Caution ... Weens at Play

Mishka right before he started yelling at me to toss the toy.  ;) 

Poor Shiloh ... all he wanted to do was snooze in peace but BeBe and Mishka had other plans. 

How many tug o' wars happen at your house? 

Live action at it's finest

Happiness is .. Corn

After the Inspector Weens had made sure the corn had passed their approval it was time to start shucking, cleaning, blanching, cutting or mini cobbing.  I honestly have new respect for the elder generations who did this not because they wanted to .. but because they had to.  It's a lot of work but well worth it.  

It's important to get your kids involved in the process ... 

they need to understand where their food comes from and how "lucky" they are that they can just go to the store and pick it up from a shelf or a bin. There is a process that has to happen prior to being able to just stuff it in your mouth after it's been cooked. 

Mine totally enjoyed shucking the ears from their cozy husks. 

I was prepared for full on resistance.  

They continue to surprise me daily.  ;) 

 

The aftermath ...  

My littlest one proudly perched above the "mess" as she called it.

The moment when I looked at the corn and thought.. 

what had I gotten myself into, all those silks had to be cleaned off as best as possible.. silks and I are not friends! 

Ready to be blanched..  

The end results.. some cut off freezing to be later placed in bags and some just turned into mini cobs.  I admit.. I cheated and did more mini cobs than cutting.  

Of course you never leave the garden out of things..  tossed into a pile to dry out and later be worked into the garden when we till it up later this fall.

 

Chief Ween Inspectors ... Got corn?

Yesterday we were gifted with 3 crates of corn.  

Yes 3 .. that equals approximately 100+ ears.  Oh my!

My excitement over this abundance is high I tell you.   I know that there will be a lot of blanching, cutting corn off the cob and even cutting the cobs into mini sizes for freezing but....

 I'm alright with that. 

Yeah I say that now as I procrastinate to share this posty.  

Later ... is a different story. Ha!

Of course the Chief Ween Inspectors had to make sure it passed their approval.  Molly & Shiloh could have cared less really. But Toby, BeBe and Mishka were intrigued. I should say ... they were tickled that Mommy would let them near enough to snif, lick and possibly steal a bite.  Thankfully only sniffing occurred and no cobs were harmed in the process.  Such happy little squealy campers they were once I set them loose. Did I video.. no that would be too easy.  Out of 30+ photos these 3 were the clearest and decent enough to be shared with the world.  ;)

Mile a minute wagging tails here ...  

what is this stuffs??

Toby .. was very curious about the corn.  
He actually had to "crawl in" to investigate this interesting "stuffs" 

Love

There is nothing better than love.  

 

BeBe & Molly sharing a smooch.  

It just doesn't get any better ( or cuter ) 

than that... 

Happiness ... in the form of a little brown box

Do you ever have days where it seems or feels like EVERYTHING that could go wrong is going wrong? I was having one of those days today. Just literally.. ahem .. a shit kinda day. Yes .. I said a shit kinda day. I wont be delicate when it comes to describing it with two words.. Just shitty! What I wont do is go into details because my drama is most likely not very interesting... What I will do is show you ... what made my day go from crummy to happiness in all the time it took to open a simple brown box. 

I might add .. this box was completely unexpected. 

 Sometimes.. pictures tell the story .. sometimes I embellish .. I'll embellish here and there if that's ok? 

Now .. isn't this just a delicious looking little box?  It was sitting on my front porch when I got home as if to say "HEY .. I am here for you .. just you .. you and you alone.."  my first smile after a long poopy day.. 

 

So .. I scooped this wee bit of possible happiness up and ran into the house with it as the kids and hubby were coming from the rig.. we had just been to town, chaos.. I tell you... chaos!!  
It was MINE .. mwahahahaha MINE MINE MINE .... I had no idea who it was from .. who it was too .. it was MINEEEE  ( it helps to pay attention to who a box is for before grabbing and running .... I did not!! ) 

and then ... I looked ... my heart went flutter.  I know of only person who frequently shares the cutest little updates from this wonderful little rescue and he knows who he is too... 

