Birthday Bash....corgi style

Well, the big boy was TEN today. Our boy Jake is still loving life. He's getting some white on his muzzle and in his eyebrows and such, but he's peppy and loves to play.
Going to the high school field is always a treat. I throw the ball, and Jake will chase and retrieve over and over. Addie doesn't play but she chews grass, and stalks birds. She'll chase Jake, chasing the ball. Odd little kid.

The corgi kids always have a plain double cheeseburger as their birthday cake. Jake got two-thirds of it, and Addie, his one and only guest, greedily gobbled her morsel.
He had a perfect, sunny, seventy degree day. He ran, sniffed, lifted his leg, and chased his ball. He got belly rubs and sweet words. Yep, old Jake had a great birthday. Here's to many more little buddy!
Love, Mom

Are you a Hungry Girl?

A galpal turned me on to the Hungry Girl site a little over a year ago, and I get daily emails from them. This is a terrific way to lower the fat/carb/calorie content of many a dish. They offer reviews on new diet friendly foods too. Go visit if you'd like to get more ideas on healthier eating.
Here's a sample from the site.



Chunky Veggie Pumpkin Chili
Our friend canned pumpkin is at it again, adding fun, fiber, and flavor to this incredible chili. The taste is mellow but can easily be spiced up with extra cayenne or some hot sauce.

Ingredients
(Makes 6 Servings)
One 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
One 15-ounce can pure pumpkin
2 teaspoons chopped garlic
½ tablespoon cayenne pepper, or
more to taste
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
¼ teaspoon salt, or more to taste
½ teaspoon ground cumin One 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes
One 15-ounce can chili beans (pinto beans
in chili sauce), not drained
One 15-ounce can black beans, drained
and rinsed
½ cup canned diced green chiles
2 cups chopped portabella mushrooms
1½ cups chopped zucchini
1½ cups chopped onion
Directions
Add crushed tomatoes, pumpkin, garlic, and all the seasonings to the crock pot. Mix well.

Add diced tomatoes, both types of beans, diced green chiles, and all the veggies.
Stir thoroughly. Cover and cook on high for 3 to 4 hours or on low for 7 to 8 hours.

Dear Mother Nature....

Although snow, I hope, like this is behind us...I just want to say to MS. Nature:

"No more of this kind of crap for at least a year please!
It's time for nesting birds, and daffodils.
No more wild hairs....no more bad moods....
It's SpRiNg....you hear????"



This....is what we have more in mind please~

Inquiring minds....want to know...

Visit http://www.etsy.highprietesschoas.etsy.com on etsy to see other "quirky" things...he hee.

...darn dogs~

Those little devil dogs of mine are rebelling....
They were in a mood.....

They wouldn't pick the name of the giveaway winner....
they'd sniff and walk away....



Bribery didn't work.....
Cursing didn't work.....
Threats of no walks, or car rides didn't work....






So, their daddy did it.
He chose the name of the winner....
He was walking out the back door enroute to the post office to apply for a passport..........
He fluffed up all the names that were on the floor, pre-sniffed and ignored by the corgi kids......
and drew.....


this gal, that we all know, who resides deep in the heart of.....
Texas!



Holly, the old western gal, formally Penniwig....

Now, I'm off to kick some corgi butt!
.....not!

A donkey fren...in honor of Holly...

This is,
Without
A doubt,
The cutest
Little ass
You will
Ever see

Signs...

Spring is trying very hard to break through.Addie was outside, catching some rays today. Normally, she hides inside...usually in the kneehole of the desk, or in our bed.


The hollyhocks have popped up, and are growing each day...


The maple tree is full of buds. I noticed them for the first time last night, and was stunned!


Jake and his deflated ball are constant companions...he brings it to us over and over again to be thrown or kicked. Boys will be boys.



I hope the tulips don't get eaten by the rabbits, or bit by frost before they bloom. They've popped up all over, and are such a welcome spot of color.


The two corgi kids seemed to really enjoy our mid-60's temperature today.


I'm feeling more hopeful...surely Spring will hang in there and shake off old man Winter!
If you haven't signed up for the giveaway yet, please do. Go back one post to sign up. Drawing on March 22nd.

Spring Fling...

Our corgi boy, Jake, will be ten years old on March 31st. He can still herd, run, play like a puppy. He licks his paws more now after his rambunctious antics these days, but in his head, he's a mere laddy. Jake is good through and through, and has never snarled/snapped at anyone. He can give you a good licking though!
He has never met a stranger. He loves all. Kids are his favorite toy. Poor Emmy is allergic to his tongue. (Can you BELIEVE that a granddaughter of mine is allergic to corgis? Oh, the pain of it!) Anyhow...in Jake's honor, and in honor of his goodness...we are having a Spring Fling Giveaway!

What we have to offer our contestants is the bestest ever Banana Bread recipe....and..

..a soothing CD created by our daughter in law, Christina. She has a lovely voice, and wrote several of the songs on this CD. She and her brother, father and several friends collaborated on this project. Jim and I play this cd on long trips, and we can actually feel a calmness settle over our rattled nerves. When I drive down to North Carolina to visit my girls, April and Emmy, I listen to this. It's wonderful, and I really feel that you'll like it too.



