No matter what mood I'm in, the sun will rise. It doesn't care about my tax bill, my car troubles or my little stressors! :) I REALLY miss the sunrises and sunsets on Prince Edward Island. I lived on the Summerside Harbour and it was just lovely every day - that sky was SO big. We don't get to see this spectacular scene here because we're on the "wrong" side of the mountain, so to speak!
I added some summer to my shopping trip, I got these cute garden gloves :) Shopping went fine, we are now well stocked for another month of meals! And I stayed within my budget! When I got home yesterday Alex did all the work emptying the car. By the way, I think my foot hit the floor when I gunned it backwards into that rainy sloppy muddy mess of a driveway! I made it in though! After unloading, we had a Newcastle beer with some Brie and baguette, our usual shopping day treat, as we put groceries away and updated each other of the goings on of the day. Apparently Jack doesn't leave the couch by the window all day long until he sees the car backing in, awww...my little fella...
Here is my tentative 30-day Meal Plan for anyone who wants some ideas. I'm calling it tentative because we mix and match a lot! You'll notice lots of chicken dishes because chicken was on sale. I never plan breakfast or lunch, because we usually have some kind of leftover or we just have fruit shakes or pancakes. Today I will be organizing, labeling and wrapping. Alex is making dinner tonight, aaaaah...so I can relax!
The snow in the backyard continues to melt! Thanks so much to my Blog friends for all the support and positivity yesterday!! :) It worked! I had a great day yesterday. It was long though, I was up at 5am, at the mechanic at 7am and only left there at 9:30am...the shift cable needed greasing, it will need to be done yearly because the rust from winter and spring hardens it since we don't use the car much. He told me all Dodge Journeys have that issue. He showed me how to remove the air filter and where to grease it if I'm so inclined...I think I may be so inclined! He heard a weird rattle and discovered a part that was too rusty to save, the Pulley Tensioner for the alternator...basically if it breaks, I have no power. So for $25, that got replaced too. All in all, it cost far less than I expected! I love my mechanic and I now feel safe driving!
Reminds me of a Seinfeld joke. One of the characters says "I have no idea what mechanics are talking about...they could tell me 'Your 'johnson rod' needs replacing' and I'd pay for it, who really knows what they mean???" At least my mechanic lets me eavesdrop and he explains things as he goes!
Alex made our dinner last night. I was so tired. We had chicken souvlakis with the leftover chicken from the roast on Easter Sunday. Look! Alfalfa sprouts!!! :)) We just pile chicken, Feta, lettuce, Tzaziki and (now) sprouts onto a pita and roll her up. So yummy!
Grosse-out alert below (don't worry Mama Pea, nothing snake-like!!!):
Ready?
Are you sure?
THIS is what passes for alfalfa sprouts at the market that I often rave about how fresh their stuff is. I couldn't believe my eyes yesterday and I had to take a picture. Isn't this food poisoning for thought??! I'm a home-sprouter now and forever!!!
I'm the proud mother of parsley! :) It practically sprouted overnight. I have two of them going. Alex is putting up another shelf for me today. He surprised me yesterday by sawing and sanding it. So this weekend I'll have some more herbs and maybe some other seedlings going! :)))
Vet news: I spoke to my vet of 9 years yesterday. She was nearly as rude as the receptionist. Makes me wonder if I somehow offended them lately. She made it clear that she has to follow rules, so do her clients. Of course she cares about the animal, but rules are rules. No further refills will be available without a re-assessment of the cat. I asked "how will you re-asses him if he's doing fine on the pills? Will you expect us to have him stop taking the pills so you can see the pink eyes and pink ears again?" She said she'll have to see during the visit. Wow...that was a shocker. I stopped by a vet in the next village and they were really nice. I briefly and non-emotionally explained our situation and they were super accommodating. They will need to see Oscar of course, but their motto is "don't mess with it if it works". It was quite a disappointing experience with the old vet. I am suspecting that she got too big too fast. They expanded from a small country vet operation to a huge vet hospital within 2 years. Anyway, there are plenty of vets in the sea right? :)
Vet news: I spoke to my vet of 9 years yesterday. She was nearly as rude as the receptionist. Makes me wonder if I somehow offended them lately. She made it clear that she has to follow rules, so do her clients. Of course she cares about the animal, but rules are rules. No further refills will be available without a re-assessment of the cat. I asked "how will you re-asses him if he's doing fine on the pills? Will you expect us to have him stop taking the pills so you can see the pink eyes and pink ears again?" She said she'll have to see during the visit. Wow...that was a shocker. I stopped by a vet in the next village and they were really nice. I briefly and non-emotionally explained our situation and they were super accommodating. They will need to see Oscar of course, but their motto is "don't mess with it if it works". It was quite a disappointing experience with the old vet. I am suspecting that she got too big too fast. They expanded from a small country vet operation to a huge vet hospital within 2 years. Anyway, there are plenty of vets in the sea right? :)
We're all in our happy place again. Because of the spring melt, it was sometimes dangerous to walk the dogs because of ice and too much mud and water out there. Because of the loose dog problem (which by the way, was completely ignored...) I never wanted to walk through the village. But now that I'm up at 6am these days, I can walk them safely through the village, to the deserted roads of the mountains.
