Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Creative Dads I'd Like to Meet,,,

There is something both innocently sweet and horrifyingly scary when children spend time alone with Daddy. As demonstrated in these adorable videos...(warning to the sensitive...the 2nd one contains a bit of written indelicate language). I found them on a website I follow and had to embed and share them, too.

Mothers can sometimes suck the fun and the joy out of events because we can focus on the teensiest of important details. A man who hasn't lost his wonder and awe about life makes a great buffer. 

My life would not be complete had I not experienced a dad who was unafrsid of the unknown and knew important and dangerous science and stuff! 

My own kids getting filthy dirty and being used as tools/helpers have become richer human beings as well!

You dads who include your kids in your adventures...carry on. Your kids will be full of memories and possibly fodder for therapy sessions.

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Wednesday Weirdos

The pups are totally mobile. Up and down the steps...easy peasy.

Can you see a problem with this scenario? Sometimes the up and down happen at times we want them to stay close.

There are a whole lot of things that can happen when a quiet puppy is out of eyesight.

So. We spend as much time as possible out of doors.

Oddly, I discovered, as Rob paced with Gertrude so she would focus on pottying, that one puppy makes for moments when one can see a pensive puppy pondering the grass. With two it's full on drama. Until they crash. Of course.

Scraps and Snippets ~ Peanut Butter Brownies

Peanut Butter Brownies

5 TBSP coconut oil or Earth Balance butter substitute

5 TBSP peanut butter

1 1/3 Cup sugar
2 TBSP egg replacer (I usedEner-G DIY homemade)
6 TBSP water or non-dairy milk
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 Cup cocoa
1 2/3 Cup flour
1/3 chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9 x 13. Mix butter substitute or coconut oil, peanut butter and sugar until blended. Add cocoa, egg replacer and water/milk, vanilla and mix well, add salt, baking powder and vanilla and stir. Pour in flour and mix. It will be thick and more like cookie dough. Press into pan.

CARAMEL TOPPING LAYER

4 TBSP Earth Balance or coconut oil

4 heaping TBSP peanut butter
1 1/3 Cup sugar
2 TBSP egg replacer (I used Ener-G DIY recipe)
6 TBSP non-dairy milk
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 /3 Cup flour
2/3 Cup chocolate chips

1 Cup Oatmeal
1 Cup chopped salted peanuts


Cream the sugar, coconut oil, peanut butter, milk and egg replacer. Add baking powder and salt and mix well. Add vanilla and stir. Stir in flour until blended and finally add the chocolate chips, peanuts and oatmeal.

Plop caramel/chocolate chip layer on top of brownies.

Bake 35-38 minutes.

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Checks, Please.

I feel kinda cheap. Like if I paste adorable puppies on here I'll be forgiven for lame posts. 

But I gotta give one more lame post. Honestly. My crazy jet setter life style is just totally on the back burner at the moment. Highlights of my weekend? Breathing and not feeling like I was in a feverish daze. Yep. The farmer's market where the pups were a hit and did a really good job at not barking. Yay! Puppies! I hate small dogs that cujo at the end of their leash. Hate. 

I used self-tanner for the first time in a whole long time. It's still true that the applicator is the key. And by applicator I mean the person who puts the self-tanner onto themselves and forgets the whole "WATCH for ELBOW syndrome." Did you know it applies to heels and ankles, too? My calves look golden brown...my ankle looks not so much like that. 

So many little snippets of activity....wedding planning? Check! Violin practice? Check! Allowing volunteering of my violin skills at the wedding? Check! In 2 months? Check! YIKES! Oh, 7 year old photographers make for very interesting photo stream viewing. Not sure I ever want to see most of those photos again. Angles and focus points are probably not a strong area for her. 

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Random Fever Rambles

I have a fever. My dad suggested writing while under its influence because all the Poe's and Hemingway's were certainly enhanced by the cloud of chemical stupor.

Pretty sure I'm no Hemingway or Poe. However I spent a season being terrorized by Poe. In either 7th or 8th grade we had a section where we had to read Poe. 

Yeah. I was NOT ready for what he was dishing. I don't remember if we had to read all that I did or if I fell under the magic spell of horror and death and just felt compelled...anyhoo. I read most of his works. 

You know an author is amazing at what he or she does when you remember details even years later. Poe was gifted in his ability to etch his thoughts onto my previously empty neural highway. 

I certainly am not surprised by the outcome of his life. Whew. Basements have forever been changed for me. Storage? Ha that's for lightweights! The proper use of a good basement is a grave. 

I was in track star shape that year though. Our basement stairs were open slats and our basement had plenty of places to hide the dead, the undead, or merely those intent on being involved in those possibilities. I could run up those 20 something steps in seconds. Of course the heart beating in my ears didn't help the anxiety level. 

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Hump Day Ha Has

In case you haven't figured it out...I may not adhere to his stringent opinions. I own the dubious honor of frustrating a somewhat militant critique partner so much that she left the critique group. Yes. It is true. My comma's, lack thereof, wrong usage, and etc. pushed her over the edge. 

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Gardening or Not....

We didn't plant a garden this year. This makes me sad, a little, and somewhat relieved. We had a harvest of raspberries, yay perennials. And we will just have to make blinky eyes at all those gardeners who have too much produce on hand.

In the meantime one of the gardens has not gone fallow. It has turned into a puppy dream playground. From the tiny squeeze hole between the fence and gate, to the landscape fabric and tomato cages, this piece of landscape is puppy heaven.