Lou-la-la

Roger is Awesome.

2011-11-04T12:28:00.000-04:00

So, I adopted Roger when he was a year and a half. He had been in Vermont for 6mo, transferred up from a shelter in Florida. Other than a couple vaccination records I was able to hunt down, I knew pretty much nothing about his life up to that point. He was sort of a nervous fella, but we took to each other right away and the rest is history.

Recently, we've become mayor of our vet's office trying to figure out why Roger needs to pee 10x a night. Urine tests, blood tests, and this morning: x-rays. We still don't know why he's peeing so much. But we do know a little bit more about his life B.V. (before Vermont).

The vet brought me back to see the x-rays. That's a lot of kidney stones, I thought to myself. "Where did you get Roger?" he asked. "Humane Society of Chittenden County," I responded. "Uh huh. Well, it appears that he's been shot, at least twice, at some point in his past." And then I realized what the x-rays were showing. That constellation of glowing dots on the left hip x-ray was bird shot! And a BB lodged directly under his spine!

To say my jaw dropped would be the only accurate description for my reaction. I stood there staring back and forth from one x-ray to the other to Roger to Dr Eustis and back. Someone shot my dog? Some asshole SHOT a PUPPY?? TWICE?!?! Well I guess that explains why he used to be a nervous dog!!

He went on to explain that since they weren't causing Roger any problems, we would just leave them in there. If the BB had been to one side or the other, it might be what's causing his current problems, but right in the middle it's just lodged in muscle.

I don't really have a good way to sum this up, other than to say hug your dog.

Sunday Scenes

2011-09-18T11:20:00.001-04:00

Getting a little jump on the work week

Cucumbers, carrots, tomatoes

Smile turning into a yawn

Sunday bone = happy dog

Campfire Cuisine with Christie & Lou

2011-08-22T10:46:00.000-04:00

Since our Memorial Day camping trip was four days long, we decided to get a little adventurous with our breakfast and dinner menus!

Dinner #1: Cheddarwurst, corn on the cob, potato salad

I mean, the park was called Cobscook, we couldn't NOT have corn one night, right?

Breakfast #1: Pancakes & Bacon (no picture)
I brought two boxes of firewood with me, but thanks to the damp chilly coastal weather, we needed more by morning. Unfortunately, we were awake and wanting coffee before the ranger station was open. Not fun. But finally we were able to get firewood, quickly followed by coffee and warmth and BREAKFAST!

Clearly, the ranger station had some pretty high-quality, dry well-seasoned wood. All firewood foams like that, right?

Dinner #2: Boboli pizza with peppers & bacon, salad
After successfully cooking Boboli pizza on a wood stove for our Bolton hut trip last February, I couldn't resist trying it over an open campfire. It was delicious! Crispy on the bottom and toasty on the edges, all melty and gooey on the top.

Breakfast #2: Trash Can Breakfast
In looking up possible dinners, I came across a bunch of "trash can" recipes. Basically, this means you throw everything into a coffee can, cover with tin foil, and stick it in or over the fire.

For our trash can breakfast, we added eggs, sausage, and veggies. Once it's all cooked, top with shredded cheese and dig in!

Dinner #3: Leftovers
We had planned on veggie burgers for our final dinner, but unfortunately they didn't stay frozen solid enough to stay together on the grill so we ate another round of Cheddarwurst, leftover pizza, potato salad, and garden salad. We also had plenty of cheese & crackers, trail mix, and watermelon, which is what we had for lunch each day.

Breakfast #3: Orange Peel Muffins
I cooked these Sunday night as a to-go breakfast for Monday morning. I wasn't quite sure how they would turn out, but I think they were pretty good! It's a good thing, too, because we had to pack up and leave in a hurry, narrowly missing a serious downpour early Monday morning!

Desserts: Banana Boats!
Don't think we skipped dessert! Banana boats are made by slicing a banana the long way and stuffing with desired filling, wrapping it in tinfoil and cooking it a bit to soften and melt everything. Let it cool a bit, then eat with a spoon! We tried chocolate & peanut butter one night, and chocolate & marshmallows another night. Success!

Camping with Bruno & Christie!

2011-08-21T23:02:00.004-04:00

I can't believe it's taken me this long to post about our Maine camping adventure!! Lots of dogs, lots of food, lots of firewood, and probably more than our fair share of damp weather made for the best Memorial Day Weekend camping trip ever!

We picked Cobscook Bay State Park on the Maine coast because it was about the same (sevenish hour) driving distance for both of us. We booked the last remaining oceanfront campsite for the whole holiday weekend, Friday through Monday. It was a bit of a risk, since we had to book it way in advance and could possibly have four days of lousy weather, lousy site, or worse.

But we were so lucky! The campground was beautiful, and the sites were really spread out with plenty of woods in between so we had privacy. Based on the availability when we booked, we expected the park to be jam-packed, but we lucked out there too, and only had people in the site next to us for our last night (and they slept in their van)!

Here's the crew: Bruno, Roger, Farley, Christie (and me)

Getting settled in...

Bruno and Roger played lots and lots of Table Fort.

Heading out on our hike!

The website described the only trail in the park as a "nature walk" so we were expecting a mellow, easy stroll. There was another park nearby that we discussed driving to, in case we were up for more of a challenge. But it was definitely enough of a hike! We ended up doing it both days, with slight variations. We never saw anyone else, so the doggies got to be off-leash the whole time.

Back in front of the campfire, tired and happy after our hike.

Up next: some of the great food from our trip!

Crepe-A-Week Update

2011-04-23T21:06:00.003-04:00

Atlantic Moster (Breakfast Menu), enjoyed at home

It's probably lucky for you readers that I'm a terrible food writer. If I were a better food writer, I would be posting every week about the amazing Skinny Pancake crepes I'm eating and you would all be sick of hearing about it. Lucky for you, I usually don't even remember to take a picture before digging in!

I was sick all this past week, so I didn't get to my crepe until Saturday night. I called ahead, and arrived before it was ready so I took a seat at the bar. Watching the crepe chef at work was truly hypnotizing, and my appetite was piqued by the time mine was boxed and ready. It's still a bit chilly to dine al freso, so Roger and I walked home with it. Tonight I chose the Cannelloni Crepe, and it was fantastic! It came with a generous side salad with their house dressing. It's been rumored they were considering bottling their dressing, and if that ever happens I'll be first in line to buy a bottle.

I may not be turning into Pat Likes To Eat any time soon, but I am good at spreadsheets, so I can tell you that nine weeks into my year of crepes, I've eaten $93.35 worth (not including taxes). My favorite new discoveries are the Chicken Cordon Blue Crepe, and the Vegan Monster. Once the weather gets warm enough, I'm looking forward to enjoying some of the sweet classics on the patio!

Sunday Funday

2011-03-20T15:46:00.001-04:00

Started with breakfast at Handy's with one of my favorite all-grown-up Gotta Campers.

Followed by a little fun at the pier, listening to the ice break up & melt,

FURminated out Roger's winter coat on the sunny porch,

Baked banana bread for my airbnb guest,

Finishing up with packing my bags for St Louis!

Closing the Loop

2011-03-17T18:07:00.000-04:00

After several years of renting out my second bedroom, I made it my full-time home office in January. I had some really great roommates over the years. It was a big chunk of relatively passive income to say goodbye to. But my freelance business is buzzing and needed the space, and I love having my sunny little home all to myself again! I've been finding ways to make up the difference, and still put some money aside for exciting things like fun trips! And home improvement projects! And some day soon, a new car!

Again this year, I will be renting out my entire condo to a graduate's family for the UVM graduation weekend. It's fantastic--a financial incentive to spring clean and then go away for a weekend? Yes, please! I found my renter on craigslist, but this year I decided to give airbnb a spin, too. After listing the whole condo, I figured why not list my newly reclaimed guest room too? With the airbnb system, an interested guest sends a request with the desired nights, and you can see their profile and approve or decline their reservation. What an improvement from craigslist! The 3% cut they take is totally worth it!

Just last night I booked my first guest--a gal from Atlanta will be arriving Sunday for a two-night stay, bringing in a total of $116. And the timing couldn't be better--yesterday afternoon, my water heater stopped heating water. And so my adventure began!
-On Wednesday, my plumber etcetera, Guy Henning, gave it a look and recommended I call a water heater repair company. (He didn't charge me, he's a good guy like that).
-This afternoon, the water heater repair man checked it out, and identified a burned out breaker as the problem. A regular service call is $80, but since he didn't actually do anything, he charged me $50.
-Don from Melody Electric just came and in only a few minutes, replaced the breaker. Original cost: $149. Subtract the $25 coupon from their website, I paid $124.

Total cost $174 minus $116 = $58. One more overnight guest through airbnb, and it's covered! I could not have scripted a better example of making my condo pay for itself, and closing the loop of cost vs benefit of home ownership!

Wordless Wednesday: Too Much Snow

2011-03-09T12:03:00.001-05:00

beCAUSE we care!

2011-03-06T21:51:00.001-05:00

This Saturday, March 12th, is the 6th annual beCAUSE Craft Show at St Michael's College! Each vendor pledges to donate 50-100% of their profits to a non-profit of their choice. I'll be donating my sales to Burlington Freestyle!

Visit the website and fan us on Facebook to check out the full list of vendors, and see you there on Saturday!

Philanthropy is Delicious!

2011-02-25T14:26:00.003-05:00

In January, the winter storage barn at Pete's Greens burned down. Soon after, Bid for the Barn, an online auction was put together to raise funds for the rebuilding effort. On the first day of the week-long auction, I boldly placed the opening bid on an amazing item: a crepe a week for a year from one of my favorite restaurants, The Skinny Pancake. I did the math, and knew it was a great deal, even if I missed a few weeks here and there. Besides, I was sure to be out-bid by the end of the week, right?

To my amazement, I won! I giddily mailed in my check, and this week received a batch of Skinny Pancake gift certificates in the mail. Rumor has it they're adding a button to their computer system for this, so these are just to get me started. (And unfortunately NO, they don't roll over from one week to the next, so I can't save them up and have a big party.)

I'm going to use this as an opportunity to stray from my tried and true favorites, and test some new ones I wouldn't normally select. My goal is to try all of the amazing offerings over the next year! In addition to seasonal specials, there are 35 different crepes--maybe more, if the salad in a crepe-bowl or the kidz menu items count!

Last night, T and I went out for the first of my 52 "free" crepes. The restaurant was packed, and I think our 30-min wait time stretched a bit beyond that. But once we were seated at the table tucked between the stairs and the window, we had our own cozy nook in the crowded room. I selected the "Chicken Cordon Blue Crepe," and it was amazing! It's one of the five Dinner Crepes, which are only available Thurs-Sat nights. T's first choice, The Cattle Rancher, was sold out for the night, but he was quite pleased with the runner-up, Lamb Fetatastic (both from the Savory Classics section).

Price: $12.95
Balance: $237.05
Average price per crepe so far: $250

In The Kitchen: Coffee Hazelnut Cookies

2011-02-09T21:42:00.000-05:00

At Christmas time, I brought a box of Sugarsnap's Cookies for Good home to NH. The assortment I chose included Java Hazelnut cookies, and they were wonderful! I tracked down this recipe online, hoping to reproduce the yummy treat for my Gray Dog Media office-warming party. They were much crunchier than the original, and I usually prefer chewier cookies, but they were still delicious!

Unfortunately the office party was postponed due to a crazy snowstorm. Hopefully it can be rescheduled when the snowbanks recede a bit. The only problem? Cookies full of coffee really shouldn't be eaten too late in the day. Hmm...cookies for breakfast? Okay!

Wordless Wednesday: Snow Day

2011-02-02T22:19:00.000-05:00

(Coffee Hazelnut Cookies--recipe coming soon)

Wordless Wednesday: Best Little Office Assistant Ever!

2011-01-26T17:34:00.000-05:00

Resolve

2011-01-04T23:15:00.001-05:00

I'm happy to report that 2010 was pretty damn great, so I don't have a huge overhaul plan--just more movement in the same direction.

