Upward Facing Cat 

I think this is the red tailed hawk again. 

Crescent moon and the last glow of the sunset, 9 pm, 28 April 2006. 

Rick Mercer nails it

Rick Mercer says that Harper et al are a bunch of pricks for refusing to lower the flag on the Peace Tower after four Canadian soldiers were killed in Afghanistan last week.

Mercer is right.

And that's all I have to say about that.

"How do I start this thing, Mom?"

Someday, this lawn tractor and all of this grass will be yours, my son. 

Vibrance

What a glorious day! Two loads of laundry dried on the line, all of the grass cut, the aging Husqvarna lawn tractor started on the first try, real strawberry milkshakes for dessert ... and nothing to complain about. 

Pizza perfection

How's this for irony? I was dragged kicking and ska-reaming into my high school Family Studies (Home Economics) class. Cooking? Sewing? You're making me bow to the patriarchy? HaaRUMPH!!!!

These days, I'm a Hausfrau and a pretty darned good one, if I may say so myself. To each their own, but I'm rather proud of the fact that I can put a delicious and nutritious meal on the table for mere pennies a serving.

With that, I'd like to share the recipe for the Damned Fine Pizza AND Foccacia I served tonight. Total cost: about three bucks, including electicity.

Crust:

Put the following ingredients into breadmaker in the order recommended by the breadmaker's manufacturer:

11 ounces water
3 tbsp olive oil
4 cups bread flour
pinch salt
2 tsp yeast

Press the appropriate buttons - in my case, dough, then start. Go rollerblading with your child until the machine goes beep.

Just before the breadmaker goes beep, cut 1/2 onion into thin slices, then divide each slice into individual rings. Peel and thinly slice 3 cloves of garlic. Saute onions and garlic in olive oil until brown. Set aside.

Prepare 2 pans - I use a pizza stone and a cookie sheet. Sprinkle cornmeal over each surface. Preheat oven to 400F.

Divide dough in half. Roll out 1/2 of dough on a pizza stone. Open small can of tomato sauce - one with basil and garlic if you're feeling particularly frisky. Dump out onto pizza dough. Instruct kiddo in the fine art of spreading sauce over dough using the back of a spoon. Dump one 7 oz package of Sargento Bistro Blends shredded Mozzerella & Asiago with Roasted Garlic Shredded Cheese over crust. Spread evenly. Smile.

Roll out the other half of the dough in the prepared cookie sheet. Make a few finger indentations over the dough. Brush with olive oil. Spread sauteed onions and garlic over dough.

Bake both at 400F for about 15 - 20 minutes, or until it looks "done."

Enjoy.

There will be no leftovers.

Sing it with me

There's no other dog like a doxie
Walking so close to the ground.
They're stubborn and sly as a fox and ...
The happiest pets to be found.
Most kinds of dogs seem to either
Have shapes or proportions all wrong.
They're either one way or the other
But dachshunds are both short and long.
Doxie, meine doxie
The best canine under the sun!
Call them weiner or sausage or hot dog,
We know that they're number one!

I wish I could take credit for these brilliant lyrics, but this is the Dachshund Song, which is, I'm told, sung with great vigor at dachshund meetups nationwide.

We're dogsitting Schotzie and Leibling this week. They are excellent nap companions.
 

Cattitude. 

Red Tailed Hawk, 18 April 2006 

Dog Day Afternoon 

Barn cat, Prince Edward County, 17 April 2006 

My Mom's flower bed, 17 April 2006. 

Prince Edward County, 17 April 2006 

The Road Less Travelled

Alternatively entitled: For fast relief, slow down.

On our way to an Easter family gathering in Pennsylvania, we meandered off of I-81 for a while. We had to stop briefly to allow a family of domestic geese to cross.

Route 11 runs nearly parallel to I-81, yet it is a world apart. We traversed the same sections of New York and Pennsylvania, but saw this land in a completely different way.

On Route 11, just north of Binghamton, NY, there is a Laotian Buddhist Temple. It is also visible from I-81, but I had never noticed it before. I've seen the exit signs for Homer, NY, but never realized that it is a charming historical site.

We decided to take Route 11 all the way home from our hotel. It took a little longer, and it was worth it.
 

Sweet dreams. 

Sunset, 13 April 2006 

I fought the technolust but the technolust won.

Taken with my new camera. 

Word of the day: Cacophony!

The Spring Peepers are back!!!

Perseverance

About six years ago, I started a little compost pile in one section of the yard. Mostly, I placed dead grass and yard waste on the pile. Somehow, a crocus bulb took root. Every year thereafter, this audacious little crocus has returned. This year, there are five blooms, heralding the arrival of spring to no-one in particular. 

Special delivery!

I couldn't let this story pass without making note of it.

I am bemused by the prospect of free pizza delivery to the remote communities of Alaska, via commuter plane. As a teenager growing up in not-all-that-remote northern Ontario, I was deprived of the joys of having pizza delivered to the house. It's a brave new world, isn't it?

What amuses me the most about this story, is Airport Pizza's menu, which includes Reindeer Sausage Pizza. Sadly, there is no Reindeer Goat Cheese Pizza at this time.

Lazy Sunday

I know I shouldn't let Micio on the table, but I just don't have the heart to deprive my senior kitty the simple pleasure of a sunny spot to nap.

Technolust rears its ugly head again

Fanned tail feathers

Strutting and preening

Wild turkeys in the back 40, 7 April 2006

Happy Birthday, Gwennie!

My niece, Gwendolyn ..















turns 10 tomorrow!