Fine dining

There's nothing cuter than puppies gathered around a pan of food!

Now 5.5 weeks old, they're more puppy than "buppy".

The Arkansas State Capitol Building

I’ve always loved the Arkansas State Capitol building in Little Rock. Completed in 1915, it’s a smaller version of the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C. I think my favorite feature is the 24 karat gold leaf covered cupola on the top of the dome…. something the U.S. Capitol doesn’t have.

I made a quick trip to Little Rock this week to stay with a dear friend of 40+ years. Her kids are still young (8 & 10) and her husband takes them on a “daddy trip” each summer. This year they took the train to Chicago for a Cubs game and other fun activities. I usually try spend the night with her one of the nights they’re gone. We enjoy having the chance to eat out and catch up face to face on everything going on in each other’s life.

I took the above photo on Thursday afternoon after having lunch at the Buffalo Grill. It was my first trip there since I gave up being a vegetarian. They make a killer BLT with guacamole!! Mmmm… it was every bit as good as I remembered!

Guiding Lights

This one’s for Quid.

Smaller and easier than the last puzzle I worked, I was able to finish this one in just a couple of weeks. Also by artist Alan Giana, it’s called Guiding Lights.

Blue is official!

We had a pleasant weekend, weather-wise. After several triple digit days last week, it was nice to stay in the upper 80s and low 90s.

Blue came home Saturday morning after spending two nights at the vet’s. She got all her shots, checked for both intestinal and heart worms (negative on both counts) and is now spayed. It makes her official!

Amazing what some TLC can do. She looks like an entirely different dog than the one that showed up at our house two months ago!

A death

One of the buppies died yesterday afternoon.

It was the little girl on the right in the bottom picture from yesterday’s post. I called my “dog expert” friend and she assured me that it wasn’t unusual in a litter this size, even at four weeks. I had wondered if it was the heat, malnourishment (they’re still nursing exclusively, but obviously look well fed) or even the fact that Mama Dog often steps on one or another when charging into the run to bark at the inside girls. She told me it could have been any, all, or none of the reasons, but probably nothing I could have prevented. I'm still sad about it.

We had quite an electrical storm blow through last night. Only dropped .3” of rain at our house, but oh…the wind and lightning! Utilities are above ground here, so of course we lost power for close to three hours. Fortunately the tarp over the dog run stayed in place and I think the bups remained outside throughout the storm, despite the fact they’ve figured out how to get into the doghouse. It probably felt good after the 102º temps just hours earlier. Thank goodness it’s supposed to stay in the lower 90s for the next week or so.

Four weeks old

I've started my e-mail campaign to find homes for the puppies. Here are the pictures I used:

This group is all boys

These are all girls

The one in the middle is a boy

Houdini

We have an escape artist.

I looked in the backyard yesterday afternoon and noticed that Alice and Mabel were unusually “busy” at the fence. Closer inspection showed a buppy on the other side… not in the run! I went out the side door, scooped him up and deposited him back in the run with his siblings. Minutes later he was out again. This time I stood back and watched. He was climbing over the barrier I had rigged to allow Mama Dog easy access to the run. I scrounged around and found a 2x2 scrap to raise the barrier a little. I can’t make it too high or MD won’t be able to get in and out. After quickly assessing the situation at the gate, he ran around the pen checking all the corners for a breach in security. No luck. I barricaded those areas when we had the puppies penned up last January.

This morning he got out again. The best I can tell, he waited until several of the others curled up against the barrier to nap then used them as a step to climb over. I put him back. Shortly after that I heard frantic crying. He’d tried to push himself through the fence between the run and the backyard and had gotten his head hung.

*sigh*

I can see this isn’t going to get any easier…..

A summertime blogthing

You Are an Ice Cream Sandwich

You are well grounded, reliable, and very balanced. You love to work hard, but you also know how to take it easy. People might be surprised to know you have a very goofy side to you. You like to let loose and have fun. You just don't let yourself go too crazy!

What Frozen Treat Are You?

I thought this would be a good time to "rehash" my favorite ice cream recipe. I got it from an online friend in South Dakota.

5 cups whole milk
2 cups real maple syrup
4 cups cream
3 Tbs. vanilla extract

In a large bowl, mix all ingredients together, then pour into ice cream freezer canister. Follow instructions for your freezer, and enjoy!!

Baby Puppies = Buppies

The buppies are now 3.5 weeks old and growing quickly. Growing more mobile, too. This has led to some concerns. Let me back up a minute.

We have an in-ground swimming pool in our back yard. It’s a lot of trouble and expense and since none of the kids were home this summer, we never got around to opening it this year. Last weekend I heard busybody Alice start barking frantically while looking out the back window. I knew it might be nothing more than a crow in the yard or Mama Dog walking past. It was Mama Dog and she was staring at the pool cover. About that time I saw Blue’s head pop up in the corner. She had stepped out on the cover and fallen through. I ran down there and pulled her out with no harm done, at least not to her. However, the cover now has two big holes in it.

I knew it would only be a short time before the buppies (I still think of Mabel and Alice as the puppies since they’re only eight months old) would be out and about.... a mere six or seven yards from the edge of the pool. Definitely a hazardous situation!

