I see Blogger made a few changes......

 

So, this weekend I checked in ~ and noticed that Blogger changed things again.  And I don't really have a problem with most of it ~ except for one thing.  When I go to my reading list, the actual list that used to be on the right side of the screen is no longer there.  Which is irritating.  Now, I have to scroll through all the posts to see if a certain Blogger has posted anything.  And I really dislike scrolling.  Ugh, why do they do these silly changes?  

Love, 365

Takin it in the shorts.......

 

Lol, it is getting hot.  When I spied this meme I knew I had to add it to today's blog post.  

I'm also watching a History channel documentary on all of the worst cult's we've seen in the US...sure, sure, it's so very uplifting.  But quite interesting.  Romeo doesn't want to watch anything that he describes as "dark".  It's the one thing I find so annoying is to hear him say "wow, that's a bit dark, isn't it?".  

I am not squeamish.  I can watch all day long ~ I just can't do anything that might cause someone pain, like give shots.  Which is how I ended up working in dentistry instead of a nice doctor's pediatric practice (he wanted me to give the babies their vaccines).  Funny how one 20 minute experience changed my life from working in medicine to dentistry instead.

We are going to have a pretty hot week here.  The a/c is running more often than it's not.  But I do love summer, and all that goes with it....like:

I love flip flops ~ not the super cheap ones that wear out in a week, but this is my footwear of choice for the entire season.  

Thanks to this luscious fruit, I always drop a pound or two eating as much as I can get.  But I am a watermelon snob.  It must be the old fashioned seeded melons, which taste better then the seedless.  Plus, it's fun to spit out the seeds, or have a competition.  

 

I'm sure there's a weather related reason why, but our sunrises during the summer generally start out pink and orange ~ it always reminds me of a Renaissance painting.

What's your favorite thing about summer?

Love, 365
 

Honor always, never forget......

 

Memorial Day weekend, whatcha doing?......

 

This is a lava margarita....my coworker and I went after work for happy hour a couple of months ago, specifically to order these.  They are delicious.  It's like a dessert that gives you a really nice little high.  If you have two, you might need to get an Urber home, lol.  

Twice a year we have "clean night" at our office.  After work today we clean the office from top to bottom and our reward is being paid for Friday, and of course our holiday on Monday.  On Tuesday when we go back from our four days off, the office is dust free, and everything is shiny and clean.  For awhile, anyway!  The plexi-glass we have at our desk is really getting annoying.  It's hard to clean, and patients bump their heads on it constantly.  I guess they just don't notice it ~ even though they can't hear me through it!  Honestly, sometimes they even stand there waiting for me to take their temperature through it.  I will be so glad when we can remove it, and get rid of the masks.  Right now we still have to wear them all day, thanks to the ADA.

So begins a four day weekend, and I am so looking forward to it.  I have nothing ~ nothing! ~ planned for tomorrow.  I will leisurely get up, have coffee, watch the news and decide what I want to do.  Romeo asked if I wanted to go with him to Costco ~ but I think I'll pass 😁

Saturday I'll be baking with with my friend, then later that afternoon Romeo and I are going to their house for dinner.  It is very exciting to go somewhere to have dinner.  It's been so very long.  Life is beginning to return to the pre-Covid  routine.   We can go to many stores and not wear a mask ~ if you're fully vaccinated.  Of course, no one is asking for proof, and I think we're at the point that everyone should make their own choice.  I've done what's right for me, and I respect your choice too.  Have you been in a store where you're not required to wear a mask?  I noticed that at least 70% of people are still wearing them.  It does seem weird not to wear it!  

I hope all of you have a wonderful weekend.

Love, 365

Time for tea......

 

Green tea is weird stuff.  After brewing, it does have a slightly acrid flavor.  I've taken to buying the kind mixed with mint.  I used to only drink tea and hated the taste of coffee!  I think I was 45 when a co-worker who loved coffee finally got me hooked.  I bought the green tea because I like to drink it in the evening so the caffeine doesn't keep me from falling asleep.  For a bit, I drank my tea with a bit of creamer or milk, but that particular habit didn't last long....    Now all I need is a lemon cookie :-)

I have used my bread/dough proofer twice, and plan to use it again tomorrow, as I am supplying the bread for church communion this Sunday.  Unlike so many things, it works exactly as advertised!  Apparently you can use it to make your own yogurt.  Maybe I'll give it a try sometime, but I so rarely eat dairy anymore, it might sit in the fridge for too long.  Oh, I do eat ice cream every now and then.  I'm not crazy, haha.

