The STOVE!!!!! and The Land of the White Dogs

I was a good girl. Look what Santa brought me: It’s my new stove.  Am I excited or what!!!!! It’s just a little thing but puts out 12 wats of heat (whatever that means) which should be enough to heat most of our house, accept in really cold weather.  All cast iron, with lots of … Continue reading…

Mini Pizzas with Puff Pastry; Tales of Doggie Woe

Help!  I’ve fallen and I can’t get up! Who remembers that commercial from a few years back? It was constantly played before we left the US. Well….. Early this morning the wind came up something fierce.  The shutters in Vlad’s House don’t fasten securely and one came lose with a ferocious bang. Our brave little … Continue reading…

A toilet? Right inside the house? Inside???

I couldn't wait for Monday.  Mon mari out-did himself today. He hooked up the toilet… Sort of… Details Monday. In the meantime, I thought I'd share a photo of his 'other' job: He believes that dogs were put on this earth for humans to tease.  Specifically him. They serve no other purpose. This is what … Continue reading…

Chicken and Grilled Pepper Pasta Salad; Our Loss…

We Bread Baking Babes are less than we were a week ago. We are reduced. One of our very own Babes, Sher, of What Did You Eat, passed away on Sunday. We are missing her wit, her humor, her prose, her baking, her blogging…. Her loss creates a hole much greater than a mere ‘1/12th’ … Continue reading…

Pet Names – how many do you have?

Why do we give people, pets, inanimate objects and (shudder) body parts pet names?  Aren’t the originals good enough?  Or, maybe, the original wasn’t the right name in the first place….  I have always given my dogs nicknames, probably because I’ve never been good at naming things and, inevitably, get it wrong.  We named our … Continue reading…

On Dogs & Cats…and Chickens

Life with pets is always interesting and anyone who thinks that man is dog’s best friend is sadly mistaken – cat is dog’s best friend…. In another life, we had a very wily, black cat and a very gentle Saint Bernard. First, the scene: I and mon mari are in the kitchen.  I am washing … Continue reading…

Life’s a Beach…. or should be once in a while

As I sit at my desk to begin the work for the day (today is ‘computer day’ vs. yesterday which was ‘weeding day’ – god my life is regimented…..and boring!) first the little brown dog (75 lbs/35 kilos) comes running up the stairs to see if it’s time for second walk.  Disappointed to see me … Continue reading…