Puppyversary

Puppyversary, originally uploaded by Monkey loves Kitten.

Six months ago we headed out to see this dog we'd found on petfinder.com. She was described as a medium-sized cattle dog mix. We got to the place - the home of a couple plus 50 dogs - and were overwhelmed by the cacophony and disorder. There were dogs in the picture window, dogs all along the fence, dogs coming out of the windows. They brought this dirty, terrified girl out on a leash to meet us. She was what we'd consider large, and she was predominantly chow. She didn't know anything about this leash thing on her and she didn't seem interested in us at all. We thought we'd just go meet her and see what we thought. They thought that since we had expressed interest, we'd be taking her home that day for a trial run. The wife really loved this dog and didn't want to give her up but decided we were good people and reminded herself that they got into this in order to find homes for these dogs, not keep them all themselves. So, after talking for a while, Brandon coaxed this creature into the back seat and home we came.

The dog we met that day and the dog she's become couldn't be more different. The easiest change is she's clean and shiny and her nails are clipped and her pads are smooth. She's not scared of the leash. And she is exceptionally interested in me. (And will be in her papa as soon as he gets home to give her the chance.) And the best part of all, she and her big brother get along like gangbusters - a sea change from her first week in his house.

Happy Puppy-six-month-a-versary, Shane, we're glad you're here.

Not the Memphis post

At Scrabble on Thursday I once again won the $3 high word score payout. This time with "chaos" which netted 45 points. It was played across a triple-word square and the "s" made plural a previously played word. I came in third (of eight) overall. Of course Sue took first prize and Terri second. Damn that Terri.

The niece is getting bigger and cuter!

She's an eyebrow raiser, must be the MacClelland.

Pride

Now this makes me proud of my fellow statesmen.

"Last May, a US man found a severed finger in a tub of ice cream, then refused to give it back to an injured employee so it could be reattached. Instead Clarence Stowers, of North Carolina, took it home and put it in his freezer as evidence in legal action against the store. A week later he offered to return it, too late for surgeons to be able to act."

Beale St.

Beale St., originally uploaded by Monkey loves Kitten.

Click on this picture to see all my Memphis trip photos. I'll write more later, late for Scrabble!

Now here's a fundraiser I can get my lips on

Firestone Winery in Santa Ynez, CA, has created Jarhead Red. It's a blend of Cabernet and Merlot grapes that Adam Firestone, a former Marine Captain and brother of Bachelor Andrew, thinks befits leathernecks. Even better, net profits on each $12.99 bottle go to the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation which benefits children of injured or killed Marines. Sadly, I cannot order any to be shipped to North Carolina (didn't that law get rescinded?), but if you're in CA, CO, ID, IL, IA, MN, MO, NV, NM, ND, OH, OR, TX, WA, WV, WI or WY, you can. So, if you're in the market for a nicely priced red for yourself or a gift, or you'd like to make a donation and get something a little tastier than address labels, or you just like the label, consider choosing Jarhead. I'm glad I picked mine. ;)

Art imitates life, or something like that

This is today's Ballard Street.

















This is what Shane did. It's titled "One Hour" since that's all the time it took.

"Blinds prevent sun damage and neighbor shock"

-sign I saw yesterday

Scrabbled Thursdays

Each Thursday a group gathers at the club house for two games of Scrabble. Usually we have two boards set up with three or four players at each. After the first game we eat lunch, then onto game two. The highest scores from the first round play against each other for the second round, lowest with lowest. Oh, and there's money involved. Everyone ponies up two bucks and three prizes are awarded. Highest combined score, second highest combined score, and highest play score. Today I had highest play score with 33 points. This got me a $3 prize. I got $3 last week, too, but I didn't have the highest play score, and I don't know what earned me that. I didn't complain, it paid for my unsweet tea. If you haven't been to the South, you may not be familiar with unsweet tea. It's what you have to say when you order iced tea if you don't want sweet tea. And if you're used to plain iced tea, you probably don't want sweet tea. It is not the same thing as iced tea with sugar added. It's almost syrupy and quite a shock when you're not expecting it. I made that mistake one time, and I doubt I'll forget and do it again. My jaw spasms at the thought.

I am going to visit another southern town next weekend - Memphis. Our friends Vonnie and Wendy live there along with Quentin's girlfriend, Georgia, and her new brother, Jack. We've not seen them since their move a year ago. We'll be doing touristy stuff and taking lots of pictures and generally causing trouble. Stay tuned for a report. I'm flying there out of Raleigh, which is a couple of hours from here. I leave mid-afternoon so I can check the pups into detention and drive up without having to get up early - a big selling point for me. I also get back mid-afternoon which nicely facilitates a trip to Costco in Durham. I am excited about this to an embarrassing degree. Really, I'm telling everyone. It's just sad.

