It’s windy here! But it’s mostly bad-hair-day windy, not destructive windy, so I don’t mind.

Friday we took Maggie to Home Depot to get a key made. Did you know that there’s a self service machine now to cut keys? It was really cool and very easy. But this is about Maggie. She managed in the ten minutes we were there to collect fan club of young women who worked there. She got treats and tons of pets, and when we were walking out, they were waving to her and calling out, “Bye Maggie.” Because, you know, Wizard and I are invisible, LOLOL!! I’m pretty sure they all fan-girled any friendly dog they saw, but Maggie felt very special.

Saturday I cleaned and did some baking. That evening we went to Turbos. Special K got her red velvet cupcakes, and I froze a few for when my brother-in-law is here for a couple nights at the end of the week. I have no idea if he likes red velvet with cream cheese frosting or not, but it’s a good way to get double duty out of one batch of cupcakes, especially since we’ll be really busy when he’s here. We had fun at Turbo’s house. We played baseball, BBQed hamburgers, then sat around a fire pit and talked. Which led to my throat hurting more than usual on Sunday. But my appointment is in two weeks, and maybe the ENT will have a solution. I can still eat, so that’s good.

Sunday I stopped by to see Biker Witch and her Biker Hubby on my way to Trader Joes. I spent so long at their house talking (more talking! Poor throat!, I ran through Trader Joes really fast, randomly grabbing stuff. I somehow accidently ended up with a bar of dark chocolate in my cart. Oops I didn’t get as many things as I planned, it was too crowded and I was too hungry to make good decisions. Once I got home and had a quick lunch and then I downed healthy helping of dark chocolate. My throat is never too sore for chocolate!  Plus dark chocolate has some anti-inflammatory benefits, so it’s actually medicinal…. I can even site my source — the internet! (Okay there are “real” sources including the NIH, but I eat dark chocolate because I like it, not for health benefits).

How was your weekend?

Happy Almost Halloween!

TGIF!! I don’t know how it’s Friday again! It’s crazy how fast time is going. Halloween is next week and then we’re into the holiday season.  This has been a weird year. Okay let’s get to sharing five random things about our week (let’s see what I can remember, LOL!):

1. So I got my shirts for the memorial that’s a week from today. But I sent them back. Wizard was out, found a great shirt for me and bought it. I was so surprised! And this shirt I’ll happily wear over and over, so that’s a win all around.
2. Our bookshelf came for the office. It’s pretty, and I’m happy we have it. But it’s not going to be filled for a couple weeks. Wizard is handling some estate things for his brother, and I could see he just didn’t have the bandwith doing the work in the office, including some rearranging to make sure we have the best layout and see if we have enough storage. So I suggested we just put that on hold until he has a few pressing details handled. He was relieved, and I’m fine with it. We have a houseguest next week and the service, then a small trip. That’s more than enough right now.  Plus the office is so improved and functions so well, that we’re happy.
3. Today we’re going to check out another possible pet sitter for Maggie. She does it in her house, and only a few animals at a time. Now that Maggie’s getting older, it might be a more ideal situation for her. I know my sister would watch her too and Maggie would be very happy and well cared for. But things come up that might include my sister and Maggie needs a safe and comfortable place to go. It’s a deal Wizard and I made when we first got her, and it’s been more useful than I would have imagined. It’s an added expense to any trip, but worth it to know Maggie’s safe.
4. I took Maggie to the vet on Monday for a routine vaccine and other stuff. For an extra $15.00, they cut Maggie’s toenails too — they did a great job! She has black toenails and they often aren’t cut short enough for fear of hitting the quick. These are the perfect length! Then I gave her a bath at home, and did some minor (careful) blow drying. Maggie was so not pleased with me, LOLOL!! But she forgave me when I told her I had a special treat for her. She ran to the pantry and waited, then happily chewed her small treat bone thing.
5. This weekend, we’re going to see Oldest, Special K and Turbo’s house. We’re looking forward to that. I’m taking red velvet cupcakes because we didn’t really celebrate Special K’s birthday due to my brother-in-law being so sick. Special K was so sweet and understanding, but I at least want to take her the cupcakes I know she likes. Oldest is going to make hamburgers on his new grill too, so it should be nice!

