Kitty Twister

I guess it would be natural that a creature that can do this:

would naturally be good at this:

Or…maybe not.

Nala

This is an un-retouched photo our daughter took of our older dog, ten-year-old Nala:

It’s one of our favorite photos of her. She’s such a sweet dog and always has been. I used to say that she’s spoiled us and, if we ever got another dog, we’d probably never have it as easy as it’s been with her, in terms of her listening to us and being so well-behaved. So far, I’m right. Skye is just as sweet as Nala, sweeter, actually. As far as the listening to us and being so well-behaved…we’re working on it.

Blogging Ideas

When you are a blogger or any sort of writer or creator, you are always on the look-out for ideas. I think it’s just second nature. There is a phrase that is becoming more common in our household, primarily used by my daughter: “Let me guess, you’re going to write about this on your blog?”

Ideas can hit you at any moment about even the simplest, most mundane things. Like a cotton pad, for instance:

Just an ordinary cotton pad…or is it?

Let’s look at the flip-side, shall we?

Ooooh! What is that?

Let’s look again….

…from every possible angle.

One final close-up:

So, what is it that a simple, deformed cotton pad stirs up in my wild’n'crazy imagination? This:

Yes, my daughter rolled her eyes while I gleefully chattered about the cotton pad’s “twin” and “bibopsies”.

Oh, how I love “My Big Fat Greek Wedding”! We’ve been saying we need to buy it for years! Aunt Voula is one of my favorite characters in that movie. The fact that the actress who portrays her, Andrea Martin, is a New Englander from Maine and is of Armenian descent, has absolutely no bearing on my fondness for her. Okay, well, maybe just a little….

Desperation Leads to Improvisation

Yesterday, my daughter had a hankering for S’mores–the perfect blend of chocolate and sweetness. The recipe for them, in case you’ve been living on a deserted (or is that “un-desserted”) island for the last…how long have S’mores been around? Hold on…. Here we go: The History of S’mores.

Okay, the recipe is simple: graham crackers, a flat chocolate bar and marshmallows. Toast the marshmallow over a campfire or charcoal grill coals, put a piece of the chocolate bar on a graham cracker, slide the toasted, gooey marshmallow onto the chocolate, top with another graham cracker, insert into mouth, remember to chew and make appropriate “mmmmmmmmm” noises as you enter the tiny heaven of S’more-land.

Unfortunately, when my daughter raided the cupboards for the ingredients, she didn’t find everything she needed (especially the campfire). Like her mother, though (that would be me), desperate times call for a great imagination and some improvisation. She found graham crackers, mini-marshmallows, chocolate sauce and the microwave. She made three attempts, in order to perfect her technique. I only made two, because I was too full for a third. I took pictures of my attempts and, due to the poor quality of the photos and in keeping with S’more’s origin back in the 1920′s, I switched them to a nice, older sepia tone.

Attempt one:

Yes, I am a perfectionist (a.k.a., anal) with some things. My daughter warned me that, based on her first attempt, 16 marshmallows was too much, but it was too perfect for me to change, so I went with it. Next photo:

Then:

I then nuked it for about 4 seconds, then another 4 or so. Have you ever microwaved marshmallows? If not, you must do so. It’s fun to watch because they puff up like the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. Remember him?

He was immortalized in the movie, Ghostbusters. He wasn’t very sweet in that movie, though.

Anyways, 16 marshmallows yielded this:

Ugh! What a mess! A tasty, tasty mess! Marshmallows puff up while being microwaved, then go back to closer to their original size when finished and, depending on how long you microwave them, can end up caramelized. These marshmallows, due to overcrowding, puffed up and fell out of the crackers.

Here was my daughter’s second attempt:

You can tell it was her second attempt from all the smeared chocolate on the plate from her first attempt. Much better results than mine, wouldn’t you say?

After my debacle due to gluttonous perfectionism, I made a second attempt and, as suggested by my daughter, used significantly fewer marshmallows.

Which after being microwaved for about 8 seconds, came out like this:

That’s more like it! Since these weren’t “true” S’mores, I decided to dub them “S-more-or-lesses”. My daughter didn’t like that name and came up with her own. However, she can’t remember what it was, so we’ll stick with S-more-or-lesses. Or, you can just call them microwaved S’mores. Just remember to go easy on the mini-marshmallows so you don’t end up with a “S-more-o-messy” like I did on my first try. Enjoy!

