Today's Update - 21 Aug 2014

The picture you see is what is left of part of my sugar cane stand ... and 007's burrow. I've got some clean up.  Sigh.  Let me explain because I know that sounds totally strange.

Ugh, my brain has been going so many different directions today that it is a wonder I ever walked in a straight line.  First thing this morning there was this god-awful racket in the yard.  Hubby and I run out there and a strange dog had gotten into our property and was trying to dig out our resident gopher tortoise who we all call 007 ... yes I know, strange name for a turtle but it actually fits this particular turtles personality.  The kids are screaming because 007 is like a family mascot and lives very close to the house and will even sometimes come very close to them.  He is also why I have to fence off my herbs and keep my looseleaf lettuce in barrels on my lanai. 

Darth Molly - all 90 pounds of her - is going nutso because there is a strange dog in the yard upsetting "her" kids.  For some reason over the last couple of weeks Darth Molly the Black Lab has finally found her barker and her protection gene and her ridge from the top of her head all the way to the base of her tail was standing at attention ... she looked like she had a full-body Mohawk.  Hubby went to get his gun to shoot the other dog off because the dog just looked flaming dangerous (terrier/boxer mix once I had time to calm down and look at it).  Well I had grabbed my outdoor broom and was trying to shoo the kids away from the screen when the dog turned and charged.  Have I ever mentioned I used to play softball?

Stunned, the dog shook its head and then tucked its tail because it realized that there is only one alpha female in my yard and she'd just run up on her.  I checked to make sure that she wasn't nursing puppies ... when she rolled over on her back to show her belly and realized she must be fixed.  Which told me she probably belonged to someone in the neighborhood.  Hubby grumbled at the rude awakening and would have said throw her back in the swamp where the muck on her said she came from but I'm a sucker.  So I know kids are waiting for at all the bus stops and I walk her the long way around and eventually ask the gaggle of kids at each stop if they knew who she belonged to. Nothing.  Nada.  I had just turned to come back home figuring I had been on a fool's errand when this older teenager stops his car and I start thinking I don't need this kind of trouble only the kid goes, "That's my grandmother's dog!"

"OK, can you prove it?"

He gave me the suspicious glare and said, "She's been missing for three days.  She's our dog, you can't have her."

"I don't want her.  She tried to eat our turtle this morning.  But I'm not just going to dump her without some proof.  People steal dogs for the dog fight arenas and I'm not going to let that happen."

Well his ruff went down and he said, "Hang on.  I'm going to call my grandfather."

I wanted to say "you do that" but didn't because the adolescent male is an unpredictable and alien species.  Soon enough an older gent comes out and we do the ol' Southern how-dee-do and sure enough the dog belongs to them because he even brought a picture along.  I look the dog in the eye and tell her to stay where she is put and stop trying to eat things that don't belong to her.  The kid thinks I'm crazy but the grandfather thinks its funny and says, "My wife tells her the same thing all the time."  The boy heads to school after making sure his grandfather is going to be ok and then the grandfather and I get to talking and they've got a blueberry hedge and he's going to give me some starts and tips on how to fix the soil so they'll actually produce.  Guess the dog episode was worth it after all.  LOL.

Get home to find it being aired out.  Seems my ten year old tried to make pancakes without telling anyone but forgot to oil the pan and ... well, you can imagine.  He wanted to make me breakfast ... or so he claimed ... so I couldn't exactly tell him off but I did make him clean it all up which taught him a good lesson. 

Had to hunt all over town for the aqua herbicide we need to spray around the pond because it is totally, totally out of control again because of all the rain.  And when I did find it the stupid stuff cost an arm and a leg and if I hadn't been able to talk them down it would have cost a kidney too.

Tree contractors for power company came out at the request of the neighbor and when they dropped the limb off of a dead tree they crushed one of the spigots we have around the outside fence of our front yard.  Water was shooting every where and it took forever to fix because that spigot was tied to the house which meant we had to turn the water off to the house and the girls and I were in the middle of a load of clothes and a load of dishes in their respective washer machines.

And numerous other annoying flotsam  ... but I did get Enduring typed so I hereby thumb my nose at all the things that tried to interfere with me trying to something accomplished today.

Today's stories updates include .....................

Zombies Aren't Real ... Are They?!
http://zombiesarentrealarethey.blogspot.com/ 

Up On Hartford Ridge
http://uponhartfordridge.blogspot.com/

Teaghan
http://teaghanandsloan.blogspot.com/

Larkspur in Eden
http://larkspurineden.blogspot.com/

There Is No Such Thing As A Thornless Garden
http://thornlessgarden.blogspot.com/

When All Doors Close
http://whenalldoorsclose.blogspot.com/

Life Is A Fractured Fairytale
http://lifeisafracturedfairytale.blogspot.com/

Mother Hen's Recipes
http://motherhensrecipes.blogspot.com/

A Bunch of Wild Thyme
http://bunchofwildthyme.blogspot.com/

Enduring on the Lake
http://enduringonthelake.blogspot.com/

Today's videos are on a few different things that I thought were interesting.  I love this kind of stuff, it is just so neat.  First one is on making homemade malted milk powder.  My kids like the stuff though I know not everyone does.  But it the Carnation stuff is really expensive.  Yippee skippy, now I can make our own.

This next video is on making your own yeast from potatoes.  I did this with my great grandmother one summer that I spent with her but she didn't measure anything, just looked at it and then kind of tossed it in the bowl or pan.  LOL

 

This video is on making a meatless "meatloaf" from lentils.  I did try this and it turned pretty well.  Definitely needed gravy though.