Weekend recap 1

Friday DH and I stayed in and relaxed. We had Tijuana Flats for dinner, stopped by Andy's for the newest beer release and rented Transporter 3 from Redbox. Most times I prefer Tijuana Flats over Moe's, mostly due to their seasoned chicken and hot sauce selection, even though Moe's is more convenient to our house. I had a chicken quesadilla and DH had a beef hard taco and a steak soft taco. Of course we also had queso and churros. I love their churros! I love their variety of hot sauces, usually more than 10 on the bar, and they change them out frequently. They also sell a million types of hot sauces in case you fall in love with one. Against Andy's suggestion, we tried out the new Sam Adams this weekend. Don't get me wrong, Andy has great taste and has never steered us wrong, and he loves Sam Adams, but he does not like fruited beers (exception, orange slice in his Blue Moon). Sam Adams Blackberry Witbier was voted the 2008 Samuel Adams Beer Lover's Choice winner and was just released January 2009. It was just ok, not too fruity, but bold like most Sam Adams. It actually smelled better than it tasted. A traditional witbier with orange peel and coriander, with an added hint of blackberry. We also tried Shock Top. We usually like to go with micro-breweries, but I've wanted to try Shock Top for a while. Glad I got over that one. It's ok, pretty thick for a light beer, but tasted similar to Michelob's other offerings. Not too good.We've ended our Blockbuster through the mail subscription. It was about $16/month and we would only watch a movie or 2 on the weekend. Now that Blockbuster has changed it's rental rates to $2/day and Redbox has come to our area, we just didn't see where we got $16 worth of movies per month. We rented from Redbox and it was easy, and just $1.07! It would be a little more convenient if the Redbox kiosk was somewhere other than Walmart, maybe McDonalds or Walgreens as in other cities (the photo above is from a McDonalds), but can't beat $1/night for a new movie!
Transporter 3 was ok - typical Jasan Statham, action packed. Saturday night we rented the newest James Bond (#22!), Quantum of Solace. I still don't know what that title had to do with the movie. They said Quantam 1x, referring to some organization, but I don't understand fully what it was. Oh well. That was a typical James Bond/Daniel Craig movie, but too choppy on the editing for the action sequences.

Saturday was cleanup at G-mom and Poppop's. We cleaned their bathrooms and cleaned out the furniture in 2 of the upstairs apartments to get it ready to get estimates for repair and reno work. The weather cooperated and it was a nice day. This guy below greeted my dad and I when we left around 3pm.

Robellini plant bed

Here's what I started with Saturday morning, a clean slate. DH was called into work, so I went out to the nursery

And picked up a few plants - here's a large agapanthus (lily of the nile), 2 smaller agapanthus, and 3 aztec grass to start. Oh, and there's 2 small golden dew in the back. They're ok in shade and get pretty big, so I didn't want them to hide the others in the front.
Then I went to Lowes and Home Depot. Lowe's had flax lily and society garlic 3 for $10 - a 1 gal flax lily was $7 at our local nursery and society garlic was about $4 there too. So, I picked up 3 flax lily and 2 society garlic. I also wanted some form of yucca that could take the sun for the right corner. I found this at Target for $10 - good deal! It's a 3 cane yucca, resistant to 0 deg F, likes full sun and can do good on frequent waterings.
So far, this is what we've got - I counted, I planted about 21 plants this weekend! We went with yucca cane on the right corner, agapanthus, aztec grass, society garlic, flax lily, golden dew and canna - but many many of each.

Last addition to come soon will be a Mandevilla (formerly Dipladenia). There are many different colors - white ‘Summer Snow’, yellow, pink, red. For now, I'm set on 'Sun Parasol Crimson' aka Red Riding Hood, because I've heard that is most resistant to bugs. I'm going to try to train to climb the small part of the fence shown at the left, it's about 6ft high and 3 ft wide before the swing gate. It's a flowering vine, sometimes called Brazilian Jasmine that is great trellised in containers or in hanging baskets. This will be the only plant out front that's not rated to withstand freezing weather.

But I also like the other colors. The pink may go better with our lavander azaleas. We'll see.

