Sunday, December 23, 2007

The Funniest Dog Story Ever!

















Maggie our Terrier mix and Sadie is using Codie to rest on after their tummies are full and they need a much deserved nap

This is a pretty funny story that was emailed to me. I have a terrier mix dog, so the story was really funny to me. I can imagine my Jack Russell mix doing much the same! Enjoy!


We have a fox terrier by the name of Jasper. He came to us in the summer of 2001 from the fox terrier rescue program. For those of you,who are unfamiliar with this type of adoption, imagine taking in a 10year old child about whom you know nothing and committing to doing your best to be a good parent.

Like a child, the dog came with his own idiosyncrasies. He will only sleep on the bed, on top of the covers, nuzzled as close to my face ashe can get without actually performing a French kiss on me. Lest you think this is a bad case of `no discipline,' I should tell you that Perry and I tried every means to break him of this habiti ncluding locking him in a separate bedroom for several nights. The new door cost over $200.
But I digress.Five weeks ago we began remodeling our house. Although the cost of the project is downright obnoxious, it was 20 years overdue AND it got me out of cooking Thanksgiving for family , extended family, and a lot of friends that I like more than family most of the time. I was assigned the task of preparing 124 of my famous yeast dinner rolls for the two Thanksgiving feasts we did attend.
I am still cursing the electrician for getting the new oven hooked upsoquickly. It was the only appliance in the whole darn house that worked,thus the assignment.I made the decision to cook the rolls on Wed evening to reheat Thurs am. Since the kitchen was freshly painted, you can imagine the odor. Not wanting the rolls to smell like Sherwin Williams #586, I put the rolls on baking sheets and set them in the living room to rise for 5 hours.After 3 hours, Perry and I decided to go out to eat, returning in about an hour. An hour later the rolls were ready to go in the oven.
It was 8:30 PM. When I went to the living room to retrieve the pans,much to my shock one whole pan of 12 rolls was empty. I called out to Jasper and my worst nightmare became a reality. He literally wobbled over to me. He looked like a combination of the Pillsbury dough boy and the Michelin Tire man wrapped up in fur. He groaned when he walked.I swear even his cheeks were bloated.I ran to the phone and called our vet. After a few seconds of uproarious laughter, he told me the dog would probably be OK, however, Ineeded to give him Pepto Bismol every 2 hours for the rest of the night.
God only knows why I thought a dog would like Pepto Bismol any more than my kids did when they were sick. Suffice it to say that by the time we went to bed the dog was black, white and pink. He was so bloated we had to lift him onto the bed for the night.We arose at 7:30 and as we always do first thing; put the dog out to relieve himself. Well, the dog was as drunk as a sailor on his first leave. He was running into walls, falling flat on his butt and most of the time when he was walking his front half was going one direction and the other half was either dragging the grass or headed 90 degrees inanother direction.He couldn't lift his leg to pee, so he would just walk and pee at the same time. When he ran down the small incline in our back yard he couldn't stop himself and nearly ended up running into the fence.His pupils were dilated and he was as dizzy as a loon.
I endured another few seconds of laughter from the vet (second call within 12 hours) before he explained that the yeast had fermented in his belly and that he was indeed drunk.He assured me that, not unlike most binges we humans go through, it would wear off after about 4 or 5 hours and to keep giving him Pepto Bismol.
Afraid to leave him by himself in the house, Perry and I loaded him upand took him with us to my sister's house for the first Thanksgiving meal of the day.My sister lives outside of Muskogee on a ranch, (10 to 15 minute drive).Rolls firmly secured in the trunk (124 less 12) and drunk dog leaning from the back seat onto the console of the car between Perry and I, we took off.
Now I know you probably don't believe that dogs burp, but believe mewhen I say that after eating a tray of risen unbaked yeast rolls, DOGS WILL BURP. These burps were pure Old Charter. They would have matched or beat any smell in a drunk tank at the police station. But that's not the worst of it. Now he was beginning to fart and they smelled like baked rolls. God strike me dead if I am not telling the truth! We endured this for the entire trip to Karen's, thankful she didn't live any further away than she did.Once Jasper was firmly placed in my sister's garage with the door locked, we finally sat down to enjoy our first Thanksgiving meal of the day.
The dog was the topic of conversation all morning long andeveryone made trips to the garage to witness my drunken dog, each returning with a tale of Jasper's latest endeavor to walk without running into something. Of course, as the old adage goes, "what goesinmust come out" and Jasper was no exception.Granted if it had been me that had eaten 12 risen, unbaked yeast rolls,you might as well have put a concrete block up my behind, but alas adog's digestive system is quite different from yours or mine. Idiscovered this was a mixed blessing when we prepared to leave Karen's house. Having discovered his "packages" on the garage floor, we loaded him upin the car so we could hose down the floor.This was another naive decision on our part. The blast of water from the hose hit the poop on the floor and the poop on the floor with stood the blast from the hose. It was like Portland cement beginning to set upand cure.We finally tried to remove it with a shovel. I (obviously no one elsewas going to offer their services) had to get on my hands and knees with a coarse brush to get the remnants off of the floor. And as if thiswasn't degrading enough, the darn dog in his drunken state had walked through the poop and left paw prints all over the garage floor that had to be brushed too.
Well, by this time the dog was sobering up nicely so we took him homeand dropped him off before we left for our second Thanksgiving dinner at Perry's sister's house. I am happy to report that as of today (Monday) the dog is back to normal both in size and temperament. He has had a bath and is no longer tricolor. None the worse for wear I presume. I am also happy toreportthat just this evening I found 2 risen unbaked yeast rolls hiddeni nside my closet door.
It appears he must have come to his senses after eating 10 of them but decided hiding 2 of them for later would not be a bad idea . Now, I'm doing research on the computer as to:"How to clean unbaked dough from the carpet."And how was your day?~Author Unknown~


