Day 64/365 - 2010

A Happy Furry Friday from my boy Cody. He is waiting for his breakfast cookie and wishes I would put the camera away so he could eat his cookie.

When you think of mischief this little guy is whom you should picture. I always know when a wall has been gnawed, a garbage can over turned, my lunch disappearing from the counter, my eyes will turn to him and as soon as I yell Buffalo Bill Cody what have you done he makes a B-line for his kennel. He is very strong willed and wants to be top dog but he does respect the other dogs' space, what is his is his and don't you dare come near him to take away something that he feels belongs to him, but what is theirs is theirs and he will not touch it if he knows that.

One of the favorite rituals at lunch time is everyone gets a cookie for lunch, well the other 4 gobble theirs down before you even know there was a cookie present. Cody, he waits and stands in front of his cookie daring anyone to come over and eat it and if anyone gets within a foot of him and that cookie we hear very loud and I do mean LOUD howling. This goes on for about an hour he then goes outside to bury it and leaves. What he does not realize is that 4 other dogs are watching this, when he leaves they run and un-dig the cookie and eat it anyway. However we let Cody think that he has a treasure chest full of cookies out there somewhere, it makes him happy:)

Day 50/365 - 2010

It's Furry Friday over on Flickr so I thought I would take a snap of my little Sparkles. I often wonder how he started out his life and why he wound up on the streets scrounging for his meals. He certainly has good reason not to trust people after all we were the ones that put him out there. Was he not pretty enough, was he to small, was he personality not to your liking, why..... Well I am glad he found us and we became a happy little family. I did not want another dog but the universe said different and the universe is usually right.

Day 42 and 43/365 - 2010

When you squeeze an orange, orange juice comes out - because that's what's inside. When you are squeezed, what comes out is what is inside.
Wayne Dyer

Day 40/365 - 2010

Was on a hike and could not believe my eyes when I saw this!

"Ladybug, Ladybug fly away home, your hose is on fire and your children are home alone"

Day 39/365 - 2010

"If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange these apples then you and I will still each have one apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas.” George Bernard Shaw quotes

Recipe by Paula Dean - Foodnetwork

Apple Strudel:

1/4 cup bourbon or apple juice 1/2 cup golden raisins 2 to 3 Granny Smith apples (about 1 pound), peeled, cored, halved, and thinly sliced 1/2 lemon, juiced 1 tablespoon lemon zest, finely chopped 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, plus more for sprinkling 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed 1/2 cup crushed shortbread cookies 1/4 cup chopped pecans 2 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces 5 sheets phyllo dough from 1 pound package of frozen dough 2 tablespoons butter, melted, for brushing phyllo sheets, plus more if needed 1 tablespoon granulated sugar Confectioners' sugar Caramel sauce, purchased Glaze: 2 cups confectioners' sugar 3 1/2 tablespoons milk For the Strudel: Directions Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a small bowl, pour the bourbon or apple juice over the raisins and microwave on high for 45 seconds. Let sit for 15 minutes. Combine the raisins, apples, lemon juice, lemon zest, cinnamon, brown sugar, cookie crumbs, pecans, and butter in a large bowl. Remove the phyllo dough from the box, unfold, and cover with a damp towel. Place 1 sheet of phyllo on the work surface and brush lightly with melted butter. Repeat with the remaining sheets, brushing each with melted butter, stacking when done, being sure to keep the unbuttered phyllo covered. Place the apple mixture on the nearest third of the phyllo stack, being sure to leave a 2-inch border. Gently lift the bottom edge of the phyllo stack to cover the filling and fold the side edges over. Continue to roll the stack away from you until the filling is completely sealed in and the seam is on the bottom. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet. Brush the top with melted butter and sprinkle with granulated sugar. Bake for 30 minutes, until golden brown. Pour over the glaze and sprinkle with cinnamon and confectioners' sugar. Pass warm caramel sauce, to drizzle over the strudel. For the Glaze: Mix ingredients thoroughly. *Cook's Note: If too thick add a little bit of milk. If too thin add a little bit of confectioners' sugar.

Day 38/365

Save Now

Well folks sorry about this but I am just being silly today! John and I were playing with the Wii when John said, hey your little Mii person looks a bit like you, and I said yes I think you are right but the disturbing thing is I think I have a similar outfit.