Alzheimer’s

My grandma's been exhibiting signs of Alzheimer’s for the past few years. For about the past year, she's been forgetting more and more. It seems to be all short term memory loss. Everything from years ago is still there, and it just seems like yesterday to her. She still knows all of us, but occasionally forgets some big recent events, like my wedding nearly 4 years ago at her house, or that one of my cousins is in Japan, and has been overseas for a couple years now. It's sad, but she's still her cheerful self, so we can be thankful for that.
It makes me laugh when she denies something happened, or doesn't believe us when we tell her. For instance, she'll eat a banana and then a few minutes later go to eat another, and we'll tell her she just had one and most times, if she's forgot, she'll say Noooooo. And it's funny - we ask, "why would we lie to you about eating a banana?! It's ok!" She and my grandpa are still living in their house for the time being. My dad and aunt make food trays (fresh) for them and do their laundry, but try to let them be on their own as much as they can - they've always been very a independent couple.
Sunday was my grandpa's 82nd birthday, so I went over to hang out with them. I brought groceries over (plenty of bananas) and a sugar-free pumpkin pie for the birthday cake. My grandma made the comment that we have to be sure to bring the bananas when they leave to go home. I asked her where she was now, and she said not home. I had her look out to the ocean and told her this was her home, and it had been her home since they moved in almost 50 years ago (their 60th wedding anniversary is next month!). She acted like she remembered, but I don't know for how long. I miss her. She's still here, and she's still happy, but it's so different.
Monday my grandpa called us at work to say he didn't know where my grandma was. He took a nap around 1pm, awoke about an hour later and she wasn't there. We figured she had gone for a walk on the beach, but nearly 3 hours had passed. We finally called the police, told her about her alzheimers and they sent a patrol out to find her. She was on the beach, about 3 miles south of home, just walking like normal. She had a plastic shovel for sand in her pocket, no doubt something she found on the beach and wanted to bring home so the 'kids' could play with it. They used to have nice families come down for the summers and she loved playing with their kids in the sand. Kids haven't been down for over 5 years now, they've all grown up or have changed vacation spots to somewhere more kid friendly. Anyway, the officer asked if she was Cecile, and she said yes, they brought her home. She said she was on her way back, but the officers said she was walking in the wrong direction. Of course she was friendly with the officers, inviting them to come stay with her at the beach. A few minutes later, she forgot she had been brought home. She said she walked home after a nice walk on the beach.

We've got to get some type of ID for her. The medical bracelets are big and bulky, and there's no question she'd take it off. I checked the local pharmacies, that's the only type they have. The local hospital isn't allowed to give out their ID wristbands, but we may have found some online. It's the plastic type that you can have info printed on and it's hard to take off.

I was glad to hear the President talk about funding research for Parkinson's and Alzheimer's in last night's address - 2 diseases that affect my grandparents. Every 70 seconds, someone in the United States develops Alzheimer's disease, according to a report Tuesday from the Alzheimer's Association that estimates 5.1 million Americans over 65 now have the disease and says the number is creeping higher year after year, according to the Chicago Sun Times. Scientists are still trying to determine what causes it, but they do know it is characterized by a build-up of proteins in the brain. Scientists are still studying how plaques and tangles are related to Alzheimer’s disease. One theory is that they block nerve cells’ ability to communicate with each other, making it difficult for the cells to survive.

Evidence is also mounting for the promotion of exercise and a healthy diet to reduce Alzheimer’s risk. Avoiding tobacco, limiting alcohol consumption, staying socially active, and engaging in intellectually stimulating activities have also been shown to have a protective effect against Alzheimer’s disease.

Cherish every minute you have with your loved ones.

Dentist :(

It was an eventful weekend, but I'll fill you in on that tomorrow.

Today I took my mom to the dentist to get a tooth pulled - not a pleasant experience. Take care of your teeth people! 5 needles going into your gums is not a fun thing. Do you think the experience would be any better if your dentist looked like this?

And this looks like a fun toy if you want your kid to be a dentist...the dentist my mom goes to is holistic and uses ceramic or porcelain to fill instead of mercury-contained fillings. Good idea I think, blends in more and is more natural for your body.

