The Heart of Dixie

My sweet pup turns 12 years old today. She received an electronic birthday card from her veterinarian, and while she's a smart girl she is not computer savvy, so I read it to her. She loved it.

This girl is so much a part of our family I cannot remember her not being here. She likes to be in the middle of things, and we call her 'the party girl'.  She took over the best chair in the house at an early age. It was supposed to be my chair, but I had to wave the white flag there.  I used  to try to sit in that chair. I'd chase her out of it and get all settled and comfy. Then she'd come stand in front of me and bark, and then run to the door like she wanted to go outside. So I'd get up from the comfy chair to open the door and she'd quickly hop in the chair behind my back.

Told you she was smart.

Dixie was only a year old when we moved to England. Due to their strict quarantine laws, there was a six month waiting period before she could enter the country. Some people opt to put their dogs in quarantine in the UK, but our kennel in Maryland agreed to a long term board.  Actually they agreed to a short term board, and my sister said she'd take her the last three months, but the kennel got so attached to her they said she could stay.

I remember the day she finally arrived in England. We'd used a service that moves animals, so they collected her at Gatwick and brought her right to the front door.  The deliveryman had me come outside and he set the air crate down on the driveway. She's long legged so I envisioned her slowly, tentatively, ever so gently stepping out, stretching her legs, and taking a second to get her bearings. Ha!

The deliveryman said, 'I'm going to open the crate now' and when he did Dixie came tearing out at full speed, ran straight into the house (a house she'd never before set foot in until that very minute), wound her way back to the sitting room, and hopped in her chair without missing a beat.

Never were a dog and a place more perfectly matched than my Dixie and my England. She loved exploring the Commons, the woodlands, and most especially being off lead in her fvaorite place-the Camp. The Camp was an old Roman camp in our little village. It was not physically fenced, but more or less naturally fenced, and Dixie could run to her hearts content. We used to say she ran five miles for every one we walked, and it was the perfect place to grow up Setters.

She was welcomed everywhere around town, and we often traveled with her.  One of her favorite holidays was the Easter we spent hiking in Dartmoor.  Wide open spaces anyone?

And while she's not a Jersey girl, she has grown pretty fond of the Garden State.

Or at least it's wildlife!

I'm not one of those people who think dogs are human.

 But this one almost is.

An Easy Breezy Hodgepodge

Welcome to the Wednesday Hodgepodge! When you add your link at the end of my post, please make sure you're linking to your Hodgepodge post, and not your blog in general (or a non-Hodgepodge related post!)...makes for much easier reading for any visitors who wander your way. 

Here are my answers to this week's questions-

1. March is known as the windy month. Which of the following phrases best fits your March so far...'throw caution to the wind', 'three sheets to the wind', 'run like the wind' or 'see which way the wind blows'?

Hmmm...a tough one right off the bat. Figuratively speaking maybe 'run like the wind'? We had a very full weekend, that kept us 'running'. 

Running in a good way, so not like actual running.  

2. Your favorite green food? Your favorite recipe made with your favorite green food?

I'm going with an avocado, and my favorite recipe made with that would be guacamole. You know those quizzes that ask what food you'd want if you were stranded on a desert island? This might be mine. 

3. Ever been locked out of your home-car-office-anywhere? Do tell!

Yes, more than once actually, but I'll share the semi-creepy one. Settle in because it's not short. 

I was in high school and was babysitting one afternoon for the little girl who lived across the street. I sat for her regularly after school until her dad got home from work. One day (the little girl was about 2 1/2) someone knocked on the door, and I looked out and saw what appeared to be a plain white (aka unmarked) delivery van, with the driver standing on the front porch. It was broad daylight, but still I was paranoid cautious. I phoned my house, got my sister on the phone, and told her to watch, that I was going to open the front door, but would keep the glass door locked until I could find out what this guy wanted.  

Babysitters and/or children of mine-don't ever do this! 

