Mr. Snooty Celebrates Another Birthday... Always A Good Thing

Yes, another year has passed and dear Mr. Snooty has just celebrated yet another birthday, and I thank God for that! We have another friend who shares the same birthday who invited us out for a night on the town last Friday, which turned out to be a blast and a half. I got kind of tickled when they said they would pick us up in a limo. They did this so that we could all party without fear of DUI or DWI, which was so completely thoughtful. Unfortunately, we were both tired and the band that was playing was so loud it made me nauseous. Yes, that officially makes me an *old fart*, but the band wasn't very good to begin with, which can also make me nauseous. After we ate what seemed like tons of food, Mr. Snoots and I were ready to go home. However, the limo wasn't scheduled to take us home until at least midnight, so (wimps that we are) we called a taxi, said our profound so-sorrys and thank-yous, and headed for home. It was 10:00 PM. Oh Yeah! We. Are. Party. Animals.



Word is that our friends all stayed until the place closed down. The next day when we talked to them, they sounded extremely *rough*, shall we say. We were both immediately glad that we had taken a taxi home.



Since Mr. Snoots' birthday was really a day later, I made a meal for him that was exactly what he ordered. Lobster tail and Prime USDA Choice New York Strip (Surf & Turf, yeah) with garlic bread and Spinach Souffle. It all turned out perfectly. For dessert I made a Rustic Peach Tart that turned out especially well. He was definitely a happy camper when I tucked him into bed.



If you'd like any of the recipes, I should have them up on my cooking blog within a couple of days.



Meanwhile... Although I've been *missing in action*, I'm finally making great strides with the guesthouse as well as the main house. I'd show some pictures of the progress but it still doesn't really reflect the work that I've done. I think I'll just wait until it actually looks like I've done something. So far, I've just been cleaning out all the crap underneath the former work space (which is 10' by 10') and everything I've removed has been stuck as if it were glued, due to the wet carpet from rain damage. Even though the sanitation workers come twice a week to empty our dumpster in the alley, I always seem to find it full. Apparently someone else is as hard at work as I am and they are taking up all the dumpster space.



Last week was filled with workers repairing the many damaged areas of our cedar fence around the property. It took them four days & nearly drove me nuts. We were also convinced that the workers ran off Fernando & Felicia, but then we spotted her out in the garden this evening. We're thinking that when the roofing project begins, they will go screaming away forever, although I hope not. However, Fall is approaching, which is the time when Grey Fox families disperse and go their own ways until February/March, when Fernando & Felicia will once again unite, if they can. From my research I gather that Grey Fox can live approximately 15 years. If that's true, then Felicia should be around for quite some time. One year ago, I believe she was just a pup herself when she was spending so much time on our grounds.



At any rate, when the roofing is finally finished, the house painters will begin on the house & outer buildings. That looks to be fun... I'm fairly certain that it won't be but the outcome will be worth the headaches of listening to the painters scrape & sand for a week. I might have to make a road trip then. Uh-Huh.



With the absence of the fox clan lately, I've started preparing for the fall garden. When I complete the planting (which won't be much), I'll show the progress. It doesn't normally get cold here until late November, so I should have lots of yellow squash, spinach, beets and black-eye peas before then. These all do better in cooler weather anyway, so I'm hopeful.


I've sincerely missed reading everyone's blogs, but I am totally committed to this project (or should I say *these projects*) until I get them finalized. I assume winter will bring plenty of days just right for blogging. For now, I need to be outside and/or working on my projects, so please accept my apologies for my absence. I'm genuinely trying to prioritize and I think it's working!


Please don't think ill of me for being MIA. Instead, please just say a prayer that I can actually tackle these huge projects so that I can come back here and jump back into the groove of things.