I Worship the Sun Gods

67 degrees, Noontime, lazy Sunday in Northern California... 

 Take that, snow demons!

Sun Gods 1, Snow Demons 0.

Cure for the SAD

Winter blues?  Check this out:  http://www.procreo.jp/labo/flower_garden.swf

After the jump, click on the black screen-- or hold your mouse down-- or just drag the icon everywhere on the screen-- you'll see what I mean, when you make the jump!

(A perfect pose for the next issue of Play Pup. Yes, I am a shameless hussy.)

Eastern Snow Days

This time, last year...spinach soup...Pink sweaters...And, my very first adventure in snow!Stay safe and warm, our furry (and not-so-furry) friends and family on the East Coast!

Invoking stronger healing powers!

Miss Juno-Bell,
you need to get well,
soon!
We invoke Khyra's power
of the Pantyloons!
(Crazy lady has been reduced to piss poor poetry...sigh...save me, please...)

The sun will always win

I am not a big fan of the cold. I love to play in the snow when it's light & fluffy; but I hate rocks and salt trapped in my paws during severe storms. Plus, snow men are evil creatures that MUST be destroyed at all times. You see, I prefer the sun. Crazy lady calls me a "heat seeking missile" and says I remind her of a cat. Shame, crazy lady, shame...do you want me to glare at you all day long? I am nothing like a cat. You will pay for your insult, witch.Okay, enough threats...earlier this week, we had a sunny day. I was bathing in the heat, lazy on the windowsill, and ignoring the world at large. A strange man entered the apartment to fix the brand new drier. Nice hole in exhaust tube, huh?Did I greet the man with a warning bark? Did I try to protect crazy lady? Did I even bother to get off the windowsill and explore the stranger who entered our sacred home? Those would have been my normal reactions to having a stranger knock on the door. But today, the sun was too precious. A storm was arriving by the end of the week. I had limited time to soak in the heat. I could care less about the repairman. I had my priorities, and SUN ALWAYS WINS.

MINE

Crazy lady has book readings, classes, homework and deadlines this week, so she's a little stressed. She wanted to post these pictures of my play time in the snow, however. Chasing and capturing and destroying this ball is my favorite activity:Don't you love my battered soccer ball? You would never know that it was brand new 1 week ago:Here's my final beauty shot:

Snow Play

Crazy lady returned from her long weekend of "SF, Fantasy, Horror, Sex, Humor, Chocolate!" and took me for a long walk in the snow. Woo hoo! Check out my booty shot and snowy "beard" in the pictures.

Lazy Sunday Morning

Another snow storm whipped into the Boston area last night, and crazy lady doesn't want to leave the warm comfort of her bed. So, she brought her computer, books and homework to bed this morning. She even let me lounge with her, for a short while.
It's a rare treat to jump on her bed and watch crazy lady try and read legal texts on corporate ethics. The silly professor assigned homework BEFORE school even started! Who cares if he is some bigwig law professor who used to advise the Supreme Court? Crazy lady is suddenly realizing that Haar-vaard is going to be a lot of work. Duh. Maybe I should rename her "crazy dum-dum?"
At least she is enjoying the reading. Crazy lady firmly believes that people need to constantly learn and challenge themselves, as they get older. It's the only way to keep those little gray brain cells active.
In between her reading & writing, crazy lady has been spending some time perusing various web sites. Remember Popeye, the paralyzed dog?
Well, he has a new wheel chair! You can watch him practice his new wheels here. He's a smart dude, just like all of us Formosan dogs from Taiwan. Crazy lady really hopes that foster mama Judy is feeling better. Judy is rarely sick or injured, and back injuries truly stink.

Finally, aren't these puppies adorable?
Judy introduced crazy lady to JW, a med school student who adopted a heartworm positive dog named Tinkerbell. Like myself, Tinkerbell had to take shots and remain quiet for over a month, while she healed from those malicious, heart-loving worms. JW has started a new blog, GND Dogs. Please take a moment and learn more about her mission to, "help former street puppies (Novaya and Chocolate) find loving homes" in Grenada.

Stay safe and warm this snowy Sunday!

Wino Tomato Sauce

Sunday was a snow day. I spent most of the day glaring at crazy lady and staring at the snowflakes. Crazy lady cooked. She worked her way through graduate school as a line cook (one of many, many jobs), and finds that making soups and sauces helps the healing process. She made a creamy spinach soup and her famous "wino" sauce. Here's the recipe for the sauce:

2 teaspoons olive oil
1 medium onion (or 2 small), chopped
2 medium garlic cloves, wacked with a knife or minced
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground fennel
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/3 cup good red wine
3 cups undrained canned tomatoes (28-ounce can)
pinch red pepper flakes

(1) Add the oil, onions, garlic at a low heat.
(2) Add the salt & pepper flakes & dry herbs. Don't forget the fennel! The fennel makes the sauce taste like meat. Seriously. Veggies always complained that she slipped them a meat sauce whenever she served it in lasagna or penne.
(3) When the onions start to "pop" because most of their liquid has reduced, add the wine.
The trick is to use a full, robust red wine. The onions & garlic & herbs should turn a deep, soupy purple, after you add the wine. Of course, crazy lady always add more than 1/3 cup...
(4) Let the liquid reduce, about half the original size. Inhale the fumes. Mmmm...wino...
(5) Add the canned tomatoes, including liquid.
(6) Let it gently bubble for 30-60 minutes.
(7) Use your hand mixer to liquify the sauce. Potato mashers and blenders work well, too. Make it as creamy or lumpy as you like.
That's it! Crazy lady quadrupled the batch, to freeze the sauce for a later day.
You don't have to add extra oil when you double (or triple or quadruple) the recipe. The onions & garlic soften great, if you keep the heat down low and the pot's top slightly ajar to trap moisture. It's a trick she learned from the fine folks at Moosewood Restaurant.

One last money shot:
Enjoy!

Snow Day