a little ruffle

 i finished this knitting project recently and wanted to share with you. it's called a little ruffle. isn't it pretty?

lucy wanted to try it on . . .

she was a pretty good model until she became a bit fidgety.

it's grey and thundery here. hope the sun is shining where you are.

dog joy

meet lucy. an unwaveringly happy, bouncy and fun 30-pound dog. i adopted her from The Humane Society of Boulder Valley when she was about one.

i had wanted a dog for some time and decided to justify it with a "security" bent: a dog would alert me to any intruding that might be afoot.

with that in mind, i began trolling the humane society web site. i had decided a puppy would be the perfect thing. since most people feel the same way, it can be hard to come by one. then, one day two little black fur babies appeared online and i was off like a flash. alas, by the time i had made it, both had found new homes. disappointed, i decided to say hi to my great friend sarah, who at that time was the shelter's volunteer coordinator.

as we were talking, she politely wondered if i might consider an older dog. (at least one of us had her wits about her.) oh, and by the way, the puppies' mum was in the back recovering from her no-more-babies surgery. would i like to meet her?

two minutes later, in bounced a little black one-of-a-kind doggie. in spite of a birthing two puppies, a long trip from Nebraska and stitches in her belly, her outlook on life was entirely sunshine and roses.

she sat on my foot and that was pretty much it. adoration at first sight. (for propriety's sake i took her for a little test-walk, but the deal was already made.)

thank you, Sarah. i immediately appreciated the benefits of adopting an older animal: already house trained. that was huge. she had a few other skills: sit, down, sit up, although not necessarily on the proper command.

that has pretty much been the status quo since i got her.

i guess in some ways, we had inadvertently trained one another. she grocks what i mean when i say "no." but "come" can be a little - er - random.

lately, i have been hoping we could tighten things up a bit. most importantly, i'd like a consistent response to the "come" command. so last night i started a new book.

so far, i like these guys. imagine! a spiritual approach to dog training. check this out:

they seem to have me pegged. we shall see if an old dog (me) and a happy-go-lucky lucy can learn a thing or two.

dog JOY: homemade dog biscuits

today went to the dogs. Lucy wanted to make some treats as part of a special welcome home package for a doggy named Nellie.

vintage canister (c) dana rogers photography

i was astounded at the options and the variety of ingredients. the breath-saver formula caught my eye, but that wasn't the statement Lucy was hoping to make. so, we stuck with a basic martha stewart recipe. we can branch out later. (note to self: breathsaver treats!)

mysterious wheat germ (c) dana rogers photography

we had most of the ingredients on hand, but not this one. this is found in the cereal aisle.

use the whisk (c) dana rogers photography

 i like to whisk dry ingredients to blend them. you should try it.

oil in midstream (c) dana rogers photography

 decided to deploy my most favorite appliance - the mint-green kitchen aid. (this is really dear to me, so dear that it was among the evacuations items for the fire.)

roll away (c) dana rogers photography

 so you mix it all up into a pretty stiff dough and then roll it out. it was easy to work with; not sticky.

bone stamp (c) dana rogers photography

 of course i went and dug out the bone-shaped cookie cutter. i wanted to use the kitty cutter, but Lucy also thought that would send the wrong message. "What do you think we are," she said, "barbarians? We no longer chase cats." 

scraps (c) dana rogers photography

 rolled it out again to get as many cookies as possible. let me tell you, there weren't many. once lucy taste tests, we'll be down to a baker's dozen.

pre-baked bones (c) dana rogers photography

 the silpat didn't make the evacuation list, but in retrospect, it probably should have. into the oven they went. we painted the biscuits with chicken broth once during the baking.

cooling treats (c) dana rogers photography

here are the finished biscuits. i snapped one when they were still too hot for our taste-tester. believe me, she is standing by.

tentative lucy (c) dana rogers photography

okay. here we go, the taste-test. a hush came over the back porch. will she like them? cautious at first.

mm mm good (c) dana rogers photography

good enough to eat one. final evaluation?

mm mm mm good (c) dana rogers photography

yes folks, martha has done it again. another delicious recipe.



martha stewart's dog biscuit recipe
note: i have edited out some of the ridiculous parts: "if desired, you can spell out your dog's name or a holiday message in the dough with a toothpick (wet the toothpick first so it won't stick." my dog can't read!

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup wheat germ
1/4 cup brewer's yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoons canola oil
1/2 cup low-sodium canned chicken stock, plus more for brushing


1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, wheat germ, yeast, and salt; set aside
2. Place oil in a large bowl. Add stock and flour mixture in three alternating batches, beginning and ending with stock. Mix well.
3. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out dough to about 3/8-inch thick. Shape biscuits using a dog-bone-shaped cookie cutter.

4. Transfer to parchment-lined baking sheets. Repeat with remaining dough.
5. Bake biscuits 10 minutes. Brush with stock; rotate baking sheets, and bake 10 minutes more. Turn off oven, leaving door closed. Let dog biscuits stand in oven to dry completely, about 1 1/2 hours. Wrap as a gift, or store in an airtight container.


Read more at Marthastewart.com: Homemade Dog Biscuits - Pets - MarthaStewart.com