Anniversary

I hope you all had a great memorial day weekend. Happy anniversary to me and my motorcycle, Saki :)

(2 years and 2 days to be exact)

I shall celebrate by ignoring her.

Opening Doors

Here is our master bath before we moved in:

And here is after we moved in:

Did you spot the difference? Hint: the ugly orange tiles are still there so it's not that, but thanks for the wishful thinking. It's the shower doors. They're gone.

I took them off because they were filthy and hard to clean. And hard to get in and out of. And most of all, did not hide the ugly orange tiles. But now there's the caulking residue left to deal with.

Did I make the right choice?

For the Birds

I'm headed for an east coast visit this year which rocks. The last time I was there was about 3 years ago.

That was when Karma was little (er) and we brought her with us everywhere. We stuffed her in a bag and convinced a bunch of people that she was carry on size. It was actually on the way back from this trip that we failed to convince airline folks this and were forced to buy a crate at the airport and put her in cargo.

Anyway, for most of the trip I left her at my parents house while I went off and did my thing. My parents were also bird sitting for my little cousin while he was out of the country with his parents. Karma loves critters. And that includes birds. But before you jump to conclusions, she did not eat the bird. She did however sit by the cage and stare at it. Like a frozen statue. Anyway, when I came back to pick Karma up, the bird looked like this:


This photo was taken by my parents. They put the bird (named Chocobee) in the freezer so they could figure out what to do next. Their plan was to replace him with an identical one and not tell anyone. I also forgot to mention that my "little" cousin is 18. So I lectured my parents that their plan would foil and how ridiculous it is to attempt.

Who sticks a dead bird in their freezer (actually, don't answer that one - is this behavior genetic?)? Who tries to fool an 18 year old? And did Karma stare this bird to death?

Pit Stop

I love avocados. If you don't, you're insane in the membrane. And I especially love when they are in season and on sale. But what's wrong with this picture?

This specimen was 99% pit.

I was really looking forward to devouring this perfectly ripe, and awesomely green goodness.

Grr.

Clearing Up the Air

I have a dirty secret. Literally. And it involves this:

(my furnace)

I have never changed the air filter in this thing since I've lived here. I have no excuse because I have pets. And eczema.

So that's where this comes in:

I ordered a 6 pack from Amazon. Not that kind of 6 pack. Or that kind either. Although I would be happy with either. Or both!

First take out 1 filter, and put away the rest. Then cut along the top to access the filter, but don't remove the plastic case completely (you'll soon see why).

Then head to your nasty old air filter located under your furnace:

Remove the old air filter*. And brace yourself:

How gah-rows is that? Big time yuck.

This is when you finally remove the plastic sleeve off the new filter, and carefully slide it over the old one:

Mark your new filter with the date you installed it:

Now slide the clean new one where you pulled the gross old one out.

Now toss the old filter and try to forget you let that happen. And then sit back and take a deep breath.

But before you forget the horror, here's one last look at how nasty mine was. *You saw right, it said '30 Day' on the old filter (and indeed it's been a year and half since we've lived here). Are you horrified? Did we beat the world record for air filter procrastination/ignorance?

Have you any similar horrors? Obviously, I won't judge...

Choking it Down

I love artichokes, look at these beauties I bought:

Not only are they pretty, they're a power food. If I were a food, I'd definitely want to be a POWER food, wouldn't you? It's in the top 10 detox foods (I think spinach and blueberries are up there as well). It promotes liver health and and soothes digestive issues like nausea (I should have devoured one of these before this incident). And for funsies, here's some trivia: Marilyn Monroe was crowned the first California Artichoke Queen in 1949.

Any good artichoke recipes to share*? Recommended dipping sauces? Recommended cooking methods? I got another pair that needs to be in my belly soon!


*while searching for artichoke recipes I came across this**. The named cracked me up. And it should you as well.

**after looking up what that is, I came across this. Goatfish? Surmullet? And of course that led me to this. Mullidae (great band name if you ask me)? I don't know who named the mullus but it should have been named the rat-tail-growing-on-chinnus. WTF is up with these weird names that crack me up? And to think I started this post with artichokes, the fun never stops! Does anyone else find this funny or do I need to quit my early morning drinking?

Bargaining Chips

After a trip to the store:

I normally don't get potato chips but these are an exception. They are kettle cooked. And salt and vinegar. And big time yum. And I had a coupon. I am ashamed to admit that these 2 bags lasted less than a week, 99% eaten by just me.

After these 13 items, the grocery bill came to $22.93 which seems pretty good considering a bag of shrimp and 4, count them - 4 avocados.

Potato chips are definitely my weakness. What's yours?

Capsized

Guess who spent the weekend with us? One of the chillest border collies ever, Cap (short for 'Cool kickin' it Cap' at least in this house)!

This was his birthday weekend so we started off with a nice walk to the pet store:

It's a good thing he doesn't have sharp teeth, he's a snapper! Or just really excited to celebrate his 12th year!

Here he is keeping me from my coffee:

Of all the places to hang out, Cap picks the kitchen. Our very tiny kitchen. And of course in front of the one spot I needed to reach...

Maybe the problem was that he needed coffee too?

The weather had warmed up in the afternoon so naturally - it was time for doggy ice cream!

Who needs cake?

Karma is enjoying Cap turning 12...

Who's 12? What's 12? Who cares, I got frosty paws...

All the pooches enjoying the cold treat. Not sure why they aren't relaxing and lounging?

Cap polished off his treat. And then some. Hey, it's his party and he can eat the cup if he wants to!

I even filled the doggy pool but Karma was the only one to use it. Cap and Rylie just drank from it.


We concluded the pooch party with some ball playing. Here are El Capitan's conquests.


Cap was here.

I think he had a good time, wouldn't you agree?

Runs in the Family

We often get asked if Karma and Rylie are both from the same litter because they look alike (actually, they look quite different even aside from their colors) because they are the same breed. Imagine that! So here's a list of Karma vs. Rylie:

• Karma eats poop; Rylie does not
• Karma eats fruit; Rylie doesn't really
• Karma does not eat Cosequin tablets; Rylie devours them
• Karma eats slowly, 1 kibble at a time; Rylie inhales everything but the dish
• Karma drinks a lot, and pees a lot; Rylie poops a lot
• Karma marks everything with her urine; Rylie licks everything with her tongue, including interior walls and fire hydrants
  
• Karma barks at men and is weary of strangers; Rylie loves them more than she loves us
• Karma has a rat tail; Rylie has a super fluffy one
• Karma becomes dead to the world when she sleeps on our bed; Rylie gets pissed when someone breathes and will jump off the bed
  
• Karma is only interested in toys when they include human interaction; Rylie is interested in making anything a toy (socks, blankets, dog beds, pinecones)
• Karma hates having her nails trimmed; Rylie falls asleep while hers are being trimmed, even if you hit the quick
• Karma only wants to be outside if humans are; Rylie loves outdoor freedom
• Karma's licks are gentle and frequent; Rylie gives few licks that take your face off

But after seeing this, I believe these two are one in the same:

What do you think?

Lounging Lizard

Apparently I am a collector. Of critters. Critters big and small, mammals and reptiles, warm and cold blooded. And squirrels and lizards. Because look what moved in today:


Actually I think he's been hanging around since this weekend but was just too shy to make an appearance. Rylie sniffed him and Karma stomped on him (he was ok because he still scurried around).

What do lizards eat? What does it's poop look like? Does it need a heat lamp? Does it cuddle? What to do with it? And what to call it? He sort of looks like a Jimi to me...