Sioux.  Well, she is doing ok.  She's still on the prednisone, so that makes her very hungry.  She does seem to be gaining a little weight.  She drinks so much water that Romeo has to get up in the middle of the night to let her out.  We've taken to putting the water up around 8-8:30, but then she gets him up because she just so thirsty.  The amount of prednisone goes down a bit beginning today, so maybe the thirst will diminish.  Romeo seems heartened to see the tiny amounts of progress she's making.  I hate to admit that I see it as a way to stave off the inevitable.  I still don't think she will survive this illness.  I see changes in her behavior that is freaky ~ like she will lay on her bed so still, with her eyes open, but when I go to say goodnight to her, she doesn't look at me, she just keeps staring off into the distance.  I try to cherish every moment I spend with her, and am especially gentle when I give her pets and scratches.  I am hoping she feels the love I feel for her through those touches.  

Ok!  On to a funny confession.  For some reason, in the last six to eight months, I have lost most of my eyebrows.  They used to be thick, and I've never been one to pluck them thin as was the fashion 15 or so years ago.  But I was having to fill them in with one of those awful brow pencils.  I hated it, and am not really very patient to do a good job.  Basically I slap on a bit of makeup and run out the door, because I don't get out of bed until the last second :D  So, I asked Romeo if it was ok with him that I spend a little bit of money on micro-blading.  And I asked because it would cost almost $400, which is a lot of money to spend on eyebrows.  Don't you think so?  After a bit of research, I discovered the going rate in Albuquerque is nearly $600! Crazy crazy stuff.  So I went to the technician in Santa Fe (which blows my mind that she is cheaper than here in town) and she did a great job.  They look great.  No more eyebrow pencil, or running around looking like Mona Lisa.  My makeup routine is quicker, and I don't feel like I have to let my bangs get so long to cover up the lack of brows.  

You see what I mean?  I had practically no brows left.  Romeo thinks it made me look a little younger, bless him.  Did it hurt?  Yep.  It was rather painful until she had completed the outline.  Then she used a numbing gel which made the rest more tolerable.  I will be going back in 1 to 1 1/2 years for a touch up, as microblading doesn't go as deep into the skin as traditional tattooing does.  I'm not much for permanent makeup, but I'm pretty sold on this.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Love, 365

Let the sunshine in.......

Lol, "the song of my people", hahaha

 

I am expecting my bread proofer today ~ sounds funny to those of you that don't bake bread, huh?  But I am very excited, and will be playing around with it....once it gets here.  Basically all it is ~ a box that keeps the interior temp warm and you can add a tray of water for humidity (important here in the land of static electricity).  It's stupidly priced for what it is....but,  no more putting my dough in the oven with the light on....with the inherent danger of having someone turn on the oven without looking inside :D

Everything is going along.  Only a little drama at work ~ not even worth mentioning....except that we did get a raise in pay, the first in 3 1/2 years.  I don't know if everyone was surprised, but I certainly was.  

Sioux is doing ok.  She's eating, but not really putting on much weight.  I guess we still need to work on getting her vitamin B12 levels up.  I see no vacation for us in the near future, except for the trip to Jemez Springs we have in October.  That's too far away!!!  I really need a beach.  And a very large, cold, margarita.

Have a great weekend!

Love, 365

 

Happy Mother's Day to all the Mom's!

 I hope that all of you Mom's out there are celebrated for all you've given to your families! 

Sioux update: she is back on the steroids daily for now.  Still incredibly thin, but otherwise much as she usually is.  

Have a wonderful Sunday!

Love, 365

The light becomes the dark.......

 I should not have written how well she is doing.  

Today she has slipped back to refusing to eat.

Tears keep forming, but they don't know where to go.

Tomorrow then.  Perhaps things will be better......

Baking day.....

 

Chocolate chip with walnuts....

Orthodox Easter was this past Sunday.  That means the fast from eggs, dairy, meat is over, and I can now bake with lovely Irish unsalted butter (it is my favorite butter for cookies).  The trick to baking these types of cookies is to refrigerate the dough.  And since yesterday was a bit warm (81 F), I waited until this morning to bake while the air is still cool.  They smell amazing, and I have a couple dozen I'm gifting to the lady that delivers our mail at work ~ she brings us salsa she makes from her garden ingredients, and in return a couple of us bake chocolate chip cookies.  Her favorite.

