Started the day by going to the plant sale at Oakhurst Community Garden in Decatur, where I bought a couple of heirloom tomato plants and some herbs. They had all kinds of plants on sale, including a lot of really pretty succulents and native trees and shrubs.
Went out in the afternoon to East Atlanta to visit Chaz and Sandra and meet the new member of their household, a MainCoon mix named "Manny" (Man-Coon). Manny is a large male cat who loves humans of all kinds but is still adjusting to life with dogs. Things seem to be progressing in a positive directions with all creatures there but his movement in the house is still restricted to the upstairs (dog-free zone) without supervision, lest he attack the dogs. He's playful and entertaining but very sensitive to sounds and quick movements. The longer he's there, the less jumpy he will be, I'm quite sure. I have never seen a cat enjoy a toy mouse as much without a human to constantly move it around. Actually, he's quite gentle. He was okay with me (a stranger) picking him up and sitting him in my lap.
Sandra and I also went into downtown EAV to check out the pet store cat (hidden from customer dogs) and have some delicious King Of Pops from Urban Cannibals. By the time we went after 4pm, the cafe tables in front were shaded by the building and we had a nice breeze to keep things very pleasant outside while we chatted and enjoyed our popsicles.
Last night, the back porch grill was cleaned and used for the first time this year. I had a few turkey sausages to cook and some fresh vegetables from the local Kroger - bell peppers, Vidalia onion, gigantic portabello mushroom caps, corn. We invited a couple of neighbors over, who brought a tray of fresh bacon burger patties to grill and had an enormous feast. For the corn, I did the traditional soaking in salty water for half an hours (in the cooler, which is my only container big enough) before grilling them. The mushroom caps were rinsed and brushed with olive oil and cooked gill-side up with grated goat cheese from Whole Foods on top. The peppers and onions were just cut in chunks and tossed with olive oil, salt, and pepper before grilling them in the metal basket.
For reasons I can not explain, while I was chopping the onions the fumes went straight to my eyes and sinuses and gave me an immediate headache that lasted the rest of the night. It was not the usual burning eyes thing. It was like an eye-ache that spread to my entire head. I got through dinner but, after our guests left and the dishwasher was loaded and running, I took an Exedrin PM and went to bed.
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