The AH Coffee Shop and Reading Room 09

[MrPixel]

Bec wanted a pug, or a French bulldog, or a (shudder) Chihuahua. I wanted a dog that I could take for walk and not look silly. (No offence intended, Duleigh).Personally, I like labradors, so I think this is a good compromise.

What? Not a Blue Heeler? Remember what we went through two years ago?

Labs have been in our extended family for 60 years. My sister's 4H project when we were teens was raising and pre-training a black Lab puppy to be a seeing-eye dog. The pup lived in my bedroom since it had an outside door, and was a joy to have around. Raising Karma was successful, and two years later she was assigned. Karma outlived her person, and policy was to return the animal to its initial trainer. My sister was still in college at the time, and took the dog to class. This was with the school's blessing since she was, after all, a certified service animal, a rare and Very Big Thing in the 1970s.

Sis is currently on her fourth Golden.

 

[Rustyoznail]

No red or blue heelers, kelpies, Australian cattle dogs or any other working dog. They need a larger yard and entertainment so they don't get bored and be destructive.

I've grown up with a range of lab x. The last being a lab x great Dane. He weighed in at 120 pounds. Lovely dog.

 

[MrPixel]

Oh... a funny-ish-but-OMG! story about Karma sharing my bedroom. One of the rules about raising a seeing-eye candidate was they were to be securely tethered in a consistent location during normal sleeping hours. In our case, that was next to the outside door, which was also close to my bed.

At 6:00 a.m. on February 9, 1971, the earth shook. I mean really shook. I wasn't quite shaken out of bed, but was quick enough to realize that this was possibly The Big One, as we lived only 8 miles from the San Andreas Fault. At the time the popular chatter was "we were overdue." My family "fortunately" lived on the side of the Fault that wasn't at risk of half of California falling into the Pacific.

Anyway, this skinny teenager dove under the bed with the presence of mind to grab Karma's collar and drag her under with me. She was totally cool, more puzzled than anything else, I guess, but certainly less panicked than I was. After the shaking stopped, then waiting a couple of minutes expecting aftershocks - none, thankfully - I unclipped her lead and we joined the rest of the family in the living room to watch the TV coverage of what was certainly a major event.

It was the 1971 Sylmar earthquake. Magnitude 6.5, and the epicenter was 30 miles from us. The damage to the house was relatively minor. Our fireplace chimney had exterior cracks in two or three places... and then there was the ceiling in my bedroom. Not a serious crack in the plaster (real plaster, not drywall!), but if there was anything likely to fall on our heads if the shaking went on for more than the few seconds it did, it was that.

Karma was, "You woke me up, so where's my breakfast?"

 

[Candy_Kane54]

I decided to sleep in today so sorry about the late start. Coffee pot is fresh, and there are brownies on the counter. I'm on my second cup of Earl Grey and need it because my story is stalled and I don't know how to get my Muse to help ...

 

[MillieDynamite]

I'm off to Donnie's school and won't return until later. We have a Christmas party, and they are done until the first of the year. So, a three-week break when the rest of the rest of the schools don't get out this week or next. He won't know what to do with himself... Me either.

 

[Candy_Kane54]

There's a fresh pot of coffee going. There are some chocolate chip cookies on the counter and the teapot is hot for those who want a cuppa. I'm really going to try to get some words written today but it seems like pulling teeth any more ...

 

[NotWise]

There's a fresh pot of coffee going. There are some chocolate chip cookies on the counter and the teapot is hot for those who want a cuppa. I'm really going to try to get some words written today but it seems like pulling teeth any more ...

I usually have to be happy with a few hundred words a day. I've been counting my success in terms of ideas instead of words. I have lots of ideas, but getting them fit together cohesively is sometimes challenging.

 

[MillieDynamite]

This year, Cat has again found her perching spot in the Christmas Tree. We have had to tie several branches together yearly to give her a good resting place and ensure she doesn't bring the whole thing crashing down. She gazes down at the growing number of presents, trying to figure out which one to destroy, but this year, there is no scent to give away treats or catnip. Just some toys that don't have a smell to them. Make my coffee strong and black with no Fing sugar.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

I usually have to be happy with a few hundred words a day. I've been counting my success in terms of ideas instead of words. I have lots of ideas, but getting them fit together cohesively is sometimes challenging.

You've been reading my diary, yes?

 

[NotWise]

You've been reading my diary, yes?

Your handwriting is too small for me to see from here. Can you at least hold it up to the window? You might need to knock some of that snow off the sill.

I'm almost through this section, which includes an argument between my main characters that ends on the sidewalk in broad daylight.

It's been a multi-step process: 1) figure out what the scene has to do, 2) write the dialog, 3) realize the dialog is bare and go back to add some flesh to the bones, 4) realize my female protagonist needs to touch the male protagonist in the next scene without slugging him, 5) rewrite the dialog so she isn't so angry.

It seems to work now, at least for me.

 

[colddiesel]

No red or blue heelers, kelpies, Australian cattle dogs or any other working dog. They need a larger yard and entertainment so they don't get bored and be destructive.

