Dogs, checkbooks, etc.

We'll be going on an overnight trip with the tractor club in April, this time to Illinois to see the Caterpillar museum (and many other things).  The club secretary tried getting this trip together for last fall, but there weren't enough people interested at the time; she needs a certain number of folks on any bus trip to pay for the bus and driver.  Cliff and I couldn't go then because he was getting radiation, so we were among the first to volunteer this time.  Gabe will be staying at Bed and Bones, where we take him for grooming.  They have excellent ratings and are praised by local folks.  The grandson and Heather used to take Titan there, and he loved it.  One time we delivered him to Bed and Bones for them.  When we made the last turn to get there, he was up looking out the window and wagging that huge tail of his; he couldn't wait!  Gabe will have to spend parts of three days, and two nights, since we leave so early the first morning and get back so late the second day.  I won't worry about his treatment there (check the reviews!), but I will worry about what's going through his head.  Maybe after spending some time there, he'll be more comfortable staying in the future.  Let's face it, there's no place for a dog on a bus.

Last Sunday we took him with us to get some hay for the horses.  He seemed to enjoy the 20-miles-one-way trip, but about five miles before we got back home, he puked in the back seat.  Cliff doesn't deal well with such a situation, although it cleaned up nicely (I did the cleanup).  So I ordered something that would let us both rest easier:

We don't take him many places, just on short local trips.  But eventually we might.  So we'll be using this until he (perhaps) outgrows car-sickness.  I average at least $30 a week spending money on this dog, probably more if you count the expensive food I get him, the grooming, the toys... so far he's been worth it.

This is my checkbook.  It's 48 years old, having been given to me by a teenager (probably 16 at the time) named Tom Dent, back when my children were small.  Tom was quite a presence around our place back then.  He rode a dirt bike like a pro.  He could ride a wheelie on that bike all the way through town when Oak Grove had their parade, front wheel never touching the ground.  He was a hero to my children:  My four-year-old son would pretend to be him, trying to lower his childish voice in an attempt to sound like an adult, saying, "Hi.  I'm Tom."  My daughter simply loved him.  He'd put both the kids on his motorcycle at once and take them for brief rides around the yard and driveway.  I even recall him taking my kids and Cliff's brother, Don's, three kids with him all at once on the bike, back when my sister-in-law's dad was dying and I had them for a week.  Fun times.  Anyway, this checkbook has come to have a sentimental value to me.  It was a gift given for no reason or occasion; I guess Tom just wanted to make a checkbook and had to think of somebody's initials to put on it.  (You can see the "W" in the upper corner of the picture if you look closely.  The "D" is above it on the cover.

As you can tell, it's in horrible condition.  I'm trying to find a way to get new stitching on it.  I went to a Tandy store, but they only sell the leather-working stuff, they don't fix things.  They suggested I check the business cards on the bulletin board.  The closest thing I could find to what I was searching for was people who work on saddles.  Next time we're in Amish Country, I'll see what I can do to get my checkbook cover fixed.  If I can't, I will STILL carry this checkbook.  I was going to have it cremated with me, but my daughter says she wants it.  One thing about it, we stick to cash for almost everything these days and pay our bills online.  So it doesn't get a lot of use.  

Oh, I want to thank any readers of mine who click on the ads here.  Yesterday Google placed $100 in my checking account.  This is the second time they've paid me $100 for doing something I would be doing anyhow, with no thought of being paid.

I can tell by the balance on the right that Cliff's payday was Wednesday.  Our checking account balance is usually in the two- and three-digit range.  

Peace.

Current happenings

Here you see our current "herd" of cattle.  The boys are ten weeks old and looking great.  Because they were going through the expensive milk replacer so fast, I weaned them at about the earliest age of any calves I've had; but I did my homework and did things right this time, with no scrimping on grain and such.  Some of the articles about dairy calves suggested they can be weaned at four weeks, but I didn't have the heart or nerve to do it that early; they got to keep their bottles until they were eight weeks of age.  Now they get two large coffee-cans full of calf starter (mixed grain with dry milk in it) daily... that's for the two of them.... plus two or three flakes of good alfalfa hay, and all the grass hay they can eat.  I probably spend fifteen minutes daily tending to them.  Cliff does some of the heavier stuff, like carrying water to them sometimes, and moving hay around to a convenient spot for me.  Last week he put a stretch of electric fence in their pen so they'll know what it is when we turn them out to grass.  They contacted it the first day, got shocked, and haven't gone near it since.

Yesterday I dug around in the freezer trying to decide what we'd have for dinner and found a quart freezer bag of chicken broth with just a few bits of chicken in it.  I retrieved it and thawed it in the microwave.  I peeled and chopped potatoes, celery, onion, and carrots into the rich broth.  Then I threw in a handful of frozen okra, some barley, and a little cabbage.  I seasoned it with salt and pepper, took a taste as it cooked and knew it was going to be good; then I remembered something I bought in Mexico last year while grocery-shopping with Brooke. 

I really didn't know for sure what I was getting, but it appeared to be cubes of dried tomato product.  How handy would that be for soup, right?  Besides, it was a really cheap souvenir.  I've had it almost a year and never thought about it, but yesterday, after getting my soup perfectly seasoned, I remembered it.  I decided to put two cubes in and see what happened.  You'd be surprised at how much tomato color showed up as the cubes dissolved!  

I took another taste of my soup after this new addition:  It would have been delicious except for the SALT!  I had already added my own salt and done a taste test, so the only thing that could have made my soup taste like brine was the tomato cubes.  I picked up the little box and peered at it until I finally saw the word "sodio".  That must be the Spanish word for sodium, right?  If so, it says one cube has 45% of a person's daily allowed amount of sodium.

Well, I watered it down as much as the pan would allow.  The soup was wonderful, but still too salty, although Cliff thought it was great.  We probably didn't get any more salt that we'd have gotten eating a meal out, but I never cook anything that salty at home.  Oh well, live and learn.  I'll know how to use my tomato cubes next time, and I won't be putting salt in the soup until after they're added.   

That's enough of my drivel, except for a picture of Gabe positively ROCKING the eyebrows, beard, and 'stache (that's what the cool kids call a mustache, right?) after a trip to the groomer.

  

Peace.