jeweled balm

The streak of hot weather is continuing... and from the look of the Environment Canada website there is no end in sight. And the drought continues. The grass is crispy and the field is bare except for some hardy clover and a few patches of milkweed. They must have roots like prairie grasses.

The slightly cooler weather is agreeing with the dogs. Kabira has been running around and Spike no longer walks, but always runs. Bella is more steady in her pace, although  she did run over for a treat this morning. I'm feeling more energetic too. We haven't been running any marathons, but I think our 15 to 20 minute walk is beefing us up a tiny bit.

We picked up some pork ribs a few days ago and I wanted to try them in the instant pot. Since Pat is such a willing subject we invited her over for the test. And wow, what a test! They turned out fantastic; Carm says they were the best ribs ever.

   ribs
   dry rub
   1 beer
   1/2 tsp liquid smoke

Cut ribs into sections; rub with spices and let marinate in fridge for 1/2 day (next time I'll leave them overnight); pour beer and liquid smoke into instant pot; put in trivit; put in ribs vertically, close and cook on high pressure for 25 minutes. 25 min NR. Remove and lay out on baking sheet, slather with bbq sauce; broil for 5 minutes give or take until they sauce is carmelized. Done and delicious!

For a side, I roasted some potatoes in the actifry, tossed with a dressing made of some spicy oil and lemon juice, add 2 cups arugula and some chopped olives. Add chopped sundried tomatos. These were perhaps the best potatoes I've ever had.

I had found the recipe for the potatoes on the internet when I was looking for an arugla salad recipe. I was sceptical but went ahead anyway and am I ever glad I did. The little bit of extra effort paid off in spades. I can't wait to make them again.

Pat spoiled us for dessert by bringing a strawberry vanilla cake which was heavenly. I had already made the biscuits for strawberry shortcake so we had both desserts! Talk about full :8) It was no fun stepping on the scale this morning...

Detach... try to detach... try not to see the giant needle hovering over my mouth... try not to feel it pinch into my jaw... imagine sitting on the back deck and going for a swim... ha ha, not too much luck with that. So I tried writing this blog in my head. I knew I'd forget much of what I described, but for some reason trying to describe what was going on gave me the feeling of floating outside of my body with a clinical mind. Mostly.

Can you swallow while lying on your back with your mouth wide open and a frightening drill grinding at a tooth?

After over an hour in the chair I was freed... for two weeks at which point the dentist will install my new crown. I have a headache and my jaw hurts.

look at me run!

"Summer is the time when one sheds one’s tensions with one’s clothes, and the right kind of day is jeweled balm for the battered spirit. A few of those days and you can become drunk with the belief that all’s right with the world."
~Ada Louise Huxtable