Resolution #1: Finish all the books I've started reading. I love reading, but evidently I'm not overly concerned with actually finishing books. There are bookmarks tucked somewhere in the middle of about a third of the books on my shelf. Time to get on that! The added benefit of this? Quiet time after working hours, not spent watching TV. Particularly in the winter when it's dark by the time I leave my desk, it's all too easy to flip on reruns of NCIS while fixing dinner, and stay parked with Roger and my laptop until Conan comes on and I realize how late it is. I don't like doing it, so I'm hoping to replace the habit with reading. So far, so good--I've already finished Kevin Runolfson's The Things You Find on the Appalachian Trail and Raymond Chandler's The High Window.

Resolution #2: Continue to build Gray Dog Media. I read an article on budgeting that recommends a 50/30/20 designation of your income: 50% needs, 30% wants, 20% savings. Saying I'm not at that point is a gross understatement. It's more like 90/7/3. I'm hoping to save enough to buy a new car this year, so that savings portion needs a serious boost!

In a move that will hopefully support the 50/30/20 madness, I'm officially making my second bedroom into my home office! After several years of playing landlord, I've decided to take the leap. My current tenant moves out this week, and I'll be excitedly setting up my office this weekend!

Resolution #3: Achieve a higher level of physical fitness. In 2009, I underwent and recovered from ACL surgery. Partly due to the fact that I was unable to ski for the '09-'10 season, last winter I gained weight. In 2010, I lost the weight and then some. This winter I'm returning to Bolton to coach the Mini Racers program on Saturday mornings. I'm back at Long Trail Physical Therapy twice a week to work on some scar tissue issues, and get my left leg strength back to 100%. Going for a well-rounded winter, we're planning a hut trip to Bolton's Bryant Cabin in February, and I'm thinking of getting myself a pair of snowshoes so Roger and I can get out and enjoy the snow on my non-skiing days.

Overall, I resolve that 2011 will be my best year ever.

Sunday Funday: Harvesting the Garden!

2010-11-06T09:00:00.003-04:00

Finally last Sunday I didn't have any guests or plans, and the rain came and went in fits. I seized the chance to harvest my root vegetables and put away the trellis and tomato cages.

The carrots turned out awesome!! Even the smallest one is bigger than last year's biggest.

Unfortunately, my first attempt at potatoes was not nearly so successful.

That's the whole harvest. In one hand. I planted more potato than that!!

I think they didn't get enough water. Maybe I didn't sing to them enough. Oh well...next year will be better.

Sunday Funday inspired by the blog Simply Everything Beautiful

Sunday Funday: Lake Champlain Cruise!

2010-10-30T18:40:00.002-04:00

It's fun to be a tourist in my own city! A couple weeks ago, my parents and sister came to visit Burlington. My sister lives in Colorado, so she usually only comes east once a year. We packed all kinds of things into her time here, including a family cruise on Lake Champlain!

The cruise included a lunch buffet, and was just the right length at an hour and a half. We cruised south from the downtown ferry dock, went around Shelburne Bay and looped back up north around the breakwater before returning.

Look at our beautiful city!

It was so much fun trying to identify buildings and streets from this new angle. Turns out I'm not very good at it! The foliage was at its peak, and the views were wonderful. We were afraid it might be cold, but the sun was bright and warm on the upper deck of the cruise ship. Plus there was plenty of Green Mountain coffee to keep us warm!

Sunday Funday inspired by the blog Simply Everything Beautiful

Rustic Muffins

2010-10-20T13:45:00.000-04:00

Over the weekend, I made pupcakes for Roger's birthday (more on that in another post). They're basically whole wheat muffins with apples, cheese, yogurt, and honey. And a cream cheese frosting. Admittedly, I probably ate just as many as the birthday dog. So that started me on a hunt for a more simple recipe intended for humans.

(original recipe)

I switched the proportions of white and whole wheat flour. I used more apples than the recipe called for, and probably should have shredded them instead of just dicing. I'm guessing that's why they came out looking a bit...irregular. Sort of...rustic. But still...delicious!

2nd Annual Hike with Shawnee!

2010-10-03T11:22:00.016-04:00

Just a little while ago, we were reminiscing with @ShawneeShep about the great hike we took together last September. She and her mom drove all the way up from New Jersey to hike in southern Vermont with us, and it was such a great day! We decided to do it again this year.

For this year's adventure, Shawnee and her mom found a great hike in Pisgah State Park in New Hampshire. The days leading up to our trip it was pouring rain, but luckily the skies cleared in time, and we had a perfect day for hiking!

We drove down from Burlington and they drove up from New Jersey and we met at the park. Once the dogs had gotten a chance to greet each other and were properly outfitted in their don't-hunt-me orange, we were on our way!

Since there had been so much rain, I was ready for the trails to be a muddy mess, but overall it was pretty dry! We had to make our way across several streams that I'm guessing usually would have been quite small, and there were some great big puddles for the dogs to play in. (Roger made it his mission to get soaking wet in each one of them.)

Shawnee led the way for the whole 10 miles, keeping us moving at a good pace. The hike was pretty challenging for Roger and me, and as soon as we reached the summit of Pisgah Mt, Roger wasted no time hunkering down for a nap!

Once we started the hike back down, I kind of wish I had followed Roger's example...never underestimate the restorative power of a nap.

Shawnee brought her boy along this year! At first Roger wasn't quite sure about him, but by the end they were good buddies.

The views were fantastic, and it was so peaceful at the top. We only passed a few other groups of hikers all day. We had hoped to catch the foliage at a good time, but it was still mostly green leaves everywhere with only random bursts of color. It could have been more dramatic, but of course it was very pretty anyway--and that means the trails were less crowded.

Daniela got so many great pictures (like this one below and the first one in the post), and you can see more of them in Shawnee's blog post about our pawsome day together!

Thank you, Shawnee, Daniela, and the Boy, for making the trip to New Hampshire to hike with us! We can hardly wait until our 3rd annual hike next year--we should be just about rested enough by then to do it all over again!

In the Kitchen: Roasted Sweet Potatoes

2010-09-28T14:04:00.006-04:00

As I've pointed out before, I'm no daredevil in the kitchen. Normally I stick with tried-and-true favorites, but I was rewarded for my efforts this weekend when I took a crack at roasted sweet potatoes! Not a quick dish, but SO yummy and seasonally appropriate that it was totally worth the time spent.

The taste and texture were perfect the first night! Tender and sweet inside with a slightly crispy and caramelized exterior. Reheated the next day they still tasted great, but unfortunately the texture was lost. Next time I'll probably leave them in a little longer in the 2nd and 3rd stage to get crispier edges.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes
-4-6 sweet potatoes, peeled, rinsed and cut into 3/4"-thick rounds
-2 Tbsp vegetable oil
-1 tsp salt

Toss all ingredients together in a large bowl until potatoes are evenly coated. Arrange on a rimmed baking sheet covered in tin foil. (The recipe suggests coating the tin foil with cooking spray first, but I didn't and they came off pretty okay.) Cover tightly with tin foil. Place in cold oven, turn it to 425 degrees and cook for 30 min.

Remove from oven and carefully remove top layer of foil. Return to oven and cook until bottom edges of potatoes are golden brown, 15-25 min.

Take em out again, flip em over, back in for 20 min more, until desired color is achieved. Enjoy!

Sunday Funday: Lulu's Birthday!

2010-09-26T21:44:00.006-04:00

Today I was honored to join in the celebration of Lulu's 3rd birthday! Jessie, clever as always, booked an event room at the local park so that there was plenty of inside and outside space for Lulu's friends, their parents, and siblings to enjoy the celebration - crown-decorating, cake-eating and present-opening inside paired perfectly with pinata-whacking and jungle gym-climbing outside!

Happy birthday, Lulu!

Sunday Funday inspired by the blog Simply Everything Beautiful

Wordless Wednesday: Roger & the A/C

2010-07-21T11:47:00.003-04:00

Heat Wave

2010-07-07T00:54:00.008-04:00

There's no denying it, it's HOT! My normally cool-as-a-cucumber Burlington set a new record high of 95 degrees for today's date. Roger has taken to napping on ice packs, and he refused to leave the house all afternoon. Y'know what this heat wave is making me dream about?

HUTSGIVING.

Just think of whooshing over all that icy Colorado snow as we ski out to the Section House, Thanksgiving dinner and birthday treats safely tucked in our packs, all smiles and chilly, rosy cheeks.

Only four months to go :)

Sunday Funday: Playing in the garden!

2010-07-03T16:25:00.004-04:00

A good portion of the day last Sunday was spent playing in the garden with Roger!

We planted potatoes in the Smart Pot, and pulled weeds from around the veggies.

All of the cucumber sprouts that had been there a week earlier were mysteriously gone! Luckily I had a few seeds left in the packet, so I re-planted them. Hopefully something will still come.

The other big project was planting grass. It's never been a particularly luscious or robust lawn, and it seems to have only gotten worse this summer.

I pulled up and raked out as many of the big weeds as I could, and seeded the whole area around the garden.

And look! I'm already being rewarded for my efforts! On Friday I harvested my first round of lettuce and spinach! Now I just need the tomatoes and carrots to catch up...

The tomato plants are getting HUGE, so luckily I won't have too much longer to wait.

Don't trust that grin - this kid didn't help at all. Roger chose to nap, and supervise my progress from a comfortable distance.
Sunday Funday inspired by the blog Simply Everything Beautiful

Veggie Garden 2010

2010-06-14T20:50:00.010-04:00

Introducing the Veggie Garden, 2010 Edition! New and improved in almost every way: well-tilled soil, nutrient-rich compost, stepping stones, and 50% bigger than the 2009 edition!

Papa McKenna took the trip from NH to spend Memorial Day weekend with Roger and me, working in the garden. We raked, and tilled, and dug rocks (including the stepping stones and that massive corner post) and added wonderful compost and then raked and tilled some more.

The plants and seeds went in the following weekend, and there are already some green sprouts poking up in the lettuce section!

From left: lettuce, spinach, carrots, cucumbers (under the trellis) peppers, tomatoes. Coming soon: potato planter.

We also set up the compost bin! I've had a kitchen compost bin for years, and I always just haul it to CSWD to dump it. But finally my own garden will be able to benefit from all my lovely coffee grounds, wilted lettuce, and apple cores!

Of course, the Veggie Garden 2010 Edition has the latest in home garden security. To protect from digging critters (cats, etc) I stake down a section of chicken wire flat on the ground. The plants grow right up through it, and weeds can be plucked, but it's dig-proof!

Ready? Now I'm going to tell you my secret weapon. For general pest repellent that's chemical-free and pet friendly, use crushed red pepper. Just sprinkle it on top of and around the garden. Ground red pepper works too, but it's harder to see where you've applied it. Just be sure to reapply after heavy wind/rain!

After a full day of hard work prepping my garden on Saturday, Papa McKenna & I were thrilled to have Sunday breakfast at Handy's and then cheer on our friends in the Vermont City Marathon! My porch is the best seat in town.

Colorado Surprise!

2010-05-30T15:15:00.002-04:00

Now a month after the fact, I'm finally going to tell you about my trip to Colorado!

Back in November, my sister Meghan's friend in Colorado set up a surprise 30th birthday party for Meg to take place in April - including surprise guests! Meg's best friend Jen, our mom, and I went out to Breckenridge, CO for an overnight hut trip with Meg and her friends. It was totally awesome! The "hut" we stayed in, the Continental Divide Cabin, is a beautiful log cabin that sleeps eight with one large main room, two smaller separate bedrooms, a wide sunny front deck, and a covered porch to walk to the outhouse. I'm just glad we were able to keep it a secret - I'm notoriously bad at keeping exciting secrets!

We drove 2hrs to Leadville, then snowshoed and skied out about 0.8mi to the hut, and even those of us accustomed to sea level did pretty damn well! The temperature inside the hut was about 40deg when we arrived, but after a few hours with the wood stove, it was over 70. Those ladies don't mess around - the party theme was "ugly bathing suits" (summer version of ugly sweater) and everyone was dressed to impress.

Rowdy games of Taboo, dinner from the grill, ice cream from snow, and plenty of wine made for a totally awesome evening. The next morning was pancakes and a snowshoe expedition on the trails around the hut. It snowed the whole first day and night, so there was plenty of fresh snow to play in.

I had SO much fun, I decided that I need to do it again. But my 30th is still several years away. Then I realized this year is my golden birthday - I'm turning 27 on the 27th of November! Thanksgiving in a hut? Yes please!! The dates we want are open for reservation on June 1st, so I've been doing my best to recruit my party guests. Yeah, a destination birthday party is a lot to ask for, but it's going to be a totally awesome time. Right now we are considering the Section House, which is a much farther ski, but the trailhead is right in Breckenridge, and we'll stay two nights instead of one. And c'mon - Thanksgiving in a hut!!

