Doom, Dispair, and Agony on Me

" Doom, dispair, and agony on me!
Deep, Dark depression, excessive misery.
If it weren't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all.
Doom Dispair and Agony on ME! "
Allie VanNostrand, upon the birth of her 4 baby sisters.

Needless to say, the picture says it all. The world as she knows it is over for Allie. Just look at that face. She got booted from her mama's bed and onto the top of the lunchbox. I feel really sorry for her, but not so sorry as to keep from laughing at her picture.



This nice red blanket was all neatly folded in the laundry when I needed a good bed for the dogs and I grabbed it. It was all folded nice, so I just laid it down as it was, but as the thing shifted around, the corner folded down to reveal Colonel Reb. Now, had I known that it was an Ol'Miss blanket, I would never have allowed my dogs to be contaminated by it. Anyway, the damage is done now and I figure I can use it to housetrain them on later. What better use for Ol' Miss stuff can you think of????

They're all here!!!!

The babies are all here! Two look like Mama and two look like Daddy.

I think they will likely have short hair, but too early to tell really. They are only a few hours old.

More pics to come!!!!!!

Happy Birthday Puppies!

So far we have two girls.....one black and white with brown eyebrows and one black and tan.
There should be two more coming, as the very first one was sort of gross and not viable. I think it was only half baked. Anyway, we are all giddy with anticipation, so much so that we had to order out McAllister's for lunch so that no one would miss a first look.

How could anyone NOT love baby puppies?

A handfull of preciousness. I can't wait to get home - the kids will be so surprised! I told them it would be Thursday, thinking she would have them during the night tonight.

Think they will have a hangover?

Last night I went to bed at a normal hour and evidently I missed some big nocturnal activity.
It appears that an ice cream social occurred in the BatCave and I wasn't invited. It all took place very quietly, because I can usually hear a mosquito sneeze in this house.

I'm not sure how much was in that bucket, but I know it is empty now and there are two spoons in it. Oh well.....can't say I haven't done the same thing....only I would have done it with Ben and Jerry's!

Freak of Nature

Incredible two-headed chihuahua discovered in the jungles of Misty Bay. I interrupted their morning nap and they were pretty ticked.

HoHo the Clown

See.....anyone can be a clown!

I need some Pumpkin Pie

Ok, so I can't have regular pumpkin pie anymore, so here is the Splenda version. It looks pretty good, doesn't it?

Splendid Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients:

3/4 cup Splenda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons of pumpkin spice

2 large eggs

1 can (15 oz.) Pumpkin

1 can (12 fl. oz.) evaporated milk

1 unbaked 9-inch (4-cup volume) deep-dish pie shell

Whipped cream - LOTS!

Directions:

Mix splenda, salt, cinnamon, ginger and cloves in small bowl.

Beat eggs in large bowl.

Stir in pumpkin and sugar-spice mixture.

Gradually stir in evaporated milk.

POUR into pie shell.

BAKE in preheated 425° F oven for 15 minutes.Reduce temperature to 350° F.; bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean.

Cool on wire rack.

Eat it immediately or refrigerate.

Top with whipped cream......makes all the difference!

Let me know if you like it because since I can't have any other kind I have to like it and I really want to know if the sugar eating public will eat it without making crazy faces.

My apologies

Ok, so sorry no new posts yesterday. Bindi "The Destroyer" ate my memory card and I was camera-less until I went to Wal-Mart last night. That was the 3rd one she has chewed up. You would think I would learn NOT to leave them on the end-table, but if I leave it for a split second, she will snatch it and run out the dog door. She doesn't look remorseful at all, does she?

Here is the lovely and talented Allie, practicing her circus dog moves. She can already walk about 3 feet on her back legs and twirl once. We are working on "turn" and "hop". She is smart as a whip and really food motivated, so she ought to be able to learn quick. I've only had one really great trick dog and I spent a LOT of time fooling with him. Maybe Al will be the next great one.

