Stress and some soup.

 The sun is shining, and that's a whole lot to be happy about.
I took Roy for a long walk by the river, only to be annoyed by stupid people.

Oops, that was mean.
But it's true.  Actually.  There are always people who are so ignorant, that you just wonder how they manage to exist at all.

This couple had let their dog run loose.
The dog, very young, had managed to get himself down on the canal, which was PARTIALLY frozen over. 
He was frantic, because he realized that he now couldn't get back up on the bike path, because there was a vertical stone wall along the whole canal.
The humans kept walking, away from the small path that had allowed him access to begin with.

As I approached them, I said, he is not going to be able to get off the ice if you keep going that way.
SHE said, "oh, when we get to the bridge, he can cross to the other side."

"Through the icy water??????" I asked, incredulous.

I guess I was particularly perturbed, because just two weeks ago, a lady who lived in the neighborhood, 64 years old, a talented, much loved, musician, had taken her two dogs down here to walk.  Whether she let them loose, or they got away from her is a mystery.  But they went out on the ice on the river side, they went through, and she went after them.
By the time someone heard her, she had been in the water for some time.
The rescue squad worked hard to save her, but she died at the hospital.

So you can imagine, my patience with these two nitwits was just about NIL.  NADA.  ZIP.

I passed them, but stopped down the path, to make sure that they just didn't leave him.   And to make sure he didn't go into the water.   I had my phone at the ready to call 911.  They saw me watching them.   Otherwise, who knows what they had in mind. 
They finally realized that they had to coax him all the way back to where he had descended into the canal.........and then they put his LEASH on him, just like all the signs direct one to do.

So much for a relaxing walk by the water.
Poor Roy.......good thing he can't talk, or he might be repeating things I said to the wind.


I came home, and made this soup from a book that L had lent me.   I was a little skeptical, but wanted to try it.
Can I just tell you that I think this is my favorite soup EVER.  It is so good.
It is spicy hot, and so satisfying that I am going to give you the recipe.
And even better......hardly any calories at all.

I should be doing something productive.   I guess.  At least that's what that little voice inside my
head says.
What does she know?