Ah, The Country Life.

Lately I have noticed a few cayotes and red fox within a mile or so of our house. And on the theory that if I see one there are probably a bunch more smart enough to not be seen, I suspect we may have them quite nearby. So early yesterday morning (at dawn, in fact) when Mr Swami let our gray cat out she made a weird cut-off howling noise I had never heard her make. I was worried, but she came home quickly & safely. (Altho freaked out, with her ears back, and didn't even ask to go out for the rest of the day - which is almost unheard of for her.)

So I was worried that we had one of these canine predators around our yard. The local TV in fact has been highlighting them, and people finding cayotes in their garage & stuff like that. So I gave Mr Swami my recommendation of what to do to deter cayotes from hanging out under our seldom-used side deck or in one of the sheds. He was to go outside first thing in the morning with a big stick and beat this stick on the house, the gutter pipes, the deck floor, etc. and maybe growl a little too. Sometimes it doesn't take much to deter major critters. They will just move on to a 'better' neighborhood when a bigger predator (i.e., my man) moves in.

So this is what happened: Mr Swami did not want to contfront potential cayotes in his work clothes, and since it was a darkish dawn he just went outside naked! Oh how I wish I had a video of Mr Swami running around outside banging his big stick & growling! I would watch it over & over, lol. It would be a YouTube moment!

He did make one mistake though. He let the cat out first, so the cat was terrified and ran into the woods too. Oh well. He should get it right tomorrow. Scare cayotes, then let the cat out. We should be clear in a couple of days.

You guys can't do stuff like this in the big city.

$700 dollars later

I have a new grill! A Weber Genesis 310.



We pick her up tonight from Ace Hardware where she is being assembled. Our old grill was old & icky & falling apart so it will go out at the end of the road with a "Free. Works." sign on it. Well, the electronic ignition part doesn't work but everything else does.

We wanted a midsized grill with no side burners because I never use those and midsized because we rarely cook for more than 6 - 7 people at a time (usually just for 2) and I don't want to take up too much deck space in the space I want a grill to be. The copper color is much richer in person. I'm happy!

Randomy Things

1. Every time I come to Blogger I blank out.

2. My oldest daughter is unscrupulous. About money. I've kind of known that for a while but lately it has hit me in the face. I am not happy.

3. Mr Swami was very good this week and did a number of man things that have been on my Honey Do list for quite a while.

4. I haven't done a full-on grocery shop in almost a month now. And still? There is stuff to prepare. Although I did buy some lettuce & fresh fruit & stuff, just no meat or canned/boxed/bagged things.

5. Grandma's 90th birthday card shower was a huge success! She got over 90 cards which seems very appropriate. She told us that others in her town are now copying the idea, so I guess that is proof it is a good one. She got one card in triplicate (it actually said "90th birthday" on it) otherwise all the cards were unique. Some people sent old photos. Old, old photos. She really enjoyed that.

6. Dove Chocolate Truffle Easter Eggs are divine.

Icky Revoltingness

How could I be so ignorant? In my defense, I did not grow up with one and I never even really wanted one. The only reason I got it was so certain other people who are not Mr Swami would just stfu about the nuisance of trying to clean the little drain holes and just wash their whole mess away. So I got a garbage disposal a few years ago.

Did you know that the rubber gasket thing that sits way down inside the drain - the one you have to poke stuff through forcibly now and then - did you know that it can be popped out and cleaned? Like on the underside? Where it is coated in icky revoltingness? Quite by accident I popped mine out today and thus noticed the yicky-yucky skeevy scum built up on the bottom of the stupid thing. How was I to know? Nobody ever told me it came out! I did not read the fine print on the box when the plumber installed it lo those 5 years ago. It seemed like a permanent thing to me. I am so embarrassed. It was gross. Really, really gross.

But clean now.

My Weekend in Randoms

1. Weather: Friday was rain & dreary. Saturday - dull & snoggy (low fog off melting snow.) Sunday - beautiful! Sunny sunshine!! Sixty plus degrees!!! Snow all gone!!!!

2. This is the last weekend of my annual empty out the frige & cupboards event wherein I use up pretty much everything I have on hand. Soon, a major shopping stock-up trip will be needed - probably on Tuesday. The handful of canned things I haven't used up by then get dated in magic marker and moved to a single shelf so I use them up first.

3. At least my frige & cupboards are pretty much empty and will be easy to spring clean.

4. Sunday my son and I saw Alice in Wonderland 3D. (We see a movie together every other Sunday.) The movie was okay but had too much Alice and not enough Johnny Depp. The movie never really took off for me. The storyline just could not transcend the special effects. Every time it tried, it fell down a hole. Plus Alice was a real downer.

5. Evidently the FDA has had 16 tainted spice recalls since 2001. This is news to me! I never heard of any of them until today. Now they want to irradiate, steam heat or fumigate all spices. This does not sound tasty. The main spices that are contaminated are black, red and white pepper, paprika & basil, and salmonella is the main contaminant. I can see the peppers because people commonly use them as an uncooked additive. But basil?

6. Mr. Swami is going to take a couple of days off later this week. I need to pick out a show we can go see.

Despiration Dining

Last night I was trying to think of something new to do to chicken breast. I found 2 tubs of McD's Sweet & Spicy Chili Dipping Sauce, tasted them & decided they would make a nice glace. So I brushed them onto my chicken breasts along with just a little Madras curry paste & they tasted so good! The sugar in the packaged sauce made the skins brown and crisp up really nicely. Am I weird?

Oops

I have neglected my blog. It just sort of happened one day at a time.

I totally misestimated how much time having The Sister nearby would take from my usual routine, lol. Now that she is not staying in my actual house I do enjoy her company, and she knows how to play a complex card game called Railroad that I just love to play. So I am spending several afternoons each week playing cards with her.

Mr Swami's mom is turning 90 in a few weeks and her kids are planning a restrained celebration spread over about a week. The plan is for everybody to come see her at the farm but not in one huge, stressful group. This seems like a good plan to me since she gets tired easily. We will go on a sunday and I have been assigned to bring chicken salad. She likes mail so they are planning a "card shower" and trying to get everyone she knows/has ever known to mail her a birthday card.

My middle D got a promotion from FedEx and will be working closer to home - which will save her all kinds of time & travel money. (She doesn't live with us, but very close by.)

We came thisclose to getting a 60" TV last week. Well - I came thisclose. Tom still has issues. He can be crazy stubborn.

Forty degrees every day this week! I love it!