Toby's Pillow

Since he hurt his back last summer I have noticed that Toby never lies down unless he can put something under his head. He works and works on the blankets in the dog beds until they are in a little pile and then he finally settles down. Yesterday, Susan and I went to Target and while we were there Susan found this little Valentine's Day pillow and I thought that it would be just great for Toby. We brought it home and when I gave it to him it took him less than 2 minutes (he had to sniff at it first, of course) to position it in place.

NFL Playoffs

We were planning to make football cookies yesterday to celebrate the Seahawks win over the Chicago Bears. Well, Susan did not wear her Seahawks shirt so they lost the game, but we decided to make football cookies anyway. Through the remainder of the playoffs we will cheer on the Pittsburgh Steelers. After all, Julie, Tommy and Adam do live in Pittsburgh.


Go Steelers!

Travel Poster

I am currently taking a Color Theory class as part of the Multimedia Certificate program I am enrolled in at Sessions College for Professional Design. Our last project was to create a travel poster, incorporating all the color techniques learned in the class. I decided to create a poster for Aruba having been there in May. This is the finished poster. Color theory is fascinating!

It's Still Snowing

We are still getting snow in the valley. You can see the fresh 3 inches we got last night and some light snow is still falling this morning. Rain is expected by late this afternoon. Yuck! I would rather have the snow.

Igloo Cake

Susan found a recipe for a darling igloo cake in the current issue of the Food Network magazine, and we decided we could combine making the cake with a video I needed to shoot for my Digital Video Production class. In the video, Mary played the role of a restaurant owner who's pastry chef (played by Susan) is quiting in the middle of her shift. In the video we show the igloo cake halfway completed.

When we finished shooting all the scenes for the video, Mary and Susan completed the cake. You can see Toby watching from his crate in the background. Although she is not in the picture, Tillie is supervising from her favorite chair.

The finished product, which Susan is taking to work tomorrow.

Animal Pancakes

Julie gave us pancake molds for Christmas so this morning Susan made cow, pig and chicken pancakes for breakfast. They were so cute!

Sunrise

A view of the sunrise this morning from our backyard patio.

Grease is the Word

Susan and I went to see Grease last night at the Capitol Theatre. The performance was one of the Best of Broadway series for the 2010-2011 Season. Eddie Mekka who played Carmine on Laverne & Shirley greeted the audience before the show and played the role of Vince Fontaine in the play. He has a very good voice. There were several strong singers in the cast and even though they were experiencing problems with the microphones, we enjoyed the performance.

You've Come a Long Way Baby

On February 6, 2010 Tillie passed the AKC Canine Good Citizen test. It took awhile for Susan to receive the actual certificate from the American Kennel Club, but it is finally here. This is a picture of Tillie shortly after her birth on May 24, 2009.

The certificate she received at nine months of age. She passed all 10 items in the test.

Not only did she get her certificate, but we are pleased to announce (knock on wood) that she has not chewed up anything in the new house. She is definitely a cutie!

Christmas Dinner

Susan was busy in the kitchen on Christmas. She prepared Sauerbraten for dinner. She found this recipe in the Food Network Magazine from October 2009, where there was an article about Leavenworth, WA.

For those of you not familiar with Leavenworth, it is a town that was created to look like a Bavarian village. There are a lot of events held in Leavenworth, especially during the winter months. Oktoberfest kicks off the holiday season; starting October 2 and running for three weekends.

The original recipe came from chef Richard Zucktriegel at Cafe Mozart on Front Street. Sauerbraten consists of a beef chuck roast that has marinated for three days, then cooked with vegetables and spaetzle, which are noodle like dumplings. The meal was fabulous. Oh, and I do not want to forget the Pumpkin Pie.

Tillie spent most of the day supervising the cooking in her favorite kitchen chair. She always sits (or sleeps) in this chair when we are in the kitchen.

Toby hurt his back again so he is confined to crate rest for at least the next 9 days. He did not get to open his Christmas present this year, which he was not happy about. Tillie was not interested in the presents - she went to sleep on Susan's lap.