Category Archives: Pets
Gabe and Homer
I’ve been playing with that Prisma app on my Android phone, it isn’t much good on close-ups of food on a plate but when there are a couple of well defined objects in a photo it does some interesting things:
There is a crop function built into the app, but the different filters do all of the heavy lifting. There is a fair selection of them, I like some better than others but that’s a subjective thing. YMMV
I like the mosaic filter a lot.
This one, meh. I don’t know why it’s picking up red in the nose on Gabe.
I like this one pretty well.
Tidbits
We smoked two pork shoulders the other day, the smoker is small but two shoulders just fit in the top rack, the lower rack is for the foil tray to catch the drippings. I have a dry rub that I like to use on these but feared I didn’t have enough so I dumped the remaining rub in a bowl and ground more coriander and black pepper and added that and more brown sugar and salt and etc. Mixed it all in the bowl by hand then opened the tap at the sink to wash my hands and WHOA! You DUMMY! the bowl full of rub was also in the sink. So, I smeared the wet rub all over the meat. It did seem to work OK. LOL
They spent about 24 hours in there, set at 200 degrees. My thermometer was still only reading 160 or so. I pulled the bones and broke them up and finished them in the countertop oven on the slow cook setting. We are using it more and more, we’ll try pizza sometime soon.
There’s lots more where that came from! After it finished I chopped it up and froze most of the meat, this is some I kept out. That peach wood is really good for this.
Had a visitor the other day, he was driving this Dodge Charger with a Hemi powered V8. Teenager? Mid life crisis 40 year old? Nope, it was Mrs J’s brother in law, he’s 74.
Here’s Gabe! He’s wearing his first rabies tag. Here’s to many more! He’s 4 months old and growing up fast.
My local Kroger store has rib eyes on sale now and again. I try to stock up when they do. I have hopes that this is the last steak we have that is cooked entirely on the grill – I have a sous vide device ordered and will try it out on another of these steaks when it gets here.
Mmm… sloppy joes! I have been doing fries in a deep fryer, a dutch oven full of canola oil, but the last few times I did them in the toaster oven. These were baked at 450 for about 20 minutes. They are better in the deep oil but there are tradeoffs: Cleanup time, the cost of the oil, and the extra calories. Right now I’m going to say the toaster oven, by a nose.
Gabe seems to really like drinking from the sprinkler wand, but he doesn’t much like getting wet like he sometimes does when he pesters me as I water the patio plants.
Waiting For Our Meet and Greet
…she’s a shy girl. Likes other dogs and wants to be part of the pack. She is super unsure of herself and needs other dogs to help her figure out how to act
So this little girl has stolen my heart. Bixby and I have passed the home inspection and are waiting for our meet and greet. If it all goes well, I’ll formally introduce you to her once we’ve adopted her. Until then, keep a good thought for us.
I’m going to try and get a recipe exchange up tonight since I still need to write up the jelly and bread recipes. They are easy enough, it’s just a matter of time.
The new home continues to confound – first a new washer, now a new dishwasher. I’m just rolling with it. In my research for the dishwasher, I found out I might qualify for extensive rebates for some home upgrades – dishwasher, whole house fan, extra insulation and furnace checkup. So I’m going to say it wasn’t all that bad it broke down when it did.
I’m thinking a Bosch, what do you think?
Your Daily Dose Of Adorable
Need a companion animal? These guys are looking for homes (take two, they are small).
There are 20 miniature donkeys in need of forever homes.
Triple R Horse Rescue in Arizona announced it will be receiving a shipment of the adorable animals — and are anxious to find families and animal lovers to step up and adopt.
More than 160 of the donkeys wound up at a Texas rescue after a “breeding situation” occurred, according to the rescue’s president, Ken Bacher. About 20 of them are headed to the ranch in Cave Creek, Arizona as a result.
The donkeys come in a multitude of petite sizes and colors.
“Miniature donkeys are ‘herd’ animals,” according to the National Miniature Donkey Association. “To avoid undue stress and loneliness, it is strongly recommended they not be kept singly but with another Miniature Donkey or other animal as a life-long friend.”
