A wedding at the Ritz

We went to Jim's cousin's wedding at the Ritz Carlton this weekend. You can put the dorks at the fanciest hotel around.....but you can't make them act like adults!

Asiago Dip

This is a great dip!

1 cup light mayo
½ cup thinly sliced onions (I do not use onions)
1/3 cup grated asiago cheese (can use parmesan but I don’t think it is as good)
¼ cup sliced mushrooms
¼ cup sun dried tomatoes chopped (I use the kind in oil)
1 8-ounce carton of lowfat sour cream

Mix all ingredients. Sprinkle about 1 tablespoon of asiago over the top and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.
Serve with French or sourdough bread squares or crostini.

Is she adjusting?

Here is what the dogs looked like at dinner tonite. Ahi is still adjusting but so far, so good.

Getting ready

Jim has been spending every free second getting ready for crabbing. Here is one of the many crab pots he has put together. See those orange things on Jim's head? Those are new doors that he is testing for someone. The came in a box in pieces and then he used stinky glue to put them together - made the garage smell like skunk for days. Anyway, the theory is that crabs don't like to climb and with these doors, they don't have to. But some people don't think they hold the crabs in....Jim is going to use both types of pots and report back to the "door man" with the results.

Happy Anniversary

Just in case you were just starting to think, wow....Chris and Jim aren't that old....this will change your mind: Today is our 18th wedding anniversary! Eighteen years of wedded bliss! Honestly, I have to keep him as a husband because:

He is the only man on this earth who says: "No chickens!" and then comes home from work at nite and says "how were the ladies today".

He is the only man who I can trust to not want another dog and within a week of getting one, say, "she is really cute."

He is the only man who will stay during a party with all my girlfriends and get drinks for them.

He is just a plain old good guy....very worthy of hanging out with for the next 18 years!

You won't believe this!

I was talking with a neighbor yesterday who told me that one of the mail carriers who delivers to our house harrasses Daisy Mae by standing on the lawn and waving his arms and jumping around while looking in the window at her! And last week he was on his hands and knees tormenting her from the front yard. My neighbor said Daisy goes crazy - running from window to window!!!

We were FURIOUS when we heard this! I respect the mail carriers by keeping my dog inside when they are delivering mail....they should respect my dog by not tormenting her from her own front yard!

So I called the mail carrier's manager today and gave him the details. I told him if it does not stop we will be videotaping him and I assured him he did not want a video tape of this type of behavior as I am sure it would make it onto youtube.

I work here?

There was a whole discussion over an email alias today about the best place in the bay area to get tattoos. And I am NOT kidding.

Day 2

So, Ahi has only been with us for about 24 hours and she has made quite a bit of progress but has a looooong way to go! She is such a nervous nelly! She slept with Drew on the couch for an hour last nite then snuggled with him again this morning, only to bark at him 10 minutes later when he walked down the stairs. It was like she never saw him before.

She is most afraid of Jim and most comfortable with me. I posted this pic of Jim and her and Daisy to show you the size difference. Don't worry that Jim looks half dead - he is - he has a bad cold. And just woke up. Daisy is doing well with her - she does her normal behavior of ignoring her.

Ahi Wasabi

Our new family member has arrived. This is Ahi. She is about 6 months old.

Daisy and Ahi seem to get a long fine. No aggression at all from either of them. They seem interested in each other on and off.

Ahi is very scared as she was just rescued from the shelter last Thursday, fostered for 3 days with an older woman (and her 6 chihuahuas - that is a whole other story!), and then spayed yesterday! So it has been a rough week for her. I plan to give her a couple days to get adjusted and heal from her surgery and then its training drill Sergeant time!

She has been hanging out with me in my office - she is in a crate. She is happy as long as I don't leave the room. I hope this all goes ok! Stay tuned.

Pure labrador joy!

I put a peanut butter sandwich in Daisy's kong and she spent 5 minutes trying to get it all out. Most of it was on her back using her paws like hands.

What is an Ahi?

A. A type of tuna
B. A sushi roll
C. A Japanese sneeze
D. A chihuahua/weiner dog mix that we just adopted

The answer is A and D!

Her name is Ahi Wasabi - That means hot tuna doggie! She is getting spayed on Monday, so we won't actually have her until Tuesday. She is a cute little thing and we can't wait to introduce her to our home and family. Pics to come later in the week.

Antelope dinner

Jim was so proud of his antelope dinner that he took pics. I was disgusted by the meat - it smelled horrific! But the rest of it, which Drew and I made, was delicious....broccoli, harvest grains with carrots, pasta with garlic and olive oil and tomatoes with marinated mozzarella and balsamic vinegar.

Rock Slide in Yosemite

SCARY... I often think of this while ice skating in Curry Village.


(10-08) 12:30 PDT YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK -- The Curry Village resort in Yosemite National Park was ordered evacuated today after the second rock slide in two days struck cabins, knocked down trees and sent plumes of dust into the air.

Two children suffered cuts and other minor injuries, a park paramedic said.

