I'm not a runner. Hello! I'm an anti-runner if I'm anything. I have never liked running, nor have I ever wanted to like running.
That said...
22 is gone for a spell. I'm the puppy-master. Puppy-masters get to do awful things like stick their hands in bright pink bags and pick up puppy by-products. When 22 is on walks with the girls and me, she does this, they are her dogs. But, since I'm such a nice mom, I will do this until she returns.
Day one of 22's trip -- all goes well. Rob and I take the puppies out for a brisk walk even though we'd gotten up early for a garage sale and then unloaded, sold, reloaded and hauled all the leftovers to the homeless mission. Even though we'd done all that, we took the pups for a walk. Nice, nice parents.
Day two of 22's trip. Rob was really tired. He hadn't really committed to being the puppy-master. So, me, being the woman who does wear big girl panties most days, decided I could do it alone. Three weeks of obedience training and all those walks with our fabulous Gentle Leaders...I could do it.
The weekend was a bit rainy. Did I mention that already?
The usual byways were surrounded by many places that could have been big mud puddles and to avoid the whole bath thing and/or other issues involving mud I decided to drive to a trail that is asphalt the entire way and butts-up to a concrete parking lot. We'd walk a mile or so. I could handle them for a mile all by myself. I told Rob, packed my phone, loaded the girls and took off. I needed to get the walk over and done with because we had more rain in the forecast.
Our walk was going swimmingly. Until we nearly reached our turn-around destination. I glanced up because what little sun there was had pretty much disappeared. Huh? Might be because it was now buried under a very dark cloud. A dark cloud with little rumbles and occasional flash of lightning.
First, as we turned around and began race-walking to the car which was parked about a half mile away, the rain drops were big, fat and steady. I could live with that. The faster I walked, the less hit me. Oh, they hurt when they hit my face, but I could deal with it. Then the sky opened and someone began throwing full pails of warm water on us. (At least they were warm.) So we ran, then when the puppy-master began to fear exploding lungs more than lightning strikes we slowed back down to a race walk. Then we rinsed and repeated.
We reached the car, drenched, soggy and grateful. Can you imagine how it smelled when two, very warm, wet dogs and I rode home? And, I have to confess something. When someone needed to take a break from running to take care of a personal doggy issue, I didn't take time to cart it out in a pink bag. Sorry.
Amazing Brownies....I'm not kidding. I've tweaked and tweaked, played and played with brownie recipes. My all time favorite calls for 5-6 eggs and butter and sugar and they taste SO good and are a heart attack on a plate.
The Sneaky Chef has one made with a spinach/blueberry puree which I think it good, but they were cakey and 22 sent me back to the search.
Finally, we found one we adapted. Fudgy vs cakey, delicious with little or no funky tastes or texture. And we can feel good about it.
3/4 cup of chocolate chips melted (the darker the better) 1/2 pkge of tofu (12.5 to 14 oz brick, I use firm) (discard the water) 1/4 cup canola, sunflower or walnut oil. 1 cup sugar 1 Tablespoon coffee or flavored extract (vanilla) 1/3 cup whole grain flour (I dump old fashioned oats in the food processor or blender to make whole grain flour which you can mix with other flour or use alone)
2 Tablespoons cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
Oil 9x13 pan. Preheat oven to 350. Dump tofu (without the water it floats in!) in food processor or mixer, blend, add sugar, oil, salt, melted chocolate, and coffee. Blend til smooth and uniform in color. Add cocoa, and flour, mix so you don't have a cloud of cocoa powder hit you in the face when you turn on machine, and blend til mixed. Spread out in pan and bake approx 20-24 minutes.
These stay gooey and fudgy vs. cakey. Taste good chilled or right from oven. Double the recipe and use all the tofu and bake two pans... freezing the extra brownies for another occasion and/or individually as treats. This recipe is one I found in a cookbook that called for additional sugar and oil and I've adapted it (shaving off 1/3 cup sugar, 2 TBSP oil) because the originals were overtly sweet and had an oily residue. I also changed some measurements to make things a bit easier to measure.
Any pictures of the dogs "Leaving It!" and "Taking It!" and "Placing!" ?
Any pictures of the two wending strolls around the store wherein we tested focusing skills by walking past cages of fluttering, chirping birds and eye-level tanks of colorful, darting fish?
No. We stinking FORGOT we had the camera.
But, next week, maybe. Next week we may learn hand signals, because once again, we are ahead of the basic, into the intermediate, and AWESOME.
