I'm A Lucky Dog!

Last night, I fixed Baked Ziti, Caesar Salad and Garlic Bread. Yum! This baked ziti has provolone cheese as well as sour cream.  I normally would just add mozzarella cheese to it, so this was different and it was good.

½ lb dry ziti pasta
½ onion-chopped, ½ lb ground beef chuck
8 oz tomato sauce
4 slices provolone cheese
½ c sour cream
8 oz pkg shredded mozzarella cheese
(Cooking spray, 1 T grated parmesan)

Boil ziti until al dente, 7-8 min. In large skillet brown onion and ground beef. Add tomato sauce, simmer 15 min. Preheat oven to 350˚. Grease an 8x8" baking dish. Layer as follows: ½ of pasta, ½ meat sauce, provolone, sour cream, remaining pasta, remaining meat sauce, mozzarella cheese, and top with grated parmesan. Bake 30 min or until cheese is melted.

Baked Ziti  - look at all that cheese!

Here's Joey:

Why am I a lucky dog? Well, is started about a year ago when I met Teddy Palmer of Halfway Home Greyhound Adoptions.   I knew it was a big day because if she liked me, I was going to find a forever home. I guess I charmed her because she chose me and the next thing I knew, I was on her website and then my future Mama and Dad saw me and in less than a month I was in my new home. Teddy was my first Guardian Angel, but then I found out that everyone at Greyhound Companions of Missouri are my Guardian Angels.  They made sure I got the best care possible when I needed the surgeries on my leg.  They sent me a soft crate and an x-pen to use while I healed.  They were there for me and Mama the entire time.  They are still there for us even though we are miles from home. They read my blog and read what happened with my medicine and they are trying to come up with a better solution for us.  Mama was able to cancel the order she had placed because it had not yet been approved by the vet.  It sure is nice to have Guardian Angels.  Mama says she can't imagine a better group.  She knows that other groups don't do nearly as much.  You are never alone if you adopt from Greyhound Companions. They are always there to answer questions and support you, if you need it. Mama says we can never repay them for all they have done to help me.   If you click on their link, you will see photos of me and Scout.  Jack's photo still pops up from time to time.

Mama checked me again for corns.  She hasn't found any.  She has poked me, squeezed me and examined me.  She did order us some Glucosamine from Greyhound Gang.  She has heard good things about that company.  Thanks for all your comments and suggestions.  Hopefully, I am on back on the right track.

Mama, I want a treat!

Handle over the treats, woman!

Come on, you know you want to.

My charm works on Mama, too.

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Has Guardian Angels Here On Earth

Day 61 - 105 - A New Record

We set a new record high for June 26.  It was 105. It was 97 by 11 a.m.  Mama had to check that on two sources because she didn't think that could be true.  Our air conditioners ran non-stop and were only able to keep it around 82-84 in here.  We have a fan that we use and that made it okay.  We didn't have the awning out yesterday due to possible storms. It does make a difference having it out, so even though there is a small chance of storms today, we have it out.  Mama will just have to take it down if storms pop up.  It was 99 at 8 p.m. The air was so still, so it was very stuffy.  Our living room air conditioner finally took a break around 9 p.m.  It's hot all over, so we are not complaining.  We are just reporting the conditions here.  LOL

Joey's unique sleeping position

Mama will not be doing her Emeals report today.  She did fix dinner last night, but she didn't eat it and she forgot to take pictures. She was very upset with my vet (surgeon).  He called last night at dinner time and she told him how the Previcox seems to be working. She had talked to him last week and he said he would give me a generic which is $4 for a 30 day supply.  Last night, he said I should just stay on the Previcox since that is working. Why mess with what is working?  Well, the Previcox is $75.  My budget for food, bones and toys is $75 a month.  Ack!  He told Mama that she can order it from the company that he gets it from and it is cheaper than online.  It is not.  It is $20 more.  He told Mama she could go to a vet here and he would send them a prescription.  She called two vets and they both refused to do that. Mama was crying when Dad came home. Dad told her she is silly for getting so upset, but she has been so worried about me and now the medicine is going to be $71 more than she expected. Dad told her to call Scout's vet.  He has only seen me once.  Mama said doesn't know if he will prescribe anything without see me.  He is very budget conscience though and she will take me to see him when we get back home.  She didn't want to push the other vet into giving me a generic if he didn't want to because he must have his reasons, right?  It is a human drug, but she knows several greyhounds that take it. She finally placed an order online, but the vet will have to approve that before it can be mailed to us. She ordered a 60 day supply in hopes that it lasts much longer than that and we will be back home when it's time to refill it.  She hopes it all goes smoothly.  If it doesn't, she will just take me to a vet here and hope they work with us.  It would have been so much easier to have the generic ordered at Walgreens.

