Tuesday, March 31, 2015

An Award from Charlie

We got this beautiful Liebster award from Charlie!  Thank you so much, Charlie!
These are the rules:
1.  Acknowledge and accept the Liebster Award by leaving a comment on the blog where you were nominated.
2.  Copy and paste the Liebster Award logo onto your own blog.
3.  Link back to the blogger who awarded you.
4.  Answer 11 questions posed to you by the person who nominated you.
5.  List 11 random facts about yourself.
6.  Nominate and link 3-11 other blogs that you enjoy.
7.  List 11 questions for your Liebster Award nominees on you blog.
8.  Inform your nominees by leaving a comment on there blog.

1.  Do you do anything that really annoys your peeps and what is it that you do??
This time of the year, the ducks and geese are searching for green grass and they're all over our yard leaving us yummy snacks.  Our mom  can't stand it when we snag mouthfuls of goosey poo!

2. Have you ever escaped from your yard and if so where did you go??
I, Molly, slipped out of the barn last year when dad's friend was coming for a visit.  I chased a goose right back into the pond where he belonged!   I was shocked to discover that I was in the pond and soaking wet and when dad called me, I hurried right back to him for safety. It was sure fun!

3. Have you ever caught a critter and what did you do with it if you did?? Did you eat it??
I, Mitch, am the bestest mouser and I've caught a few mice.  I don't eat them but I sure do get them all gooey and slimy and nasty rolling them around in my mouth.  If you need a mouser, call me - I'm available!

4. What’s your very favourite food in the whole world and are you allowed to eat it??
That's an easy one - pizza and ice cream and yes, we do get to have it- not a lot but some is better than none!

5.  If you’re a bloke do you cock to pee or do you squat like a Sheila??  Same for you Sheila’s … do you cock your leg?  Our Lucy did??  She was out there for a sheila.  She would even cock against a tree ….. just like a bloke.  Weird, aye??
I, Mitch, can go either way.  I can lift my leg or I can pee like a girl.    Molly only squats - no leg lifts for her.  

6. Do you drink out of the big white bowl in the bathroom?
Is that what that big white bowl is for, Charlie?    It won't do us any good because our mom keeps the seat down all the time.  

7. Have you ever had a go at agility, flyball, lure coursing, etc. etc. etc. and how good at it were/are you????
Never -  but I, Molly, would sure love to!

8. Have you EVER competed at Westminster, Crufts or the equivalent in your country, or even dreamt about being a competitor at Westminster or Crufts etc.?
We hear that's a whole lot of work and a whole lot of groomies.  We'll pass.  

9. Has your Mom and Dad ever left you behind while they went away for a holiday. Where did they leave you and how did you greet them when they returned??
This has never happened to us in our entire lives so far.  It did happen to angel Maggie one night and only one time.  It happened on Nantucket because the hotel where mom and dad stayed for one night changed their pet policy and no dogs were allowed in the rooms.  Maggie had to spend the night at the Nantucket vets and when mom went to pick her up early the next morning, Maggie snubbed her and treated her like the enemy.   To this day, mom still regrets not sleeping in the car with Maggie for the entire night.

10. Is there any peep or other of your own kind that you really hate and why??
I, Mitch, am very leery of toddlers and young hoomans and will keep my distance.   Molly loves everybody!    We do have issues on our walks on leash.    We don't hate any of the pups but I do bark at them and tell them off.  Molly's issue is different.  She appears to be afraid but her tail is held high the whole time and she bites and twirls on her leash for security.  What's up with that?!

11.  Do you get raw meaty bones to eat and if so what kind of bones are your very favourite??
We used to get them more often until some blabbermouth told our mom that marrow bones are very hard and can break old toofies and now mom doesn't want to buy them for us anymore.  boooooooooooooo

As you know, us Airedales don't always play by the rules.     We think Charlie's questions were brilliant and we would love for anyone and everyone to answer these questions if you want to and post them to your blog.   We don't want to pick and choose because this is a superbusy Easter week for so many so if you'd like to play then please do!

Thanks, Charlie!  That was lots of fun☺

So until next time...........

Love ya lots♥
Mitch and Molly

Sunday, March 29, 2015

Ricotta Almond Cake

Our Nonna was the best Italian cook in the whole wide world - maybe it was because she was born in Italy and lived there until she got married.   Nonna baked many Italian desserts that mom makes because she insists on carrying on holiday traditions.
One dessert that mom has never had (because Nonna never made it) is Ricotta Almond Cake. It's made at Easter.   A site on facebook posted a "Cooking with Nonna" link and mom read the recipe and immediately started to drool.

It's 1 pound of ricotta and 1/2 pound of almond paste, 4 eggs, 3/4 cup sugar and the juice of 1/2 an orange.  That's it - so simple!

Mix ingredients well and pour into a well-buttered  8" X 8" pan.  Bake at 400 degrees for approx 1 hour until it's a beautiful golden color.  Test with toothpick.

 We didn't get to lick the beaters because very little batter was on them but we did get a taste of ricotta off the spoon. 
 More please!
We wish we could ask Nonna why she never made this cake before.  We can only guess that she had her favorites at Easter and didn't need another cake to bake.

This cake is soooooooo simple.  It doesn't even have a crust so it's healthier for you, right?!
And the taste - yummmmmmmmmm.  If you like marzipan and that intense almond taste, this cake is for you.   It's wonderfully flavorful and rich and delicious!   We will definitely be making this again and again!

We had snow showers all day yesterday!  What happened to spring?!


Love ya lots♥
Mitch and Molly

Saturday, March 28, 2015

Slick Saturday

Dad has been very busy turning slicks~
 But I wanna play ball!
Guess what?  It's snowing at our house!   Have a sensational Saturday, everyone!

