Gardens and Spring Cleaning

Here is Willow outside on our patio looking very pleased with herself. It is good to have her outside, because, frankly, she is a shedding machine! That girl could still shed if we shaved her bald.





So some spring cleaning is in order. Fred finished the window project so that means that we are moving on to the cleaning and painting of the moulding.

Fred has outlined all the window panes in painting tape. I went over every pane and used a toothbrush to get out the dirt for everyone knows you can't paint over dirt. That leads to flaking and messiness! So, we are scrubbing and cleaning all the moulding. Fred cut and put in the quarter round, finishing the baseboard moulding. When we bought this house, the previous owners had started many improvement projects, but hadn't finished them all. One of the things that really bothered me was that there was quarter round on some walls and not others. This doesn't bother Fred at all. However, usually once a year, he will add some quarter round to a wall to appease me. I'm hoping that we can finish the downstairs before my parents come to visit. We just have the kitchen and garden room and the east side of the family room to go. Oh and the living room. Keep your fingers crossed!

Evidently the USF botanical garden is spring cleaning as well. We found this bird's nest on a bench. I'm not sure if the bird got tired of it or the botanical people felt compelled to remove it from its home. I'm sure it was not built on the arm of the bench!


I think this is a wood stork. He was HUGE. There were also some Mallard ducks at the gardens. While the USF gardens are small and untidy, they are also calm and relaxing and must be a place of peace for stressed out students. They have a native plant sale coming up in June, which I plan on going to.

I also recommend Bok Tower and Santuary and Selby Gardens if you are in a mind to go to gardens. They are magnificent.

Our First Guidedog Meeting at St. Pete Market

We went to our first meeting of the Suncoast Puppy Raisers yesterday. It was held at the St. Pete Farmer's Market. It was great.

We got to see Jean again! Here she is on the left with her puppy raiser mom, Donna. Donna and her husband Don (see next photo) are also the North Pinellas area coordinators for Suncoast Puppy Raisers. We are in their group. Jean remembered us! That was nice, because we really liked her and thought she had a pretty good time at our house. 8-)

You might notice that there are lots of light green shirts in this photograph. The green shirt is the official puppy raiser volunteer shirt, with official embroidery and everything. I'm not sure when you get a shirt (perhaps only when you get a puppy?), but boy do we want one!




I took this photo for a couple of reasons:

1. Don is holding Cool Beans who is Jean's sister and a Vizsla
2. You can see in the background several other kinds of dogs, a smooth coated collie, a labrador retriever

The guide dogs come in many flavors: labrador, goldadore, smooth coated collie, australian shepherd, vizsla.

During this part of the meeting, everyone was in a circle and we were given news about the dogs. At one year, the school would like for the puppies to start wearing the harness with out the handle for 15 minutes at a time to get used to the weight and feel of it. This is pretty important. If the dog can't get used to the harness, it will wash out as a guidedog for the blind. When we took a tour, our volunteer tourguide and puppy raiser said that her puppy had been washed outbecause she literally couldn't bear the harness, it rubbed her the wrong way. 8-)

So it is crucial that the dogs begin to like the harness and associate wearing it with fun times.

I like this shot because you can see all of the dogs doing a practice obedience session. You have older dogs, puppies, and everything in between and they are all doing a great job! There are moms, teachers, teens, business people, retirees, anyone you can think of has the ability to be a puppy raiser. You can see the variety of dogs and puppy raisers.

It was a great day. We met some very nice people and even shopped a bit for fresh veggies.

Gentlemen of the Road: A Tale of Adventure by Michael Chabon

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book is a slim, charming read coming in at 196 pages. Chabon is probably better known for his extremely long and dense Pulitzer Prize winning The Adventures of Cavalier and Clay and The Yiddish Policemen's Union. This book is a twist off of what he usually writes. It's an adventure novel, what he calls a Jews with swords book. And it is delightful. Set in the far past, circa A.D. 950, Amram and Zelikman are adventurers who step into a controversy and decide to see it through to the end.



Each chapter begins with a fairly long witty title, the first chapter is called On Discord Arising from the Excessive Love of a Hat. From the titles you get the sense that this is an adventure book with a sense of whimsy. It is also a romantic tale, one filled with black humor and, surprisingly, elephants. There is a tortured hero. His partner is not just a sidekick, but a real partner and friend for life. They truly are Gentlemen of the Road. I recommend this for anyone who enjoys a good adventure novel, but most certainly for those snobs who like that adventure novels can't be good literature. This book proves them wrong.


