This One’s for Dog Lovers

There’s something satisfying about watching pet grooming on YouTube. One professional, Vanessa, closed her public salon to focus on charity work. So her channels ‘Girl with the Dogs’ and ‘Girl with the Dogs 2’ hold a special place in my heart. The satisfying results, soothing white noise of her equipment, and Vanessa’s gentle sense of humor keep me coming back.

In exchange for charitable donations, she takes on extreme cases. Some of these animals have been turned away by other salons. My most recent watch features a Newfoundland dog named Abby. Abby doesn’t like standing or getting onto tables, so for-profit salons find the time commitment impractical.

Her pancake pose is adorable...

Vanessa’s title says it all: The Funniest Newfoundland Dog Groom You’ll Ever See. She reported that Abby’s humans received a price estimate of $400 (USD).

Can you imagine trying to move a 180 pound ragdoll of a dog? As for soothing sounds, are you familiar with the term ASMR?

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You Win Some; You Lose Some

My husband enjoys food so much that he watches Youtube channels devoted to cooking, often with me and sometimes without. And we’ve gotten some excellent ideas.

A recent video from Guga on Chinese style orange chicken was one my guy insisted I make. Guga's experiment regarded the sauce. He replaced orange juice concentrate with orange flavored Tang drink mix. It took forever to make, yet remained thin and runny even after I added two tablespoons of cornstarch, and had an unpleasant brownish hue.

I found the flavor profile almost synthetic, totally unlike the delicious chicken dish from our favorite Chinese-American restaurant, China Cottage. Fortunately my husband liked what I’d made; I ate two chunks of the fried chicken fresh and he finished the rest over a few days.

Are you familiar with Guga and his various Youtube channels? Isn’t it funny that advertisers used to tout the stuff as what astronauts drank in space?

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A Culinary Win

I’m happy to report that my ginger infused cranberry chutney is delicious. After a few days in the refrigerator, however, the ginger sharpness intensified a bit too much. I’m planning to add jellied cranberry sauce from a can. I expect this will mellow the flavor profile and smooth out the overly chunky texture. About half will go into the deep freezer a bit later.

Do you freeze leftovers? In your opinion, what differentiates chutney from sauce?

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Making Me Both Sad and Amused

Unfortunately, I received email notification of a housecat having been lost. The location is miles away, so I’m unlikely to be of assistance in returning him. But I just had to share because of his name, D.B. Pooper.

I bet he’d develop a crush on our sweet kitty friend Katie Isabella…

Are you familiar with D.B. Cooper’s legendary 1971 hijacking? Isn’t this D.B. handsome?

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Savannah Bananas

Thanks to Strayer, I learned of what looks to be a fantastically fun sport. Check out their link if you’re interested.

Are you a sports fan? Should I try convincing my husband to attend a game?

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An Upcoming Culinary Experiment

On a whim, I picked up a bag of fresh cranberries. Instead of making the typical American style canned sauce, I opted for chutney with orange flavors and thought about adding ginger for extra zing.

I’m not the only person, and the suggestion of candied ginger seemed perfect. It’s available for purchase but I had some of the readily available roots on hand and decided to try making it.

I have a one word summary: yum on the candied ginger. My husband has been snacking on it, too, and kindly bought oranges for me to concoct the chutney. I look forward to trying that recipe.

Do you like cranberries? Should I brave pairing a bite of both candied ginger and yuzu peels together?

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Delicious Fruity Fun

Our dear Strayer asked about candied yuzu peels. Yuzu is an Asian citrus, inherently sour and much beloved in Japan. While the fresh fruit cannot be imported (or advised being eaten as such), there are various products available. I might explore other options for culinary purposes.

The yuzu tree can also be grown in warmer United States climates. Alas, my region is too cold and the soil not acidic enough. Our Jungle Jim’s International Market might have some available but I won’t count on either availability or affordability.

Do you know that Ohio growers can produce much more than apples? Should I attempt some type of citrus?

Brightening This Present Darkness

One of my newest blogging friends, Linda, is another kind soul uplifting others and reminded me of cartoonist Scott Adams. If you’re not familiar, he created the character Dilbert, a beleaguered office worker. Mr. Adams also wrote a book called “Reframe Your Brain” and has recently started reading bits daily on his Youtube channel broadcast.

The one he shared on 11/14 regarded having negative thoughts. Instead of just trying to stop them, he suggests, replace them and essentially crowd the darkness out. I like this a lot. Whatever makes (or made) you happy, focus on that.

Are you familiar with the comic strip Dilbert? Do you know Mr. Adams' stepson died from fentanyl poisoning?

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Mistakes Happen

On Tuesday my most recent Amazon purchases turned up on the wrong doorstep. Fortunate for me, I recognized the porch next door and retrieved my packages.

Unfortunately, I gave the delivery service a thumbs down without thinking and before going out looking. I wrongfully thought it could be reneged. I don’t want a hard working person to get into trouble. And their work is genuinely appreciated.

Do you think there’s any hope this Amazon employee won’t be reprimanded?

