The week started out with laundry, as it usually does after a trip, but there was some special feasting along the way.
I threw some stuff into the air fryer for brunch. All of these ingredients, some Penzeys Northwoods seasoning and 180ºF for 20 minutes, giving the basket a shake every 5 minutes or so. We had it with a cheese omelette.
We had a pop-up meeting with the fans of Madroña Vineyards. This meeting (it’s really a Zoom wine-drinking party) called for Chimichurri Sauce.
It could be served with a variety of things, but we chose to have it with salmon, which Charlie grilled on the BBQ after allowing it to marinate in the sauce, along with some fresh zucchini. I made some sourdough Dutch Oven bread to have with it. We chose Rucksack Cellars’ Chardonnay 2019 to accompany the meal. (Chardonnay is not my favorite variety, but Rucksack’s is exceptional and had the added benefit of being affiliated with Madroña.)
Our lives with Our Pad continue to be interesting. We’re fortunate to have a dump station within walking distance from our home (but walking there doesn’t really have much purpose, other than that there’s a drive-through or walk-through coffee stand adjacent). Charlie drove over to the dump station on Monday, took care of business and returned to park our little trailer in her berth next to the house. It took less time than it used to take to back the fifth wheel into that same space. Just to refresh your memory, this is what he is used to.
This is what he now has to deal with. He says it handles differently. It’s more responsive, so he has to make smaller adjustments to accomplish the same thing. It will get easier as he becomes used to it. They look nice together, don't they?
I forgot to mention in last week’s blog post, that the fridge in this trailer has an ice maker.
The TV reception in the trailer is better than in the house, for some reason, even though it's parked right outside.
Snowball was getting rather dirty, after having had frequent trips out to the backyard, as well as being dragged on the floor all over the house. I decided to take a chance and wash him in the washing machine. I zipped him up in a zippered pillowcase and put him in with the trailer rug on “delicate” and using cold water with my normal detergent. He looked a little bedraggled when he came out or the washer (I didn’t use the dryer), but by the time he was dry, he looked pretty much back to normal, only clean.
Sandy loves Snowball and carries him to bed each night. He has a little bell in his tail that jingles when he’s moved (Snowball, not Sandy).
Speaking of Sandy, he turned 7 months on Friday. When I weighed him, as I usually do on Fridays, he was 18.2 lbs., so only about 1/4 lb. weight gain since the previous weighing. We took him to the dog park to celebrate.
Both dogs enjoy associating with other dogs, and Dusty especially loves chasing the ball.
We can only do this, of course, when the wind carries the smoke from forest wildfires away from Bend. Some days are better than others, and Friday, the smoke was barely detectable.
(That's Asta in the photo, not Dusty. He's a bit smaller than Sandy and is Dusty's double except for his size, and how his tail curls over his back and has more black in it.) Here's Dusty having a discussion about the ball with Asta (mostly hidden by the brown dog) and the other dog. Sandy is running toward the camera.
Sandy has been having what can best be described as a case of the zoomies at bedtime each night. I have a cardboard box in the bedroom, and if I give it a slap, he quiets down and will go to sleep. We’ve taken that as a sign that he needs more exercise, so we’re trying to walk more. I’ve been having trouble with one toe, which has made it difficult to walk very far. I’ve experimented with various pairs of shoes until I can get to the orthotist on the 22nd. For now, it seems like my Croc knock-off shoes are working with the orthotics for my dress shoes in them, so we’ve resumed our walks along the Larkspur trail. There’s a person who puts out painted rocks, and now she has some signs on her fence. There's often something interesting to see.
My editing/proofreading team finished with corrections/modifications to my latest book. The proof copy is now in production. Two things made it easier to do the layout and cover this year. Last year, the publisher started to make a “templating service” available, so I didn’t need to mess with InDesign, the required software for the cover, which was a major expense and headache to use. Now they will take my cover design and transform it into the required format for publishing. It’s more than the software rental, but it saves me many hours of time and aggravation. This year, I was able to convince Microsoft to let me own MSWord alone permanently (without the suite) for the flat rate they give students and teachers. That means I can work on my books year-round instead of having a marathon session every summer. What will the new book be, you ask?
You will find out soon!
What's in The Doll's Storybook: Mariah made her first appearance in this story from #TheDollsStorybook in September, 2018. In "Being Little," she learns that, although she is very small, there are people who can help her with things that are difficult for her because of her size.
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