In the Kitchen with RogerDog: Cheddar Biscuits

2010-05-11T09:59:00.008-04:00

I love baking for Roger! He's pretty easy to please. Our standard go-to recipe is peanut butter oatmeal cookies, but for my birthday Meghan gave me the You Bake 'Em Dog Biscuits Cookbook, so we're doing our best to branch out!

Roger is a big fan of these - I mean, what's not to love? They're full of Cabot Cheddar. I rolled them thinner than the recipe specifies, so they're a little crunchier, which he seems to prefer. I may try them thicker next time, just for variety.

Cheddar Biscuits
-1c all-purpose flour
-1c whole wheat flour
-1c shredded cheddar cheese
-2TBSP butter
-3/4c milk
-grated Parmesan cheese (topping)
-extra flour for rolling a MUST - our dough was very sticky!

Put flours & cheese in food processor (I skipped the food processor and just mixed by hand which worked fine, but the dough was a bit inconsistent). Mix in butter & milk. Turn out on floured surface and roll out to 1/4- to 1/2-inch thickness. Poke with tines of fork and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Cut with cookie cutters (we use a pizza cutter to make bars - very efficient!). Place on baking sheet covered with non-stick foil. Bake 15-20 min or until golden brown. Store in the fridge.

Both the Sir and our guest taste tester Miss Madeline gave rave reviews, and the ingredient list is so simple that these will surely be a permanent addition to our regular cookie rotation! Let me know what your pups think if you give them a try!

So many things!

2010-04-27T22:40:00.000-04:00

After sneaking to Colorado and successfully surprising my sister for her 30th birthday, my mom and I are almost back home. A real post is coming soon, but I took advantage of the free wifi on the bus back from Logan to post these pictures.

Tuesday Trifecta

2010-04-27T22:35:00.000-04:00

Roger's Colorado cousin. Brass Armadillo: Fiesta Heaven. My mile-high city favorite.

Inspired by the blog Orange Pattern

Tuesday Trifecta

2010-04-27T22:25:00.000-04:00

Important things! Potent potable. Lovely day for a snow-shod stroll.

Inspired by the blog Orange Pattern

Tuesday Trifecta

2010-04-27T22:15:00.000-04:00

The birthday girl. Ice cream from snow. Celebration!

Inspired by the blog Orange Pattern

Tuesday Trifecta

2010-04-20T10:22:00.007-04:00

Love working at New Moon. Love free stuff. Love pretty versions of normally boring things.

Inspired by the blog Orange Pattern

10-Things Progress: Lofty Goals

2010-04-18T13:15:00.003-04:00

There's not a ton of storage space in my condo, but I've done a decent job of making the most of what I've got. Except one notable exception - over my stacked washer/dryer there is an open shelf, which has a few miscellaneous kitchen things on it, and above that, an 11" space that has sat empty. It's not all that easy to get to - there's a step stool involved, and sometimes I even have to monkey up onto the washer, depending on how far back the item is.

Enter: canvas storage bins. I've already got a whole family of them in my bedroom closet holding sheets, towels, ski clothes, and plenty more. Those are relatively easy to pull down whenever I need anything from them. For the space above the dryer, I decided it would have to be things I don't need all that often.

The brown/blue one has my air mattress (not much call for that these days, now that I own a pull-out sofa) and canvas drop-cloths for painting projects. The oatmeal/brown one has my box collection. Yeah that's right, I save boxes. Up until now, the collection had resided under my kitchen table. I pared it down enough to fit in the bin, and I'm very pleased with the space it has opened up!

The great thing about these (in addition to hiding my silly collections) is when I need something it's easy enough to just pull the whole bin down and rummage around. (Plus it made me limit the amount of boxes saved...always a good thing) When I first put them up there, it was a glaring intrusion in the once-empty space, but after only a couple days I was used to seeing them.

I might replace the brown one in the future with a matching oatmeal-colored one (Lowe's, $9.61), or a light blue bin I already own. There is still more space to the right of these. I may add a third bin, if I can figure out what to put in it!

Tuesday Trifecta

2010-04-13T23:00:00.005-04:00

From the Easter bunny. Lovely happy parents. Freelance snuggler.

Inspired by the blog Orange Pattern

The Ten Things Spring Cleaning Challenge

2010-04-09T14:30:00.003-04:00

I have a lot of stuff in my house. I use it, I swap it, give it away; I do my best to get rid of it. I've even written about these efforts before. But there's still a lot.

Now I'm cracking down.

For the month of April, I will be adhering to the Ten Things Spring Cleaning Challenge. I made it up myself, and as such, I get to make all the rules.

- Every day, I need to put away/get rid of ten things in my house. This includes putting things in seasonal storage, packing up a craft project I'm done with, recycling the boxes I've been saving just in case.

On about Day 4, this project got harder. I had picked off all the low-hanging fruit. So I realized I needed to modify the rules a bit. (Again - my challenge, my rules.)

-Daily chores can count - emptying the dish rack, etc (easy point each day)
-Bigger projects have a sliding scale: sorting through magazines to recycle: 1 point. Hanging pictures: 3 points. Cleaning out the cupboard under the sink: 5 points.
-Each week, I get one day off.

My goals are pretty simple: get rid of stuff I really don't need/use/want. Have more free space in my house. Have fewer things to clean around. Not end up on an episode of Hoarding: Buried Alive. (That show is upsetting)

You're welcome to play along, and even make up your own rules if you want. See? I can play nice.

I'll keep you posted.

beCAUSE Craft Show

2010-03-13T09:30:00.004-05:00

Guess where I'll be next weekend!!

All this weekend I'm busily making more crayon roll-ups, putting the finishing touches on a few knobs, and trying to decide how best to display everything. I really hope I'll see a lot of you at the craft show next Saturday! I will be donating 75% of my profits from the day to Vermont Adaptive Ski & Sport!

Where in the world

2010-03-01T14:45:00.000-05:00

Thanks to the magic of Google Analytics, I can see where in the country my readers are located! I've got 96% of the states - where's the love, South Dakota & Alaska?!

visited by 48 states (96%)
Create your own visited map of The United States

TIME FOR RUNNING!

2010-02-15T17:04:00.006-05:00

(Ready, Roger?)

SUPER-FAST RUNNING TIME, GO!!

Ridiculously fast dog?

Really slow camera?
Top-secret government super-dog?
Or something completely different?
You decide.
(Hint: it's the first & second one)

Crafterday Afternoon: Roger's bedcover

2010-01-23T22:08:00.013-05:00

For quite a while now, I've cringed every time I look over at Roger's bed in the living room. The stuffing has been worn about as flat as it can be, and has turned a permanently muddy color. Even though the cover is removable for washing, it no longer gets...clean.

When the Little Sir comes in soggy from swimming, or muddy from the dog park, he knows he's not allowed on the couch so he plops down on his bed until he's dry. Every Sunday he gnaws on his marrow bone on - you guessed it - his bed. At this point those stains are so ground in, they're never coming out.

For reference - here's what it used to look like. That didn't last long.

I decided the best solution would be to start fresh.

Last winter, the fitted sheet from my very favorite flannel sheet set "Starry Night" finally wore through. I saved it of course, because let's be honest, I can't throw anything away. It's in my genes. When winter rolled around this year, I was reminded just how fanatically Roger loves flannel sheets - nearly as much as I do. And then it hit me - the perfect use for the worn sheet would be to make Roger a bed cover!! The parts of the sheet that tuck around the mattress have no wear, there should be plenty to work with to make a removable, easily-laundered cover.

I finally launched the project this afternoon. After holding the sheet up at various angles for a while, trying to find the right angle of attack, I cut the elastic off from around the edges. I thought I might be able to use a fitted corner as a starting place, but there was so much fabric that it was hard to see how that would work. In a moment of crafting frenzy, I decided I needed to get rid of some of the excess, so I proceeded to chop out the tissue-thin middle of the sheet!

So now I had a huge loop of fabric, with still no clear path forward. I realized the whole thing would have to be patched together from the smaller, unworn edge pieces so I broke down the sheet further by ripping out the seams at all the corners, and was finally able to make some progress.

I sewed together three of the largest pieces, then attached side panels. Luckily the patchwork effort is disguised by the random nature of the pattern. The cover is open across the center of the bottom, I think I'll add buttons.

I know it'll go through the same abuse as the original cover, but at least it's a fresh start, and it'll be easier to wash!

Project: Crayon Roll-Ups

2010-01-18T23:32:00.004-05:00

One of the gifts I most loved designing and making this year, what I've been calling "crayon roll-ups," went to three of the special children in my life: Haiden, David, and Lauren.

After seeing several similar items in craft fairs and blogs, I decided it couldn't be that hard to whip up a simple version of my own! A sweet little crayon caddy for today's young artist on the go. Plane trips, weekends at Grandma's, waiting at a busy restaurant - covered!

I started at the local craft store by picking out squares of felt in each child's favorite color, and a couple 24-packs of crayons. Of course, I already had a massive supply of fun cotton prints stored away in my closet to sort through, so that part was covered.

Normally I'm not big on projects that show off my less-than-delicate sewing. My seams tend to meander, and accurate measurement is no friend of mine. I've accepted it. But for this project, the extra effort was worth it. Most of my time was spent measuring, ironing, and re-measuring, trying to perfect the mitered corners and width of the cotton panel.

Once the slots were sewn and the crayons were in place, I had some puzzling to do. I dug into my craft chest and pulled out ribbons, buttons, elastic, hook-&-loop, and all kinds of other notions to rig up a closure.

Originally I pictured ribbons that would tie in a bow, but then remembered the recipients were still wearing Velcro shoes. Next, I thought elastic would be easier for little hands, but (a) I couldn't figure out how to sew a button hole in the elastic and (b) it looked terrible! So, I scrapped it and moved back to ribbon.

Finally I decided simple is best. I sewed a loop of ribbon long enough to reach back around and hook onto a button. And even though it looked absolutely darling, I had to replace that star-shaped button in the pictures with a classic round one. If it was tricky for me to unhook the ribbon, it would be impossible for Haiden!

Hopefully the recipients (and their parents) will enjoy using these as much as I enjoyed making them!

Wrapping it up with style, Part 2

2010-01-09T10:50:00.006-05:00

This year I set the foundation for what I hope will become a new holiday tradition for our family: using fabric gift bags in place of wrapping paper.

A couple years ago, my Nana graciously gifted me her stash of holiday fabric, as well as a large quantity of rick-rack in several colors. She wails every time she hears I'm using it for bags - "Bags! I spent so long carefully picking out and coordinating those fabrics! $8 a yard! And you're making BAGS!" Yep, I sure am! Thanks Nana!

I set myself to work designing a simple, functional, present-able bag. And I sewed with rick-rack for the first time! It's tricky at first, but by the 2nd (or 3rd) bag, I had the hang of it.

The first batch went to my mom's siblings. I knew the size of the specific presents, but I made them big enough to be functional for many things in the future. I don't have any pictures of those because as soon as I completed them I boxed them up and mailed them to Mom to use!

After that, I made one for my friend and her family, big enough to hold all of their gifts. By the time I got to my own family, I was making custom bags for each present I was wrapping. These won't be as universally useful in the future, but good things come in small packages!

My hope is that next Christmas we will reuse these bags by sending them back and forth among our family. (Pridmore Family, are you reading this??) My mom doesn't think people will part with them, though. Perhaps I will have to add a few more into the system next year!

Wrapping it up with style, Part 1

2009-12-19T11:10:00.009-05:00

Making our own wrapping paper has been an annual event in my family for as long as I can remember. It's a beautiful and fun way to personalize our gifts to each other and add some variety under the tree.

Mama-la-la would haul down the roll of butcher paper as my sister and I brainstormed and sketched designs to painstakingly carve into potato stamps - simple silhouettes of trees, stars, and bells.

The designs got more intricate each year, eventually including a striped candy cane, skis & boots, mittens, a scarf, and even a 2-piece stamp of a present wrapped with a bow.

Mama-la-la gets high-class with it, breaking out her stenciling skills. Personally, I stick with the classic potato stamps.