Zak and the SPCR spoo group

For those of you that don't know, I'm an active member of an online poodle flickr photo group. No, I'm in no way a professional photographer, but there are professionals in the group - all 578 members just share an interest in standard poodles. In the nearly 3 years I've been a part of the group, I've seen selfless acts by members, reaching out to help people they've never met in person, some in other countries even. When someone's poodle, or spoo as they're often called, is in trouble - sick, missing, or lost, the group comes together helping any way they can, sometimes with encouraging words or even monetary gifts. When a spoo has a great achievement, like winning in a show or simply a good day of potty training, the group comes together to share in the joy. I've been honored to be involved during many of these ups and downs.
We've even had poodle meetups and met people through the group. DH and I drove about 2 hours one way while we were in CA to meet Jeff and Tracy of the group and their many spoos. They had also visited my MIL here in FL last year. Next month, we'll have our annual poodle-palloza as DH likes to call it, where spoos (and their people) will come to visit for a full day of fun with poodles! Last year, they came from everywhere: FL's panhandle, FL's west coast, and even Canada and Illinois! This photo above is from last year's meetup. It was taken late in the day after some people had already left - 11 spoos just in that pic!

The most recent show of support from our poodle group involved a spoo named Zak (that's a photo of him up there). He's a 4 year old champion show dog that was away for a ski weekend near Alpental Ski Area in Washington State with his human. She came back after a day of skiing on Saturday to discover the cabin door open and all 3 dogs missing. 2 of the dogs were found later that day, but Zak was still missing. Our group suggested to get the local news to do a human interest story on Zak for exposure. After 24 hours of searching, Zak had only been spotted 1 time in the backcountry. Everyone was worried about him because there had been 3 feet of snow since Saturday and his current show cut (bare butt!). We posted all across the web, in many spoo groups and also groups around the area he was last seen. They had helicopters out looking for him. Rescue/Avalanche dogs were available but the weather was so bad it was not safe for them to go out.

Finally, Tuesday afternoon, 2 backcountry skiers who had heard about the missing dog on KING 5 News, heard a barking in the distance. Gabe Newton and friend Matt Glaser searched for 1.5 hours and finally came across Zak in a makeshift den in a deep ravine, miles away from where he went missing. He was cold, but followed the guys to a pass where he was reunited with his person. MSNBC and CNN even got in to report on the good news. (photos from the news story)

He's doing well, slight irritation near his wrists where he was probably tried to gnaw away forming snowballs on his fur. He's eating and drinking fine. After a vet check, no frostbite, no wounds, he is hydrated, lost some weight but he is basically OK. Ever since he's been back, he's been a constant shadow to his people. So glad it turned out to be a happy ending! Look for the news story on Inside Edition, a TV News/Entertainment Magazine maybe early next week!

Happy St. Patty's Day!

Today is St. Patrick's Day and yes, I'm wearing green! I've had corned beef and cabbage cooking all day in the crockpot and we may even go out for a green beer. I'm not even a hint of Irish, but I think DH is a little, so for tradition's sake, we're Irish for the day.

In other green news, we picked up and planted our 4 trunk robellini this weekend. It looks great! I've been having to hand water the azaleas due to the recent heat and drought, and they're looking good too. We had some rain last night, but don't expect any more for at least another week, so more hand watering until they're established. What do you think? And notice the new fence on that side of the house. We're extending it to be flush with the house
Sunday night was the last night launch for the shuttle. It was perfect - so clear we could see everything. Here is Discovery on it's way to space around 7:30pm. The reflection of the sun setting made the smoke look like a rainbow. More photos as viewed from our front lawn on flickr

Weekend recap - Gatornationals!

Friday DH and I went up to Gainesville Raceway for the 2009 NHRA Gatornationals. We left Port Orange around 8am, took I-95 to Bunnell and after 2 wrong turns and just over 2 hours, we were there. The day was perfect - perfect weather, not too big of a crowd, great day of racing. We had never been to a professional drag racing event, but we came prepared and I'm so glad we did! They generate 120 dB of noise (I've even seen 1 report say 170 dB) enough to cause some peoples' eardrums physical pain, and equivalent to a Boeing 747 jet airliner at take-off power. Here we are with our earmuffs :) A Top Fuel dragster accelerates from 0 to 100 mph (160 km/h) in as little as .8 seconds. The cars can reach up to 325 mph in a quarter mile. And that's just Top Fuel dragsters. We also saw funny car, pro-stock, motorcycles, pro-mod, top alcohol dragster and funnycar and a few others. Here's top fuel dragsters Antron Brown (blue) and Brandon Bernstein (red). Antron was leading the points on Friday when we were there.

