Fall

Fall is my favorite time of year.  The hot, humid days of summer are behind us and snow of winter hasn't blown in as yet.  And there is the added bonus of the glorious color of the leaves.

Sunday, while on an outing with David and Staci's family, we were walking down a road when we happened upon this little trail through the woods.  It was just so pretty with all of the yellow and gold leaves, that we had to stop and take a few pictures. 

After exploring a little further, we found this log.  Just right for taking a family picture.

On our way out, through more beautiful trees, I remarked that I would almost sell my soul to live in the country again.  David answered that he thought I probably would sell my soul to not only live in the country, but to live out in the middle of the woods.

My son knows me well. 

Birthday

He would have been 99 years old today.

Dad and his brother Bruce, about 1916 at the family farm near Blackduck.

Dad and his mother in June of 1946.

Dad with Libby in Willmar, 1952.

Dad with his sister, Clarice.

Dad with Zach at his apartment in Blackduck.

Happy Birthday, Daddy.

Church Supper Dog Food

I have already owned up to spoiling my dogs.  But sometimes a pet has earned the right to be a wee bit spoiled.  Both of mine spent the first seven years of their lives living in kennels with wire mesh runs, and having litters of puppies.  So if I spoil them, it is OK.  They earned it.  The spoiling includes making homemade dog food for them.

Now, there is a method to my madness.  When I first got Jessie, she wouldn't eat anything that I gave her.  I tried several brands of dry dog food.  She wouldn't touch any of it.  Then came the various and assorted brands of canned food.  When I finally found one that she would reluctantly eat, it made her sick.  That nasty stuff is tough to clean out of carpeting.

So finally in desperation, I called her previous owner and asked what she fed her dogs.  I mean, Jessie is just little and it doesn't take long for a little dog to lose weight and become dehydrated.  It wasn't looking good.  Turns out they were raised on homemade dog food, which consists mostly of chicken breast, vegetables and rice.  So I adapted her recipe to use less expensive meat, which lately has been hamburger that has been on sale.  Worked like a charm.  Now she is getting just a little bit tubby, so I have to cut back some.  Lily dives right in and loves it, too.  Problem solved.

When I make this concoction, I make a whole pot load at once, package it into sandwich bags and freeze it.  I can do two or three months worth this way.  Turns out, it is a whole lot cheaper than processed dog food and, according to my vet, is better for them.  The last time I was in the middle of mixing this stuff up, consisting of browned hamburger, rice, green beans and sliced carrots, my landlord stopped by to fix  a faucet that was leaking.  He stood in the kitchen talking with me for a time, and then finally asked me what I was making.  He said that it smelled pretty good.  When I told him that it was dog food, he just laughed.  He said that he thought I was mixing up a huge hot dish for a church supper.

I guess he wasn't that far off the mark.  Throw in a couple of cans of cream of mushroom soup, a few handfuls of french fried onions on top, and I could probably get away with it.  I'm guessing that I won't be asked to bring a hot dish to any of our family get-togethers any time soon.

Homemade Doggie Treats

I will be the first to admit that I spoil my dogs.  Can't help it.  I am just wired that way.

We have fallen into a routine, the dogs and me.  First thing in the morning, they are given a treat.  This is to keep them out from under my feet while I fill their food bowls.  Then, about 7:00 or 7:30 in the evening, they seek me out for some serious play time on the floor.  Ears are scratched and bellies are rubbed.  Theirs.....not mine.  They chase the toys I toss for them and run around in circles and have a good old time.  When all of us have had enough playing, they get another doggie treat, and then they pretty much settle down for the night.

So last evening when I was getting their biscuit treat for them, I read the ingredients in the stuff I was feeding them.  Scared me half to death.  There were 41 ingredients listed on the back of the package.  I recognized only a half a dozen of them, and the rest I had no clue what they were, and could pronounce only about half of those.  Now, I understand that a dog will eat week old road kill if given the opportunity.  Or just about any other rotten thing that they can find. But road kill can't possibly be as bad for them as what is in those biscuits.

So I went through my recipes, and sure enough, I found one for doggie biscuits.  Five ingredients.  Had them all in my cupboard.  So I stirred up a batch.  Cut them out with a little bone-shaped cookie cutter.  Baked them in the oven.  Didn't take much time at all.  Aren't they cute?

Jessie and Lily love them.  And I can pronounce the name of every ingredient.

Water, Water Everywhere...

Jessie and I went for a walk this morning.  Checked out the Minnesota River, which is a little over a block from my apartment.  Yep.  It's over the bank alright.

This is the bandstand in the park along the river.  Last spring when the river overflowed it's banks, the water didn't reach the back side of it.

This is a walking path that winds through the park.  Now it is part of the river.

In the distance is the main bridge over the river.  The river normally can't be seen from this vantage point.  The walking path under the bridge is completely under water.  The trees to the right are along the bank.  The bridge is closed because the water is over the road a little further down.

This view is downriver from the bridge.  The tree line marks the river bank, and the river normally is several feet below the other side of the trees.

The flooding is inconvenient for lots of folks.  Many who work on the other side of the river have to drive a long distance to another river crossing bridge that is open.  But I can't complain.  Although I live close to the river, the town of Shakopee was built on high ground and has never flooded, as far as I know.  Which is more than I can say for further upriver, where entire towns have been underwater this week.  I am high and dry.  And I am counting that among my blessings.

New Family History Blog

A couple of days ago, out of the blue, I received an email from the daughter of one of my cousins.  Her grandmother was my mother's sister, Dorothy Paul Swedberg.  She wanted to know if I had an email address for another cousin, and in the course of emailing back and forth, I found that both of us have an interest in our family history.  She sent me some photos that I hadn't seen before, and it was fun for me to see them.

This morning I tried to email her some pictures of her grandmother and her family, but had problems with her email not accepting mine, and my email was bounced.

Not being a person who gives up easily, I thought about possible solutions for a while, and then decided to start another blog.  I had no desire to fight with emails and decided that this would be a good way to share old family photos and stories.

So I spent the better part of the day setting up "Second Cup of Coffee."  The name is due to the fact that so many names I tried were already in use, and the fact that I can rarely navigate until I have at least two cups of coffee.  Also, I like to read some blogs in the mornings with my second cup of coffee, so it seemed appropriate.

Anyway, if you are at all interested in learning about our family history, the URL is posted in my list to the right of this page.  I am having fun with this and hope that others will enjoy it as well.

Homemade Jam and Jelly

It is all David's fault.  He emailed me photos of the salsa and tomatoes that he canned at home.  Got me thinking about all the canning I had done when I was still a kid living at home and later when my children were young.  The memories of how good all of those home canned fruits and vegetables, pickles, relishes, jams and jellies tasted got me fired up to try home canning again.

So yesterday I spent the afternoon making this.

The clear jelly is grape, made from bottled juice, and on the left is strawberry jam, made from fresh strawberries.

And it tastes just as good as I remember.