Look at this happy girl. She is ALWAYS happy, even when I’m scolding her. And let me tell you, it’s difficult to discipline that face. But, now that Bixby is his old self, we’ve gotten serious again about training. Nothing worse than a 100+ lb dog who is out of control. Happy, bouncy, jumpy is great, except when it’s aimed at guests, strangers and other animals.
Speaking of the Beast:
He’s enjoying the pool the ducks shunned. I’ve been filling it because Scout has been climbing in the duck pools, making them very unhappy. She and Bixby both enjoy cooling off in the larger pool. I just have to laugh because I have no children, yet there are 4 baby pools of varying sizes in my backyard (one is the old damaged duck pool that I turned into a “salad garden” for them).
You can kind of see in the background, my vegetable garden is doing well. Picked my first tomatoes and peppers this week. Plums are almost ripe and I’m not sure yet how the grapes are going to do. I will not be canning anything. If I can’t prep it and freeze it, I give it away. Unlike our fearless blog leader, I do not enjoy canning.
I’ve been cooking though.
I made instant pot Al Pastor (recipe here) and Sour Dough Bread (recipe here) with starter a friend gave me.
And finally, just a snap of the snow on our hike last week:
I’m heading out to do some weeding and probably relax in the backyard before it gets too hot. Penelope enjoys that, if I’m reading in the lounge chair, she comes over for scritches. She’s been very, very needy the last few days and wants lots of attention. Me or Bixby, it doesn’t matter. This morning she had an entire conversation with me, following me around while I took care of food and water, chattering away at me. This is all new to me and I am completely charmed.
Respite open thread.
TaMara (HFG)
Hey, just a heads-up, if you guys know and like They Might Be Giants, they are selling a beautiful T-shirt to raise money for RAICES.
Quinerly
?
mrmoshpotato
Doggos and dinner ideas. :)
JoeyJoeJoe
I saw that Raven mentioned in a different thread that he was going to Pigeon Forge. A suggestion: zorbing
https://outdoorgravitypark.com/
It was a lot of fun, and according to them, it’s the only place in the United States that has this.
mrmoshpotato
?The bees go fly into the hive. Hoorah! Hoorah!?
Amir Khalid
It’s good to know that Bixby is completely recovered. It’s just amazing, the difference between the mostly grown-up Scout and her baby pictures. But no Penelope Pearl pictures? I haz a sad.
JoyceH
Just FYI, if you haven’t yet purchased my latest novel, Mary Bennet and the Bingley Codex, it’s on sale now for 99 cents. Today is the last day of the sale, so get it now!
Mary Bennet and the Bingley Codex
And book 2, Mary Bennet and the Wickham Artifact, will be published in the next few days.
John Cole
I see a duck blogging tag yet there are no pictures of Pearl.
MomSense
@John Cole:
We demand Pearl pics!!!
Martin
@TaMara (HFG): Ooh, done! Grew up with TMBG when they were still playing clubs in NY.
raven
@JoeyJoeJoe: I’m damn near 70, do I need this? Is it any worse than a 12 hour fishing trip to the oil rigs where the boat goes 70mph?
RAVEN
@John Cole: Maybe one of them big dogs. . . never mind.
mrmoshpotato
@MomSense: “Pitchforks came out today at Balloon-Juice demanding……duck? pictures?”
MomSense
@mrmoshpotato:
Ha! We’re obsessed with Pearl.
mrmoshpotato
@MomSense: I thought it was Penelope? ?
Sab
Put his harness on and took my dad’s old cat out in the yard for the first time in over a year. He really enjoyed himself when he wasn’t stepping on his leash with his back foot. He’s pretty much blind, but his ears work and he can smell. He took one of his hunting/pretend naps. I think he was sure he was going to get a chipmunk. No such luck.
Elizabelle
@mrmoshpotato:
Penelope is her stage name.
Will always be Pearl[/Earl] to me. Reminds one of her origin story.
mrmoshpotato
@Elizabelle:
LOL Well played. Well. Played.
