A brief update before my site goes offline for our latest move folly. How long will it be down? Well, valid question. There are some good points and some bad with this move, as I suppose is always the case. The Internet service falls quite squarely in the “bad” category. I am somewhat concerned it will not accommodate my needs in the manner to which I am accustomed. After probably way too much worrying about it, it was decided that it wasn’t worth checking our new house off the possibilities list, and we’ll just make do. This approach rarely works out, maybe this will be an exception to that rule.

In lieu of actual content this week, I bring you a video of Nacho and her blanket. She gets comically upset if it is not on the couch where it belongs. This, of course, leads me to move it now and then, just to keep her guessing. As a side note, you may be able to hear the sound of quality TV programming in the background while this video was taken. I have enjoyed MeTV via an antenna feed for a few years now. For the reasonable price of free, I am able to watch all the classics. (Andy Griffith, The Rifleman, Bonanza, Gunsmoke, etc.) This also comes to a screeching halt at the new digs, as we appear to be out of antenna range. Ummm why am I moving again?

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Man, how to update a website when you don’t do anything… Puzzling indeed. I mean honestly, you can only spin “went to our friends house for dinner” so many ways. We are also in the midst of moving, which has us in quite a bit of turmoil. The house is a shambles, can’t find anything, somebody always wants you to sign a 25 page document… Ugh. I think this is about our third time moving since my adamant declaration of “I am never moving again.” Maybe we’ll get it right this time, who knows.

So the theme for this weekend was “going to a friends house for dinner.” What can ya’ do. Hey, honestly there are worse ways to relax. Friday’s menu was carne asada tacos with all the trimmings. We gorged ourselves on this great meal, then sat outside enjoying the fantastic weather around their fire pit. Is that so bad? Nah, I suppose not. Speaking of the weather, it has been very Missouri-esque around here. Last week was just wicked hot, as in 100+ for several days. Downright stifling. Then, just in time for the weekend, it dropped a good 30 degrees. Chalk that up in the “positive” column.

Saturday we headed over to another friends house for another dinner. We only have two friends out here, so you could say we just really ran the gamut this weekend. Generally this group is big on cooking dinner, and I have to say we’re pretty fair hands at it. This particular evening though, we opted for takeout. Our fare of choice was the aptly named “Yummy Dumplings” in Cameron Park. As one might guess, their featured menu item is dumplings. They have a few other options, but definitely a one-page menu. I must say, the dumplings are, as advertised, yummy. I’m confident I’ve tried every variety on the menu, and while I do have a favorite (pork and kimchi, steamed,) they are all delicious. The post-meal plan was to suit up and enjoy their recently installed hot tub. Everyone was too full to bother changing into swimsuits though, so we just sat on the side and soaked our feet. Fair enough.

Sunday, we made an honest effort at a return to our “normal routine,” such as it was. Sundays in the Spring are meant for putting the top down on the convertible and going wine tasting. It just makes for a nice day before the work week. Most, not all, wineries are back open in some fashion, and are blasting the news all over social media. Hey, we’ll bite. Well, it just didn’t work out so well. You can’t really “taste” the wines per se. You can just order a bottle for the table, and you also have to get food. That’s all well and good if those are the rules, I suppose, but it’s not really what I want to do. I like to try their different wines. (Sort of the entire point of going wine tasting, at least in my mind.) And to boot, I don’t want food, I ate lunch before leaving. Well we were out and committed, so we gave it a try. The weather was fantastic, if nothing else. We made it to three places and called it quits. That’s three different wines tried (for those concerned, no we did not drink three bottles of wine; There was a group of us,) three different sandwiches, three kinds of fries, and 1/2 a sleeve of Tums. Well, we gave it a shot. The day was still pretty young when we called no joy, but everybody was so full we just went home and hit the couch.

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Whew, I needed a day off. The wife is bound and determined to make me do something useful, but I am resisting to the best of my ability. Days off are rare, and not to be wasted. I did at least try and mix in a little exercise. I got all ready for a nice bike ride, but when I rolled it out of the garage my tire was flat. I contemplated actually changing it and going anyway, but my spare tubes and bike stand are in the storage locker. Have to be another day I guess. Supposed to hit 90 today anyway, I would likely have passed out.

In the “notable events” category, we had a nice brunch yesterday. It was a little on the casual side, as we’re packing up to move, including all our dishes. Hey, paper plates and plastic forks clean up easier anyway. It came out pretty well; I made chilaquiles and scrambled eggs with chorizo. I thought the chilaquiles came out pretty well, at least they were better than the soupy mess I created last time I tried. I even fried my own chips, fancy. Some potatoes and a big fruit salad showed up too, so we had quite the feast of it. I definitely needed a ride today to try and undo the damage, but alas, it ain’t to be.

Or however long it’s been. That’s just an estimate. I gotta say, we are getting increasingly “loose” with our distancing or whatever the heck they call it. Not too crazy, but man I am BORED. For instance, as I mentioned briefly I am trying get back on my bicycle. Depending on who you believe out here, you aren’t supposed to even be doing that? Whatever. I need out of the house, and I ride by myself. Not to mention, I really really really need some form of exercise… If there is one positive of this situation, it’s the very light traffic while riding on the road. Much safer than usual, at least it seems to be. There are far lower odds of getting hit by a Miller Lite can, tossed from a 1 ton diesel truck as it roars past you at 70mph in a 30 zone, belching black exhaust in your face. (Not that I am stereotyping my neighbors, but yeah I guess I am.) Hopefully that holds for a while longer, it does make the ride more enjoyable.

Our other entertainment since last my last update also included a fine, fine Mother’s Day brunch yesterday. No, my mother wasn’t there, but I seldom pass up a reason to celebrate a holiday. We went up to a friends house and hung out for the better part of the day, enjoying some great food and a break in the recent hot weather. They’ve been doing a major backyard project for a while now, so we got to check out the progress on that too. Usually our little brunch parties only last a few hours, but it was such a nice day we ended up sitting on their new deck all afternoon. We had a good time, the dogs got worn out playing… All good things.

I finally lost my quarantine beard this week. The time was right. Not even really sure why I grew it out in the first place. I do hate shaving, but that’s not exactly a new sentiment. I guess my thought is, maybe it will bring good karma to end the lock down. Not to mention, now that the temps have gotten into the 90’s regularly here, the idea of a 1-inch layer of steel wool covering my face is even less appealing. The final nail in the coffin was the rather shocking amount of grey; I don’t need anything else helping me look old, thanks.

That title would be a reminder that I am again tardy with my update. Else it would be, “Happy Quatro de Mayo” I guess. Maybe I was late on purpose because the latter doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue. But the simple fact is, I am yet again light on content. What can ya’ do. I have some food pictures and… Maybe some dog pictures if I dig around. I guess one thing I did last week was break out my bicycle. That pastime has been sidelined for quite some time now, far too long. It took a little maintenance, but I got my mountain bike back rolling without too much trouble. Actually, it barely has any brakes, but to be honest someone in my current physical condition needs to focus more on going than stopping anyway. I’ve been on a grand total of two (very light) rides; Hopefully I can hold onto this momentum. Other than those two brief forays outside, we’ve remained effectively quarantined. I am honestly a little (a very little) concerned that I may be getting used to it. We were invited to a fiesta dinner this evening and I’m like “Nah I think I’m good thanks.”