The past few mornings they’ve been milling around in the grass next to the shed, waiting for Mama Dog to come feed them. Meanwhile, she’s in the carport waiting on us to come feed her. We knew it was time to relocate them. That was confirmed this morning when we started picking them up and realized they had fleas. They definitely needed to be in a healthier, more controlled environment.

Right now they aren’t very happy and I can hear all sorts of squalling coming from the run. They have shade, a decent cross breeze and the concrete is cool to the touch. We’ve rigged it where Mama Dog can go in and out as she sees fit to nurse them. Maybe they’re just scared and confused. Mama Dog doesn’t seem to be concerned, so I guess I shouldn’t be either.

Yesterday morning outside the shed. Waiting for breakfast!

Today, before they decided they didn’t like their new home!

Recipe Rehash

Here are a couple that are great for summertime.

This first one comes from the 1959 edition of the General Foods Kitchens Cookbook.

Tomato & Onion Salad

1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons prepared mustard
1/4 cup olive oil or salad oil
2 tablespoons tarragon vinegar
6 firm tomatoes, sliced
1 onion, thinly sliced
Chopped parsley

Combine garlic and salt in small bowl;mash with a spoon. Stir in sugar, pepper, mustard, oil, and vinegar. Pour over tomato and onion slices. Sprinkle with parsley. Chill. Serve plain as a relish salad. Or serve on crisp greens. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Now, here's how I change things around. I triple all the dressing ingredients, except for the oil, and put them in a glass jar with a lid. Shake well and pour over sliced tomatoes and onions that have been layered in a bowl. We think it's best if it's marinated awhile in the fridge before eating.I often substitute minced garlic for fresh and never include the parsley.

This is also quite good over canned green beans (drained, of course) and onions!

Squash Casserole

Approx. 2 cups cooked summer squash
3/4 stick butter or margarine
2 eggs
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup grated cheese (I use the fiesta blend from WalMart)
1 cup evaporated milk
2 cups cracker crumbs (I use one tube of reduced-fat Ritz)
2 Tbs. sugar

Mash cooked squash, add other ingredients and mix well. Pour into a greased dish and bake at 375 degrees for about 40 minutes.

Dragonfly Garden

I had Marion (my dragonfly friend) in mind when I got this puzzle. It’s by artist Alan Giana and titled Dragonfly Garden.

I didn’t realize how long it would take to finish. If I’m not mistaken, it’s been in progress for three months! Yes, it was a little more difficult than I anticipated, but also I didn’t spend as much time at my puzzle table each week as I have for other puzzles.

Would you like me to send it for you to work next, Marion?

A peaceful evening

Everyone to the north, south and west of us got lots of rain over the weekend. We only got about half an inch. I’m not complaining, though. It moistened the ground, greened things up a bit and definitely cooled things off.

The cooler weather had us back on the pond fishing last evening. We weren’t the only ones taking advantage of the respite from the heat. A herd of deer moved through the woods and into the pasture where the cows and donkeys were peacefully grazing. Four Gadwalls circled the pond a few times along with the usual Wood Ducks. Something, either an otter or a juvenile beaver, cut through the water not far from us a couple of times. Best of all, the fish were biting again. Neither of us caught many, but I did reel in a bass that probably weighed close to four pounds. Nice!

It was one of those evenings where I couldn't help but look around and praise God, thanking Him for all my blessings.

“The LORD has done great things for us,

and we are filled with joy.”

Psalm 126:3

July iPod Roulette

It’s been a long time since I’ve posted an iPod Roulette entry. Here’s what came up in the shuffle this morning. Rather than try to explain away any of it, I’ll just leave the comments to you.

1. Let Your Love Flow (Bellamy Brothers)
2. Anybody Seen My Baby? (Rolling Stones)
3. Come and Get Your Love (Redbone)
4. Smooth Criminal (Alien Ant Farm)
5. Selah (P.O.D.)
6. Your Man (Josh Turner)
7. Paradise (Out of Eden)
8. Oh Happy Day (Bernard Harris)
9. Three Times A Lady (Commodores)
10. We Are the Champions (Queen)
11. 9 Crimes (Damien Rice)
12. I Wanna Take You Higher (Duran Duran)
13. Who’s That Girl? (Eurythmics)
14. True (Spandau Ballet)
15. Nobody Else in the World But You (Don Henley)

Recipe Rehash

Yahoo 360, my original blogging site, is finally shutting down for good. I’ve transferred all the content from my blog there to my Yahoo profile. However, the transfer process didn’t include the tags or highlighted posts. I had a number of recipes posted which are now harder to find without the tags. So, I’m going to begin posting periodic “Recipe Rehash” entries until all those that include recipes have been moved to this blog. Here’s the first:

I use to prepare this all the time when my kids were little, but had totally forgotten about the recipe until today. I had all the ingredients on hand, so I made it for supper. When I don't have fresh rosemary available, I substitute dried. Also, I prefer to use the smaller chicken tenders rather than chicken breasts.

BALSAMIC GRILLED CHICKEN BREASTS

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
4 boneless, skinned chicken breasts (4 ounces each)

1. Combine vinegar, olive oil, rosemary, garlic, salt and pepper in medium-size bowl. Add chicken breasts. Marinate, covered, in refrigerator 30 minutes.

2. Broil chicken in preheated broiler 6 inches from heat for 8 minutes or until cooked through, turning once.