TaMara (HFG)
@John Cole: I described her antics in vivid detail. I’m sorry if before morning coffee I am unable to both feed, water. collect eggs AND photograph the feathered ones.
@Elizabelle: I can live with that, LOL
SiubhanDuinne
@JoyceH:
Thanks for the heads-up. Just downloaded. Was hoping there would be a preorder option for MB and the Wickham Artifact, but couldn’t find one, so do please let us know when it’s actually available.
rikyrah
@Quinerly:
Afternoon to Poco and the tribe ???
raven
Multiple fatalities in El Paso.
rikyrah
Scout is beautiful ?
Bixby is handsome?
But, where are the ducks??
Where is my Pearl??
zhena gogolia
@raven:
I guess I don’t have to ask caused by what.
RAVEN
@zhena gogolia: Twarnt mormons. . .
Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism
Unconfirmed reports of 3 in custody in El Paso, scene still active.
RAVEN
@Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism: The multiple shooter thing is almost always wrong but who knows. . . ?
JoyceH
@SiubhanDuinne:
I’m doing this all kinda half-assed, I’m not organized enough for pre-order. My launch schedule is – final proof-editing, formatting, fretful dithering, and then uploading. I keep saying I’m going to get all professional and organized… one of these days.
JAFD
Seeking counsel from our Kitchen Goddess, and the rest of yon jackals,
Said a year ago Xmas that the Instant Pot might be worth getting when they sold for fifty bucks, and finally they did, and I got one as birthday present for myself.
So, gentlefolk, if you’d like to pass on tips and advice, recipes, cookbook or website recommendations, etc etc, please do so. Thanks very much!
Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism
@RAVEN: Locals have pointed out that it might just be the police arresting everyone with a gun as they work the scene.
It’s sounding pretty sure that there are multiple locations.
SiubhanDuinne
@JoyceH:
I don’t care how organised you are. Devote your time to writing novels. AFAIK I’ve read all your Regencies (I love the way they interconnect yet stand alone), and the two winery mysteries. Look forward to the Mary Bennet books.
raven
@JAFD: I use mine every-other day for steel cut oats, 12 minutes. I also use it for beans and blackeyed peas made with smoked turkey necks, take about an hour.
raven
@Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism: One shooter just popped up.
BC in Illinois
“What do we want?”
“DUCK PICS!”
“When do we want them?”
OzarkHillbilly
@Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism: Shit, they’re arresting everyone in Texas?
Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism
@raven: When I turned on the TV, they were interviewing a veteran who was reporting hearing gunshots inside the mall. The mall isn’t far from the Wal-Mart, so it could easily have been one person on the move.
Police just said 18 killed.
MomSense
@BC in Illinois:
Now!
Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism
@OzarkHillbilly: Only if they’re in the mall in El Paso.
State rep points out that this is tax-free weekend, so shopping is more crowded than usual.
MomSense
@Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism:
Oh no.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@SiubhanDuinne: I read Mary Bennett and the Bingley Codex. Anybody who loves Austen would have a great time with it.
Raven
@Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism: No one really knows shit yet.
OzarkHillbilly
@Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism:
So only all the good guys with guns in Texas rushing in where angels fear to tread. Got it.
germy
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/active-shooter-near-el-paso-mall-police-responding-n1039001
OzarkHillbilly
@Raven: The El Paso times has it as somewhere between 18 and 30 victims. That narrows it down.
germy
@OzarkHillbilly: The garlic festival shooter… it turns out he killed himself.
All the earlier reports had the cops killing him.
RAVEN
@OzarkHillbilly: Fucking idiots on MSNBC can’t stop talking about “this is your home town. . .”
raven
@germy: I also read he was hit and then did himself.
Martin
Why do I have a feeling this will be another white supremacist?
germy
germy
@Martin: If he was taken alive then I’ll know he’s a white supremacist.
zhena gogolia
@Martin:
The location seems not random.
germy
OzarkHillbilly
@germy: A blaze of glory!
Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism
@Raven: Not until they finish clearing the mall.
