Yeah, it’s Fall again. That horrible time of year when everything’s starts looking dead for the next several months; I hate Fall for that very reason. Dreary and depressing, it just has a feeling of bleak finality.

Oh, and let’s not forget the biannual stupidity know as The Changing of the Clocks, as mandated by those who don’t believe in science. Leave it TF alone – you cannot alter time. If you’re gonna move the clocks then move them every day because that’s how it works. It’s science and it’s fact. Let’s put a stop to this ridiculous BS nationwide. Sooner rather than later.

But, at least it’s finally getting cooler. It was in the mid 80s today but it is supposed to be cooler the rest of the week with mid 40s at night. It’ll be nice to cut back on the A/C electric bill even more and cut down on usage to reduce emissions.

Speaking of emissions, I got some more grass mowed this morning, this time it was the back yard areas I want to use. Even though there’s a few other spots I wanted to mow first, the grass near the house was too wet from yesterday’s showers so I did some other parts that were dried by the morning sun. It started getting warm so I did not get as much done as I wanted but I got a good-sized part done. The grass is so tall and thick in spots I have to go over it twice so it slows me down. It has just been too damn hot to mow, but I really don’t know the last time it was mowed before I got here. I also had to get out the chainsaw to remove a few branches by the roadway. They were blocking the view for checking traffic to pull out of the driveway – a real safety issue. I would hope the neighbors appreciate it too.

I’ve been scoping out a place to set up my outdoor kitchen and I think I finally found a good spot in the area I mowed. It’s been difficult because there are so many dead branches looming overhead; they are called “widow makers” for a reason and even though I am single I don’t care to get my melon dented by one. Some are pretty good sized, but there’s no way to dislodge them since they are quite far up in the trees. In finding a spot I have to make sure there are no overhanging dangers.

In the process I did find a pretty good spot for a fire pit. No trouble overhead and level enough for chairs.

I need to get some stuff hauled away to the transfer station so the truck is empty and I can bring back the materials I need to throw my kitchen project together. I think that I have most everything I need except the pallets.

While searching back through some older posts, I noticed that I used to put a very witty headline 🤣🤣🤣 in my posts. Sometime right around the first trip I went to Europe I started putting the dates in the title and it’s pretty much stayed that way ever since. I’m thinking I might go back to using one of my incredibly clever headlines 🤣🤣🤣 again but I will keep the dates in my trips especially the longer ones. If any of you readers have a thought or preference feel feee to send me a comment. If you don’t know what I am talking about, I guess you better go back and read from Day One!

Getting ready for my flu shot and ‘rona booster in a few weeks. The medical personnel say get one in each arm and get them both at once but I just don’t know if I want to do that or not. I like the vaccines in my left arm; the right arm is my dominant arm and is stronger (plus, I keep bending needles when they jab it). I also only want one arm to be sore.

I don’t have much reaction to the flu shot but the ‘rona shot makes me really tired and my arm hurts like hell for about four days. Maybe I’ll see if the can do both in one arm. Once it’s done there’s no going back though!

Have you ever wondered what voice your dog would have if he could talk like us? Yeah, well I do. They’d probably never shut up though. Imagine the expletives in the animal shelter!

My dog Rider communicates kind of interestingly. He walks over and sits and stares at me. I ask him “what do you want?”, and if he has to cop a squat he either turns and looks at the door, or if it’s not an emergency he just averts his eyes away from me kinda towards the door.

Rider, being a herding dog, has developed the habit of circling around and herding me out of a room when I go to a different room. I am not moving because of him; I’m just going elsewhere. I am trying to break him of this bad habit so he doesn’t think he is in charge of me.

Another thing I did today was try to move the birdbaths. One I am replacing with a different one from another spot in the yard. When I took the top off of the replacement there were ants everywhere under the top so I am going to let it set for a day and then move it . The other one I set on a stump until I can put it in the truck and move it to the backyard. I filled it with water and the birds went crazy taking some baths. When they were done the water was filthy. I guess that happens when you live outside.

Dinner tonight was something new for me. Actually two new things.

Tonight I used the pasta on the right, which I didn’t pay very close attention to when I bought other than all it needed to say was “Parmigiano & Prosciutto”. The shape is a new one on me for Italian pastas – sachetti. They look like little sachets, but when you cook them they look like an octopus. I guess that would be called a “pastapus”. This pasta held the sauce pretty well and it cooks up in three minutes. Of course, I scooped out and finished the pasta in the sauce so the little bit of pasta water in the ladle thickened it up nicely. I’ll try the Calabrian Pepper one next week, but I know it will be spicy. Those little peppers have some fire but they are delicious. I am anxious to try that out. Smoky cheese and spice – what’s not to like? Not sure what sauce to use though.

I used my bottle of Gustare Vita vodka sauce from Hy-Vee. It is their custom Italian-made store-brand label of pasta and sauces. These products are actually pretty decently priced and top quality. Vodka sauce is made with cream so it has a very silky mouthfeel. The taste is mild and I am not sure how to describe it other than “tomato-y…but not”. It was unlike any other pasta sauce I have ever eaten. It is slightly rich and sweet but not too much so and a few small chunks of tomato and not real heavy on the garlic (but, given the name I am not really too certain what vodka brings to the flavor since vodka itself doesn’t taste good). Even though it is a 50ml bottle it has four servings so it worked out perfectly. Two servings of pasta with sauce and two sauce servings in the freezer.

I am trying a kitchen hack for the leftover sauce. I divided it between two slots in a silicone butter mold I have and then put that in the freezer. Each is now a portion so I just pop one out and heat it up for a single serving of pasta. That is pretty simple! I guess those will come in handy for something else other than why I bought them.

I guess that is about it for this post. Hope to get out on another adventure soon so bear with me!