A Meiby Video!

Lounging on the Patio

before the cold sets in.

It's been too long

Meiby want to introduce you to her favorite monkey :)

Beach Pug

I've been wanting to take Meiby to the beach (Lake Michigan) since we brought her home almost 3 years ago. I finally found a perfect day for a hike/dunes/beach outing with the pug. She loved it.



It was a pretty cool day but I didn't think she'd be able to handle more than a mile or so. After the first little hike through the dunes to the beach she was so worked up and wheezing I figured I'd have to carry her back. However, once we got to the water she jumped right in and laid down to cool off and have a drink.



After she was sufficiently refreshed she played around in the lake for a bit.



We walked along the shore for a while and then had to make an even longer and steeper trek over the dune and through the woods to get back to the car. I almost didn't make it back up that dune but Meiby was a trooper. She practically dragged me up the hill. When she started breathing heavy again I tried to carry her for a bit to let her rest but she wanted none of it. I gave her a little water and she was good to go... and I think she would have been up for more!

Meiby Goes to a Party

My mom had a big party this weekend. It was her 30th birthday! I got to meet lots of friends. Here I am watching for fallen snacks.

My Aunt Missy had a good time too.

Here I am hanging out with the ladies.

I was so sleepy by the end of the night. Did I drink too many of these?

Now where did that cake go?

Cross-Pollinization

Last year I planted 2 kinds of jalapenos and some sweet banana peppers. They were all next to each other in pots. I was surprised and confused that the "sweet" peppers were spicier than the jalapenos.
Recently I planted some seeds for this summer. I bought some seedless watermelon seeds and the package says they need a "pollinizer". I had no idea what that meant so I looked it up. Since seedless watermelons are sterile they need regular watermelons growing in close proximity so they can be cross-pollinated.
Then I suddenly realized... so that's what happened to my peppers. The sweet peppers had cross-pollinated with the jalapenos. Science!

Winter Chilis

Last Sunday I made some awesome veggie chili from scratch, dried beans and all. Today I made some veggie white chili. They are not super unique recipes but I am going to post them here for future reference. Amounts are approximate since I tend to just add things as I see fit. The first recipe was adapted from this one and the second was much more free form.

Veggie Chili
1/2 cup TVP (soaked and drained, optional)
1/2 cup of frozen diced onion
2 tbsp minced garlic
1 cup dried red kidney beans (soaked overnight)
1 cup dried navy beans (soaked overnight)
1 can petite diced tomatoes with juice
1 can diced tomatoes with chilis with juice
1 orange bell pepper, diced
about 6 baby carrots, diced
1/2 cup or so cauliflower florets
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp cayenne pepper (more or less depending on how spicy you like it)
1/4 tsp cinnamon
a squeeze of honey
salt and pepper to taste
a little olive oil
1 cup water or broth (or more if needed)

Saute onion, garlic and tvp in olive oil until browned. Stir in all seasonings. Stir in everything else except tomatoes. Simmer stirring occasionally for 30-40 minutes until beans are soft. Add tomatoes and simmer another 20 minutes or so. Add extra seasonings if needed. Serve with shredded cheese and sour cream.
Note: adding the tomatoes later allows the beans to soften faster.

White Veggie Chili
1 cup dried navy beans (soaked overnight)
1 1/2 cups or so frozen sweet corn (from grandma's farm preferably)
2 frozen roasted hot peppers from my garden (or canned chilis will work too)
1 cup leftover brown and wild rice
1/2 cup natural unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup frozen diced onion
1 tbsp minced garlic
2 cups or so broth
1 tsp butter
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
juice from one lemon
salt and pepper to taste
a little plain yogurt or sour cream

For this one I just put everything into my crockpot and turned it on high for 4-5 hours. Add the yogurt or sour cream at the end. Cheese might be nice too.

Snow Day

Still Hip

modeling another knit hat for me and trying to lick it off of her head I think.

Meiby's a hipster pup!