I do know that walking on the trails has become way more fun. We hardly trip over eight dog feet entangled with the four human feet. The pesky shoulder pain has lessened considerably and I dare say the calluses on our hands from the leash burns have softened a bit.
Here are two pictures...posed and for the teacher's "brag" board. We'll see what we can pull off next week.
My mom and I have always talked about the crazy-fun idea of bursting into song and dance in a shopping mall. I think talent may be the only thing holding us back. That and fear of severe injury.
The all season basket bench has been filled with all things spring and summer. 22 birthed the idea and then put together fabulous fall and winter displays. The spring/summer colorfest is all mine.
My garden is growing!!! I have brown thumbs. I've killed everything I've ever tried to grow save for a few hardy cacti. But, in light of organic produce prices, I thought I'd give it a try. On order are the everbearing indoor/outdoor strawberries and a dozen assorted raspberry and blueberry bushes. My indoor garden has begun sprouting. I have teeny-tiny baby lettuce and this is flax. Yes, I'm going to plant flax. Ambitious and crazy, yup. But the seeds only cost two bucks and flax seed at the store is pricey....what can it hurt? Only dirt and some time. Right?
And behold, my bright red front door and crazy rainbow wreath. Yes, those are house keys in the keyhole. Oops.
Now, on to psyching myself up for the obedience class. Hopefully, Lily and Lola will be better there than they were on the walk we just took. Oy.
I've had this little gem of a book for awhile and I've finally gotten to it. How appropriate that I'm reading it during our adventures in dog training.
My review:
Saturdays with Stella is one of the sweetest books I've read this year.
I have an attachment to animals. So, if you aren't a big fan of four-legged friends you probably won't be interested and you are excused from the rest of this review.
If you are a fan, well, then, get yourself a copy and prepare to be enchanted as you join Allison Pittman and her shaky, insecure Stella as they are schooled in the art of obedience. Stella and Allison find something that looks a lot like peace and a deeper understanding of the beauty of faith. The reader is treated to very visual (sometimes this is not the most positive thing) and auditory treats as we get to participate in intermediate dog obedience classes. You'll meet Rex, and Prima and Donna. Cheeto, the toy, makes several important cameo appearances in a handful of scenes as well.
I don't know how you could read this charming narrative and not cheer for Stella as she discovers her purpose. Nor for Allison as her faith is increased with the understanding of how truly loving God is. Pittman doles out generous doses of wisdom for the Christian walk like treats to her beloved Stella.
Pittman writes with poignancy and humor, some of her descriptions painted delightful, laugh-out loud scenes, others left me misty-eyed. Herriot and Keller fans may discover that Stella belongs in their library. Pittman even provides practical dog-training advice, too.
Animal lovers and those who are looking for a unique view of the Christian walk, or folks looking for a light or simple small group topical Bible study should dig deeper into Saturdays with Stella. Within Stella's chapters are some buried treasures. Pet enthusiasts on your gift list would likely love this little treat.
Just goes to show you....on Sunday I swore to a whole room full of people that I'd never watch Marley and Me.
Why? Multiple reasons. A) I can not handle pets in jeopardy scenes. I won't watch Old Yeller, I cried over the promo clip for 8 Below. My mom always thought Lassie was my favorite show, but I always watched with my little heart in my throat and sweat glistening my brow. B) I'm sentimental and a sucker for anything that is designed to play my heartstrings. I've cried at Hallmark and coffee commercials along with a thousand movies. It's so bad that my family watches me for entertainment during sad scenes.
Marley and Me were never meant to be. But on Monday, a friend invited a few of us over for her birthday. Her movie of choice? Yeah. You guessed it.
I sobbed. Not even going to try to downplay the sad. My eyes were swollen for at least an hour after the movie ended. I didn't just cry at the end, I was leaking from the mid-point. I'm not even a natural dog person. That said, I like Marley and Me. I liked it because it didn't rely on just cheap "cute" pet shots to win over the viewers, instead it was a nicely fleshed out character piece. The Grogans struggled with life in quite a few scenes and I was there with them. I didn't grow as attached to Marley as I might have, and this is a good thing, any more attached and it would have been too, too sad, because the filming covered about a dozen years in highlights.
Some of the scenes were hysterical. Some also hit a little close to home. Alan Arkin cracks me up. I love his delivery. Only one caution...I watched this film with an eleven year-old and cringed a few times. The language is mild, but there is some. The situations are PG-to PG-13, but there are a few uncomfortable moments, especially with a child in the room. So, parents, don't assume this is G-rated Disney family friendly. If you are concerned, check it out first.