Tools:
-big potatoes
-sharp little knife
-paint and trays
-big paper

Tips:
-Draw your design with a pencil before carving it out with the knife.
-Cut a handle into the back. I learned from experience that this is a BIG help when it comes to stamping.
-Cover the stamp with paint, trim any high spots.
-PRACTICE on an extra sheet of paper. Potato + paint = slippery = smudgy prints

My 2009 Collection:

Spread the love, simply

2009-12-18T12:37:00.008-05:00

One of the most simple gift ideas that I so often forget? Plants!

I have a very enthusiastic aloe plant on my sunny kitchen window sill that has been split, re-potted, and shared many times as a farewell gift, housewarming, thank-you, etc. Houseplants have all kinds of benefits, and aloe is great to keep in the kitchen for burns. It benefits my plant too, which has a habit of growing too big for its pot.

You can go fancy, purchasing a new pot or painting a custom container for it, or more casual if the recipient is a bit of a green thumb and able to re-pot it themselves. It only took a short time for me to re-pot a piece for my roommate's darling girlfriend, and it even looks sufficiently festive with the bright green spikes and red bow!

Wordless Wednesday: Runway Practice

2009-10-21T16:33:00.003-04:00

This calls for a celebration!!

2009-10-18T20:13:00.008-04:00

October has become a pretty significant month for me. This year is the 3rd anniversary of my move to Burlington. It's also 6 months out from my ACL surgery! But most important, this past Friday, Oct 16, was Roger's 3rd birthday!! We celebrated the day with extra walks, belly rubs, and cookies.

But the real celebration was on Saturday night: we had a party, complete with good friends and delicious PUPCAKES!!

We got the recipe from our good friend Shawnee's blog.

DELICIOUS DOGGY PUPCAKES

1 large apple, minced
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 cup oatmeal
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons honey
2 eggs
1 cup grated cheese

Cream Cheese Frosting:

8 oz. low fat cream cheese
2 tablespoons plain yogurt
2 tablespoons honey

Preheat oven to 375 degrees; grease muffin tins.
In a large bowl, mix flour, oatmeal, baking powder and baking soda together.
In a medium bowl, blend the yogurt, water, oil, honey and eggs.
Stir in apple and cheese.
Add to the flour mixture and stir until mixed.
Spoon into muffin tins, filling each cup about three quarters full.
Bake for 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of muffin comes out clean.

For the frosting, combine cream cheese (at room temperature), honey and yogurt until smooth. Spread on cooled pupcakes.

I tried to get a picture of him eating one, but he was too fast - this gray blur is all I was able to capture!! I'm not ashamed to admit I tried one myself - a little plain, but with the frosting, they're really good!!

For these boys, I would swim across the ocean

2009-10-06T11:13:00.005-04:00

Last weekend, Roger and I went to my parents' house in NH for a few days. It was a jam-packed weekend full of my favorite people! We celebrated my mom's birthday, I sold at the craft fair at Alumni Hall, and I got to see all my babes!

We arrived Thursday night, and Dad had a surprise for Roger & me - a snazzy new dog bed! It's to keep at their house, for when we're visiting so I don't have to haul his grungy blue bed back and forth. The top is fleecy, and Roger loved it immediately! Plus, it's zebra-striped, and Roger is really digging animal prints this season.

Friday morning we visited my best friend Jessica and my godson, Roger's cousin, Haiden. Is he not the cutest little guy you've ever SEEN?!? He's two and a half now, I can't believe how fast the time has gone! I absolutely love watching him grow up into his own little person. Seeing a shy smile of recognition creep across his face when I arrive is the coolest thing ever. He is so great with Roger, and Roger is very careful and protective of him. I just know Haiden is going to be an amazing big brother when Jess & Shane's new bundle of joy arrives next spring.

Friday evening after Dad got home from work, he and Roger and I headed down to the Bedell Bridge State Park. There are several big open corn fields, broken up by some wetland marshy areas. This is The Big Fun for Roger, just wide open spaces where he can run around and explore all the new smells. Poor little city dog doesn't get to do that in Burlington!

Since it is currently a hunting season (residential water fowl maybe?) we were all decked out in our don't-hunt-me orange, and Roger was no exception - safety first! Dad got this for him last Fall, and although he wiggles around while I try to adjust the velcro straps, he wears it very nicely once it's on. Every pup and their people should have some orange garb for outings around this time of year.

Later that night we celebrated Mom's 63rd birthday with my seasonally-appropriate specialty, apple crisp a la mode! I also presented her with an Ithaca Farmer's Market tote bag, and a stack of stickers from the closing sale at Scribbles.

Saturday morning Mom & I headed to Alumni Hall for the day to sell at the crafts fair. I've been working on my inventory of birds, knobs, garden tags, switch plates, and puzzle piece brooches for the past several weeks, and came up with some great display methods. Meg even sent a supply of her bird and tree ornaments, which I just love! Unfortunately, it rained all day so the crowd was pretty thin but I managed to make several sales including a custom order of knobs!

Luckily, I had several fun visitors! Jessica stopped by after her morning class, and we took a lap around the craft fair together. Erin and Ryan, my favorite newly-engaged couple, brought baby Mason to visit and do a little shopping. Mason, who is now 8 months old, happily bounced around on my hip for a while, and tried to nom my necklace - darling! His grandpa bought one of my birds for him, which Mason promptly tasted, then dropped into his stroller for later. Yum!

While I was selling my crazy crafts for the day, the poor Little Sir was left behind, all alone! Psh, hardly all alone - he spent the day with his Grandpa! Of course he whined and cried when I left, and then somehow managed to gnaw on a marrow bone and cry at the same time - I mean, it's bordering on neglect, the way that dog is treated! Later he got to take a ride in Grandpa's big gray truck for a field trip to Patten's Sporting Goods, where he got a don't-hunt-me orange bandanna, which he looks adorable in.

Shortly after the crafts fair wrapped up at 4pm, we packed up the car and headed back to Burlington in time for the Hot Buttered Rum show, by far my favorite band. This is the 3rd time I've seen them at Higher Ground, and it was definitely lots of fun. However, they've added a drummer, and some of their new stuff has more of a rock sound. Which is great...but not what you want from your favorite bluegrass band! I did buy the new album, Limbs Akimbo, and I love it.

I am currently searching for another small craft fair or two to sell at this fall, so please pass along any you know of in my area. Unfortunately, the big ones here in Burlington are hundreds of dollars for a table, which is way out of proportion to the cost of what I sell. If I can't find a fair to sell at, I'll post everything to my etsy account. Also, if any of you would like custom orders, let me know!

Options

2009-09-21T20:04:00.005-04:00

Okay, readers! I need your opinions. I'm working on my 2009 Collection (ha ha) for the October 3rd craft fair at Alumni Hall in Haverhill, NH. These are 1-1/4" porcelain knobs. My questions:

Do you prefer the green fill-in, or leaving it white?

Do you prefer the yellow centers, or should I leave them off?

I know the pics are pretty blurry, but you get the gist. I would appreciate as many opinions as possible. Thanks!!

Our Hike With Shawnee!

2009-09-20T22:50:00.009-04:00

Today Roger & I went to southern Vermont to hike with @ShawneeShep and her mom Daniela. It was the perfect autumn day for a hike!

We met up at the Winhall Brook Campground in South Londonderry, VT, then all piled into my car and drove to the Jamaica State Park. We hiked the 12+ miles back up to the campground, with trail detours for an overlook and a waterfall! Along the way, our four-legged amigos found plenty of mud to play in, and water to splash around in.

Here are our beautiful happy pups at an overlook, enjoying the view and a quick cookie.

For most of the hike, the trail ran along next to a river, and there were several spots where they got to jump in! (Which also meant plenty of clean running water - real athletes know the importance of staying hydrated!) There was even a waterfall with great wading pools at the bottom. Here's Roger, doing his classic "fuzzy log" impression.
If snapping a photo of one moving dog is tough, imagine trying to get two! Let's just call this one an action shot.
Closer to the end of the hike was another smaller waterfall and pool, and the pups got another well-earned swim!
Shawnee & Daniela are very impressive hikers, Shawnee kept up her steady pace the whole day. Roger, on the other hand, was completely worn out before 10 miles, and spent the last 2 only a few feet in front of me.
Both dogs were more than willing to sack out in Daniela's back seat on the way back to my car!
Check out more great pictures from our day in Shawnee's blog, too! Shawnee & Daniela, thank you so much for making the trip up to Vermont, we had a wonderful day with you!

Adventures in Hiking

2009-08-12T18:54:00.007-04:00

After a wonderful weekend celebrating Dan Silver's birthday at Camp Silver in New Paltz, NY, Roger and I decided to sneak in a little hike before driving back to Vermont. Just a few miles from our beautiful camp site was Minnewaska State Park!

The trail winds around and above Lake Minnewaska, which on this day was shrouded in fog. There weren't many other people on the trail, and most of the time we couldn't hear anything or anyone else at all. The views were wonderful and calm above the fog, and even though we were up really high, the hike was never too strenuous.
Even though Roger had to stay on his leash the whole time, he did get to splash around in the lake and seemed to love standing on the edges of the cliffs. I knew there was a reason I call him BraveDog!

Wordless Wednesday

2009-07-22T17:01:00.003-04:00

This is why I'm hot

2009-07-07T14:07:00.012-04:00

...and why my house smells like burning! I try to branch out, try something new, and look what it gets me - half a loaf of charred bread, and a kitchen full of smoke.

Earlier this week, the Burlington Women for Change held a wonderfully in-season strawberry pot-luck dinner meet-up! I waited until the last minute to see what other people would bring, in the hopes of contributing something original, and balance out the table. By the time I got around to picking a dish, there was already chocolate-covered strawberries, strawberry rhubarb pie, spinach & strawberry salad, strawberry shortcake, and strawberry margaritas on the menu. Yum!

Close friends and frequent guests of mine know that I love baking and cooking, but only from an established list of items. I have no problem experimenting when it's just for me, but when it comes to subjecting others to my cooking, I like to know I can deliver. Peanut butter cookies...banana bread...quesadillas...deviled eggs...bruschetta - BRUSCHETTA!! Is there such a thing as strawberry bruschetta?! To the internet!!

Turns out there are several different dishes that go by that name. Now to pick one that fits my time frame, budget, and skill set. And the winner is:

Strawberry Bruschetta (allrecipes.com)
INGREDIENTS

24 slices French baguette
1 tablespoon butter, softened
2 cups chopped fresh strawberries
1/4 cup white sugar, or as needed

DIRECTIONS

Preheat your oven's broiler. Spread a thin layer of butter on each slice of bread. Arrange bread slices in a single layer on a large baking sheet.
Place bread under the broiler for 1 to 2 minutes, just until lightly toasted. Spoon some chopped strawberries onto each piece of toast, then sprinkle sugar over the strawberries.
Place under the broiler again until sugar is caramelized, 3 to 5 minutes. Serve immediately.

Seems simple enough, doesn't it? That's what I thought, too. Having made tomato basil bruschetta many times before, I was confident that I could pull it off.

And then the burning started. Ohh, the burning!

I was able to salvage the pieces from the edges of the baking sheet, but at least half of the loaf was a lost cause. Luckily I had regular sourdough bread, which I quickly threw under the broiler (and of course UNDER-toasted).

I spooned the sliced berries on top and sprinkled with sugar. Out of fear of ruining the entire project, I didn't leave it in long enough to carmelize the sugar. Plus I had to pick up a fellow group member so the sheet got to sit in traffic with me for a half hour. Basically it was served as slightly soggy toast with whole fruit and sugar! Perhaps not fancy enough to earn the name bruschetta, but at least it was tasty and well-received!

Coming up on the Women for Change calendar, I'm hosting a discussion of Gloria Steinem's recent local speaking engagement, and the media coverage that followed. And later in August, Bridgette will teach us her favorite German board games - much more strategy and collaboration than the games I grew up with!

Wordless Wednesday

2009-07-01T19:58:00.002-04:00

(Wordless Wednesday is inspired by Buzz and his Food Lady)

Wordless Wednesday

2009-06-24T20:31:00.001-04:00

HSCC's Walk for the Animals

2009-06-21T20:17:00.016-04:00

Last Sunday, Roger and I participated in the 15th annual Walk for the Animals! It's the biggest fundraiser of the year for the Humane Society of Chittenden County, which is the shelter where Roger and I found each other.

