Food, Festivities and Frustrations

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.

We've done this before with Chimichurri Sauce, but it was a different recipe. I followed this recipe exactly except that we could only find Kalamata olives.

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.

Sunday was really nice and smoke-free for the Meet-up group's dog socialization meeting at Bob Wenger Memorial Off-leash Area at Pine Nursery, which is a huge area about four miles away, on the north part of town. Both dogs had a great time meeting other dogs, including miniature silver poodle Asta, whom we had met before.

(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!

I have a lot of difficulty responding to comments to my blog posts because of technical issues beyond my control (my lack of understanding of how things work). Message me on Facebook, Ravelry or Spoutible if you need information.

If you have a few minutes and are willing, please go to Amazon and B&N and search for "Classic Tales Retold: Stories from The Doll's Storybook by Peggy Stuart" in Children's. Every click on the page for the book makes it more likely they will keep a good supply in their warehouse and stores. If you are outside the US, you may have a separate website for these retailers. If you have a copy of any of our books, including Emil and Mariah, please leave an honest review on the websites, especially if you bought from them.

Where's my blog: If you want to follow my blog, go here and sign up to follow.

What's on my needles: Still the green Kultainen käki cardigan, a few more rows done, in spite of being busy with laundry, puppy and the book.

The EmPower People Kerchief is still hibernating. I'll probably finish it when I get done with the Kultainen käki.

What's on my loom: I didn't make much progress on the placemats. Again.

What's on my sewing machine: Still quilts. No progress this week.

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.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Still listening to Die Unendliche Geschichte by Michael Ende. Just when you think the story is over, it continues on. It's a long book, but I'm enjoying it.

What's in my wine glass: Atico Sauvignon Blanc 2020. Not bad!

What's my tip of the week: Did you know you don't necessarily have to preheat your air fryer? In fact, for hash browns and fries, it's often better to start with a cold appliance.

Where are my books: The stories in each book first appeared in the blog and they are reproduced with a few changes. 

Classic Tales Retold: Stories from The Doll's Storybook is available from BookBabyBookshop and other booksellers worldwide. The stories are Little Green Greatcoat, The Boy Doll Who Cried Wolf and Lost in the Woods.

Emil: Stories from The Doll's Storybook and Mariah: Stories from The Doll's Storybook are also still available from booksellers. The link for Book Baby is here. The three stories in Emil are Best Buds, Getting What You Want, and The Boys Cook Dinner.

The three stories in Mariah are Being Little, Besties, and Distraction.

If you don't get free shipping from Amazon or B&N, buy from the BookBabyBookshop, because 50% of the price goes to St. Jude. Other booksellers pay much less. 

Note: This blog post was produced on the iPad and the MacBook, using the iPhone for some photos and some photo processing. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for, cleaned or broken. No animals or dolls were harmed during the production of this blog post.

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Going Nowhere Fast

Well, we're still in town. The formerly ours 5th wheel still hasn't been picked up.

The part the buyer needed for his pickup truck has come in, but it still needs to be installed. He will try to get here this week to take our special 5th wheel hitch off to be installed in his truck, and then he will come get the trailer. We tried on Monday to get an appointment to pick up the new trailer on Tuesday, but they were unable to schedule it on such short notice. They need a fairly large block of time to go through and test everything and then show us how everything works. They were willing to do it this week, but we have doctor's appointments, dog grooming and Sandy's neutering planned, so we now have it scheduled for July 31st. For the first night we have a reservation for Armitage Park just outside Eugene with full hookups to check everything out. It's a Lane County Park and looks to be fairly rural. When I checked a couple of weeks ago, I thought they were booked through August, but we were able to get a pull-through site for July 31st. After that, we plan to go to Florence, where Charlie's brother, Jim, still has a large account balance at the place where we stayed before on the Siuslaw River, at the Port of Siuslaw Campground. It's very scenic and we can walk into old town and lots of restaurants.

Jim had paid in advance to stay there while he was looking for a place to buy in Florence, but then he found something right away. They give raincheck instead of refunds, so he offered it to us whenever we want it. We plan to stay there for the rest of the week. If there are any problems with the new trailer, we can stop in Eugene on the way back.

