Weekend Recap (08/17-08/18)

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Saturday (08/17) between rain showers we went to the Taste of Glen Ellyn which was held at the College of DuPage. It was quite hot and humid and there weren’t any places to sit in the shade at all which was quite a turnoff. We quickly ate some delicious tacos from a place called My Cocina Mexican Grill and followed them up with a giant overstuffed Oreo cookie from Dirty Dough (what a name!) while listening to live music.

After not being able to take the heat anymore, we walked around the carnival section for a bit and almost got a corndog from one of the food trucks, but I noticed the only mustard they offered was in a bottle, so decided against it. What were we expected to do, stand there next to truck eating and getting into everyone’s way? Why wouldn’t they offer packets of mustard to take with you? So weird.

Since the arboretum is a short drive away from the college we decided to head over there for a bit. I hadn’t brought my camera, so it was just a relaxing drive around the grounds before heading home.

Sunday (08/18) we went on a guided bird walk at LeRoy Oakes forest preserve in St. Charles.

Despite the threat of rain, it held off until later that morning. The overcast skies and breeze felt nice during our walk, and I was thankful I wore my hiking boots because some of the trails were mowed grass that was still wet from the rain the night before.

I didn’t bring my camera along because a) I knew we wouldn’t see any migrating birds this time of year (and we didn’t), and b) I didn’t want to risk it getting wet. I did have binoculars, though. It was a fun and educating experience. Our guide, Josh, was super knowledgeable and upbeat, and we really enjoyed ourselves.

We plan to join future bird walks hosted by the Forest Preserve District of Kane County since they offer them on the weekends, unlike DuPage County who recently changed all their bird walks to Friday mornings when Joe is at work. Kane County doesn’t charge for their walks either, although I really don’t mind paying DuPage $5 per person as that’s really nothing and I like to think the money goes to improving the forest preserves we spend so much time in. I just wish they would have their walks on the weekends like they offered last year.

Weekend Recap (08/10-08/11)

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Saturday (08/10) morning we visited Bartlett Nature Center, where we learned they have bird feeders that can be viewed from inside the building, which will be nice in the winter when we’re bored.

We saw this cutie pie turtle inside the nature center.

We also got to feel different animal pelts which were both creepy and cool.

We took a walk around the attached James Pate Philip State Park before heading to another nearby forest preserve – Pratt’s Wayne Woods. There we re-discovered an area at the far end of the parking lot off Powis Rd where there’s a few sloughs connected by a path. It feels like a great place to do some birding during fall migration, so we’ll be heading back there soon.

After the nature stuff we headed over to Woodman’s where they were celebrating their anniversary and giving away free stuff.

We got two cans of C4 energy drink, one of which tastes just like a pink Starburst, which was good. I didn’t drink much though as I’m sensitive to caffeine – too much makes me jittery. We also got free Dunkaroos which I’ve never eaten before. They were ok, but nothing I’d buy myself.

The main reason we went, however, was the promise of free tacos. Turns out that was only from 1-3 pm which was not noted in their ad. It was noon and we weren’t about to sit around an hour for free tacos, so we left. We thought about getting food elsewhere, but got annoyed with everyone’s prices and went home to eat instead.

Later that evening we did get some Popeyes though, thanks to a deal through T-Mobile Tuesday. I have to say, without any sauce on them the boneless wings taste almost exactly like the chicken planks from Long John Silvers. I love those things and grew up eating them but since there’s no LJS near here anymore I haven’t eaten any in years. Popeyes might just become a semi-regular stop for that alone. I wasn’t keen on their mac and cheese, however.

Sunday (08/11) we visited Morton Arboretum. It was dog admission day, which was nice but also sad. We met a cute terrier mix named Jenny and spent time driving and walking the grounds. Nothing beats the smell of fresh air and trees, and the weather was perfect.

On our way home we stopped at Trader Joe’s where I excitedly spotted some strawberry rhubarb hand pies. Spoiler alert – they tasted awful.

We also stopped at Aldi and noticed our vet has their sign up at their future location (which is right behind the Aldi). I hope that means they will be moving soon, preferably before we get a dog. I would prefer not to have to step foot in the old building again since that’s where we took Wookie on her last day.

