National Mutt Day

 A day to encourage us to celebrate dogs of mixed breeds.  This day encourages people to adopt a mixed breed dog from a shelter or a rescue.

A mutt or mixed breed dog are available in all sorts of colors, sizes or patterns.  They are a mix of long or short snouts, pointy or floppy ears, curly, straight or stubby tail, and long or short legs.  

We have the Dr. Seuss mutt:  (abnormally) long legs, long body, small head and a curly tail. 

How to observe #NationalMuttDay

Volunteer at a shelter

Adopt a mixed breed dog.

Donate to your local animal shelter.

I will be spending the day pampering my weird dog Pippen.   Lots of treats and a walk or two.

National Months - August

 It's that time again.  Time to see what crazy month long holiday we will be celebrating in August.

Here we go:

Dog Month

Well, this is a given in our house.  I think every day and every month should be National Dog Month. There are scientific studies that prove that dogs make us happier, less stressed and more optimistic.  The companionship and love we share make their lives better, too.  How to celebrate #NationalDogMonth:  go for a nice long walk (with your dog, of course), give Fido an extra treat, play fetch or donate to a local animal shelter.  Grab your leash, Pippen, we are going for a walk!

Happiness Happens Month

A month dedicated to the pursuit of happiness.  Happiness is a choice.  It is not a lifelong destination but a lifelong pursuit.  Enjoy everything and anything that makes you happy.  Choose to be happy.  Find the happy moments in your life and post to social media #HappinessHappensMonth.

National Golf Month

I mean, I've talked about Golf a lot on this blog, so, I think we should celebrate it this month....by not watching it on television.  If you must celebrate, a game of mini golf is acceptable.

Which holiday are you going to celebrate this month?

Dental Journey

 I don't have dental insurance.  I thought it was about time to make a visit to the dentist.  I decided to go to a dental school.  We haven't had much luck over the years with dentists.  We have had some "interesting" experiences with dentists.  A couple of them with RT and one with the kids (all different dentists).

The one thing I learned about going to a dental school is time.  These are dental students, and they are still learning and practicing their skills on us (don't worry, my teeth are pretty good, I just need a cleaning).  

I have been referring to my dental visit(s) as my dental journey.  You see, since they are students, it takes them a little longer to do things. I have had two appointments already:  a consultation and x-rays.  My final appointment is in a couple of weeks (a cleaning).  Glad I'm able to help out the dental industry.

Vegan Diaries - Mediterranean Farro Salad

 It's amazing what you can find in your pantry if you really take the time to look around.  

I did the scary clean out of our pantry the other day.  Shocked at some of the things I found.  I'm good about not having expired food products, but I can't control the multiple open packages (of the same item).  Luckily, it's pretty easy to combine these packages into one and move on.

I found a couple open packages of farro (I'll take the blame for that one).  I thought I would try to whip a salad up using farro, and hopefully using up one of the packages.  

I'm not going to bore you and go on and on about the making of the salad, but I will tell you that I think this turned out to be the best salad I have ever made.  I will definitely be making this again!

Here's the recipe:

Mediterranean Farro Salad

ingredients:

1 cup farro

1 sm bell red pepper

1 cucumber, seeded and diced

pint of grape tomatoes, halved

1 bunch Italian parsley, finely chopped

1 bunch green onions, chopped

1/2 cup Kalamata olives, pitted and chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

1/3 cup lemon juice

1/4 cup olive oil

black pepper - to taste

8 ounces vegan feta cheese, crumbled

directions:

Cook farro according to directions until tender.

Drain farro and rinse with cold water.  Set aside to drain.

Combine pepper, cucumber, tomatoes, parsley, onion and olives into a large bowl.

In a separate small bowl, whisk together garlic, lemon juice and olive oil.  Feel free to add salt and pepper at this time.

Add farro to the large bowl of vegetables and combine ingredients.

Add dressing and mix.

Serve topped with feta cheese.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

*for the bell pepper, I used an orange bell pepper because that is what I had on hand.  

Enjoy!

National Tequila Day

 It's a great day to mix up a margarita and soak up the sun.

I read up a little on the history of Tequila.  You might want to pour yourself a shot of tequila and read along.  

Tequila is mezcal, but, mezcal is not tequila (another sip of your drink and reread that again).  When the Spanish conquered Mexico, they didn't like the mezcal (fermented wine).  They supplied some copper stills and the distilling process became popular.  In the town of Tequila, in Jalisco, Mexico, they decided to distill Blue Agave.  The ideal growing conditions lead to a larger and sweeter tasting agave.  According to Mexican law, Tequila is Tequila only if it is made in Jalisco.  Fun Fact:  Jose Antonio Cuervo was the first to hold a license for making Tequila.

Celebrate #NationalTequilaDay by sipping a margarita.  Maybe try a Tequila Sunrise.  Or just savor a good tequila like whiskey.  

Most importantly, remember to drink responsibly.

Cheers!

My Weird Dog

Just a little update on my baby my weird dog Pippen and his teeth beautification project.  

Pippen is always happy to see me, but when I picked him up from the vet after his dental appointment, I think he was smiling.  He also pulled me to the door (he was ready to leave) and he had no problem hopping into my car.

Pippen had a couple of teeth extracted and his teeth cleaned.   He is on soft foods and meds.  I'm just wondering who thought it was a good idea to make large pills for dogs to swallow?  Luckily, we have some cheese and peanut butter in the house (can you say, spoiled?).  He has been a little clingy to me, which means he is back to normal.  Hopefully he will let me brush his teeth so we don't have to go through this again.

A big shout out to RT for approving the dental project.  He knows how much Pippen means to me and, most importantly, he is happy our house doesn't have that bad dog breath smell.

National Nude Day

Today is a great day to get out of doing laundry!  

Today is National Nude Day!

Nudists, also known as naturists, take this holiday seriously.  A day to celebrate your body in its natural state.  This holiday is placed in the warmer months for a good reason.  Who wants to walk around naked in January?  

The benefits of a nudist lifestyle?  Less luggage to bring on vacation and smaller loads of laundry.  

How to observe #NationalNudeDay.

Well, first of all, please don't take any nude pictures and post them to social media. 

How about an open air bath?  That's where you open the windows and sit naked in a room and let the wind circle around you.

Visit a nudist colony.

Participate in the privacy of your own home.

If you do plan on participating today, please obey the laws.  I'm not going to bail anyone out of jail today.