king kong

 Low clouds spitting rain kept me in bed just a bit longer than usual, but finally I managed to gather enough energy to get ‘the show on the road’. We had a few outings scheduled: Orleans for some tripe dry dog food and then Costco for a few things in their sale flyer.

We might have looked like hoarders at Costco, but seriously, we would have bought that many boxes of chicken broth even without the pandemic! I had said I’d wait in the car as I am the worst offender at putting non-food items into the cart… but Carm thought he needed help… we didn’t get far into the store when I dropped in a pair of boots. A few other sale items made it into our cart but we passed on the nice dog beds and a few other superfluous items. He might lock me into the car next time!

Once we got home I gave Spike his anti-anxiety meds to prep him for a haircut. Two hours later he was on the grooming table, firmly held by Carm. It wasn’t going that great, but then I thought of putting some peanut butter into a Kong for Carm to hold - it worked! The rest of the hair cut went reasonably well - I couldn’t believe how long his hair was - there was a huge pile on the floor even though I didn’t do his legs. It’s a bit of a hack job but he looks more comfortable. (note to self: give him ¼ tablet instead of ½.)

We have our popcorn ready for tonight’s presidential debate although to be honest I think I’ll need hard alcohol to watch it. Even still it wouldn’t be hard to imagine myself yelling at the TV. Maybe I’ll just go to bed and watch cat videos.

“Perhaps when we find ourselves wanting everything, it is because we are dangerously close to wanting nothing.”

~Sylvia Plath

banana spice

 After a bit of time on the internet I decided that yes, today was an example of Indian Summer, and yes, it is still okay to call it that. It was seriously beautiful with just a few clouds skittering across the sky which could not have been a more intense blue. The mercury rose to a high of 26C.

Carm golfed. I stayed home and did more internet searching - I’d been thinking about the banana spice muffins that I often had during my working years. I enjoyed those muffins many times during the 29 years. How many did I actually eat? It would likely be a shockingly large number (a quick estimate would be over 3000!). Anyway, I was looking for a recipe that I thought might replicate the flavour.

With a bit of imagination I settled on a recipe and got to work. The result… awesome! Not 100% the same, but a good enough substitute. Will I eat 3000 of them? maybe not, although if I kept eating them into my 90s I might just get there.

How did I ever survive before the internet?

“I have the choice of being constantly active and happy or introspectively passive and sad. Or I can go mad by ricocheting in between.”

~Sylvia Plath

a step back to summer

 Summer made a brief visit this weekend. The sun shone, a yellow globe hung in an azure sky and the air was balmy. Perfect camping weather!

Carm finished his golf game midday on Friday then after he’d had a few minutes to have a shower and lunch, we loaded the car for the short drive to camp.  All my negative feelings evaporated (poof - gone!) as soon as I stepped into the villetta. It’s like there is a dome of happiness enveloping it. After we settled in (oh so much stuff to unload!), we pulled out the lawn chairs and had our traditional camping beverage. 

Everyone was busy with their lives but we were happy to be puttering around our own place. Kirsten and Nissa grabbed me for a long walk down the road - great for burning off some of Adia’s energy. Nissa runs back and forth along the road which gives Adia a good workout. Nissa’s arm might be getting stronger too as A is not known for being a good loose leash walker!

Supper was at our place on Friday. It’s a tight squeeze but we can fit 6 around the table - all squished in it feels like a party. I had prepped all the food at home so I just needed to heat everything up on the stove.

Saturday Kirsten joined us for coffee and then we split to get ready for an epic hike in their ‘back 40’ (probably more like back 80). It was warm but even still there were no bugs to be seen - the obvious advantage of fall. Adia was more subdued with no zoomies. The trees at the back of their property were gorgeous! 

Again we went our separate ways - they did their normal routine while Carm and I went for a lovely drive down the backroads of the area. We love doing this so it’s great to have new roads to explore.

A great Mexican dinner at Kirsten’s capped off our day.

We came home today after coffee and apple crisp. It was another fantastic weekend :-)

“And by the way, everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.”

~Sylvia Plath