Wednesday, August 10, 2016

What's Been Going on at Chez Sluggy Lately

I'm trying my best to get back into a blogging groove since I am back from our latest adventure/trip/vacation but it's been difficult.

Feeling like crap with what is now a head cold doesn't help matters any.
Hubs was so nice to share the virus he picked up in Maine with me....what a guy, right? ;-)
He is better but whatever he gave me I just can't seem to shake.
bleh.

I still have hundreds of photos to edit from the trip.

Interesting story about my camera though, speaking of photos.

The camera died 9 days or so before we left for Maine.
Thinking it might just be the battery that died I ordered one online but I paid for the "expedited" 2-3 day shipping which was $5 more to ensure that the battery would arrive here before we left on the trip.

Well, by Friday morning, the day before we left, said battery had still not arrived......if should have arrived Tuesday at the latest if they had truly sent it an expedited rate.

Friday morning I said screw it and went to Best Buy to buy another of my same camera and an extra Canon brand battery.
My thinking was, open and try to battery first, and if that was the camera issue, I could return the new camera when we returned and I'd only be out $50 for a battery replacement.
But if the battery wasn't the issue I'd need to open/use the new camera and be out $275+ for both the camera and an extra battery.

So I got a new camera and extra battery on Friday and came home to find.....and you know what I am going to say here.....the online ordered battery had showed up in Friday's mail.
Ack!


First off FIRST CLASS MAIL is NOT Expedited!
They sent the package the cheapest rate they could and charged me Priority mail rates.


They charged me $8.99 to mail this and actually spent $2.45 for postage.
So I shot off an email and reamed them a new one.

On Monday while checking emails in the motel room I saw that they had refunded the $5 extra I paid for expedited service.
Satisfaction but still a big old hassle to have to deal with.

I opened the online bought battery and indeed my camera sprung back to life so the battery replacement was the cheapest fix for the problem.  I did take the Canon $50 battery with us on the trip just in case this online bought generic battery crapped out, but thankfully I didn't have to open the package and use it.

So when we got back Hubs took the unused camera and extra battery back to Best Buy and that was $275+ less to pay on the August c/c statement.

I took a shot of the garden before we left........


These were the largest tomatoes we had as of 29 July.  They were slightly larger than the size of a golf ball on that date.
As of today we have some "tennis ball" sized tomatoes out in the garden.  Seems it didn't rain here while we were gone and nobody thought to water the plants.
I'd show you a shot of them today but it's currently pouring down rain thankfully.

I also baked a blueberry coffee cake with lemon buttercream frosting the day before we left for Maine.



Hubs dearly loves blueberries and Weis(PMITA)Markets had a BOGO deal on pints of berries that week so I make a cake.


Of course Hubs didn't eat any of it before we left(I snuck a small square that evening)but the kids sure enjoyed the heck out of it while we were gone.

I think the dog was more upset about us going on a trip than the kids were.......


Between hacking up a lung I am trying to get back into my blogging routine, editing photos from the trip, putting stuff away, doing laundry and keeping the dog hair in the house down to a low roar.

And I'm trying to come up with new ways to use Zucchini since we have 2 in the fridge right now that need using.
I'll tempura some and then make a zuke casserole.  That should take care of what's on hand at the moment.  I'm scared to even look under the zucchini plants in the garden and see more coming. lolz

Ok, that's about all I got for today.  Off to the grocery store to get some deals and the farm stand for some "real" tomatoes.  I have been craving a real tomato the whole time we were gone.

What have you been up to lately?

Sluggy



16 comments:

  1. Yes a real tomato is heaven. Hope you feel better.

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  2. Back from a getaway to New York, stating busy in the office.

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  3. Check my Zucchini-Tomato casserole.

    Me? Killing myself picking pears in this heat.

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  4. Your dog is adorable!

    Get yourself a spiralizer (Amazon/Bed, Bath & Beyond) and make zucchini noodles!

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    Replies
    1. I doubt zuke noodles would go over well here but thanks for the suggestion. I just might get that desperate! lolz

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    2. In an attempt to make my food diabetic friendly, I added sliced zucchini to spaghetti sauce, using ground pork instead of beef. My friend said the zucchini is fine, and, yes, he said he will eat it that way again. Unbelievably, the zucchini has no taste in the spaghetti sauce.

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  5. our red and yellow maters and the cherry maters are coming in. the cuke plant died after giving up only one baby cuke. no peppers yet. hot as blazes here; horrible for my asthma.

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    Replies
    1. Horrible asthma weather in these parts....stay indoors and safe!

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    2. The weather is horrible for asthma here in Alabama, too.

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  6. Well you made it home, slightly worse for the wear! When I get back from the beach I am going to try making zucchini fake pineapple bits since farm grown is dirt cheap right now. I think if you don't buy it they slip a dozen or so in your car while you aren't looking

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    Replies
    1. We did that at a party once. I hoped no one had one rot before they found it. What is fake pineapple bits?

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    2. Carol, Google faux pineapple for the recipe. It's basically cubed up zucchini flesh put into pineapple juice that takes on the pineapple flavor.

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  7. I am in Canada, with no coffee cake alas.

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  8. I need the recipe!!!! Not that I should eat it but I will.
    And I hope you are back in the swing of life soon.
    I have the feeling that your adorable dog will soon be your best bud.

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    Replies
    1. Just google "blueberry zucchini cake with lemon buttercream frosting". There are tons of sites with this same recipe on it.
      I did sub 1/2 the veg. oil for applesauce and 1/2 the sugar for Splenda but it's still fabulous. Only Daughter noticed that the cake wasn't as sweet as she had hoped....with the icing it was plenty sweet to me!

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  9. Ratatouille (not the movie:) is a good way to use up zucchini.

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