That’s my five, now I’d love to hear yours! I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Monday night we went to dinner at my nephew’s house. I volunteered a fruit plate to go with hamburgers. I brought a LOT of fruit, lol. I like fruit, and I knew my sister would be there and she likes fruit too, so I probably went overboard. So Wizard was very confused when I got up Monday morning and made a batch of pumpkin chocolate chip cookies (they match the season!), I put them in a box and tied the box up in a fall ribbon bow. He watched me do this and asked me what I was doing. I told him we were taking the cookies too.

There was a time when he would have insisted if we’re bringing the requested fruit, we don’t need to bring anything else. To his credit, he just dutifully carried the box to the car since I had my hands full with the fruit plate. Once we arrived at their house and parked, he picked up the box and looked at it for a second.  I think it was the colorful autumn-themed ribbon and bow that confused him the most. And that’s when the light went on for him. “It’s a hostess gift!”

Well I think he might actually have said “Housewarming gift,” but he was close enough to get the general idea. It struck me as pretty funny watching him puzzle this out. Especially since we’re a pretty casual family and no one is expected to bring hostess gifts. However my nephew and his fiancé just moved closer to us, and this is the first time we’ve been invited to dinner as a couple. I’m not really skilled at things like hostess gifts, so unless I know they would appreciate wine or a specialty olive oil or something like that, I usually stick to homemade treats.

Also I got to see my niece who has been living out of the country. I haven’t seen her in a very long time. I think I’m about six or seven years older than my niece, and maybe four or five older than my nephew. Being close in age, we had a lot to reminisce about. It was so fun! My throat burned from all the talking, but it was totally worthy it!

So how’s your Wednesday going?

It was a good weekend. I made a double batch of chocolate chip cookies and we took half to Youngest. Then we had middle, his wife and the two pups over. We made ribs and stuff to go with it. My daughter in law helped, especially since I can’t balance sauces and dressings very well right now, so she made the dressing for the green beans. I loved that dressing so much that I only put half on the green beans and hoarded the rest to use the rest of the week Then we had the cookies and a lemon bread that’s supposed to be a dupe for the Starbucks lemon loaf. Click here for the recipe if anyone is intersted. It has gluten and dairy, but I ate one slice anyone and enjoyed every bite.  (Note on the recipe, while I used some lemon extract in the bread, I omitted it in the frosting as many of the commenters on that site suggested and I think it turned out best that way)

We had a good time, and their dogs were fun! Seeing Middle son and daughter-in-law was so what we needed.

Sunday, Wizard and I managed to take apart the two old bookcases in the office and move them out to the side of the house. We’ll have those picked up. We ordered one slightly smaller bookcase to go with the office furniture. That all was the easy part. The hard part was negotiating with Maggie on moving her chair. I want to put that bookcase where her chair is in the corner. But that’s Maggie’s World Viewing Spot and she was not happy when I moved her chair away from the window. So then I compromised and put her chair directedly under the window and she loved it!! The chair fits there so everyone is happy.

Lastly, we ordered some shirts for my brother in law’s memorial service. There’s a theme to honor  him, and he’d have loved it. That’s all good, but I spent way too long trying to figure out if a medium or large shirt would fit me. It can be wildly different from shirt to shirt. After two grueling hours of this, it dawned on me — buy both sizes and send the one that doesn’t fit back. I’m super quick-witted that way, LOL. I hope one of the shirts fits. I really like the design and want to wear it for a long time as it will always make think of my brother-in-law with a smile.

This evening we are going to my nephew’s for dinner. They just move close by us, and my niece, who has been living out of the country for a time, will be there too.  So will my sister and her hubby. That should be fun.

How was your weekend?

TGIF!! Let’s jump right into sharing five random things about our week.

1. Hot and Dry. So very dry. It’s supposed to cool off next week, but the dryness is getting to me. After all my whining about humidity this summer, it’s pretty funny that now I’m complaining about it being so dry. Also if weather is my biggest complain, then life is pretty danged good.
2. This week, I finally made a gluten free, dairy free chocolate chip cookie that I’m happy with! This was a win for me. I’ve probably tried a half dozen recipes or tweaks, and they all turned into runny pancakes in the oven no matter what I did. I finally found a recipe with cornstarch as the magic ingredient. Gluten and dairy free will never taste exactly like one made with flours that have gluten and real butter, but this one worked for me!
3. I also marinaded a boneless chicken breast in a lemon thyme brine (with thyme from my little garden!) and cooked it in my air fryer. We loved it and got two meals out of one large chicken breast. It was a huge chicken breast This is the first week in a while when I did some fun cooking or baking.
4. Last night, we went to dinner with Biker Witch and her hubby. I’m writing this yesterday right before we actually go, so all I can say is that I expect we’ll have a nice evening. We asked them to go because while we’re running a bit tired, we also want to do things with people we love and enjoy. We’re going to a Mexican restaurant, something we haven’t gone out for in a long time.
5. Middle son is the one coming out on Saturday with his wife and two dogs. They are living through a home renovation so we invited them for dinner hoping to give them a break from cooking in their fifth-wheel trailer or going out. Plus we just enjoy hanging with them And I get to see my two grand dogs as a bonus!

