Ambergris

The pound has decided against letting me have her.

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I am flummoxed. I changed the locks to the doors last week. My ex is small enough to get in through the doggie door, however, and has no compunction about going through a window. And my dog not only lacks any hint of testosterone, he just wiggles in silent delight when visitors show up in the back yard. So I decided to go dog-shopping at the pound, to get a nice, territorial, adult female to guard the doggie door when we're out. And to play with my three year old neutered male. The first one read like a perfect dog for my needs, but wasn't. The second had none of the faults of the first, but we didn't click. She didn't see me as Top Female. Another piddled when I growled at her, a sound she shouldn't have been able to hear in that din. But then there was a grey-brindle pit bull, spayed, about three years old, who seemed so perfect. She's the same size as the pup that stayed with us some this past year. When I threw a tennis ball for her, she danced like a Lipizzaner. And she has a history of having cornered a home intruder and keeping him cornered until help arrived (which rather unfairly led to her being dumped at the pound). So I took in my very thoroughly neutered pit mix to meet her. He decided he needed to protect me (and my son) from her. Um. Yeah. The pup with zero testosterone. He sure grew a pair. That was fun. I asked about bringing in my boy a couple of times this week to let the two get acquainted on neutral turf. The staff wasn't real encouraging, but said the dogs could be walked together tomorrow by staff members. Without me along, so he won't be trying to protect me. They said a lot of problems can be worked out in a good walk. If she weren't such a dainty thing, being maybe 40 lbs, or if they weren't both pit dogs, I'd consider letting them hash out their differences in the canine way. But as it is, I think he'd do her serious injury. Your thoughts?

My (ex-) husband once brought me a nice big canner he'd scavenged. When I went to use it, I never could find it. He kept saying he knew exactly where it was, but kept changing the subject when I asked him to bring it to me. Recently, someone mentioned the nice big canner he gave her. Um hm. That's where it went. Similarly, some of my jars have been used to dry-store beans etc., but most simply disappeared. Now I'm getting a new canner and jars and all. I have found a source of pricey chicken that is tough enough to raise questions for my sons when simply baked or rotisseried. I bet it would can up perfectly. When I was a kid, I hated canning. Why am I so excited about it now?

I've used oatmeal in meatloaves: 1/3 onion, 1/3 oatmeal, 1/3 meat, with a lot of egg to hold things together. It was not taken very well. Using red beans, on the other hand, worked very well for me.

Friend of mine works fulltime for about $25 a week over the cost of her family healthcare. We've had dental insurance off and on, but for every $90 cleaning, the insurance would take $14.90 off the deductible. My dentist's bookkeeper said it wasn't worth it. Got it reinstated right before my two jaw teeth cracked, and let me just say I didn't get back the cost of my premiums. Dental insurance is a for-profit scheme.

My son and I made slow-cooker lasagna, using rotelle for the noodles.

One of the awful things about insurance is, however little it covers and however expensive it is, you'll need it as soon as you drop it.

(((Momo)))

NOLO Press has some very good, very cheap will forms, with instructions.

It's not Michaelmas yet, so you had plenty of time.

He can be tested for heartworm for about $25, and if he's clear you can start giving him heartworm preventative. We pay a little over $20 a month for my dog's Trifexis, which covers heartworm, fleas, and something else. Getting a double on the rabies shot won't hurt him. They run about $10 at the cheap traveling vet clinics. A friend of mine lost his puppy to Parvo this past year. It was an awful way to die. I lost a kitten to FIP, a mutation of coronavirus, this past year. I still tear up when I think of him. If you can find which vet he went to, the vet's receptionist might recognize him by sight. Can you use state tax records to find the names of the owners of the property?

She seems to be having a lot more coding problems now. I keep getting sent to a Brazilian site, and then for the books I click on after that either Amazon or my computer gives me error messages.

Or even heard of it? http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=319761361467208&set=a.219364091506936.42141.219312884845390&type=1

Around 9 every morning, Pam lists kindle books that are free for the day (careful--some deals expire before the end of the day) in cooking, gardening, preserving, other prep, and a few related fields.

I have spent a lot of time using over-large or bantam eggs, or mixed eggs. I use 1/2 cup of egg when the recipe calls for two eggs. That way I can use up extra whites or extra yolks when that's what I have.

This is why I've been trying to convert my family to converted rice, which has a better nutritional profile but stores longer than brown. I have had good luck solar-cooking rice.

My ex-husband came in and knocked over stuff all over the living room last night. I still haven't got it cleaned up. Wanna trade messes?

1/1/13 Pomelo 1/2/13 Random kind of citrus, probably a satsuma or a satsuma's daughter. 1/3/13 Random kind of citrus, same as yesterday. 1/4/13 A measly little excuse for a sweet potato. 1/5 Two different sweet citrus and "lemonade" from limequat tree 1/6 "lemonade" and fish from county-owned land just across the property line 1/7 "lemonade" and cookies with zest from my trees 1/8 "lemonade"

He snuggles when I come home and when I go to bed. Otherwise, he mostly wants to play.

1/1/13 Pomelo 1/2/13 Random kind of citrus, probably a satsuma or a satsuma's daughter. 1/3/13 Random kind of citrus, same as yesterday. 1/4/13 A measly little excuse for a sweet potato. 1/5 Two different sweet citrus and "lemonade" from limequat tree 1/6 "lemonade" and fish from county-owned land just across the property line 1/7 "lemonade" and cookies with zest from my trees

I came home from work early today, and he made me so happy I had.

I have two window boxes sprouting garlic now. I'd given up on them!

I've asked a friend of mine who used to capture yeast for her baking.

Starsky