Week In Review 7/18/25

I said last time that this would be a busy week, and boy, was I right.

We had company over the weekend. One of them was stung by a yellow jacket, on the lip! Not a good place to get stung. Her poor lip was so swollen. Thankfully, no allergic reaction. This is the second person to get stung in that same spot, so I bought wasp spray and went hunting. I found the nest inside a metal gate post, with them coming in and out through the bottom. I got them. I think.

I found an old school chalkboard at the thrift store for cheap, one of the big double sided ones on a wheeled frame. I bought it without measuring and then had to call the neighbor to haul it with his trailer. Oops. But I love it.

On Sunday, my daughter and I went to the local community theater's production of Beetlejuice. The cast were all teens. I was a theater mom for many years, so it was a fun little throwback.

Between the DMV (ewww), School orientation (bleh), orthodontic appointments (extra bleh), and regular cooking and home stuff, me and my college girl still managed a few outings. We went to the best plant nursery ever and then to the best antique mall ever. This plant nursery is huge and has a snack stand, beautiful sitting areas, a little produce market where they sell baked goods, eggs from their own chickens and fresh veggies. At the antique mall, I picked up two $5 duck decoys to put in the pond. Just for fun. I need to figure out how to tie a weight on them so they don't end up in the weeds.

I finished Genesis again and started Exodus. That prompted a Middle Eastern feast.

We made lamb steaks, kafta, chicken shawarma, hummus, rice pilaf, squash casserole (it doesn't quite go, but I had to use it up) tzatziki, feta, olives and pita.

I seem to crave those particular flavors a lot lately. That's how I do it though, I burn myself out on a food or a song I love, then can't stand it for months.

Oh, and we rescued a puppy. Sigh. We were riding down back roads, just sight seeing, when my daughter spotted a dog in an abandoned park. We turned around to make sure it was okay and saw it was a puppy, trapped in an old batting cage. I have a feeling she was abandoned. Skinny, no collar, no water around, no houses in sight, and the heat index was well over 100. So we picked her up and brought her home.

I'm pretty sure she's a fox hound, around 4-6 months old. I forgot how mischievous puppies are. She drags everything, shoes are her favorite. I'm not sure what we'll do yet but she's a sweet little thing. The kids named her Puddles. I wanted Pepper Ann.

Today starts with a dreaded trip to Home Depot for an electric weed eater. I can't do this anymore. I'm tired of trying to fix things I know nothing about. My wonderful neighbor had to weed the gate and mailbox area. So I'm going to get something that I can manage. A girl weed eater.

Country Beetlejuice

The rose garden is still putting on a show

Here we see the Ava in her natural habitat

Wasp sting to the lip

Puddles the pup