That’s my five, and now I’d love to hear yours! I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Neighborhood Watch Captain is on the job!

Sure, it’s a self appointed job, but she takes it very seriously   Maggie checks her window anytime she hears a noise. And in the mornings, if Wizard forgets to open the blind, she sits and stares at us until we remember.

I remember the days when I used to think “If we ever get a dog, we will be in control.” Bwhahaha! Thousands of dollars in medical bills and expensive food later, along with hundreds and hundreds of miles clocked on morning walks that she insists on, I now know the truth. We are her human servants and we are lucky to have the job!

Anyone else have a job of servant to a family pet?

We decompressed a lot this weekend, which is good. I’ll talk a bit more about that in a second. First let’s get in those weekend highlights.

For Maggie, it was Youngest coming over! I happened to be outside talking to Wizard when he pulled up. I waited while he backed his trailer in, and we loaded some stuff we were taking to a city drop off (where you can dispose of unwanted stuff). Once it was safe, I let Maggie out. She squealed in happiness and ran to youngest. Then a car was coming, so she had to come sit by me. She did as she was told, but added a helicopter tail of joy and lots of vocalization. Once she was released, Youngest pet her properly. It cracks me up because she was terrified of him when we first got her. Then youngest and Wizard drove off and Maggie waited by the window until they came home and we went through the entire joyful greetings again.

Wizard had a good weekend too. He did a lot of things around the house, but he’s doing fine.

My highlight was going to see Turbo! It’s been weeks and that was fine, everyone understood. Yesterday, Wizard went with another brother-in-law to handle some things, and I drove out to oldest. Daughter in law had printed some pictures for me and I got to chat with her for a moment. She was going to brunch with some friends. Oldest and I went to breakfast with Turbo, then when Oldest was distracted, Turbo and I plotted a trip to Target to buy toys and then we “made” Oldest take us (Oldest was more than willing, LOL). It was simple and fun, and Turbo talked my ear off, catching me up on his life. I loved it. After that, they went to baseball and I came home because I wanted to check on Wizard, who was fine, but I’m in protective mode and he’s very indulgent about it

Now back to why we were decompressing a bit this weekend. I can talk about they why of this now — Wizard’s younger brother had had cancer for well over six years, outliving all expectations. But he kept his diagnoses pretty private and we did all we could to respect that choice. Wizard’s brother was an amazing man who loved his family above all else. He also passionately loved sports, cars (his Shelby Mustang), music and so much more. He also suffered many injuries over his lifetime including a broken neck. The man was damn near indestructible.

But we all know cancer doesn’t care who you are, how strong you are, or what you’ve survived. It doesn’t care how many people love you. Cancer doesn’t care. But my brother-in-law fought hard, and he cherished all his good days. He has left us all the lesson to not take our days for granted.

I do want to say this as Wizard’s wife who is clearly biased Wizard was retired already when his brother got sick, and he spent every moment he could with his brother. Either taking him to doctors, treatments, visiting, running him places — it didn’t matter. They became not only brothers but best friends. There are so many other people who deserve all the credit for loving and taking care of him —  his wife, his daughter, his step daughters and a son-in-law — they were all there with him every step of the way. But what I saw on my end was Wizard’s love and determination that no matter how much it hurt later, he’d savor each moment they had at the time. I am so proud of him. So. Very. Proud.

I won’t go on and on about this. It was just weird to have something so big and important in our lives and not be able to share it. It likely sounded like I did nothing all day when I was often with him (it was 100 miles round trip to see him), or doing research (usually to enhance our understanding of things, but never to tell my brother-in-law or his wife what to do — they were in charge and we were their supporters) or trying to handle things so Wizard could be available.

So that’s our weekend, it was both sad and good, probably as it should be. We are turning our attention to being there for his wife and daughter, and also, resuming our lives as we feel ready.

How was your weekend? I really do want to know!