Day 1307

Rain isn't nearly as frustrating when your roof doesn't leak. Although it rained most of the day, I was no longer filled with my usual apprehensions. It was actually kind of enjoyable to have a damp, overcast day with a temperature 25 degrees lower it normally is in the middle of July.  Our rain phobic dogs seemed to approve of today's showers as well. Dot was eager to take a walk in the cooler weather, even though she got wet in the process. I guess dogs, just like people, are able to prioritize things. Today, rain was definitely the lesser of two evils.

The day-long rain turned out to be the perfect time to try out Janet's new Vitamix blender. Foodies and fans of programs like Top Chef are probably already familiar with these amazing machines. I'd never even heard of a Vitamix until fairly recently, but I'm definitely a fan now.

We experimented and made some fresh juice and smoothies with the machine in a fraction of the time it used to take using the juice extractor. There was no pulpy mess to clean up either. The pulp that was discarded using the juice extractor was completely liquified and actually became part of the juice using the Vitamix. The resulting beverage was absolutely delicious and the machine could be cleaned in thirty seconds using a special cleaning cycle. I love this thing. After making about a gallon of juice, we tried our hand at making peanut butter. Nut butters were equally easy to make.

The dog park was closed today due to the inclement weather, but I don't think Dot and Dash missed much. They like anything that involves food and seemed to enjoy hanging out with us as we learned to use the Vitamix machine. They were both pretty muddy at the end of their evening walk, but cleaning them up was a small price to pay for an enjoyable day.

I noticed something on social media today that mentioned one of my clients was considering utilizing new resources to augment its existing suppliers. Since I'm currently one of those existing suppliers, this short article caught my attention. I wonder what this means?  Maybe I won't get any more work from these guys. Maybe it won't affect me at all. I could ask, but I'm superstitious about such things. I'll just pretend I never saw the article and see what happens.

Next week looks busy. Now that I've added semi-regular trips to the gym to my weekly routine, I'm going to have even more trouble completing my endless to-do list. I did manage to cross one thing off the list today. I tried the egg and avocado recipe for breakfast. An egg poached inside half an avocado is quite tasty.

Dolly is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1303

It's a good thing that most of my chores were inside today, because it was way too hot outdoors. Even though we got started at 7 AM, the dogs and I were drooping by the time we finished our morning walk. Dot and Dash sprawled out on the brick floor to cool off, while I made myself a pot of coffee and some breakfast.

Under the protection of the air conditioner, I actually managed to get quite a bit done. I managed to get all my July invoices posted and in the mail. I changed some contact information on a website. And I finished another article.

Since my to-do list went so smoothly, I went to the gym after I mailed my invoices. It's still a little disconcerting to see people ten years older than me with more stamina than I have, but I'm making progress already. I have a feeling that this is one lifestyle change that's going to stick.

I don't know why we bothered to go to dog training class tonight. The dogs were hot. The people were hot. And there were little flying insects biting everyone. Everyone brought buckets of water for their dogs to drink. We brought water too, but Dash seemed to think all the other dogs water tasted better. Somebody brought a kiddie pool and it was amusing to watch Dash try to work up his nerve to get in the water. You could tell he wanted to, but he is timid about everything. He would put one paw in the water and then another, but never two paws at once. When Dash finally got the nerve to put all four paws in the water, a big Labrador Retriever took over the pool and splashed all the water out.

When I was driving around today, I saw a Fedex truck flashing its lights behind me. When the truck pulled alongside, the driver waved at me and I recognized him as my regular delivery guy. You know you're buying too much stuff online when the FedEx guy recognizes you in traffic.

Who knows. Maybe the FedEx guy will bring me something tomorrow. I could use a diversion. It looks like all I've got to look forward to is a lot of work. I wish it was Friday tomorrow, but I've got to wait another day. I'm bored with the oatmeal already. I saw a recipe online where you take half of a fresh avocado and poach an egg in the center after you remove the seed. I think you just bake the avocado in the oven until the egg cooks. The picture showed the avocado with some cheddar cheese melted over the top. It looks good. Maybe I'll make this tomorrow.

Keller is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day