Mischief Monday: Guess Who Came for Dinner?

Hey It’s Jet Here.

Last week, I was hanging out in the kitchen watching Mom begin preparing her “leftover mix” dinner, while Little Miss “I Must Take Recipe Notes” watched more closely.

Out of the corner of her eye, Mom saw a swish of golden fur outside the kitchen window.  Her first response – double check to see that Little Miss Golden Girl was in the kitchen and that Mom was not experiencing double vision!  Confident that her eyesight was not playing tricks on her, (did I tell you that Mom failed the eye test at the driver’s license bureau this past spring?  Yup, went in and failed… had no idea she needed glasses, poor thing! Whoops, I digressed again…) she properly looked out the window.

Our buddy, Simba, wagging so hard he could have powered our refrigerator for a day, looked at Mom, patiently waiting for his invitation to come in.  Mom opened the sliding door and Simba bounded in for a grand entrance befitting another happy, happy golden!  We all greeted him enthusiastically and Mom wondered how long he had been “at large” because he smelled slightly swampy! (Which means we thought he might have already had a little swim in the canal!)

Anywhoo, Mom immediately texted his human big sister, Joanna, to see what she wanted us to do.  Turns out, Joanna now lives on campus at the University of Miami and was in the middle of a class!  She said she would drive over when class let out.  Mom replied no worries, Simba could join us for dinner and our evening constitutional.

Simba and JJ both felt the need to carefully scrutinize (VBP – vocab building project) Mom’s technique.  I thought we should frolick before dinner, especially since JJ and I already finished our dinner.  Mom tossed tidbits of sweet red pepper and carrots to all three of us while she assembled her dish.

Miss Joanna arrived about an hour later, just as we prepared to leave the house for our walk.  She shared that no one at her house (4 doors down) knew Simba had flown the coop and that, since he is HER dog, it was HER responsibility to deal with the situation.  Mom politely kept her thoughts to herself, with the exception of gently reminding Miss Joanna that she worried about Simba’s girth.  Mom mentioned that he heartily enjoyed our veggies (she was surprised!) and that we eat ½ as much kibble each day.  No judgment, just loving concern, because Simba is a super sweet, fun loving dude and we want him to stay healthy.

Another great dinner with friends, day.

Thanks to Alfie’s Blog, Snoopy’s Dog Blog, My Brown Newfies and Luna, A Dog’s Life…for sponsoring the hop!  Click on any of the sponsors to join the hop.

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Mischief Monday – Baking Class

Hey It’s Jet Here.

Before we begin, to those that celebrate the New Year today, Shana Tovah; wishing you a Sweet New Year.

Continuing our week of Koko memories… before I joined the family, during Fall 2007, Mom prepared to teach one of her UMiami interactive cooking classes – Cupcake Chic and Other Baked Treats.  As usual, she prepared her groceries to load into the car.  She left the non-perishable groceries from Publix (flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda) by the kitchen/garage door and ran out to Whole Foods (then Wild Oats) for the few remaining items needed.  The Wild Oats roundtrip took less than 15 minutes.

As always, Koko, Mom’s original Kitchen K9, greeted Mom upon her return.  The Mischief?  Koko looked like she had participated in a bobbing for apples contest, except instead of water and apples, the bowl was filled with goopy white stuff!  Wagging ferociously, Koko’s face, up to her eyes, was caked in white stuff.  Her whiskers looked like white Christmas tree limbs with white teardrop shaped ornaments hanging on the end of each branch/whisker.  The tile floor had a pasty white coating.

It took Mom a few minutes to digest the scene.  She finally connected the evidence and deduced (vocab builder project VBP):

not Koko; guess she’s not the only retriever to try this!

• Koko face planted into the 5 lb. flour bag, ever the curious K9.
• She tried licking off the flour and it got too sticky in her mouth.
• She drank water to help, which combined with the flour to make paste.
• Still curious, she may have repeated procedure.
• The flour bag tipped over and the grocery bag went horizontal, spreading flour onto the floor.
• Water from the bowl or Koko dripped onto the floor making more paste.

Mom really wanted to give the NAUGHTY speech, but could not help or stop laughing.  She ended up giving Koko an unscheduled quick spa day.  She had to use a bench scraper to help remove the paste from the tiles, replaced the flour and made it to class on time!