The river is raging. The girls can't wait to go for a swim though. Jack...he'd rather sunbathe on the shore! :)
I found Charlie's weakness....food on the floor! She's still not eating every day...but this morning I dropped a bit of her kibble on the floor and eureka, she ate it...so I put more on the floor...each time she ran out, she looked up at me. So Miss Charlie wants to be "hand fed"...oh my gosh, what will I NOT do for these dogs lol??? She ate the whole bowl...on the floor...though!
Hi Rain!!
ReplyDeleteI am a prairie girl at heart - I need those big skies!! I need to see what's coming. I can't do mountains. They remind me of teeth. Such a weird thing eh? But, if I could have it all, I would like a big open sky with a wide open sea. That's my dream.
Good for you for getting it all said and done! Lovely of your mechanic to be honest and open with you. Most are not. I am going to read your 30 day meal plan when I am home tonight. I want to absorb it all and since I am on lunch right now, I cannot have the experience that I would like at work! :)
Those souvlakies look delicious!! We have puppy class tonight and I had pasta on my menu but only discovered last night that I had used the last of my frozen stash and do not have any emergency jarred sauce in my pantry (shopping is next week), Old Mother Hubbard's cupboards are getting bare!! :) So, now I am in a dilemma...not sure what to have. We have to leave the house early...just after 6 p.m. so cannot do anything leisurely. Hmmmmm....
Oh. My. Those store sprouts!!! GAG. Who would buy those?? YUCK. Glad to hear you have joined the sprouting world! :) So fresh and delicious! If you would like to try some seeds before buying, I have a few different kinds at home that I would be happy to share with you. Just let me know!
I called out vet today to get heartworm for Karma and Hunter (Tucker NEVER goes outside to hang out so he is not at risk) and although our vets are lovely as is their front end staff, I just about fell off my perch when she quoted me what heartworm AND tick medication would be for the two. A grand total of $621.80. Um. No. We will just go with the heartworm. Its the tick medication that is ridiculous. Even though I budget for heartworm throughout the year, this tick medication must be new. I hope you find happiness with the other vet.
Your pups are adorable!!!! I could just see how they would like to have jumped in and gone for a swim. Maybe Charlie would like to be spoon fed instead? :) Just sayin.... ;)
Have a great evening!
Dianna
Some vets are not above fleecing their clientele. Whenever I encountered one of those (when I had my cat HRH), I had no hesitation in finding another, more reasonable vet. No way I'm putting some vet's kid through university!
ReplyDeletewhat are you using to wash the food bowl. i had a problem with one of my cats once. she stopped using the litter box and i found out it was because of what i was washing it with. she didn't like the smell.
ReplyDeleteI would run not walk away from that vet. :( The new one sounds much better. :)
ReplyDeleteI have seedling starting to come up, of course I am way behind time as people are planting tomatoes and such things already. Some year I think I will just plant the seeds in the ground and see what happens. The snow is probably scaring your plants when they look out the window.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on another successful shopping trip :) and also on checking out a new vet. I would not go back to the old one after this.
ReplyDeleteI love the gloves u got for yourself and that your seedling are coming up is awesome !!!
What happened to your lemon ??
that mechanic sounds like a keeper, great to hear you have found an understanding vet, I hope they stay that way for you, those sprouters for sale look like they are passed there best I couldnt put them on my plate.
