This last weekend we finally launched a year-long project at work. It was a weird situation for me, I’m the tech lead on the original codebase that this project is based on, but I work full time for that client so couldn’t lead this new project. So I ended up in more of a consultant-type role I guess? Meaning I only had a couple of hours a week I could work on anything on this new project so spent most of my time answering questions when they came up. The new project has a lot of new logic and frameworks and such that I’m not particularly familiar with so over this last weekend during the launch I was just around to help where I could and answer questions if I could. Very weird for me. I’m used to being the one in charge of seeing a project through to the end and doing the work. But it’s done and I’m really looking forward to the long Labor Day weekend!

Speaking of year long projects, it’s been more than a year now since we started that monster puzzle! 5,000 pieces and I thought we started on it around Christmas of last year, but it was actually last May! I’m determined to have it done before the end of 2024 though:

I started really focusing on it this last month and here’s a month’s worth of work:

It may not look like a lot, but those muted stone colors and leaves are a real PITA. I’ve gotten to the point where I sorted everything into general color categories, grab a piece, and then just start trying to attach it anywhere there’s an opening. There have been several pieces that were a real surprise to me when they locked into place. Enough that I was really examining them from every angle to make sure it went really went there. It’s been wild, and I’ll never do one this big again. 😆

Nyx has a weird skin condition where she develops these little bumps from time to time. They’re usually about the size of a pimple, and it’s not uncommon for Schnauzers. Graphite used to get them as well. A couple of times they’ve grown into a bigger cyst. Of course during the launch weekend last weekend she had one that burst and I couldn’t get her into the vet on a Saturday. I just kept it clean and covered with Neosporin, but the problem was keeping her from licking it. It’s on her chest right by her left foreleg and she can just get to it. My first bright idea was to put her into an old Halloween costume I found in the closet:

Welp, the neckline was too big and she was able to get to it. So then I got an outfit that was tight around the neck, so she went at it through the leg hole! I’ve finally found an outfit that works:

Kind of hard to see, but I can keep the neck tight and the long sleeves keep her from getting at it through a leg hole. Although, I did wake up one morning and she had managed to pull her whole leg out of the sleeve. 🙄 Vet has me putting some antibiotic ointment on it and we’ll follow up with him on Tuesday to make sure everything is OK.

This last week I decided to give the take-and-bake sliders from Honey Baked Ham a try for D&D night. They currently have a “Gameday Box” on sale and it worked great for us:

Feeds eight and comes with 24 sliders, 3 lbs of sides (potato salad and/or a broccoli-bacon dish), and 8 cookies. I got 2 different kinds of sliders: pulled pork and the turkey. Both were quite good and the pulled pork was the favorite for the night. May try them again next week and get their ham sliders along with the pulled pork again. 😁

I saw Deadpool and Wolverine on opening day at 9 AM. I knew August was going to be crazy with that project launch, plus a couple of big projects with my regular client, so I took July 26th off and saw it 9 AM. I loved it, perfect movie right before all the insanity.

That’s about it for me, I’ve got a 4-day weekend for Labor Day and I am looking forward to it! I’ve got no plans other than to be lazy and catch up on some of my show backlogs.

Here’s a pic of Nyx sleeping on and off one of the pup beds:

Cracks me up 🥰

Take care everyone! Hugs!