Gingerbread recipe

This is the recipe I used for gingerbread. It is called Edinburgh Gingerbread. I don't know what makes it Scottish, but I added an extra Scottish kick by soaking the currants I substituted for sultanas in McClelland Scotch over night. I also baked it in a one pound loaf pan, which seemed to be fine. I found the recipe on scotfood.com, which is operated by a Canadian, but I trust it anyway. ;)

8 oz Plain flour
1 ts Bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
2 ts Ground ginger
1 ts Cinnamon
pn Salt
6 oz Butter
6 oz Treacle (honey)
4 oz Brown sugar
6 tb Milk
2 Eggs
2 oz Sultanas (golden raisins)
2 oz Almonds; flaked
Sift the flour, spices, salt and soda; and then stir in the fruit and nuts. Melt the butter with the treacle and sugar on a low heat. The mixture should remain coolish but the sugar dissolved. Add the milk and stir in the eggs. Pour the warm mixture into a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly to form a batter. Pour into a greased and lined 2 lb loaf tin. Bake at 325°F / 160°C / gas mark 3 for 1 1/4 hours. This is a fairly heavy recipe and may sink on cooling.

Gingerbread

This month's Garden Club meeting was a celebration of the different cultures that make up this country and each of us demonstrated that by bringing a dish representing our heritage. As you can imagine, there was plenty of food. I made a Scottish gingerbread that was delicious. Considering there was a stick and a half of butter in the one-loaf recipe, I'm sure you can understand. I even got up early to make it and brought it in piping hot and without any dog hair. Big accomplishments around here.

Sue told the story of her father's arrival in New York from Italy. All three times. He ran away to America twice, and was followed and brought home by his father twice, before marrying Sue's mother and sailing here a third and final time. Sue was able to find the scanned image of the ship's manifest from that final trip on ellisisland.org. If you know the names of your ancestors who may have come through that port of entry, go to the site and look 'em up. I am amazed at the amount of work that must have taken to get up and running. A wonderful resource for genealogy buffs. Let me know if you find anything about your family and I'll do the same. Happy hunting!

Homecoming

I want to thank everyone for being so supportive of me and so thoughtful with all the care packages, cards, letters, and emails to Brandon. The kid's had no shortage of snacks and entertainment. Hopefully it's helped his days pass more quickly. As much as miss him, I know he misses being home more. Each time he's heard from any of us, I know it's meant a lot. The time has come, however, for me to ask you to stop sending. Well, you can for a couple more weeks, but after mid-January, I'd knock it off because...
Brandon is coming home NEXT MONTH! Wow, that feels so close. He'll be home at least a couple of weeks earlier than we anticipated. I'm very excited and a little nervous. I thought I had more time to procrastinate on household projects. Turns out I'll have to get to work here if I want to finish what I started. I have done some work every month, but my pace has certainly slowed since the initial burst. Oh well, I suppose I prefer having him home sooner than time to lounge about. :)

I was cyber-stalking friends and family the other day and found this beautiful picture of Brandon's best man, Tobei and his wife Nihan. This is Tobei's homecoming in 2003. In not too many weeks, I get to do the same thing.

I finally got my hands on her!

Tia and Jocelyn, originally uploaded by Monkey loves Kitten.

Jocelyn could not be more darling. So sweet and so warm and so little! She's still young enough to be passed all around and that's exactly what we did with her on Christmas. Scott and Judy realized when making gift tags that had better decide what they wanted to be called. The decision was made after much discussion and the choices are: Haku and Grams. Brandon and I weighed in since this will be applicable to our kiddies also. Mom decided that since Dad calls her Judes and Josh calls her Moms, Grams followed suit. Dad was leaning towards Opa, but settled on Haku which is how he pronounced his first name, Michael, when he was a tot.

Christmas salad, originally uploaded by Monkey loves Kitten.

I offer my praise and thanks to the marketing guy who came up with the idea to sell pomegranate seeds without that cumbersome pomegranate!

Lee and Caleb, originally uploaded by Monkey loves Kitten.

We were lucky to have a visit from my friend, Lee. Even luckier for us, she brought her son and her mom. Brandon and I saw Caleb in May and something weird happened since then - he turned from a baby into a little boy. Man, I tell ya, you gotta keep your eye on these babies. Caleb was very mobile and very good at cracking himself up. It was particularly funny to bury his face in the carpet and bite his mom on the leg with his new front teeth. He was snacking on some crackers and you could tell how useful he found those teeth to be. Carol and Lee were treated to a viewing of our wedding album. I figure we can get away with foisting it on people for a few more months before they roll their eyes and push it away.