CAT-ITUDE

Catitude is a word I (and maybe others as well) made up to describe some of the personalities of cats. Their aloofness and independence are well known. I took this word a little further last night when my cat, Shadow, suddenly infected me with Catitude. I walked into the room he was in and he stretched and yawned and cast that spell. Immediately, I was yawning and stretching myself. All I wanted to do was curl up and take a good nap. You see, my animals try to tell me all the time not to worry.
They continually tell me, "Take a lesson from me. Relax. You don't see me worrying do you? Just spend a minute and love me. All will be well. Maybe you want play instead?"
Animals are the best at reminding us to try to enjoy life. A dog's life is a good life, especially for my spoiled sultan of dog. Listen to your animals on occasion and go for that walk, toss the ball, curl up and take quick nap. Your spirit will feel better for it and that is what brings health!

Love and Chocolate

I love how I can tell what season it is by what candy is being sold in the grocery stores. Looking around, I see Saint Valentine's day is coming up soon. I always love a good romance and whichever of the many stories to believe, St. Valentine was a romantic. There were three saints of the Valentine name and all three were martyred. We are not even sure if this day celebrates one of the saints, all three, or if it is just another adaption of older pagan holidays.

Anyway, according to the tales, Saint Valentine performed marriages in secret, against the laws of the time. He either married Christians or soldiers, neither of which were allowed then. He was imprisoned and died for his efforts. (That is how one becomes a martyr you know.) According to one tale, while imprisoned, he wrote a love letter to a woman. Possibly she was the jailer's daughter. It was signed "Your Valentine", and became the first valentine card in history.

It certainly was not the last though. Sending loved ones a token of our affection on this day has become increasingly popular. Cards, flowers, and chocolate get sent around the world. All sorts of delicious chocolates go on sale to tempt our hearts.

Chocolate.com is ready for this holiday. They have marvelous boxed chocolate collections and with the attached code, you can get 10 percent off your purchase. Visit their site and pick something perfect for those you love. They will be happy to help make Valentine's Day special.

Hope in the New Year

It is coming up on mid-January. This is when I get really geared up for the next year. I don't really make resolutions to lose weight, quit smoking etc. These are things that are part of life if you want to keep living it. The decisions I make are more like: "I will finish that wedding quilt for my brother before they have their 3rd child." And maybe, "I will gain financial ground this year." One not to be forgotten is, "I will hold on to hope."
Hope is such an important thing to hold on to. We can lose just about everything else but if we have hope, we will continue onwards. It is just something we do as adaptable humans. We almost all possess a strive to do something, to leave an impression, to have a purpose. It dosen't have to be a huge purpose. We all want world peace and an end to hunger. As a teenager, I realized I could not accomplish those things. So, I simply try to make the world around me a more beautiful place. I try to enrich the lives of those around me with artwork, peaceful gardens, fabulous foods, and lots of laughter. This is my interpretation of 'Think Globally, Act Locally'. It is one of the ways I refill my well of hope. That's a funny thing about hope, whenever I think it's gone, some little miracle reminds me. May we all pay attention to those little signs and never, ever lose hope completely.

Visitors

This past week, Mountainjoy saw several unexpected visitors. Four of them were dear friends that appeared earlier than we thought. It was wonderful to get to be with our friends. When you live way off the beaten track, it takes friends a great deal of effort to find you. We are so happy when they do. The older I get, the more I realize how important it is to hold on to my friends.

Some new friends that came by were three huge moose! Some people don't realize or believe that we have moose here in Colorado, but we do. These three came through the yard the other day while I was dancing in my living room. Halfway through a spin, I came around to see a big moose butt bounding off right in front of the window. He was the small, young one. The two much larger ones were not far off. They might have been mom and dad moose. The largest did have a nice rack and I could not see the third all that clearly. I grabbed my camera and ran out into the blizzard to take some photos for proof. I know better than to get off my porch when filming moose, bears, mountain lions, etc. So please, forgive the fact that this is not a great picture, just proof that moose were in my yard.

Reflecting on Those I Love

The new year always makes me so very reminiscent and thankful. I go over the past year and count my blessings. Each one has a name, and each one has helped pull me through some very difficult times recently. To all my friends and family, I can never thank you enough. For my best friend, I make biscuits.
He's my dog, Bo, and he loves me faithfully. I never thought my best friend would be a dog. Of course, I never considered a lot of things in my life. If you have a faithful companion, you can make them these biscuits. They are quite simple, tasty, nutritious, and Bo waits by the oven (playing dead) the whole time their cooking. My husband likes the taste too. Bo's favorite are the peanut butter, but you could substitute chicken or beef bouillon as well. If you are at sea level, use 1 teaspoon of baking powder.

Bogie's Mommy Biscuits
1 3/4 cup flour ( I use 1/2 white and 1/2 wheat)
1/4 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup wheat germ
1/4 cup peanut butter (original recipe says creamy, Bo & I prefer crunchy)
2 Tbs Vegetable Oil
2 Tbs Honey (original recipe called for more, but I don't think dogs need too many sugars)
1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
3/4 cup water (if using bouillon, melt in water first)

1) Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Much hotter, and the honey will burn.
2) In large mixing bowl, combine 1 cup flour, oats, wheat germ, honey, peanut butter, oil, and baking powder.
3) Add 3/4 cup water and mix to form a thick paste. (This is where peanut butter really gets mixed in instead of being lumps which don't cook well.)
4) Mix in Remaining 3/4 cup flour to make soft dough. Knead a few minutes to bring together.
5) Roll out dough on floured cutting board to 1/4 inch thick. Using dog bone cookie cutters or such, cut all dough and place on baking trays. Re-roll and cut until all used. Note: I usually just cut mine into squares. It is quicker & I don't think Bo really cares about the shape.
6) Bake for 20-40 minutes. Check regularly for burning. I usually flip part way through. You are wanting them to dry out and harden mostly. If you use sugar instead of honey, no worries about burning and you can cook at higher temperature.
I hope your furry, four legged friends enjoy these. Like all my cooking, not an exact science but always well worth the effort. I'm going to go make Bo some now. Have fun, go for a hike, and Happy New Year to All