All occupants of the more than 600 tent and wooden cabins and a small, hotel-style building at Curry Village have been evacuated as a precaution, according to a hotel clerk.
The slide occurred shortly before 7 a.m. and sent boulders into the area near the village amphitheater, witnesses said.

"I heard a huge rumbling," said Dennis Steffen, who works at the nearby Yosemite Stables. "It echoed through the whole valley. You could feel it. A huge plume of dust went up."

Curry Village, founded in 1899, includes the most modestly priced accommodations in Yosemite Valley. It has 427 tent cabins and 180 cabins with baths, along with communal facilities, restaurants and shops. It is located in the eastern end of the valley.

On Tuesday afternoon, another rock slide struck the same area. No one was injured in that slide, which reportedly struck only an unoccupied tent cabin. Part of Curry Village was ordered evacuated afterward.

In July 1996, a slab of granite weighing as much as 162,000 tons broke loose from Glacier Point and plummeted onto the Happy Isles area about a mile east of Curry Village. The massive blast of air caused by the rockfall knocked over 500 trees, one of which killed a 20-year-old man from Southern California who was near an ice cream stand. Four other people were injured, including a woman who was left paralyzed.

Tom Trujillo of New Milford, Conn., who was attending photography classes at Yosemite Institute, told the Associated Press that he had seen today's rock slide.

"Trees were crushed all over the place," he said. "It was a really big mess. Tents were crushed, trees were knocked down, hard cabins were moved out of their positions, with boulders blocking their doorway."

Carol McElligott, a clerk at the Ansel Adams Gallery in Yosemite Village, told The Chronicle that the sound of the slide was a "very loud rumble and it went on and on and on." The dust cloud rose hundreds of feet in the air, she said, and was still visible nearly four hours later.

"Mother Nature owns this park," McElligott said, "and she changes it all the time."

Home Home on the Range....

This is the song I sang last nite during dinner. I changed the versions every so often, but you get the idea:

Oh, give me a home where the buffalo roam
And the deer and the antelope don't play

Where seldom is heard a suffering word
And the bbqs are not smokey all day

Home, home on the range
Where the deer and the antelope can't play

Because antelope is crispy
And the deer are left lonely all day

Dinner???

Me….the vegetarian….went out to the kitchen at lunchtime to fix something to eat….

Only to see that my husband….the carnivore….has taken antelope out of the freezer for dinner!

Antelope?@?@?@

Who in the world eats antelope???? And why is it in my house?????

ICK!!!!!

Random Thoughts

It has been a while since I have posted random thoughts. I think I have been too busy to ponder random thoughts...but I had a thought this morning....

There are two things that I have been really enjoying lately:

* Steel cut oatmeal
* "Three Cups of Tea" by Greg Mortenson

They are not related at all, so don't try to find the link.

Steel cut oatmeal is also known as Irish oatmeal and it is way less processed that our Quaker Oats oatmeal. That means it is really "meaty" and has a nutty flavor. Grace says that it tastes like rice if you don't put brown sugar on it! Anyway, I eat if for breakfast with golden raisins, brown sugar and walnuts. It is really yummy - you should try it! I buy it at Trader Joes. I have also seen it at Nob Hill - but it was way more expensive.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steel-cut_oats

"Three Cups of Tea" is a book about an amazing American who built schools in Pakistan. The book not only gives you a better understanding of that part of the world but it also highlights the good in people and the similarities of people regardless of your location, religion or ethnic background. "Three Cups of Tea", refers to: the first cup of tea with someone - you are a guest, the second cup of tea - you are a friend, the third cup of tea - you are family. Nice way to look at life.

Team Pic

Here is a pic of Drew's soccer team.

Grandpa Tom bird

When we were in San Diego, this is what we called the Grandpa Tom bird, because he looked very grumpy!

San Diego Birthday Weekend

Grace and I are back from our girls weekend in San Diego to celebrate her 9th birthday! We had a wonderfully, quiet, blissful time! That means there were no fighting kids and older brother drama! Here are the highlights:

* Went to Old Town San Diego and had lunch, made a candle and took a horse and carriage ride. Turns out that the buggy driver worked in Yosemite for years as a teenager. So we talked about the Iron Door Saloon!

* Went to Legoland. Enjoyed the mini lego cities. Had some drama when a 10 year old girl with obvious behavioral issues got onto a tour boat for lego cities and she tried to jump off! We waiting for 10 minutes for her to calm down, reseated her in the back of the boat and tried again....nope! She tried to jump off again. So the poor thing had to be hauled off kicking a screaming. Very sad.

* Went to Wild Animal Park and took a photo safari. This meant we went in the back of a safari truck to to see the animals close up! What a thrill it was to feed giraffes! And we got quite a kick out of the ostriches - which are like giant grumpy chickens!

* The last day was a quiet day. We went for a long walk on the beach and did some swimming.

All in all a great way to spend a birthday!

No Otis for us!

Just got word that Otis went to another home. Too bad for him because he would have been one lucky dog to live with us. But as wise men say....it was not meant to be.