Check it out

pug in a tub

No-Knead Bread - Part 1

A while back I picked up some instant yeast from the grocery store with the intention of trying out my Mother-in-Law's No-Knead Bread recipe (from her Minimalist Cookbook). I've made many quick breads and beer breads but never anything with yeast. This one seemed like a simple enough recipe and a good one to start with.
Mix the dry ingredients:


Heat water to 120 degrees:


Pour water into dry mixture and stir until fully moistened:


Scrape dough from the sides of the bowl and cover, leave for 8 to 18 hours:


When I get home from work today, I'll be baking bread! Watch for part 2 for the final results :)

Minimalist Cooking eBook

If you've been reading this blog for a while, you might remember that I used to post recipes occasionally. My Mother-in-Law recently released an e-cookbook for the minimalist cook that I love and I think almost anyone would benefit from reading.
If you like to keep cooking simple but still eat tasty, nutritious food check it out: Minimalist Cooking - 27 Practical Recipes
For under $5.00 you'll get a collection of healthy and easy to prepare recipes including bread, veggies, meat, pasta, salads, and desserts. Some of my favorites are the Roasted Root Veggies, Roast Beef, Veggie Lasagna, Chicken Pecan Salad, Apple Crisp and Frozen Yogurt...

If you'd like to spend less time preparing food and more time enjoying a meal with your family, this is the perfect cookbook for you! And if you want to check out some of her recipes for free you can find a few at MinimalistCook.com

Meiby has a Licking Problem

Strange Dreams

How do I know I've got crochet on the brain?

The other night Meiby had been keyed up all day. Barking at every little noise (not usual for her) so this continued into the night. She sleeps in our bed so every time she thought she heard something she'd get up and bark and wake us up. I tried cuddling her in a way that would keep her calm - which surprisingly worked(!) - but then she got so relaxed that she was snoring extra loud and keeping me awake that way instead.

So I was carefully trying to wake her up enough to get her to stop snoring without startling her into barking. And since I was stuck in that dreamy between-sleep-and-awake state during this delicate process, I was dreaming of some way to crochet something (like a sling or something, I don't know) that would hold her in a position to keep her from snoring but would comfort her enough to keep her asleep so that I could sleep. Of course this would never work (haha) but it struck me as funny when I thought about the dream later.

As a side note, she's been sleeping better since then. Her allergies have been so bad this summer despite the daily Benedryl so we switched her to Claritin and we'll see how that goes. Yea, she's a princess.

2 years

Yesterday marked 2 years now that Meiby has been with us. On one hand, I can't believe she's almost 3! ...but on the other hand it seems like she's been a part of our family for so long. In the first year that we had her she changed so much as she got comfortable with us. The second year she was right at home. The only thing I can think of that changed is that she suddenly started sleeping like this:

She's finally so comfortable with us that she'll gladly get into this vulnerable position and LOVES to have her belly rubbed. Sometimes if I start rubbing her chest while she's sitting up, she'll just flop over onto her back. She certainly keeps us entertained! Happy Pugiversary Meiby :)

Yup, Strawberries

This is the 4th strawberry from my little pot of strawberry plants. Every morning I take the pug outside, water my plants and, if something looks tasty, share a little bite of something with her. So far it had been mostly sugar snap peas but now the strawberries are ripening and the tomatoes and peppers are about to take off. Meiby LOVES the peas and strawberries but we think she's sensitive to tomatoes and I really doubt she'll be into jalapenos.
This year, since we moved mid-growing-season, we had very limited "crops" ... just a few pea pods and usually only one strawberry at a time. Not enough to even bring them in. I would just pick and eat them straight off of the plant. I'm hoping to have a lot more tomatoes than last year though and next year I want to plant bigger tomatoes... maybe Romas. Everything is still in pots this year so I need to decide on a location for next year.

Crochet Cowl Pattern

You can find out more about it over at Strand Over Fist.

Meiby is always happy to model them for me :)

Pugs and Babies

This weekend I babysat a friend's 6 and 1 year old boys at my house. Meiby has not really ever been around small children and it was... interesting. Basically she thought the baby was a puppy and kept trying to play with him as if he was, pouncing and barking like a crazy pug. Luckily the baby was not upset by this at all. He loves dogs and wanted to play but Meiby was a bit too quick for him. Meiby's favorite part of the evening, of course, was feeding time! It's definitely good to have a dog around when you've got kids. Unfortunately I did not get any photos of this because I was busy trying to keep everyone calm. hehehe...
...but here she is hanging out in the new backyard with me and my plants this weekend.

Looking for trouble

Meiby has never gotten into the garbage. Mostly because we've always had a tall lidded garbage can. In the new house, the kitchen is very small and there isn't room for that can so we just have a small garbage can inside a cabinet. While I was installing this slide out track for the can the garbage was temporarily sitting out. Meiby didn't get into it but she was certainly interested. Here she is with her little chin resting on the edge of the can making lots of snorty, sniffing noises...

You'd think she would have been in it the first chance she got but she was left alone with it all day and didn't touch it. She's a very good pug!