Veteran’s Day Carrot Cake & Firewood Math is Complicated

This darn head cold has really slowed me down the last couple days and I have to say enough is enough. Hopefully I’ll wake up tomorrow feeling like a new, healthy woman, but there’s a chance I overdid it today and I’m sure if I did my body will happily let me know. I’m tired of having little energy, slurping tea, and sucking on health lozenges. I mean, today is Veteran’s Day and I had places to take my husband so he could get a couple freebies since I know he wouldn’t ask for them on his own.

Dog Baths are Most Fun When They’re Free

So, Socks was way overdue for a bath and we planned to take him yesterday, but you guessed it, the cold had other plans for my day. In this case it seems like it might have happened for a reason, though. This morning as I was drinking my coffee and Paul was reading the local newspaper (yes, an actual newspaper you hold in your hands) he came across a special pull-out section devoted to Veterans. As he was flipping through it he started to read some of the local stores offering discounts for Veterans, but there weren’t really any we’d take advantage of, until he read the one for our local pet store. The pet store where we take Socks for his monthly-ish bath. And it wasn’t just a certain percentage off merchandise. It was a coupon for a FREE dog wash. Talk about perfect timing, right? I mean, don’t get me wrong. It’s much better on everyone if we take Socks there for his baths, but it’s not cheap even though we do all the work, so I was beyond thrilled that Paul’s Veteran status was going to score us a free one. Needless to say, I grabbed his DD214, we jumped in the car, and drove the one mile to the pet store. Socks got forced into the tub, we washed him and rinsed him and washed him again, conditioned him (yes, they make conditioner for dogs, too), dried him, brushed him, and sniffed in his new and improved sweet-smelling goodness. It’s like smelling a baby after a bath, only it’s doesn’t tug at your ovaries as much and you have no urge to run to the local shelter to pick out a puppy. Or maybe you do. Either way, be strong, my friend, be strong.

Doesn’t Socks look grateful to his humans for such a thorough bath? Wait. Have I ever told you how much he actually hates baths? Sometime I will because it’s a really fun thing to talk about if you like to hear what it’s like to get a 60-pound dog into a tub when he does not want to go in, not even a little tiny bit. Not even if there was a treat the size of your fist hanging above the tub. Yeah, it’s totally good times.

Carrot Cake Made by Grammy is the Yummiest Carrot Cake of All

Okay, enough about Socks. Let’s get back to my favorite Navy Veteran and another great freebie I scored for him today. We have this great little cafe that makes amazing food and brews organic coffee daily and they posted on their Facebook page that they would be honoring Veterans with a free coffee AND dessert. Now this cafe happens to be right around the corner from the pet store, but you know the real incentive was the free dessert. So I dragged Paul inside where there was a bit of line, which I knew would be a deterring factor for him, but I assured him the line would move quickly as I pointed out the drool-worthy case of desserts to choose from. It was a tough choice, but he chose ‘Carrot Cake Made by Grammy’ (how could you not with a name like that?) and a large coffee and then we headed home for a little fun.

While I know there were several other businesses in our community offering discounts and free treats for Veterans we simply didn’t have all day to drive around collecting them. Honestly, though, Paul takes his Navy service seriously and Veteran’s Day definitely isn’t about finding free stuff and discounts. It’s about honoring him and all the other men and women who have served and still serve today. He did enjoy every bite of that cake, though. Grammy‘s baking game is strong.

How Much is in a Cord of Firewood Wood Anyway?

So once the dog was squeaky clean and the free coffee was guzzled we arrived back home with just a few minutes to spare before a load of firewood was dumped (literally) in our driveway. We probably could have planned that delivery a little better. Like, maybe when Nick was home and could help with all the stacking. I mean, do you have any idea just how much wood is in a cord? I didn’t. I totally had to look it up. Let’s just say it’s math I didn’t learn in school, but would have actually come in handy in this instance. Who knew? Remember how I said earlier that I might have overdone it today? Well that’s because I helped Paul carry all that wood into the garage and stack it in three neat and very tall rows. I’m definitely counting it as a workout for today, but I’m also hoping my immune system isn’t mad at me for all that manual labor. Because I have plans for Sunday and they include shopping and enjoying the one day of the week my whole family has off together.