The Gate Keeper

Holy mackerel ... it's almost the end of June, usually the hottest month of the year ... and it's 57 degrees this morning, with a high of mid 80's.  I'm going to suck in and enjoy all the cool I can, because we are looking at a week of high 90's.  Won't THAT be fun!!

Here's the gate keeper hard at work this morning.  He already had his morning snacks at 4:30, just because he's such a good boy ... and such a hard worker!!  This is every morning in this house.

Recovery was a slow process yesterday.  I have company coming this weekend, so I actually tried to get rid of all that (or at least MOST of that) junk from my 5th wheel that is still hanging around.  I think I literally just moved it from one spot to another, all morning long.  Not much progress there.

Why you ask?  Because I found this book and made the mistake of reading the first few pages.  Not that I was hooked, but it was much easier to sit down and read than it was to figure out what to do with all that stuff I really DIDN'T need.

After reading Patsy's blog a couple days ago, I ordered some of this Hot Spot Spray for Cooper's foot.  STILL that ant bite bothers him, along with a small bump very close by.  He licks and chews constantly.  I sprayed it on and the chewing lessened dramatically.  Not completely, but a LOT.  He's got another little growth on his back that's been itching also.  WAS itching!  This stuff seems to be working pretty well.

It's also good for itching from allergies.  I used Vetericyn products a lot with my horses and liked the results.  So thank you to whomever it was that recommended this product.  It's helping quit a bit!!

The Gate Keeper even fell asleep on the job while watching for birds on the front lawn!!

I was so distracted, I almost forgot to fix the sprinkler that we dug up the day before.  With no water, all the sod pieces look pretty sad.  Pictures to come.  I finally just threw everything in the hole.  Sometimes you just have to walk away!!!

Lunch was another wagon killer.  Not having lost anything for well over a week in spite of NO ice cream and truly NO sugar (a massive feat for me), I was pretty frustrated.  To top it off, I found I had nothing for lunch OR dinner.  Okay then ... "toasted cheese" it is once again.  

I read some more, put James to work on the dirty floors and tried to pick up for company.  James keeps getting lost, got stuck under Jonathan's cage (making Jon go crazy with parrot screams) and missed one room altogether.  Oh for a good internet connection, because without one, James works about as hard as I do!!

Thank goodness ... a big surprise ... Hello Fresh was delivered right to my front door.  This should make at least five meals for me with NO grocery shopping.  Here's the SHOULD look like picture.

The lettuce wasn't quite the same, but that's okay.  I substituted Cole slaw dressing for the oil and lemon juice they suggested.  Ugh ... I'm not an OIL person.  It was actually quite tasty!  Add a few pecans and it would have been even better.

Here's something I found quite interesting.  I baked the pecan crusted chicken in the oven at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.  It came out the most tender, juiciest chicken I've ever had.  Maybe it was the sauce that held the crust in place.  Wait for it ................. mayo and honey.  Who knew?  The little bit of leftover sauce was used on top after it was cooked.  Mighty tasty!  I think I'll make this one again.

In the end, I still have the sprinkler to finish fixing, I still have a huge pile of stuff to go through on the kitchen table and I haven't balanced my bank accounts in two months.  The lack of enthusiasm I have for those activities is prevalent.  ESPECIALLY since today I have to dress up in the penguin suit for yet another initiation of new folks into the Elks Lodge.  

Every month it's another 40 people coming to join our group.  That's pretty amazing for such a small town organization.  Maybe I can even talk a few into helping out at Bingo.  Oh no worries ... I won't tell the REAL REAL ... I'll let them find out for themselves!!!

Until then ..... here's to leftover salad and chicken for lunch!!!