Monday we realized that Sandy had what appeared to be a rock or a small piece of wood stuck in some sap/pitch between the pads of his foot.

On the advice of the vet, we tried to remove it using olive oil to dissolve the pitch. It helped us see the rock better (it turned out to be a rock), but it was going to need clipping of the hair between the toes to get it out, so we made a trip to the vet. They were able to fit us in toward the end of the day. Charlie identified the tiny rock as a feldspar, probably plagioclase (because it wasn't basalt, and the feldspar that's common here is plagioclase). It's a little over 1/4" across in the longer dimension.

We had an appointment for this coming week for Sandy's canine influenza booster, which we had scheduled when we thought we would be gone this whole week, so we got that done while we were there. We also had the bloodwork done for Sandy's neutering, which is now scheduled for Wednesday. It could be a rather involved surgery, as he has undescended testicles. One may be more accessible than the other. 

Wednesday we decided to drive to Suttle Lake, a few miles past Sisters, to hike the trail around the lake. Our back deck is being refinished, so the dogs can't go out to the backyard. My toe was a lot better, and the hike went well for the most part. Sandy had his first experience with off-leash hiking. He did very well, turning and checking on us every few minutes, which earned him a reward. Sandy and Dusty took turns being in the lead.

Both dogs got into the water, and when we threw a couple of sticks, they both really got into it. I think this looks like synchronized dog paddle. It's hard to see, but they each have a stick.

Sandy's favorite spot to hang out at home is on the floor of the dining room, in the corner next to where I sit when I use the computer. We had a square seat cushion that was delivered to us by mistake when IKEA brought my Billy Cabinets. IKEA told us to keep it, and they would send a new one to the people who ordered it. It has been under the bed in the guest room ever since, more than four years. I decided it would make a good dog bed, although we have a bigger one in the family room. I thought about making a cover, because I couldn't find a ready-made one the right size and shape, but then I found an Etsy shop, KoveredUp. They make custom crate covers and dog bed covers, among other things. I got the instructions for how to measure the cushion and ordered one. It came on Thursday. Sandy likes it! I could have washed it, and I'm sure the folds would come out if I did that, but it's easy to take off, so I decided to wait until it gets dirty.

On Friday, we decided to walk to the dog park nearest to our home. It was hot, and there weren't a lot of other people and dogs there, but the pups had a good time with each other and those who were.

The back deck is coming along. We hired Josh, who has done several other jobs for us, to refinish it. He spent a couple of days doing repairs and did the sanding on Saturday. It should look good when it's finished.

I made some progress on Soren's quilt. The main body of it is almost done. I plan to put in a narrow inner border and then add an outer border.

I had a chance to work on the Kultainen käki sweater for a few rows. I like how the pattern is coming out. It's subtle, but it shows up.

Some political figures during the week suggested that slaves benefited from slavery. It caused me to go back and look through the book my ancestor kept of his family and holdings. I came across this page in the book, where he recorded the births of slave babies among the people he "owned." 

If you look at the dates, you will see that Vilet gave birth to five children in a little more than five years. The entry at the bottom is a different woman, Mary, who gave birth once and died four days later. This started me thinking about another ancestor of mine who came from Senegal, most likely as a slave.

I have a lot of difficulty responding to comments to my blog posts because of technical issues beyond my control (my lack of understanding of how things work). Message me on Facebook, Ravelry or Spoutible if you need information.

If you have a few minutes and are willing, please go to Amazon and B&N and search for "Classic Tales Retold: Stories from The Doll's Storybook by Peggy Stuart" in Children's. Every click on the page for the book makes it more likely they will keep a good supply in their warehouse and stores. If you are outside the US, you may have a separate website for these retailers. If you have a copy of any of our books, including Emil and Mariah, please leave an honest review on the websites, especially if you bought from them.

Where's my blog: If you want to follow my blog, go here and sign up to follow.

What's on my needles: Still the Kultainen käki cardigan and the EmPower People Kerchief (hibernating).

What's on my loom: I didn't make much progress on the placemats.

What's on my sewing machine: Still quilt blocks.