Suddenly... this little box of happiness took on all new meaning..  it was an extra special box of happiness .. one that wasn't to be obtained for a while but was bookmarked and on my list of "want badly" as life has it's way of having the needs vs wants currently.  But how I wanted this awesome bit of cookbookery!  You see ..  while I may be a Dachshund Momma ( aren't those cute side photos on the right kinda obvious?? )  My first love is and will always be .. Kitties..  I am owned by 8 kitties..  ( yes all spayed and neutered I am a good pet Mom!! ) I have to admit that I have a partially blind kitty, Macy.  She's my one eyed frita bandita so I have a special place in my heart for perfectly imperfect kitties and .. I have a cookbook addiction .. hey .. don't judge! 

Nestled in that fun poppable pinkness .. is just that.. 

A cookbook .. with kitties inside and out.  

Heaven! 

Isn't it delish just to LOOK AT??

Common Substitutions, Roasting Chart & Perfect Pasta

That cool lil plastic bit isn't just for good looks folks. You can remove it from the cookbook and it will hold it upright.  

THAT is damn handy I must say!!   

 

Food Storage Guidelines, General Slow Cooker Tips & Equivalents

 

I have to say maybe the best part isn't the recipes.. but the little section dividers that come placed in the back.  You do have to take them out and place them in their proper spots within the book.  I felt them being shipped in the back was smart so that the little tabs wouldn't be bent out of shape from possible mishandling from certain mail carriers I will not name in this certain town where I live.   Anyhoo ... these little dividers.. wonderful!!!  The front of each one has a Blind Cat Rescue kitty picture with their story below.  

Even the back is adorable ... 

and .. just in case you couldn't see from the photo of the front cover.. why yes .. I had to edit these just so they would stand out on there own for you to see ..  

I love humor ... humor, cats and a cook book..  yes .. certainly heaven.  It has 335 pages of recipes ( 336 if you include the last page where you can jot down your own in the blank space provided.. handy! ) Everything from Appetizers and Beverages down to Pet Treats..  Being that I like to bake I will be trying something tomorrow from the desserts section.  Bourbon chocolate chip pecan pie sounds delish but I am afraid I might enjoy more Bourbon than pie if I brought any of that home to make it. 

If I was to make a review of this I would say I am in no way affiliated with the B.C.R. nor are they aware of my posting about their cookbook. The thoughts I write are my own.  ;)

I would say this cookbook is without a doubt .. worth every penny.  Not only does it have all the above..  it helps a wonderful rescue that sees the beauty and perfection in imperfect little furbabies.  What's not to love about that?   
If anyone happens to find this via a search I will tell you that the cookbook is well laid out, exceptionally sturdy, has loads of recipes for meat lovers, veggie lovers and naughty dessert lovers such as myself.  There are simple quick toss togethers and there are ones that are a bit more involved. Which to me is always nice.. sometimes I am in the mood to make something that takes a bit longer and other days I want quick and delish. 

For more information on BCR or to order one of these fantastic cookbooks just click the pic below! 

and .. last but never least ...
Thank you .. to the very special friend in my life that shared this awesomeness with me.   I had a good sniffity cry when I realized where it was from and who made it happen.  Love you lots!!! 

The Weens

Thoughtful moments ... Tobias is my bouncy trouncy playful Ween but he has his moments where he settles on my lap and just watches life go by ... he always looks so deep in thought during these times. I wonder what exactly he's thinking about. 

 

 Mishka .. . for those that haven't seen him in a while he's gotten BIG hasn't he?

He's not my largest in the "pack" Just a hair above Tweenie status.  

Am I not the most handsome? Shiloh always has the sweetest poses ...

 he's showing his Dapper Dan pose here

   

You have a treat for me? It's SO rare that I can get a decent face shot of princess squirmy mcgee.. 

 Score!

  

 BeBe ... He's got that delicate princess paw up as usual .. such a lil Diva ..  

 but wait... the diva was busted acting immensely silly.. 

 He will die when he finds out Momma posted this one.

