I Like #264

 Welcome to another week of things to like!  It's been a extraordinarily hot week here, but I have the privilege of good air conditioning (though the one in the studio is weak) and so I'm surviving.  

It was a sad day on Tuesday, my mom called to tell me she and my dad were going to have to put their beloved dog Shooter down.  I rescued her (and her mother) from the Oklahoma City Gun range when she was just a puppy (they were both strays, covered in ticks and living off of whatever handouts gun club members shared).  She lived with me and Mike for her first couple of years (I got her through the destructive puppy phase) and then my mom and dad took her to live with them (they'd adopted her mama from the beginning).  

Shooter was only ten, and still excited to walk and hike and sit in the sun, but she had a complete blockage of her urethra (most likely due to a bad cancer), and after exploratory surgery the vet said there was no real way to remove it or reconstruct around it and it would be very painful, so my parents made the decision to put her down.  It was heartbreaking for all of us, she was such a fantastic sweet little dog.  After her destructive puppy years she was never a problem for anyone, always sweet with other dogs and other people and calm and easy going.  

Here she is as a puppy, so little and fun.

And on the dog bed with the others.  Part of the reason my parents adopted her from me after a couple of years because they thought she'd love it at their house (duh, all dogs love their place), but also because four dogs really was too many for me.  Sadly, all four in this picture have passed away now, she was the last.  That's Bullett, Bentley and Missy there with her.

And her she is on her dog bed with her mama (Swatch) at my folks. She was such a good dog.  And well-traveled!  She (and my parents' other dogs) travel with them on all their camping trips, hiking their way around the country and staying with them in their truck camper.  

We did have good things this week though.

I'll start with the prompt-of-the week from LeeAnna!  This week we're sharing a favorite small kitchen tool, one that does what it's supposed to or maybe even something more!

I have two favorites to share maybe both are a maybe a little weird.  The first is my 1 qt vintage pyrex casserole dish with lid.  My mom gave it to me from her kitchen when I moved into my first apartment over 20 years ago, and I use it all the time.  It's the perfect size for ramen or a can of soup or vegetables- really all kinds of things you want to heat up in the microwave.  Definitely one of the hardest workers in my kitchen.  I have no idea when my mom got it, but that pattern (old orchard) was manufactured from 1974 to 1978 so that gives a range at least.

My other favorite kitchen gadget is the food mill attachment for my kitchenaid mixer.  It enables me to make crabapple butter and crababbple fruit leather with my wonderful crabapples.  Sadly none on my tree this year, but hopefully next year.

Other good things this week include the dogs and flowers.  Spooky and Blue are fine, lots of snuggles.

I saw this delightful pale toad (frog?) on the door of my studio this week!  We often have them in the backyard but they're usually bigger and never whitish pale like this.  My Seek app couldn't tell me exactly what species he was but he was super cute.

Dahlias and Zinnias!

I hope you guys are having a good week!  Click over to LeeAnna's for more things to like!