In other canine news, Winn Dixie is due to pop this week. As you can see, she is quite ripe. There should be 5 babies, assuming all survive. I can't wait to see what colors we get since the dad is a white/black longhair. They will probably have short hair, but the colors could be anything. We have the nursery set up again right beside the bed. I guess I will spend the next month sitting on the bed looking at them. I gotta make a box for them today at work so they will have a little nursery there too, since WD is a "working mom."

Have a great day!

Sunday Dinner

Today I made some French Navy beans - really yummy....I hope to make a nice marinated bean salad with them for the middle of the week. More on that one later as it develops. These cooked up great in an enameled cast iron pot, especially on my wonky stovetop. Then it was on to roasted chicken thighs- which I cooked with salt and pepper and just a little water in the bottom at 375 degrees until they were done through. After they cooled enough to handle, I picked them apart with a fork, removed the skin and bones and used the meat to make a Dreamfield's Pasta dish with some Macaroni Grill seasonings and cheese. I think the people will like to eat that one night this week .

Then we had a lovely pot roast. I seared it on all sides and edges in a little bacon grease

( I know....shame) then added a bunch of pepper and a little salt, (ok, a lot of salt), covered the bottom of the pan with a little beef stock, sliced some onion on top and then put the lid on and in the oven at 275 for 4 hours. It turned out AWESOME!!!

And of course, the corn casserole that I mentioned earlier. Only changes I had to make were:

1. Didn't have any canned creamed corn, so had to use a chub of frozen fried corn - just thawed it and added a couple tablespoons of splenda.

2. Added about 4 ounces of grated cheddar cheese

We had green beans and a nice tomato/onion salad too, but I didn't take pics of that.

Blast from the Past

Boy, am I glad that there is NOTHING on TV tonight. I was flipping through the channels and found that RFD-TV runs "Hee Haw" at 7 pm on Sunday nights. I used to watch it every Saturday night that I could at 6 pm for probably as long as it ran, which was a LONG time.

My kids got so tickled at the little chorus girl cartoon pigs dancing across when Grandpa Jones sang "Mountain dew". I had forgotten all about that.

We only saw the last 20 minutes or so, but it was long enough to see Jr. Samples, Lulu, Pickin' and Grinnin', and the cornfield jokes. I am going to have to be sure and DVR it for next week.

A short rant.......

I was just reading some posts on VIN about some stuff I have ben working on and got led to another post concerning commercial pet foods. You know, you just gotta give credit to the marketing geniuses behind the "big.." pet food manufacturers - Hill's, Iams, Purina. Those pictures on the bags look like FABULOUS, balanced diets - for a human.

The product I was looking at was the Nature's Best Cat Food - on the lable, there are all kinds of "healthy" vegetables and grains. Last time I checked, cats were obligate carnivores. Also, on the Hill's website, they list "corn gluten meal" as a primary ingredient, but on the actual label, it says "maize gluten meal." I guess they know that people in Petsmart looking at bags will scorn foods listing corn as the first or second ingredient. Amazing.

Most of you reading this probably don't give a flip about this, but I get on this soapbox from time to time, but I get asked about this stuff almost daily and it is so hard to advise people on what they should be putting in the bowls. My own dogs are my guinea pigs, and I don't recommend anything that I haven't tried out on them. I have to admit, that if we try a new food and they don't really eat it with gusto, it is hard for me to recommend it. Right now, we have Solid Gold and Wellness in the buckets and some homecooked oats/turkey/mashed carrot in the fridge.

Oh well.....I can't figure it all out, but I can at least get the itchy dogs off whatever they are on!

Movie of the Day

"Hoot"..... about a group of kids who defeat a developer to save a nesting site of burrowing owls. Based on the book by Carl Hiassen. Great music, of course, since Jimmy produced, appeared, and sang for it.

I am so glad my kids have gotten past the need for animation-only movies!!!!

Squirrel in a Hoop Skirt

At our hospital, there are currently 15 baby squirrels in various stages of maturity - from pinkies to weaning. Almost everybody has a box or basket of little babies to bottle feed.


This little guy is having problems.......he has been chewing on his you-know-what for some strange reason, so his "daddy" made him a little hoop skirt out of some x-ray film.

Hopefully he will be weaned and eating in a few more days and be able to start his life in the trees and he'll forget about his "little problem."