Art Stuffs

There is something to be said for art stuffs ...  pencils, pens, papers of all different textures.. hell color crayons make me happy. 

The need to reach in, choose a color and let your imagination go wild on a blank sheet of paper.. Overwhelming.

Just might have to sit and doodle a dachshund today.   ;)

Suncatchers

When boredom strikes during Summer vacation the internet is a lovely tool to find something interesting to do when it's just a touch too warm outside to play.

Pony Bead Suncatchers.. I'd rate them as EASY .. my 6 & 11 year old girls loved putting the beads into the molds, time from start to finish for us was approx 1 hour.  My only suggestion is have a drill handy if you do not have a metal bead to create a hole or want to string them together as I did.  Oh and a couple fans to air the kitchen.  Plastic is stinky while it's melting.  This is an open window project for sure. 

Click here for Instructions


Before



After



Popped out of the molds



All strung together





The light showing through

Falling off the face of the earth, Butter & Happiness

Miracles happen every day.  I fell off the face of the earth blog wise and reminded myself it was time to climb back up and get on it again.  I do this for myself.  For a peace of mind and because I like to share my quirks with the world.  

Newest news..  I've taken up fostering dachshunds here and there.  My own herd o' weens is doing great and spunky as ever.  They seem to enjoy these little sporadic visits with new pals.  Keeps life interesting.  Currently I am "babysitting"  Charlie.  Or as we know him .. Charlie Barlie Bear

He's a cute little Dachsie mix..  with what I don't know but it doesn't seem to matter. He's made himself at home with the Weens here until his furever home can be found.  

Cute isn't he? 

Moving on to the Butter portion of todays title..  Yes .. what does butter have to do with falling off the face of the earth?  Not much to be honest.  I just made some for the first time and found it to be rather interesting that we take such simple things for granted.  We also have forgotten HOW to make such a simple thing that is very much a part of many people's lives.  Butter..  Who doesn't adore butter on crispy toast. On pancakes .. on green beans.  On ... well just about everything.  I wont lie.  I love butter and sadly it loves me right back. Ha.   So today .. I went head first into making it with the fear that I would screw up some perfectly GOOD heavy cream. 

Low and behold.... I did not.  

After pouring off the butter milk you must rinse the butter so that it stays fresh longer. :) 

For those that have no clue what this contraption is.. It's a butter bell.  It keeps butter fresh without having to refrigerate it and the plus side .. it's soft so you can spread it easily onto that toast I was talking about earlier. 

The lovely by product of making butter is .. butter milk.  I feel a biscuit making adventure happening later for dinner now. Yum! 

and last but not least.. I wish you all Happiness ...  Today started out utterly wonderful for me.  33 degrees, brisk outside, a little ice on the windshield and crisp fresh air all around.  I felt and still feel incredibly happy.  

You Have The Worst Job Ever

This morning I heard those words as my coworker and I were getting in the rig to leave. 

You don't reply to something like that but the comment sticks with you for a while until it fades. 

 I am inclined to agree with folks sometimes.  Yes, it can be the worst job ever. Here I am, coming into a home I am not part of, seeing emotional people I usually have never met, I am the one taking away someone that has been a huge part of their lives, someone precious to them.  It's exceptionally hard to walk into these situations not knowing what I will be facing and trying to keep a calm, soothing and confident face on when often times I want to cry right along with them.  Sometimes I do get teary eyed.  Sometimes I make it until I am back within the confines of my own home.  I do hurt for the hurting.  I am not heartless as some may think it takes a hard heart to do what I do.  I am human, after all. It makes me think of all the things I've been asked since I've started working at Dunes.


You work at a Funeral home????
I get so many questions about what I do. Especially with raised brows and expressions of OMG, disgust ( tho they do try to hide it) or just plain out curiosity.  My favorites are the Moms I encounter when I am picking up my daughter from school.  They do get a little wide eyed and step back a touch.  I am the same as them in many ways I just have a job that most wouldn't think of having. 
I have many titles it seems but I refer to myself as the F.D.A. No.. Not the Food and Drug Administration .... and sometimes it could be in my case when I have no clue or chaos breaks looks.. A fumbling dipshit of America. 

