Bitter Apple

Thanks to the folks who make Bitter Apple ! Bella no longer bites toes !

She's just 8 weeks and we've had her for a little less than a week, and already she's sitting on command for treats.

When she's not sleeping or eating, she's still a rambunctious bundle of energy, but this is progress !

Good girl Baby Bella.



Spring is Bustin' out all Over

The first crocuses have pushed up through the mulch....

it will be spring before we know it.

Linus enjoying a warm sunny afternoon rolling in the grass

Ready for my Spring Batch of Chicks and Ducklings

Our new and improved yard is all ready for my new batch of chicks due the week of February 21st. 

 Coop newly repainted....

Brand new duck house made from an old dog house and painted to match...

 Lean-to shelter for them for when its rainy...

and 1600 square feet of covered yard for them to roam and look for bugs !

Delirious

I'm excited to start my next book, Delirious by Daniel Palmer. He is the son of Michael Palmer who writes medical thrillers, but this book seem to be a general thriller about a regular guy getting caught up in something, and got great reviews.

It just came out on February 1st.  I'll keep you updated as I get further into it.

Update:  good page turned.  Perfect for reading in bed !

Say Hello to Bella

Say hello to Bella, our 7-week old German Shepherd.  We just got her yesterday.  With a dozen chicks arriving the week after next, we thought it would be fun to add a brand new puppy into the mix also !

Are we nuts !?!?!?



Well this is my first official post since the blog went live. I hope that I have enough fun, informative and interesting things to talk about so you keep visiting my blog !

The Power of Three

by Laura Lippman

Rating: Highly Recommended

This is the first time for me reading something by Laura Lippman.  I really enjoyed this murder mystery, finding it strangely compelling, written in the style of Jodi Picoult or Elizabeth Berg.

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I am about halfway through Julia's Chocolates by Cathy Lamb. Thoroughly enjoyable.  Quirky, a bit of romance, but with a serious note thrown in.  Good reading in front of the fireplace with a cup of hot tea !

I guess today will be the day to recommend amazing products. I have found two that I absolutely love  that I want to share.  First is Marvis Jasmin Mint Toothpaste that I found on drugstore.com has a great taste and keeps my teeth white. 

and the second one is One Vanilla Almond Custard body lotion from Target.  This stuff smells heavenly and goes on so smoothly.

It's just starting to get light out so I guess its time to go down and feed everyone. I also want to get the door on the duck house this morning.  I will post photos once that's done.

February To-Do List

Self-explanatory....

Cinnamon Vanilla Bread

CINNAMON VANILLA BREAD

Add 2 T. of sugar, 2 T. vanilla bean paste and 1T cinnamon to a regular white bread machine mix. Comes out yummy, slightly sweet with a nice vanilla taste accented with cinnamon.

Speaking of vanilla bean paste, if you are still using imitation vanilla extract - STOP !!! Once you try vanilla bean paste, you will never use anything else. It even has the flecks like in quality vanilla icecream. The taste is out of this world !

You can get it online from Amazon, King Arthur Flour or at any Williams-Sonoma store.

Building Projects

Despite cold temps, I managed to get a good start on converting our old dog house into a duck house.

I painted it barn red to match my newly repainted chicken coop.

And I now have confirmation that my order of 12 baby chicks will arrive the week of February 21st ! I'm very excited about that.

Now I need to work on my duck order. I think I will get three ducklings in April once the chicks are grown and in the coop with the others.

Tomato Pie

Tomato Pie

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2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

2 sticks unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1/4 cup ice water

3 large ripe tomatoes, sliced thick and sprinkled with salt in colander

4 slices bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled

Handful of fresh basil leaves, julienned

2 cups grated cheese blend (mozzarella, provolone, parmesan, cheddar, etc)

1/2 cup mayonaisse

Salt and pepper to taste

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Combine flour, salt, sugar and butter in food processor. Pulse until blended. Add ice water in slow steady stream pulsing just until dough holds together, about 30 seconds. Flatten dough into disc, wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least one hour.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Roll out dough and pat onto bottom and sides of tart pan. Bake crust for five minutes, then remove from oven and reduce heat to 400 degrees.

Arrange tomato slices over crust, sprinkle with bacon and basil. Mix cheese and mayo in small bowl and spread over tomatoes. Salt and pepper. Bake pie 30 minutes or until top is browned and bubbly.

~recipe courtesy Carla Stashis Hagen~