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Gangster cats😎😎#cats #funnyvideo #gangsta #gangstasparadise

My New Hobby – & – Some Peculiar Side Benefits

As smart phone apps go, my current favorite is maps. Besides offering directions (of course), the app also offers satellite views. My addiction hobby began locally, looking at my own home. Spreading to local neighborhoods introduced me to a tiny new coffee house/bistro I would never have discovered on my own.

Best of all, many points of interest provide a website. Museums, parks, bars, restaurants, etc bring adventure and even some exoticism to my quaint suburban life.

This has even led me to try new things beyond local businesses. My favorite so far came from Japan, a product called candied yuzu peel.

A longtime fan of balanced sweet and sour tastes, I read of yuzu off a New Orleans restaurant menu. The ingredient was used either as a cocktail component or salad topping. Of course I’ve forgotten. ~rolls eyes~ I purchased a packet off of Amazon.com and hope to investigate its other forms, as well.

What is your favorite candy or beverage profile?

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A Chilly Surprise

Sunday here was cold, blustery, and rainy. Still, Monday’s early snowfall surprised me. Watching snowflakes and tree leaves mingling on their way toward the ground struck me as magical.

I would have a less appreciative attitude if I needed to go out in it, wouldn’t I? Do you know that packed snow actually benefits plants, insulating their roots from the cold?

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Warped

I try to eat healthy but sometimes a frozen pizza is just too tempting. With innumerable options available, my husband and I discovered the Schwan’s Red Baron brand launched in 1976 to be superior. They aren’t overly expensive as well as being tasty. Still, my guy often asks that I put on extra toppings.

For the first time I found adding grated mozzarella warped the crust during baking. The taste did not suffer any harm. I suppose the cheese adding moisture caused this.

Do you think my theory is correct? And are you a pizza fan? If so, what are your preferences?

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What a Waste…

The other day, Andrew commented how he wonders what clothing retailers do with last season’s garments. Our dear friend at Eastside Cats had a clever notion that such items could be shipped to the opposite hemisphere.

I like to think that they could be donated to homeless shelters, orphanages, and the like. However, I’m sure it’s a naïve wish.

This reminded me of a brief encounter at our local Walmart. It happened a few years ago and my memory is a bit fuzzy. The gist of it is that I saw a garden center associate preparing to throw out struggling plants. Hoping I might be able to revive the flowers, I asked if I could take one.

She flat out denied me. Apparently it’s some sort of corporate policy. Why? I have no idea.

Isn’t flagrant waste annoying? Do you think it would have been considered shoplifting if I grabbed it out of the trash?

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Imperfect Perfectionism

I carry a lot of traits passed on from my mother, and her mother before her. All three of us have had body insecurities. I know for a fact that my maternal grandmother only wore dresses/skirts because she was bowlegged and she hid her crooked teeth behind a closed-lipped smile.

A Beautiful Smile Nonetheless

By the way, Mom and I considered her minor imperfect leg shape to be adorable. And I’m glad to report that Grandma never seemed to suffer the condition.

On a side note, I now remember my brother wearing corrective leg braces. Wow! I forgot that ancient history.

Anyway, Mom was forever attempting to slim down while I despise my own weight gain. Most relevant to this post, my mother spent way more time crafting bake-at-home pizzas at her grocery store job than was required. She enjoyed the process, though, and I think her employers appreciated the dedication.

As for the relevancy, my editing for prose, blogging, and even commenting(!) on others’ social media posts go on ad nauseum. Now you know why I so seldom put out content here.

Do you think her grin hid a mischievous nature from us kids?

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Squished

I am forever grateful to the Gem City Catfé for letting us adopt sisters Terra and Polly. While they are not inseparable, it’s impossible to know what they’ll get up to when they are together.

How can this be comfortable?

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Prosthetic Pumpkin Stem

After Halloween, our local grocery store put their remaining pumpkins on a steep discount. Many were broken in various ways. For a mere $2 (USD) I picked up one with, as is obvious, a missing stem.

It’s also rather banged up and far less pretty than the blue pumpkins I cultivated from seed last summer. I still like it.

Angel Jezebel’s favorite stuffed mouse proved a cute topper. I think she would approve of my bringing this toy out of retirement.

Jezzy would pull her toy down from a cat tree late at night.
I still miss searching for it the next morning...

Have you noticed that post holiday clearance sales aren’t as good as they were years ago? What do you think happens with unsold candy?

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Bordeaux & Phoenix – Another Overdue Post

Back in the late 1980’s my brother worked near San Francisco as a chef. My boyfriend and I flew cross country to visit him and explore area vineyards. That’s where I discovered my dragon statuette and named ‘him’ after the tasty wine.

As for my adventure with our one-legged friend Phoenix, he can neither carry laundry baskets nor traverse his cellar stairs. A kindly neighbor has done his laundry every Saturday since his amputation but she had another obligation a few weeks ago. Upon being asked, I never considered saying no but honestly dreaded the task for various reasons.

As it happened, the power went out in his neighborhood that very morning. Mulling over options, my husband and I concocted an amicable solution. I drove over, got the dirty laundry, and we both came back in separate cars.

It was far preferable using familiar appliances in a space other than his creepy cellar. And I was able to get started earlier because his workplace is only minutes from his house, this same outage shortening his work day.

Who knew a power outage could benefit me? Is it selfish of me to think of it that way?

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