The weather was perfect! Sunny and 60's in Battery Park. We arrived at about 10:15am to find the park already packed with dogs and their people checking out the booths of sponsoring vendors. We found the registration tables and took our place in line. That might have been the toughest part of the day - waiting our turn near so many other dogs, but not being able to play! At last it was our turn. Since we raised over $100, I received a t-shirt and a ticket for a free lunch!

With registration successfully completed, Roger and I headed over to one of the several tents set up around the park for shade. I didn't wear nearly enough sun block, and silly Roger was wearing fur! There were also sponsored water bowls scattered about - not that Roger would drink from a communal bowl, but it was a great idea.

A few minutes after 11am, the crowds formed a line on the path and started the march down to the waterfront and back. Roger refused to start walking until Erin was with us. Erin has been at the shelter since I started as a volunteer, first as canine coordinator and now shelter supervisor. Roger has always loved her - she's one of the few people for whom he willingly leaves my side. Throughout the walk he insisted on being near her! I hope she found it cute and not obnoxious...

On the way back up the hill, there was a deep fountain, and several of the big dogs took the opportunity to take a quick dip to cool off. At first Roger was hesitant, since the water was too deep to step into one foot at a time, but with some gentle nudges from Erin and me, he finally landed in with a splash and a smile.

After that, at last it was time for food! Upon re-entering Battery Park, volunteers were handing out big huge dog cookies on strings (I think they were from PupCat Bakery). We got in line and received our free lunch. I got a veggie burger with cheese, the former of which I shared with the Little Sir.

We took some time to wander around to the different vendors' tents. There was of course Pet Food Warehouse, which is just about Roger's favorite place in the world. We spoke with a woman from Pet Naturals of Vermont, and got a free sample pouch of their Daily Best soft chew vitamin supplements, which Roger absolutely loves.

Of course no event in Vermont would be complete without Ben & Jerry's! There were volunteers dishing it out, and Roger even got his own cup!

It's good to be a dog in Vermont :-)

Roger and I raised $227, and we couldn't have done it without the help of our wonderful Twitter anipals and friends! @SidTheCatahoula, @ruthiegelber, @jessiea, @SylvieDog, @MugsyDog, @coldnosephoto, @actionjackson95, as well as our non-Twitter donors, Amanda, Lesa, Jenny & Reuben, Erin Ryan & Mason, Jess Shane & Haiden, and my parents. THANK YOU so much for your donations and support!

Overall, the event raised over $52,000! HSCC is such a wonderful shelter, run by an amazing group of people. We were so happy to be a part of this event. If you didn't get a chance to donate before the event but would still like to support the HSCC, our fundraising page is still open!

BraveDog and the Three Daycares

2009-06-17T21:49:00.009-04:00

Throughout our first year together, I've striven to provide Roger with the best care possible. At times, that means long morning runs, lunch hour walks, and evening trips to the dog park. At other times, that has meant bringing him to doggie daycare. Currently we are on our third daycare, and I'd like to share our trials. This story is a very Goldilocksian experience.

The first one was affordable, but dirty and unloving. The second was lovely and clean, but too spendy and far away for everyday use. The third one is airy and bright, and they quickly knew Roger by name. Juuust right!

I used to work two blocks from home, so I was able to come home at lunch to take Roger for a walk. I never thought I would need a doggie daycare. However, then our downstairs neighbor complained about Roger's separation crying in the mornings when I left for work. And so the search began.

Gulliver's Doggie Daycare The first one was affordable, but dirty and unloving.
I chose Gulliver's because it was the most affordable at $15/day. I tried to get a tour, but was denied. They scoffed at my statement that Roger has a crate aversion. At pick-up time, the staff assured me he had a great day, with no further details. Even though my gut told me it was not a wonderful place, I rationalized that Roger was an easy-going dog, and maybe he didn't care if the staff was gruff and abrasive. The third morning I brought him, Roger resisted getting out of the car. Normally an enthusiastic participant, I took his reluctance very seriously. I did leave him there for the day, but drove away with tears in my eyes promising it was the last time ever.

The Crate Escape The second was lovely and clean but too spendy and far away for everyday use.
In the winter I work as a ski instructor on the weekends at a mountain several towns away. That means early departure, uncertain return time, and clearly no lunch hour walk. The Crate Escape is basically at the base of the mountain, and has a wonderful reputation in the area. Although not thrilled with being left behind, once I was out of sight Roger settled in and played hard all day. I bought a ten-day punch card that worked out to $19/day. That was a great reintroduction to daycare because there were fewer dogs on Saturdays, so he was able to have interaction with the staff, and chill at the front desk when overwhelmed. I blew out my knee at the end of February, thus ending my mountain job for the season, and his weekly daycare.

A couple months ago, I had knee surgery. Since then, Roger has taken his guard dog duties very seriously, including keeping guests off the couch and away from me. He also refused to go on regular walks with other people - apparently he has a strong aversion to being stolen. I tried taking him to the dog park, but he was too busy protecting me from the other dogs to play. I realized Roger needed a break from being my BraveDog, somewhere he could just play and run and tire himself out, without keeping an eye on me.

Play Dog Play The third one is airy and bright, and they quickly knew Roger by name. Juuust right!
I decided to check out the new kid in town, Play Dog Play. I was immediately impressed with their bright clean lobby and observation window overlooking the playroom. We did a half-day as a trial, most of which I spent watching him from home on the web cams. When I picked him up, the staff was able to give a full report on how he spent his afternoon, and was truthful in telling me he cried and moped a bit in the beginning before joining in the play. I purchased a 10 half-day punch card, coming to $14.40/day.

Roger has attended two more afternoons since then, and seems to really like it! With only the slightest pause, he trots into the playroom leaving me grinning proudly in the lobby. I watch him on the web cams, and see him happily jogging around with a pack of equally happy dogs and an ever-present chaperon. Staff members easily recognized him at the HSCC Walk on Sunday, and he was happy to greet them.

Since Play Dog Play is still relatively new in town, they have not yet reached capacity. That means currently no reservations are needed for daycare, but they seem to be growing quickly. And given the high caliber of care, I'm sure they'll be full soon. Go NOW and do your entrance interview, Burlington dogs!!
From the Play Dog Play photo gallery - my boy is SO handsome.

***UPDATE: Roger now attends at least one full day a week, and loves it as much as ever. As predicted, PDP is almost always at capacity, so advance reservations are a must! We have a standing reservation for our day, and there is no cancellation fee, unlike other daycares in the area.

Whew, close one! You almost got me, internet!

2009-05-23T22:37:00.006-04:00

As you may know, I've started the search for a roommate for the fall. I've been inspired by That Girl's ongoing series, "My Myspace Man," to share some of the ridiculous spam I get in response to my Craigslist post. Here's the latest, titled "Message you left":

Good day. Lonely girl is waiting! :(

My personal email is bourgeois.darla3090@gmail.com

His lawyer calls him "intellectually challenged. Ooh one more night, cos i can't wait forever. in Newburgh where the conspirators gathered, according to a criminal complaint. Give me one more night, give me just one more night. Shiho Fukada for The New York Times.

This string of nonsense is a lot different from past spam messages, which have include a long story written by an ideal-sounding tenant about how he won't be in the country until the move-in date but he needs me to go pick up his big screen TV. All he needs from me is a bank account number he can confirm - for his own security, of course.

Another email came from a woman who described her profession as follows: Am a medical humanitarian nurse, have been doing this for the past 8 years back, our work is to take care of motherless babies, homeless one and all of that...

How could I pass up living with such a compassionate person...and all of that? The weird thing about this one was that it didn't request anything of me. What's the point? I suppose if I had responded they would have my real email address. But is this really the most efficient way to collect information? I highly doubt it. Ah well, internet scammers, who am I to doubt you? Clearly you're getting something from it, or you would have stopped by now!

Lou Makes Things!

2009-05-12T23:05:00.006-04:00

Lately I've been getting impatient with my physical limitations. Combined with the nice weather this week, and I'm downright antsy. Prime time for a new project!

Last night I was perusing the DIY section of Design*Sponge when I found this great project! At first I decided it would be a project for another time since I don't need any "key hooks" but then realized they would be perfect for hanging my light-but-bulky necklaces, a challenge I've been trying to solve for some time now!

I found the unfinished wooden squares at Michael's (only $0.59 each!), and the hooks were in the framing section. I always have paint kicking around from past projects. I thought I had some extra silverware I could re-purpose, but decided the handles were just too plain for this. I checked out Recycle North and was surprised to find they had only ONE spoon in the entire kitchen section!! The trip was redeemed, though, when I found a fork that matched the spoon. I picked another fancy fork, and headed home with my treasures.

I set up shop on my sunny porch - with the Little Sir closely supervising - and put a couple coats of paint on the squares. While the paint dried, I tossed the utensils into a pot of boiling water to soften and bend. I had hoped to get more of a curve into the bend, but at last reached results I was happy with.

I finally gave up trying to keep dog hairs out of the paint job (ahem, Roger) and attached the hooks to the back. The hardest part, by far, has been affixing the silverware to the squares! Gorilla Glue stays slippery for a while before it sets, so I had to come up with creative ways to keep the odd shapes firmly weighted in place. Rubber bands, canned goods, rolled-up paper towel, and everything else within arm's length finally yielded results.

So far, I'm very pleased with my efforts! If anyone is interested in a spoon hook of their own, just let me know and I'd be happy to oblige.

Post-op Play-by-play

2009-05-10T22:44:00.014-04:00

It's been a long time since I've updated! Here's the short version:

•My ACL reconstructive surgery on April 10th went smoothly, complete with lovely pain meds. Thanks to a "nerve block," I had almost no pain for that first day! Being prepped for and then rolled into surgery was scary, but then all of a sudden I was in the recovery room with my parents, so then everything was okay.

•The Roger Walkers were wonderful, appearing each morning and evening to take the often less-than-willing Little Sir for his walk. As time went on, he got worse at letting others take him out, but they didn't give up! Thank you all very, very much.

•The pain was well-controlled with pain meds, but no one had warned me about the boredom! I watched lots of movies, did a whole book of crossword puzzles, and the days blurred into each other. Barely being able to get around my apartment - or even shower - took its toll.

•Ten days out, I had my first post-op appointment to remove the staples and open the brace - hooray!!
(Also, whoever decided that comparing the staple removal to "bee stings" would be comforting should be stung by 12 bees in a row).

Since then, I've been going to physical therapy three times a week at Long Trail PT, working hard to regain my range of motion. It's been very slow and painful, and each additional degree of flexion is a victory. Keith, my PT, is awesome and I adore his energy and encouragement.

I'm a little behind where I should be in regaining my range of motion, but Keith keeps telling me that by the 6-month mark everyone is at the same place. Up to 78 degrees so far! The type of reconstruction I got (tibial ligament) is said to be the most traumatic in terms of recovery, but the strongest in the long run. At this stage, I can certainly attest to that first part!

At this point I can drive short distances, walk Roger short distances unassisted, and walk as far as Speeder's on Pine aided by brace and one crutch. I'm greatly looking forward to summer fun as my mobility increases. Next weekend's Field Day will be a spectator event for me, but hopefully I'll be back in action before too much of this nice weather passes me by!

Mothers Everywhere

2009-05-10T12:51:00.018-04:00

"Oh! Good, you're up. Happy Mother's Day Loulou, let's snuggle."

I'd like to wish a happy Mother's Day to my mom, who is one cool lady. More than just my mother, she's my friend. She's the inspiration behind my love of gardening, home improvement projects, and the color blue. She came and took care of me after my surgery last month - fed me, carted me around to doctor appointments, and even walked Little Sir;

Happy Mothers Day to my friends with their own little ones running around - Jessica and Jessie; Happy New Mother Day to Erin;

and Happy Mother-to-be Day to Carmen, who has a little one on the way!

Baby Mason

2009-04-17T10:15:00.003-04:00

Proud Mama sent these wonderful pictures of Mason and his birds!

Isn't he darling?

Baby Mason's Birds

2009-04-07T21:29:00.005-04:00

You may recall my bird project from this post back in October. Well, I finished it! I met Erin's darling Mason when I was in NH (for Haiden's 2nd birthday) and presented the proud mama with the fruits of my labor.