What I have so far is one active military recounting hearing shots inside the mall and helping evacuate, early reports from the mayor’s office that I suspect included Good Guys With Guns that the police took into custody and later released, and current police statements.
dmbeaster
@germy: The police shot at him and I believe hit him before he then shot himself. It is understandable that the police perceived that they had killed him. Coroner figured out the precise cause of death, which is his job.
OzarkHillbilly
@Martin: Naw, disgruntled postal employee.
germy
What a country.
Even Respite Open Threads are full of bloodshed and mayhem
JoeyJoeJoe
@raven: Actually, probably not, unless you like getting thrown around while you’re in a giant ball. There’s a couple of good, short but steep hikes in the Smokies, including the peak , Clingmans Dome, a 30 minutes drive outside of Gatlinburg, that might be a better idea
J R in WV
@JoyceH:
I bought the first volume not long after you first mentioned it, and really enjoyed it. I was a little surprised how much I enjoyed it, as Regency England is not my favorite culture, as the class boundaries and number of rich despicable high status misogynists are hard for me to accept even today….
But you did a great job with your positive characters and a fun plot…
Will definitely be buying the next volume of the series, keep up the good work! And congrats on your new book nearing publishing.
RAVEN
@JoeyJoeJoe: I live in Athens so I’ve done a good bit of slogging up there.
Steeplejack (phone)
@Elizabelle, @TaMara (HFG):
Yay! Blog comity.
SiubhanDuinne
@BC in Illinois:
J R in WV
NO PICS? Really, Pearl seems like a wonderful character suitable for a series of many, many novels about the Duck and the Great Danes who can do what needs to be done. We are all charmed!
I can barely imagine her conversation with you as you work around in her space. “Quack, quack, murmur, murmur.”
OzarkHillbilly
A Teen Scientist Figured out How to Suck Microplastics from the Ocean. There May Be Hope for Humanity.
OzarkHillbilly
Why the US has so many tornadoes
Tornado Alley experiences more tornadoes than anywhere else in the world — why?
Because God hates us?
MomSense
@germy:
Police have a 21 year old white male in custody.
Raven
Oh the photos of the dude are disturbing because he wasn’t dressed for shopping. Jesus.
Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism
@Raven: He’s wearing ear protection?
germy
@MomSense: You can commit mass murder and be taken alive by police. But if you’re not white and reach for your driver’s license….
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_of_Philando_Castile
germy
@Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism: The Sandy Hook shooter wore earplugs, also.
TaMara (HFG)
@JAFD: I have a bunch of recipes on my blog adapted to the Instant pot, plus some links to other recipes.
Steve in the ATL
@OzarkHillbilly: because god hates red states
@MomSense: I’m shocked SHOCKED I say
mrmoshpotato
@Raven:
Safe to assume a TV idiot said that?
J R in WV
@Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism:
Don’t want to damage your hearing while committing a mass murder, right?
Also: Trained at the range to always wear hearing protection!
Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism
Well, that was a bizarre interview.
I’m not sure what’s more jawdropping, that the prankster got through or that the anchor talking to him can’t believe someone would do that at a time like this.
Elizabelle
Nothing like a mass shooting to break into a quiet Saturday afternoon. With/without ducks.
New thread.
MoxieM
You have a lovely household, and it is a respite from the crazy. Even with juvenile giant breed dogs (wheee see what I can do with my tail, mom??), it is a sanctuary. Thank you so much for sharing. (But yeah, we want ducks!)
JoyceH
@J R in WV: I’ll keep writing the Mary books as long as they sell, but I confess to starting to feel a hankering for the Edwardian era. Changing times but still awesome clothes. Downton Abbey! Maybe I can do a couple series at the same time.
Redshift
@OzarkHillbilly: Wow! That’s very impressive.
Travels with Charley
@JoyceH: I love your books! Thank you for the recommendations!
Steeplejack (phone)
@JoyceH:
I just bought Mary Bennet and the Bingley Codex and A Feather to Fly With to support the cause.