Super Bowl Surprise will be heading to her new nome tonight. My husband’s co-worker seems very eager to have her. I am certain this puppy will make them very happy- she is good and seem to pick up new commands pretty quickly. She is a happy dog and eager to snuggle and please people.
I’m taking her to meet her new family this evening, meeting them at my husband’s office. So I have quickly given her a brushing and pulled her top-knot up with one of Munchkin’s hairbands and popped a home-made puppy sweater on her (those sweaters are easy- from a sweatshirt sleeve. Sewed up in a jiffy!)
Dressed up and ready to go!
I have to admit that I’ve become attached to her. I’m glad that we were firm and did not give her a name. I could have easily kept her- the constant following me and adoration were a huge ego boost. But I think our home may not be the best for her. Sure, she would be spoiled like all small dogs- I mean, I already made her a dog sweater for crying out loud! But other than Munchkin, my real pet-baby is the cat. She was here first, and has been put out that there is someone else taking up space in my lap and laying at my feet.
So off will the puppy go. It’s bitter sweet.
We have a surprise house guest.
Sunday morning our tiny clan decided to go for a quick walk and jaunt to the playground. We had no idea what was waiting for us on our way!
As we rounded a corner, we saw tied to the bushes in the play ground parking lot, a small dog. These were oleander bushes, folks- they are poisonous! This little Maltese mix was tied beneath them, shivering. It was wet and 42 degrees outside, people! This dog is smaller than our cat! We looked to see if anyone was near to claim it, but the place was deserted. So I untied the poor thing, and we cut our walk short.
It went straight into a warm bath. One to get clean, two to warm it up. Then we offered her food and water, and popped open the portable crate we keep for our black lab. Warm bath, warm food and warm towels did wonders for this tiny dog-cicle.
We doubt there are owners looking for her since she was dumped there, and we already have two leads on good homes for her. One is a co-worker of my husband, the other is my mother.
Why would any one tie this to a tree?
She seems to be in good health, and we think she might be 3-5 years old. She has been content to sleep at my feet wherever I’ve been today, and does well in the crate. She is house broken, and loves to play with Munchkin.
Now this is the tricky part- Munchkin is NOT going to be happy when the puppy leaves. She has already figured out that “we can be her family”. And of course, since the fuzzball is small she is “just my size!”. Yeah, sorry kiddo, the hairball is not staying. Munchkin is really POed with me for not giving her a name.
But I do think Nola is a good name- in honor of the Super Bowl champions.
Go Saints!
I am pretty proud of myself. Since my resolution last week to start practicing on the piano, I have taught myself how to play Beethoven’s ‘Ode to Joy’ this week! Okay, okay, it’s a simplified version, not anything too complicated. BUT it is something, and I’m playing the chords as well, not just the melody.
Munchkin thinks it nifty- she recognizes ‘Joyful Joyful’ and says to me, “Mommy, are you joyful joyful?” Yes Baby, I am.
In the Garden:
The husband, Munchkin, neighbor and I were all out most of the day Saturday working on the notorious shared garden. All the dirt has been moved from our drive to the space between our homes, and we have discussed what we want to put where. So far, the list is:
- tomatoes (purple heirloom and variety mix)
- okra
- carrots
- beets
- purple hull peas
- green beans
- cucumbers
Our list of kitchen herbs are:
- rosemary
- green onions
- dill
- garlic
- parsley
- cilantro
- basil
I’m sure we will find a way to squeeze in more of something, somewhere. Our last frost date in our area is March 14, so we have our seedlings out with lights and fans, helping the little things condition themselves for the big move outdoors.
In the Kitchen:
Recently purchased a dehydrator, and have been going to town with it! I love using a dehydrator- it saves so much space, keeps us from the possibility of wasting food and is a way of putting up food without losing hardly any nutritional value.
The usual self-churned butter, home-made yogurt and bread baking have all maintained themselves in our schedule.
Elsewhere:
I am a member of PEO International, and was invited to serve my second term as Corresponding Secretary for my chapter. I enjoy my office and feel it an honor to serve again.
We made some time yesterday evening to head out to Rice Village and meander in and out of shops. It was great to poke into the fair trade store, Ten Thousand Villages, Half Price Books and some of the uber-chic baby stores. The HUSBAND wanted to go into the baby stores… hear me, the Munchkin is three, so this stuff was waaaay too young for her. So it was determined that we are on some sort of count down to trying for another baby. Husband has put in a request for a boy. I gently remind him that HE is the one with the genetic ability of determining the sex of our offspring. I put in a request for a sling and a nursing tent. (He forgets that I sew, and can make these things myself.)
We will wait just a bit longer before we let anything happen, so don’t hold your breath for any news. Planning, planning, planning….
Three for now, photo by Lian Yuen
Just a brief update because I get so many questions about Cypress Market Night- it has been cancelled for Friday, February 5th due to guess what…. rain.
Although the sun is out now, the area that hosts our market is saturated, and water and electricity don’t mix. Nevermind that people don’t like to walk about in the mud.
If you have been looking for Rainy Day Designs, go to the Etsy shop and browse a bit from the comfort of your home, mud-free right here: Rainy Day Designs.
Muah! And Happy Weekend!
Green Anthropology is changing a bit- it is now GREENANTHROPOLOGY.COM. While for the time being, is will redirect you back to this WordPress page, there will eventually be a permanent Dot Com page, which means there will be no further content on the WordPress blog. Please look for updates on this if you have me listed in your blog roll or otherwise. I’ve had possession of the domain for a while, it was just a matter of getting off my tookus and making the change. Thanks!