ReplyDeleteHubby is my mechanic, along with other family, but this last time we had to find another person to replace daughter's engine. Oh the wait on that job is so long too. Love those gloves. I have holes in mine and need new ones this year.
ReplyDeleteHi Dianna :)) You'd have it all in some parts of NS - I know that's your paradise! But also P.E.I. Wherever you live, you're a 15 minute drive to the ocean and boy oh boy do they have sky over there. If it weren't for the crazy wind and lack of mountains, I'd love to live there! Can't have it all I guess. But some parts of NS do have all that too. It's exciting to look around and dream :)
ReplyDeleteYou're brave, I could never relax until I know what's for dinner, the morning of. I have to check and plan and bookmark my recipe...it's a routine I have. The souvlakis were SO GOOD. I showed the "before" shot before I loaded it with more tzaziki lol...I hope puppy school went well!!
The sprouts at the market? GRRRR-osse. I couldn't believe it. Right now we don't really like that spring mix...so, we're going to try the sunflower seeds next! I have to go through Mumm's site and see all the varieties. I have to start my second batch of alfalfa today, it's almost all gone...and so far, it's been good in the fridge for 6 days! I checked this morning and so far so good still!
You know, I have so many issues with vets. I KNOW they need to make a living, and I never want a handout...but it just gets so expensive. We adopted 4 pets in 2015 to save them from a sad life at a shelter, that is never taken into consideration because pets are considered "luxury items". Anyway, the whole heartworm, flea, tick thing...I used to get my pugs tested yearly and got the heartworm and flea meds until they were about 5 years old...we don't have ticks in this area. The price of the blood test is so high...and the vet sells the meds for more than you can buy them online. You should check out Universal Pet Meds. Even if you get the dogs examined and tested, you might still save money buying the meds online with your prescription.
Since we got all of the dogs older, we made the decision not to do the heartworm test. The chance here in Quebec is extremely low for animals to contract it...it's more of a cash grab for the vets when they put the fear into you. My pugs never took it for the last 10 years of their lives mainly because I just couldn't afford it anymore.
Now we buy K9 Advantix for the dogs. No prescription necessary, for fleas and ticks. The only thing is we have to separate them from the cats for 12 hours once a month because the stuff is toxic for cats, but it's just been a minor annoyance because they're out in the yard most days in the summer. But the price is right and the stuff is effective. I knew a blogger who had 9 Golden Retrievers and she would buy her Revolution through a company in Australia that didn't require a prescription. All in, it cost her a lot less than getting all the tests done and paying for NINE exams yearly.
As for Charlie...she's being such a diva lol...she wants OUR food and has no issue eating a piece of chicken from her bowl!!! :)
Hi Debra :)) I've been to the fleecing type of vet who starts the whole exam with suggestions for all sorts of tests ($$$) before even seeing my pet. I'm just kind of sad that my good old vet turned into a business woman!
ReplyDeleteHi Joyce :)) After I read your comment, I thought about that. We always use the same soap, but this morning I rinsed her bowl under hot water just in case, same thing, she would only eat from the floor...at least she's eating!
ReplyDeleteHi Snoskred :)) I ran. It's puzzling because this woman was so helpful to me back in the day when both of my (late) pugs were aging. She never required yearly exams to renew their pills...she even took checks when the recurring illnesses got really expensive. Anyway, what can you do? I can only change my own attitudes and actions! Plus you know, she never once attempted to speak to me in English...I liked her a lot so it never bothered me before, but in hindsight...I'd heard her speak English to other clients, she should have accommodated my language, but that's a whole other issue here in Quebec! No politics on my blog!!! :)
ReplyDeleteLol Gill...the snow is scaring ME when I look out the window!! One day I'm hoping to have a really good organization set up with lots of room and grow lights to start all the seeds I want...for now though, I'm going to have to plant them in pots or in the ground at the end of May and hope for the best! :))
ReplyDeleteHi Nik :) The lemon is still sitting on the window sill! With the shopping and car stuff...we forgot about it! But we're going to try it out soon, it seems to be getting a little more yellow! :)
ReplyDeleteHi Dawn :)) My mechanic is awesome. When we had trouble with one of our tire thingy things...we went to another place who quoted a $900 repair. When we saw this guy, he said it just needed a good cleaning for $40 and that was 2 years ago and things are just fine with the tire thingy. He's definitely a keeper. Those sprouts were horrible...they shouldn't have liquid in the box like that, ewww!