I'm a Funeral Directors Assistant. ( my friends call me Grimmy ) 

"Why did you chose to do what you do"

Oh how I hate and love that question all in one.  
Sometimes I want to be cheeky and spout off that I am a freak and I love playing with dead people.  
In all honesty..  I never chose this line of work. I truly believe it chose me.  My goal in life was to become a wife and mother.  Goal achieved I am happy to say, maybe not a very high on the totem kind of goal but I'm old fashioned and I love being what I am.  Being a funeral directors assistant never once crossed my mind growing up.  It just happened that my life suddenly took a sharp turn unexpectedly and I found myself in a new town without friends and the first one I made happened to be the Funeral Director. Now my best friend I might add. I was offered a job and curiosity led me to accept it. ( of course who is NOT curious about funeral stuff..  we all go eww but we're all curious beings )

"Do you like working for the funeral home"

This one goes along with the cheeky comment above. 
My answer though is yes.  I can say I have been on both sides of the story.  I have done in home health care, taking care of people when they no longer can tend to themselves.  I have gotten to know them, care for them and I have had to say goodbye to them and watch their families fall apart without being able to help past that.  This side I am on now I can help move the process forward and help healing begin.  I can answer questions I had no answers to before.  When I do not have the answer I can seek out my Director and I know she will be able to give them the answers they need. I truly admire FDs! That's a tough job. Maybe someday when I grow up I'll become one.  I don't know if I could embalm tho. That takes iron guts!

"What do you do there"

There is so much that I do when I am called into work that it's often hard to put into words. I often joke that I am a gopher.  I go for this and go for that. Don't get me wrong I don't mind being a grunt one bit. I am a helper and I like being a helper 100%. Below is a generic version taken from somewhere off the net with my own thoughts within the "()"

• Offer assistance to mourners. (or simply get in their way, say something wrong at any given point and so on. Though it's never intended, I do feel like the bull in a china shop sometimes if I haven't been in the office and know first hand how a family wants things done)
•     Close caskets at appropriate point in services.
•     Transfer the deceased to funeral homes. ( aka a First Call or Removal, sometimes easy, sometimes very hard )
•     Hair, Makeup and Dressing of the deceased. (get extremely frustrated when the family brings in a photo from when the deceased was 20 and they are now 80 .. how do you recreate youth.  *sigh* BUT ... when you see a family relax and smile over the job well done there is a joy in knowing you have pleased them and made their loved one beautiful in their eyes. )
•     Obtain burial permits and register deaths.( Never ever forget otherwise you will hear about it til the end of time from the Health Department Goddess's ... seriously though they are pretty nice gals )
•     Direct or escort mourners to parlors or chapels in which wakes or funerals are being held.( Pretty much keep the process moving smoothly so there's not a pile up at the front door ... yes it happens.. often but you go with the flow )
•     Place caskets in parlors or chapels prior to wakes or funerals.
•     Clean and drive funeral vehicles such as cars or hearses in funeral processions.(Have you ever washed a hearse by yourself? That part is pretty easy, it's drying her before she water spots.  I love our old hearse. )
•     Carry flowers to hearses or vehicles for transportation to places of interment. ( My favorite.. I get to stop and smell the roses.)
•     Clean funeral parlors and chapels.( aka picking up snot drenched tissues, removing tons of cigarette butts from the parking lot, ask tray. Hey .. I never said it's glamorous )
•     Arrange floral offerings or lights around caskets.
•     Provide advice to mourners on how to make charitable donations in honor of the deceased. ( I have never done this myself as far as donations go but I have mentioned taking the flowers to the Aiden Senior care if they do not want them.  Let them brighten someones day if they are unwanted. )
•     Perform general maintenance duties for funeral homes.( Thank you to my Co-worker Paul for rocking the maintenance. That man is a Handy handy man! )
•     Issue and store funeral equipment.
•     Perform a variety of tasks during funerals to assist funeral directors and to ensure that services run smoothly and as planned.(run like hell for anything and everything to make sure it's smooth. A happy FD is a happy me!  )
•     Greet people at the funeral home.(and pray they don't rip your head off.. sadness and loss can make people really mean sometimes but thankfully I have only encountered a few like this.  I feel sorry for the FD at times like this. )
•     Assist with cremations, and with the processing and packaging of cremated remains.
•     Act as pallbearers.(OMG .... my back ... When I die I'm gonna be like 500lbs as pay backs.. I am joking.. only joking.. or am I? Word to the wise, never wear heels on a service day, not all cemeteries are smooth)