People still opened their doors in the mid-1970's, and he seemed harmless, said he had some boxes to deliver and that the people said if they weren't home he should leave them in the backyard. They were boxes you might need if you were moving, which this family wasn't. Seemed odd but not dangerous, until he said, 'And you need to sign something.'  Well I wasn't going to let him in the house, so I stepped out on the front porch while he was unloading the truck, and that's when the little girl who'd been standing beside me, slammed the big front door with me on the outside and her on the inside.   

I went into full blown panic. Every door and window in the house was locked (I really was a good babysitter!), and it was 1975 so the word cell phone was not in our vocabulary. My sister, dutifully watching from across the street and recognizing hysteria, came running over and so did my brother.  The little girl came around to the glassed in back porch so I could talk to her through the glass, and the neighbor called the fire department so they came. The dad arrived soon thereafter (I guess the neighbor called him too), but in essence mucho panic had ensued.  When the dust settled the delivery man (remember him??) was no where to be seen, and the dad said they hadn't ordered any boxes for delivery.  Now I don't know if this guy was simply at the wrong address, or if he had something sinister planned, and those plans were thwarted by all the crazy, but I do think it's possible crazy saved the day.  

4. Yoda, Kermit, Shrek, The Wicked Witch of the West, Oscar the Grouch, The Grinch, or Mike Wasowski (Monsters, Inc.)...of the green characters listed, which one's your favorite, and why?

The Grinch, because he's changed by the love, faith, and kindness of strangers.

5. "The first task of a leader is to keep hope alive."~Joe Batten  Do you agree? Why or why not?

Yes. Think about what happens when hope dies. People stop caring about whatever it is you need them to care about, whether its a project, a job, or the state of their homeland.

6. Share a favorite song with an emotion in its title.

Pride (In the Name of Love) by U2...one of my all time favorite songs.

7. What's a road trip you'd like to take?

A drive along the Pacific Coast Highway in a convertible is definitely on my to-do list.

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

Pretty sure I used all the words I was allowed today, in answering question #3.  
Happy Wednesday everyone!

Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 168

Welcome to this week's edition of the Wednesday Hodgepodge. Newcomers are always invited to join the fun. Answer the questions on your own blog, then hop back here tomorrow to add your link to the party.  Here we go-

1. March is known as the windy month. Which of the following phrases best fits your March so far...'throw caution to the wind', 'three sheets to the wind', 'run like the wind', or 'see which way the wind blows'?

2. Your favorite green food? Your favorite dish made with your favorite green food?

3. Ever been locked out of your home-car-office-anywhere? Do tell!

4. Yoda, Kermit, Shrek, The Wicked Witch of the West, Oscar the Grouch, The Grinch, or Mike Wasowski (Monsters Inc.)...of the green characters listed, which one's your favorite and why?

5. "The first task of a leader is to keep hope alive."~Joe Batten Do you agree? Why or why not?

6. Share a favorite song with an emotion in it's title.

7. What's a road trip you'd like to take?

8. Insert your own random thought here.

Third Time's the Charm

This post was initially entitled Friday Fragments, but Friday was a whirlwind, so that didn't happen. I tried to get it together on Saturday morning, but Saturday was also a whirlwind, so that also didn't happen. Now here it is Monday afternoon, and it's not too late, is it?

My gourmet group met on Friday, and our theme this month was 'It Ain't Easy Being Green'. Each recipe featured a green ingredient, and I have to say our plates with all that color looked so pretty, and mostly healthy.

I made an interesting dessert which was a strawberry basil yogurt cake. It was slightly underdone in the very center, but the taste was nice. The basil was subtle, but definitely present. I'd make this again but would bake it a little longer. The recipe said 30-35 minutes and my oven normally cooks fast. I baked mine for 40 minutes and the edges were golden and pulled away from the springform pan, but it still needed another five I think for the center to be less gooey.  The batter was a lovely spring green, and then you laid the strawberries on top before baking.

Wow, my photography skills have deteriorated this winter.

It really is a pretty shade of green. Pretend the weird lighting and shadows aren't there.  And of course I forgot to take a photo of the finished product, but in my defense I was preoccupied with my home improvement project wrapping up mere minutes before people were due to arrive.

