May I Introduce You To One Of- If Not THE Biggest Secret I´ve Ever Kept!

Ladies and Gentlemen...meet Harley....

This is Cookie´s new pal...although she doesn´t quite appreciate her new buddy as much as we hope she will someday....right now he´s a pain in the butt who is trying to steal her daddy and her mamma and her toys....who does he think he is coming in here and being all cute and scruffy looking???

Hey Punk- get away from my Daddy!!

MINE MINE MINE!!!!

Come back here you little Rascal...I´m gonna get ya!

Oooooo, look what´s lying in the ground...TOYS!!!!

THESE ARE MY TOYS!!!

MINE MINE MINE!

That´s cool, she might have all the toys, but I still have a full head of hair! ;-)

Take a picture of me, me, me...not him! Oh and try not to get my bald spot on top of my head will ya? I have a reputation to protect...girls don´t get their pictures taken without a proper head of hair ;-)

Welcome sweet Harley, to the beautiful woods of Norway, where we hope you will have a great life!

As many of you know, my youngest daughter recently underwent a back operation for an enlarged prolapse in her back. Not sure that is the correct English word but that is what it is called in Norwegian and if you care to find out the English word you can google it. At any rate...she´s been a nervous wreck for days and Mamma has been right there beside her trying to remain cool but undeniably nervous also. Julia´s operation was yesterday and she made an incredible come back. She is still sore as expected after an operation but she is walking herself, able to sit and lay down, she´s doing great. Time will tell how big of a success the operation has been but the pain in her legs is gone and she is standing not quite as bent as she use too...so we´re very hopeful! She was also very happy to get home today and meet little Harley.

Have a great evening everyone....until next time my friends.....

A Dog-Gone Great Cake!

Several people have asked me for the recipe I used to make Jackson´s birthday cake recently. 

So instead of sending a private message to everyone (this was on facebook) I´ll just put the recipe here and people can try it out...I´m sure your fur babies will love ya for it :-)

Jackson´s Carrot and Peanut Butter Birthday Cake

Bonnibella, my doggies send you lots and lots of wet kisses for that recipe! It will be a birthday favorite for years to come :-)

Otherwise, if you´re wondering what I have been up too. I´ve been very busy. I´ve been to dog shows...admiring adorable dogs and puppies and crossing my fingers for our own little Cookie monster...who did well but not as well as we hoped because of a hair problem we discovered at the show- apparently our Aussie, Jenny, has been playing a bit rough with Cookie (of course Cookie asks for the rough play) and has chewed off some of the hair behind Cookie´s head...so instead of a long mane of hair, she had small spikey hair lengths...of course Cookie loves her new look but the judges....not so much....so now we´ve gotten vitamin tablets and oils and all kinds of things that people with long haired show dogs insist we should have and we´re hoping the hair will come back soon....

I´ve been hanging out with the Captain who is back in town for a few more weeks...of course he´s busy too working on our fence around the property. I try not to interrupt him but every now and then I have to sneak out to get a kiss and just enjoy that he is really here...

This coming week I was suppose to go on a far away adventure with the Captain and a friend, however, the Norwegian health care system decided of all the days to operate on our daughter Julia, it was going to be the two days I was going to go on my far away adventure...which I can´t tell you about just yet but I will soon enough....never the less...Julia is most important and we are hoping her back surgery will allow her to live a normal teenage life again. So keep her in your thoughts this coming Wednesday as that is the day she will be operated on.

Julia and the Captain in Rome, Italy October 2011

I´ve also applied to begin studying for a fagbrev here in Norway which is a shorter education then a University degree but never the less an education. Usually specifically aimed toward a specific job. If I get to do this my study will be incorporated into my work. It´s a project the community is trying out. Several of us from work are going to try this...I´m so glad I won´t be alone. I´m like 100 years old and will be studying in a language that isn´t mine. So to say I´m nervous is an understatement. However, since I am 100 years old I figured it´s time to get some sort of papers that say I´m qualified to something rather then just trying to convince people myself...hahahaha...this will all take place from the fall so cross your fingers for me.

I´m also counting down the days until we hop on a plane and fly off into the bright blue horizon to the Canary Islands for two weeks of sun and fun here:

I´ll be making SOME meals here:

but mostly I´ll be enjoying 2 weeks of sun and fun...The Captain keeps reminding me that it´s not long until the sun is turning and it will start getting darker again. One of the pitfalls of living in Scandinavia...the horrid dark winters. Don´t get me wrong, when the ground is covered in lots of white snow and everything looks magical, it´s beautiful and I enjoy it....for about....2 weeks maybe? But as the years go by I am not appreciating that season as much as I should for one who lives where I do. My dream would be to someday live someplace warm and come back to live in Norway in the summers...it´s fun with dreams don´t you think?

Give the cake recipe a try, your pups will love ya for it and I´ll be back soon! 

Until next time my friends....