Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Puppy Fix

Sunday, Gary and I got to visit our breeders' most recent litter of Newf puppies. It is a small litter of 2 adorable 6 week old babies. The girl they call Diva, a very fitting name. Diva is staying with the Bennetts. The boy is nicknamed Grumpy until he goes to his new home in Texas. I really enjoyed getting to see these little bundles of sweetness. There is just nothing like holding a Newf puppy. See...
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These videos are too dark, but you still get an idea of the baby Newfie cuteness.

Shake! These babies love to shake hands.


Crunch and Munch


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Diva, showing off her cute profile
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Sunday, December 21, 2008

Louie Earned His CGC

10 month old Louie took his Canine Good Citizen test today and passed with flying colors. We are so proud of our sweet boy. Here he is pictured with Olivia, the Rhodesian Ridgeback, who was his good friend in obedience class.
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Secret Santa Paws

Abbey and Zeke were our secret Newfie Santas. They are about the same age as us so they knew exactly which presents would drive us wild with delight. We about drove our mama crazy because we got so excited about our new toys that we ran around the house doing our dance of joy at top speed.

Ok Mama...We are READY for some presents!

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Mama says she's sorry for the quality of these videos. They are a little dark, but at least you get to see a glimpse of the fun




Our super cool loot! Abbey, Zeke and Teri rule!
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We hope all of our friends have a very Merry Christmas!

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Katie the Backpacking Queen

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Katie is starting to wear her backpack on walks now. I'm going to gradually add a bit of weight to her pack so she can get conditioned for longer hikes. She really seems to enjoy wearing it; her tail wags the whole time. I think our working dog likes having a job to do.

Temptation

I think Santa should bring me lots of presents because I watched Mama making these cookies for hours and hours and I didn't steal a single one. What do you guys think?
Love and Licks, Louie
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Note from Charity: Below is the recipe for my tempting cookies that I only make once a year because when they are around we humans can't seem to show as much restraint as our Newfies.

Chocolate Chip-Pecan Cookies


2½ cups flour
1 teasp baking soda
¼ teasp salt
1 cup unsalted butter
1½ cups brown sugar
2 teasp vanilla
2 each egg
3 cups chocolate chips (18 oz)
1½ cups pecans chopped

1) Preheat oven to 375°.

2) Sift flour, salt and baking soda together. Set aside.

3) Combine butter, brown sugar and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Beat on high speed until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs. Reduce the speed to low, add the flour mixture and mix just until incorporated. Mix in the chips and pecans on low speed.

4) Spoon the batter by rounded tablespoons onto ungreased cookie sheets, spacing 2 inches apart. Bake until just firm to the touch and beginning to brown, about 11 minutes.
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Notes: After baking coat with Caramel Glaze and Chocolate Coating

Makes appx 70 cookies

Caramel Glaze

8 oz caramel candy
¼ cup water

Combine the caramel and water in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir until the caramel melts and the mixture is smooth, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

Use a fork to drizzle the glaze over cookies. Let stand until cool, about 30 minutes.

Notes: Makes about 3/4 cup.

Chocolate Coating

8 oz dark chocolate chips
1 tbsp butter (I also add a little bit of milk to mine - works better in the microwave)

Combine the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water. Melt until smooth, stirring frequently, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat. Or you can heat in microwave on very low power stirring frequently.

Refrigerate cookies until chocolate and caramel sets.

Notes: Makes about 3/4 cup.

Sunday, December 7, 2008

Moo

Louie, Louie, Louie,
Everyday with you brings something new.
One day it was counter climbing
Another day fence jumping
And even though you've never seen or heard a cow
Now you've discovered how to Moo

(poem by Gary)

Yesterday afternoon I was on my computer with Katie curled up under my feet as usual when I suddenly heard a very loud and strange noise come from the kitchen. It was Louie who had been napping in there. He made a noise that sounded like a cow mooing. It was absolutely hilarious...that is after I assured myself that he was ok. I have never heard a sound like that come from a dog. I moo'd back at him trying to get him to do it again. But no, it was a single, solitary moo not to be repeated.

Until... 2:30 a.m.... another BIG moo comes from Louie in his crate at the foot of the bed. Just one nice loud moo and he was right back to sleep. Of course it took Gary and I about an hour to fall back asleep after that extremely loud noise. It was worth losing a bit of sleep though to hear that strange and actually quite cool sound again.