July is starting off with a bang....

Literally. Fireworks are now legal in IA and it's a horrible idea. It's loud, sounds like gunfire continuously, just popping with no pretty after glow. At all hours of the day.  I could be out back enjoying my hammock life, reading, dreaming, napping about mid-afternoon and pop, pop, pop; my peaceful moment is robbed. Tomorrow should be even more crazy. I have typed the word "chill" into my calendar for tomorrow so that's while I'll be doing no matter the sound affects around me.

Sweet Isabella

We did a tough thing today. We put our sweet Izzie to sleep. Toughest decision every. Many think we should have done it awhile ago but I think there is no right time. She wasn't deathly ill, she was in pain and had trouble motoring around. The last few months she'd started this odd and consistent woofing that we thought was dog for "I'm not feeling like myself-can you fix it?" And we tried all her favorite treats and a round of pills but nothing seem to alleviate her pain.  So we helped her along. Taking a page from the Dog Whisperer I treated her like a queen this past week. May she be romping pain-free tonight on some grassy knoll.

Between the fireworks popping everywhere and our sweet dog it's been a rough beginning to the middle month of summer. I do have a delicious menu planned for tomorrow as we CHILL. Wild Caught Salmon, arugula salad, a raw corn salad, baked beans (Anton's must have for any BBQ) and I'm making a strawberry rhubarb pie tomorrow.  Groovy Teen and her quest to be dairy-free really misses ice cream so I've made her an almond milk version that I hope will turn out. It's in the freezer as we speak.

Speaking of rough times-my Groovy Girl has requested in strong terms that I stop referring to her on this blog with that every so cute blog nickname. I call my other kids by their names but hers is unique and I like to hide her identity and she's still under age. So I've been blandly calling her Groovy Teen in the last few posts. It just doesn't have the same ring to it. Any suggestions...