July, 2008

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Lookin’ for a Pup

Wednesday, July 9th, 2008

Today I went with my in-laws to look at some puppies. They are looking for a dog and actually kind of having a hard time of it. The towns around us are small and don’t seem to have shelters where you can walk in a view a variety of dogs. You can go to the bigger cities of Hartford or Springfield, but there really isn’t anything real local. Most shelters seem to be members of something online called Petfinder. I also didn’t realize the fees associated with getting a dog from the shelter. Good golly some of them are STEEP!

The puppies we saw today were oh so very cute, but probably not what both my in-laws are looking for in a dog. Hopefully, we’ll go visit a couple of the bigger shelters and find one.

I heard a story on the news about how vast numbers of dogs are being abandoned by their owners because of house foreclosures. That’s terribly sad.

Ideally, my in-laws would probably love to have a mid-sized, puppy-young adult, female dog. (And free…that’s my in put there, because I can’t imagine paying for a beast that is eventually going to cost a small fortune in food and vet bills.)

Workin’ Late

Tuesday, July 8th, 2008

My dear hubby had to work late this evening so it has been me and at first the TV. There is a big NOTHING on TV sometimes in the evening. We like to watch Mythbusters, Dirty Jobs, and things like that, but this evening I didn’t see anything worth watching. So I’m reading blogs. Some of the gals out there in the blog world just have the best ideas and nicest attitudes. I only read ladies who write nice things about their homes, husbands, children, faith and lives. My previous work life was filled with enough yucky stuff to last me a long time.

I can honestly say that I’ve never been more satisfied than I am now as a wife and homemaker. Being married is the best thing ever. Being able to present a good home, good meals, loving my hubby while being calm, collected and not a nag because I had a horrid day out in the work-world is fantastic. The feminists who convinced a generation or two (or more) of women to leave the home for the career world are nuts or just have never been married to an amazing, reliable, supportive husband because being at home trumps everything else.

Well, Dave should be home any minute and I want to watch for him so I can get him a nice ice cold soda as he walks in the door. He loves stuff like that!!

2-hour Pick-Up…Yeah, Right!

Tuesday, July 8th, 2008

Okay, I had every intention of picking up my house yesterday afternoon, but I got sidetracked. While loading the dishwasher I noticed that the zucchini I’d purchased on Saturday had a couple of spots developing, not soft and gross or anything, just thinking about heading that way. So I promptly grated both zucchinis, finished the kitchen chores, then sat down to find a good zucchini bread recipe and blueberry muffin recipe.

So I ended up making two fabulous loaves of Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread and 12 Blueberry Muffins, salmon, boiled fingerling potatoes, and steamed fresh green beans by 6 when it was dinner time. Dave got to walk into the house with a yummy scent of the Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread in the air. The muffins didn’t have enough sugar in them, but they still taste pretty good. But that zucchini bread is just great. I got the recipe from Food Network’s Paula Dean.

So two loads of laundry, changing of the cat litter, the kitchen mostly cleaned up, baking and dinner was all that was accomplished yesterday afternoon.

I’m going to buy several more zucchinis, grate them and freeze them for future breads!! I squeezed the juice from the grated zucchini using a tea towel. I saved the juice by pouring it into an ice cube tray and freezing it. The next time I make a vegetable soup I’ll add the cubes. That way nothing from the zucchinis was wasted, we get the nutrients, and I don’t have to actually eat any zucchini in my soup. (I don’t like mushy veggies like zucchini or squash.)

Well, I need to actually go accomplish some cleaning!

Busy Week and Weekend

Monday, July 7th, 2008

Dave and I have been kind of busy lately so I’ve been neglecting the blog and my house…eek! Between Farmer’s Markets, holidays and visiting relatives, it’s been a bit hard to keep up with my housework.

Today from 11-2 I sold maple syrup at the Farmer’s Market here in town. It was our first day for this market so business was a bit slow, but I’m sure it will pick up as the summer goes on. The only blah thing is that I have to be outside for 3 hours in the middle of the day. Thank Heavens this isn’t Illinois so the heat isn’t unbearable, but it was still yucky today and all you guys that know me know that I melt when the temperature goes above 63. I swear I have polar bear in my ancestry cuz heat and me don’t agree with one another.

The rest of today must be spend doing some serious cleaning. I was reading on one of my favorite blogs today about her “two-hour” house pick-up after a holiday weekend. I think I’m going to follow her example, but make up my own version.

1. Take all the laundry to the basement and get a load started. (10 minutes)
2. Unload the dishwasher and reload it. (15 minutes)
3. Wash down all the counter tops, stove top and front of fridge (25 minutes because one of the counter tops has some stuff piled on it)
4. Make the bed (5 minutes)
5. Change the kitty litter (5 minutes)
6. Get another load of laundry started, hang previous load on the clothes line (15 minutes)
7. Clean bathroom sink, toilet, tub and mirror (25 minutes)
8. Vacuum living room and generally straighten that room (20 minutes)

Then after that I need to grate up zucchini for zucchini bread and prep some salmon for dinner tonight. I think we’ll have salmon (preparation method is yet to be determined), fresh fingerling potatoes and green beans, both veggies from this morning’s Farmer’s Market.

Okay, so it’s 2:45PM and Dave comes home around 5:15. I like to have my household chores and dinner started before he comes home so I can spend a few minutes with him when he arrives.