Love ya lots♥
Molly

Friday, March 27, 2015

Our Newest Blog Book

Our blog book for 2014 has arrived.  Mom orders one every year so she has tons of pictures of us and all of our adventures that are written on our blog. 
 We love the photo on the cover of this year's book.  It's one of our very favorites!
 We remember this trip to Glenwood!   Can we do this again soon?
 You remember it well too, don't you, Molly - french fries and sweet potato fries and cheeseburgers and hotdogs.  yummmmm
 We sure do love our blog books. They're full of the bestest memories♥

So until next time.............

Love ya lots♥
Mitch and Molly

Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Almost Wordless - Better Late Than Never

Baby Mitch~
Baby Molly~
Love ya lots♥
Mitch and Molly

Sunday, March 22, 2015

Maggie's Fabric Block

Angel Maggie's fabric quilt block is finished.
 Mom had no problems working on it but when it came time to take pictures, it was tough.  We still miss Maggie so much.   The tree tag on her collar was a gift from Velcro and Penny and their fur family.  A tree was planted in California in memory of her. 
 Mom asks me all the time if I remember Maggie and she never really sees a positive response.  
 So now comes the sashing and putting it all together.   Should we joined horizontally or vertically?  What color sashing will work best?  Molly votes for purple!
 But wait! What is this?   A fourth block?
What we want to know is how did JH know?     Just Harry commented last week that,  "We can't wait to see the 4 of them together."  We didn't even have the pen to paper yet - it was still just a thought.   We think it was angel Maggie and angel Jake sending messages down from Rainbow Bridge♥
Stay tuned.....................

Love ya lots♥
Mitch and Molly

Friday, March 20, 2015

The First Day of Spring

These are the only Snowdrops visible in our yard. The rest of them are still covered over by snow.
 The Witch Hazel is trying so hard to open and display pretty spidery flowers but the cold is keeping her buds tightly closed.  She needs sun as well as warmth. 
 Can you hear her calling for help?!   haha
 We still have so much snow that needs melting but we're not really sure that we want it to go away because we love the snow so much and guess what - we're getting more snow this afternoon - two to four more inches of the beautiful cold white stuffs!

Mom and dad have had more than enough but we really want to keep it for a bit longer!

Happy first day of spring☺

Love ya lots♥
Mitch and Molly

Wednesday, March 18, 2015

AireTag and Gotcha Day

Mom was searching on the Etsy a few weeks back and found an Airedale tag.  It's the first time she's ever seen something like this and she ordered it. 
 It arrived with my name and phone number. How cool is this - an AireTag for an AireBoy!
 And guess what else?
 Today is my 8th Gotcha Day and Molly and I are ready to pawty!
 We've got Frosty Paws topped with a heart shaped cookie!

We heard mom and dad discussing a trip to Lenny and Joe's for clam rolls and chowder. We're in!


So until next time.............

Love ya lots♥
Mitch and Molly

Tuesday, March 17, 2015

Happy St Patrick's Day

Happy St Patrick's Day, everyone☺
Love ya lots♥
Mitch and Molly

Sunday, March 15, 2015

Molly's Fabric Block

Mom has finished her fabric block of me!
I love the purple background!  It's my favorite color!   And I have my favorite tennis ball in my mouth!
 And do you see the tag hanging off of my fabric collar?   I wasn't wearing it anymore.  Mom retired it and now it hangs on my special quilt block. 
 So now, Mitch and I both have blocks that look very much like us. 
Two down and one more to go.  Angel Maggie is next!

So until next time..............

Love ya lots♥
Molly

Friday, March 13, 2015

Blue Dog Bakery

Mom brought us home a treat yesterday!  She remembered seeing Reilly and Denny's post about cookies from Blue Dog Bakery and how much they loved them and she remembers them saying that they could only find them at a certain store near them.
Guess what?  Mom found them at Big Y, where she shops!
 And the fortunate thing about all of this is that mom hardly ever goes down the doggie aisle in the grocery store because we normally get so many of our treats from Chewy!
She came home with the More Flavors variety.  The flavors include bacon and cheese and grilled chicken and natural cheese and peanut butter and molasses.
Are you starting to drool yet?
 Check out the size of these cookies!  Can they be any bigger!


Tell your moms to check the doggie aisle.  You've gotta try these cookies. They're fabulous!
Thank you so much, Reilly and Denny for turning our mom onto them!

Happy Friday the 13th!

So until next time.............

Love ya lots♥
Mitch and Molly

Wednesday, March 11, 2015

Turning Handles

Our dad is turning on his lathe.  He's making handles for chisels and for slicks.  A slick is like a very long chisel only you push it to remove wood instead of pounding it with a mallet.  Slicks have very long handles.   The last two tools to the far right in the picture below are slicks. 
 Dad started out with square stock and he's making it round. 


 This is a chisel handle made out of oak.  Dad is sanding it while the lathe is spinning.  It's much faster this way.  You can't tell that the lathe is spinning but it is. 
 Molly and mom put boiled linseed oil on the handles to give them some color before the finish is applied.
Break time!
The chisels are looking good after two coats of treatment~
 Tiger maple slick~
 These two slick handles are oak.  Dad put an ebony stain on them for something a little bit different. 
 You all know what this wood is by now☺
 Our slick trunk.  It's full of slicks for the students to use when dad teaches his timber frame class. 
 Angel Whooper is enjoying the snow and the sunshine. 

And the black swans are enjoying the sunshine too.  Dad put hay down on the ice for them and they're loving it. 


 Back to work~~~


So until next time.............

Love ya lots♥
Mitch and Molly