I Am Groot or a Shadow Thereof

 

Who doesn't love Groot from the movie franchise Guardians of the Galaxy? He is cute, he helps others, and of course, as one would expect, he gets into trouble to keep the films interesting. Well, this week, we had a visit from the famous Groot. Yes, he came, he conquered, he entertained and even took over. He even plays with the cat. But I'll get to that later. 

Sunday, June 16, 2024

Finishing up our Sunday from the last post, I have to share my first loaf of bread out of the new bread maker. It came out so good! This is a two pound loaf, but I have realized that will not work for us. It's far too much bread for a night of just Terry and I, plus leftovers are having to be sealed in a bank vault, after being wrapped in bubble wrap, sealed in polyurethane, and then kept at a correct temperature to keep it going. It's worse than Fort Knox holding a very fine wine. I did wrap the leftovers, but they aren't as good the next day. The dryness can be overcome by placing them in the microwave for about 10 to 20 seconds, but it's just best when you eat it directly from the baking process. A one pound loaf it will be from now on, unless we have company. 

My newest form of a hobby is to bake some more sourdough bread, plus turn the bread maker on for some good cinnamon swirl bread, French loaves, more garlic cheese bread, hamburger buns and the list can go on and on. I want to make some of that sometime this weekend, before returning to work. I do want to try the cinnamon swirl bread using a brown sugar substitute that will work in place of all the ooey gooey sugary goodness that sits in the middle of a cinnamon roll. But, until then, we have loaves of goodness in the plain, soft, white sandwich bread!

Allowing the bread to cool after spreading butter all over the crust. Mm. Love this stuff! This loaf is a regular white sandwich loaf, uncut until it cools all the way. 

Oh, my goodness! Homemade bread is the best! Now the entire house smells like fresh, home baked bread. It's a two-in-one gift from my sweet man! It's a bread machine and an aromatic addition to the home. Loving it! I could be doing worse than smelling up our home like we live in a bakery. 

Monday, June 17, 2024

Today is the actual date of our anniversary. Our last post detailed our time spent celebrating on Sunday. But today, it's the real date. One year ago today, I walked down the aisle with sweet man and we were hitched by son-in-law, John. Loved our ceremony because it consisted of family. We had a beautiful venue in my daughter and son-in-law's house up on the hill, and we had laughs. Lots of laughs. The food was great and the home looked absolutely lovely. John performed the ceremony for us, starting off with, "How's my hair?" This brought laughter among us all and definitely toned down the anxiety I had rushing through my body. 

The vows Terry gave definitely pierced my heart with a beam of light that brought such joy into my soul. Me? Well, anyone who knows me understands why I wrote my vows with some favorite phrases that make us laugh. I also vowed to love him and be his wife, to stand by his side, and laugh with him. But the Arby's diner episode and a favorite movie quote had to be included in that set of vows. The situations were there and had to be presented. At least in my life they did. 

Such a special day filled with so much love, laughter, family, tears, and of course food. Our family never does anything without a food spread set out for all to enjoy. It's the way we roll. Or the way we eat rolls anyway. 

And as the sun had set over the mountains, we headed out to the beach for our four-day honeymoon. It was perfect. I can't think of anything at all that was missing from that period of time, except for my grandson, Coby and his wife, Delaney. They had some issues going on with a new home they purchased and could not make it. We missed them. We were hitched, we were in love, and we were having a blast. 

Anyway, enough sappy. I worked through the day and so did Terry. Right on cue, he appeared later that afternoon with his usual gift to me, on the 17th of every month since our marriage vows were taken, a gorgeous bouquet of flowers. This time, there were a dozen red roses. He thought the red roses were appropriate since it was our one year anniversary, and he was right. His thoughtful choice could not have been any better. 

The roses topped my busy day off, bringing smiles to my face and joy to ease the workload of the day. It warms my heart that he has given me a bouquet each month since we were married. He informed me he wished to do that to show how much he loves me, up until the day our first year is up. I loved the sentiment. Although what happens after the anniversary? Is the honeymoon over? (Just teasing you sweet man). 

Since we had our anniversary dinner last night with pasta fagioli, Terry's favorite dish, besides his mother's homemade chili over rice. The dish is simple to make, but he loves it, so it's always a good choice. We decided to have that as the anniversary dinner option. Great stuff!