I decided this morning that I’m going to start learning to play the piano. I took non-traditional lessons for a year or so when I was ten, and all that remains in my repertoire is a two-handed rendition of Twinkle Twinkle. Thankfully this is a favorite of the Munchkin’s, and it seems to bring her endless joy when Mommy sits down at the keys.
Before I start with how I came to have a piano in the first place, I guess I should explain why I’ve had this sudden stroke of musical inspiration. I’ve just about finished reading Jenna Woginrich’s book Made From Scratch. Near the end she talks about her early journey into learning the dulcimer and fiddle, and her love of mountain music and bluegrass. While I truly appreciate these for what they are as an art and a piece of history, bluegrass doesn’t quite light my fire. But the sheer joy and passion that Jenna seems to have for this music pointed out something that has been lacking in my life. If you’ve ever imagined a soundtrack to your life, a melody translated from your soul, mine would be played by a piano. Okay, as a kid I really wanted to play the violin, but the ‘rents weren’t going to fork out the extra cash for an instrument and we already had the piano. But sometimes the perfect things for us are not picked by ourselves, but by someone else. Which brings me back to how and why I have a piano, because let’s face it, they aren’t the kind of thing you can run to Wal-Mart for in a pinch.
It is a sort-of early inheritance. The piano entered our family around 1971 or 1972, as an anniversary present from my father to my mother. They had only been married for a year or two, were probably close to broke, and my brother was still an infant. My father adored my mother, and if he thought something would make her happy, he found a way to get it for her. God knows how long he made payments on it.
It is not anything grand. It is a Baldwin console from the early ’70’s. The hardware has been replaced from being moved from Texas to California, and back to Texas. I think it may have spent time in Mechanicsville, Pennsylvania and Metairie, Louisiana in its early years. The music stand is loose, and the screw holes are stripped, so other than going for some slightly larger screws, I’m not sure how to fix that. It’s probably out of tune from being moved around. I think the last time it was tuned was around 1996 when we lived in California.
I have wonderful memories of my mother sitting at the keys, playing melodies such as Mighty Lak a Rose, Buttons and Bows and Shrimp Boats. She would play The Spinning Song and What’s More Fun Than a Picnic Party endlessly for me as a child. She taught herself how to play, with minimal mentoring from an older sister. I know if she can do it, I can do it, too. Me and all the free teaching aids on the internet.
It’s not just the need to put music back in my life. It’s not the pursuit to always learn something new. It’s keeping a memory alive and doing some justice to something that meant so much to my father. You see, the man who gave my mother that not-so-special piano because he loved her so much, died in 1996. The last year it was tuned.
Mom passed the piano to me and my husband in the first years of our marriage because, she said, he loves me so much.
Well, just received word that Cypress Market Nights is officially off due to rain. We are supposed to get another cold snap, bringing our mild temps back down into the 30’s.
I suppose things are working out for the best. With the kiddo’s cold, I knew I wasn’t going to make it. And I was feeling bad about it, too. I look forward to Market Night, and need it.
Ugh. My kiddo has one of those gooey-nose colds. Our Market Night is on for this week, but it looks like I won’t be there. So I’m working hard, posting new items on my Etsy shop. The work is long overdue; I’d made quite a few new items just before the holidays, and of course time just flew by. So go check it out- all the bibs are PVC-Free vinyl laminated. http://www.etsy.com/shop/RainyDaySmocks1
Woohooo! After weeks of bad weather, we are set to hold our Cypress Market Night! We will have radio ads this week on KILT, so if you are in the Houston area, keep your ears open in the afternoon today, Thursday, and Friday (I think). There will be music and kids activities, as well as the standard fabulous fresh produce, food and local hand-made items. I am so stoked to be back in business!
*Official CanJam entry and comedy
Ingredients:
Six large oranges
Two Texas Ruby Grapefruit
1 package pectin, such as Sure-Gel
4 cups sugar
4 cups water
2 tbsp cinnamon
instructions: Before preparing fruit, have your water bath pot and rack, as well as any other supplies you prefer to use ready to go. The water in the canner will take the longest to heat up. Also be sure you have your jars and lids sterilized: either on a super-hot dishwasher cycle, or boiled in a pot of water. This recipe should yield about six pints of marmalade.
peeled oranges
Peel oranges and grapefruit, removing as much of the white pith as possible (this is a sweeter, peel-less version of marmalade). Chop oranges and grapefruit, as small as possible. Save any juice that comes out while chopping and use it with the fruit.
peeled grapefruit
Put in large stock pot, and add the package of pectin. Heat fruit on medium-high heat, and add sugar. Allow to bubble, stirring occasionally to prevent sugar from sticking.
Add cinnamon and water, and allow to boil, stirring to prevent burning and sticking (it also helps to break down the chunks of fruit).
Allow to cook for a minimum of ten minutes. *this is the comedy part of the recipe. I thought it would be a good idea to wash some dishes while things heated up. My advice is to omit the dish-washing from this part of the recipe and save it for post canning clean-up. I lost track of time. Things turned out fine though, I promise!
oooops....
Remove from heat and ladle into canning jars, leaving about an inch of head space. I like to use pints or half-pints ( had to break down and use a quart because I ran out of pints). Screw on the lids and rings and put in water bath canner using your jar grabber.
Process for a minimum of 10 minutes. Please check process time for your altitude- there should be a table on the package insert of the pectin.
processing the jars
Remove from water bath and set aside to cool. You should be able to hear the lid ‘pop’ when it seals itself, or check to see if the button is firmly pushed down. Never assume too much when canning folks- if you have any question about whether the jar is sealed, don’t use it.
It takes about 12 to 14 days for the marmalade to gel, so don’t be concerned if it looks very watery before then.
Enjoy!
