Summer Dessert

 Good morning,

We don't do this very often, but when we do, it sure is good!

That's butter pecan ice cream with butterscotch topping in the image above.

Oh, yum!

What's your favorite summer treat?

:)

Lois

Trumpet Vine Will Live Forever

 Good morning,

More than 30 years ago I purchased a trumpet vine and planted it in the back yard.  It's also called a hummingbird vine because the red flowers attract hummingbirds.

The vine grew happily on a tree in the middle of the back yard for years and did a good job of attracting birds.  Then, sadly, the tree came down in a storm, but that wasn't the end of the trumpet vine.  It still grows along the ground, on the bushes, on the wall, on other trees....  It will live forever!

:),

Lois

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Shared with Friday Florals

Sour Kraut With a Different Twist

 Good morning,

Last night I made sour kraut and sausage for dinner.  It's quick, easy, and always a winner.

What I didn't know when I got everything out to put it all in the pot was that I didn't have one of my regular ingredients.  I generally cut up an apple for the kraut, but didn't have one.  Absent an apple, I use 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce.  Hmm.  I suddenly realized I had neither.  So, I tried something a little different and it was a real winner!  I opened a can of crushed pineapple and added about 1/3 cup of it to the sour kraut.  It worked!  I also added one tablespoon of brown sugar (that's in my usual recipe) and let it all cook together with sausage for about an hour.

We serve this over a boiled potato that has been crushed in the bowl.  

This new concoction was a real winner!  I just may do this again - on purpose!  Necessity is the Mother of Invention.

;),

Lois

It's For the Birds

 Good morning,

Yesterday I laid some pieces of bread out on top of the hedge around our front porch.  It was fun to watch the birds who were so excited to find it there, especially the mommy birds feeding the babies.  We can watch them through the french doors in our living room.

I took the picture and video with my phone camera so it's not the best quality, but it sure was fun to do this.  I also saw a family of cardinals, but wasn't able to get out there to get pictures.  Perhaps another time.

About an hour after I took these pictures, the man who trims our bushes and cuts the grass arrived so the bird watching came to an end.

An aside:  the bread is what I make myself, all natural, no preservatives, so not harmful to our feathered friends.

Happy summer!

Lois

The Girls Playing Keep-Away

Good morning,

The girls brought home a new toy from the last dog show and they have been playing keep-away with it ever since.

I took this short video of them playing in the living room.  What makes this so funny is that they literally have hundreds of toys.  They get new ones every time they participate in a dog show.

Just like human kids, huh?  

They're so sweet.

;),

Lois

Security Device on Charger

 Good morning,

We just got a new dog bed with the intention of putting it in our bedroom for Erik since he is having problems getting up on our bed now.  He's 12 years old and feeling his age.

Well, the new bed never got past the living room and it was Wendy who commandeered it.  The three "kids" all seem to work these things out among themselves.  We do have a comfy bed for Erik upstairs in the sitting room so he has a place to bed down near us at night. 

 I wouldn't wake Wendy up and move her for anything.  You know what they say about "sleeping dogs...."

:),

Lois

The New Dog Treat

 Good morning,

Our seven year old Wendy (she's the lovely lady in the blog header) is having some skin issues.  Her diet is the same as the other dogs so the vet thinks it has to do with an allergy.  We've decided to omit wheat first to try to isolate the problem so the first thing to go is the traditional dog cookie.  

Labrador Retrievers will work for food - big time!  Our pups get treats liberally for doing the things we ask them to do throughout the day and during training. 

The pups like veggies, especially carrots so we are giving these in place of the dog treats we had been giving them.

 So, yesterday morning I rinsed the contents of a bag of baby carrots,

 Kjell and I each cut piles of them them into pieces,

and made them available to use in place of the classic Mother Hubbard cookies they had been getting.

It was very interesting that all of the pups are just as happy to get a small piece of carrot as they were to get the traditional cookies.  Hmmm.  I should have started this sooner!

Happy Friday!

Lois