And no drag racing event is complete without funny man (and funny car driver/owner) John Force. First, John racing next to Tony Pedregon (Quaker State). And after is John hanging out watching his other cars race (red and gold firesuit and black hat). One of his daughters, Ashley Force Hood, also races in the NHRA.We mostly stayed in the stands for the races but checked out the pit area afterward. We saw Antron Brown and Doug Kalitta hanging out near their pits. Here's Doug's top fuel dragster getting loaded into the truck.

After a long day at the track, we headed over to our room at the Sleep Inn and were happily surprised with a jet tub in our room. We ordered pizza from Pizza Vito and stayed in. The pizza was just ok, their garlic knots were delish though! Next time, if we've got more energy, we've got to try a highly recommended place Satchels Pizza.

For more photos of our day in Gainesville, check out my flickr site

Belated blogging

First things first, today is my Aunt Joyce's birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

I know, I've been MIA in blogger world for the last couple of days. To tell you the truth, the weather's been so beautiful and since it doesn't get dark until around 8pm now, DH, Rufus and I have been living outdoors everyday after work until we absolutely have to come inside. We've been playing in the garden, planting plants, going on walks, and last night DH was teaching me how to golf. Real golf, not putt-putt!

Thankfully he set me up to practice with a pitching wedge on a part of the grass that has been affected by bugs, so there's not much grass to start out with there - and after I was done, it was like I used a tiller! I would either swing 6 or so inches ABOVE the ball or dig the club into the ground sending dirt everywhere. Rufus enjoyed that - typical boy, loves the dirt. After several complete misses, I started to get the hang of it and actually hit about 3 or 4 good shots. Oh, that reminds me, I have to go into the neighbors yard and get one of our golf balls. (DH hit that one - I was learning with little wiffle-like balls, so they wouldn't go very far even if I did make contact.

DH and I have tickets to the Gatornationals for tomorrow and since we're leaving early tomorrow morning and staying over in Gainesville Friday night, Rufus gets to stay over at grandma's for 2 nights. I mentioned it to him last night, he does know the word 'Grandma', but I made sure to tell him, 'not right now'. I don't think he has a sense of time, but he knows what that means. I know he's going to have a blast!

This is our front yard. The first photo shows the ixora that didn't survive the cold, once again. This plant is beautiful when flowering, but it's not cold hardy enough for our area. So, we went out to the nursery this weekend and got some azalea plants. So far they're doing great. Eventually, they'll bloom to look like the second photo below.
I'd like to start a notebook where I keep all the detail info on all the different plants we have in our yard so that I can remember their scientific names and also remember their likes and dislikes and other data. So, this is what I've compiled for the species of azalea we have in our front yard now, Azalea, Formosa Lavender.
Full name: Rhododendron simsii 'Formosa Lavender' - Azalea: Formosa Lavender Southern Indian Azalea
Size: 6' - 8' tall, 6' - 8' wide (can reach 15 ft in height), slow grower
Bloom: 4" Pinkish Lavender, in Early May - Formosa is a twice-a-year bloomer!
Leaf: Green

Natural attraction: butterflies
Light and soil: Full Sun or Shade, Acid and humus rich Soil, Blooms on Last Years Growth

Notes:

- Water regularly until established and during dry spells for best performance. Maintain a mulch layer year round to conserve moisture and limit pesky weeds. Prune after flowering to maintain desired shape and height.
- This is considered to be an old-fashioned heirloom plant which endures popularity amongst gardeners. Minimal care and it withstand drought, heat and cold (hardy to 10 degrees F).
- The 3 inch blooms of the shrub often completely cover up the leaves showing off its beautiful lavender color. Lavender blooms that turn deep pink or magenta hue during the fall, depending on where you live.

I'd like to try pairing with Autumn Royalty Encore Azalea, Azalea x 'Conlec', the Azalea that blooms up to 9 months a year, but we'll see how these hold up for a while.

Weekend recap

Quick post today - I love that it's lighter later now - DH and I just got back in from gardening. Pics and details on that later, let's get you caught up on some of this past weekend.

