There is a perfect time for everything

Buddy is 3 months old now and managed to survive a shot and micro-chipping. 

The vet also gave us some great advice on training a puppy.  

Currently Reading: The Wake-Up Call of the Wild

I remember, a long time ago at the Tanana Valley Fair, I was walking though the big building with all the art and poetry exhibits and booths for everything imaginable.  I was mostly saying, "No thanks.......sorry, not interested" (not interested in filling out a slip for a drawing so you can call me and pester me about buying what you sell later).  Anyway, I walked by this table where a "nice" looking woman sat with some books.  I always stop when I see books.  One of the books said something about chocolate on the back so I decided to get that one.  The woman was the author, Nita Nettleton, and she was this instantly likable person that somehow felt more REAL than most people. I chatted with her a bit and then she signed my book.  She spelled out my full name and then wrote "I hope you enjoy this story - (never strand yourself without enough chocolate!) and then signed it and left her email address.  hmmmm I wonder if it is still a good email for her.  This book isn't that long but I've found myself savoring it.... just like I used to do with life-savers when I was a kid and chocolate now that I'm older.  I read a section and then I like to stop and think about it for a bit, imagining myself in her place.

This is a book about a woman that wakes up bruised and battered with a bandage around her head at a remote cabin in Alaska.  She doesn't remember anything, not her name or how she came to be out in the middle of Nowhere, Alaska.  But, she does find an unlikely friend in a young female badger and realizes she likes being there and spending time with her own thoughts.  

I can't tell you more than that because I'm still reading.  I'll probably be done with it tomorrow.

I've been feeling better since sometime yesterday.  I made myself a hair appointment for yesterday

afternoon and really hoped I would feel better by then.  I just had a two week long horrible fibro flare up that left me so tired I couldn't get out of bed most of the time.  I had decided to lose a ton of hair weight if I could get my butt out of bed to get there.  It has been WAY too hot for long, thick hair. I looked through tons of pictures and printed out a handful of similar cuts but wasn't totally feeling any of them. I decided to show them all to my stylist and let her work her magic.  I've also been wanting to get some highlights in my hair in this electric purple color that reminds me of the innards of a blueberry.  I just needed to make sure my husband didn't freak about the cost of it so I only scheduled for a haircut.  On the way I mentioned the color to him and after I was sitting in the chair he texted me a "go ahead" message.  I was surprised when she said she could do it AND she looked totally thrilled to do it too.  I guess she doesn't get to use that color much.

It was so liberating to watch the chunks of hair fall to the floor.  This other lady came up and was sitting close to me waiting her turn for a haircut while the stylist was painting my head purple. She looked familiar but I couldn't place her. I talk to everyone though so that was okay.  I was just startled when she suddenly said my name.  I realized it was a friend of ours and I just hadn't seen her in a long time.  I haven't seen anyone in a long time unless they live with me actually. Well, she usually has really short hair so seeing her with shoulder length hair was really strange and I'm sure that is why I couldn't place her.  It was really good to talk to other people for a change and it was so fun getting my hair done. Since I was sitting there for quite a while steeping in purple I talked to everyone who came in for a haircut.  It was a good day for me.

I was really tired today (Wednesday) so I took a nice long nap but so far not having bad pain.  I'm so glad since I really needed a break from that for a while.  I really enjoyed reading outside in my chair parked in the sunshine this afternoon while Buddy played in the shade.  It is such a beautiful summer day!  I just love the days when I can get out and enjoy the beauty of my world and warmth of the sunshine.  Life is good and I'm loving my Buddy Boy!

Buddy sleeping by me on the couch

A Red sweater for a dog named Blue

“Dogs are our link to paradise. 

They don't know evil or jealousy or discontent. 

To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be 

back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring--it was peace.” 

― Milan Kundera

I am happy to say Blue seems to be doing a lot better.  She has her spunk back.  The antibiotics and the anti-inflammatory meds are helping a lot.  She is not peeing blood now and she has been eating and drinking again. When my husband comes home she does her little dance for him to give her a treat like she used to.  Everyone is so happy to see her happy again.

I have been playing phone tag with the vet. I've been having some bad pain days.  It has been snowing so I usually have flare ups when the weather changes.  Anyway, since I haven't been getting out of bed until after 3 or 4 pm I've been missing her calls.  I call her back and then miss her return call.  She finally said on the message the the pathologist isn't convinced that the tumor is a Transitional Cell Carcinoma (TCC).  It could be a connective tissue tumor or just a large mass of inflammation.  Whatever it is, she definitely feels a lot better.  She has arthritis in her back legs and usually has trouble going up the two steps to the back door or hopping up on the furniture (which is not allowed unless I'm not looking).  She had a different med she was taking but they had me switch to a stronger one to help bring down the inflammation in her bladder and now she is skipping around like she's a puppy again.  She's my 13 year old puppy.

Anyway, I have been working on a sweater for her since I know the temperature could drop any time. We have some snow but it hasn't been too cold for her yet.  I had to alter the pattern because she has Cushing's Disease so her belly is big like a pot bellied pig.   Most dogs are bigger in the chest and then get smaller around the belly but she is one inch large in the belly than her chest measurement and she also has some swelling that the vet said should get better over the next little while.

