Of the same kinds, class, or nature

I haven’t posted anything personal on here in forever but I still remember posting on LJ in 2006 when we welcomed puppy Sam into our family, so for anyone still around, I wanted to share that yesterday we lost Sam at 13 1/2. She lived an extraordinary life full of adventure and we had 13 1/2 years with her but it still wasn’t enough time. It was unexpected and I’m grieving very deeply. Thankfully we still have her stinky little sister Pippa and in 2018 we added another amazing dog, Ruby, to our family, and they are helping us cope. We were so lucky to have had her and our lives are more empty without her.

Sam's Fifth Birthday was two weeks ago! This year she got some toys and a whole sweet pototo for dinner(she LOVES sweet potatoes, and really, all root vegetables)!

( A history of Sam and her birthday hat in pictures!! )

We went to the dog park FOUR times! We took six walks! We mulched and weeded our yard! We read outside! Watched a little TV! Grilled! I made mini cookies! It was just really really great and relaxing.

Sam also had a fantastic weekend with all the walks and the trips and the hanging outside. She is exhausted now! She got SUPER muddy at the dog park this morning so she got a bath and she is now super fluffy!

( Pictures of Sam )

(this is what I get for going upstairs to change - I was out of the room for less than 5 minutes!)

smittywing and wojelah were here for the weekend and they let me cook for them! wojelah brought the woj pups, and Sam had a good weekend with her friends!

I got to cook a LOT this weekend.

On Friday night we had:

(1) Lemon Orzo (from Giada's kitchen)
(2) Dijon Pork Palliard
(3) Roasted Ricotta Roma Tomatoes
(4) Chocolate Strawberry Shortcakes (I used the shortcake from the first, the strawberry from the second.)
(5) Chocolate Chip Cookies

Saturday:
(1) Barbecue Chicken.
(2) Potato Salad
(3) Barbecue Baked Beans
(4) Deviled Eggs
(5) Fruit Salad
(6) Chocolate Strawberry Shortcake

I also made a Sweet Cherry Pie for Andy for when he comes home tomorrow.

( Pictures - Food )

( Pictures - Dogs )

It's been a week since I posted! So odd! But I come bearing pictures of Sam and food!

I have had a good week - my mouth is almost fully healed, I get the stitches out in about a week. I'm still a little swollen in the upper lip, and it's a little uncomfortable, but I'm getting better.

Catching up on the things I cooked pictures below. :-)

Happy Puppy!



( More Pictures )

I have a ton of pictures of various things I want to post, but I figure I should start with this weekend and work my way backwards.

Friday - I worked until 10 p.m., which kinda sucked, but you know. It happens.

Saturday - Ran errands in the morning, and then we put a hat on Sam and gave her birthday treat and present as my baby turned THREE this week. Can you believe it? My little puppy is three. We got her a little dog cookie shaped liked a cupcake and a new bone. She was NOT a fan of the hat.



( Pictures of Sam )

In the afternoon I tried to find a baking supply shop and got really lost, and then I made Bolognese Sauce, Homemade Orange Julius, and the Lemon Curd and cake portions of this fantastic Lemon Cake with Lemon Cream Frosting. (Pictures below)

Sunday - Today I got a smittywing!!! In the early afternoon I did some chores around the house and watched the Ugly Betty season finale (DISAPPOINTING!) and then Smitty came! Sam was THRILLED. Sam LOVES Smitty. Smitty has dog sat for Sam several times, and really, they just have a bond. Smitty and I ran to the nursery and I got some plants, and then we went to Target and did some clothing shopping. We also watched trailers for new shows (Eastwick looks HORRIBLE) and then she stuck around for dinner.


The finished cake! The recipe suggested garnishing with candied violets. I think the lemons looked quite nice!

( Pictures of Food )

Also, I just have to point out how awesome the flowers on the front of my house look. My Karl Rosenfeld peonies are AMAZING.



(there were going to be more pictures, but then I realized I wasn't locking this post, so those will come later!)

I didn't have a lot of time to cook over the weekend because of work, but I did make the Barefoot Contessa's Roasted Leek and Potato Soup and it is VERY good. We're going to freeze the rest of it for later. :-)

We got a bunch of snow today. My office wasn't closed, but I only worked from about 10 - 6:00 p.m., so not a crazy day.

When I got home, we had a fun time playing in the snow with Sam!


( Pictures! )

Things I cooked this weekend (and a few from the week)
(1) Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting
(2) Chicken and Roasted Garlic Pizza with Whole Wheat Crust
(3) Potato Skins
(4) Crispy Panko Chicken
(5) Spaghetti and Meatballs
(6) there would have been other cupcakes here, but they were dry and I didn't feel like doing another batch.
(7) There was also the failed attempt at kitchen stock (too much water, not enough good stuff)

Things I did:
(1) Watched a few episodes of NCIS
(2) Cleaned out my pantry and fridge! It was awesome
(3) cooked a bunch
(4) Watched the first episode of Mistresses (liked it!)
(5) Am watching the Oscars
(6) Watched BSG, Leverage, Burn Notice, and Psych.



( Pictures )

Weekend Cooking - Halloween Cookies, Apple and Sausage Stuffing, Pumpkin Puree, and the starting of Stuffed Mushrooms.

The cookies were part of my Bake the Book! Challenge - they weren't in alphabetical order, but I really wanted to make them. I think Bake the Book might have to start up for real after the holidays.

I'm having a dinner party next weekend and I wanted to get a start (and test out the stuffing!) I didn't actually finish what I wanted, but I got a lot of stuff chopped.

Sam kept getting in the way while I was flouring the counter and the rolling pin!


( More Pictures! )