Many of you know that I make cards, so we'll throw in some "girlfriend" cards to send to your sista's...enough to send everyday for a week. Jake suggested throwing in a Dentabone, but really...do you want that? I explained to him that our species tend to use toothbrushes, more often than not.
There are no rules for this giveaway...just comment what you like best about Spring.
The flowers, the warmth, the fashions? What is it about Spring that makes your heart go pitter pat?
The corgi kids will sniff out the winner next Monday, March 22nd.
Hope that you'll join in, and give this giveaway a whirl!

Cooking up something....

Hello! Just wanted to entice you to come back soon, as I'm cooking up some photos, and a giveaway in the next few days. Jim's home this weekend, so stay tuned for some outrageous old lady antics in the works. Have a terrific weekend gals, hugs to all!

Loves and Loathes...

My daughter has been doing this on her blog, Changing Compass, and I wanted to jump on the bandwagon too. We need to think about things like this...thinking is good.

Loves:

-warm edamame, lightly dusted with kosher salt
-shoulder rubs/squeezes while waiting in line somewhere with Jim. (oh my, it's heaven!)
-seeing green popping up...makes me think it's time to get out the rake!

Loathes:

-cruelty...I want kindness spread worldwide...like melted butter!
-seeing a dog, forgotten, put at the extreme far point of a property. Short chain, no blanket in the doghouse, and sitting in mud. Makes my blood boil, and one day, I will knock on their door!
-kids on cell phones, texting as they walk, not interacting with the pal walking beside them. Walking home from school was such an adventure..we kicked up leaves, yakked our heads off, plotted schemes, stopped for a nickel cherry coke and a penny pretzel. Sheesh, I'm not a hundred, but it sounds so, doesn't it?

-add cranky old ladies to the loathe list....I'll have to work on that!


This recipe, another from the Farmer's Almanac, got me salivating.
I'm going to give these a whirl when company is around.

Maple-Walnut Muffins.
Yield: 24 muffins

1-3/4 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
3/4 cup maple syrup
1 cup sour cream
1 egg
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
Warm maple syrup
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease muffin tins.

In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, and baking soda and set aside.

In a medium bowl, beat the butter until smooth, then slowly add maple syrup, beating constantly. Beat in sour cream and egg. Stir in walnuts. Add the combined dry ingredients and stir just until blended.

Spoon into the prepared muffin tins, filling two-thirds full. Bake 12 to 16 minutes. Cool in tins 5 minutes, then move to a cooling rack. Dip muffin in syrup and dust with confectioners' sugar. Serve warm

Hoosier Hysteria...

Yesterday the temps hit 53. In Indiana, that's like opening the gate to Summer.
Cyclists were out, on motor and pedal. Tops were down on convertibles. Shorts, joggers, and long lines at the ice cream joints were all observed.
Sigh...Indiana is known for Hoosier Hysteria pertaining to basketball. People are nuts for basketball here, like Canadians love their hockey. Give us a temperature above 40...a different kind of crazy occurs. The craving for sunshine, looking up to a blue sky, and the balmy breeze of a mid-50's day...well, we just go nuts! There's no controlling us!

Today the corgi kids and I washed the car, and did our country drive afterward. All of their favorite farm animals were out, grazing, nipping at the short grass nubbin's. The big old draft horse, age 26, wandered over to the fence to get up close and personal with Addie. She hid behind the window, then popped up and barked. He just stood there and chewed, giving her the eye. She chickened out...what a weenie. Jake just gazes longingly at the three white faced sheep. Chin on the window sill, he quietly watches as their fluff shifts. They look so scraggly this time of year, and I'm sure they'll soon be shorn.

The birds are out, the trees are budding. I hope we won't have a nasty surprise one of these days. We're promised temps in the fifties every day this week. Can we handle all this joy?

In like a lamb...

This has been a bumpy week. People have been dying left and right of us, and it's getting too close for comfort. Have you experienced that? In the past two days, death in our circle of friends/acquaintances has been sneaking in and taking those in its path.

The skies have been blue and sunny all this week. We've felt the sun's warmth, and basked in it, looking up and smiling. How can you feel joy, and alive...while death is literally stealing in, and snatching people, like some old horror flick.

Do you ever have thoughts like this? It's eerie, and unsettling. Death lurks. Death is sneaky. Sometimes death is a relief following a long illness, filled with pain.
This is not meant to be a morbid post, truly. Just thoughtful....


Something from the Farmer's Almanac, my old friend:

March Proverbs

So many mists in March we see,
So many frosts in May will be.

A peck of March dust is worth a king’s ransom.

The March sun lets snow stand on a stone.

In March much snow,
To plants and trees much woe.

A windy March and a rainy April make a beautiful May.

A dry March, a wet April.

A wet March, a sad autumn.

Better to be bitten by a snake than to feel the sun in March.

(One has to wonder about this last one. If this is true, then we're all in serious trouble in our small town USA. We've all enjoyed the sunshine way too much this week!)
Blessings and Hugs to all....be careful out there!