Independence Day

How was your Independence Day?
I ended up working a LOT on the 4th of July
because I had a bunch of Chirp Curriculum binders to ship,
but I also enjoyed some cooking and some Doctor Who 
(the old ones, which have been streaming on Twitch, and which
Greg has been recording so we can watch them later)!

Normally, Americans grill meat on the 4th of July. 
Of course, grilled meat is especially carcinogenic

and morally it's not good to eat sentient beings,

so I made walnut black-bean burgers instead!

(I adapted that recipe, of course, to fit my needs and preferences!)

They looked like big chocolate crinkle cookies while baking!

That probably means they needed a little more liquid, but

I was experimenting because last time I made these, they were a little dry.

I made my burgers in the oven because they're crumbly and

would end up in pieces in the bottom of the grill.

Greg grilled some spicy jalepeno venison burgers.

I also made fruit salad,

and realized afterwards that it was red, white, and blue!!!

I used blueberries, bananas, green grapes, and red grapes.

Normal people use strawberries, blueberries, and bananas, but

I really can't do strawberries (the itty bitty seeds aggravate my Crohn's disease).  

I'm happy I found a pretty alternative!

It was nice to have an extra day with Greg home!

Of course, there were some other fun things that happened this week!

I made some yummy pancakes this week - with chocolate chips!

One of my students drew this great scene of an alligator shark eating a boat with two sad guys on it

(because they're being eaten!).

In the ocean under the water you'll see a jellyfish, an eel, and some other fish.

In the sky you'll see some sea eagles.

I love the detail!

And I can post this because all my students are wearing masks!

Here are two wonderful volunteers and two wonderful students

(two of my favorites of both!)

What fun we have in our classroom.

Allistair and I rode my bike for a few miles this week, but

because there was a lot of work to do and because I'm still working on bouncing back

from a couple of very low energy months, I have limited my activity.

I love biking, though, and so does Allistair!

But there are lots of comfy places in our house to sleep!

Though Allistair is pretty large, and sometimes droops off the edge of this bench.

Claude joined me for a nice long yoga session, too.

And Allistiar enjoyed reading Dr. Greger's cookbook

and sitting in boxes!

These boxes are from some cardstock.

He loves his momma.

Little nosey boops:

Greg caught this cool video of a hummingbird at our fountain and

put it in slow motion.  I like the slower water sound and the hummingbird's

little chirp.

And check out this dancing can!

It's moving all by itself!

(It was sitting on a slight water bubble, and the air conditioning breeze

was making it spin a little.)

Today I'm having lunch with a friend, and then I'll be working on editing some YouTube videos for the ChirpSpecialNeeds channel to post over the next few weeks.  I look forward to staying inside because it's expected to be 110 and it's windy and dusty.

Yesterday it reached 112 and then we had a dust storm in the afternoon!

RAIN would be good instead of dust . . . 

Have a wonderful weekend!