Big Dogs

You can't really do without them out here in the country.

Meet Honey...

You might have seen her here before. We rescued her about 10 months ago. She was a birthday present for my oldest daughter. A "puppy" when we got her, she only weighed 37 pounds. Now she's well on her way to 100 and I'm not sure she's done growing. She still has some of that puppy physique.
She's eaten parts of my rocking chairs and the trim around my doors. She barks all night and runs away constantly (always returning eventually). She growls if you come outside and ignore her. She's a pest that attracts every cockleburr within a mile radius of here. We love her.

Then there's JoJo...

She's the original big dog around here. We've had her for 10 years. She also pushes 100 pounds, but that's because she's fat and lazy. But after years of fighting coyotes, stray dogs, and the occasional skunk, I'd say she deserves a rest.
She acts aloof, but she's fiercely loyal to our family. She likes to stay at my in-laws some days. It's just a jaunt across the pasture after all. She's not as spry as she used to be and I get tears in my eyes just thinking about how soon she might be gone from us. There will never be a dog to replace her.
Did I mention she's camera shy?

Coming soon...Little Dogs

The people you meet...

on Main Street.

What do you think these guys dreamed of being when they grew up?

The Beach

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

A Fort for your Friday

 When the chores are done...

and a boy needs a place to himself...

what better place than a cozy fort?

He sure can't think of any other place he'd rather be!

Fun with Lightroom!

So who here has heard of Adobe Lightroom? I see references to it on different blogs and photography sites I frequent. It's a little pricier than the Photoshop Elements I'm using so I haven't seriously considered buying it.

However, today MckMama had a great tutorial on how to create a preset that makes photos look aged and sorta rough. I downloaded the free trial of Lightroom and must say I've been having lots of fun!

I'm liking this. A lot.

Uh...honey...I know my birthday is 8 months away...but do you think, maybe...?

Recipe: Chicken and Corn Chowder with Sweet Potatoes

Let me begin this post by saying that I don't like sweet potatoes. Baked sweet potato fries are okay, but anything else made with a sweet potato just doesn't appeal. So, when I saw this recipe I was hesitant to make it. But I decided to plunge ahead with it, mainly because I have probably 20lbs. of sweet potatoes in my pantry. And I figured if it turned out we didn't like it we could always have ice cream for dinner. Let's see what we've got.

Chicken and Corn Chowder with Sweet Potatoes
from Cook's Country
Serves 8 to 10

3 cups whole milk
1 cup yellow corn muffin mix (Jiffy)
2 tablespoons butter
1 onion, chopped fine
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
2 quarts low-sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 sweet potatoes (about 1 1/2 pounds), peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
3 cups frozen corn (not thawed)
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
Salt and pepper

1. Mix milk and muffin mix in bowl until well combined. Meanwhile, heat butter in large Dutch oven over medium heat until foaming. Add onion and cook until softened, about 8 minutes. Stir in garlic, cumin, and oregano and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add broth, chicken, and sweet potatoes. Bring to boil, reduce heat, and simmer until sweet potatoes are just tender, about 8 minutes.
2. Stir in milk and muffin mixture and simmer until soup thickens, about 10 minutes. Add cheese and corn and cook until cheese begins to melt, about 2 minutes. Stir in parsley and season with salt and pepper. Serve. (Soup can be refrigerated in airtight container for up to 3 days.)

Verdict: Delish! The sweet potatoes actually made this chowder. Their texture and (now) subtle sweetness was just right! This is a recipe I'll be reaching for again come fall and winter.

Printable Recipe

That's my boy...er, young man

The usual Friday thing...

But today is not a usual Friday. It's the start of a glorious three-day holiday! Have a great weekend!

Watermark

After seeing one of my photos recently on a website that I had never heard of and gave no credit to me, I decided it was time to create a watermark for my photos. I'm sure someone with photo editing skills could still use my photos without permission by removing the watermark somehow, but maybe that will just prove to be too much trouble.

This is not necessarily a final version. I've had fun playing with different styles, but so far this is my favorite. What do y'all think?

Join HERSHEY’S Better Basket Blog Hop to support HERSHEY’S $7,000 donation for the Children’s Miracle Network

Hershey’s is donating $10 to the Children's Miracle Network for every blog participating in their BETTER BASKET BLOG HOP, up to $5000.00. Hurry The HERSHEY’S Better Basket Blog ends at 12 PM EST on April 4th, 2010!

Better Basket Blog Hop started as a charity blog meme, bloggers were able to raise $10 by writing a blog post of donating a virtual Easter Basket. HERSHEY’S promised to donate $10 per each post written for the Children’s Miracle Network, up to $5,000. Within the first week, over 200 bloggers participated, and soon it was 400 bloggers, and HERSHEY’S was so impressed by the kindness and caring of the hundreds of bloggers participating that they decided to donate $7,000 in honor of all the caring bloggers who are part of spreading the word of paying it forward this Easter season.

My good friend Lori passed this opportunity on to me and I'm passing this on to YOU and my good friends below:

Sandra Diary of a Stay at Home Mom


Carrie Farming on Faith


Sarah Coffee at the Cabin

HERE'S HOW YOU CAN JOIN

• Participate to HERSHEY’S Better Basket Blog Hop of giving away virtual Easter Baskets by creating a blog post with specific rules described here.
• HERSHEY’S will donate $7,000 for CMN  
• You can give as many virtual Easter baskets as you want.  
• The HERSHEY’S Better Basket Blog Hop will officially begin at 12 AM EST on March 18th and end at 12 PM EST on April 4th, 2010. Blog posts submitted to us before or after that time period will not be counted for.  
• The blog post link has to be submitted to us for your participation to be counted.  
• In addition copy and paste the following text in your blog post:

 HERSHEY’S BETTER BASKET BLOG HOP RULES

• Copy and paste these rules to your blog post.
• Create a blog post giving a virtual Easter Basket to another blogger – you can give as many Virtual Baskets as you want.
• Link back to person who gave you an Easter Basket.
• Let each person you are giving a Virtual Easter Basket know you have given them a Basket.
• Leave your link at BetterBasket.info/BlogHop comment section. You can also find the official rules of this #betterbasket blog hop, and more information about Better Basket with Hershey’s there.  
• This started as a meme of Hershey donating $10 per each blog participating to the Better Basket Blog
• Hop to Children’s Miracle Network up to $5,000 – but after so many bloggers participating, Hershey decided to donate a total of $7,000 honoring the kindness of blogger community.
• Please note that only one blog post by each blog url will count towards the donation.

 THANKS HERSHEY'S