What's in The Doll's Storybook: Outdoor Fun, another rerun. The four girls leave off watching a movie on the tablet and find some interesting things to do outside in the fresh air.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Still listening to Die Unendliche Geschichte by Michael Ende. Just when you think the story is over, it continues on. Well-named, but it's fine that it goes on, because I'm enjoying it.

What's in my wine glass: 19 Crimes "Sauvignon Block" Sauvignon Blanc 2022 from South Eastern Australia.

What's my tip of the week: Some salad greens come in thin plastic boxes, and mushrooms often come in smaller plastic boxes. These boxes usually can be recycled, but they also are useful for organizing storage drawers and shelves. We plan to use some of them in the new trailer, which has some storage but no drawers. 

Where are my books: The stories in each book first appeared in the blog and they are reproduced with a few changes. 

Classic Tales Retold: Stories from The Doll's Storybook is available from BookBabyBookshop and other booksellers worldwide. The stories are Little Green Greatcoat, The Boy Doll Who Cried Wolf and Lost in the Woods.

Emil: Stories from The Doll's Storybook and Mariah: Stories from The Doll's Storybook are also still available from booksellers. The link for Book Baby is here. The three stories in Emil are Best Buds, Getting What You Want, and The Boys Cook Dinner.

The three stories in Mariah are Being Little, Besties, and Distraction.

If you don't get free shipping from Amazon or B&N, buy from the BookBabyBookshop, because 50% of the price goes to St. Jude. Other booksellers pay much less. 

Note: This blog post was produced on the iPad and the MacBook, using the iPhone for some photos and some photo processing. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for, cleaned or broken. No animals or dolls were harmed during the production of this blog post.

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Books, Grass, Water

Well, I'm no Gutenberg, and it isn't The Bible, but I'm back at it again. It won't be too long before there's a fourth book. The new one is in the works. Soon the inside pages should be ready to go to my little team of proofreaders/editors. Then I can start on the cover.

There will be some new material in this book that was not included in the online story blog version, and of course, Pauly had to be added to the "cast of characters." There will be more pages, too.

I wasn't sure I could put out a book this year, with a new puppy, but Sandy's getting where he needs less time and supervision. He still puts us through our paces, though. For instance, he thoughtfully made up a puzzle for Daddy to put together, because puzzles are so much fun, right?

The real game, though, is to get Daddy to try to get the puzzle pieces away from him. That's so much fun! If we don't want to play this game, though, we need to keep important papers (and Fearless Flyers from Trader Joe's) out of reach, which is getting higher almost daily. He always brings something back that he's taken out to the backyard, but things like papers may not be in the same condition they were when they went out.

Sandy is settling in nicely, though. Dusty has clarified any misconception Sandy might have had about who is the boss among the canines in the family and who gets the end of the couch with the view out the front window. Sandy doesn't seem to mind, although he tests the limits with Dusty the way he does with us. It's part of the learning process. As of Friday, he's up to 13.2 lbs.

Dusty is helping Sandy learn new things. When I teach Sandy a new trick, Dusty demonstrates. (Not every dog gets a demonstration for sit, shake hands, lie down and stay.) Dusty also demonstrates not jumping up and not biting, but that's a little more difficult for Sandy to understand.

Thursday we went to the big dog park at Hollinshead Park in Northeast Bend. It's a very large, open area where dogs can interact off-leash. Probably because it was a weekday, there were only a few dogs of various sizes, which was perfect for the first time. 

Sandy did get a chance to meet a few dogs besides just passing them on the trail. He was a little intimidated by the big dogs, but everyone was well-behaved, so he warmed up to them, and he got a chance to run on real grass. (Our "lawn" at home is pretty pathetic.)

Sandy is growing up to be a very nice dog. We've signed him up for a puppy training class beginning in early July. We know how to train a puppy, but we think he will learn more easily with a little competition. 

We zipped out to PetSmart after that and picked up some more dog food. Sandy enjoyed looking at the parakeets. Both dogs rode in the cart, because Dusty doesn't like the floor, and we didn't want to overdo exposing Sandy to other dogs inside too much. He hasn't had his canine influenza vaccine yet because there's a shortage in our state, but we're hoping to be able to get him immunized before his class next month. Right now, we don't have any reported cases here, but that doesn't mean that a traveling dog might not bring it in. Dusty got to meet his teacher, too. Of course, they took to each other right away. I don't think we've met a person Sandy didn't like right away.

