Pets – Page 58 – E A Summers

May 1, 2012

May Day morning (Pita Pockets!)

The weather forecast, for the forseeable future is showers…with occasional sun breaks. So when the sun breaks, Bear, Bob and I take advantage!

This morning, the sun broke. It was crisp, cool – that beautiful, after a good rain, clean air – with the sun shining over the mountains and through the trees. Bob had his morning out and about and then Bear and it was good!

I love baking in the morning no matter what the weather is like, but when that morning sun is shining in the kitchen, the birds are singing, Bob and Bear are content – it is heavenly to me to mix or roll dough and generally dawdle in the kitchen.

My work was caught up, Bear was lying in the yard, Bob was on his fleece inside – I baked.

Pita bread. FYI – not a tricky thing at all, at all! I use the same dough I like for english muffins, pizza crust, Naan and mini-boules – my own riff on the Portuguese Broa from Artisan Bread in 5 minutes a day. To make Pita, roll the dough to about 1/8 inch thick. Heat a pizza stone to 450 (the book says 500, but 450 works for me), put the dough directly on the stone and bake for 5-7 minutes until it puffs and browns slightly. Tough, huh?

May Day morning…breakfast Pita Pockets stuffed with sausage, white beans, scrambled egg, chopped cabbage and cheese – perfect!

May 1, 2012

Evening bling

Last evening, Bear and I walked the loop as the sun was getting low – about an hour before official sunset: 7:45 ish. Morning or evening, I love to watch the sun through the woods – the light playing with the ground, the woods plants and the trees.

To the East, the tops of the trees in the small valley between foothills – dramatic contrast in the evening sun break after a cloudy, rainy day.

And the topper? Lupins, dressed in raindrops…a little evening bling :) !

***that little scraggly thing to the bottom right? It is a wildflower (weed?) of some sort. They are all over the woods, but I can’t find them in my flower book. They look like miniature bottle brushes that have seen better days. They make me laugh to see them – silly laughing…fun in the woods laughing – so maybe not a “traditionally” beautiful wildflower, but as in all things, beauty in the eye of the beholder and also not always outward appearance …sometimes beauty [for me] is in how whatever or whoever makes me feel. There…my life metaphor of the day :)!

April 11, 2012

Give Peace to my heart

The song on this morning’s Pray as you go is titled: “Give Peace to our hearts”. It was not sung in English but the narrator paraphrased the prayer lyrics:

Give peace to our hearts
May I have Peace in my heart.
Lord, Help me still myself so I can hear your gentle voice speaking to my heart.

My own heart is not “un”-peaceful, but the schedule has been extra full of late and yesterday morning, I had to be in Whitefish at 8:00 a.m. …with an empty stomach for a fasting blood test in preparation for an annual physical.

My normal routine is a relaxed start to the day…getting Bob situated, making coffee, a leisurely outing with Bear, breakfast, shower, a quick perusal of the few cooking blogs I like, plan my own cooking for the day and then to work about 9:00. So, blasting out of the house at 7:00 for the 45 minute drive to Whitefish with no coffee and no food – it was a drastic departure from the normal. Bear and I had a nice long walk in Whitefish before we returned – a good thing as the remainder of the day was mostly at my desk with headset on working with my programming group. We quit at 7:00 p.m.

It was a good day. Much was accomplished. And after shutting down at 7, I went outside with Bear. It is now light until almost 9:00 p.m. so we walked the loop, dawdled in the woods and then sat and enjoyed the evening.

This morning, after Bob’s turn outside while I made coffee, Bear and I went out. I sat on the front porch to have my morning quiet time and listen to today’s Pray as you go. And with His peace in my heart and no meetings on the schedule, I took an extra hour in the kitchen to make a batch of corn tortillas and english muffins.

Cooking is soothing and relaxing for me – especially breads – something fundamentally peaceful for me in the handling of the dough, the fragrance of them baking and the kind of magic that transforms flour and liquid into one of our basic foods.

And then, I sat down, AT the table !!! – for breakfast. I try to keep to a habit of eating at least 2 meals at the table but sometimes it is “catch as catch can” at my desk.

And then…

a check on Bob…

and on Bear. The morning’s quiet, the song-prayer, the gentle voice and these beloved pets – gave Peace to my heart this beautiful morning.

***Both the corn tortillas and the english muffins freeze well. Although certainly they are scrumptious fresh, they do not suffer being frozen and beat anything store bought to smithereens! I am all for having a LOT of easy to thaw things in the freezer for those times when there is not time.

March 31, 2012

A Saturday afternoon

Twisted Dog: A variation of downward dog…

Twisted Woman: A glass of wine on a sunny SATURDAY (!!) afternoon :)! After noon, but considerably before 5:00…

Beardog on patrol.

This afternoon, temperatures at 60F! This is the first day that felt truly springlike with a warm-hot feeling to the air. And the sounds: birds, chainsaws, nailguns (neighbors working on their addition!), squirrels, small airplanes – everything and everyone enjoying a beautiful afternoon.

Bear alternated between lying in the sun and patrolling his perimeter with a few forays into Beardog Hill.