Mama is going to check for corns again on my foot. She has looked at it so many times, but will check it out again.  Wouldn't it be something if it is not arthritis?   I am walking on the pavement now with just a hop or two and if I see a cat in my path, I walk really well.

Scout says it is so hot that her tongue has dried out.  LOL

Yep, that tongue is definitely dried out.

 It's going to be another day of just laying under the air conditioning vent today.  It's very hot at home today, too.

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Is Petitioning To Have His Budget Increased

Day 60, We Laughed At Mama And She Got Us Back

I am going to start off our post this morning and then let Joey takeover.   Last night, I fixed Mushroom Bagel Melt for dinner.  It is from our Emeals plan, of course.  However, I forgot to buy mushrooms. It was on the list, but I missed it. That's sad because I have another recipe this week that calls for mushrooms.

1 chicken breast, cooked and thinly sliced
2 bagels, cut in half and toasted
(¼ c Dijon mustard)
4 tomato slices
1 T diced onion
¼ c mushrooms, chopped
½ - 1 c shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat broiler and place toasted bagel halves on baking sheet. Evenly spread each half with mustard,
sliced tomato, onion, mushrooms, chicken and cheese. Broil until cheese is melted.

Mushroom Bagel Melt without mushrooms

I really liked it.  I added Provolone cheese to it since we had some and I didn't want it to go to waste.

I just realized last night that my oven has a broiler. Duh!  I was pretty excited over my discovery. LOL


I also fixed Blackberry Cobbler.  This was good, but be careful when heating the oatmeal. I burned it in the microwave and the smell was worse than burned popcorn.

(¼ c brown sugar, 1 T cornstarch)
1 cup blackberries
(¼ c flour, ¼ c brown sugar, ¼ c quick oats, 2 T soft butter)

Using a microwave safe bowl, mix brown sugar with cornstarch then stir in berries. Microwave uncovered on high until berries are thick and bubbly, about 3½ minutes, stirring halfway through. For topping, mix flour, brown sugar, quick oats and butter on a plate. Microwave on high, stirring once, until lightly golden and crumbly, about 4 minutes. Spoon over the blackberry mixture.

Blackberry Cobbler

Burned Oatmeal - it even burned the plate

I am going to call the vet today and discuss my findings with him on Joey. I think he has arthritis.  He had it before his surgery and that is the reason he had the surgery. His bone was fused together to help it. The vet said that it might come back.  We tried the Tramadol for four days and it did nothing for him except make him stubborn and vocal. I tried wrapping the foot, no improvement. Jeff and I have both examined the foot closely with a flashlight.  We have touched and squeezed the entire foot and leg many times. There is no hint of pain when we do that. I have used ice packs. Sunday, I gave him a Previcox and he seemed to improve. I gave him another one yesterday and he is walking much better. He hopped a few times yesterday and this morning, but he also walked a very long time on the pavement and he seems to be putting weight on his foot. He was not doing that on Sunday.  However, the boy will stand on that leg when he pees and that is putting full weight on it.  He confuses the heck out of me.   I think the Previcox is what he needs, I hope.  I feel sick when I see him hop.  I just don't want him to be in pain. If it is arthritis, it may not bother him every day. I guess we need to move to Arizona. LOL

Here's Joey...

Last night, Dad was late getting home from work.  He didn't get home until 9 p.m. We were bored. Mama went into the bedroom and came out wearing a hat.  She looked really funny.  I laughed. I shouldn't have done that because she put the hat on me.

How do I look?

Scout was laughing at me, so Mama put a hat on her.

She was not amused.  LOL

Mama and Dad put the awning away for the day because we might have storms.  Dad told Mama that we should get some of those noodles so that it doesn't hurt as bad when she hits her head. Grandpa used to put those on his fifth wheel.  They look funny, but I guess they do the job.

Mama did laundry this morning. There is now a big sign saying that some people are being rude leaving their clothes in the machines overnight and clothes must not be left unattended.  I bet the offenders still do it. Mama did not have any problems with morning and was back home with clean clothes by 7:30 a.m.  She is a morning person.