Friday night was pretty quiet. I think we watched some race on TV, which means I went to bed early :)
Saturday early morning DH and I went and picked up my MIL and one of her pups Clancy and went down to the ribbon cutting ceremony for the New Smyrna Beach boardwalk. The event was sponsored by Southeast Volusia County Humane Society, Friends of Smyrna Dunes Park, the Obedience Club, Chris' Critter Sitters , and others. This officially opened the boardwalk back up to dogs (leashed dogs that is). Aside from the ribbon cutting, there were demonstrations of obedience and pet first aid. DH and I are interested in the 6-8 hour Pet Tech First Aid class - it covers a lot of good information.

I'll fill you in on the rest of the weekend tomorrow. For now, enjoy some pics from Saturday morning - as you can see, the weather was perfect. And make sure to check out flickr for more pics (and a couple videos) from the day.

Boardwalk ribbon cutting ceremony

The pretty (and long!) boardwalk

My 2 boys - DH + Rufus (in the background is Disappearing Island where DH proposed to me!)
And everyone enjoyed the water, here's Beans and Clancy
Yes, I said everyone - even Rufus!

AmCon show

Today my Aunt and I went over to Orlando to check out the AmCon show, a contact manufacturing trade show. So first we took lovely I-4 through Orlando and arrived at the HUGE Orange County Convention Center. It actually took us longer to drive there and walk from parking to the hall than we were actually at the show. There were maybe 100 exhibitors, most from around Florida. Being a job shop show, there were plenty of machine shops, both milling operations and stamping and forming to plastics and gasket mfgs, software and enclosures - a good mix of industries offering prototypes to production parts.

After the show, we stopped at Sweet Tomatoes for lunch. Discovered a new location on Kirkman and I-drive. Maybe not new new, but new to me! It was delicious as always! This month's special was another comfort food favorite, grilled cheese and tomato soup, but with a Sweet Tomatoe's twist - the BEST creamy tomato soup I've ever had paired with an interesting idea, grilled cheese focaccia. Interesting, but good. If you've ever been to a Sweet Tomatoes or Soup Plantation, you know everything is always good. I managed to remember to take a pic of my plate after taking a few bites. First, notice the 'I'll be Ripe back' note, cute idea to let the server know you've gone for seconds (or thirds) and will be coming back. The flip side says 'See You Next Thyme' - cute, huh? This is my nice big salad with some of the bread options and a really tasty new drink, pomegranate green tea. I was hesitant to get anything other than my beloved strawberry lemonade, but it sounded good and it was. In addition to everything seen here, I also tasted the french onion soup, creamy tomato soup, tomatoe basil penne, andouille sausage penne, mac and cheese, sourdough bread and topped it all off with red grapes and a little chocolate fro-yo with heath bar, peanut and caramel topping. Gosh, when I write it all down, it's no wonder I'm still feeling full! I wish there was a Sweet Tomatoe's closer than Altamonte, which is a 45-60 minute drive away. Oh well, it's something to look forward to when we go to Orlando.

We ended up having chicken curry last night, equally as warm and spicy as the shrimp would have been, but my mom made this and who couldn't resist a meal made by someone else! This photo is actually from another blogger Sarah where we got the recipe from, her food photos are always so pretty. Good job on this recipe Sarah, my mom's made this several times now and we love it every time! Check out Sarah's site for great ideas and wonderful photos of her experiences in the kitchen.

So it's shrimp tonight. What I really have a taste for is rock shrimp. But today we're just having plain shrimp. Maybe with that cajun seasoning. I just found out Aunt Catfish's here in town has rock shrimp on their menu, so we may need to try that soon. The other 2 places I knew about are further away, JB's Fishcamp and Dixie Crossroads. If you like seafood and haven't tried rock shrimp, you must get in your car now and drive to Dixie Crossroads. Do it now. These little shrimp are SO delicious. You can have them cooked several ways, my fave is broiled or steamed. They taste like lobster, but better in my opinion. Check out this site to read the below photo more clearly http://seafoodatlantic.net/products.html

In other news - I'm on the search for a salt jar. If you ever watch the Food Network, you see most chefs have salt on their table in a little jar. One - I'd like to know what type of salt that is, it seems pretty course, but not as course as kosher salt, and Two - I want a countertop salt jar! Not that I use salt much at all, but it's cuter than the salt container from the grocery. I've seen a few I like, but I'm picky. The Neeley's on Food Network have a pig jar which is cute, but not for me. Paula Deen has a simple dish which is cute too. This is probably something like what I look for. Simple and traditional and plain. Or maybe I'll surprise you and try this one. This white piggy is cute, but probably too mis-match for me. I think it's actually a planter. And I just don't know if I like pigs in my kitchen. But now that I'm thinking about it, it's plain enough being white and having clean lines and not much detail that I may venture off and try it. Maybe they have different shapes or something less pig-like. Suggestions?

