Taste Like Chicken, WE 8/24-25

Chele, oh, NOOOO for DN#2. Usually when they induce, things happen pretty quickly. I hope they can at least make her comfortable in the meantime and the baby will be here sooner than tomorrow. You don't think they'll have to do a C-section, do you? Did you and Iggy do any cooking today?

I'll bet Aloe grows great there, Linda. Oh no on your makeup and sunblock melting. I think I would forego the makeup in that heat. Probably sunscreen is a requirement where you live, but they have some thinner ones now. Sorry about the knee. Oh, can I ever relate. I love my TENS unit. I just got the Icy Hot Smart one they have at Walgreens and it works well for those kinds of things. Hope the Penetrex will fix yours. Can't believe you were out on your knees with plants after that. Liz's surgery is Thursday. They will call the day before to let her know when. Hard to believe some people think climate change is "fake news". Enjoy your Chinese dinner.

Kathy, I hope DN enjoyed his last bit of freedom before grad school. I wonder if it will be more similar than most undergrad to grad transitions by virtue of his already having a degree in engineering. I found it a lot different in education because it was more research, papers, and presentations than undergrad. Which was fine with me because I was bored in undergrad. It looks like one tropical blob is spinning out to sea from the east coast but I wonder if that other one may go into the Gulf instead of impacting you. Anything special on your agenda from the week? Did you spend your big jury duty windfall yet?

Glad you had a good birthday, Becky. How different is the Inspire from the Alta you had? Are your temps at least a couple of degrees cooler today? We've been in the 80s with a bit of a breeze, so it's been rather comfortable. We may get some rain tomorrow, which could drop the temps a bit more.

Two years ago today we lost our Phoebe. I don't know if it was a coincidence, but I got an email yesterday from I-heart1- Dogs with a lot of memorial stuff and it was really sad. I love Arya but I miss Phoebe. They are so very different and we might have more of a social life if Arya was more like Phoebe. Dale went to the mountains for a run then to the orchard. In addition to the things on my list (tomatoes, onions, sweet potatoes, green beans), he found okra, spaghetti and butternut squash, corn, and local blackberries. So, I've been cooking up a storm this afternon and we'll be eating good. He requested that I make the soy nugget chickenless salad that I haven't made so far this year. It calls for red onion, Vegenaise, and Lusty Monk mustard, which is an Asheville brand and is a bit of a different kind of spicy brown mustard. So we have green beans and potatoes, fresh corn on the cob, baked "fried" okra, and roasted spaghetti squash that I will pair with my frozen vegan bolognese sauce. I also made some cucumber, tomato, onion, and garlic salad. We have a dishwasher full an a fridge full, and I have a pot of yogurt that will stay in the IP over night and I don't know where I'm going to put it in the morning. I also got both loaves of quick bread out of the freezer and iced the pumpkin zucchini bread. I also did a couple loads of laundry. I spent a couple of hours on my succulents course and I think it's going to be good. I'll take the breads to the fairgrounds tomorrow, along with plants for our interactive display, then I'll be off to AF, which is just across the river from the fairgrounds, pick up a few things at the grocery store that are pantry things, and home to hopefully have a little downtime because I'm working the fair Tuesday afternoon/evening.