These pictures don't show it well, but the birds are hanging down from the crosspiece, which swings and tips quite nicely, along with each bird turning a bit. (Pardon the poor quality, the pictures are from my cell phone). Upon presentation, we held it up for Mason and he seemed appropriately enthralled :-)

The project was inspired by the picture at left, as executed by Spool Sewing. Originally the plan called for each bird to be perched on branches which would hang from each other, and swing separately. Lovely.

Alas, I completely overestimated the balancing abilities of the birds on the light balsa dowels I had chosen. I didn't realize until I was in the thick of it that there was nothing I could do to keep the branches with the birds perched upright!! It seemed no matter what I added as counter-weight on the bottom, the bird still flipped the stick over and wrapped the lines around.

Now, I couldn't simply hang the birds - they were clearly sitting, not flying! If I had more time, I would have gone back and sewn wings on each one of them. But alas, I was to present the gift the following morning - just a few short hours away - all seemed lost!

After a good night's sleep, I came around to see reason: the 2-month old and his parents wouldn't care whether the birds were flying or sitting or what. This is simply meant to be a pretty thing for their nest. So I attached individual perches to each bird, and strung them each separately. Voila!

Perhaps I will try again to achieve the originally-intended product, but clearly more weighty branches are called for in the future. Or more cooperative birds.

Just a little post...

2009-03-09T21:19:00.013-04:00

to keep you all posted.

After losing my job at the end of January, I was spending 3-4 days a week teaching at Bolton Valley. I continued skiing with the office team I put together for the corporate race league every Thursday night, and had a great time doing so. Um, until that last one...

Sports fans, I blew out my ACL.

It was my second run of the night, I was on my new skis. The whole team had been putting up great times, and we were all in a rowdy mood. Racing against VTKiwi, I slipped out of a gate and over-corrected...then over-corrected again, and before I knew it, I blew out of the course. As I was falling, I could feel the twist, and knew it wasn't going to be pretty. I got my first-ever ride in the ski patrol sled, after which we decided it was actually only a sprain. Hooray!! I took my baggie of snow (icepack) and happily walked to the bar with my team.

The next morning, I could barely move it or put weight on it. Not cool. Went to my doctor, they got me right in for an MRI at FAHC. That afternoon I had the results: ruptured ACL, bone bruise, and pulled LCL. I met with the surgeon the following Monday morning, and he basically told me if I ever want to be a skier again, I have to get the surgery.

So that's that. I have a month of PT, which I affectionately refer to as my 'Jane Fondas.' After that I'm meeting with the surgeon again to schedule the surgery.

Roger was SO patient with me when I was still in a brace and on crutches. He quickly figured out that we now take stairs one at a time instead of all in a mad dash. One morning on a walk, he saw a squirrel, tensed up to chase it, but then looked back at me, and kept walking. Seriously, he's smarter and more compassionate than some people I know.

So now, 11 days later, I'm doing great - I'm mobile, working on regaining full range of motion. It's my left leg, so I can still drive, and I'm off the crutches. Once I have the surgery though, I'm going to take you all up on the offers to walk Roger or pick up groceries!!

BraveDog the Adventurer

2009-02-21T21:54:00.005-05:00

Roger helped write today's post.
We went on a big adventure today!! We went really far down the bike path, it was practically uncharted territory. I even walked out on the frozen lake, which is just crazy. Lou says I'm very brave, and I agree. There were trains, and people, and ice, and other dogs, and sand! Like I said, it was a BIG adventure.

After that, we went to CDSW and dropped off the compost (which smelled AMAZING), and then we went to Pet Food Warehouse! We got a new bag of food, and Buddy Biscuits, and I got all kinds of treats from the people with the blue aprons, just for sitting and offering my paw! OMD, I love that place.

Since then we've just been snuggling at home. Lou baked a batch of my favorite peanut butter cookies, and I started my new food at dinner time. I love weekends - and it's still only Saturday!! Tomorrow we might see Cartoon Drum, and I'll get a raw meaty bone.

Did you know I tweet? Not quite like birds, but like Twitter. There are LOTS of other dogs on Twitter, and cats and horses too! You can follow me to read all about what I'm up to. But now, I think it's nap time.

GOTTA love race league!

2009-02-12T23:27:00.008-05:00

So, it's true I've been dreadfully ill all week, but if there's one thing I'll rally for, it's race league! Despite the fact that it was raining here in town, we had been promised snow on the hill, so we piled into Kate's car, and headed over to Bolton.

It continued to rain the whole drive there, only switching to snow once we started climbing the 4.5mi access road. The higher we got, the more the snow had built up. By the time we hit the S-curve, it was pretty messy! We lost too much speed to make it up the steep, and ended up parking the car just below it in a pull-off, and thumbing a ride up the hill.

Now, I don't make a habit of hitchhiking in general, but on several occasions I've ditched my Focus and hopped into the back of a pickup to successfully commute up the Bolton access road to make it in time for work. In my experience, it doesn't take that long - usually after just a few minutes of walking with my thumb out, I'm rewarded with a ride. And the same is true on race night - even with three of us and our equipment!

Racing was about as fun as the drive - with just a little more pain. It wasn't cold, but the snow was...sharp? You couldn't face down the hill without it stinging your face, which made racing pretty tricky! There were no lines though, and everyone was riding the same ruts so I think we held our own pretty well.

After we all got our two runs in, we headed to the James Moore Tavern for a beer before heading home. Unfortunately, there was an accident at the base of the access road, so the plow couldn't get up, so none of us could get down! Oh no, we're all stuck at the bar!!

Luckily, there was still the race league raffle to keep us entertained! Would you believe the three members of our team who were NOT there were all drawn? I wouldn't make that up. Only one Disrupter, Michelle, managed to bank a prize, now we have some team wax! Oh, and there was that time we sent Sean up on accident...

Finally the access road was opened up, and the guys drove us down to Kate's car. As soon as they pulled away though, her car got lodged in the snowbank! Right about that time, the driver of the vehicle parked next to ours arrived, and easily pushed us out and on our way! Thanks to the rainy/snowy mix, it was a pretty long trip down the hill and back to Burly, bringing to an end another wonderful race night!

And now, nothing left to do but await the posting of the official results!

Thousands of things go right for you every day, beginning the moment you wake up

2009-01-29T11:02:00.006-05:00

I woke up right on time today! Didn't hit the snooze once.

Checked the weather: 15 degrees and rising, with sun expected!

Walked the Little Sir - huge snowbanks, lots of fun!

Tried a couple different hair styles with my short new 'do, decided to leave it plain for today.

Aw, sweet - my pink shirt is clean! Matching bra and underwear makes me feel like a secret super hero.

Wearing my lucky penny for race day, and OMG, I found my sister ring - it's been missing since Christmas!!

Sunny walk to work.

Ooh, that cute coffee mug with the polka dots is clean, nice.

And then I got laid off. From a company I LOVE, and a job I loved. I'm still working on finding the silver lining for that one.

Regarding Resolutions

2009-01-26T21:27:00.005-05:00

Resolution #4: Put money in savings each month

I've recently discovered Mint.com, a personal finance management website. After setting up a free account, I put in my online log-in and password for my bank and my credit card. The site can then access my transactions (a little scary, but this IS a reputable site).

Their software categorizes each expenditure - grocery, gas, bills/utilities, entertainment, food/dining, and so on. It displays it in a pie chart to show where all your money goes each month. From there, you can set monthly budgets for each category, and Mint keeps a running tally of each. You can compare your spending to cities, states, or the national average.

Personally, I've always kept a close eye on my totals, but I no longer break it into budgeted categories. I think it's going to be really helpful to have a running total of how much I've spent in the different areas.

Discoveries: for the month of January, I've spent a lot on car repair, booze, and Roger.

Today's Trifecta

2009-01-25T19:12:00.004-05:00

Icy edge of Lake Champlain. Brave Little Sir Roger. We think it must be very tough to be a mermaid in Vermont.

Inspired by the blog Orange Pattern

RACE DAY!!

2009-01-22T09:41:00.005-05:00

Heyyyyyyyy, DISRUPTERS!!

Are we ready for the big night?!? First race of the season, FINALLY!!

So the season is off to a rough start - first week postponed due to temps so low your eyeballs would freeze. Now we've got Bookless partying in Vegas this week, and Ebbets out with what hopefully won't be a season-ending knee injury. At least I know Prunty and Flanagan have their game faces on, they were over last night to sharpen and wax their boards. I believe Ayer is going to tune his skis AT his office today, how's that for committment?!

You are all officially invited to come cheer us on at Bolton Valley and whoop it up afterward at the James Moore Tavern every Thursday night! Lift tickets are only $15 when purchased with a racer, so drop me a line. I believe we'll be posting results in the KSV Kitchen, for you uberlocals, and results are posted online on the Bolton Valley site - and I'll most likely be splashing them all over the blog, as well.

2009: Things I'm Looking Forward To

2009-01-16T10:30:00.002-05:00

It started as a numbered list, but these aren't really the type of thing one can easily rank.

-The inauguration of President-Elect Barack Obama.
-KSV's Corporate Race League team, The Disrupters!
-Tulip season, expanding my vegetable and flower gardens
-Warm weather run-arounding with Roger
-Camping, hiking, cliff-jumping w/ Roger and the boys
-Feminist meet-ups
-Home improvement projects - painting and stenciling my bedroom!

Tribute Trifecta

2009-01-09T22:04:00.009-05:00

Numbers, numbers. Walking home from happy hour. Home at last!

My dear Orange Pattern is taking a break from her lovely Trifectas, so I thought I'd try my hand...it could use some work. Sweet Carmen, enjoy your well-deserved rest, just know that we're missing you!

Personal Highlights 2008

2009-01-05T16:24:00.015-05:00

#1: Adopting ROGER

(Um, duh. We all saw that coming)

#2: KSV

I love my job, I love my company. I love walking to work. In reality, this should be first on the list, since it made so many of these other things possible.

#3: Buying my condo

Finally, I'm the girl who can entertain company at a moment's notice!! Impromptu happy hour after work, weekend guests, etc - oh yeah and I'm building equity, blah blah blah.

#4: Watching Haiden grow

My amazing godson will be turning 2 years old in March, can you even believe it?! He's turning into such a cool little person.

#4.1: Watching Erin's belly grow
Erin and Ryan are due February 11th, I'm so excited for them!

#5: Making Friends

Here at KSV and through my feminist meet-up group, I'm making friends! (Meeting people after college is HARD!!)

#6: Reconnecting with Family
My cousins Patrick and Sara both got married in 2008. Traveling to St Louis, seeing family and going out drinking with the cousins was wonderful!

Resolutions 2009: A work in progress

2009-01-05T12:11:00.005-05:00

Resolution #1: Arrive at work on time
This is simple enough - or should be, considering I only live two blocks away.

Resolution #2: Purchase and consume food responsibly
My inner bargain hunter LOVES buying larger-size packages at the grocery - just look at that unit price!! However, as much as I love a deal, I HATE waste. There's no savings in buying food to throw away.

Resolution #3: Lose weight
A classic, needs no explanation

Resolution #4: Put money in savings each month
Thanks to my mortgage, my savings have taken a serious hit. Now that I have a signed lease with a tenant and no more car payments, it's time to start rebuilding. AND, since January is a 3-paycheck month, this one gets a boost to start the year!

Resolution #5: Keep my house clean and clutter-free
Over the holiday weekend, I cashed in my gift certificates to The Organizer and The Handyman (Mom and Dad), and my place looks AMAZING!! Now I just need to keep it that way...

Resolution #6: Update my blog regularly
I love writing my blog. Lately I guess I've been busy with other things, and I'd really like to get into a regular groove of updating.

That's all for now! There may be more to come, plus the highlights of 2008, and what I'm most looking forward to in 2009.

Home Improvement: Programmable Thermostat

2008-12-21T19:29:00.000-05:00

Last Saturday, I installed my new programmable thermostat!!

The directions were VERY detailed, and broke it into steps Roger could have followed. It was a bigger project than I realized, due mainly not to the actual installation, but what had been installed in the past.

The footprint of the new one is TOTALLY different from the footprint of the old one, which is again different than the one before that! The result is screw holes that needed to be filled, and a lovely paint line that needs to be sanded and repainted.

