Sriracha Chicken Mac

The Sriracha Chicken Mac at The Fifth Street Brewpub was a tasty delight.  The "Mac" was the star of the show, made with cavatappi (helical, tube-shaped macaroni) and in-house beer cheese drizzled with honey sriracha.  Bring some heat on top of delicious mac-and-cheese.  Just WOW!

https://www.fifthstreetbrewpub.com

Raisins

I never knew that raisins (and grapes) are poisonous to dogs.  They can cause vomiting, increased urination (initially), excessive drinking, and other symptoms you can find at the link below.  Seeking immediate medical care is crucial.  Fortunately for this girl below, all's well that ends well.

https://www.petmd.com/dog/emergency/digestive/e_dg_grape_raisin_toxicity

Wall Street Journal

Free online access to The Wall Street Journal is available through the Washington-Centerville Public Library website.  After logging in, hover over "Research +" and click "Business Research".  Scroll down until you find "Wall Street Journal Online - WSJ.com" and click that link.  From there you set up an account and log in to wsj.com.  

https://www.wclibrary.info

Consumer Reports

One of the most useful things that you can access for free via the Washington-Centerville Public Library (and presumably other libraries as well) is Consumer Reports.  After logging in, hover over "Research +" and click "Consumer Research".  Scroll down until you find "Consumer Reports" and click the link.  All there is to it.

https://www.wclibrary.info

Timber!

As I rolled up to a red light at the intersection of Marshall Road and Wilmington Pike in Kettering, I saw the scene below and thought WTH?  What scenario must have played out that resulted in a partially cut-down tree, a log sticking out the roof, another hole next to it that I suppose left a log in the living room, and other branches left laying on the roof to the right?  It looks like something went horribly wrong and whoever was cutting the tree down just stopped and ran away.  

Sweet P's

Not only was the Sweet P's Cookies and Cream ice pop shown below as delicious as it looks, but they also served it using foil-backed muffin liners to catch stray pieces and keep your hands from getting sticky.  They cut a small slice in the bottom and pushed the popsicle stick down through it.  We had this at the Art on the Commons event in Kettering, but Sweet P's is also at the Second Street Farmers Market in downtown Dayton and in the summer at the Oakwood Farmers Market. 

https://sweetpicepops.com

Sprinkler+

Moving our hose from one arborvitae to the next was tedious enough when there were only seven, but now that we're up to thirteen, we needed a soaker hose.  Our first purchase didn't work well but the second one, a Sprinkler+ is a winner.  It's a combination sprinkler hose and a soaker hose.  If you lay it down holes up, it's a sprinkler; holes down it's a soaker.  

The arborvitaes, near a pair of large silver maple trees that consume a lot of water before going dormant in the winter, will need lots of watering in the fall.

https://swanhose.com/products/element-sprinkler-sprinkler-and-soaker-hose-combination

Everleaf Emerald Towers Basil

This year's basil crop was amazing.  The plant on the left below was humongous and the one on the right grew back after it was cut to the stems a few weeks before.  What's really great is that this variety, the Everleaf Emerald Towers, according to the link below, holds off flower production up to 12 weeks longer than other types of basil.  We haven't seen a flower yet. 

https://www.botanicalinterests.com/product/Everleaf-Emerald-Towers-Basil-Seeds

Replace In Ten Years

Standard guidance is to replace smoke alarms every ten years.  Now I'm not the kind that throws out milk on its expiration date, but when I found one of the three smoke detectors in our house was 22 years old, I figured that spending under $10 to replace it was a really good idea.  

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0006BKH3I

Burned Grass

This patch of tan-colored grass in our backyard had us stumped as to its origin.  We had moved all the patio furniture to the grass, so perhaps a glass top on one of the tables magnified the sun rays?  No, it wasn't quite the right shape.  Did we spill something?  The grass didn't smell and we couldn't remember dropping anything.  Took us another couple of days to figure out that is where I parked the pressure washer to cool off after cleaning the patio so I could safely disconnect the water hose without burning myself.

Note to self.  Leave the pressure washer on the patio.