I can see my Funeral Director buddies rolling their eyes if they ever see my comments in the ( ) after what I "technically" do.  But I call it like I see it and you know sometimes a little humor is OK in life ( and in death ) I think if we didn't laugh some we'd all lose our minds.  
It's hard work and sometimes rather punishing.  I'm still questioning at times why I do it.  
Oh yeah .. I know why .. I like helping people!  Yes ... I do love helping people. 
From one stage to another.  Moving on, moving forward, finding closure, etc. 

"Do it ever affect you"

Re-read that second paragraph!! Yes, it does. Often deeply.  
It makes you "think" about your actions in daily life as well.  

I used to be a crazy speeding driver. I rarely ever go over 65 in a 55 zone unless I am passing someone.  I drive 55, cruise control when it's not raining. When I die I want my face to be as it should be. Seeing what I have seen I shake my head at people that drive like fools. That extra minute isn't worth it unless you're an EMS in route!

It makes you really consider death and how you will deal with your loved ones when it is there time.  I have gone through the scenario about my parents over and over in my mind. So many times. Not because I "want" to but often because I have been called to a home where someone was my parents age.  I am a hot wet mess when I think of losing my parents. I am an only child.  Put me in a straight jacket and give me a sippy cup when the time comes.

It makes you even more scared to lose your children. Though I tend to push that thought away and tuck it deep it's always there. 

It makes me worry about my co-workers. When I know there is a wreck on 101 about the time they should be going into work I worry.  They have become my second family.

I dread the calls that involve people on my street. I live among elderly. So far 3 and it's an awkward feeling when I see the fellow that works at DQ walking past on his way to work because he was there when I took his father away. We say simple hellos.

It bothers me when a welfare check is done by the PD or Sheriff.  It's like those people are forgotten.
Suicides bother me. On one hand I find it incredibly sad that someone could feel such despair and on the other I find it to be incredibly selfish of them that they do not think of what their actions will cause once it's done.

and on and on and on ..  
yes .. it does affect me but you learn to deal with it one way or another. 
In the end.. I still love what I do..   and yeah sometimes it can be the worst job ever but it's also exceptionally rewarding to help people.

Where's Shiloh?

Sitting on the lounger in the backyard doesn't happen without a lap full of weens.. Ever!  



Poor Shiloh .. 

First Beach Outing of 2013

When we take Mishka ( the only water lover ) with us to the beach we chose to go to the Triangular breakwater area close to the jetty where it's safe for Mishka  and the kidlets to play in the water yet still have the sand experience with ocean salty flavor tossed in.  :) It's usually warmer water and less windy too which is a plus for this Momma.   The weather in town was a lovely 68, or so the bank said.  In Winchester Bay I'd say it was MUCH colder with LOTS of wind.  It didn't stop my troop one bit tho...


Patience lost in 1. 2 ...3



Toss the chuck it Mommy ....  NOW NOW NOW 




What a happy boy.  I actually found a brand new chuck it floaty at the thrift store last year and it's been his pal. 


But sadly we have to take it away or he will nom it to death.  He will also run and fetch over and over and over so ... another reason to put it away for a bit.
*please come out of the bucket and play with me* 


Aaron and Zoe out in the waves looking for hermit crabs.



They were successful.  These things skeeve me!! 



Emma and Mishka working on building a castle.  



Zoe posing with a live ladybug she found.  This Mom didn't think to take an actual photo of the lil red beauty itself tho.  :) 



Aaron & Emma playing in the sand.  



Thanks for peeking!  :)