Red Moons and Tandoori Sunsets

 

To start off with, I would like to say Happy National Dog Day to all of you fur baby lovers! Dogs can bring such joy and pick you up when you're down. Yes, they can be ornery at times and frustrating but for the most part, they are bundles of love all wrapped and ready to open. 

Our Saturday began with the dogs needing to go out, of course. Terry took Togo on a little adventure to allow him places to relieve himself. I had Jasper on a leash and let him pee in the dried out weedy area we call a lawn. It's actually more of a driveway or at least it is where we park our cars, but it seconds as a doggie bathroom. We do walk them both up the alley we live in except for those times I take Jasper out and he can't see because of the darkness of night. During that time, he is allowed to go in the "lawn" area. Not that you wanted or needed to know how our dogs piss or take care of business. 

Terry led Togo up the alley and into the night while I had Jasper on the lawn again. The bad air was invading my lungs. All day I was suffering from nausea, headache, and the sniffles. My lungs were tight, and I felt at times as if I could not breathe. I can hear the issues going on in my upper chest. Nasal passages are plugged. I'm sick of inhaling the nastiness too. Smoke so thick today that the hills surrounding Roseburg are non-existent. They were hidden behind the cloudiness of smoke. While looking upon the once nice-looking hilly scenery, the sight is now one of apocalyptic dread. Squinting to see the landscape surrounding the city is discouraging. Hopefully the rain we are expecting on Thursday will clean this gray matter out of the area or at least subdue it a bit. 

While waiting for Jasper to do his thing in the lawn, I caught a glimpse of the gorgeous red moon juxtaposed dark skies. It was eerie in a way yet held a beauty that is only seen periodically in the night when smoke filled skies keep the typical moon shine from beaming to earth. Particles in the smoky atmosphere come through as reddish in tone instead. The sight it leaves us is photogenic and gorgeous but is overall an unhealthy situation. Between coughs I was able to let the dog finish his duties and hold the phone up with one hand to get this:

I caught this in the camera on my phone while holding the dog at bay. He can't see, as I have mentioned or at least his vision is very limited and especially at night, so he tugged at the leash to go back indoors. He was done and believed mom should be as well. I wanted to zoom in a bit to see what I could capture; however, the little guy wanted in and is not patient in nature. 

Jasper and I did go back inside once I had taken the photo. The house smelled as though it was cleaner, the air pure and smoke-free. Once I was used to sitting indoors again, it hit me just how smoky it was inside too. For the past few days, it is just difficult to get out of the smoke and get any sort of fresh air. I can smell it wafting in from the corners of the windows where the air conditioning units leave tiny gaps. 

On August 26th, it was our one-year anniversary of me moving in with my sweet man. Terry chose to cook me dinner for the occasion. He is into all of the details of dates that have meaning in our relationship and for that, I am grateful. He is a blessing in my life, for sure! I can't remember what I ate the day before much less knowing what date I moved in unless he reminds me, which he so kindly does. 

Now, my sweet man does put his soul and all of his efforts into anything he does for me. The dinner he made was spaghetti because, he tells me, it's what he knows how to cook. He concentrated on pouring the sauce into a pan, boiling the noodles, and then draining them well. Voila! Dinner is served! I loved it and the best part; I didn't have to cook!

He carefully drained the noodles, getting them ready for the sauce. 

Bless his heart. He was trying to pick out a movie or show for us to watch during dinner and meanwhile, the sauce came alive! It began to bubble. The bubbles exploded and the result was a sauce covered stove. Terry began to apologize, but I didn't mind. He was trying to do a couple of things at once and it happens. I figure it is right in line with my "smoked scalloped potatoes" last weekend. Sauce oozed out from under the lid of the casserole dish and destroyed my clean oven. It's all good. Cleaning is a thing. I figure it will all wipe off. 

Watching TV and eating spaghetti was an awesome way to spend the evening together. We did celebrate the fact that one year ago, I moved in with my man. He proposed on Thanksgiving Day, and we married on June 17. Our relationship moved along very quickly but it was all meant to be. At least that is how we feel. The laughter is still there, all the time. We love each other immensely and have vowed to never take the other or our partnership for granted. 