I found a pattern on Craftsy.com by Copper Llama Studio that looks like it would be easier to alter. I'm pretty new at trying to alter a pattern.  I took a lot of measurements and with some tips from a friend I was able to make this sweater to fit Blue.  I made it in bright red just in case she had a job interview to go to.

I added some extra stitches onto one side of the belly section to make a flap with button holes so it can wrap around her tender belly and fasten with buttons to the back.  That makes is so much easier to get it on her without hurting her.  It is a little snug on her around the middle but the vet said her belly will start to be smaller as she get her meds.  I also made the neck piece a little too big so I'll probably fix that later. It looks like a stylish cowl neckline lol  It is more important that she be warm than stylish.  Now I need to get busy and sew her some new booties so she wont get frost bite on her feet.  

Quiche Capisce?

A friend of mine posted on her blog about a quiche recipe she was trying.  This month she is trying something new every day so it is pretty interesting.  You should go check it out.  When I read about the quiche I realized I had never tried it either.  I think maybe I ate a tiny little baby party quiche one time but I'm not really sure now.  I have never even thought about making one before.  So I printed up the recipe and told my husband about it.  After I listed off the different ingredients and the changes I was thinking of he was all for trying it.  He does the grocery shopping since it is pretty taxing for me but he got the stuff for it within a few days.

I made the first one last night (meaning Sunday) and I kept messing up and having to cleverly fix a bunch of things.  I don't do a lot of cooking these days because I get so wiped out so fast.  My boys help a LOT with the cooking.  Son #2, who is 17, does the most.  I think he enjoys it like his dad.  Son #1, who is 20, likes to cook also but he is a little OCD and doesn't like to cook or handle certain things because of the consistency or whatever.  He still helps a lot when needed.  I'm very blessed with those two.

Anyway, Sunday when I decided I was going to make this thing they were not available and I had been feeling bad already.  I couldn't get it off my mind though and my husband was hoping I would make it.  So I decided that I could handle it if I planned things and used my on-feet time wisely.  I was so proud of myself when I finally pushed the dish in the oven and then I turned around and saw a measuring cup with milk in it still sitting on the counter.  Oh shoot!  I quickly but not too quickly pulled it back out, dumped the milk in it and used a fork to mix it in.  Then I put it back in the oven even more carefully because it was pretty full.  I set the timer for 19 minutes (which means I have a minute to get up and over to the stove).  The recipe said to reduce the temperature but when I went to do that is was already that temperature.  Ugh.  So I turned it up to where it should have been for 10 minutes and then cooked it for 10 minutes at the lower temperature.  It was obviously done and no way there was any liquid left in that thing.  The crust around the edge was a nice shade of burnt brown and not very tasty but the rest of it, including the quiche itself, was pretty darned good.  I was pretty happy with myself when my husband wanted more and then after a little bit came back and finished it off.  Of course neither one of my boys would even try it.  They wont eat eggs.

Today (Monday) my husband called from work and wanted to know what we needed to have it again. Well, well, well... I think someone likes quiche.  He grabbed some more sausage and two more of the roll out pie crusts from Safeway on the way home.

The original recipe is here if you are interested but I'm going to tell you how I made it BAD (meaning the opposite of healthy)  I was really hoping to get my picky family to like something new.  I can always healthy it up later but if they know it has skim milk and fat free cheese they wouldn't even try it.  It has sausage in it anyway.

Ingredients:

• 1 – 9 inch pie shell  (I used the refrigerated roll out ones from Safeway and they are pretty good)
• 3/4 pounds hot or sweet sausage (I used Jimmie Dean half maple pork and half HOT pork)
• Half white onion chopped
• 1 1/4 cup grated cheddar cheese (I mixed in a little mozzarella)
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 cup half and half
• 1/4 cup 2% milk
• Weber Roasted Garlic & Herb seasoning (from walmart)
• A little Garlic Salt in the egg mixture
• Lots of fresh ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425.
2. Bake shell in for 7 min or until it just golden.
3. While shell is baking, cook sausage with the onion and Weber garlic seasoning.  Drain and mix sausage and cheese in a bowl.  Add pepper to taste.
4. Spread the mixture in the bottom of the pie shell.
5. Whisk together eggs, half and half and milk in bowl.  (Make sure nothing gets left sitting on the counter in a measuring up!)  Add a little garlic salt and pepper.  Pour egg mixture over sausage mixture and bake on baking sheet for 20 minutes.

**At this point I added mozzarella and bacon on top and added foil to the already-starting-to-burn crust

1. Reduce oven temperature to 350 and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes until center of quiche is no longer runny.  

AND WAH LA!  Quiche ala FATTENING

This one was at least as good as the first one.  The first one used apple wood smoked sausage and that was darned good too.  The toppings cleverly hid the top and Son #2 actually ate a slice not realizing he was eating eggs.  YAYAYAYAYAY!  <-- This is where I would have done a flip if it wouldn't have killed me.

I figured out a clever little trick while making this and next time I'll do it a little earlier.  I'll make another little demo post for that later since I've been sitting for way too long and not feeling so hot.  

Click here to see my quick picture tutorial.