You'll be happy to know my wall has been repaired and looks brand new.  Because it is. Our repairman did a great job matching paint, so no need to re-do the entire foyer-upstairs hall-family room this spring. He finished at 11 am Friday morning and my lunch guests arrived at 11:30,  just as I was putting away the vacuum. Good times.

On Saturday we attended a Bat Mitzvah, and it was a really fun day. I hadn't been to a Bat Mitzvah since I was in high school, and it was so interesting. Our friend's daughter is adorable and she did a wonderful job leading the service, reading and reciting all the prayers in Hebrew, and sharing her own thoughts on reaching this milestone.

Afterwards they had a lovely celebration at a local restaurant complete with a party room for 80 kids, a DJ, and the biggest balloons you've ever seen (that were not attached to a basket carrying people I mean!).

I decided I need to have a party that requires ginormous balloons. I don't think these slightly blurry pictures do them justice so you'll have to take my word for it. Tres festive!

After that party ended we went back to our friend's house for more food and chatting. Our friend's cousin walked in with two of the most amazing trays of hand dipped pretzels, popcorn, potato chips, and bugles I have ever seen.

Who knew a bugle dipped in white chocolate could be so delicious?

The pretzels were either chocolate and carmel, Oreo, or peanut butter, and they really were a work of art. I cannot imagine how much time it took her to put all of this together, but rest assured her efforts did not go unappreciated. I only had a bite of the pretzel, but I could have eaten all the popcorn.

Didn't but I could have.

Long time friends from Maryland traveled up for the event, and they came back to our house to spend the night. Always fun catching up in person as we have daughters the same age.

I bought tulips to put in their room because some years we need to make our own spring.

This appears to be one of those years.

Three inches of snow in our Tuesday forecast. On the bright side, most of the snow on the grass has melted, so that's something. We still have small mountains here and there from the plow, but baby steps right?

Before our friends headed home on Sunday we all went to see a former work colleague of the guys. We had such a nice time sitting in their lovely den with a spectacular view of tinytown lake.  It's still frozen and looked like a postcard. You'll once again have to use your imagination because I neglected to take a photo. I need spring to get here and clear out the cobwebs.

There's probably more, but I'm hosting my book club this evening, and am thinking I should be baking-cooking-cleaning as opposed to blogging the minutiae of my weekend.

Happy Monday everyone!

I've Got The Fe-vah

Hello Spring!

Hey the calendar says so, now we just need our weather to get with the program.

We will not be getting the little red car out of that garage bay anytime soon.

My Japanese red maple.

A casualty of winter.

The wall in my hall foyer.

Another casualty.

For those of you who live where such things never occur, this is the aftermath of ice damming. The gutter over our front porch couldn't hold all the frozen water, and it's gotta go somewhere. Fortunately this is very very minor, and supposedly the repairman is coming this week.

Or next week.

Sometime.  He's coming sometime, and once he repairs the drywall he says he can match the paint, which is a good thing. Painting the foyer (and then the family room, and the up and downstairs halls which all flow together) was not on our spring to-do list.

In other seasonal news, I've started in on my spring cleaning and here are my observations so far-

1. If it felt like spring, this would be a lot more enjoyable. I want to throw open the windows, let the warm soft breeze in, and the stale winter air out. We may hit 50 degrees today, but there's a snowflake icon on the weather page for Tuesday. We'll pretend we don't notice and carry on.

2. My dog. Have mercy. She has hair people.

3. One job leads to another, aka I'm easily distracted. I'm working room by room which is how I like to approach my spring cleaning, but I'm hosting something at my house tomorrow, then overnight guests on Saturday.  I shouldn't let myself get bogged down in things like sorting through the remnants of teenage life tucked inside a shoebox on the floor of my daughter's bedroom closet.

I shouldn't, but I do.

Okay, a million things to tackle today, including an afternoon walk when warm air will be at it's peak. When it comes to spring-like temperatures my motto is carpe diem!

