Doggy Disappointment . . .

Our dog, Chick, has an amazing sense of direction. Whenever we take her out for a long walk, she always knows when the direction heads back home. At the moment, she gets extremely stubborn and it isn't unusual for my son to have to carry her home, again.

Today, I was finishing up dinner preparations and my son decided to take Chick for a quick walk before we stay down for the meal. I got busy with last-minute things and was amazed to discover that son and dog had been gone for 30 minutes. I got a bit worried but hopefully figured they were having a great walk and went further than intended. When it got to be 45 minutes, I grabbed my keys and drove around the neighborhood looking for them. Twice around and no sight of them and I'm getting a bit on the motherly frantic side. I swing around our house to make sure they didn't arrive home and wonder where I was. Nope, no sign of them there. On my third trip around the area, I spotted the both of them two blocks down. As I approached, I saw that Chick was standing in a big puddle of water with a stubborn look on her face. My son was trying to coax her out but she just kept staring straight ahead. I pulled up along side and my son looked very relieved.

It turns out that when my son headed her down the street towards our house, Chick knew the walk was over and sat down and wouldn't move. My son decided to retrace their steps back, go down a few blocks and then veer down another street and head for home from an area Chick wasn't as familiar with. The moment he tried to make the turn, she sat down and wouldn't move. Not sure how she ended up standing in the puddle but she happily climbed into the back of the van. She doesn't get many car rides and knows they always take her somewhere exciting . . . like the vet's where she can bark at other dogs.

We pull into the garage, open the back of the van, and Chick beams as she begins to take in the 'new' surroundings. We both burst out laughing when the beaming abruptly left her face as she realized she had been tricked in returning home, afterall. One guess who is not getting a walk tomorrow?

Pumpkin Butter

One of my children will eat anything of pumpkin over many other choices offered. Her favorite form is pumpkin pie but pumpking cookies, pumpkin bread, pumpkin cake, etc. will be happily enjoyed by her. One year, we had an abundance of pumpkin on hand and I made Pumpkin Butter. My daughter discovered a new favorite!

Pumpkin Butter

16 ounces of canned pumpkin
2/3 cups packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon fresh orange juice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

In a saucepan, combine all the ingredients and mix well. Bring to a boil being careful to stir constantly to prevent burning. Reduce heat and simmer for approximately 20 minutes or until the mixture thickens. Stir as needed. Pour the hot mixture into sterilized canny jars and seal immediately. Makes about 2 cups. Pumpkin Butter will keep in the refrigerator in an air tight jar for two weeks.

Ideas . . .

You can seal the Pumpkin Butter in small jars and give as gifts.

It goes great on homemade bread.

Life is odd even among the most devout . . .

I had an interesting experience at church a few years ago. To this day, I am still wondering what it was all about.

The parish we were attending has their Masses scheduled rather close together so there was often a crowd waiting to get in for the nine o'clock as the 7:30 Mass tried to exit. Like most parishes, each Mass has a majority of people who always went to that Mass so you got to recognize the people leaving as we were going in for our Sunday Mass. There was one woman, in particular, who always pushed past me without giving me a second glance. We knew each other on a very vague level having only spoken on a few occasions over the years. This didn't seem to indicate a Christian greeting from her as he brushed past every Sunday, head turned away from any possibility of seeing and having to acknowledge me in any way. It wasn't a problem for me as I was trying to get into the mind set for Mass and didn't want petty gestures to get me off track.

One Sunday, this very woman grabbed my arm and stopped abruptly and said, "Have I done anything to offend you?" I was flabbergasted and said I wasn't sure what she meant but no, I didn't have anything against her. She went on, "Well, every Sunday, I go past and you never say a word!" I'm still in shock but say that I'm concentrating on heading into Mass and it isn't easy to stop the flow of people going into and out of Mass to chat. She continues, "Oh, good! I was afraid I had offended you and didn't want that to come between us." I'm, meanwhile, trying to even remember her name. I assured her that I had no problem with her at all. She smiled, let go of my arm and went on her way. I mentally shook my head all the way into Mass.

The next Sunday, usual scenario of people either pushing into the church or trying to get out of church and here comes my 'friend'. I put a smile on my face as she comes up, start to say something, and she, after looking directly into my face, turns the other way and keeps going. It continued that way for the rest of the Sundays that I spent at that parish. I never heard that she had any mental problems so can only assume that I ended up not meeting her personal criteria for deserving a nod from her.

Sometimes, you don't need to watch reruns of the Twlight Zone. I often feel like I'm participating in one!

25 Facts You Should Share for School Lunch Week

One of my readers shared this link regarding school lunch programs. It has a lot of interesting information and should provide a lot of thought and conversation.

“25 Facts You Should Share for School Lunch Week” (http://www.accreditedonlinecolleges.com/blog/2011/25-facts-you-should-share-for-school-lunch-week/)

Such a great way of putting it!

Cynic: A blackguard whose faulty vision sees things as they are, not as they ought to be.

Ambrose Bierce