this keeps happening

beatrix is nearly recovered from her surgery,

but not yet allowed to run free in the backyard.

she is spending her days inside,

making herself quite at home.

this is the window seat in my office.

it belongs exclusively to mr. roo.

beatrix is deaf

and is therefore oblivious to the growling.

♥

things i want to tell you

happy birthday, grandma

today, my grandma would be 101.

she was born april 2, 1913.

her name is catherine, like mine.

when her first grandchild, my cousin shelly,

attempted to say "grandma catherine"

it came out "grandma kacky" {yes, like khaki}

and that became her name.

♥ ♥ ♥

yumm sauce

our research & development team {that's me}

has created a new & improved recipe.

go here for details.

clafoutis

last night, i made three clafoutis aux cerises.

one for us & two for culture day

in marian's french class.

i'm adding the recipe with my edits here.

emily's hair

it's blue-purple-aqua.

she's basically a mermaid.

taxes

done.

thank the lord.

world's best mac & cheese

this is in the works for tonight.

i'm making a double batch,

one for us & one for our friends who need

some extra love in the form of melted cheese.

beatrix

this sweet little digging machine will have

her spay surgery tomorrow.

please, keep her in your thoughts.

i grew up listening to this record.

i love this song,

although the interwebs claim they are divorcing.

♥

our little lamb

today

two months ago

♥

homemade sweet potato dog chews

i read about these dog treats over at 17 apart.

apparently, there is a storebought version.

start with big, fat slices of sweet potato.

{though, i think mine are actually yams}

it's pretty funny that i just automatically tossed on some

olive oil & salt & pepper. those things are not necessary.

bake at about 200°for many, many hours.

ours ended up in various states of chewy -

some were soft & some were quite tough.

our dogs loved them.

we want to try
the other dog treat recipes at 17 apart:
apple treats & carrot/banana treats.
maybe we'll make some of our
peanut butter treats, as well.

♥

p.s. have you entered my giveaway?

i'm picking a winner on friday.

as long as you are not my mom or my aunt,

you can enter.

someone thinks it might be a good idea

if one ear stands up & one ear folds down

someone also thinks it might be a good idea,

despite getting swatted repeatedly,

to be as close to the cat as possible.

someone thinks it might be a good idea

to be best friends.

♥

p.s. someone thinks it might be a good idea
for you to enter my giveaway.
just go here and leave a comment to enter.
the only people who should not enter
are my mom and my aunt anna.
{you two are getting mini calendars anyway - shhhhh}

cozy stuff

cuddle-muppet

adorable hinge-roof houses

{source}

they make me want to buy these

these scrumptious cookies

{i'm baking a batch now}

dreamy linens

{source}

tomorrow is the first saturday in

TEN WEEKS

that we don't have morning sports.

thank heaven.

♥

three warm, delicious things

this soup

served with potatoes, this was an instant family favorite.

these pretzels

made with these sweet friends.

this sleepy puppy

who has a proper bed, but prefers this little box.

♥

rainy night

tonight, my village feels like this.

{source}

today, i cleaned, sorted, let go.

and voted.

and cuddled this softie.

i found a few of my old blog posts that

are good enough to revisit:

= little neddy reading =

= a sweet one about me & missy =

= marian's stop motion movie =

= sweet summertime with emily & jay =

= the recipe for being really, really happy =

tomorrow we are making this.

and these.

and this.

mulling spices are on the stove.

there's a fire in the fireplace.

it's cozy here.

♥

look what she can do

this is our new puppy.

she is an australian shepherd.

she is 9 weeks old.

she is deaf.

we are teaching her signs

and other stuff.

♥

p.s.

her name is beatrix.

or toodles.

maybe, beatrix toodles.

candy + science = yum + fun

chances are,

at this very moment,

you have more candy in your house

than you know what to do with.

let's put your starbursts to good use

with a quick & fun science experiment.

have you ever seen someone swallow 

something yucky while pinching their nose?

there is a very good reason for that:

our sense of smell affects our ability to taste.

let's get down to the

olfactory/gustatory nitty gritty...

here's the question:

if i hold my nose while eating a starburst,

will i still be able to tell which flavor it is?

let's find out!

here are ned's starbursts from halloween.

he had 10 pieces, with 6 different flavors:

cherry, strawberry, orange, lemon,

strawberry kiwi, and mango melon.

{to keep things scientific, i kept the flavors a secret}

i cut them into four pieces per flavor

because the whole piece is really big.

have your subjects close their eyes

{we played it safe with bandanas}

and pinch their nose.

1. put a starburst piece in their mouth

and have them chew it up,

keeping their eyes closed & nose pinched.

2. ask them to tell you what flavor it is.

3. have them un-pinch their nose

and THEN tell you what flavor it is.

4. record and compare your results 

i did this, along with marian & ned.

even the few flavors we guessed correctly

tasted very different once we could smell them.

smell & taste are most definitely linked.

learn more here and here.

----------------------------------------

a box nap

 ♥

halloween bits

♥

fruits & vegetables {with a side of muppet}

with lots of candy on the horizon,

i figured i'd mention my health elixir.

behold, the green smoothie.

life is better when i have a green drink

every. single. day.

today, i drank two of these {that's 32 ounces}.

the other waits patiently until the morrow.

green smoothies will stay fresh

in the fridge for a few days.

i loosely follow this recipe.

i've also been taking juice plus

every day since march.

i used to buy this through my doctor

when i was pregnant with ned,

but now, jan is a distributor,

so i buy it through her.

ned takes it, too.

he takes half the adult dose.

he swallows the capsules with

a spoonful of yogurt {great tip}.

for more information, go here.

------------------------------------

and here's your side of muppet

she has some astounding new tricks {really}

that i will share here soon.

but this tiny wag that she does

makes my heart do flip-flops.

♥