This reminds of the time I had a dinner party that I served a leg of lamb at. I put the left overs on the counter top while continuing our dinner conversation in the living room. The lamb was completely gone when I went to put it away. We had a guest dog and three of our own and didn't know who to blame. Needless to say, the next day's farts made it clear that our large male lab, Max, was the culprit. I sure loved that dog. He is buried out under the Aspens probably remembering that special day in his life!


Remember to put that food well out of the reach of your pets on Christmas Day! Chocolate can make them sick and sometimes even kill them!

Thursday, December 20, 2007

FAST Shipping for Christmas!

It isn't too late to find that perfect gift for a family member or friend. If you order today, I can ship tomorrow, December 21. Priority Mail will get it to you in two to three days! Look our listings over to see if there is something special that you would like to purchase.

We have incredible feedback. See some of our current feedback below:





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Beyond what I expected!!!!!My Best Purchase on Ebay.....period!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 2007-11-30


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We will be happy to have you as a customer! Happy Holidays and Enjoy Shopping at Winchuck River Store, where we celebrate the lifestyle of the Pacific Northwest!

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Soles 4 Souls



Let's Get A New Pair of Shoes For This Person!

I know that most of us have this over whelming urge to rid ourselves of extra belongings right after Christmas. It must be in our DNA to suddenly get the urge to clean the closets, empty the drawers and go through our garage searching for un-used and not needed items. I was a small child when I first found the urge to purge right after Christmas. Is the over abundance of stuff we acquire with Christmas putting us over the top? I think that is probably the logical answer.

I found this wonderful internet site http://www.soles4souls.com/



They have a simple mission: to impact as many lives as possible with the gift of shoes. They are partnering with charities and governments around the world to provide a basic (yet indispensable) gift that most of us take for granted. You can help them in many ways: donating your own shoes, donating cash for freight, hosting a shoe drive, or even donating your time as a volunteer. As shoe industry professionals, they are working hard to use the resources at their disposal to make a difference -- but they need your help (and your shoes) to reach out to the world.

When you are going through your closet, check out the shoes. I bet you have several pair that rival the shoes being worn by many in the world today. Check out the picture that I got in an email this week to spread the word that we must be thankful for what we have instead of always wishing for more and better.

Happy Holidays! I wish you the best for 2008, but I also wish the best for the world in 2008. As a citizen of the world, we can all do one small thing to reach out to make our world a better place. There are many small ways we can help:

  • Next time you buy a can of beans, buy one extra and deliver it to the local food bank
  • If you sell for a living, set aside a portion of each sale for charity. One penny from each of us could amount to feeding a hungry family.
  • Take your elderly neighbor with you the next time you go shopping. It may be the only time they get to go! Remember that you will be old some day sooner than you think!
  • That puppy running loose on the road is likely to be killed. Pick it up and deliver it to the local shelter. His owner will find him or he might just find a good home and have a second opportunity for life.
  • Join a local toy drive. It isn't too late to buy an extra toy for a hopeful child.
  • Visit a nursing home to spread some joy. Older people love company! Company doesn't cost you anything!
  • Next time you are planning your future, think about how it will impact the younger generation.
  • Plant a tree and feel good because it will give shade to those that come after you.
  • Make a new friend with someone that isn't just like you. What a surprise when you find out how much you do have in common with others that you have previously not bothered to know.
  • Remember that random acts of kindness can move mountains and maybe even stop wars!
  • keep this list going. I'm sure you and your family could add many ideas to this list. Things that would take minutes of our time.

