Cooking Competition

We had a virtual leadership offsite the last two weeks and finished it up this morning with a cooking competition on zoom.   It was really fun!  Everyone got customized aprons and wore them during the session and we cooked live.  The secret ingredient was balsamic vinegar and we were supposed to make a dessert.

I made a balsamic vinegar carmel sauce.  I drizzled it over vanilla ice cream and strawberries.  It looked pretty but I gave it a thumbs down.   It was way too strong and left a bad taste in my mouth after.

Local Produce

While sheltering in place, we have been lucky to find a local farmer who delivers his bounty right to our deck!  It is a small farm so we don't have a lot of choices but what we get is deliciously fresh.   This week I got this stalk of Brussel sprouts, carrots, a HUGE purple cabbage, zucchini, fresh onions (so good and I don't like onions) and beets.

Dog x 4

This is what the outside of the front door at the cabin looks like.  What does it mean?

It means Oakley is spending the week at Grandma and Grandpa's house.
It means we have way too many dogs.
It means our house is full of dog hair and happiness.

And I wouldn't have it any other way!

Cherry - Birthday Weekend

We took a SIP break and went camping at Cherry for my birthday weekend.  It was so nice to get out and breath some fresh air and see the natural beauty of our world.  It was way more crowded than normal and it was clear it was people who were not outdoorsy because they didn't know any of the regulations - including how far from the water line to put their tent and that there were no fires allowed.

The first night there, we had a rain, hail and windstorm.   It lasted about 4 hours and soaked everything.  Luckily we were safe and dry in our tent!  It was Astrid's first camping trip and she loved it!  She learned to swim from the shore and fetch sticks and she slept in a tent.  The pic above is of her the second night sleeping on G's bed.

We did some practicing of her commands - including this nice "up" on a rock!  And the "sit" below.

The wildflowers were amazing.  We must have seen 25 different types.   We also saw the river otter, newts, Canadian geese, mergansers and an eagle came and had breakfast with us one morning!  It actually sat on a tree right above our camp and did little screaches.

Our spot

Magic Fishing Hole

We caught about 15 fish thru the weekend.  Not a lot but enough to keep us interested.  

Magic Fishing Hole

River otter

The Ween was near the brink of death on the trip.  On Saturday afternoon, she had a seizure and her brain was scrambled the rest of the day.  She laid on the boat for about 4 hours with her eyes squinted and her mouth hanging open.   And to make matters worse, we think she ate something because she started barfing and got sicker and sicker with a stomach issue until we took her to the vet the next Wednesday.

We didn't pack well on this trip - we brought stuff for BLT's and forgot the bread and the mayo!  Luckily that dinner occurred during the rain and hail storm so Jim and I had oatmeal and G ate a bowl of top ramen and we called it dinner.

We also brought leftover pizza so for lunch one day, I sautéed some peppers and then eating the pizza in a pan in a little butter!  YUM - so good.

We played Farkle all weekend - and even Hops played a game - she came in 2nd place, while sleeping on the seat!

Hops napping after too much swimming!

Danish Dough Hook

Last week at work, a couple of workmates did a lunchtime learning session about making sourdough bread.   I have sourdough starter that I use for pancakes and waffles but have never made a loaf of bread because it seems so complex.  One of the things they taught about was about this tool that is called a Danish dough hook.  I decided I needed one and ordered it immediately.  It really works way better to stir the sourdough than a spoon does.  It is my new favorite kitchen device!

Eggs!

Tre laid eggs again!  AGAIN!  This is her 3rd cutch in about 3 months.  This one was much smaller than the others and she didn't dig as long or as aggressively.  We did think something was up because she had crazy eyes the day before.  Poor Tre has been working so hard making eggs lately.

Sad Sack

We call Hops "Tender Paws" because she literally has the most sensitive feet of any dog we have ever had, by far!  This morning she was hobbling around and we looked to see what was wrong, thinking it was nothing.  But the poor baby had cuts on her paws.  We are not sure how she got them but suspect it might have been from a rough surface from when we were out at the lake on Friday night.  Astrid has a little bit of rough spots but nothing like the sad sack!  We have to take it easy for a couple days to let her heal.

SIP Art

Based on a recommendation from my college roomie, we got some stones to paint while sheltering in place.   Grace and I thought it would be a quick project but it took about 3 hours to paint my orb and her hedge hog.  We thoroughly enjoyed the time.

We have to let them dry for an hour and then we bake them in the oven to set the paint.

Stay tuned for the final results.