Dead right. Our previous and current main dogs are both stumpy tailed cattle dogs given to us when they were injured working (Cattle kicks). My managers wife is almost magical at dog handling; I own them but the dogs - both bitches, soon worked out who the pack leader was. 100% loyal they crave work and can be destructive if not busy. Their main job is to keep an eye on, and herd the half dozen kids and they go everywhere with them. Fortunately we have thousands of acres of scrub and bush they can roam over, so neither kids nor dogs get bored. Next year we hope to breed her but last time she was in season she decided she didn't like her intended mate and wouldn't let him near her - so we wait and see what happens.

 

[Rustyoznail]

This year, Cat has again found her perching spot in the Christmas Tree. We have had to tie several branches together yearly to give her a good resting place and ensure she doesn't bring the whole thing crashing down. She gazes down at the growing number of presents, trying to figure out which one to destroy, but this year, there is no scent to give away treats or catnip. Just some toys that don't have a smell to them. Make my coffee strong and black with no Fing sugar.

 

[MillieDynamite]

Yeah, it sounds like my tree after a Cat attack.

View attachment 2445534

 

[NotWise]

Our cats don't bother the tree. I think it's too dense for them to get up into. They do play around under the tree and knock off low-hanging ornaments.

I had my first meal using my fermented jalapenos. It was off-the-cuff, but it went well.

I made a simple sauce with oil, diced tomatoes, onion, garlic and spices. I added sliced and browned smoked andouille to that and let it reheat the sausage, then tossed the sauce with the fermented jalapenos. The peppers were in the sauce just enough to warm them up and get them acquainted with the tomato.

The sauce went over spaghetti. I picked the peppers out and set them aside, and I ate them one-at-time when I felt like it was good time for a little kick. I cut the pods in two for fermenting and I had four halves. I could have used five--maybe six.

The peppers were a little tough before canning, but canning them softened the skins. They were good with the sauce, and they were good alone. The red ones were generally better than the green ones, and I'll probably try for a 50-50 mix if I ever make them again.

 

[Rustyoznail]

You picked a peck of pickled peppers and poured them over pasta?

 

[MrPixel]

You picked a peck of pickled peppers and poured them over pasta?

You know, Russ, I've had a hard enough time here trying to be tired enough to go to bed, and you had to pull this. I'll be laughing the rest of the night morning.

 

[Candy_Kane54]

The morning pot of coffee is ready for those who it is morning for. There's a tin of shortbread cookies on the counter for those who dunk. The teapot is hot for those who enjoy a cuppa.

I'm over in the corner muttering invectives as I write. I did manage a couple of sentences yesterday and I hope to finish a paragraph or two today.

 

[MrPixel]

You picked a peck of pickled peppers and poured them over pasta?

I shared NW's jalapeño story followed by yours with C the moment I (finally) rolled out of bed. We were laughing all the way through breakfast. Thank you for that!

In writer news, yesterday (Saturday) was a weird day. Dark, cold, dreary, and rainy. We couldn't get motivated to do anything proper around the house 'cept go back to bed, which is part of the reason I was up all night, dealing with too much sleep. However...

...I awoke from the extended nap late afternoon with a story in my head, another installment of my Barstow series. Instead of everybody being all nicey-nicey with each other and screwing like bunnies all the time, I couldn't lose the thought, "Conflict. We need some conflict." So I decided it was time for the key FMCs to step out on the MMC and not share their adventures with him. Good plan, the inspiration generated 6000 words in roughly 12 hours of keyboarding. I think another 4 or 5K will wrap things up with the usual HEA.

 

[yowser]

Another use for those Jalapenos. Just tried it, fabulous and fairly easy, a Beer Cheese bread that browned marvelous well.
Recipe now on Russ' list at https://forum.literotica.com/thread...ipe-repository.1512336/page-22#post-100097682

 

[NotWise]

Another use for those Jalapenos. Just tried it, fabulous and fairly easy, a Beer Cheese bread that browned marvelous well.
Recipe now on Russ' list at https://forum.literotica.com/thread...ipe-repository.1512336/page-22#post-100097682

View attachment 2445971

That seems almost like a whole meal.

 

[colddiesel]

Spare a thought for Rustyoz today. Temperature is set to rise to 42 Celsius in Melbourne and up to 46 further inland. Not sure what that is in Fahrenheit - but toasty!

 

[MrPixel]

Spare a thought for Rustyoz today. Temperature is set to rise to 42 Celsius in Melbourne and up to 46 further inland. Not sure what that is in Fahrenheit - but toasty!

108°F and 115°F respectively. Friggin' HOT!

 

[NotWise]

Broncos win ugly.

 

[Rustyoznail]

Spare a thought for Rustyoz today. Temperature is set to rise to 42 Celsius in Melbourne and up to 46 further inland. Not sure what that is in Fahrenheit - but toasty!

It's stinking hot right up the east coast. We are only getting to 34 here on the coast, but it was 26 at 8am. There's a very strong hot wind blowing from the north with possible thunderstorms later, which is making our fire fighters very nervous.

I think I might have an iced tea.

 

[Rustyoznail]

Broncos win ugly.

An ugly win is still a win.