So here we are Me and Mini Mii, lol, ha ha ha.....

Day 37/365 - 2010

Day 37/365 - Thought I would try my hand at a portrait. Could not decide if I liked the black and white or the color version. Not the best have lots of work to do on my portrait skills any suggestions anyone??

This is our friend Tim who is moving to Utah this week. The shelter will miss him so much and so will we. Tim is one of those good good souls, he has saved over 30 dogs that would probably have been euthanized had he not pulled them out and fostered them. Lucky dogs are those at the next shelter he will volunteer for. Bye Tim :(

Day 36/365 - 2010

When I have had a hectic day and am feeling pretty down and out, I pull out my beautiful china tea cup grab myself a biscotti and sit and relax with a nice cup of tea. Must be some of that English tradition left in me.

Afternoon Tea:

Afternoon tea (because it was usually taken in the late afternoon) is also called "low tea" because it was usually taken in a sitting room or withdrawing room where low tables (like a coffee table) were placed near sofas or chairs generally in a large withdrawing room. There are three basic types of Afternoon, or Low Tea:

Cream Tea - Tea, scones, jam and cream

Light Tea - Tea, scones and sweets

Full Tea - Tea, savories, scones, sweets and dessert

In England, the traditional time for tea was four or five o'clock and no one stayed after seven o'clock. Most tea rooms today serve tea from three to five o'clock.

Biscotti:

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 2/3 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 eggs
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 4 (1 ounce) squares white chocolate, chopped
• 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in cocoa and baking powder. Beat for 2 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Stir in flour by hand. Mix in white chocolate and chocolate chips. Cover dough, and chill for about 10 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Divide dough into two parts, and roll each part into a 9 inch long log. Place logs on lightly greased cookie sheet, about 4 inches apart. Flatten slightly.
3. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool on cookie sheet for 5 minutes, then carefully transfer to a wire rack to cool for one hour.
4. Cut each loaf into 1/2 inch wide diagonal slices. Place slices on an ungreased cookie sheet, and bake at 325 degrees F ( 165 degrees C) for 9 minutes. Turn cookies over, and bake for 7 to 9 minutes. Cool completely, then store in an airtight container.

Day 34/365 - 2010

Meet Buffalo Bill “Cody”, Cody will be 2 years old this April and is a Beagle!

Well when I lost my Beagle Lily, at the age of 18 ½ years I told John I could never have another Beagle as no other dog would ever live up to her. Well I have to tell you my heart was so broken when I lost her, I could not imagine my life without this beautiful creature in it especially since she graced me with it for so long. And Skippy her partner was also heart broken I started losing him as well on the day she died.

Just for the heck of it one day at work I opened up the Beagle Rescue page and was going through it and saw this happy face puppy named Ollie. Well my fingers just automatically started typing a letter to the rescue asking if he was available and I got a letter back the next day saying yes and off to Sacramento we went to meet this little guy.

Cody was surrendered to a local shelter at the age of 9 weeks, the owners had only had him for a week. I was told it was because the owners were in the military and they were deployed to Iraq, but why would you even think of adopting a dog if you knew you were going to be deployed….. I figured it was because he was a Beagle and they can be a bit of a handful. Well when I met Cody that proved to be true! He lived in a Foster Home with 4 other dogs and two lively young boys, all of which had a lot of energy. When I picked him up he tried to bite me. His Foster Mom said they had inquiries as he was as cute as can be but when they came to meet Cody they just did not click his energy was just to high. Well it had been a long time since I had a puppy in the house, Presley was the closest thing she was 1 when I got her the year before. But we took Cody out to meet with everyone and he seemed to like the whole gang so I said yes I would take him and off we went.

He is a handful I have to tell you, a typical Beagle and a typical young boy. He loves to speed around the house when the urge hits him and then just spins and spins. He has calmed down quite a bit since I first met him and loves people now, the only reason he did not let me pick him up when we first met is he had a bad flea infection and it hurt him so once I cleared that up he was just fine I have never had a problem with him with people or dogs. He loves to howl especially when he see a squirrel, which sets Presley off and then I get stereo howling! He is a sweet boy and loves to play with just about anything so I have to mind where I put anything down, his most recent acquisition were my house keys, I looked and looked for them for days and blamed John for misplacing them when one day out comes Cody from his kennel with the keys!

