Quite a few good books found their way to my bedside table this month; “Training the Hard to Train Dog” by Peggy Swager.  Her use of positive training has really been a help with Brandi and our days together.  The book is filled with clear and concise instruction and wonderful photographs displaying the training points.  I definitely give this book two thumbs up…if I were from a another world and had more thumbs the book would get those as well!  :)

I have joined the legion of the Twilight fans, but not because of the first book in the series.  I actually was rather disappointed with that one, but adore “New Moon”.  I now understand all the ‘Team Jacob’ and ‘Team Edward’ tee shirts I’ve been seeing everywhere.  I may just put the series on my Solstice wish list.  I have the next 2 on hold at the local public library, Parmly BIllings Library. Unlike many people I’ve asked, I just adored the first film and can’t wait for the second…it may warrant a baby sitter.

“Thanks For the Memories”, by Cecelia Ahern was a recommendation by my BFF The Divine Miss E and am I grateful she told me about it.   It is a book best curled up with on a cold and dreary eve…hot cider close by and perhaps some pumpkin muffins too.

Anyone care to recommend a good read….as November is wide open and eager for some page turners.  :)

I have a secret addiction…well, not really secret at all…I adore barbecue.  I could happily, most joyfully live on chocolate chip cookies and barbecue.  My most favorite has to be pulled pork sandwiches, heaven on a roll!  

Yesterday I slow cooked home made, from scratch Memphis style barbecue sauce from the Neely’s cook book.

Can we just say, DELICIOUS!  I could eat the sauce like soup its so good.  I slow cooked a pork ‘Boston’cut roast and today we shall reap the rewards of patience, slow cooking, and good old Southern barbecue…while it snows outside in the Big Sky State!

 My Brand New ‘Birdie Bag’

I’m smitten with my new bag!  It’s fairly large, but not so slouchy and roomy I lose everything I own to its depths.  Which has been known to happen with other bags…bags that we’re broken up with and sent packing!  I ‘m also rather fond of the fabric, fun elephants and polka dots.  Really, whats not to love?

Parmesan and Basil Waffles with heirloom tomatoes and Creamy Goat Cheese Sauce

During my latest visit to Barnes and Noble I found a delightful little cook book,  “Perfect Waffles: delicious, easy, and fun to make”.  So far, the Imps and I have thoroughly enjoyed the Cottage Cheese and Honey Waffles, Parmesan and Basil Waffles, and the Creamy Goat Cheese Sauce.

I was doubly pleased with the pictured recipe because the basil and tomatoes were fresh from our backyard garden.  

Also, back by popular demand, ‘Googly~Jack’s Pirate Pickles” 

The cucumbers in my garden didn’t do so well this year, so thankfully my friend Sheryl’s went crazy in a good way…thus providing us with the necessary ingredient to these absolutely delicious pickles.  Due to my bumper crop of onions, I experimented with a spicier version that has gone over extremely well with the Imps and friends.  All in all, summer was well and kind to us and our feasting.

 For the last few months I’ve been involved with the Super Swap Group at Ravelry and having been loving it!  You really can’t beat getting to shop for others and then receiving brilliant packages in the mail from amazing people from all over the world.  This month’s theme was stationary and of course some yarn as well.  Above is the wonderful package I received this afternoon and am I blown away.  Many thanks!  :)

This morning Apple passed away.  For those of you keeping track, she is one of the dogs seized from Kapsa’s Shady Lane Kennels this past winter.  I was her assigned handler and trainer; to say it was love at first sight would be an understatement.  She was everything a person could hope for in a friend; full of joy, playfulness, eager to see the world, and a stranger was just a friend she hadn’t met yet.  Her love knew no bounds and so today I found myself saying goodbye.  I had been preparing myself for her to leave, but not this way…instead I was ready to send her to  a forver home with a family that would love her always.  This morning she was part of a huge spay and neuter clinic and her little heart just gave out on the operating table.  One minute she was there and the next I was sobbing into her fur.  The only thing holding me together today is knowing just how lucky I was to know her.  In a world so vast and so populated, I was one of the rare and lucky few to call Apple friend.  

Kate and I have been enjoying the cooler weather, lounging in the backyard and basically doing nothing but belly rubs.  Hers, not mine.  Apparently the lack of thumbs makes this impossible for her, although I’ve tried.  She just butts her head against me and then smiles.

This is the tree we tend to hang out beneath, while being terribly lazy.

This is Harriette, the dog I hope I’m able to adopt.  I was hesitant to add another furry friend to the house, coz we kind of already have a few…but, Harriette simply feels like family.  I bet she’ll like lazing under the tree too.  :)

Dinner tonight was homemade wonton soup and fried wontons.  The fried wontons are a favorite of the Imps and I; this evening we experimented and used tofu as the yummy inside.  We mixed the tofu up with fresh from the garden onions, chives, and a splash of organic soy sauce.  We used some extra wontons for the soup and instead of chicken broth for the soup base, we used a mushroom stock I had made last week (and froze for just such an occassion) and more garden goodies.  

I can’t think of any sorrow in the world that a hot bath wouldn’t help, just a little bit.” ~Susan Glasee

Friday evening found me playing with salts and essential oils.  I’m rather a poor mixer of scents, so stuck to basics with these 3; rose, frankincense, and lily of the valley…simple and sweet.  The ribbons about the bottle necks were a fantastic find at the local Goodwill, silk ribbon scraps from an old sewing box that was sold in its entirety.

“In the garden my soul is sunshine.”

The very first of our garden has been harvested; Yukon gold potatoes, pearl onions, red onions, and garlic.  Be warned, those who reside near me, you shall be overwhelmed with produce as this was just gathered from a quick visit to the backyard patch!  It was so neat making hash browns for brunch this morning and know that each ingredient (except the cooking oil) was slumbering in our yard just last evening!

This past spring I took a class on spinning, the fiber variety that is.  I was taught to use a drop spindle, but dream of a spinning wheel.  Until a couple hundred dollars magically appears, my drop spindle and I shall make lovely yarn.  And speaking of yarn, I’ve also learned that sheep aren’t the only sweet animals that offer their  coats for our warmth…there are doggies!

Perched atop my fridge (for just this pic) is a little memory for a new friend, a pillow made from the fur of one of her dogs, a Ms. Sugar.  Ms. Sugar happens to be a rather aged Great Pyrnees and may not live for much longer, our mutual friend Barb wanted something to remember her by and amazingly I was actually able to spin dog fur into yarn and then knit this little pillow.  I had such a blast making this, I’ve been saving the fur I’ve combed from my own dogs.