Late summer roses

One of my rose bushes seems to have died. We had almost 7 inches of rain followed by some blistering heat, so I can't be certain if it drowned or burned. I'm trying to baby it along, but I lost a rose in this same location 5 years ago. However, here are some late summer roses from the public rose garden to ease my pain.

Mud is Fun

Dudley in heaven.

Zima joined in for some fun, too.

My life as a terrible housekeeper is justified by my life as a dog lover. Or, I just blame the dogs.

Cleaning House

I hate housework. But it has been borne upon me that I have too much stuff that is useless. I don't have a lot of clothes, and last year I donated almost 2 dozen pairs of shoes, but there is a lot of paper in this house. And out here in the desert, there is a lot of dust. Lots of paper + lots of dust = need to dust  Usually I avoid dusting by simply not dusting. But I have decided that no, that is no longer acceptable. And so I cleaned two and a half bookshelves and recycled magazines that I was keeping for no good reason other than that maybe, someday, there might be a need to look something up in them. (I know, I know, it's all online know if I need to find something, but the Luddite in me sputters "How we will do research of the electricity fails? Or the apocalypse happens and the internet disappears?" This is a real dialogue I have with myself, folks. Sad, isn't it?)

Proof: Half of 15 years' worth of various magazines about to get tossed. I felt very empowered.

Next up: receipts and paid bills--I'm coming for you.

French Tomato Tart

What to do with an overabundance of fresh beefsteak tomatoes? Here is the perfect, simple answer.

(Just search this recipe title only and you'll find the recipe I used.)

Roses 2016

The local rose garden this spring. My favorite flower.

Why I Don't Have Nice Things

Movie Quote of the Day

Pam to Rick "Rick, if I should ever happen to lose my mind--"
Rick to Pam "Oh, I don't think you'd lose it. It might rattle to one side."

The Uninvited (1944), starring Ruth Hussey and Ray Milland as a sister and brother who buy their dream house only to find that it is haunted by a vengeful ghost. One of my favorite movies, by the way.

94!

Last year, you may recall, the canine nesters and I took rally classes. Rally is obedience training on steroids, with cue cards. Much to my surprise, I enjoyed it. I really had only taken the classes to practice general obedience with them, and frankly, after nearly 4 years in continuous classes, we were all bored. How many nights can you practice sit? And the first class, which was an hour of right and left turns, made me think, "ugh, this is maybe was a mistake." And then, suddenly, they added in some more difficult exercises and we were hooked. About? Front? Right finish? We can do this! However, with all the work craziness, and now the non-work stress, plus budgetary considerations, we haven't been in a class since last summer.

So Wednesday, DoodleBug and I decided to drop in on the OPDTC fun match and try our hand at novice rally. And we sailed through it and got a 94. Three points off for tight leash in places where he started to wander, and then 3 points off for Doodle deciding to lay down at the start of the front/finish right station. We were given the opportunity to do the course again after all participants were done, and the judge came over to tell us we were very, very good.

If the work situation ever resolves, we may dip our paw back into rally. So, instead of signing off with tally-ho, we'll sign off wth rally-o!

Dudley's Jaunts

Dudley has had a busy spring, making quite a few pet therapy visits around our city. Here are just a few of the places he's been. His social life is busier than mine!

Domestic Diva, the Cooking Edition

To be healthier and stretch my budget, I've been cooking a lot lately. Here's a selection, with posts dedicated to some of these coming later.

Turkey Chili

Homemade turkey chili

Budget Turkey Tetrazzini

My riff on Cooking Light's recipe, reflecting what was in my pantry and personal taste (peas--ick!).

Cost breakdown:

$0.20 mushrooms

$0.65 pasta

$0.37 milk

$0.16 green beans

$0.71 2 triangles of name brand spreadable swiss cheese

$1.00 zucchini

$0.30 neufchatel

$0.30 flaxseed tortilla chips

Unknown--3 or so tablespoons of rally old peccorino-romano cheese; 1 onion (bagged); 3 tablespoons of flour; leftover Thanksgiving turkey free courtesy of my friend Deb, who received it at her grocery store but uses an organic turkey for her family and didn't want it (which was wonderful since I was laid off days before Thanksgiving); dash of ground thyme.

I estimate the six servings of this dish total approximately $4. Living beautifully on a budget, indeed. Feeling super virtuous and thrifty right now. Go me.

Sky, Take 3

Sky, Take 2

Sky

A year of Arizona skies.

Sweetwater Preserve Hike