Did he replace Lily, no, but there was a new open spot in my heart which he soon filled :)

Day 33/365 - 2010

Meet Sophie aka “Snow Pea” Sophie is 3 years old and a Chihuahua Terrier Mix

We were celebrating Cory’s 1^st year with us and we took the gang for a walk around the neighborhood. All of a sudden this little dog ran past us and toward an open field. There were some people outside that asked us did we know who that dog belongs to she has been hanging around for a few days now. So the poor little thing was running around in the street and I was afraid she would get run over by a car, so the chase began. John took the rest of the crew back to the house and I started to track her, and she was a fast one that is for sure. We tracked her for 5 blocks and finally we cornered her in someone’s yard. The owner of the house where Sophie was hiding came out to see what the heck these crazy people were doing in his yard so we explained and he let us in so we could try and nab Sophie. We found her huddled behind a big garbage can and I think she just gave up and let me go over and pick her up. She was tiny, flea ridden and very very hungry. We walked around the neighborhood with her for a while asking people if they knew who she belonged to, and no one knew. We took her to the local emergency Vet to see if she had a micro ID chip in her and nothing. They however were kind enough to give us flea medicine for her as the fleas were just jumping off of her. So we took her home and gave her a flea bath, several times, gave her to plates of food which she happily ate and put her to bed for the night in one of our kennels.

Now outside there was great curiosity, all the dogs came sniffing around the door trying to see who is this new creature mom and dad have brought home. That night I tried to talk John into keeping her and he said no, no, no. We have enough dogs we do not need another tomorrow we take her to the shelter. So morning came and I went and got her, I had named her Sophie by then, this time she happily came out of the kennel and cuddled on my lap. So the time came and off we went to the shelter to turn her in. John assured me the shelter was a no kill shelter and she would be fine someone would come and adopt her. So we filled out the paperwork and they pretty much had to pry her out of my arms, as we were completing the paperwork one of the shelter volunteers happened to mention that Sophie would be transferred to animal control in the morning as the shelter only accepted dogs from a specific area, well animal control is a kill shelter and they would only keep her 10 and if she was not adopted or claimed in that time she would be put down. So the tears started flowing and John looked at me and said we want her back please. So since we had just signed the paperwork they tore it up and told us that we could keep her but if someone came looking for her we had to give her back, which was fine. However, if within 10 days no one came then we could either keep her or return her to the shelter. Well no one came and we did not return her to the shelter.

John said this is not the dog he would have chosen for him self (remember he wanted a German Short Hair Pointer) but this is the dog that was chosen for him, and now he cannot imagine life with out little Sophie. She has a sweet happy personality, and when she sees someone she loves her two little front feet start tapping like crazy until you pick her up.

Sophie loves to lay in the sun, play tug of war with old socks and wrestle with the boys, (she always wins).

We are all so glad Sophie found us :)

Day 32/365 - 2010

Meet Cory. Cory is 3 years old and is a Shetland Sheepdog (Sheltie).

John had been looking for a dog of his own and he had his heart set on a German Shorthair Pointer, he had grown up with these dogs as a young lad and loved them. Well we were starting our shift at the Humane Society and we went around to all the kennels so I could see who needed a website picture. I went by to say hello to this little terrier “Angus” that I had been working with and that day he had a companion, Cory. John and I both looked at each other and could not believe that this dog was up for adoption, she was a stray and no one ever came to claim her. We took her out for a web photo and John kept mentioning what a good dog she was, so I told him you know you want a doga nd you seem to really like this one, if you feel like you connected with her then you better grab her now as I know she won’t last the day. So by the end of the photoshoot, John was in love and we welcomed Cory into the family.

At first it was a bit tricky with her, she did not get on with other dogs that well. At the time I had Skippy, Lily and Presley. Now Skip and Lily were 17 years old and even when they were young they would never hurt a fly but she attacked both of them and almost put Lily’s eye out. Then she decided to see how she would fare with Presley, well Presley is a very sweet dog and she took Cory’s snapping for a long while, but then one day she just said “Sister you have gone to far” and the next thing I knew she had Cory on her back and I had to pull Presley off. Well needless to say Cory knew her place in the pack was not number 1 and from then on she started to assimilate into the family. Sometimes it just takes time and patience, something a lot of people that adopt don’t have and that is why so many dogs are returned to the shelters. It is a slow process and takes a great deal of commitment.