The world cannot get better if we never give it our time and consideration. We are not islands living alone. Everything we do and say impacts those that share our space. Each day is like a page in a book. We all create a page each day. Whatever we do that day should be something we would want to be remembered. I wonder what we would write on our page for each day if we realized that our book would be published for the world to read! Your book will be read. Your immortality can be what you leave behind good or bad. Our lives can be like a meaningful piece of literature that impacts us to remember the contents or it can be like a cheap romance novel that is read and soon forgotten.

Monday, December 17, 2007

Winchuck Carrot Cake Recipe Best of the West




My Carrot Cake Recipe For You
Happy Holidays
Winchuck River Store
Winchuck Carrot Cake
Serves Approximately 50


This cake never fails to please the crowd



12 eggs
3 1/2 cups vegetable oil
6 cups sugar
6 teaspoons vanilla extract
6 cups of flour
6 teaspoons baking powder
6 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
6 teaspoons ground cinnamon
9 cups grated carrots
3 cups chopped walnuts or pecans
3 cups of crushed or pineapple tid bits



Frosting:
1 1/2 cup butter, softened
24 ounces cream cheese, softened
12 cups confectioners’ sugar
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans


Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease and flour three 9x13 inch pans or use a large commercial pan.
In a large bowl, beat together eggs, oil, white sugar and vanilla.

Sift together the dry ingredient - when I have chosen not to sift, I find the baking soda doesn't always blend in. There is nothing worse than finding a lump of baking soda!

Mix in flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon to the eggs, oil, sugar and vanilla.

Fold in carrots

Fold in nuts and pour into pans.

Bake in the preheated oven for 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes or more then turn out if desired onto a wire rack and cool completely cool. Since I use a very large pan, I bake it a bit longer and if I remove the cake from the pan, it is frosted and cut into pieces. I usually make this recipe for serving a crowd. The crowd loves the cake still in the pan!

I have made a wedding cake from this recipe and removed the cakes from their pans to stack in three graduated layers. I covered the frosting with eatible flowers or you could make your flowers from cake-decorating frosting.

To make frosting:

In a bowl combine butter, cream cheese, confectioners’ sugar and vanilla. Beat until smooth and creamy. Frost the cake and sprinkle chopped nuts on top.

I do not usually make the full recipe for the frosting as I find only about 1/2 of the above ingredients covers the commercial baking pan that I use. My pan measures 13 x 21.5 x 2.5 deep. I am not so careful with measurements. This cake is very forgiving when it comes to pineapple, carrots, nuts and frosting used.

I grate my carrots using a food processor; which makes the process so much easier than a hand grater! No more grated knuckles! For my Christmas in October Open House I used whipped cream cheese for the frosting. It made the frosting go together easier than using the boxed cream cheese.
I have also successfully increased the ingredients to make a larger amount to the commercial pan plus a 18 x 11 x 2.5 deep pan.
To increase the recipe, divide the ingredients by 3 and increase adding 1/3 of the recipe.
I could also see increasing the flour to make a cookie recipe. If any of you try this, let me know how it works out!


This is my Holiday Gift to You!

Enjoy!

Everyone will tell you that this is the best carrot cake they have ever eaten!



We Welcome You to Our Blog!



We blog about our rural area in the Pacific Northwest . This blog is all about my life and the places where my mind wonders from day to day. Have fun reading and looking at pictures. We welcome comments.

Be sure to watch, just above this blurb, my husband, Jim, using his 10 foot hands-free electric fishing kayak

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Be sure to check out the separate blog to find out about our electric kayak, Kingfisher 10! You can find the blog at http://electrickayakkingfisher-10.blogspot.com . You can also read the features list on this kayak and purchase building plans and building kits at www.winchuckriverstore.com .

About Me

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We moved to our current home on the Wild River Coast of Southern Oregon from San Jose, CA. Our family consist of Jim and Karen, two dogs and two cats. Karen's passion is gardening. Jim's obsession is building electric powered fishing kayaks and fishing.