feel so grown-up and responsible and stuff.

My sister-in-law and her family visited. It was great to see them again, and great to see my stepson playing with his cousins. The house was loud, and messy, for several days, but who cares. We ate, we drank, we wore deep grooves in the lawn with a Slip-n-Slide. Good times.

Speaking of family, my parents are coming to visit this weekend. They'll be able to spend some quality time with Stepson while he's here.

I'm getting some more pre-cancerous bits cut out of me. Wear sunscreen, people.
I've declared war on all rodents. I discovered, just as the tomato harvest was coming in, that squirrels and chipmunks were devastating the harvest. They were stealing and eating as many green tomatoes as they could carry. So far I estimate I've lost at least 25 big beefsteak tomatoes and who knows how many cherry tomatoes, and that's just counting the tomato carcasses I could find. I'll post a longer, more detailed garden update, but here are the salient points:

1. Squirrels and chipmunks will eat all your tomatoes.
2. Repellents, mothballs, cayenne sprays, and individually Ziploc-ing all the tomatoes will not stop the slaughter.
3. The only thing that works is to kill them.
4. Rat traps and Death Buckets work best for this.
5. Death Buckets = fill a 5-gallon bucket about halfway with water. Float about an inch of black sunflower seeds on top. (They float.) Place a board running up the side of the bucket to the top. The chipmunks (and mice, apparently) will run up the plank, see the sunflower seeds, think it's a solid base, and jump in. Then they drown.
6. So far I've nabbed 10 chipmunks, 2 squirrels, and 4 mice. The tomato carnage has dropped precipitously (though it still continues).
7. Don't worry, I brought all the rat traps inside when children arrived. I've been relying solely on the Death Buckets since then.

My cat killed a snake. My blind cat. Killed a garter snake. He was so proud of himself.