View all my reviews.

Perfect Video about Twittering by John Cleese

Neil Gaiman just tweeted about the UK's list of who is god-emperor of Twitter. Stephen Fry was knocked down from the #1 position. As I was going down the list I saw John Cleese, who happens to be one of my favorite writers/actors. He has a very funny blog to which I now subscribe. He also has a very silly video on Twitter. Watch it!

Plus, he raises chickens, just like my friend Gisah. What's not to like about that?

Approval Is Good

We had a good day Saturday. It was the day we were approved to be puppy raisers for Southeastern Guide Dogs Inc. (SEGDI). They even have a blog for puppy raisers at The Blue Coat Journal. Each area has an area coordinator and we are part of the Suncoast Puppy Raiser group. Now that we have had our house visit and have been approved, gone over the checklist and have a copy of the puppy manual (165 pages!), we will wait 3-6 months for a puppy. We could get a Vizsla, Australian Shepherd, Smooth Coated Collie, Goldadore or Labrador. We said we would take whatever was available.

Even better news was that my headmaster is in favor of the idea and will let me bring my dog to work! Woot! We'll bring the puppy over the summer to introduce him/her to the school and meet her many soon to be fans. Then we will have a convocation for each division explaining the rules of interacting with a guide dog and what a guide dog's job is and how they are raised/trained. There is a really great short video for the kids to watch and then I'll bring out the puppy. That will be totally cool.

I'm hoping that our puppy will be that community building element that helps our three separate divisions come together. I'm also hoping that when the dog is on campus that it serves as a persistent reminder about disabilities so that the disabled are not forgotten. Our kids are great and I expect them to rise to the challenge: not being able to pet the puppy when he's working! 8-)

I've spoken with two of my directors and they are on board. I meet with the third tomorrow. We will be puppy sitting a 1.5 year old Vizsla guide dog in training this weekend. So the experience starts tomorrow!

If you are interested in SEGDI, they are having an open house this Saturday from 9 am to noon. If you come, you will see us and possibly meet Jean, the Vizsla we are puppy sitting. I was really touched that her name is Jean. It seemed a good sign that our first puppy had Fred's mom's name, sort of a Jean seal of approval!

Cake v. Pie: Pie Wins Because Pi Is Infinite!

The Guadalupe Cafe is our favorite place in Santa Fe, but this visit we only got to eat there once. Usually, their pie is homemade, amazing and hard to come by, meaning, you had better reserve a piece when you sit down or it won't be there when you are ready for dessert. Over to the left are the pieces of peach/strawberry pie we had during our last visit to Santa Fe. The crust was a bit thick for my taste and the strawberries were not right, dried out and not oozing sweetness. It was an acceptable pie, but not up to Guadalupe Cafe's usually exacting pie standards. As we had pie in as many places as served it, we had plenty of contestants for the ultimate pie winner.

While Guadalupe Cafe's pie may have disappointed, their food did not. Their chips are homemade and spiced just right. The chile is hot, unapologetically, hot, which is great in my opinion. Their salads are served in HUGE bowls and you cannot physically finish them. They rock!

The blueberry pie we had at Cafe Pasqual's was the winner. I don't have a shot of that pie. It was a very tasty filling, a bit on the sweet side, with flaky crusts. However, eating at Cafe Pasqual's is a mixed bag. We ate dinner and it was wonderful. We also went for breakfast and were terribly disappointed. The Mexican hot chocolate was so sickly sweet that I left half of it. Fred's huevos rancheros were gross. He ended up eating the other half of my chile relleno and scrambled egg dish, which was fine. Sheldon's hot cereal dish was just that: hot cereal with no attempt to dress it up with maple syrup, cinnamon, cream, etc. It was bland and dull. Kitty had French toast that was just ok. Nothing special. I expect something special with the prices that Cafe Pasqual's charges. It did not deliver for breakfast. Dinner was very nice.

We also had a nice pie at Harry's Roadhouse. Harry's Roadhouse is a great, out of the way place that you have to search out to find. It serves amazing food, with a terrific waitstaff and a pleasant, cheerful atmosphere. You can find it all here, burgers, salmon, New Mexican cuisine...and pie.

Another great place, one that is not out of the way, but that is right on the historic plaza in Santa Fe is the Plaza Cafe. We ate there twice and had a snack of a basket of sopapillas and Mexican Hot Chocolate. Their Mexican Hot Chocolate is perfectly sweetened with lots of whipped cream. It is a liquid dream. They had a caramel chocolate pecan pie that was very good, but still, the blueberry pie pulled ahead.