This evening, Terry thought we should open the rest of our gifts. We did open the larger gifts on Sunday, but tonight we saved a couple for the actual date of our wedding anniversary. We sat on the couch and exchanged the paper-related anniversary gifts. I absolutely loved mine! Terry opened his as well, but now it's a matter of choosing where it should hang. 

Since the first anniversary is represented by a paper gift, I chose this for Terry. It's a sun catcher with our names and, "From our first kiss to our last breath" written along the outside of the moon. I was able to choose the stained glass looking background and thought this one looked best. Of course our names are inscribed on the man and woman silhouettes. We still have to decide the best place for this to be seen in the house. 

Now for mine. Terry did it again in choosing the perfect gift. He knows me well! This necklace is right in my wheelhouse of things I love. The moon, dreamcatchers, and items that are similar, are what I enjoy. 

The color of the jewels placed in the crescent moon are ideal as well. This is not only my birthstone color, but a shade of blue I find to be aesthetically pleasing and well, stunning. I love it! I put the necklace on and joined my husband for another night of eating out. We both decided on Round Table Pizza, since we had our anniversary dinner the night before. Relaxing place to eat and the pies are great. Our favorite has become the Hawaiian pizza. 

What goof said pineapple doesn't belong on a pizza? Oh, yes it does! With Canadian bacon? Yep. A little tangy flavor in there with the tomato in the pizza sauce, and we're good to go!

We enjoyed our pizza, then headed back home to watch our show. It has been a great anniversary! We have one gift to go. The end of the month means a concert in Bend, Oregon. Terry purchased two tickets to see Styx and Foreigner for our finale on the anniversary we share. Can't wait!

Tuesday, June 18, 2024

Today has been a quiet, normal day overall. We spent time at work, then joined each other for dinner and our favorite show. Perfect night after celebrating for two days in a row! I loved our time involving our anniversary celebration. I was going to say, "One year down," but that's so depressing. It sounds as though you're rushing through the years. I don't want to have the years speed by faster than they already are. I love our life in our little home, filled with love, laughter, life, and littles. I do not want the time Terry and I share to move fast. I'm shocked one year has already slipped through our grasp.  

Wednesday, June 19, 2024

Terry had the day off due to Juneteenth, a holiday celebrating when the United States finally pulled its egotistical, awful side of its head out of its ass and ended slavery. A day that should be celebrated in that we finally woke up to know owning other people is not right. 

Besides celebrating the end of slavery, which is definitely the most important reason for the day, but being a holiday also means most of us, including Terry, have an extra day off. This creates another five day weekend for him. He was more than overjoyed at this concept. I saw another attempt at a Spicoli (the stoner who ordered pizza in his classroom in Fast Times at Ridgemont High) dance. I was trying to work, but files were scarce because of the holiday. It really sucked. So, I guess I had a day off with my Mac man to enjoy time together.  

We were going to have spaghetti for dinner, so I grabbed the bread machine tub and threw together ingredients for some cheesy garlic bread in a French bread loaf style. The dough mixed and the machine bounced around on the counter with the beat and heaviness of the dough inside the machine. Terry walked into the kitchen and found the bread machine halfway off the counter top! I ran in upon hearing about this and soaked a washcloth to place under the machine. This prevents it from sliding around on the countertop and keeps it safe. 

The dough was done. I rolled it out on the counter, smeared butter all over the top, added cheese and then the minced garlic. Forming it into a French bread loaf shape, I completed the process by scoring the top and tossed it into the oven. Magic happened inside that oven! The bread rose, the cheese oozed out of the slit top, and all of it came together to make a delicious loaf of bread. You can never go wrong with cheese and garlic!

The bread rose so high the scores across the top split open, oozing the cheese out and allowing the higher rise. It may not be the most beautiful loaf, but wow, was it good! And the combination of garlic and cheese goes so well with pasta dishes. 

Of course, we prepared our spaghetti, sat in front of the television and began to watch our favorite show, Scorpion. Scorpion is based on the true story of Walter O'Brien and his group of geniuses, who work for Homeland Security, solving problems for the country. Good show. 

Thursday, June 20, 2024

The week is moving so quickly. Without promise of another day, we are both trying to enjoy our days together as best we can. Today is no exception. 