Luckily, I'm a girl who believes in having the right tool for every job, so I actually had a tube of spackle in my toolbox. Pink spackle, no less. So with little fuss, I was able to patch the holes and continue on with the project at hand. (The sanding/painting are for another day)

I picked a location that covered as much of the old mess as possible, and screwed it to the wall. The new thermostat came with little stickers to label the correct post of each wire for reattachment, and it was relatively easy to attach them.

And that was it! I put in the batteries, popped the facepiece on, and programmed the times and temperatures.

Mon-Fri get a separate schedule from Sat/Sun, and there are four dayparts: morning, day, evening, and night. Since my weekday schedule is pretty locked down thanks to the Little Sir, it was no problem to program. However, weekends are not so easy. On Saturdays I'll usually be at the mountain, but Sundays I'll be home. I think what I'll do is set it to my Saturday schedule, and then "override" the programming on Sundays.

A very worthwhile investment, and an interesting home improvement project!

Roger meets Peanut Brittle

2008-12-08T18:25:00.009-05:00

"OMD WHAT IS THAT???"

"I would really really really like to eat that thing that you are eating, Girl. Please can I?? I will continue my sniff-sniffing a half-inch from your mouth as long as you are eating that, so you should maybe just share it with me..."

Sadly, the Little Sir did not get to share my peanut brittle. It was delicious!

Welcome, IC Feminists!!

2008-12-02T20:31:00.010-05:00

I am so thrilled to be mentioned and linked to in today's ICFeminists email! (yes, I'm still on the listserve!) Welcome, ICF members, thanks for checking out my blog!

It's been so wonderful reading about all the awesome programs you have put on in the past two years! The ICF blog is a great idea. I'm so impressed, and thrilled that the group has continued to gain strength and recognition on campus. Cheers to you, ICF!

Being one of the founding members, let me give you youngsters a history lesson, haha. Spring '04, a group of us started ICF to discuss feminist issues, debate current events, and raise funds to bus students to the March for Women's Lives in Washington, DC on April 25, 2004. I served as treasurer that first semester, vice president spring '05, and president 05-06.

I had the honor of working side by side with many truly passionate, brilliant board members - Meg Favreau, LeeAnn Marhevsky, Dana Malone, Kim Marsh, Kristin Baker, Kendra Lynn, Naomi Karp, Lizzie Nolan, and more. We tabled more hours and sold more tee-shirts than I ever imagined possible. We even caused a stir among republicans, check it out!!

For any fellow alumni reading this, I would love to hear what you've been up to! There IS feminism and activism after college - I'm a member of the Burlington feminist meet-up, an active group of women here in town. So please, reach out to me - if there's interest, I'd be happy to facilitate some sort of network to keep ICF alums in touch, and keep the energy going!

Photos: ICF banner for a Progressive Alliance event; This is What A Feminist Cooks Like potluck hoodie celebration (that's me front left)

They say it's your birthday...

2008-12-01T19:25:00.004-05:00

So, as it happens every few years, my 25th birthday fell on Thanksgiving. That meant I was in the warm, loving home of my parents eating way too much food, visiting lifelong friends, and trying to keep both Mom and Dad from sneaking Roger too many treats.

However, the side effect of ThanksBirthGiving Day is that the day didn't really feel like my birthday since it was already another holiday. Pumpkin pie is good, but it's no birthday cake. A group of us had planned to go out for drinks Saturday night in Burly, but for various reasons it fell through. Not exactly the hoopla I had hoped for on my quarter-century.

I did get presents, though! My parents scored a huge cache of Lu-Ray dishes from an antique store looking to stop carrying it. Dad found me an old wooden ladder to use as fun shelves, and a vicious little pocket knife.

And the star of the day: I am pleased to introduce you to the "Climbing Vine" found online at Designer Stencils. It's for my bedroom. I plan to paint the walls a pale green and stencil the vines over it in white. (Unfortunately, that's probably a long way out, considering my room still looks like my closet exploded all over it!)

Rainy Saturday

2008-11-16T21:23:00.010-05:00

Which is your favorite?

Hand-painted porcelain knobs for the upcoming holiday craft sales! I'll post them to my artfire account, and maybe etsy as well.
I always struggle with pricing my work, any input would be appreciated!

Stalling...stalling...

2008-11-11T20:29:00.005-05:00

As you have possibly noticed, I have not been updating at the same pace lately. I've had my hands more than full finding a housemate, then getting settled in with our new housemate, then losing said housemate, and now searching for another housemate (and someone to repair the damage)!

But that doesn't mean you dear readers should suffer!! So until I can offer a cohesively written entry, here are some pictures of a silly dog!!

Don't give up on us, regular entries will resume soon!

Roommate Search 2.0

2008-11-09T18:48:00.005-05:00

As you know, I found a roommate for November!

But, within the first week her dog had caused so much damage that she evicted herself before I had to.

So now I'm back on the hunt for a new housemate! The room will probably be available earlier than Dec 1, depending on how long the repairs take. I would greatly appreciate if you could all pass this on to anyone you know who might be looking for a place. Thanks!!

Here's the craigslist post to pass along:
http://burlington.craigslist.org/roo/910657546.html

Available Dec 1 - $625/month + security deposit

The Deal: Room to rent in my 2br condo, 12'9x10'. Off-street parking, dishwasher, laundry. Heat included. Two blocks from the waterfront, just a few blocks from the bottom of Church St. Room can be furnished or not.

Me: Mid 20s professional woman, no smoking/drugs, occasional drinker. Mellow 2yr old male dog (catahoula/lab mix). Clean but not a neat freak. Skier, craftster, feminist, environmentalist.

the room - the kitchen - the roger

Tough Stuff

2008-11-01T22:48:00.005-04:00

"Mom...can we talk?"

"That girl and her food lady are still here."

So, Roger and I have a new housemate! Actually, two housemates - Heidi and her lovely little boxer, Roxy!

Roger's still adjusting to the news that he has to share his space. Plus, the stuff I had to move out of the second bedroom is still all over our bedroom and living room. It makes it hard for a guy like Roger to do his thing. "His thing" consists mainly of napping, and following me.

(A casualty of the move - I dropped my favorite mug. But Roger sat with me and headbonked me til I felt better.)

Networking 101: Welcome to the dog park

2008-10-31T20:54:00.004-04:00

This is a piece I wrote for the KSV intern newsletter, The Know, on starting to network.

It’s all about who you know, right? That’s what “they” say, and they seem to have a point – the more people you know, the more likely you are to hear about potential job openings, new clients, and exciting opportunities. How do you get started though? It can be intimidating!

It’s hard to get used to, but forming and using personal connections are important steps to building a reputation and getting your name out there. At the beginning, attending networking events felt forced or uncomfortable. I realized I much preferred a more natural, real world approach – meeting people through shared interests! For me, the logical connector is DOGS! Every dog parent likes talking about his or her dog, so it’s an easy way to start a conversation. In my first few days at KSV, I was able to make a personal connection with 4 different coworkers just by being genuinely interested in their dogs.

As well as an ice breaker technique for getting to know your fellow KSVers, you never know who you’re going to meet at the dog park or in the dog-friendly shops on Church Street. And as far as personal interaction, it doesn’t get much more low-stress than watching your dog have fun! It’s easy enough to strike up a conversation about your dogs, and then venture to other topics. “Oh yes, Rufus comes to the office with me every day, it’s wonderful! Where do I work? KSV – we’re a full service ad agency. What do you do?”

Poof, you’re networking.

The way I was finally able to be comfortable with the big scary concept of networking was to take it for what it is, at its core – building personal connections that will benefit both of you down the road. For me, dogs are my foot in the door. But everyone has his or her own best fit. Maybe you love hiking and camping around Vermont, you’re a total green thumb, or a budding wine aficionado. Give it some thought, what’s yours?

Yummy nomz!

2008-10-30T22:55:00.007-04:00

It's always an ego boost when someone loves your baking, even if it is a dog! And there's no little dog I'd rather bake for than Roger.

Roger's Favorite Cookies

-2 cups whole wheat flour
-1 cup oats
-1/4 cup peanut butter
-1 cup warm water

Combine all ingredients, it works best to mix it with your hands! Roll out and use cookie cutters, or just slice into bars. Bake on a greased cookie sheet at 350 degrees for 40 minutes (flip over after 20min for best results).

Depending on how thin you rolled them, they're either crunchy or a little soft. Crunchier cookies last longer, so especially for bigger batches let em cook a bit longer. Store in an air-tight container, or freeze extras for longer storage.

(If this picture had been a little wider, you'd see a little gray dog sitting very patiently, waiting for his cookies to be ready.)

Photo Shoot #1

2008-10-27T20:10:00.002-04:00

The Little Sir and I had a photo shoot!

Clearly, we are a very glamorous pair.

Tis the voting season

2008-10-26T00:45:00.003-04:00

This past week, I hosted the Burlington feminist meet-up group Women for Change. In keeping with the voting season and inspired by an email from That Girl, we watched Iron Jawed Angels. Everyone brought delicious food, and after the movie we talked for several hours about all kinds of things! The commercializing of girlhood, the packaging and sale of sexuality, polyamorous relationships, "post-feminism," the different extremes of women's liberation and how it's affected by or expressed through outward appearance, and the disintegrating state of women's rights in our country.

I'm so happy to be part of this developing community of women here in Burlington. Lately I've been missing the group bond I found in Ithaca College Feminists, the strong, smart, passionate women of the executive board, and the energy of the group as a whole.

The HBO-made historical drama about the fight for women's suffrage stars Hilary Swank, co-starring Frances O'Connor, Julia Ormond, and Anjelica Huston. I'm not any good at summarizing or reviewing movies, so I've pasted the synopsis from the HBO page:
IRON JAWED ANGELS recounts for a contemporary audience a key chapter in U.S. history: in this case, the struggle of suffragists who fought for the passage of the 19th Amendment. Focusing on the two defiant women, Alice Paul (Hilary Swank) and Lucy Burns (Frances O'Connor), the film shows how these activists broke from the mainstream women's-rights movement and created a more radical wing, daring to push the boundaries of political protest to secure women's voting rights in 1920. Breathing life into the relationships between Paul, Burns and others, the movie makes the women feel like complete characters instead of one-dimensional figures from a distant past.

Although the protagonists have different personalities and backgrounds - Alice is a Quaker and Lucy an Irish Brooklynite - they are united in their fierce devotion to women's suffrage. In a country dominated by chauvinism, this is no easy fight, as the women and their volunteers clash with older, conservative activists, particularly Carrie Chapman Catt (Angelica Huston). They also battle public opinion in a tumultuous time of war, not to mention the most powerful men in the country, including President Woodrow Wilson (Bob Gunton). Along the way, sacrifices are made: Alice gives up a chance for love, and colleague Inez Mulholland (Julia Ormond) gives up her life.

The women are thrown in jail, with an ensuing hunger strike making headline news. The women's resistance to being force-fed earns them the nickname "The Iron Jawed Angels." However, it is truly their wills that are made of iron, and their courage inspires a nation and changes it forever.

World Domination!

2008-10-23T23:13:00.015-04:00

He's just a little dog, but he's got big dreams - and big plans.

World Domination Coloring Page courtesy of Cartoon Drum

Wanted: Housemate

2008-10-22T23:07:00.007-04:00

I mean, I would think Roger and I make a pretty attractive package, as far as housemates go. Why is it so tough to find a match? Perhaps I'm too picky...

Available Nov 1 - $625/month

The Deal: Room to rent in my 2br condo. Off-street parking, dishwasher, laundry. Heat included. Two blocks from the waterfront, just a few blocks from the bottom of Church St. Room can be furnished or not.

Me: Mid 20s professional woman, no smoking/drugs, occasional drinker. 2yr old male dog (catahoula/lab mix). Clean but not a neat freak. Skier, craftster, feminist.

I might be open to a friendly dog/cat, but my dog would have to make that decision.

Drop me a line if you're interested.

gone to the birds

2008-10-18T23:30:00.004-04:00

Check out my current crafty project in progress! I'm sewing these bird softies to make a mobile either for my bedroom or the living room. A second one is in the works as a baby shower gift for little number seven. It's a free pattern downloaded from the Spool Sewing blog, there's also a flickr group, Spool Bird Softies.

This is the first one I did, so of course it came out the best.

Then came this one, who looks like he has a stuffy nose or something, because the fabric was too thick to turn out nicely.

This one looks okay, I like the way the back came out.

More to come later this fall!