Memorial Day: Where It Came From and What It Means

I asked my daughter we why have Memorial Day and she replied it was to honor those that are serving our country. I reminded her that, although we should always honor those that have served or are currently serving our country, Memorial Day is to honor those that have died while serving our country. This seems to be a point that is lost or confused by many. Veterans Day honors those that have served and/or died in past wars; Memorial Day honors those that have died in past wars. Every day should be to honor our current soldiers, as well as their loved ones.

I also read a column by someone who has an educational background in history and they said,”The actual origins of Memorial Day are somewhat unclear.  Many different cities/towns claim to have started the holiday, so it is hard to determine when/where/how it started.” That is simply not true and I continue to wonder how much history that is taught today has either been twisted or forgotten, altogether.

Going back to a book from 1962, published by Collier’s Encyclopedia, here is what we find:

Memorial Day

May 30

“A day that honors soldiers is always one of mixed emotions.We are proud of the glory they have won,proud of the job they have done to keep us free. And we are sad that good men had to suffer and die.

Memorial Day was called Decoration Day when, on May 30, 1868, General John A. Logan, Commander in Chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, issued the order that, “…every post of the G.A.R. should hold suitable exercises and decorate the graves of their dead comrades with flowers.”

Memorial Day originally reminded us of those who died during the Civil War, a battle in which our countrymen fought each other, North against South, brother against brother, father against son. Those who died for the South and states’ rights were just as sure they were right as those who died for the North and the Union.

Today, Memorial Day, celebrated on May 30 in most states, honors the dead of all our wars.”

Now granted, a lot has changed since the early 1960′s. In addition to men, women are also soldiers, now. Attitudes towards “the glory we have won” are often very negative and many think there is no glory in anything our soldiers fight for. Likewise, there are many who are not “proud of the job they have done to keep us free.” And, unfortunately, there are even some who are not “sad that good men (and women) had to suffer and die.” Also, the holiday has been changed to be celebrated on a Monday to give us that yearned-for long weekend. It’s wonderful to spend time with your families and friends, to have a day off from work (some of us) and to “unofficially kick-off summer”, but sometimes I think moving some of our holidays to make a long weekend has detracted from the holiday, itself, and its true meaning. I’ve always joked that, if they ever move Independence Day from the 4th of July, to make it a long weekend, we’re in trouble.

Yes, times have definitely changed and not always for the better, in many cases. However, I won’t rant on about that. Suffice it to say, there are still many who don’t know the origins of Memorial Day and why we celebrate it. I hope I have helped to enlighten at least one person.

Meanwhile, we put up our huge American flag yesterday. It goes up for Memorial Day and stays up through Flag Day in June, Independence Day in July and comes down on November 12th, the day after Veterans Day. There may be some in our neighborhood who think that our 4′x6′ flag is obnoxious, but, thankfully, the majority, many of whom are current or retired military, don’t seem to mind…not that it would stop us from proudly displaying our flag….

On this day, we  are thankful for all those that died to protect our lives, country, and freedom and we honor them. As always, we are thankful for all our soldiers and their families and the sacrifices they have volunteered to make, every single day.

Here’s to the Heroes Who Never Came Home

If only!

Today, I received this email from Dogster.com:

Your puppy is 78 weeks old!

THIS WEEK

Eight Ways to Deal with a Finicky Eater

Now, that is a funny one! Skye, our 1/2 Weimaraner/1/2 Blue Heeler mix dog who has caught two birds and 5 or 6 squirrels in the past year, and finds every shard of pottery, piece of wire, plastic, paper, twig, branch, and pecan you didn’t know existed, definitely is NOT a finicky eater. That dog loves to eat–anything and everything! Honestly, as good as she is at digging up these things, she should be an archaeologist’s dog!

On Saturday, I saw her gnawing on something that she was holding between her front paws. It was an old rusty screwdriver! I am amazed that we have not had to take this dog to the vet. I see stories of dogs that have been x-rayed because they swallowed keys or a kitchen knife or some crazy thing, wonder if/when that day will come for us and pray that it doesn’t. I also pray that she becomes more of a finicky eater, but, at least for now, that dog just lives to eat! And play!

And play,

occasionally sleep (in the oddest, most comical positions, I might add),

and always, of course, be cute!

Remember…