Today is a typical day in working, shopping, cooking dinner, and then watching Scorpion, of course. But, Terry had purchased a new toy for Kit to enjoy. We need as many scratching posts as we can get for this cat. He is a large boy and can shred furniture in the blink of an eye. Kit often attempts to do just that, at least as much as he can before mom or dad catches him in the act. Our poor brand new furniture!

The new cat scratching post is unique. Balls move around in a trench at the base of the post, meeting another furry ball connected to a spring on the alongside. There is a long, tall, very sturdy scratching post that runs up the middle of the base, with a large furry ball that hangs down from the top. Then there is the eye catching "plant" that sits on top of the entire post, creating a palm tree appearance. The cat has been going wild on this thing! He has been scratching on it all the time now and that makes us happy. Save the furniture! That's my new fundraiser slogan. 

But there is one thing about this new scratching post that I absolutely love. It is the creation of Groot on my wall, peering out from behind the new toy. 

Groot is the character from the movie franchise, Guardians of the Galaxy. I love the character and so the cat tree also entertains me. When you can purchase a toy that pleases the cat and the wife, you've got it made. Well played, sweet man. Well played. 

Even while Kit is lazing around in this perch and keeping an eye on his new tree, I enjoy looking at Groot hanging out behind the post. I told you all I am easy and it doesn't take much to entertain me. 

Anyway, work, eat dinner, watch our show, and bedtime. Yep. That's the exciting life of the normal American old person. So exciting!

Friday, June 21, 2024

I snagged a very long file this morning. Because of the length of the task, I would be working on this one most of the day. But that's okay. It means I can settle in and work without having to locate another file. It wasn't due until 5:48 AM on Saturday, so I was good to go. 

I typed like a mad woman up until around 2:00, then had to get ready to drive Terry to his appointment. He had an eye appointment and he figured they would put drops in his eyes to dilate them, so he would definitely need help driving home. I'm glad I went too, as they did dilate his eyes. 

After the doctor's visit, we went to the store and did some shopping for food to cover the next few days. That's always fun. I'm not really getting the electric carts as often and so the ankle is getting a workout. It has been swelling and quite stiff and sore by the end of the day. We hurried through the store, grabbed groceries, and came home. 

While at the doctor's office, Mallory was texting, asking if she could come by today. Well, this is always a nice thing. We haven't seen her for a few days, so a text was sent by her dad when we were done and heading for home to let her know she could head on over.  

We arrived and put groceries up. Perfect timing, as Mallory walked up the steps right as we finished. Terry went outside after saying hello and Mal and I spent some "girl time" together. We love to chat as we seem to laugh a lot and do cover the serious topics as well. Mallory left, but is coming back on Monday, when we can spend some time together then. I'm going to throw on a loaf of cinnamon swirl bread and we can chat for the day. 

Every time she comes over, she begins to brush Togo and plucks out tufts of fur that are dangling from his thick coat. He seems to really hate this entire process. I'm not really sure why he hates it so much, as my dogs have always knocked each other out of the way to get to brush time. 

Mallory brushed for quite a while, then she began to pull tufts as we were talking. She was really getting into the conversation and her hands began to pull hair faster and harder as she spoke of some things upsetting her. Her fingers caught another tuft and she pulled. Togo wasn't happy. He jumped up, looked her in the face, and said, "Woof!" as loud as he could. 

She spent the next 20 minutes petting him, kissing him, and telling him how sorry she was for hurting him. If it even did hurt. We're unsure. I think he was just done with it all and wanted her to leave him alone. Since we are still getting to know the furball, we aren't quite sure how he is going to react when something new happens. He handled it safely and nicely as far as I was concerned. No biting. I can deal with the bark. He was talking to her, telling her no more! She was happy with it too, as it saved a nice bite on her face. 

Togo is quite an emotional baby and is definitely one to voice his opinion. But all huskies are known to be opinionated. Today was no exception and speak out on what they do and don't like. Although Mallory was told not to do that again by our furry buddy, she managed to brush a ton of fur out of his coat and made him look good. He's in the middle of blowing his coat again, so the cleaning up of fur is a never ending job. Although even when he's not blowing his coat, it's still never ending, just not in double time.  

The brushing relieved him of three huge piles of hair. Our poor vacuum!

