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carter has liver pills however this has to be done before 0900 because of the heat i am not trying to do yard stuff at 104 f just no that s how i get heat stress to which i am very prone i don t shed heat well never have i m designed for a cold wet climate scotland the low countries not the high semi desert i can adapt but not well and not after working all day in a comparatively cool place this is the time of year to hunker down hang in there and work early in the morning if you can produce is now in full flow so fresh locally grown tomatoes peppers potatoes melons and cantaloupe a little sweet corn and onions are on the market okra too if you can get there before the die hard okra fans find it i missed the last basket by thirty seconds this morning eventually the high pressure ridge will break apart temperatures will decline to local average we will get moisture and people will stop twitching the long term forecast is for a damp and cool winter i hope so although i am not a fan of very deep or wind driven snow i am in charge of the shovel however for now careful water use prayer and letting things rest is the rule it is august the dog days and the hottest part of the summer the garden abides as do people ask your southern grandparents if you have them posted in gardening landscapes life and living tagged roses 6 comments caturday rub n sniff posted on august 22 2026 by txred i have mentioned that jase t cat is a very nosy feline in that he sniffs things and is more scent curious than any other cat i ve met to date it s fun to watch him investigate new to the house things earlier this week i went to the v e t s office to get a sack of his special cat chow they had restocked the chow corner with 20 lb sacks of dog foods so the vet tech had to get one of the smaller cat food bags she thought it might still be in the shed the storage building adjacent to the exam rooms and office no it was closer at hand in an inside storage area she made certain that this was indeed the proper chow and i paid and brought it home as soon as he noticed it jase went nuts he cheek rubbed it then put his paws on the top and folded the top over so he could rub more of it sniffing all the while thump the sack tumped over and he rolled on it ruuuuuuuuubbing his head on the corners and back then rolling some more he has no interest in getting at the contents the external surface is all that interests him i left him with his new toy eventually he got tired and wandered off in search of petting and company a few hours later as i got ready for bed he rediscovered the sack again purring rubbing sniffing and so on i suspect the office transfusion dog or other animals as well as people had brushed against the bag adding interesting scents to the standard office smell the last time we got a sack straight from the shed i had to lock it away because he was so energetic about sniffing and pawing and rubbing i couldn t get any sleep for the sound of his enthusiasm simple pleasures i suppose posted in house cat stuff tagged cats 3 comments all we need is a monster to go with it posted on august 21 2026 by txred st angus in the grass school now has a moat sort of ish to make a long complicated story short a new addition requires water inflow and outgo the water line was duly dug in order to improve it add the extension no pipe was found this led to various calls hunts finding of plans finding of amended corrections to plans and finally everything short of begging st jude to find it the prodigal pipe has been found additional length and girth is being added other things are being relocated one now gets one s 10k steps in going from the parking area to the doors pleas and petitions to be allowed to park in the harvested wheat field have been denied and so another quiet year begins cue sound of heavy equipment digging construction workers trying hard not to use those words where kids can hear and so on posted in humor life and living tagged school daze 7 comments sort of opinion poll posted on august 20 2026 by txred starting next tuesday would you prefer part of the rest of simeon and vladimir s story two more weeks or so then i will pull everything prior to book release or to start the next bard s song book i know that bard s song has not been very popular i have some ideas why including that it is very very different from things like the familiars and even the merchant stories also the distributor has been changing some advertising systems and categorizing which may have accidentally given possible readers a wrong impression about the book i m currently 27k words into the next familiar generations novel it will tie up some threads that are loose in the short stories i might do a merchant story after that or perhaps a shikari i m still kicking around ideas posted in book news writing life tagged familiars fantasy 17 comments start with a pound or so of okra posted on august 19 2026 by txred that was my problem i had gotten some lovely small okra at the farmers market and needed to use it however the last time i tried fancy okra the results were so tough and unpleasant to chew but tasted good that i d not messed with the veggie since impulse buying is not my friend even if it was good for me and deep frying is out at redquarters since it was in the 100sf outside baking was also a no go we had no shrimp or andouille sausage to do cajun creole things so i looked at curries um far too complicated so i looked at other options and settled on the basics of one recipe details from another and a lot of i ll swap this for that a word about okra a lot of people do not care for okra because it is slimy batter frying cures that stewing unto death also cures that i don t mind a little slime and this recipe almost eliminates it entirely i suspect if i had a true cast iron skillet i could have truly browned the okra and eliminated the mucilage but this was pretty close 1 lp small okra trimmed and cut into rounds 1 can tomatoes or fresh tomatoes 1 lb or so sausage fatty if possible save your turkey sausage for another recipe sliced thin i used a smoked sausage 1 medium yellow onion sliced fine 3 cloves of garlic minced paprika two glugs of red wine other spices to taste marjoram bay leaf start by getting everything read and heating oil in a pan until it shimmers you need a large skillet even though you start cooking things in stages brown the sliced sausage then remove it from the pan leaving the drippings toss in the okra and cook until browned on the ends about 10 minutes or so add the onions and garlic and cook until translucent add the tomatoes and cook uncovered until the tomatoes start to get a little dark i poured off some of the liquid before i added the can to the skillet if you use canned roasted tomatoes just add and heat return the sausage to the pan mix and reduce heat to a low simmer add paprika i used at least 2 tablespoons because it was old and weak and other herbs as desired i wanted a deep mellow flavor then i added two glugs of red wine and let it simmer about this time i started a small pot of white rice just before the rice was done so fifteen minutes or so i turned up the heat and removed the lid on the skillet this thickened the okra quite nicely i corrected the flavors more paprika as needed this made four generous servings if you make more rice it would stretch farther or if you leave the sauce fairly thin there was barely any slime from the okra and the flavors