ReplyDeleteHi Kristina! :) I wish we had more knowledge of mechanical stuff...at least you can find stuff more or less on You Tube these days but that's also taking a bit of a chance if you mess something up. I love the gloves! I hope they last the whole summer! :)
ReplyDeleteHiya!!!
ReplyDeleteDo you guys have a Peavey Mart near you? Our Peavey Mart in Winnipeg sells the Mumm's seeds so I have started getting mine from there. The only disadvantage is sometimes they don't have what I would like to try. I have broccoli seeds patiently waiting for me to get my butt in gear this weekend and sprout them :)
Hi Dianna :) No, we don't have that store here. I'd be shocked to find Mumm's in Quebec. Honestly, before you told me about it, I never saw seeds for sprouts in my life. It's not too big here I guess!
ReplyDeleteVery happy to hear your day of shopping/getting the car fixed went so well. Just a shame it had to start so badly the day before!
ReplyDeleteThose sprouts in the store! I'm getting a bad taste in my mouth simply imagining how those would have tasted. Talk about giving sprouts a bad name!!
Good for you for seeking out another vet after your experience of being treated so poorly at the last one. Do you know the worst mistake a small business (of any kind) can make is to expand too quickly? Yup. So much is lost. Including, often times, customers!
Charlie eating her food off the floor, eh? Well, another step in her getting you trained properly. ;o) A small price to pay to be able to get the nutrition she needs into her furry body. Our last dog had the same dog dish as Charlie does. Cute story: A visiting two year old came upon the empty dog dish, bent over and tried to pick up the black bone on the bottom. Stopped, looked a little perplexed and tried two more times before giving up on the task. :o}
Have a wonderful day, Rain.
Hi Mama Pea! :) Oh, that's cute lol...I can imagine the confusion..."why is this bone not coming out???"! Yes, I do agree that Charlie has us trained very well lol...I tried "tough love" on her...you know, "you don't get anything unless you finish your dinner" type of thing...but then she refused to eat for 2 full days!!! Her stomach was gurgling so much, I felt like a wicked "mom"! It's kind of grosse to pick up that wet kibble, shudder, but this morning I picked up one handful, put it on the floor and I guess that got her appetite going because she finished her food IN the bowl! :)
ReplyDeleteYou're so right about quick expansion. The last place I worked did the same thing, which was one big factor in leading me to burning out. We were 5 people and we expanded way too quickly, yet didn't have the funds to hire more people. I definitely suffered that expansion, unfortunately I'm suffering for life. That vet's attitude really bothered me Mama Pea...she used to be so sweet and caring. It's hard to digest!
Those sprouts...I can't say another word. Mine are still crunchy and delicious in the fridge after 6 days. I'm really starting to get afraid to buy my food now.
My vet starting charging me $40.00 for an office call when my Rott went in monthly for a $20 allergy shot that took 5 seconds of her time after 13 years....when I complained she said it had always been that way and I must have just been lucky! LOL! 13 years lucky? I don't think so....but she said she would put a note on my file not to charge me once I said I would have to find another vet! BTW....her daughter was going off to college that year....coincidence? I don't think so! If you don't stand up for yourself there are all kinds of people out there ready to take your money....ask me how I know! LOL! I think a lot of rescue animals have food insecurities....I know mine do....the Rott will go take a bite and then come and chew it in the bedroom doorway looking at me and then drops a bunch in the hallway on her way back to get another bite. She does clean up after herself though...lol! The mini dachshund, whenever I fill up the feed bowl she will stand guard over it even though she doesn't do it any other time. If any of the other pets come near it she will growl even if she's not eating it....after awhile she will stop and then anyone can have at it! They are too funny at times.
ReplyDeleteYou lived on P.E.I.? I am a huge Anne of GG fan and that house and her descriptions of the island just sound like heaven!
Hi Sam! :) Yes, I lived on P.E.I. for a year. I visited the Green Gables area and it brought the stories to life for me, it's a very cute area! :) The vet situation really got me down. I trusted her, oh well...on to the next one! Dogs are funny..our other two will eat anything, but Charlie is so particular! :)
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