The ladies love him - and he loves us back

2008-10-15T07:32:00.009-04:00

(Just in case you think I've been spending too much time doting on Rogerdog lately)

I would like to direct your attention to the newly-launched Feminists for Obama site, a project of the Feminist Majority. It features a run-down of the issues, and a side by side comparison of the candidates' platforms. The Feminist Majority fully supports the election of Barack Obama and Joseph Biden. They are strong supporters of women’s rights including the right to equal pay for equal work, programs to reduce violence against women, a woman’s right to choose legal and safe abortion. They believe in access to affordable birth control, work/family balance, and the end of the Iraq war.

From Eleanor Smeal, President of Feminist Majority -

“Obama/Biden are running on the strongest platform for women’s rights of any major party in U.S. history. But it’s not just platforms. Voting records show the stark difference between the Obama and McCain tickets.

Women simply cannot afford a President McCain. He would stack the Supreme Court and federal judiciary against women’s reproductive and economic rights for future generations; stubbornly pursue a policy of endless war no matter the cost in human lives and dollars; and continue Bush failed economics and political policies.”

Take a spin through the site, and share it with anyone you know who might be unsure what to do on November 4th.

My favorite little alternative heat source

2008-10-14T22:47:00.003-04:00

Beautiful dog/blog!

2008-10-06T23:17:00.004-04:00

Roger and I just found an exciting new dog/blog friend pair!!

Roger is pup pals on Dogster with a pretty little Catahoula mix, Charlotte. (They even have the same colored spots!) In her Dogster profile, Charlotte links to her mom's blog, so I decided to check it out. It's delightful!

On She Wears Socks with Sandals, Mutt Gal posts beautiful photos of her outings and adventures with Char, along with her other dog Wilbur. They look like such a fun pack!! Roger would love to chase her around. I only wish they were closer to us than Washington state!

Localvore SCORE!!

2008-10-05T16:18:00.009-04:00

Last night I attended the housewarming party for my friends Cliff, Becca, and Zach! They're renting a beautiful house in Grand Isle with a long sweeping front lawn and private beach access. The living room has a cathedral ceiling, and Cliff's room has its own deck.

The party was a strictly fancy-pants event - fancy wine, fancy food, fancy clothes, and fancy guests! Johan, Joshua, and Adam were up from NH, Dougie and Steph from southern VT, as well as local favorites Gwen and Billy. There was even fancy music a little later in the evening, provided by the house string quintet.

This was a particularly exciting event for me, because I hosted Becca, Cliff, and puppy Apollo in my second bedroom for the week before their lease started, and I knew how anxious they had been to move in. I happily brought a housewarming gift, as well - I re-potted one of my aloe plants for Cliff after he had admired it during his stay.

Upon arrival at the party, Cliff and Becca proudly presented me with a present of my own - a beautiful bottle of Sunshine Vodka!! The week they were with me was the first of September, so I was taking my Eat Local Challenge. We went out for drinks on their last night with me, and I opted for water due to the lack of local spirits available. Locally produced in Stowe, VT by Green Mountain Distillers, here's what their website has to say about Sunshine Vodka:

Vermont’s premiere organic spirit is quadruple distilled from 100% certified organic grain and pure Vermont spring water. Sunshine production begins with the highest quality grain supplied by our family, farmer owned co-op. All grain is Certified Organic and GMO free by Oregon Tilth. Sunshine Vodka is created using small batch fermentation and proprietary distillation processes that result in a spirit of the very highest quality. Our small staff selects the grain, distills the spirit and markets the finished product nationwide. This close integration of field to process to product gives Green Mountain Distillers an unparalleled level of integrity.

Hooray for localvorism, wonderful friends, and another fun night in my green party dress!

Come, sit, play - it's a PAWTY!!

2008-10-02T12:20:00.004-04:00

Come one come all, join us at Waterfront Dog Park on Saturday, 18-October 1-3pm to help us celebrate Roger's 2nd birthday - and a full 6 months as my sidekick! Round up your whole pack! Just let us know you're coming so we can plan accordingly - there will be autumn-licious treats for dogs and pawrents alike. No need to run out to the shops, your presence is present enough. You don't even need to bring a dog if you don't have one!

If I may be serious for a moment, a big thank you goes to Carmen for her wonderful design work and enthusiasm for the project. If not for her, you'd probably be looking at an Excel document with fancy highlighting instead of the masterpiece currently before you.

Time to WINTERIZE!

2008-09-22T20:51:00.007-04:00

It's starting to get pretty chilly in Vermont, which means it's time to get ready for the long, cold winter ahead. Efficiency Vermont has put together a list of top ten tips for saving energy this winter. Several of these, like plugging the leaks around my front door, are on my to-do list. I'm also planning to get a programmable thermostat! I'll use this list as a guide and post on my progress.

Make Your Home More Efficient. Efficiency Vermont-approved Home Performance with ENERGY STAR contractors can perform an energy audit on your home and install the recommended improvements, such as air sealing and insulation. Find a contractor and learn about financing options at www.efficiencyvermont.com/homeperformance. Low-income Vermonters can get similar services for free - learn more at www.helpforvt.org.
Lower the Thermostat. Each degree a thermostat is turned down (around the clock) in the winter equates to a cost savings of roughly three percent on your energy bill. Turning a thermostat back from 72º to 65º for eight hours a day can save as much as 10 percent on annual heating and cooling costs. Try lowering the thermostat when nobody is home, or just before going to bed. Programmable thermostats can help to manage your home’s temperature by consistently changing the setting whenever you want—even if you are asleep or at work. I'm pretty stingy when it comes to heat (hence my large collection of hoodies!), and Roger's a great little space heater. I also plan to install a programmable thermostat this winter.
Plug Up Air Leaks. Focus on plugging air leaks in the attic, where warm air escapes, and in the basement, where cold air enters the home. If you’re handy, use expanding foam to seal larger holes and caulk to seal small gaps. You can also save more by adding insulation in the attic. There’s more information on air sealing and insulating at www.efficiencyvermont .com/homeheating. Or find a professional to help at www.efficiencyvermont.com/homeperformance. One trick for finding leaks is to use a lit stick of incense - the drafts will disturb the smoke!
Heat Only Space You Use. Close off unneeded rooms, but ensure water pipes have adequate insulation or heat and don't freeze.
Let the Sun Shine In. Open the window shades on the south and west side of the house during the day to maximize the warmth of the sun, and close them at night. I've got two great south-facing windows, and I'm researching the most energy-efficient blinds to invest in.
Fix Drafty Windows and Doors. Caulk around window frames and use weather stripping and door sweeps on doors. Properly adjusted window-sash locks will ensure that windows are properly shut. Use storm windows and put up interior window plastic, available in kits at hardware stores. I need to get some weather stripping - there's a leak at the top of my front door!
Clean Up. Keep the area near registers, radiators, air returns and baseboards clear and dust-free. Vacuum or dust radiators and baseboards often and be sure they’re not blocked by furniture and carpets. Heat needs to circulate to reach all areas of the house, especially with a forced-air system. I kept this in mind when I was first arranging my furniture. I do have some cleaning to do in the spare room before the heat starts flowing though.
Close Dampers When You're Not Using The Fireplace. An open fireplace damper pulls warm air (air you’ve paid to heat) from the house, even when there is no fire. And, if possible, avoid or reduce the use of traditional masonry fireplaces, which tend to be much less efficient than other heating devices.
Tune Up Your Equipment. If your heating or hot water equipment has not been serviced recently, make sure it is cleaned and adjusted to operate as efficiently and safely as possible. I want to look into putting a layer of insulation around my hot water heater, but I don't know how to tell if I need it or not.
Save Electricity. Replace your standard incandescent light bulbs with ENERGY STAR compact fluorescent bulbs. For information about which bulbs work best where and how much you can save, visit http://www.newbulbintown.com/. When purchasing new appliances, be sure to select models with the ENERGY STAR. Small appliances and home office equipment use power even when they're “off”. Plug TVs, VCRs, fax machines, computers, printers, etc. into a power strip and just turn them off. I have started replacing all of the MANY bulbs in my new house with CFLs. I'm also looking into dimmable CFLs, since the bedrooms and living room fixtures need them. All of my entertainment equipment (TV, DVD player, computer) are plugged into a power strip that I flip off every morning before work.

Bitch Magazine update

2008-09-19T11:10:00.004-04:00

Bitch Magazine has been saved!!

...for one more issue. In just a few short days, the Bitch community rallied to their support and raised over $46,000! If you had been planning to donate, update or start a subscription, please do!! More support means more time to strategize and come up with a long-term, sustainable plan. Keep it going!!

Save Bitch Magazine!

2008-09-17T20:06:00.008-04:00

Bitch Magazine's fate is in our hands

Don't let this smart, relevant feminist voice fall silent.

First the bad news: The print publishing industry as a whole is staring into a void. Across the board, newsstand magazine sales are in a slump, subscriber numbers are down, and paper and postal costs continue to rise. But it's not magazines like US Weekly or Vogue that you'll see disappearing from the newsstands—they have the parent companies and the resources to weather industry ill winds. It's the small, independent magazines like Bitch that will disappear, because the odds are already stacked high against them. And simply put: Bitch needs to raise $40,000 by October 15th in order to print the next issue of Bitch.

Now the good news: While it's true that $40,000 is a lot of money, the number of Bitch supporters is in the hundreds of thousands. And they're asking each of us who values independent, nonprofit media and intelligent feminist cultural analysis to contribute what we can to ensure that Bitch thrives. And while they can't say what form Bitch will take in the future (their direction will depend, in part, on our feedback), they can say that they've been hard at work to find an innovative publishing model that will allow them to maintain the spirit and integrity of Bitch while also reflecting the changing world around us.

As a nonprofit, reader-funded media organization, Bitch's fate really is—and always will be—in our hands. Bitch doesn't need a parent company. They just need us!

::: Please help continue this important work by donating and sharing this message :::

Get banners for your site here!

Magic Carpet!

2008-09-10T13:43:00.015-04:00

I finally found the right rug!

Roger and I have been searching websites and stores for just the right one, with minimal success. There have been ones that I liked but weren't right for the living room, and some that were perfect but cost just as much as the living room, and finally I found this one, hanging on the wall upstairs at Homeport.

I dismissed it at first, thinking that the light gray areas would show dirt and dog hair easily. Luckily, this is an indoor/outdoor rug! So the pile is really short, and it cleans really easily!! (In the words of my sister, "You can just take it outside and hose it down!") I wasn't sure if it would look okay with the couch but luckily I remembered Mom's rule that of course ALL blues go together! So what would we call it, teal? Sea green perhaps?

I finally bought it this past weekend, on sale for 20% off! Roger and I proudly paraded it down Church Street and I put it down as soon as we got home. And I haven't stopped smiling about it since!

Localvore Smoothie!

2008-09-04T20:46:00.006-04:00

Localvore Smoothie
-Vermont Co-op Milk
-Butterworks Farm plain organic yogurt
-Frozen local raspberries
-Honey

Delicious!

I originally meant this to be a recipe post, but quickly hit a roadblock: I never make it the same way twice! Plus "glob" and "some" aren't really helpful measurements. I start with the milk and frozen berries, and once that's a bright pink, I add yogurt until it's the right consistency. The last thing is the honey, otherwise it sinks to the bottom of the blender. Enjoy!

Eat Local Challenge!

2008-09-03T11:55:00.003-04:00

Once again this year, I'm taking the Eat Local Challenge for the month of September. I've pledged to eat only food produced within 100 miles of home for the whole month. I'll keep you posted on my trials and tribulations throughout the challenge!

before and after

2008-08-23T23:16:00.011-04:00

Or rather, after...

And before.

(and during)

Laura's March: A Walk to End Violence Against Women

2008-08-19T15:07:00.007-04:00

On Saturday, September 6, Rogerdog and I will participate in the Laura Kate Winterbottom Memorial Fund's second-annual "Laura's March: A Walk to End Violence Against Women."

The LKW Memorial Fund is a non-profit organization created in the wake of Laura's murder in 2005. This year's 5K march will benefit two vital Vermont organizations: Women Helping Battered Women and the Women's Rape Crisis Center.

Please support Roger and me as we join the Kelliher Samets Volk team and the Burlington community at Laura's March. Every little donation helps!

Thanks for your support!
Laura Lou & Roger too