June 3, 2007

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  Saturday Stuff Today I: - went to a grill party at our friends’/pastor’s house. Fun! Lots of friends. Food I didn’t HAVE TO COOK. WOOT. And the weather was great. The kids swam, we talked…and because they were swimming they didn’t keep interupting or whining about being bored or what-have-you. How often does THAT happen? :0D (don’t get me wrong, I love my daughter, her best friend and my friends’ kids, but some of the kids are definitely high maintenance and annoying when they are constantly being attended to) - cleaned out the next to last of the flower beds that needed attention. In the process I found a desiccated frog. Hrm. So…like…is that a bonus and how many points do I get for it? Or do I save it for a homeschool science experiment? Damn. I buried it in mulch. I could have kept it for that! -discovered something died in my attic. Its a walk up attic. A large attic. And now a smelly attic. I have no idea WHAT the heck died up there, but, it WASN’T the snake. Well, it better not have come back and died up there *grumble*But damn…there is a hellish amount of stuff up there, so how am I going to figure out what is dead, stinky and desiccating in my attic that is now reaching the 100s in the June temps? Help. Maybe it will just dry out and erm…stop stinkin. -weeded between the house and garage: maaaann was that a mess! 20-30, 3 foot tall thistles and an untold number of HUGE dandelions, creeping Charlie and an oddment of other weeds… and some “thing” that just won’t DIE. I have to get out the Weed-Be-Gone and spray it while screaming DIE SUCKA DIIIIEEE MUAHAHAHAHAH. Oh and add a glorious rendition of the “die you bastard” dance. -weeded the next to last of the sad, so so very sad flower beds that needed a huge amount of TLC. Only one more to go…and then the VEGGIE BED. We are supposed to have rain tomorrow and Monday, which we NEED…but I have GOT to get this bed under control! I have tomatoes, cukes, eggplant and squash to get in the ground. And I want to plant beets, beans and lettuce. Yeah…I am WAY behind. *sigh* I am still going to see what I can get if I plant this week. I am going to weed even if it is raining tomorrow and Monday. Hell, it might be easier to get the stupid thistle out. Not to mention pulling out the fencing and posts *chicken wire and green stakes* that have been over taken with honeysuckle. Anyone out there have a love for weeding that needs to be filled? I am more than willing to share! D -cut a bunch of low hanging branches off of our Flame Maple. The tree was full to the point of many the branches almost touching the ground, which is quite hazardous when coming through on a riding mower. Its bad enough being swept off a horse by a tree limb, but I refuse to fly off my tractor and onto my ass due to the low hanging Maple branches. Yeah …go on…laugh while you picture it. I have two more trees that have low hanging branches that are so low that they WILL sweep you off and throw you into the next neighborhood. I either need to trim them or I can start offering them as a kiddie ride. *gigglesnort*Ok Ok…I will get out the reciprocating saw instead. -made pasta salad and chocolate fudge to take to the grill party. Whole grain pasta with a balsamic vinegar & olive oil dressing, garlic, basil, thyme, fresh ground pepper and sea salt; chickpeas, roasted red pepper, mozzarella, California mix veggies, artichoke hearts, and olives. The fudge was made with sweetened condensed milk and chocolate chips, and then I swirled melted butterscotch chips in. A bit soft but mannnn was it tasty. Both items were off the cuff as I had NO idea what to make, really need to go to the grocer and had no desire to do so. I started looking at ingedients and the above is what I came up with. Good news: everyone loved it. Bad news: I made TOO MUCH of both. I came home with a ton of fudge *everyone brought a LOT of food* and a whole freakin lot of the pasta salad. Well, the salad I sent a bunch home with Kipper and her beau. He cooks like I do *i.e. all sorts of fun ingredients and spices* so he liked the salad. He got playing BBQ master for me last Sunday when we had everyone over. Good thing he likes to cook! lol -came home to three fuzzie buddies that missed us. To give you a little taste of what was waiting when we came home:     This is my Shia. Shia means “gift or present” in Hebrew, and God gifted her to me a year before I lost my first Keeshond, Kylea, at the age of 14 1/2 to pancreas failure. Sweet and happy, Shia is a 38 pound, cuddly, loving lap dog. I have never seen a dog as sweet and loving as she is.               This is Perry. Perry means “wanderer or stranger from a foreign land” in Gaelic. He was a rescue from Ohio that I drove 7 hours to pick up from someone who pulled him for me from a high-kill shelter. Listed as an unneutered mix, he was neither a mix, nor unneutered, but he DID smell like a barn and had wounds from shotgun pellets in 4 different places. He smiles and rocks his fluffy tail constantly, spins and is a wonderful goofy boy. I can’t imagine that this gorgeous boy would have been gassed if a kind stranger in Ohio hadn’t agreed to pull him from the shelter for me, and drive two HOURS to meet me.       This is Reilly…the baby of the family. We have only had him about a month and in that time he has driven the other dogs nuts, and become fast friends with them. A sweet, mouthy and smart as a whip 11 month old, I see a lot of my first Keeshond, Kylea, in him. Kylea could talk…said about 7 different words, including water, mama, Kathie and out. No I am NOT joking. She talked. I have friends that heard her on more than one occasion. Reilly means “courageous or valiant” in Gaelic. Yep…the name fits him! So this is the crew that meets me when I come home. life would NOT be the same without these smart, funny and beautiful animals that own a large part of my heart. All three are full blood Keeshonden, rescued from various pounds at various ages. So if you are looking for a pet, consider contacting breed rescue and looking for the breed you want and save the life of future friend! Tomorrow I am going to the Darlington Herb Festival in historic Darlington on the banks of the Susquehanna River. Here’s hoping the thunder storms hold off so I can get enough herbs to fill up my bed. I need rosemary,tarragon, lemon thyme, chamomile, sage, arnica, calendula, and whatever else catches my eye. Both culinary and medicinal herbs interest me, so I am going with a goal in mind: restock my herb bed that died out. I MISS my fresh herbs. So I pray the storms hold off til after 4! Til later… ~Kathie

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