After that we stopped at Trader Joe's. The pups and I waited in the car, so I could knit and the pups could nap. It wasn't too hot, and we were in the shade, but I kept my door open a bit, and we stayed comfortable.

On Saturday, we took the dogs to our usual dog park, where there is a separate area for little dogs. Our miniature poodles are over the height permitted, but we were invited when we first moved here, because they were tall for their weight and obviously not vicious (old photo).

This time there were only two other small dogs there, and Sandy seemed quite comfortable with them. We've noticed, though, that he seems very much more interested in people than dogs, very much like our Rocky. He had very nice interactions with these people, too.. The young man said Sandy was a therapy dog, not the first time anyone has told us that about Sandy. I'm not sure I'm up to taking on being a therapy dog partner again, but maybe there will be an opportunity for Sandy to help others in the same way on a case-by-case basis. He needs a little polish first, though.

Yesterday we picked up a wading pool. Dusty isn't fond of swimming; not the way Rocky was. Guess who's a water dog, though. He seemed to know right away what it was for, even before we added the water.

We found some toys that sink to the bottom, and Sandy showed Dusty how to pick them up. Dusty's very competitive, so soon he was putting his face under the water to get the toy out. You can see bubbles coming out through their noses when they get the toy. Sandy is so excited! It's supposed to get warm over the next few days. This should be fun to watch. 

I haven't made a lot of progress on the Kultainen käki sweater, but did get a few rows done. I'm still on the bottom ribbing. (This one starts at the bottom.)

I'm looking forward to the colorwork section. Any bets on whether I'll get to wear this in the fall?

I have a lot of difficulty responding to comments to my blog posts because of technical issues beyond my control (my lack of understanding of how things work). Message me on Facebook, Ravelry or Spoutible if you need information.

If you have a few minutes and are willing, please go to Amazon and B&N and search for "Classic Tales Retold: Stories from The Doll's Storybook by Peggy Stuart" in Children's. Every click on the page for the book makes it more likely they will keep a good supply in their warehouse and stores. If you are outside the US, you may have a separate website for these retailers. If you have a copy of any of our books, including Emil and Mariah, please leave an honest review on the websites, especially if you bought from them.

Where's my blog: If you want to follow my blog, go here and sign up to follow.

What's on my needles: Still the Kultainen käki cardigan and the EmPower People Kerchief (hibernating).

What's on my loom: I have the yarn for my warp. Just need the time to start on it..

What's on my sewing machine: Still ready for quilts.

What's in The Doll's Storybook: Sandy makes a starring appearance in this week's story as The Writer's puppy, coincidentally named "Sandy." We look at what growing up is all about in "Growing Up." It's also a good (though partly fictional) look at Sandy's development so far, from a doll's point of view, of course.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: I've been listening to the music for Sunday's service.

What's in my wine glass: Arriccio Merlot 2019. I have a good wine steward!

What's my tip of the week: Dogs should have a spoonful of full-fat plain yoghurt every day by itself, not mixed with food, to stay healthy. Probiotics as part of kibble are of no use.

Where are my books: The stories in each book first appeared in the blog and they are reproduced with a few changes. 

Classic Tales Retold: Stories from The Doll's Storybook is available from BookBabyBookshop and other booksellers worldwide. The stories are Little Green Greatcoat, The Boy Doll Who Cried Wolf and Lost in the Woods.

Emil: Stories from The Doll's Storybook and Mariah: Stories from The Doll's Storybook are also still available from booksellers. The link for Book Baby is here. The three stories in Emil are Best Buds, Getting What You Want, and The Boys Cook Dinner.

The three stories in Mariah are Being Little, Besties, and Distraction.

If you don't get free shipping from Amazon or B&N, buy from the BookBabyBookshop, because 50% of the price goes to St. Jude. Other booksellers pay much less. 

Note: This blog post was produced on the iPad and the MacBook, using the iPhone for some photos and some photo processing. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for, cleaned or broken. No animals or dolls were harmed during the production of this blog post.

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