Side Note on Visit !!

Friday AM, my daughter was caring for her two dogs and packing to come to Kentucky. Well, as dogs do, a spat between these two beautiful babies over which food bowl belonged to which dog, resulted in an emergency trip to the Vet.

Maybelle ended up losing her eye. She has very shallow eye sockets and Pepper's swat was dead on center. Fortunately, the Vet is only minutes away and as luck had it the Surgeon was in the house.

The journey to Kentucky was shorter and sadder, but Maybelle is doing great, only now she has a great new theme for Halloween!

It is ironic, because my wonderful daughter had just two months ago rescued a dog that only had one eye. We all fell in love with Coco! So perhaps this was God's way of preparing us for this new phase of Maybelle's life. One-eyed Maybelle will be even more of a Diva!!! I have no doubt she will continue to rule the roost!

Coming Home

There is nothing better than my Baby Girl coming home for the weekend. She is my Best Friend and her great husband adds so much love to our time together. She will bring with her, "my grand dogs and cat" , that certainly will add an element of excitement to my already animal laden house.

So let the fun begin, we are predicted to have a bunch of snow...I don't know if King Charles Cavalier Spaniels from Georgia can handle snow...we will see!!

GOOD TIMES!!

WINTER WEATHER and SNOW ANGELS

The last week has been a mix of winter's worst wrath. I am so ready for SPRING!

However, Saturday morning I awoke to find the ground covered with a beautiful white blanket of snow. The ugly gray skies were replaced with magnificant sunshine, that made my yard look like a glistening cushion of clouds.

As I do first thing every morning, I took my big old dog out for a walk. Tasha, who is a Tibetan Mastiff loves the snow. Just like a child, she finds a perfect spot rolls down to her back and methodically wiggles back and forth. It remains me of all the times, as kids, we would follow the same procedure and make "snow angels". She will continue to sprawl her 12 year old body in the snow for several minutes, then slowly push herself back up onto all fours. Once in the proper erect position she will shake with joy and send snow flakes all around. Often times, she will go down into the snow over and over again.

As we lumber back to the house, I notice the brilliant red cardinals. They are all about in the trees and on the ground, jockeying for their turns at the newly filled bird feeders. They are an amazing contrast with white..almost like a Christmas Light Bulb dancing in the snow.

So maybe just for a while, this winter wonderland is OK!

The Shoe Project

I love the fact that my daughter cares so much...she rescues any dog in trouble, she would do anything for any animal in need. Perfect example- Coco the One Eyed Wonder, now in a fantastic home because of Kalee. Thank you Pam and Tommy!!!

Currently, she is in the process of getting her Masters degree and Teaching Certificate. As a teaching moment she patterned a program for her first graders about the power of donating our resources- in this case, old shoes. She based her lesson on the book, "Running Shoes" by Frederick Lipp, which can be found here.

She developed a lesson for her class about donating and global giving. Then, she engaged the entire school in the shoe drive with the Beta kids doing the counting and tracking, the REACH students making posters and the 1st graders leading the charge by discussing the project on the school's morning new channel, GNN (the Gator News Network). All told, she collected a grand total of over 1,500 pairs of shoes!!! I am here in Georgia to rent a U Haul and help her take them to the Warehouse that will distribute the shoes to kids across the country and all of the world, most likely the shoes will go to Haiti. Gosh, it was fun tying them to gather and bagging them up. The organization that she is donating them to is Soles 4 Souls.

Her father is coming tomorrow to pull the U-Haul down to deliver the shoes... we are so proud of our Kalee.

I will post pictures tomorrow. This has been so much fun and so very rewarding.

Villa Rica ...while visiting my daughter

If you are ever in Villa Rica, please go eat at the "Blue Brick". It is amazing!! When we arrived without a reservation, it was totally packed but they made room for us at the bar. The food was amazing. For an appetizer, we had pommes de terre. They were so great. Thinly grated potatoes where deep fried with parsley, garlic, sea salt and love. Oh my gosh they were to die for....

Then I had a wonderful feta/spinach/herb quiche. It was so smooth and cooked to perfection. My son in law had the Frog Legs. They were covered in parsley and garlic butter. He loved them and my vegetarian daughter even sampled and agreed.

The next course for me was Roasted Vegetables. Wow...parsnip mashed potatoes/ broccoli with garlic and butter, asparagus, lentils, and kidney beans all accented with a pineapple salsa.

I have to say this was one of the best meals I have had in Georgia!!! Who would have ever thought. This great place is owned by a couple, the Chef is from France and his wife is from the South. The Best of Two Worlds...Southern Hospitality and fantastic French Cooking in Villa Rica Georgia...


http://www.bluebrickfrenchrestaurant.com/about.html

Sage still Fresh!!

Sometimes during the week , my husband heads to our other offices, so I am left to fend for myself. As I came into the back door I noticed I still had fresh sage. I had the makings for the perfect recipe for me without my husband.( he is a meat eater!!) This was great for me and will be fantastic for tomorrow's lunch!


Whole Wheat Gnocchi with Mushroom and Sage Sauce

1 16 oz package whole wheat gnocchi
2 tablespoons butter( I did use more)
2 tablespoons Olive Oil
12 ounces fresh mushrooms, stemmed and sliced
1/2 cup diced shallots
1 3/4 cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Cook gnocchi according to package directions and drain. Cook butter and olive oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat until the butter begins to brown, about 2 minutes. Add mushrooms and shallots and saute until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Add stock and sage, simmer until
liquid is slightly reduced, about 8 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add hot gnocchi to sauce in skillet and toss to coat. Serve with cheese sprinkled over the top.

Milk Punch for Christmas

Almost three years ago, our daughter married a great young man from Atlanta.We have learned much about the "South" since this union, it has been great fun.

We had the two of them here for a Christmas Celebration this year and they brought with them the magazine "Garden and Gun". I was looking for a Traditional Christmas Punch, but I do not like Eggnog due to the raw eggs, but as luck as it we came across an article about Martha Foose's Milk Punch.

Being good Kentuckians we love Bourbon so we gave this punch a try! Well, it was wonderful and lightened up the cooking and celebration greatly! We all highly recommend this festive drink.

Thanks Martha Foose.

Matha Foose's Milk Punch
(serves 1)
1 1/2 ounces good bourbon or brandy
2 ounces half and half
1 teaspoon superfine sugar
drop of vanilla extract
Ice cubes
Freshly grated nutmeg

Combine the bourbon, half and half, sugar, and vanilla in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake thoroughly until the mixture is cold and frothy. Strain into a highball glass filled with ice. Top with a grating of nutmeg.

I actually had my son in law make this in batches and put it in my Mother's antique punch bowl. We served it in the bright red fosteria glasses that I saved from my Mom's yard sale pile.
It was so festive. I think this will be a Christmas Tradition in our house.

**Recipe from "Screen Doors and Sweet Tea"