Cory is another “A” student, as a matter of fact she aced her training class and came out #1. She is now a docile sweet dog. It is lucky we live on the west coast, as Cory hates snow, skis, snowboards, etc. We don’t know why but she starts barking like crazy when anyone walks by with skis or snowboards. Snow I can understand, the poor little girl has these teeny tiny legs and a big body so when she walks in the snow she sinks right in and all we see is this little ball of fluff sunken in the snow.

Well that is it about Cory other then we call her our Supermodel as it is really hard to get a bad photo of this pretty girl.

Day 31/365 - 2010

Meet Presley. Presley is 4 years old and a Black and Tan Coonhound

I had to use the old squirrel in the tree ploy to get her to sit still and pose for me so if you are wondering what she is looking at....... She could do this for hours by the way so if I want her to stay quiet for a while I keep telling her to look for Mr. Squirrel.

I got Presley 3 years ago, I first saw her as I was ending my shift at the kennel and went to say goodbye to all the dogs. She had just been put in the kennel and put up for adoption, she was huddled in the back of the kennel shaking like a leaf. I went in and she buried her head in the corner so I talked to her for a while and then leashed her and took her out for the whole walk she had her tail between her legs. She reminded me of my little Beagle Lily when I first met her. When I went home I just kept thinking about her but I figured she is so pretty someone will surely adopt her today. I went back Monday for a training class we do with the shelter dogs and as it turned out the Behavior Manager was sick and the class was canceled, so I thought I would take a look to see if she was still there and sure enough she was. I happened to have my two beagles Skippy and Lily with me and I brought them in to see what they thought, well everyone fell in love and she came home with us that night.

As soon as I got her home she knew she was home. She is the smartest dog I have ever trained she picks up anything I teach her within minutes. In the morning she jumps on my bed everyday around 5 a.m. and lays on her back and wants to be petted. When I get home at night she jumps on her hind legs and gives me a big bear hug.

She is my best girlfriend:)

Day 29/365 - 2010

If you are still hanging on to a dead dream of yesterday, laying flowers on its grave by the hour; you cannot be planting the seeds for a new dream to grow today.

Quote from: Joyce Chapman

Day 28/365 - 2010

Finally a nice day yesterday so I opened up all the windows in the kitchen and took this photo, reminds me of sherbet!

Quote of the day::
“There are only three ages for women in Hollywood - Babe, District Attorney, and Driving Miss Daisy”
Goldie Hawn

Day 27/365 - 2010

"The calla lilies are in bloom again. Such a strange flower, suitable to any occasion" , Katherine Hepburn - From the movie Stage Door (1937)

Day 26/365 - 2010

“You can complain because roses have thorns, or you can rejoice because thorns have roses”

Day 25/365 -2010

Sonny and Cher, 4 weeks ago I could not even come within 5 feet of these two and now I can stick the camera in their face without a blink! On their way to happy homes, lets keep our fingers crossed.

Day 24/365 - 2010

We are back to my friend the carnation. This time I turned the whole photo B&W and hand colored it. I like the softness of the photo, it turned out looking very vintage to me which is something I am trying to learn to do. Some of the people out there are such masters at this technique but I think I still need a bit more practice.

Definitions of: carnation

Definition: The natural color of flesh; rosy pink.

Definition: Those parts of a picture in which the human body or any part of it is represented in full color; the flesh tints.

Definition: A species of Dianthus (Dianthus Caryophyllus) or pink, having very beautiful flowers of various colors, esp. white and usually a rich, spicy scent.

Day 23/365 - 2010

Well another rainy day project, I re-worked the carnations I bought a few weeks back, using desaturated color. Someone mentioned the colors in my photos are very rich, and this is not the first time someone has said that to me. I guess yes they are, my eye tends to love rich colors, maybe it is because I was born in the Mediterranean and it is part of my DNA. Well anyway today I am going to see with a different eye and try de-saturing my color see what it does for my soul.

Albert Szent-Gyorgyi
Discovery consists of looking at the same thing as everyone else and thinking something different.

Day 22/365 - 2010

I leaf you this Friday with another rainy day photo from No. California. Stay dry all :)