Mystery of the green spots

If you read this at all, you know I have 5 wirehair dachshunds. Greta, Fritz, Liesl, Oscar, and Bruno.  In order:  blond (wheaten), black (black & tan), white (white + various spots - dapple), chocolate, and chocolate dapple.  As varied as their colors so goes their personalities and quirks.
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Big G, Greta, blondie is the smallest and the oldest.  She is a doll who has her own way about anything & everything.  She is afraid of nothing, well, except a roll upped newspaper.  She goes to bed early and will sleep past 8 a.m., nearly 3 hours after the others have rolled out to beg for breakfast.   Generally she eats every other day.  Food has minor interest to her.  Still she has grown to 12 lbs.  The diet has started.
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We left the house the other day and isolated the dogs while away.  It was lunch time when we returned.  All dogs came into the house, the kitchen to be more specific.  My wife was preparing some delicious lunch for me.  Greta walked across the kitchen, picked up her empty food dish and threw it as best she can.   I can take a hint.
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Greta did not want to eat breakfast that morning.  Popping her dish meant something to her and to us.  She did it again.  Fritz sat close watching and hoping.  Nothing makes Fritz happier than a bit of spilt food (and before you say it:  Spilt is a word.  I don't care what any book says or the spell check on this machine - spilt is a word !!)  Spilt food is good.
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I dumped a half cup of dry Iams in her dish and she ate.  Important fact....the food dish is right beside a water dish.  She finished.  I picked up the dish.  We ate lunch.  Fritz was sad that she didn't SPILT anything.
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Lunch over and the wife is cleaning up a bit.  She said, "What are these green spots on the floor?" There was a string of green 1/2 inch spots making a curved line across the kitchen floor starting near the water dish.   We looked and studied,  Green spots.  The wife said something about them starting where Greta was eating.  I joked maybe she was bleeding green blood.  Not funny.
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So I picked the fuzzball up.  The pad of her left front paw was green.  We took a wet towel and washed the pad.  Green just kept coming off....The mystery:  what did she get into that left something green on her foot.  When she ate, the paw hit water activating the green dye.  It must be a grandular something that she stepped into and it stuck between the toes.
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The lovely spouse and I have searched the house over, the garage over, the back porch over -- nowhere is there anything that produces green dye.  It looks a bit like the color of that green fertilizer that puts out nitrogen for small plants.   Can't find any of that messed up.    Where did the green dye come from?  She won't tell - prolly afraid of the roll upped newspaper.   I am open to suggestions.
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as I type, Greta is asleep on a pillow by my toes.  She just had a dream and moaned her way through it.  She is such a dear and the diet has begun.
Think little green spots.
out
mtz

Hatch Peppers

History:

Roger called last week before heading to Cisco to meet us and pick up his girls from Grammy Camp. United Food in Lubbock had fresh Hatch Chile Peppers for $1.28 lb - and they were selling them cooked (or raw) - apparently cooking them on the grill at the store. I had Roger pick me up a bunch of cooked and 3 lbs of uncooked (raw).

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Got home with the cooked ones and peeled off the skins - freezing the critters in smaller bags. The wife cooked beans this week and make corn bread muffins with Hatch Chiles in them.   That was pretty good.    She found a "green chile" beef stew recipe that was pretty yummy too. . . . . even though I think we both like our pork green chile stew a bit more.

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Went to our HEB grocery store Tuesday - there were Hatch Peppers. Now remember the $1.28 above - when Roger was at his store and learned the price - telling me over the phone, I made the comment that $1.28 seemed to be pretty cheap. We didn't have any bigger peppers in Corsicana for anywhere near that price. The Lubbock store guy made a comment about having to pay shipping to get peppers to Corsicana.

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Our local store calls these Hatch Peppers - but my grocery receipt says Anaheim Peppers. Nevermind. Locally, our HEB price is 97 cents a lb. Now THAT is a bargain. Our Jalapenos are 68 cents a pound. That is a bigger bargain. I bought a couple pounds of the Hatch peppers.

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Tonight, I fired up the outside grill - I cooked my peppers - made about 3 bags full - into the freezer. Might just buy a few more tomorrow if the prices have held.

That's it.  Keep the faith (whoever she is).