Springing the Hodgepodge on You

Welcome to this week's edition of the Wednesday Hodgepodge...I hope you'll join the fun today! Answer the questions on your own blog, then come back here and add your link to the party. Oh, and go say hi to the neighbors because everybody loves company! 

Here are my answers-

1. Thursday marks the first day of spring...to celebrate would you rather plant a garden or go for a walk in the woods? Would either of those activities be possible on Thursday where you live?

Probably a walk in the woods. We love to hike, and have lots of woods to choose from, including our own backyard. I haven't planted a true garden since we've been in this house. Too many boulders underground and too many critters above ground. Our backyard is pretty, very natural with the woods behind us, and we do add lots of flowering pots to our patio, steps, and front porch. We won't be doing that for at least another month, once the danger of frost has passed. 

Garden Centers here advise waiting until May, plus we still have snow on the ground so I definitely couldn't plant a garden on Thursday.  I could walk in the woods as long as I've got my snow boots or wellies on...I think the temperature will cooperate. 

2. When did somebody last spring something on you? (or when did you last spring something on someone?)

When I realize someone is going to 'spring something on me' I feel like I need to brace myself for something I might not be too excited about. Something like, "Hey I've got a crazy idea!" or 'Hello this is your accountant-car repairman-plumber calling back with some numbers." Yeah. Brace yourself.  

I don't remember the last time someone sprung something on me, and I try to return the favor if I can. I'm more of a 'let me sugar coat this as much as I possibly can' kind of news bearer. 

3. We often think of spring as a time for new beginnings...what's something you'd like to start doing this spring?

I'm not sure if this is new, but there are a number of local historical sites, attractions, and restaurants in the NYC area that are on my list of 101 in 1001 ( see link on my sidebar), and I'd like to get busy checking them out. So many of these outings require better than 13 degree temps, blustery winds, and snow up to your kneecaps in order to be enjoyable, so come on spring! 

4. Where do you like to sit in a movie theatre? When did you last sit there, and what were you watching?

We like to sit in the front middle. Not the front front or the way back or the middle middle, but the front middle. The last movie we saw in the theatre was The Monuments Men, and we both liked it.  

5. When you meet someone for the very first time, what do you want them to think about you?

That I'm friendly and genuine.
I enjoy meeting new people so if I say I'm happy to meet you I mean it.  

6. March is frozen food month (yes, really!). Besides ice cream (gotta make you think a little) what's your most often purchased frozen food item?

I don't buy a lot of frozen food, so besides frozen yogurt for the hubs, my most purchased frozen food item is a vegetable, namely okra or lima beans which I like to put in soup. You can't find fresh okra in our neck of the woods. 

This seems like an odd answer.

I don't buy frozen meals of any kind, so my freezer is mostly meat and a couple bags of frozen veg.  And yogurt, but that wasn't allowed. 

7. What's something you avoid?

Negative people. They're draining, plus I think negativity breeds negativity in the same way gossip breeds more gossip. 

Gossip-something else I try to avoid. 

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

I just love Honest Toddler, and know he/she can always be counted on for a laugh. I follow HT on Twitter, but there's also a blog and Facebook page. 

I spent many years working with toddlers and have so much affection for this particular age group. The author of this blog (and soon to be book) has a real gift for expressing life from the viewpoint of a toddler. This post made me laugh--How to Put a Toddler to Bed in 100 Easy Steps

Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 167

Here are the questions to this week's Hodgepodge...answer on your own blog, then hop back here tomorrow to link up with all the other peeps who join the party. See you there!

1.  Thursday marks the first day of spring...to celebrate would you rather plant a garden or go for a walk in the woods? Would either of those activities be possible on Thursday where you live?

2. When did someone last spring something on you? (or when did you last spring something on someone?)

3.  We often think of spring as a time for new beginnings. What's something you'd like to start doing this spring?

4. Where do you like to sit in a movie theatre? When did you last sit there, and what were you watching?

5. When you meet someone for the very first time, what do you want them to think about you?

6. March is frozen food month (yes, really!). Besides ice cream (gotta make you think a little) what's your most often purchased frozen food item?

7. What's something you avoid?

8. Insert your own random thought here.