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Doesn't Like Wearing A Hat

Day 59, Goodson's Cafe

Can you believe we have been on the road for 9 weeks?  We have having a great time even though our debit and credit cards were stolen and our air conditioner broke.  Those things could have happened even if we had been at home.

Today, is cleaning day.  Mama mopped the floor.  She bought a mop yesterday at Dollar Tree.  She didn't think she had a place to store it, so she figured it wasn't a big deal to buy a cheap one and just throw it out after a few uses.  She did find that it fit nicely next to the shower, so next year she will bring her good mop with us.  She had been getting down on her hands and knees to scrub the floor, so a cheap mop is a nice change of pace.

Mama put the awning out on Saturday.  Dad supervised since it was the first time she had done it.  She had the "classes" on taking it down a few weeks ago.  We are using some straps to secure it better in wind. They are orange.  Mama thinks they look a little "tacky", but Dad bought the orange so that he could see the brick that he has attached the one to so that he didn't hit the brick with his car.

Mama ran right her head into one of the metal rods that holds the awning when she was walking me.  She was watching my foot and not watching where she was walking.  She said "OUCH!"  She told Dad that we need to mark those and he said it wouldn't matter because she wasn't watching for it since she was watching my foot. 

See our mat in the photo?  We have had it for a few years.  Dad thinks we will need to replace it soon. It is not holding up well with the rocks under it.  We like it because it nice to step off of the steps onto it instead of rocks. It keeps us from tracking in a lot of dirt, too.

As you may know, Mama has her own blog now, My Rving Life. She is still trying to figure out how to write it without making it too much like this one.  She wants to continue to give the food and attraction reviews here, but she also wants to include those on the RV blog because she may have a different audience for that blog. You are all welcome to visit that blog because she will try to make it different, but there will be some repeating of information.

I'm signing off now, but Mama's review of the Goodson's Cafe is coming up, so please read on.

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Loves Chicken Fried Steak

Here's Mama:

Yesterday, we thought about taking a water taxi around The Woodlands.  Jeff thought it might be like the Riverwalk in San Antonio which we loved. I told him I didn't think it was and most of the reviews I had read were not that good.   We drove around the water in The Woodlands and decided against the water taxi.  It really didn't seem like much of anything.  We did drive through Market Street in The Woodlands.  It is really a cute open air shopping and eating area.  We didn't do any shopping yesterday, but we may go back and check out the Orvis store.  I have ordered from them online, but have never been to their store.  I know they have good dog beds because I have one.

One of the things that we are doing as we travel is checking out some of the restaurants that have been featured on the The Food Network.  A few weeks ago, Jeff was fishing at the lake in the campground and a fellow camper told him about a place that they love. It is called Goodson's Cafe.  He said it is a little bit of a drive, about 20 miles, but it is well worth it.  It is actually in Tomball, TX.  They have the best chicken fried steak in Texas.  I love chicken fried steak and I told Jeff that it was on The Food Network show, Food Paradise.  It has been on my bucket list of things to do in Houston, so yesterday we ate there.

The sign even tells you that have the best chicken fried steak in Texas.

The restaurant is an old time cafe.  It was named the Goodson's Cafe in 1950, so I am not sure how old the building actually is.  It was nicely decorated.

We ordered an appetizer that had fried mushrooms, okra, mozzarella sticks and onions. It was only $5.29.  Very good!

Mixed Basket appetizer.  The picture makes it look small, but it was a very nice size.

I, of course, had the chicken fried steak.  My side items were mashed potatoes and coleslaw.

This is the small chicken fried steak.  See the bowl with the bread, that is the gravy.  The gravy was excellent.

Had to include a photo of the coleslaw. It was a huge serving.

Jeff ordered the Wurst Chicken.  It is a BBQ basted breast topped with smoked wurst sausage and melted Monterery Jack Cheese.  He said it was good. His portion looked smaller than mine.

Do I think it is the best chicken fried steak in Texas?  Well, it is the best one that I have had.  It was very tender.  I could cut it with a fork.  The gravy was creamy.  I did not come close to eating everything and brought some of the chicken fried steak home for the dogs.  I asked them if they thought it was the best and they said they needed to do more research.