July Recap

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We didn’t do too much this month thanks to the crazy hot weather most of the time, but the things we did do were pretty significant:

07/11 (Thu) – Saw Strangelove, The Depeche Mode Experience at Addison’s free concert in the park.

We sat as far back from the stage as possible and even then I felt my ears were being blasted. My phone’s decibel meter was registering the sound as being in ear-damaging territory. I was getting ready to suggest to Joe that we leave when I suddenly remembered putting high fidelity concert earplugs in my fanny pack about a week before. Not even sure why I did it. I believe at the time I was thinking it probably would be a good idea to always have some ear protection easily accessible because of my sensitive ears.

I bought them back in April 2019 but got sick shortly thereafter so never had an opportunity to use them. They felt weird at first, but were pretty comfortable after awhile. I could still hear the music perfectly fine and no extra tinnitus after the concert. I consider that a win! I don’t think I’d risk attending an indoor concert, though, but would feel ok outdoors with these ear plugs. Wish I had been aware of them years ago and maybe my ears wouldn’t be damaged now. I haven’t attend many concerts compared to a lot of people, but I do remember having tinnitus after them which didn’t go away until I went to sleep.

Anyway, the venue was way more crowded than we were expecting, but I’m glad we decided to check it out anyway because the band sounded just like Depeche Mode and played many of our favorite songs. This one family sitting in front of us was annoying, though, letting their kids run around everywhere which was rather distracting, but overall it was still a nice night out. Weather was perfect too. We don’t really go out like that much so it was a nice experience.

What’s funny is if it hadn’t been for us trying to find the second location of this little seasonal garden called Murphy’s Farm a week beforehand, we wouldn’t have even known about the concert. We went to the farm’s usual location and it was empty, so we decided to try and find their main location which we had never visited. It was closed too (apparently they only operate in the spring), but there were signs on the main street nearby advertising the free concert.

07/13 (Sat) – Adopted a dog – a Schnoodle named Olive

This is her sleeping on my lap.

Spoiler alert – it didn’t work out thanks to my broken right ear. :(

07/21 (Sun) After more than a month of eating through the food in the freezer, it was finally empty enough for a big Trader Joe’s trip. Look at all that yummy food!

07/24 (Wed) – Found this bat wreath at Home Goods. I didn’t need another Halloween decoration, but it was too cool to pass up.

07/26 (Fri) – Joe took the day off work so we went to Peck Farm Park to visit their butterfly tent. Afterwards we went to another park to walk around, then stopped for a little snack at Andy’s Custard. Joe had seen an advertisement for a key lime pie custard mixer, so we shared a medium which was delicious, but pricey (nearly $9). We grabbed some lunch on the way home and then decided to go swimming in our complex’s pool. It’s literally been years since we were last there, but we arrived shortly after they opened so it was pretty empty and peaceful. We spent about an hour there. I was a little concerned about getting burned, which would be ironic, since we just had our annual skin checks at the dermatologist the day before, because the sunscreen we have for the pool expired years ago. Luckily it still worked, but I did buy some new sunscreen a few days later.

07/27 (Sat) – Went to a shelter to meet a dog named Penelope we were interested in. She was being fostered, so we had to arrange a time for the foster to meet us at the shelter. She was listed as a Yorkie, but we quickly found out from the foster mom she was part Dachshund, which the shelter should have listed since they themselves had rescued this dog’s mom too! So they knew what she was mixed with and still didn’t disclose it. Had we known, we wouldn’t have wasted anyone’s time. As soon as I put the dog on my lap there was white fur all over my pants. So aggravating! We are specifically looking for a small non-shedding dog similar to Wookie, but these places often don’t list enough information for us to determine if they are a good fit before having to meet with them which is such a waste of time and effort for everyone involved.

This shelter does some pretty annoying things in general –

1) They neglect to post any photos of some of the dogs even after being asked to do so. Everyone has a phone with a camera these days so there’s no excuse for not being able to a single photo of a dog, if not several.

2) They put a general message about coming to the shelter to meet the dog even when the dog is being fostered and isn’t at the actual shelter. If you don’t notice the small section that lists the location as Foster Home, you will end up visiting the shelter for nothing.

