Checking the laundry room puppies

I turned the calendar page to July and wondered what happened to June. I looked at the thermometer and wondered what happened to summer. I mean, 48 degrees! I checked the calendar again to make sure it was July. I took the vehicle to Arthur. I thought it was too cold to ride!

We were glad it rained, but not everyone did. My daughter Jane and Milton were in Sullivan, or rather somewhere on the lake, and it didn’t rain.

I was glad I didn’t join in the celebration of freedom in Arthur. It looked pretty bleak for a while.

Grandsons Galen and Jeffrey were packing up and loading the ponies while it was raining. At the time, I thought it was pointless. Who goes for pony rides in the rain? But then the rain cleared. It was a bit muggy, but the festivities continued. Or I guess they did. I wasn’t there.

Sunday was a really nice day. And we got to go to church, which is always a highlight.

As the voices rose in harmony, the ancient chants rising to the rafters and beyond, a feeling of gratitude washed over me that we can still gather and worship as we do.

The communion we have afterwards is so precious. And as always, there was the traditional lunch at the church. Four weeks ago, we had a hot lunch, because of the large number of people present, which was quite normal. It was much more effective. Then, two weeks later, we could not go because of Erwin’s back pain.

So yeah, I was ready for a good old fashioned religious breakfast of blended peanut butter, cream cheese, and homemade bread. Definitely not the healthiest meal, but oh so tasty.

As far as I’m concerned, if you go into it in the right spirit and partake of wholesome, spiritual, soul-healthy food, it replaces the non-nutritive nature of peanut butter and cheese.

Monday, oh my gosh, I must have made a mistake. I felt like things were going wrong. After I got home from work, I put batteries in the charger. Shortly after, the unit screamed. I thought to myself, what’s wrong? The clamps had melted on the wires. I took it to Tools Plus. They told me I had overloaded it for too long, and it ended up exploding. So I had to buy a bigger one. Oops! That cost me a few bucks. Sigh…

Then my copier broke and something disconnected or came apart or something. I couldn’t make any more copies. Another huge sigh!

I went to A&M to make my copies. There was no one I could ask if I could, so I helped myself. Only, I couldn’t figure out how to make double-sided copies. I’m not technically savvy!

I had to take care of the foal, which is no problem. And this time I had written instructions on how to mix the milk. I managed it without any problem. I didn’t even spill any.

But the puppies in the laundry room at Lloyds, oh my God, they were howling and crying. There was no one home all day, so that’s why I was in charge.

I didn’t know what to do for them, so I called Rachel. She’s in Colorado, no less! But she gave me instructions and they kept howling and crying. They wanted me to play with them. I would have loved to take them home. But five puppies? They’re so adorable. I gave them fresh water and put a clean mattress pad on them. They calmed down.

But the next time I went up, they had chewed up their puppy pad, spilled water, and made a mess again.

In conclusion: a pessimist sees only the dark side of the clouds and mopes; a philosopher sees both sides and shrugs; an optimist does not see the clouds at all – he walks on them.

I think this week we’re going to try this hash brown gratin.

2 cups (16 oz) sour cream

1 can (10-3/4 oz) condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted

1 package (32 oz) frozen cubed hash browns, thawed

1 lb Velveeta cheese, cubed

2 cups crushed cornflakes

1 cup (4 oz) shredded mozzarella cheese

In a bowl, combine sour cream and soup. Stir in hash browns, pork, Velveeta cheese and onion. Transfer to a greased 3-quart baking dish. Toss cornflake crumbs with butter; sprinkle on top. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 50 minutes. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Bake 10 minutes longer or until bubbly. Garnish with green pepper, if desired. Serves 8.