Day 56, The Museum of Funeral History

There is a tropical storm out in the Gulf.   Mama has been trying not to worry about it too much. The new computer models show that Tropical Storm Debby is not going to hit Houston. We are very happy about that.  We hope it doesn't change.  If we lived here in a house, we would probably stay put if Debby headed our way.  However, we do not want to face 60-70+ mph winds in Goldie.   Dad would probably stay at work and we would be left here with Mama.  Dad said it would be a very long night with those winds, so the plan was for us to stay someplace close to his work.  His hotel does not allow dogs. 

I am off my drugs. I did take some yesterday because Mama thought I was getting worse. She went to Petsmart to buy me boots, but they were way too big. We found that if I am walked slowly, I don't hop. Dad said it is back to walking me like they did when I was in rehab and I have been doing much, much better.  I just prefer to hop because I go faster.  Mama will call my doctor tomorrow and let him know what is up with me now.

The folks did the tourist stuff this weekend, but stayed close to home to check on us since it was so hot. Mama is going to take over from here to tell you about what they did.

I have been wanting to visit The Museum of Funeral History for a while now, but Jeff wasn't so sure about it.
The reviews have all been good and since we wanted to stay close to home, we decided to give it a try.  Their motto is: "Any Day Above Ground Is A Good One."

There are several exhibits.  One is Funerals of  the Famous which displays artifacts and information on a variety of political and celebrity figures.  The Presidential Funeral Exhibit displays the original "Eternal Flame" that burned at John F. Kennedy's grave until 1998. There is a replica of President Lincoln's coffin.  There is a an exhibit called Celebrating the Lives and Deaths of the Popes Exhibit which was interesting.  Visitors are able to experience the many stages of preparation for the final services and burial of a Pope.  I never knew there were so many stages to it.  One of the Pope mobiles are on display.

The museum showcases a large collection of hearses.  The oldest is an 1832 horse drawn hearse.

The only thing in the museum that bothered me were the coffins for children.  My Dad's sister and brother both died when they were under the age of 2 in 1918 and 1920 and the coffins on display were from that time period.

There was also an exhibit that talked about embalming.  I did not know that they embalmed soldiers during the Civil War.  President Lincoln wanted as many as possible to make it back home for a proper burial.  The technique that was learned for the soldiers was used on him to get him home from Washington DC to Springfield, IL.

Horse-drawn hearse

Money casket - has over $600 in unused money encased.  It used to have $1,000 but someone broke into it.

Basket used in the civil war for soldiers

Beautiful hearse with wood on the sides.

Ghana Coffins - very unusual

More Ghana Coffins

All the jewelry seen is made by human hair. It didn't even look like hair to me.

Pope Mobile

Hearse sled

Hearse Bus - The casket was put near the front and the pallbearers and family members sat in the back.  

After we left the museum, we ate lunch at China Bear. It is a Chinese Buffet.  The food was okay. There was a nice variety including sushi, and some American foods as well.  The food was well labeled which I appreciated since there was a lot of seafood items and I am allergic to those. It was $10.99 for lunch.  They had a large gift shop that included plants, clothing, jewelry and carved wood.  I almost bought a bamboo plant, but decided it might be too much trouble in the RV.  I am pretty content with not having a lot of extras while living on the road.

Outside China Bear

Koi in pond at the entrance

Lotus outside of China Bear

More Lotus

Last night we ate at BJ's Brewhouse.   It is a restaurant that had mixed reviews. Most of the reviews complained about the service. Our waitress was very nice.  Jeff said the hostess wasn't very nice and the lady who brought our food was impatient with me.  She wanted me to cut open my steak to see if it was okay.  I guess I didn't do it fast enough for her because she told me to do it twice.  I didn't really notice she was impatient, but Jeff did.  I ordered a Ribeye with horseradish mashed potatoes and a salad. Jeff had New Orleans Jambalaya - menu description says: "Our distinctive jambalaya combines blackened chicken, shrimp and chicken-andouille sausage, sautéed with bell peppers, onions and tomatoes in a spicy sauce. Served over a rice pilaf and topped with green onions."   He liked it.  My steak was good, but not as good as the one at Saltgrass.  I really want to go back there before we leave Houston.

Tomorrow, I will tell you about Goodson's Cafe - home to the best chicken fried steak in Texas.

Salad

Ribeye and horseradish mashed potatoes

It's me Joey back at the keyboard and I have to say that my taste of the Ribeye was very good, but if Mama wants to go back to Saltgrass for another one of those, I am fine with that too.  I love the doggy bags that She brings home to us.

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Loves Doggy Bags