3 different hmmmmmmm

            Grammy Camp is over.  The girls are back in Lubbock.  This was a short Grammy Camp because their parents stayed here through Monday taking the three to Six Flags.  While here we:
made leather goods engraved; went to a Planeterium - locally - presentation was not exciting but the gift shop was okay;  road the boat; colored and painted by numbers; (Megan==>) sent txt messages to friends back home - I assume they were home friends and not some guy being held in prison wanting her to be his "pen" pal;  watched TV unsupervised in the sewing room - that may not seem like a big deal; but, Roger has only the one big TV in his living room - when push comes to shove, they watch what the parents like, not stupid teen-age shows or cartoons [not that Roger doesn't like cartoons.  I think he does]; went swimming at local pool (little Kayla is doing a front flip off the low board);  made striped sugar cookies; ate cake;  that is close to the bottom line.
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            Before the girls got here this week - that would be last week then - somebody north of us had a storm.  We had the power outage.  It seems we have power outages regularly.  Might add that we have power outages usually when the computer is turned on.  We all know that puters must be turned off properly, and I do that - unless there is a power outage.  My last computer use to put a little message on the screen that was obviously written by some hack to embarrass me and harass.  This machine is nicer to my feelings.
              While girls were here during a 2 day span, we had three (3) power outages.  Each outage lasted less than a second but long enough to shut off computer, TV, all electric clocks.   It is really starting to get to me.
              I had a vision.  When we have a crowd here, the PC runs most of the day.  In addition I turn on my laptop.  Normally the laptop may stay off for over a month.  So so so It had like 128 updates to install.  {I made up that number.}  It downloaded and reconfigured for a good half day.  When all is updated, you must turn the laptop off / on to finish the process.
             We had a power outage.  All I have to do now is to turn it back on and all is updated.  Right?  Right?  Wrong.  The laptop has a battery.  It never shut down - not bothered by the power outage.   Yes, I had a vision.  Battery backup.
              As we returned from delivering the precious few, stopped at a Best Buy.  I truly love Best Buy.    Surely they make a backup for a PC....surely (as they say, don't call me Shirley).  I figured this would be another couple hundred dollars - too much for my budget at this time.   Such a nice young man guided me on my search - wife at my elbow, watching, learning, remembering our budget.  Bottom Line:  how much?   I figured $200 to $250.   I was ready to forget the whole thing.
             Well I was wrong, bat breath.  Cheapest $29.95 up to $200 plus.   The wife had a vision.  Her sewing machine is a computer basically that does wonderful things.  We bought  two battery backups  - one for the computer and one for the sewing machine.  Now we wait.  C'mon power outage, we be waitin' fer ya.   My prediction is that we will never have another power outage  - ever.  ever.  ever.
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                While I have your attention { and I must or you never would have last through the battery episode }.   I found this interesting - never had thought about it.   I have a place here in town on I-45 where I get refills for my 44 oz drink _ I call all 44 oz drinks Big Gulps ... different company here - purple Styrofoam cup instead.  My refills are 30 cents plus 2 cents tax;  i.e., 32 cent big gulp.   That is cheaper than buying a 12 pack of cokes at the store and drinking a 12 oz can of diet coke.  Do the math.
                When I have the chance, I pull in - refill my purple cup - slap my 32 cents down - and enjoy my slurps.  We are leaving town yesterday to deliver above named wonderful precious children back into their parents grasp.  Pulled into coke place and filled my cup with Diet Coke - one of the few drinks allowed me in my sugary predicament.   I slide up behind this young girl who is buying two bottled Sprite drinks, a couple of scratch off tickets, and misc. stuff.  She is low 30s or upper 20 yrs old....alone, no children in tow.  What do I know about age?  Everybody looks young to me now.
                    She starts to pay and stops saying, "Oh yes, I need a couple rolls of quarters."   Say what?   2 sprites,  scratch offs, misc sweets, and now two rolls of quarters.   The hired help didn't flinch, he went to the machine and took out two rolls of quarters.   Then I noticed her bill increase more than $20.   Yes, she had paid extra to get 2 rolls of quarters.  That made no sense to me at all.   She left, and I was up next.  
                   As I paid for the big gulp (all 32 cents), I said, "  You sell quarters?"  When I ran video arcades, I was selfish with my quarters.  They are Mine Mine Do you hear me?  Mine.   Politely he explained.  Go ahead and guess before the next paragraph.
                  It seems that this station is on the direct route to Huntsville, the State Prison.  People buy quarters to take to the prisoners since all drinks etc. take quarters in the Pen.   Banks don't like to hand out quarters, so two different stations in Corsicana have taken on this task.  They sell rolls of quarters for a profit.  What a business.  Therefore, it is safe to assume this young lady with her two rolls of quarters clenched in her fist was headed for the State Pen to see some young dude who waits weekly for his quarters.   Never would have crossed my mind.
                I have more but it will have to wait. 
                Take care and save those quarters.  You just never know.....
mtz

  

This week is Grammy Camp week.  The 3 g-girls are here and we are doing stuff.  I know that I wrote more last year about G.C. - somehow this year's adventures  don't call for as much typing.  Yesterday we stopped at a Braums Ice Cream - today:  Cici's pizza, Slushies and a couple of hot hours at the  local swimming pool.  Last day of camp will be Saturday.  I think they are having a good time.  What do I know?
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        Relaxing on the couch (divan) watching the Olympics.   My little boy Oscar prances up and tells me that I need to hold him.  I  picked him up and laid him on my stomach with his head resting on my chest - eyes closed, starting to sleep.   He cradled into my left elbow with the long dachshund nose directly below my nose.
          He closed his eyes;  I pet his side.  His head popped up & he looked me in the eye.  He turned the nose slightly and blew it out - exhaled loudly if you will.   Then re-looking me in the eye he planted his head on my shoulder, nose away from my chess.
           Now I ask.   If I am breathing on the nose of a dog and he exhales, moving his nose away from yours - HOW BAD DOES MY BREATH SMELL?  I mean, if a dog is offended by my breath, how bad can it be?  First chance I had, I used some sin-sin, a clove, and gargled a jug of listerine.    poor dog.
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               A final note - TODAY - how LONG has it been? -  I caught a mouse in the garage.  Dead;  thrown out; re-baited.