The only regret?  No pictures!  This was pre-digital camera or smart phone.

Another great and rare Koko Mischief day!

Wordless Wednesday: Vixen Goes to Publix

Hey It’s Jet Here.

Mom spent almost two hours at the grocery store on Monday purchasing groceries for her two University of Miami classes yesterday and today.  (explains why she is slow to respond to your comments and slow to read your blog posts to me…she planned for 15 yesterday and 120 today.)  She told us that people in the produce aisles looked at her oddly because she looped the department for about 40 minutes, dividing her cart in half with baby carrot bags as the items almost overflowed the cart!

As she approached her car, the SUV next door had the back flap open and a Publix employee stood looking in.  Curious as ever, she thought she saw a K9.  Considering the temperature was about 93 with 100 % humidity, she peeked as she passed.  Here’s who peeked back.

The husband had the air on, thank goodness, even so, the K9 panted.  Mom shouted into the SUV and asked if she could pet the K9, girl or boy, how old and what the name was.  Yes, girl, 10 and Vixen.  Vixen? Like Rudolph the Reindeer’s Vixen Mom asked?  Yes. (the human didn’t want to talk much)  Mom thought Vixen looked like a Scooby Doo double with her expression, minus the coloring.  Mom told the Publix employee how surprising Vixen’s silky coat was.

By this time, Mom and her groceries felt like the Wicked Witch at the End of The Wizard of Oz… before she fully melted, she thanked the human, bid Vixen adieu, loaded her 20 or so bags and hit the AC button!

Another great, Great Dane, day.

Thanks to BlogPaws for sponsoring the Wordless Wednesday Hop.

Tasty Tuesday – No Indian Spiced Cauliflower Dip for Us?

Hey It’s Jet Here.

Thanks to Sugar and Kol for initiating Tasty Tuesdays, today is our third participating post! 

Well Mom’s gone and done it again.  She’s off to teach an interactive cooking class at UMiami tonight.  Check out this Indian Cuisine menu at the bottom right part of the page.  Tasty, huh?  Well guess what?  JJ and I, Mom’s LOYAL Kitchen K-9s will NOT attend.

Why you ask; because the silly humans do not permit K9s in the Herbert Wellness Center.  Huh? Don’t they know that we promote wellness?

Anyway, the spices and general groceries are ready to go.  Want one of the recipes??? I recommend the Indian Spiced Cauliflower Dip for the following reasons:

• Miss Oprah Loves K9s.
• JJ and I love cauliflower. (In small tidbits.)
• I LOVE leftover yogurt and sour cream on spoons going into the dishwasher.
• Remember, no finished product for us, too many spicy things.

Another great, except for not receiving an invitation to Mom’s class, day.

Nooks and Crannies

Hey It’s Jet Here.

Last night, our evening constitutional was late and abbreviated.  Mom returned from her UMiami vegan gluten free baking class about an hour before our customary “before bed empty the tank” walk.  She wanted to exit right; however, I thought an exit left suited us better.

We followed the exit left small square route, which passes by my two favorite banyan trees I’ve mentioned before.  I usually investigate the first one, which last night became the second one with the exit left approach.

In the floodlight from the gated house, my tree felt more intriguing than usual. (Mom took pictures this morning so you could see better.) Even though Mom preferred not to dawdle, she noted my curiosity and asked me if I wanted to “jump it?”

My favorite nook did not call to me at first; something pulled me on the opposite side.  Two spots required intense inquiry on the sidewalk side.  I put my nose so far into a cranny that Mom said, “Jetty, be careful, something may surprise you and grab your nose!”  Silly Mom, grab my nose!

Just for emphasis, I used my right front paw as a mini excavator; just like you humans use your right hand to clear out debris from a cranny.  Continuing on to my favorite spot, I briefly jumped up, not discovering anything new.  Two more passes to the four spots of the evening occurred before Mom and JJ insisted we must move along.  They both encourage my love of detecting and investigation.

I shall write about my findings in my Scooby Doo Academy Nature journal.

Another great nook and cranny day.

P.S. Happy Birthday to my special Nana.

Two Step Back, One Step Forward

Hey It’s Jet Here.

So yesterday I caught you up on Tuesday night.  Well, I thought Mom was this thing called rehabilitated and understood that she acted stingy with all the food in the house.  Nope, here’s what happened next.

