Be Back Soon

Hi All,

We are going off the grid for a week and a half.

Be back in time to join in with all the Christmas celebrations!

Be safe!

See you soon!

Shopping Around the World - Potatoes

Today we join Phenny in shopping around the world. We seem to post on the wrong day, so we hope this is the right one!

Our potato disk is the Man's famous latkes. This is how you make them. 

First: Peel potatoes

Then decide that isn't enough for 12 people and peel more. 

Get some zucchini and onion (we didn't get a picture of the onion)

Put the potato, zucchini and onion through the food processor (or you can grate/chop by hand, but that is a lot of work, we have done it!)

In a bowl add eggs, flour (not pictured here)

and spices of your choice. 

It will look a lot like this. It is important to squeeze the extra liquid out of these. Potatoes have a lot of water in them!

Shape into a patty and deep fry. This can also be done in a frying pan if you don't have a deep fryer. 

Serve with sour cream or apple sauce.

Estimate price for latkes for 12 people in Canadian Dollars:

Eggs: $3

Potatoes: $8

Onions: $5

Gluten Free Flour: a few dollars

Spices from home - unsure

Under $20 Canadian or $15 US or $13 Euro.

Thanks-Blogville

Today was join Jakey, Arty and Rosy in the Thanks-Blogville Blog Hop.

Blogville has allowed us to connect with people from all over the world. People from different walks of life, with different beliefs, cultures and traditions. These are people we would not have had the opportunity to meet in other circles. We are all brought together by the love of animals and the place they have in our lives and hearts. We share our joys, pains and laughter. Blogville is always around when we need support. Blogville never rolls their eyes when we share 'another' dog picture. Blogville teaches us a lot about being a pet owner. 

We are thankful for all the love and understanding we have found in Blogville.

Lady is thankful Blogville gives her an excuse to travel to places she wouldn't.

Happy Thanksgiving to all our American friends. 

Wordless Wednesday - Hanukkah'ed Out

Let's Get The Holidays Started!

On the weekend we had our annual Hanukkah themed holiday party. (No we are not Jewish and yes we know Hanukkah starts December 12 this year, but this was the weekend that this party worked for us).

Uncle Chris brought us some Hanukkah gifts!  Check out his cool holiday suit! 

Zaphod taking the first one

Hailey waiting for hers while Emma jumps up with Phod's new inside ball

Emma taking hers

Emma later killed one of them. We are calling that one hers. What are we going to do when she is here for 6 months?

We can't wait for Christmas! 

Mischief Monday - Photobomb

Can't let the kids be centre of attention! 

Snuggly Selfie Sunday - Phod

Caturday Art- Pancake Portraits

Sunday is pancake day in our house. A couple weeks ago the Man make Lady 'Hailey and Zaphod' pancakes using blueberries. Can you tell who is who?

This

This was last week.  This hung around about that amount for a few days.

This is now gone but they are calling for 5-10 cm (2-7 inches) tomorrow with rain.

Good thing Lady got her snow tires yesterday!

Thankful Thursday

Angels Loki and Gemini use to snuggle all the time. While Phod and Lee are friends, they aren't snuggly and they rarely even sleep close to each other. This is a rare picture of them being so close together and to not be begging for food. While I wish they were more snuggly, I am just grateful they are friends.

Wordless Wednesday - Supervising Lady's Physio Exercises

A Visit To One Of My Favourite Places

I have spoken about Big Sky Ranch Animal Sanctuary before. It is a wonderful 'farm' where several of my adult clients (who have autism) volunteer a couple times a week.  They do the farm work that is required to keep the animals safe and healthy.

The farm is getting ready for winter so the animals are moving inside. During my visit last week, one of our jobs (and this included me) was to catch ducks and chickens and put them in a coop. Someone had accidentally let them out, and the birds would either freeze or become coyote food. 

Now I am a country girl, but I am NOT a farm girl. The catching part was not something I was willing to do, especially after a duck splashed mud all up my face. (Being dirty is something that is very stressful for me.) I was more willing to chase and corner the birds so someone else could catch them. I managed to herd two ducks into the coop and went through the deep woods to flush the chickens out. The job coach for my clients is very skilled at scooping the birds up. She did an excellent job, while I ran around and the clients laughed at us. 

Unfortunately, because I was working, I wasn't able to get pictures of the bird chase, I did get a few other pictures to share. 

Diesel the Llama

A new arrival cat. My clients were responsible for cleaning her cage.

I was started when the cow started licking the window of the cat room! 

Two roosters. They were fighting before they were caught.

Feeding the goats

This cat things she owns the place and is on one of my client's snack bag

Sheep - Mom, Dad, I feed the one with the black face.

Mischief Monday - Warning!

Beware - the pre-holiday toy cull has happened at our house. It will likely make it's way to yours soon. 

Sleepy Sunday

This mat by the tub is currently one of Phod's favourite places to sleep. 

Lest We Forget

Borrowed From the Internet

Today I send my heart-felt gratitude to those past and present, who have sacrificed or been willing to sacrifice their lives to make the world a better place. It isn't a perfect place, and the times are uncertain, but their willingness to stand up to evil allows me many freedoms I would not have if they had hidden from danger.

May their sacrifices both at home and on the front provide us the courage and inspiration we need in the face of the current evils. 