We had a bit of pie gluttony at Zia Diner. I ordered Wicked Cocoa, Fred the strawberry rhubarb crumb, Sheldon went for apple and Kitty had cherry. They were all just ok. I had a bison burger that was very tasty, but Fred was not pleased with his trout or his rice. Kitty found it to be acceptable (she ordered the same thing as Fred) but Sheldon agreed with Fred that the rice was soggy and the trout a bit fishy.

Here is a shot of the apple pie we had at Orlando's in Taos. We all decided that it was a very good pie indeed. Perhaps second in the pie wars.

Orlando's however, was first in the New Mexican Cuisine Wars as they made fabulous chile rellenos, enchiladas, posole, fish tacos, taco salad, carne adovada. We just didn't order anything at Orlando's that wasn't fixed perfectly and served with a smile. However, I must admit to a small feeling of guilt....pie guilt....

You see, my favorite dessert was not the pie at Orlando's, nor the pie at Cafe Pasqual's or the Plaza or any of the pies or sopapillas. My favorite dessert, the one I craved and had to go back for and in fact ordered several of so that I could take some back to my B&B and snack on them later was the state cookie of New Mexico: The Biscochito dipped in chocolate, which Orlando's served.

It is cookie heaven. Light and tasty, with anise seeds and a thick coating of dark chocolate on half of its heart. It was a little bit of cookie love, cookie perfection. I have looked for the recipe from Orlando's, but they don't have a cookbook. I found a couple of potential recipes and will try them and get back to you with the results. In the mean time, if you have a chance to go to Taos, go to Orlando's. Order anything, but make sure you order the Biscochito dipped in Chocolate. It may not be infinite, but I still dream of it.

Here's the Thing about Santa Fe/Taos in March

Yesterday was a bit of a frustrating day as you can see by the photo above. The Martinez Hacienda was closed. The Taos Pueblo was closed, even though on the 18th, they had a big sign that said they would be open on the 21st. As of the 22nd, there was a new sign: closed until the 25th. But we had driven all the way up there to see the pueblo. Sigh. This is the lesson about Santa Fe and Taos, and perhaps New Mexico in general. You need to have alternate plans. Plans that include things that are always open, such as the Rio Grande Gorge:

This is the view looking down 600 feet from the gorge bridge, which is always open. It was, dare I say it, gorgeous. 8-) Sorry, it was a bad joke we repeated constantly to cheer us up from the disappointment of not getting to see the Taos Pueblo.

We have now visited three pueblos: Cochiti, San Ildefonso, and Taos. And in none of them did we feel welcome. I think that there is a very odd environment at the pueblo. It is a sacred place that is also open, occasionally, to tourism, which by its very nature is the opposite of sacred, perhaps even profane. So when you visit, there is a real sense that you are something other. While you may purchase some art (and there is amazing pottery and jewelry and outrageously talented artists living on the pueblo) and help out the pueblo residents there is a real sense that you are not to be trusted. Given that all of us can remember those people, those tourists who make us all look bad, I completely agree! Many tourists can be rude, unfeeling, callous, stupid and awful. Many can also be interested, awestruck, humbled and very excited about learning about a culture that is so very different from theirs. How do you protect against the former and still welcome the later? Turns out it is a very difficult balance to achieve. For my part, I think that I will bypass any future visits to pueblos out of respect for the privacy of the residents. The Santa Fe Plaza is able to showcase Native Artists and that's where we will seek out their art. Should you choose to visit, you should be very cognizant of the rules (no photos without a permit, usually $10 a day; no photos of residents without their expressed approval; no looking into doorways, as this is their home; no going in the Kiva or climbing on it as it is a sacred space).

The bottom line is that New Mexico is a state of artists, whether they be jewelry makers, weavers, chefs or potters. They may be Native American, European transplants or Native New Mexicans. The artisitic sensibility is that they live at a different pace than the rest of us nine to fivers. So, yes, the sign did say, open on the 22nd, but something came up. Yes, the door says open at 9 am, but the painter had a late night painting, so she won't be in until later. Or the biscuits burned, so the chef will make another batch and open up then. So be prepared for disappointment and have many options that you can switch to when something turns up closed. That way you won't be disappointed or frustrated. Or depend on the hiking and the national monuments. They don't close...unless it is Nambe Falls, which is on the Nambe Pueblo, which was....closed. I kid you not.