Wednesday – Auntie Liz arrived in the afternoon because my human sister, Rachel, invited her to go to the school play, Hello Dolly.  Since Auntie Liz drove a long ways in traffic she told Mom either they could go for an early dinner or she would eat a banana.  BANANA??? JJ and I had to watch as she meticulously (vocabulary builder) peeled the yellow fruit and broke off chunks to eat.  Unlike Mom, Auntie Liz feels we need LOTS of treats and shared the last chunk of banana with JJ and me.  She teased Mom that she would give us the Kit Kat bar stashed in her backpack if Mom didn’t promise to give us fun treats.  Mom reminded Auntie Liz about the NO CHOCOLATE rule.  Auntie Liz gave JJ and I a little wink.

Thursday – After dropping Rachel at school, Mom hit the grocery store by 7:30.  She had four different groups to shop for:  UMiami class, Rachel’s play (Rachel volunteered Mom to cook for the restaurant scene), Rachel’s friends after school/before the play, and our house.   She returned with armfuls of bags filled with FOOD.  She quickly assembled the tomato mozzarella salad and cut the carrots for the play and headed out to the Asian market for her UMiami class (1/2 Saudi Arabian dishes – ½ Chinese dishes).

Within ten minutes of returning home, she had chicken on the grill, potatoes boiling and the carrots in the pan awaiting their honey/mustard sauce.  Did we get:

• Carrots?  YES!
• Chicken? NO!
• Mashed potatoes? NO!
• Tomatoes? NO!
• Mozzarella? YES!

2 for 5 – You make the call.

A few hours later, Mom reloaded the majority of the groceries back into the car and whisked them off to UMiami.  Did she bring any stir-fried beef home for old Jetty boy?  UH UH… What am I, chopped liver???

On Friday, Mom’s schedule finally calmed down.  We kept our usual evening rhythm; dinner, walk, dental treat.  Mom surprised us with meaty bones.  She made salads and gave us tidbits of pepper and cucumber, while she boiled two eggs for herself and two for JJ and I to eat today.  Mom did all this as she spoke to my Nana.

Mom made one big mistake.  She left the eggs, egg slicer, and crackers on the table and returned to the fridge to get her water.  JJ inhaled 1 1/3 eggs in a nanosecond.  To stay fair, she gave me the remainder of the egg and she peeled and ate our eggs.

Conclusion:  Mom needs further treat giving rehab.

Another great and somewhat yummy day.

Thanks to Confessions of the Plume, Life With Dogs and Two Cavaliers for hosting the Saturday Pet Blog Hop. 

 

Mom’s At It Again

Hey It’s Jet Here.

I’m trying to practice understanding, really I am.  Of course, Scooby Doo Academy stresses good behavior.  Understanding remains as challenging as patience for a herding K9 like me.  Following Mom back and forth from the kitchen to the office to the kitchen to the garage freezer, to the kitchen to the car to the kitchen with these bag thingies, to the office, to the kitchen… you get the idea.

Mom shared with my human sister, Rachel, on Friday night that the next week will be something called insane.  She has four Kitchen Counselor classes, including one class where she will make smoothies for 500!  I scratched my ears to make sure I heard correctly.  500, Mom?  Yes Jetty, 500 people in 1 hour no less!  I will have two blenders going besides ours.  Phew, good to know Mom.  Hey Mom, is that the reason the machine which holds all of Ish’s delicious eggs looks like you cannot fit one more ounce of stuff in it?  Indeed.

Hey Mom, is that why JJ accompanied you to the outside freezer like 100 times?  Correct again.  Rachel did a fantastic job manipulating all of our personal items to fit everything in.  Did you listen to us giggle when chatting how we left the grocery store without any frozen fruit? Well almost no frozen fruit. 

Mom, why did you shop again today if you did all that last night?  Great question.  I have a class at University of Miami tomorrow and needed to purchase those ingredients today, since we did not have room last night because of the Farmers market ingredients.

Wow, no wonder we needed a nap this afternoon.  Hey Mom, one last question.  If the outside freezer and the inside freezer and the refrigerator cannot fit another thing, why can’t JJ and I help out?  We like fruit, yogurt, turkey, eggs, butter, veggies, etc… I know sweet boy, you two help so much, however, this food must feed others.  We’ll have special treats on Friday.  Ok, Mom… I guess…

Another great day… well actually night.