3) They don’t disclose any information about the temperament of the dog even when it’s been with them or in a foster home for weeks. At that point they should have information about it. Why not post what they know to help people decide ahead of time if they even want to meet the dog? When I’m on Petfinder and Adopt-A-Pet I will often see a dog that is listed as having separation anxiety, for example, so I know to skip past them. It saves everyone time, not to mention reduces the chance of someone having to bring a dog back, so I don’t get why this shelter doesn’t care about giving out as much information as possible. People should have an idea of what they are getting into when adopting a dog. Do people just go blindly into a shelter, pick a dog based on looks, and take it home? That seems like a recipe for disaster.

If it wasn’t for the fact that they seem to get more of the breeds we’re looking for than the other rescues in the area, I wouldn’t bother with them anymore. It sucks to have to drive a half hour to the shelter just to quickly learn something about the dog that, had they listed it, we wouldn’t have pursued. They currently have another dog on their site listed as a Yorkie but no photos or a description even though it’s been posted for weeks. It’s so aggravating!

07/28 (Sun) – Visited my friend, K. She was dog-sitting two Schnauzers who were cuter and had softer fur than other Schnauzers I’ve seen. Apparently the owners get all their dogs from the same breeder so they have good genes. Surprisingly, their high pitch barks didn’t bother my ear, which I was expecting after our experience with Olive (who was half Schnauzer, which I was told is a breed with a very high-pitched bark).

Later in the afternoon we were invited to visit K’s brother’s house. They recently got a new puppy – a Maltese Shih Tzu mix. She is adorable! K’s parents were there with their poodle too, who we hadn’t met before but came right up to us and was friendly. K said she’s never like that, so that made me feel special. In fact, K said she is a lot like Wookie was – very standoffish with other people and dogs. She still was that way with the puppy but I’m sure will warm up to her with more exposure. We were invited to stay for dinner but decided not to accept, then regretted that later. Oh well, hopefully we’ll have another opportunity soon. I love K’s family, whom we’ve met before at K’s birthday parties. They are warm and welcoming. I wish they were my family!

Anyway, that was July. I don’t know why the universe is hating on me right now when it comes to finding a dog, but it sucks. I miss Wookie so damn much and I don’t expect a new dog to ever replace her, but I do think it will heal my heart a little.

Notable movies and series this month:

The Beekeeper starring Jason Statham (DVD) – Borrowed this from the library. Was pretty entertaining, and had some funny parts, but I feel like they had some bee-related missed opportunities.

Mike & Molly (Max) – Back when this series first aired I was in my Melissa McCarthy hater era, but I’ve since gotten over that. Glad I did, because this show is good!

Young Sheldon (Max) – I never had a single desire to watch this show, but we just finished re-watching The Big Bang Theory, so we decided it wouldn’t hurt to give it a try, and we both like it much more than we anticipated. Every character is interesting, and I didn’t realize the actress who plays Sheldon’s mom is the real-life daughter of the actress who plays his mom in TBBT. How cool is that?

Olive the Schnoodle

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We recently had a new dog… for 24 hours. Lest you think we’re impulsive people who don’t think through our decisions, let me explain.

We saw Olive, a 5 month old Schnoodle (Schnauzer Poodle mix) at an adoption event at the Plainfield Pet Supplies Plus on July 6th.

She was the sweetest little thing – we were able to pick her up and she cuddled with us immediately. The rescue had us take her for a little walk around the store but we ultimately decided not to adopt. I was worried her bark might bother my ear* (there was a blurb about her on their website stating she had an unusual high-pitched bark).

* Ever since my sickness in 2019-2020 my right ear has been sensitive to certain frequencies, usually in the high-pitch range, which is ironic since supposedly I’ve lost hearing in the higher frequencies which is why I have high-frequency tinnitus in that ear. When something triggers it, I feel a fluttering in that ear and then if it continues the ear will start crackling and popping. It’s not painful, per se, but very uncomfortable and it’s not something I want to experience day in and day out. It has limited my ability to work, even from home, as talking on the phone is quite often a trigger. It sucks. But anyway…

I kept thinking about Olive all week and looking at her pictures. I really liked how friendly and cuddly she was which is what I’d like in our next dog. I found out she would be at the next adoption event in Tinley Park on the 13th so we went out to see her again. We also took a look at the other dogs up for adoption through other rescues but they were all big breeds and we definitely want a small non-shedding dog.