Update on Sioux: she is still doing better.  She doesn't have the horrible diarrhea she had before, but nothing is yet come to "normal".  She's gaining a little bit of weight, but that has been slow.  She is more back to her tail wagging, "let's go for a walk!", bark insanely at the doorbell, self.  Even though she is so much better, I don't think we will take her health for granted again.  

I have the next three days off from work, just in need of a break.  I'm not sure what I will fill the time with ~ I desperately need to put away my winter clothes (my bedroom closet is small)~ but I may indulge myself in things I want to do, rather than the things I need to do.  

We had been contemplating what to have for Sunday dinner, and of all the options, I wanted Schlotsky's.  I love their bread and the original sandwich is just so good.  Well, I had not thought to call before going, I just got in my car and drove to the location I normally frequent.  And guess what?  Even though there was a sign in the window saying "open", it apparently was not.  I called the other location (luckily it's not very far from the one I was at) and they answered and so I placed the order and drove over there to pick it up.  So, although you probably are already aware, I won't be assuming the restaurant I frequented before Covid is still open.  Now I am wondering what other places are closed, with their sad signs on the door saying they are open, but not.

I think I'll go eat a cookie...enjoy your Monday.

Love, 365

And the rush is on........

This is an evaporative cooler.  These are all over Albuquerque, although newer houses are now built with refrigerated air these days.  They work very well here where the humidity levels are rarely above the teens.  Basic principal: pads along the sides soak up water, supplied by a water pump, it evaporates and cools the air, which is blown into your home.  

There is a trend to convert homes to refrigerated air, mostly because you just flip a switch to go from heat to a/c.  Evaporative coolers require maintenance.  Romeo always replaces the pads every year, cleans out the accumulated minerals from the water, removes rust from the housing, checks belts and so on.  Once you have yours ready to go, there's not usually anything you need to do unless one day it starts to make a noise (usually the belt or the water pump).  Like I said, they require maintenance.  Which is why the locals want refrigerated air.  Flip the switch and all that.  

I grew up with refrigerated air.  In Texas, you have no choice, due to the humidity.  I know what it costs to cool your house with it....and most of you probably have it.  Romeo grew up with evaporative air in El Paso, so he knows how to maintain it.  And I like it for two reasons: it's less expensive and the air is circulated from outdoor air.  Down side: if you neighbor uses half a can of lighter fluid to light his charcoal grill, you have to turn it off if the breeze is blowing toward you.  Yeah, it has it's ups and downs.  

 

And as you can see, lots of people don't have a clue how to maintain it.  You see lots that look like this too, :D

We are predicted to have temps close to 90 in the day or two, so there is a huge run at the hardware store to buy the necessary supplies.  Add to that the rush to put in your garden, and it's ridiculous.  I have been waiting to plant, but I won't be doing it this weekend.  

But it is a lovely Saturday.  I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Love, 365

It seems almost like a hospice around here.....

 

Sioux, a few years ago.  

I know I keep saying she is getting better ~ and she does for a day or two.  Then she slides back down.  She has become so thin it's scary.  The first vet did not do much for her, and we decided we needed a second opinion.  The second vet has diagnosed her with severe IBS.  I didn't know dogs could get IBS (which is irritable bowel system).  She is now on prednisone, and we've ordered a supplement of B12, because she had none in her blood work.  None.  Which helps you absorb nutrients from food.  

The first vet told us she had a food allergy, and on her advice we ordered an expensive dog food for her.  But, she wouldn't eat it.  Luckily we had not opened the case of food before we discovered she would not eat it, so we can return it, so we can get our $107.00 back.  I wish I could get the $$ back from the first vet, which will never happen, but we are both feeling quite disgusted that she could be so misdiagnosed.   Maybe it's not an easy diagnosis to make, I don't know.  

Romeo is very discouraged.  He wonders if she will survive the treatment.  He is the one that is with her all day while I'm at work, and works at trying to entice her to eat something. I wish there was something I could do or say to help, but other than trying to find ideas on food she might go for, there's not much else I can do.  

I had taken a few days off the first part of March hoping we could drive up to Santa Fe for the day, but I don't see it happening.  I'm so desperate to get away, even for the day.  But I'm not going to do that without Romeo.  I'm already gone much of the time with work.  

Well, if you feel inclined to pray for a dog's life, it would be greatly appreciated. 

Love, 365

***The next morning ~ she has eaten more this morning than she's had in the past 4 days.  She's begging us for whatever we have in our hand.  So, today looks like a good day.