I love Terry for all he does for me, and he tells me all the time that he respects me, loves me for what I do, and that means so much in any relationship. I believe we will have many more years together. Our chats include telling each other thank you for everything we do for each other and how we have helped the other along the way. In my heart, the love for my husband grows brighter each day and he has returned the sentiment many times over.

Spending this weekend together included heading into the Best of India restaurant in Roseburg. This is my third time of eating Indian food and I'm finding I do enjoy it. It's always nice to try new things! Tonight, I ordered up some tandoori chicken, mainly because I loved it the last visit. I tend to be a creature of habit. Change sucks. I stood strong with tandoori chicken. It arrives in a skillet, blazing hot with so much steam rising from the dish that you can't see the chicken through the cloud. Eventually it clears a bit so you can find that amazing chicken in a bed of spices and onions.  

Love me some tandoori chicken!

Once the steam clears, you can eat your dinner! The chicken remains very hot during the meal. 

An order of garlic naan bread completed the meal, and all was great! Terry ordered a dinner of rice with curry to pour over it all. I didn't grab a photo because I was so into the chicken. Sorry, babe. 

Curried rice started up another conversation. We drove to the store after our dinner at the restaurant to bring that conversation to fruition. Chatting about curried rice brought about the fact that I had never eaten curry. I tasted a tiny bit of Terry's curry, and it was good! Making it at home seemed like a must-do task. We grabbed some curry, rice, and off we went. I will be making the curried rice tomorrow night for my adorable husband. Throwing in some naan bread seems like the thing to do as a side bread to the curried rice. 

For now, I'm heading to bed. Terry and I worked all day long. I tore the nook area up and put things where they needed to be. A good vacuuming and then carrying all the excess to the basement took all afternoon and well into the evening. The office was cleaned up this weekend too, adding to the excitement that the house is starting to look like a lived-in home instead of a storage unit. Having nothing to put our items on, such as bookshelves and/or any shelving period, it created quite a chaotic mess in the office area. 

We found a bookcase and brought it into the room. The office still has some totes and boxes, keepsakes, swords, musical instruments, and other pieces we are saving, but at least it is looking better. There is room to walk around in the office space now. The printer is set up on a table instead of my desk. This means I can actually work! What a concept!

Business is going well. I have been selling a bunch of jewelry. It's going out the door quickly now. The Going Out of Business Sale is going well in my group and on Marketplace. September 15 is the final day, after five years of being in business. Starting up the new business will be fun. Getting back into crafting my own designs of jewelry is exciting! We'll see how that goes. 

Terry has begun his journey back into hospice care. He is a volunteer and has his first assignment. Apparently, Terry had a fun time with the man the other night after spending two and a half hours with him. I was happy to hear it! I'm very proud of him for doing the volunteer work in helping others. One other reason why I love him the way I do. 

All is going well in the Macrae household. Would I tell you if it weren't? Yes, actually I would. The blog was started by Terry and me as a way to keep memories of our marriage and partnership. Photographs and memories are another reason. If we can't be true in this endeavor, why bother? 

So far, the love is alive and well. We are wishing the same for all of you. Take care of yourselves. Thank those around you for all they do. Be sure to say, "I love you," several times during your day! Blessings to you all until the next post. Enjoy each day and make it count!

Our new shelf set up in the office. It feels so good to have the office cleaned up! At least the buddha statues, crystals, sage, and angels have a home now. We had them scattered in the nook, our bedroom, drawers, boxes, and anywhere else we could find to place them during the move. Not a great way to treat our spiritual items. 

We are working on making our home the way we want it to be. Hanging family photos, framing and hanging our vows and wedding photos, the memorabilia Terry has from various places and things, such as the Top Gun film and rays from the ocean. Our work is not complete, but we are making progress in between taking care of our fur babies, cleaning the house, and working. It's all we can do. 

Putting a little bit of effort in each day is what will accomplish our tasks but don't forget to spend time with each other and those you love. Share your love, your time, and ensure the people around you feel that love from you. That's all you have to leave when you are gone. That love, that light, will shine forever in their hearts. It's your legacy.