Sunday Morning Open Thread

by 5:58 am. It has 205 Comments.

Nobody sent me any garden photos, probably because everybody’s out keeping those gardens in picture-perfect shape. And I should most definitely spend this afternoon (several many afternoons, TBH) doing just that…

Stay positive, y’all!





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Thursday Afternoon Open Thread

by 3:59 pm. It has 80 Comments.

So, my daughter went to a Walmart earlier today (she wasn’t raised that way, but what can you do — it’s cheap), and there were cop cars all over the place. A man had been arrested for phoning in a mass shooting threat at that same Walmart right after the shootings in Texas and Ohio, so the kid wondered if another lunatic had phoned in a threat or worse. But nope, it turns out someone just stole a golf cart from a nearby trailer park and drove it into the store.

Welcome to Florida.

Here’s Badger sitting at the kitchen counter on a bar stool like a regular person.

Boston terrier sitting at a counter.

He’s a good boy at the counter — never attempts to put his paws on the surface or lick anything — so it’s okay with me if he sits there. Poor Daisy is too old and fat to access bar seating. It doesn’t seem to occur to her, really. As long as treats are divided fairly (and they always are), she seems happy to lie on a rug instead.





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Respite Open Thread: A Little Bixby and Scout

by 1:17 pm. It has 81 Comments.

great dane lying in the grass

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:

great dane splashing in a baby pool

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).

great dane in a baby pool

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.

al pastor on crispy tortilla

I made instant pot Al Pastor (recipe here) and Sour Dough Bread (recipe here) with starter a friend gave me.

sour dough breads

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.

 





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Saturday Morning Open Thread: Enjoy Summer While You Can!

by 6:01 am. It has 189 Comments.

(h/t commentor Mary G)
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(Actually, that’s Judge Sonia Sotomayor, Yankees fan… and Aaron Judge, Yankees player. I had to look him up, to be sure.)

******
Okay, okay, political junkies…





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Respite Open Thread: A Bit of Good News

by 6:07 pm. It has 48 Comments.

Aleta sent along some photos of her pup, doing well after his surgery:

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Our pup is doing well after so many juicers sent good vibes to help him and me pull through his surgery. The soul dog takes time to smell the marigolds now.

Another day he came home with a petunia on his ear.

Huckle Berry Finn from Minnesota*  adores the old pup and finds everything about him enchanting.  At the same time Finn works tirelessly to surpass all of us in the hierarchy, one that is vivid and compelling in his mind but the rest of us are oblivious to.  Especially the dog, who manages to remain in place without even trying. 

*Extra names from a 7 yr old neighbor.  “He just looks like a Huckle.”

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I hope that helps end the week on a good note and start the weekend off right.

Respite open thread





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