blended very well heavy and rich without being overly filling if i had used a cast iron pan instead of no stick i think the okra would have truly browned and all the slime gone away as it was this worked beautifully and has been added to my make when okra are available list open wine bottle pour with care after glug glug stop pouring the wine is not strictly necessary but adds a nice depth and keeps the fat in suspension so the veggies have a chance to absorb more flavor from the sausage posted in food tagged recipes 8 comments tuesday tidbit problem solved posted on august 18 2026 by txred the charm caster attracts the attention of a local authority as the church bells chimed one the door opened an older hispano man with a commanding presence stepped into the shop simeon bowed a little to him don paulo juan de la cruz de romero y gallegos nodded in return something for a young lady who is starting school please yes sir this way please simeon led him to the children s section and considered his magic pushed him to the third shelf i believe these might be appreciated señor he offered the books then moved out of the gentleman s way the patrón of san martín de los pueblos studied the trio of books then gestured his agreement perfect as always señor simeon then he stopped frowning dark magic was here was it not yes don paulo a charm to cause fear and physical pain that could be gathered by a left hand worker you broke it give the carrier to me please i will deal with it and the caster simeon started toward the back vladimir raced past emerging with the silk pouch in his teeth thank you simeon took it and handed it to the sorcerer as he rang up the purchase don paulo glanced in the pouch frowning deeply as he did then he tucked the silk into a jacket pocket and removed a very old fashioned wallet from another pocket i had heard stories about a left handed worker who has grown overbold this may be his work ah thank you sir he carries shields both prickly and uncomfortable and looks like he drew power from vladimir and cast a small illusion the older sorcerer studied the image then gestured understanding simeon unmade it and returned the magic to his familiar as don paulo said gracias i will make inquiries would you like these gift wrapped now the sorcerer smiled a rather indulgent sort of smile no thank you they will be slipped in with her schoolbooks to soften the day after the hispano patrón departed vladimir stretched then asked has anyone crossed him and survived not that i know of either in the court room or in the circle don romero y gallegos it was one thing to read about the old patróns of the colonial period and another thing to meet a modern one especially one who was the strongest sorcerer in this part of the state and a water lawyer the rest of the day alternated mild rushes with quiet that was normal for a weekday in late summer simeon redid one of the windows with mountain and indian market related books and a different navajo rug he liked to rotate them so they didn t fade too much end of the week chaos vladimir warned when he at last emerged from the back much chaos he tried to avoid the plaza during the major art and culture events since the shop was open for most of them it wasn t too hard as long as he came in early juana will have pots the blue gray cat hopped into the window by the counter and stretched out on the two grey hills rug currently on display would she he d need to make space for them it wasn t too hard but good to know in advance thank you for reminding me spazibo vladimir dozed off not long after three that afternoon the world darkened outside the shop people hurried to bring in display tables if they had any simeon stepped out the front door and helped mr devaca carry mineral samples and a large chunk of petrified wood into the rock shop gracias de nada thunder rolled down from the mountains right on time simeon ducked back into his own business as cold wind chased papers and dust down the street people scurried for cover as cold rain poured out of the sky thank you lord for rain and sun and especially rain he whispered watching the wetting of the world simeon closed at six he emptied the cash register and purged the memory in the credit card machine after confirming that everything had gone through then he locked away a few antique books that might tempt the weak or addled turned out the lights and tidied the back of the store he closed the heavy wooden door between the stock area and the main shop by day the curtains sufficed but not at night vladimir had slipped on two of his paw covers already simeon helped with the back two and snugged all four next came the cat s harness and leash it was all break away so the familiar could shed everything if he needed to bureaucrats the familiar hissed as his mage locked the alley door and listened for the alarm s three chirps agree city statute had not caught up with magic and familiars were not recognized as separate from other animals unless the familiar was also a trained and certified service dog juana had suggested getting a service animal vest for vladimir the cat had used some choice language in reply now properly harnessed and shod he trotted beside his mage no one other than tourists blinked twice at seeing a cat on a leash this was santa fé after all eccentricity was encouraged so long as it fit the carefully cultivated image of the city once they got to the bus stop simeon lifted vladimir onto his shoulder the bus rolled up and the doors sighed open as tired as the rest of the bus and its passengers sam was driving he shook his head as usual and ignored the cat as usual simeon swiped his card and found a seat near the middle doors it wasn t so far to the house that he couldn t walk but russian blues were not endurance runners too some people didn t believe in keeping large dogs at home or training them properly of course it is going up when did taxes ever go down one of the women in the back grumbled pueblo revolt and no i wasn t here for that her older companion said in heated tones chuckles and grins flowed among the regulars the young hispanic woman seated across from simeon scowled and turned in her seat as if to scold the speaker then caught herself and faced forward the voice in the back continued perhaps after 1821 until mexico city decided to tax the rural provinces just like spain had maybe simeon scratched vladimir s ruff and felt pressure on his chest from the cat s paws two stops later they departed the bus and strolled a quarter mile then turned onto a dirt lane he crouched and let the familiar flow onto the ground he unclipped the cat s harness eighteen pounds of feline could get heavy even draped over both shoulders vladimir sniffed and checked out the pee mail as his mage got the mail and glanced at a new notice on the community board beside the road irrigation next week he warned his familiar good señora dúran said that the state s worried about flooding if they don t release some from the reservoirs vladimir shook all over then scuffed a bit of dirt at the base of one of the board s legs dog he grumbled the road narrowed into a lane barely a car and a quarter wide between the old adobe walls and rough wooden coyote fences simeon trundled his garbage can back from the row and unlocked the blue painted gate in a pale tan adobe wall before he could open it vladimir squeezed himself between the bottom of the gate and reddish brown flagstone pavers his mage opened the gate pulled in the gar...