Sincerely, sister-in-law, granddaughter, great-granddaughter of Canadian/British Force Members

Goofy Boy

Phod has been full of beans this past week. He has been very playful. The other day he wanted into the toy box and then spent time with his head in it. What a silly boy! 

I Couldn't Believe It

I was window shopping in Winners (think Marshalls or TJ Max American friends, as they are owned by the same parent company) last weekend before seeing a movie. As always, I spent some time in the pet section.

There I spotted this cute little couch for a furry friend. I thought my spoiled dogs may love that.

Then I looked at the price tag. I should have taken a picture of it. This cute little couch was $225 Canadian dollars before tax. Marked down from $350. The ticket price was about $180 US, $230 Australian Dollars, or $152 Euros! I could not believe it.

Needless to say that I didn't purchase this couch. For that kind of money I could almost buy them a human sized one!

Would you spend that much on a pet bed?

Wordless Wednesday - Play Time

Winter Is Coming - by Hailey

As you all know I have an anxiety disorder. Lady tells people I am a little crazy, but I am not crazy. She is crazy for not realizing that fireworks, wind and thunder are likely going to kill us all!      

                                                                          

Because I have a history of being very destructive (I have only put one hole in a wall, I don't see what the big deal is) and of barking all night, from April-October I have to take Prozac. (To be clear, I get my meds from the human pharmacy, it is the generic form of Prozac, the same drug humans get).

A coworker recently asked Lady why I wasn't just on an as needed med. Lady explained they had discussed this but since there are fireworks usually 5 nights a week, and you can never be 100% sure if/when a thunderstorm is coming and to be home the 2 hours before to give the meds, daily meds are best for me.

My Prozac does help. We had a record number of thunderstorms this year and I only did a little damage one day and only needed peeps to be up with me 3 nights. They were impressed.

Now is the time of year that I go off the meds.  You can't just stop them, you have to ween me off them. Lady has a schedule mapped out on the calendar. This is the only few weeks my peeps see any side effects or changes in my behaviour. I am starving all the time (which is funny cause a side effect of the meds is suppose to be hunger, but for me, they make me slow down my eating). I am also a little more excited about things, like to see my people. But as you may have seen on Friday's post, I still get to be off leash.

While I won't miss having a pill shoved down my throat every day, I will miss the cookie I get after it. I will be pill free as of next week for a few months. 

Mischief Monday - I Am Not SpiderMan -by Lady

The hand

Those who follow on Facebook saw the story.

A couple weeks ago, the Man convinced me to help him take the dogs out before bed. Usually he takes out alone. Reluctantly I went. 

I had Hailey and as we were walking off the porch it felt like there was something on my hand. I thought my sweater or watch was rubbing funny and I was shaking my hand. It was too dark to see anything. Maybe 30 seconds later, my hand started to burn. It felt like it was on fire. I handed Hailey to the Man and said I had to go in, something was wrong.

When I got to the porch, I could see 2 very distinctive bites on my left hand. I also had one that didn't burn very much on my lower back (because I happened to have an itch there as we were going out).

Our best guess is a spider bit me. My hand was red and swollen and painful. The back less so. I took a Benadryl, I iced them, I put an anti-bacterial cream on.  I broke out from head to toe in a rash and was soooo itchy, but the burning only lasted maybe 20 minutes.

To the disappointment of the Man, I did not wake up with spider powers. In the morning I was fine and the only evidence of the night before were two very small red dots on my left hand. I hope that this is the one and only time I get bitten by a spider. 

Day Lights Savings Selfie

I want my extra hour of sleep

Dona Nobis Pacem

Today I join the digital world in blogging for peace. We live in violent and uncertain times. I am sure like a lot of you, I feel exhausted when I read another headline of another hate crime.

The solutions to what ails our planet will be complex and challenging. Behaviour change is not easy. We need to find a way to put aside our differences just long enough to put down the weapons and try and work together on solving our problems. We need to look for the things that unit us instead of focusing on our differences.

May peace come in this generation.

Off Leash And Looking For Flowers - by Lee

Dear pals,

I was  excited to report that my peeps have finally realized that I can be trusted in the yard off leash. They have some pretty strict rules about the time of day and my mood before this is attempted. They say this is because I have a history of not listening and a very successful hunting record. Then on Halloween, I decided to go to the neighbours without telling Lady. Our neighbour has a dog who hates other dogs. Lady only found me because she heard me barking. So I have lost this privileges with her. I will try and get the Man to trust me as I really loved my off-leash time.

Last weekend, in the rain I went searching for flowers, but I didn't find any. I think the flower part of our year is done! I will keep looking!

Murphy, will keep an eye out for Wilson too!

Phod's Ear Update

Two weeks ago, the Man took our boy to the vet because he wouldn't stop scratching his ear. We are happy to report that the ear meds (which is he off now) and the daily Reactine  has cleared up the problem. There is no more scratching, and his ear is healed. We will be continuing to use a special solution to clean his ear twice a week. He will also stay on Reactine until at least the end of the month, where we will stop, hopefully until spring. We believe his allergies are seasonal and environmental. Of course, if he needs daily Reactine all year, he will have it.

I am laughing because after about 30 years of daily allergy meds (including like 20 years with Reactine), I am now down to half a pill once or twice a week, and now my dog may be on it daily!  Well, we have plenty as I buy it at Costco! 

We are just happy the problem is not more serious. He is happier too!

Wordless Wednesday - Out Of My Way