P.S. Mom, of the 45 bananas you purchased, ripened, peeled and froze tonight, would it have been too much to ask for a taste before you brought all 45 to Miss Mary Ann’s freezer?  Huh?

We Love When Mom Teaches

Hey, it’s Jet Here.

On the day before Mom has a scheduled Kitchen Counselor class, lots of food enters the house through the garage/kitchen door.  As Mom’s Kitchen K9s, we must inspect the merchandise!  Oh, the scents, we struggle with our patience button for Mom to unpack.

Today, she will teach a diabetic support group cooking ideas for Valentine’s Day.  Plus, she accepted a dare from the group last quarter that she could cook collard greens in 5 minutes.  I’m betting on Mom!  Then, in the afternoon, she teaches this thing called an interactive cooking class at the University of Miami.  Mom loves working with IEP, the Intensive English Program, because the students come from all over the globe.  Today’s theme – How Americans Celebrate Valentine’s Day.

Anyway, Mom often does this “prep” stuff to make her classes run smoothly.  Koko and I LOVED prep time.  After all, as her Kitchen K9s, we had jobs to do like quality control!  Yesterday, JJ experienced Prep initiation.  At one point, Mom had beets (for chocolate beet cake?) and broccoli roasting in the oven (separately), turkey bacon in two skillets on the stovetop (oh the aroma!), collards rinsing in the sink while she cut pineapple on the cutting board.

Little Miss Helpful had two paws on the counter repeatedly to see:

• How to drain turkey bacon.
• How much rinsing is necessary per collard leaf.
• How much tin foil must you cut to properly wrap three beets.
• What size floret works best when roasting broccoli.
• How close should you get to Mom when she chops three onions.

When Mom dropped the first tidbit of collard leaf, JJ snapped it up before Mom even knew what happened.  All we heard was crunch, crunch, crunch.  Knowing how much I LOVE collards, Mom immediately invited me to sit for a stem.  JJ then scurried over for her first stem.  Mom tried to capture us chewing collard stems like stogies without success, we chomped too fast.  After three or four attempts, she worried our tummies would get upset.  So, no pictures this time.

Another great Kitchen Counselor Prep day.

Afternoon Action

Hey, It’s Jet Here.

Wow, my house hopped yesterday afternoon.  I loved it!  Usually, JJ and I patiently wait for Mom and my human sister, Rachel, to return to the house in the afternoon.  We enthusiastically greet each other, visit a bit and then the house returns to a routine hum.  Not yesterday.

Rachel’s rehearsal got cancelled allowing her to return home earlier than anticipated.  We learned that Mom stopped by the grocery store on her way home from one job to purchase the few items remaining for her University of Miami Authentic Northern Italian cooking class.  Oh did those grocery bags smell divine, nice and fishy! Jet, may I share something?  Sure Mom.  We prepared tilapia with an orange sage sauce topped with toasted almonds.  Thanks for filling in the details for our readers, Mom.  Welcome Jetty.

Next, the bell rang and Rachel unlocked the front door for one of my favorite humans, my neighbor, Ruby.  She’s 6 ¾ and gives JJ and I hugs, belly rubs, gets in my day bed with me, pretends to dress us and other stuff!

Rachel rocks with young children; she played with Ruby and then they baked sugar cookies.  Over the weekend, they baked dozens of cheesy rolls and homemade yeasted crescent rolls from Rachel’s new cookbook below.

As Mom prepared to leave for class, Ruby chatted with her a lot. Mom somehow answered her questions and loaded her car simultaneously.  All of a sudden, Mom saw another golden feathery tail in the garage; Simba pulled his human sister so hard, she let go.  Of course, he wanted to join the festivities, so Mom invited another super wagger into the house with his human sister.

Oh, while this next item gets a little personal, I’ll share to convey the essence of the activity level in the kitchen.  Turns out, while everyone told Mom JJ was this thing called spayed, whoops, they made a mistake.  Angela and Rachel fashioned a hind-quarter cover-up with this pad thing inserted out of an old t-shirt to keep the surfaces below JJ stain free.  (Mom said you can read between the lines!)

K9s, kids, Angela, Mom – happy energy…

Another really great day.