Another Family Favorite

This one always draws praise, and it couldn't be any easier to make! The sweet flavor makes it go well with pot roast - a nice break from potatoes.

Easy Corn Casserole **

1 can (15 oz) whole kernel corn, undrained ( Mexi-corn makes it pretty)

1 can (15 oz) cream style corn

1 box (8 oz) Jiffy Corn Bread mix

1 cup sour cream

1 stick butter, melted ( you could use margarine, but why?)

Directions:
Mix ingredients together and pour into a casserole dish and bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees.

** in NO WAY diabetic-friendly, and there is really no way to make it so, so if you are carb-challenged, you'll just have to watch everybody else eat it while you have your green beans.

Ok.....remember when I saw Batman on the butterfly?

Here is Jesus on a dog's bottom. I see it......I can't believe it. Now I will be looking at every dog's bottom for a "sign." Puts a new spin on rectal exams, eh?

Applesauce spice bars

Hey...here is a recipe that I found when I was blogrolling tonight.....I may make it Thursday. I'm thinking I could splenda-fy it a little. Anyway.....this way you have it if it turns out good.

Applesauce Spice Bars

from Baking: From My Home to Yours, by Dorie Greenspan

For the Bars:

1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground allspice*

1/4 tsp salt (I used 1/8 tsp)

1 stick (8 tbsp) unsalted butter (I used salted butter and decreased the salt)

1 cup (packed) light brown sugar

2 large eggs

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 tbsp applejack, brandy, or dark rum (optional)

1 baking apple, such as Rome or Cortland, peeled, cored and finely diced or chopped (I used 2)1/2 cup plump, moist raisins (dark or golden)

1/2 cup chopped pecans

For the Glaze:

2-1/2 tbsp heavy cream

1/3 cup (packed) light brown sugar

2-1/2 tbsp unsalted butter (I used salted butter)

1 tsp light corn syrup

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Getting Ready:

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350F.

Butter a 9x13-inch baking pan, line the bottom with parchment paper, butter the paper and dust the inside of the pan with flour. Tap out the excess flour and put the pan on a baking sheet.

To Make the Bars:

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt.

In a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan, melt the butter over low heat.

Add the brown sugar and stir with a whisk until it is melted and the mixture is smooth, about 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat. Still working in the saucepan, whisk in the eggs one at a time, mixing until they are well blended.

Add the applesauce, vanilla and applejack, if you're using it, and whisk until the ingredients are incorporated and the mixture is once again smooth.

Switch to a rubber spatula and gently stir in the dry ingredients, mixing only until they disappear, then mix in the apple, raisins and nuts.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a rubber spatula.

Bake for 23 to 25 minutes, or until the bars just start to pull away from the sides of the pan and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

Transfer the baking pan to a rack and let the cake cool while you make the glaze.

To Make the Glaze:

In a small saucepan, whisk together the cream, sugar, butter and corn syrup.

Put the pan over medium heat and bring the mixture to a boil, whisking frequently.

Adjust the heat so that the glaze simmers, and cook, whisking frequently, for 5 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla.

Pour the hot glaze over the bars, using the spatula to spread it evenly over the cake. Let them cool to room temperature before you cut them. These will keep for about 3 days at room temperature. Because of the glaze, they cannot be frozen.

Shopping for new clothes.......

So, which one do you like better?????

A Handsome Little Man

A very handsome young man came to visit today.......his name is Homer or Hummer or Hunter.......

He has really big feets......aren't they sweet?

And he was reaallllly hungry! Last time he came to see me, he had some Gooey Gorilla Bread. I think he was hoping for some more today. He is on his way to a nice vacation - going to Lulu's and he SAID he was going to bring me back a shirt. He is so dang sweet I could just eat him up...but I'd settle for a crab melt.

If my clowning career really takes off........

I might have to invest in some working costumes for my dogs........and get more dogs.

Well.....maybe not more dogs.

Well....so much for going anywhere this weekend!

We just got word from one of our employee's husband that gas is going up 1.00 a gallon before the am. He was working in West Memphis today and said that the gas guys over there told him that it would be right close to 5.00 / gallon tomorrow.

Damned Ike!