This was fur from Togo's coat after one small brushing. There were three longer brush times that created about three times the amount shown here and left our garbage can fuller than it was. It's unreal. Notice the vacuum cleaner sitting to the side of the couch? Yeah. Poor thing gets a work out, that's for sure. 

"Get a husky," hubby said. "It'll be fun," he said. Yeah. Tell that to my poor washer and dryer, vacuum, and my nose. Each time I clean the house, the fur literally just floats everywhere, including up a nostril or two. I sweep, then vacuum, then run the Crosswave, which sweeps and mops in one swoop. But it never fails, the loss of fur off Togo's coat repeats itself nonstop. When he shakes, it's over.  

I do love our Togo though. I can't remember what life was like before him. He's beautiful, mouthy, and goofy. He makes us laugh and gives us a good buddy to love as he sends his love to us. He is pigeon-toed and carries around his platypus or snags pizza boxes, pot holders, oven mitts, milk cartons, or various other emotional support items. 

Our baby gets upset when the cat touches his toybox, although we can't make him understand it's not just his toybox. He dominates that toybox though and rushes toward the cat when he comes near it. Actually, Kit could care less about the toybox, but even looking in that direction gets Togo upset. Yes, he's a little spoiled, but then again, they all are, as they should be. 

Would I do it again? Yes, I would take Togo again, in a heartbeat. I have fallen so deeply in love with my blue eyed pup. I adore him. Terry has a strong bond with him too and I often think the dog is connected with Terry more than his momma. He's ours and I won't give him up for anything. Ever. This is his forever home and we his forever parents. We are family and that's how it should be. 

After all the pets are gone, would I do it again? No. As we get older, it's difficult to clean litter boxes, sweep up litter, brush husky fur, clean husky fur, clip toenails, clean ears, keep the fur between toes cut and manageable. Feedings, fresh water every day, sometimes two times a day, taking the chihuahua out for a walk, toenails, ears, eyes, shampoos, and cleaning up after him and his periodic accidents because he's 15 years of age now. All a lot of work. Even while I am so happy with the babies around me, I asked Terry to please not get another pet. We have enough love between the ones we have and us. That's all we need. We still have the memories of those beloved babies that have already crossed the rainbow bridge. I have been blessed to have many loving, beautiful fur babies through my life. 

Although we did discuss getting a ferret and naming it Ferret Bueller. Hey, it's just a thought. We can't have it now, as Togo and the cat wouldn't let it survive, but we can dream. That is a possibility in the future however. See? Apparently I have no clue how to shut it down. And the beat goes on ...

I believe I have had all the pets I can do in my lifetime. These babies will be the last ones to leave the nest and head to the rainbow bridge when their time comes. Or if something happens to us, we won't be leaving behind animals that someone else will have to care for. 

Them being gone will leave such a hole in our hearts and home, but it's time to stop getting pets. I hate to admit it, but we are simply getting to be the age where working with pets, caring for pets is just too much to handle.  

We both agreed to this, but we'll see. We all know how that goes when it comes to our fur babies! I said that before and I ended up with five dogs, a European starling bird, a cat, and a fish tank as my last adventure with fur babies. My daughter and I adored those pups, cat, bird, and fish and had them all until their deaths from old age, but the promise of no more pets does tend to dissipate when I see another baby I simply have to rescue. Maybe it is what I was put on earth to do.

Saturday, June 22, 2024

Today has been a fruitful day. I cleaned out the fridge and the freezer. I washed dishes and scrubbed down counters and the stove. The washer and dryer got a good wipe down as well, as did the baseboards in the utility room. I mopped in there as well. 

After taking a break, I plan on sweeping and mopping the kitchen and finishing up the cleaning of the microwave. All of my appliances are nasty! I haven't wiped them down in a while. The dislocated ankle and three breaks in the lower leg really did my poor house in for a while!

Saturday evening came and went in a flash. Yes, we stayed up late, watching our show again. We had several good laughs, our hearts raced as we watched our favorite characters being sucked up into yet another intense situation, and we spent time chatting after the show was over. The fur babies had their nightly pats and loves as we watched TV. Yet another lovely evening spent together. Bed time and the day was done. 

Sunday, June 23, 2024

Oh, the joy that is going on in this body right now! I cleaned the kitchen up a bit and then went into the office. Sitting at the computer, I sent a couple of quick notes out to two friends and then looked up rolls. Dinner rolls that can be made in the bread machine. I also searched for cinnamon swirl bread and found that immediately. 

