Rain, Rain, Go Away

I think the rain has finally stopped! Between the oppressive heat, clouds, and humidity, I seem to have run low on energy this past week. And it didn't help that a big wind blew in and took down a beautiful sugar maple tree in our front yard ... it was a gorgeous tree, too, I would guess it to be about 50 years old, with bright yellow leaves in the fall and a perfect tree for climbing. All that's left is the stump, such sadness. I thought for sure that we would need to plant another one in it's place right away, but then I noticed all the extra light coming into the living room and started to think maybe not.

Funny how easy it is to cling to the old and familiar, and then how surprising it is to be able to let go!

Father's Day was yesterday, and we spent the morning with mom and dad at the care center. They had a BBQ planned for whoever might want to go, but we didn't make our decision until we got there and saw how dad was holding up. He was awake this visit, so nice when he is, and so we sat outside for a while before the day heated up and then headed in to lunch. Although he kept falling asleep while I tried to feed him, I do think he liked being with his family on Father's Day. I brought him a framed picture of Katie and Avi to have in his room. It's difficult to find things for him that he will be able to use or appreciate, but I still want to give him things.

Bruce then said he wanted homemade spaghetti for his Father's Day dinner, so that's what he got. That and some Orange Creamsicle Poke Cake that turned out really light and delicious! I also gave him a bunch of sunflowers and a new Sudoku book, along with a couple of other things that he picked out. 😎 It was a fine enough day.

Wordless Wednesday

Remembering Jess

It's been two years since Jessie left us, and I thought about her this past weekend when we met our new lake neighbors's black lab. I'm sure that their black lab is a good one, too, as most black labs are, but our Jessie was extra good and pretty much perfect in every way.

Jess always had to be with her people, even when we went up to the lake, although she never really wanted to go into the water. She would rather chase the chipmunks in the weedy area beside the lake, one time getting a bunch of bee stings from some hidden nest. That was not good.

So, I decided it was time to bring her ashes up with us, and sprinkle them along side the water where she would chase chipmunks. It felt like the right place for her to be.

And I don't know if we'll ever get another dog, but I do wonder about it whenever I see a sweet black lab face like Jessie's.

Homemade Veggie Burgers

I've decided, once again, that it might be good for me to try to make a new recipe at least once a week.

It could be good for me for a few reasons, one being that if I force myself to do it, it might help take me out of a boring cooking rut. It's easy to run out of ideas when you've been churning out food for the family for decades.

I also have the tendency to usually choose easy things to make, which is not bad in itself, but I sometimes start to feel overwhelmed when there are too many steps or ingredients involved. Maybe forcing myself to slow down, and focus on more complicated recipes will help me be more patient.

There is brain stimulation in learning new things!

More veggies and whole grain foods like bulgur wheat are inexpensive, and healthy!

Have I talked myself into it yet?

Plus, these black bean burgers were not bad. They were a little soft in the middle, but from looking around online, I found that this is not uncommon. Some ideas given to fix this were to bake the beans in the oven first. Or, or add some chopped nuts to the recipe.

Maybe I'll try again.

I'm not sure if Bruce was on board as much as I was in trying out our homemade veggie burgers, but I did add some sweet potato fries to the plate, and that helped a little.

Punk Has Spoken

Terry's "She Shack"

Our little orange cat, Punk, has made her position clear.

The last couple of times that we've gone up to the lake, we've allowed Punk to be out of her room with Tristin. They've been getting along pretty well, so we gave it a try. She seems less needy when we do this, and I don't feel so guilty. 

But now that she's been out so much, she doesn't want to go back into her room. 

Maybe that's okay. 

Well, I guess they will go into her room to use the litter box, but for some reason the food left in there doesn't get touched. They want the food left sitting out by the front door. We'll have to work on that.

These animals sure run things.