So anyway, she was there and as cute and friendly as ever. I explained to her foster my interest and how before heading out to the event I had filled out an application just in case, but I was hesitant due to my ear condition. It should be noted at this point I’d heard her bark but within the confines of the pet store at the first event, and outside at the second one, and nothing was triggered in my ear. I thought maybe I was worrying for nothing.

That being said, I asked the foster if they would consider letting us foster her to see if her bark would bother me and she said they don’t transfer dogs from one foster to another. I was disappointed, but understood. In fact, we were getting ready to leave when the woman in charge of the rescue came by and recognized us. She thought it was a great sign we were back and was excited thinking we were going to adopt. I explained my ear condition and she offered us the ability to take her for a week to see how she’d work out. She explained she rarely did such a thing, but had a good feeling about us. She asked me to fill out their foster application (I had filled out an adoption one previously), which I did on my phone.

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June Recap

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06/01 (Sat) – Put out the new welcome mat we got from Walmart. The dog related one we got years ago, also from Walmart, was discolored and faded, so it was time.

We also decluttered and organized the garage, mostly the tool side since the storage bin side was still in good shape.

Tried Taco Bell’s limited time Big Cheez-It Tostada.

Was it good? Yes! Is it worth $4? I don’t think so. I did enjoy it, though. They took my favorite item off their menu so a trip to TB is rare these days.

06/06 (Thu) – Finally got window treatments installed on all the upstairs windows. It hasn’t been a priority, and I was feeling decision paralysis because I wasn’t sure if I wanted them to all match or not. Plus with the new windows installed they cannot be mounted on the inside of the frame, which I prefer, so I just wasn’t excited about anything. Finally just went with a blackout cellular shade in the workout room / Joe’s bedroom (yes, we sleep separately, and no, it has not ruined our marriage *), light-filtering cellular shades in the office, and room darkening vinyl pull-down shades in the main bedroom (because there’s already curtains installed as well). All of them were obtained from Lowes and are not the highest quality but they look nice so I don’t care.

* When I was sick in 2019 we started sleeping in separate rooms because I would toss and turn all night long and Joe needed his sleep since he was the only one working. Then when I got better we decided it made more sense for us both to get quality sleep by not sharing a bed. He snores and I’m a fairly light sleeper in general.

06/07 (Fri) – Discovered our cherry tomato plant, which we bought less than a month prior, had tomatoes growing on it. Then the next day they were gone, eaten by something.

06/08 (Sat) – We went to K’s house to hang out with her and her friend, J. We’ve met a few times but this was the first time we really could talk extensively. I really like her, and it was a fun day.

06/10 (Mon) – Next door neighbor got a puppy – a black lab & Saint Bernard mix named Hank. We’ve never really spoken to the neighbor until later in the month when she was out with her boyfriend and the puppy. Since then we’ve gotten to play with the puppy a couple of times. He’s super cute and is gonna be a big dog.

06/16 (Sun) – Learned that they’re opening a Bibibop (Asian fast food place) close to home. There are two about equidistant apart from us but still a half hour drive. The new one will be less than 10 minutes away. I’m happy because our preferred location shares a parking lot with the emergency vet we took Wookie to right before she passed so I can’t bear to go back there now… and for whatever reason didn’t want to go to the other location, so I haven’t had my fix in months.

06/22 (Sat) – Put out the memorial garden stone my mom sent us for Wookie. It’s by the front door where its less apt to get stepped on by any of the landscapers.

Went to see Joe’s daughter’s new condo and had lunch with her and her SO at Pepe’s near their new home. We haven’t eaten at a Pepe’s in years and it’s not nearly as good as I remember so I doubt we’ll go back.

06/27 (Thu) – Watched the presidential debate. Boy was that a mistake. How have we come to this? Our choices are between an evil piece of shit or a guy with dementia. We’re screwed unless both these guys drop dead before November. One can hope!

Went to Old Time Pottery to look for some inexpensive garden décor and found these items for 25% off.

Spent less than $20 and that includes a large pinwheel I plan to place in the front by our tree. The one I got from Dollar Tree a few years back looks frayed already even though I didn’t use it until a month or two ago. It’s fabric, though, and the OTP one is plastic, so it should last longer.