Another cold day in March

Brr - it's still cold here! And it's not supposed to get out of the mid-60s tomorrow. This morning I had a materials meeting out at the Daytona airport for the VMA, the Volusia Manufacturer's Association about ICC regs, mostly terms and conditions. It was pretty informative and had a pretty good turnout. But then I had to endure Bike Week traffic out on ISB - not fun.
This is what's coming up for dinner - warm and spicy food should help us keep warm inside! It's fresh Florida shrimp seasoned with cayanne, paprika, EVOO, salt, garlic and lemon and then can either be grilled or broiled. Normally, I would let DH cook this on the grill, but it's too darn cold out there, so it's into the broiler for a few minutes on this one. I'm serving it with steamed rice and veggies for a simple weeknight dinner.

Today was Rainbow Tuesday at Debbie's Health Foods, one of our local health stores, that meant 20% off every regularly priced item. I got a supply of fruit and nut bars, dried pineapple and dried papaya and of course the BEST potato millet bread which is made fresh from a bakery in a neighboring town.

I have GOT to do some posts about our CA trip before it's time for our next vacation! Hopefully I can get some good posts drafted this weekend.

Weekend recap

It was a lazy weekend for us. Friday we had Giuseppe's pizza and wings which was delicious! I called ahead to get takeout and thankfully I did - there was a waiting line out the door. Their food is always worth the wait though. We watched The Rocker with Rainn Wilson. It was just so so. We really enjoy Rainn as Dwight Schrute from The Office but this movie was more geared toward teeny-boppers similar to Mean Girls and other such movies.

Saturday we worked around the house - laundry, gardening, boat projects. We went to Bob's 2x on Saturday! Our boat trailer is almost brand new. Sandy and Kevin are now out on vacation until March 9, so we'll miss them next weekend. Saturday night we went out to dinner with DH's dad and step mom to a local favorite, The Chart House. The food is always top notch and my in-laws go there so often, everyone knows their names so it's like their 'Cheers'. They've got a new manager who wasn't very friendly as the previous manager, but Chef Alex was there and friendly and courteous as usual. His personal recommendation - the seasonal Cashew Crusted Sole. We had already ordered the Pu Pu platter as an app before he came out to greet us. He sent out some extra polenta fries which were superb - what can be better than fried grits?! Also on the platter: lobster spring rolls, cajun shrimp and scallops with mango salsa - yum!

And of course, I had to try Chef's recommendation. DH's dad and I both had the sole. Who could have thought cashew crust on fish? Oh it was good. Served with fingerling potatoes and grilled veggies. We all had the wonderful salad bar as well - fresh tossed caesar salad, caviar, the best salad dressing.

DH had prime rib and a HUGE Australian lobster tail and MIL had another seasonal item - hazelnut trout with shrimp, parmesan risotto and veggies. As always, we finished off dinner with a molten lava cake dessert (had to order that right when we arrived -
Godiva Chocolate Liqueur, molten center, Dreyer’s vanilla ice cream, served with warm
chocolate sauce and Heath Bar Crunch) and the best creme brulee I have ever tasted. Man that was a good dinner. DH and I were stuffed after and basically went home and went to bed.

Sunday was one of the worst days of weather we've had in a while. We couldn't get much outside work done at all. It started off with dark gray skys and then wind and sideways rain. And it was COLD, maybe no warmer than 60. I was out on the phone talking to my SIL when Rufus and I saw this:

The pool was covered in suds!! For a second it looked like snow, but then my brain set in and reminded me that while it's cold, it wasn't that cold, then I noticed the suds being wisked away by the 20 MPH gusts of wind. I ran inside to alert DH and he nonchalantly said, oh, yeah I put some treatment in there and that's normal. Nice of him to tell me and Rufus. ;) All was forgiven when he pulled out this delicious, perfectly smoked chicken a short time later.

Today is my MIL's birthday - Happy Birthday! It's freezing here so we're not going out to the monthly dog night at Ritters. Maybe next month.