Saturday Slight

Well, our "Foster" care began last night, and the little guy seems to like it here at the Lovestead.  He's a mini Aussie, so he's not very big.

We can tell his owner, Raine,  that his pup has exemplary manners, loves to observe and, after sampling his first horse apple, he was looking for more.

What is it about dogs and horse apples?

Maybe we've got something here and don't realize it.  

Maybe we need to sack up all those horse apples and market them as the supreme doggie treat. 

Foster went for a walk through the fields and the woods with me this morning.  He tried to pick up several sticks, many much bigger than he.  

He even tried to grab one of Bill's baby trees with his tiny teeth.  

When you're a little guy like Foster and you've got to keep up with a couple of gals who look like you, only bigger, you've got to move along quickly.

So no dwelling on sticks or trees. 

Kiwi and Kea have welcomed him to an extent, but not quite with open paws. 

Still, all three have been getting along just fine.

So, it should be a fun weekend with our little guest from Seattle.  And, yes, we're happy to have Annie here too.   We gathered at Second Avenue Pizza last night, always a good start to a busy weekend. 

Today we'll have a rather informal Easter ham dinner, since Annie and Foster have to take off tomorrow afternoon to go back to Seattle.   

My brother Jim is here; plus, it's my sister Laurie's birthday.  Plenty of eating and celebrating ahead.

Speaking of eating, yesterday I tried my first batch of Autumn Shelf cookies---the oatmeal variety.  Autumn Shelf cookie mix will be coming to a few local stores soon.  

One of my neighbors, Julie Breuer, and her friend have been working on the concept for about a year, and now the cookie mixes, featuring the healthiest of ingredients,  are ready for public consumption.

Julie brought me some mixes to try yesterday.  Within half an hour or so of her leaving, I was sampling my first fresh-baked Autumn Shelf oatmeal cookie.

I like the concept, and I liked the cookies---three of them, to be exact. 

When you pour the mix into the bowl, add an egg and some butter, spoon out the dough into a greased pan and bake for 10-12 minutes, you have a fast and tasty treat.

I had a couple of Yoke's peanut butter cookies left in a clear plastic container, so I scooped the Autumn Shelf cookies straight from the baking dishes to the container. 

For the next couple of hours, every time I walked through the kitchen, I lifted the lid and took a inhaled a big dose of fresh oatmeal scent.  

Yum.  Yum.  Smelling was almost as good as tasting and a heckuva lot fewer calories.

Good luck to Julie in her new enterprise.  

In the "happy cat" news, Festus feels like a proud feline again as opposed to the pathetic, humiliated soul who's been suffering the discomfort and embarrassment of those dreaded Elizabethan collars for the past several days.

It has not been easy for Festus, but this morning, I took the collar off.  His abscess area looks pretty good, and when his hair grows back, he'll be feeling even better. 

Annie's up.  She and her dad are down there yakking about Groundspeak stuff, so I think I'll go join them.

Hope everyone's having a great Easter weekend.  We're excited to be facing the first of several nice days ahead.  

Happy Saturday.