So, maybe you should go for two.
Those interested in adopting a mini donkey should visit www.triplerhorserescueaz.com and fill out an adoption application. There is a $400 adoption fee for each animal.
Donkey owners will be chosen by lottery.
Good thing my yard is small….
Tidbits
We don’t have much info on Cleo, AKA Grumpy Kitty. She’s an older kitteh and hasn’t been at St Francis long.
Stir fry chicken and broccoli is a favorite around here. This one has red bell peppers, red onions, and mushrooms in a brown sauce with noodles.
I mentioned doing a brisket in the smoker and finishing it in the toaster oven set to slow cook. Here it is after a night in the fridge to firm it for slicing.
I said the new counter top oven would fit a 10″ cast iron skillet, here it is with beans ready for baking. I use the same skillet for cornbread.
This is a favorite here, a real comfort food platter. The beans may have come from that batch of beans in the photo above but I made two batches in as many days and I’m not quite sure. 
This is the same puppy we last saw with her head in a bag full of chicken. She is a chihuahua mix with what may be terrier of some sort.
The local Kroger has sales on boneless rib eyes pretty often, not sure why that cut is featured above others but they can count on me to grab extra every time.
We often buy frozen shrimp already butterflied and breaded but these I did myself. Dust the prepared shrimp with seasoned flour, dredge in beaten eggs, and then coat with bread crumbs – on these I used panko and they came out great after frying in 350 oil for about 2 minutes.
This is Roma. She’s 4 months old, very affectionate, and would be thrilled to go home with you.
This Week In Photos
Last night’s harvest. I processed the batch in the blue colander today. I’ll do the rest tomorrow and start the jelly. I should have plenty. I think I’ll give away the rest of the harvest.
No recipe exchange this week. Been very busy. Today I bought a door. I love our local salvage yard, got a great deal. I may be sacrificing a bit of energy efficiency with the window, but the living room needed the light. It is an upgrade from the plain wood door to insulated steel, so there is that. I need to touch it up a bit and then paint it before it’s installed.
The animals are settling in. Jake is back to his favorite spot:
Zander is always up for a belly rub:
And looking for a game of laser light:
He and Bixby play it together and I need to get video, but it’s tough to capture the action. Speaking of the Beast:
He happily has his own couch (for now). We’ll see what happens when I find the new sectional. But for now, he’s comfy. LOL
The yard is coming along. I had a surprise gladiola hiding in the chard that made a smashing debut yesterday:
The window box outside my office that has been host to butterflies, bees and a hummingbird:
That’s it for tonight. I hope you have a great holiday weekend. – TaMara
Tidbits
This is Roma, she’s 4-5 months old and loves to be petted and enjoys playing games. She looks pretty comfortable in one of Mrs J’s cat beds.
It looks as if this hummer set off the camera we have overlooking the garage. This particular camera is fairly new and it’s quite a bit cheaper than most of the others we have. I like it pretty well, it seems to take decent pictures and I like the info in a strip on the bottom rather than overlaid on the photo itself. I’m not as happy with the way the camera mounts – it snaps into a plastic mount that stays with the tree and doesn’t feel all that secure.
Here’s our fox. This camera is one of the older models with the picture info stamped right onto the photo.
It’s been a while since Bitsy had a spot in a post. I never did see what she was looking at but it kept her attention for a couple of minutes.
Here’s Catsanova. I’m assuming it’s a boy cat, given that name, but I’m not sure. He’s very affectionate, per Mrs J. She stressed the very in that description. LOL
This Chihuahua “blend” loves her some chicken! Mrs J didn’t catch her name.
This is the cat whisperer. All the shelter cats love her, and she loves them right back.
We decided the tomatoes were done and cleaned the garden out. I no longer wonder where all the tomato leaves went. These were all released back into the wild. Note that there are no pictures of sammiches or other food in the post. I didn’t want to squick you out. You’re welcome!
Entente and Detente, Illustrated by Photographs of Animals
Detente – the easing of hostility or strained relations
Entente – a friendly understanding or informal alliance