In the search for "dinner rolls," I struck gold! Or at least I'm still hoping that it's not fool's gold, but the real stuff. The roll recipe I located is supposed to taste like Texas Roadhouse rolls, favorited by Mallory, Terry, and me. All of us would melt into the booth seats when they brought out those lucious, hot, steamy rolls with a side of cinnamon butter. Guess what's for dinner tonight? 

If the rolls are good, I will be making more! I know how to make cinnamon butter too, so the combination option is there. But I like my rolls with good, old fashioned, creamy butter slathered all over the top. That's deliciousness served up right!

I threw the ingredients in the bread machine and hit the "dough" option. Now we wait. The little silver box whirred and danced across the countertop. I knew it was working hard to deliver the best tasting rolls ever. I'm keeping it all positive here, as I really want to these rolls to be perfect. If they taste as good as the recipe says, we will be taking these rolls to family gatherings for all to enjoy!

I love to test new recipes to see if they come out the way they claim they will. Can't wait to try these! If they aren't good, then it's only some flour and yeast that I've wasted. Although, who am I kidding? Any type of warm, fresh bread is good. Even if it doesn't live up to the hype. 

The dough process only has one hour and 15 minutes left. Then we will have launch, or lunch as the case may be here. 

The rolls have to be shaped, then placed in a 13X9 pan where they will rise for another hour. Then baked. Baking bread is my favorite part. The house always smells so good! I told sweet man we would have these sweeter tasting rolls with some chili tonight for dinner to try them out as a test run. If they do come out like Texas Roadhouse rolls, Mallory will be wanting some of these too! We will see!

The rolls came out fresh and smelling heavenly. I dabbed butter all over the tops and let them sit for a few seconds to soak in all the butter their fluffy insides and top could digest. 

Terry and I gathered a soda for each of us, put some rolls on a plate, and the tub of butter plus a knife and went into the living room to munch on a couple of these rolls while watching Scorpion. 

The texture was soft, fluffy, and so springy. Taste wise, these are better than rolls you can buy! These rolls will be used for family gatherings for sure. The one grumbling I have for the recipe is that they did not come out sweet. I will work on that by adding more of a sugar additive or by using monk fruit for the sugar next time. It wasn't strong enough to get that Texas Roadhouse dinner roll flavor nor the taste of Hawaiian rolls as the recipe claimed.  I give it four and a half olives, out of five. 

After tasting these delectable pieces of heavenly bread, I don't really give two pats of butter whether it's sweet or not. I just know that they were incredible, lovely dinner rolls that would go well with anything. We are having chili tonight, so I was hoping the rolls would be just a touch sweeter, but that's okay. Hubby Mac says he thinks these will be better with chili as they are, instead of incorporating the sweetness into the roll. Either way, we have some lovely, hot rolls to have with dinner. 

While the dough was being made, Terry and I went out to the KIA to wash it, finally! The poor thing. Beautiful new car and it was covered with dust, dirt, and pieces of bug splatter, bird droppings, and I believe there was even some hardened on pollen. We have driven the car just a touch over 7,000 miles since we bought it about 14 months ago. We have washed it a couple of times. Yes, only a couple. 

Procrastination has something to do with it, but mainly it was a matter of me being in a wheelchair and Terry taking care of me instead of either of us worrying about the car. It's a matte finish, which for whatever reason takes a special soap and you are only supposed to hand wash the vehicle. I guess car washes mess up the finish or the car doesn't like the brushes tickling it or something. 

At least that's what articles say about the matte finish on the car.  The dealership also recommends hand washing. I don't always believe the dealership and I sure don't believe everything I read online, but I'm not taking chances with that car. I'd like to keep it looking as good as we can and take care of it like we should, no matter how silly it sounds. 

The day turned out to be a bit overcast though, so we completed the task of washing the car. Bread is made. ✔ Car washed. ✔ Front of the house all washed down. ✔Now it's time to relax a bit until dinner. Our only plans for today are to relax, eat dinner, and enjoy each other's company. Tomorrow is the start of a new week, so it will also mean an earlier bedtime. Yes, we can be rather boring. But we are boring together and that's the way I like it!

Until our next post, please take care of yourselves and each other. Sending hugs and thanks for reading the blog! Like my husband says: