A dogs day

Yesterday was Shiloh's annual visit to
the Vet. He was checked and given his
shots.
After careful examination by Dr. Pam
three things were discovered.
One his heart, lungs and other vital
organs were healthy and working well.
Two he is overweight.
Three his teeth need to be cleaned.
We believe that the picture to the right
is partly the cause of the extra few pounds.
When we went on our trip Aaron stayed at the house to dog sit. To make things easier for him we put out the "eat-on-demand" dog feeder, which is a 24 hour never closes diner. Shiloh took full advantage of it.
The next picture shows what he does for most of the day.
Consequently one of the adults in the family
needs to take him running. No one so far
has volunteed for the job.
His teeth cleaning requires him to be put out
to it which is scheduled for next week.
All in a dogs life.

the best laid plans...

I know that a picture is worth a thousand words but black against black just does not work.
Our trip to the Oregon coast started out smoothly until a mile outside of Bliss when the car just stopped in the middle of the freeway. We coasted to the side and Jim and Dad checked to see if they could find out the problem. No luck and so we called triple A, thanks to Aunt Linda. A tow truck was dispatched and we sat and waited.
It was my first ride in that type of vehicle and we headed to Boise at the speed of 80 mph at times. What a ride. We arrived at the GMC dealership about midnight parked the truck and headed home with Aunt Colleen and Uncle Lyle. Sleep was not easy to come by that night.
The next morning found us at the dealership anxious for a diagnosis. I don't understand cars but I do know it was not good, but that it was probably the fault of the repairs that were recently done or a faulty part.
We abtained a rental car and headed out. We were told it would take 19 hours to take the car apart and find out the exact extent of the problem.

enjoy

As I mentioned in a prior blog I got second place in the 4th of July cookie contest. I have had a request for the recipe which causes me some problems as I entered two cookies and I don't know which one won.
So here are both recipes:
The first is the hands-down favorite according to my children-
Cinnamon-Raisin Bars
1/2 C. butter
1C. b. sugar
1 1/2 C. flour
1/2 tsp. soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 C. rolled oats
Raisin filling
Cinnamon Icing
Cream butter and sugar. Add dry ingredients. Add oats and 1T. water. Mix till crumbly.Firmly pat half the mixture into a greased 13x9 pan. Spread with raisin filling. Mix remaining crumbs with 1T. water; spoon over filling. Bake at 350 sbout 35 mins.
Filling:
Combine 1/4 C. sugar and 1T. cornstarch in a pan. Add 1 C. water and 2 C. raisins. Cook over medium heat till thickened and bubbly. Cool
Icing:
Mix 1 C. powdered sugar with 1/4 tsp. cinnamon. Stir in enough milk for drizzling consistency.

Big Ginger Cookies
2 1/4 C. flour
2 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. cloves
3/4 C. butter
1 C. sugar
1 egg
1/4 C. molasses
2 T. sugar
Combine dry ingredients. In bowl beat butter to soften; gradually add the 1C. sugar; beat till fluffy. Add egg & molasses; beat well. Stir in dry ingredients. If batter looks really soft add a little more flour.
Sha pe into balls and roll in sugar.
Place on ungreased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart.
Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.

..onthe way

Last week I finished the running program I have been on and now I am on my own as far as what I do.
I am concentrating on being able to run a 5K without stopping or dying. So I am now able to run 1 mile (yes I know) only a mile but at my age I think that is pretty good, and I still have till September to get there. If I don't I am still so much further ahead of where I was last year.
No pictures, too sweaty.

I don't know what to say...

Some ideas when we want to say the right thing to someone who has been given bad medical news, or any thing like that.
Let me know if I can do anything is truly useless and not very useful or welcome.
Try some of these -
I'm going grocery shopping can I get you milk, potatoes, fruit...you get the picture.
Why don't I pick up the kids from school today so that you can rest?
I made an extra lasagne. When is the best time to drop it off?
I'm going for a walk, would you like to come?
Give me a list and I can call, friends, religious advisor, family and let them know the situation.
I know some of these would really have helped when we lost Trudi.

In case you were wondering...

I found this useless trivia (unless you plan on being on Jeopardy or Millionaire) and thought I would share -
The pencil which most of us have used at one time or another has been around since at least 1565, when it was first described in a book about fossils.
The bottle cap was first invented by Willaim Painter in 1892 because beverages sealed with cork loss their fizz.
The paper clip idea came from Samuel B. Fay in 1867. In the 1890's the double oval design was first produced in England.

citizenship

As I contenplate what this day represents I am so grateful for this country in which I live.

It is a country that I chose to live in and to become a citizen of. My country of birth is Australia but after Mike and I married I, in my heart, knew that if I was to live here and enjoy all the benefits I needed to be come a citizen.

I had been living in Canada prior to our marriage. We were married in the Salt Lake temple and returned to Canada for a wedding reception. We were returning to Washington state to live when the guard at the border informed us that I could not come into the US. It was devastating and we did not know what to do. We spent the night pleading with Heavenly Father to pave the way. The next day we talked to another guard and he asked us many questions. One was did I have any belongings still in Canada I did, a large mirror. He informed us that he would let me in the US because of that but never to try to cross the border again as I would them be required to stay in Canada.

I then started the process to become a permanent resident and then in time applied for and received citizenship in the US.

I know that many miracles took place to allow me to be here and I do not take my citizenship for granted.