Survey Says...

I am starting with some unfinished business from our clan.

I forgot to mention on our walk yesterday, Millie got two compliments from strangers. A teenage girl called from her porch that she liked my puppy. Millie started crying to go play with her, but we kept walking.  A little bit later a man working on his car stopped to say "that is a beautiful dog, ma'am." Wait, what? Did a random grown man just call me "ma'am." Yes, I absolutely appreciate the politeness, but I did feel a little old in that moment.

And even more exciting in Millie-world, after months of Frisbee tosses and near misses...Millie is a Frisbee catcher!!

My husband's unfinished business involves this guy he saw at Walmart the other day. His mean wife didn't let him bring it home with us. So on the wish list it goes!

My unfinished business is a few shots from recent walks that feed my obsession with the road markings and impending road repairs in the neighborhood. I finally found a marking that I actually understand. The sewer department has given their okay :)

I never really noticed these chains on the concrete slabs that cover the storm sewer. My current guess is that give them a way to lift the slab for better access to the sewer. I will be honest that chain doesn't look that strong, but it must be.

That brings us up-to-date

After my salsa verde chicken tostada snafu last night (forgot to turn on the crock pot before my walk) I had to do a quick plan B. One of my favorite go to meals is grilled chicken tacos with grilled peppers and onions topped with fresh pico de gallo. I love the freshness and customizing each taco a little differently - I do love my variety. It was so good that after dinner I heard myself saying "why do I ever eat fried food??" I might like how the fried food tastes for a moment or two, but I almost always end up feeling gross and regretful. I need to ingrain this into my brain so I can make the better choice from the start.

After dinner I decided to do a little experimenting in the kitchen. Saturday I had bought a butternut squash at the farmers' market. I had a few odds and ends in the fridge and decided to make a soup for my lunch.

I started by cubing the butternut and cooking it in some chicken broth (actually it was just the water I had boiled chicken in a couple of days ago).  I added some red curry powder I picked up recently.

 Once the butternut squash was tender I pureed it with the immersion blender.

I then put it back on the stove, added a little more of the red curry powder to taste. Finally, I added the leftover grilled corn and some chopped fresh spinach. Once it was heated through I had a little sample. If I hadn't already eaten dinner I might have eaten the whole batch!.

Like I have said before I am not a huge veggie soup fan, but this is definitely a veggie soup I can get behind.

As a result of my informal survey yesterday, I decided to take Millie on my walk this morning. I hope my neighborhood agrees with the survey results. Here is how it went from my perspective.

We were only a few steps out of the driveway when I heard barking and growling from across the street. My heart immediately started racing. I have had an incident with this dog before. It cornered me in my doorway once. The dog is usually kept in the back yard, so I was surprised to hear it out front. It was too dark near their house to see where the dog was or if it was chained. I finally realized it was inside the house at an open window. There was a screen, but we all know screens don't hold angry dogs. Thankfully, there was no actual incident, just a little extra heart pumping..

I walked 2.23 miles and only heard dogs bark at two houses I passed. And to be fair, those dogs usually bark no matter what time of day I walk, with or without Millie.  I did alter my route to avoid a house where I knew the dogs would be out already and would definitely cause a ruckus when they saw/heard their fur-cousin walk by. Not to mention, I know their neighbors too and didn't want Millie's cousins to wake up those neighbors :) 


I often see another lady walking her dog in the morning. Although I didn't see her this time, I saw a new guy/dog. Once when we crossed paths (he was going the opposite way on the loop) he was running and the other time he was walking.

These little solar lights definitely lasted the night. I liked the little jellyfish design they made on the lawn.

There is a one stretch of road (which is hard to avoid) where there are always dogs out and they throw complete fits when anyone walks by. I was especially self-conscious going down that stretch because I sounded like this. The gravel they have spread on the road prior to re-paving makes it hard to sneak.

Surprisingly, this morning, nothing.  Overall, I think it went quite well. Hopefully, no one will be waiting outside for me in the future to give me a piece of their mind.