Christmas day was peaceful and pleasant. The rain stopped long enough for Lucy and I to go for an hour long walk around town. I made her dress for the occasion :
Aarggh - you expect me to wear this????
I'll never be able to show my face around town again!She was such a good sport, wearing her reindeer antlers all over town. She certainly got lots of comments from the other people we met! And when we got home, she was rewarded with a bully stick in her crate while I took the other two for a walk:
Well, that certainly made it all worthwhile!It was starting to rain by the time I took Charley and Sadie out, so we mostly just wandered down by the seawalk watching the ducks and gulls and people. These cats were hanging about the empty house near the start of the seawalk:
Cats by a vacant house
Boxing Day, some visitors came to meet Lucy, who took a particular liking to the little girl and gave her a very thorough face and ear wash! Lucy is such a very good dog with everyone, two legged and four legged. Today she spent a few hours with Cheryl, owner of U-Dog dog care services, as she is going to have a sleep-over there later this week while I dash over to the mainland for a day. Cheryl commented on how nicely she got along with all the other dogs even though she was nervous being in a new place. Whether it was the nervous energy or the fresh air, Lucy was a tired puppy when she got home:
ZZZZZZZZ
Lucy loves to ride in the car now, so tomorrow she is coming up island with me while I do a homecheck. Then Wednesday I'm off to the mainland, and on the weekend my daughter will likely come for a visit (barring ice and snow on the roads).
Hopefully sometime late Thursday or Friday I shall get that post about crates up!
I'll end with this photo, which I took just to make Big Sis drool - our family's traditional Christmas dessert, an English trifle. This year I soaked the bottom sponge cake layer in Cointreau and used mandarins for the fruit instead of strawberry - it was yummy (and yes, I ate the whole thing myself over the last two days!).
Drool, Big Sis, drool!
5 comments:
What a good girl Lucy is becoming!
I want the trifle recipe. [pleeeease?]
Ah, Jean, the mischievous little sister. The things we learn about each other through these blogs:)
That first picture of Lucy is priceless. And, the last one where she sleeps, exhausted, is so very endearing. Things could have gone very differently for her. I know there were "tear-your-hair-out" days, but I am really so happy your paths crossed.
I've been remiss in not commenting as often as I should have, but am catching up now in time for the new year, when I plan to never fall behind again.. well, until the next time.
So, a late but heartfelt Merry Christmas to you! I know there was definitely enough drama to keep things colourful, and I know you found peace in your heart. Thank you for sharing the ups and downs of your year with honesty, humour and insight. I wish you, your Mother, your daughter, Big Sis, and your many dear critters: Emma, Charley, Sadie, Allie, Lucy and each one of her pups the very best in the new year. Oliver and Belle are in my heart as well. And Martin. I think of him too. Must be almost time for an update:)
Take care, Jean. I look forward to following your journeys through life.
Thanks Jean, the photo of Lucy - "I'll never be able to show my face around town again!" made me laugh a lot.
Yes, Lucy, you were a very good sport to wear those reindeer antlers. What a nice dog you are, learning all kinds of things in your new life. But you should know that loving owners/guardians usually expect their dogs to wear all kinds of weird things at Christmas, it just means we love you a lot!
Question to you Jean - those cats by the vacant house - they don't look malnourished or ill, they are beautiful. Any idea what's going on there? Are they on their own? Sure hope not.
I sure missed my Sheltie this Christmas. Thinking of the three precious little "herding dogs" gone over the bridge this year - Belle, Oliver and Crystal. Miss you all.
Sharon
Sharon, I believe someone is feeding the cats. A regular on the seawalk said arrangements had been made for them. And I did let the closest cat rescue know about them.
Carol, I am also happy my path crossed with Lucy - she is truly fun dog and in many ways reminds me of both Emma and Caleb - snuggly, silly, kissy dogs.
Evensong - the trifle is one of the few things I make without having recipe, and I improvise and eyeball things. However, here goes:
Use a glass bowl. The one above was done in a three cup bowl, but usually I use a larger one.
Use any stale cake – pound, sponge, angel, all work well. Traditionally lady finger biscuits are used. I used one of those single serving angel food cup cakes in this one; Normally I use a 6" round sponge cake.
Put cake in bottom of bowl (or arrange lady fingers around bottom section of bowl, like a fan)
Pour on some booze. Traditionally this is sherry, but as I don’t like sherry I tend to use other things – brandy works well. For this one I used Cointreau (an orange brandy). Put enough on to soak into the cake thoroughly without making it fall apart. I think I used about 2-3 ounces on my little angel food cake. Let sit so it soaks it all up.
Meanwhile, make some jello – I used mandarin jello, but choose a flavour that complements the fruit you plan to use and the colours you want for your dessert.
For the “cold” part of the liquid, I used the juice from the canned mandarins.
Put fruit pieces on top of the now drunk cake. Some people use strawberry preserves, some use canned fruit cocktail or thawed frozen berries. I used canned mandarins rather than fresh because of the softer texture.
Pour on the warm jello until cake and fruit is covered and a little extra, until the bowl is 1/3 - 1/2 full. Put in fridge so jello can set.
Have a cup of coffee and/or a sip of cointreau
Mix up some custard (I used Bird’s custard for this – from a british shop near me, but you could make your own from scratch. Some people use vanilla pudding instead). Let cool a bit, until tepid.
While Jello is still a bit soft, and custard still a bit warm, pour the custard over the jello/cake. Sprinkle with coconut if desired. Place in fridge to cool.
When custard is fairly firm and is cool, decorate with maraschino cherries, unsalted almonds, and whipped cream.
Lock the doors so no one will interrupt you, and pig out!
Yum! Sounds delish! I remember having trifle in an "English pub" in southern California someplace (Santa Barbara?) that was to die for! Can't wait to try it (though at our house it will have to be alcohol-free).
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