And flights of angels...

Good night, sweet Portia, and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.

March 18, 2008 - March 29, 2011

I'll see you at Rainbow Bridge.

A bluebonnet after a blizzard

The big after-holidays blizzard of 2010 has come and gone. We stayed home for the holidays so were spared the traffic gridlock and cancelled flights. Aside from the marathon session of snow shoveling and clearing that followed, the blizzard left us relatively unscathed. We lit our first fire in the fireplace. Just for ambiance.

And I played with my camera.

The light quality late Sunday afternoon, as the snows began to blow in earnest, was fantastical. Ethereal. Straight out of a fairy tale.

The aftermath? Well...it required muscles and a willingness to get really, really cold. I cleared some paths by hand while Will cleared the driveway. My neighbors refuse to believe me, but I really like shoveling snow. But then again, I kind of like to vacuum too so maybe I'm just odd.

The dogs were uncertain.

And everything...everything was blanketed in white.

One good thing about being stuck home in a blizzard? Work on the kitchen has finally begun again. I hope to have some new photos to show you soon.

Stay warm!

Beef and vegetable stir-fry with ginger noodles

Was it really Thursday that I last blogged? I once imagined that with my youngest in preschool, some windows of time would open up. What was I thinking? Volunteer duties along with household chores and kids' extracurriculars are devouring every bit of my spare time. Insatiable! Then of course, there are the unexpected things that pop up. Like the consequences of my pup's carefully opening and devouring 10 mini Nestle Crunch bars.

Enough whinging. At least I'm cooking and enjoying it. Creating meals is a daily (or twice or thrice daily) task for most of us. It's pretty much unavoidable so you may as well have some fun.

Here's a really yummy adaptation of Mark Bittman's beef stir-fry with ginger noodles recipe. All of my children relished it, including Pretzel Boy a.k.a. Mr. Picky.

Stir-fried beef and vegetables with ginger noodles
Adapted from Mark Bittman's Kitchen Express

1 pound udon noodles
1 tablespoon grated ginger
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons sesame oil

1.5 - 2 pounds flank steak, thinly sliced against the grain
half of a large onion, sliced into strips
large red bell pepper sliced into strips
half-pound of broccoli florettes, steamed
soy sauce
hoisin sauce
red curry paste

Cook udon noodles according to package directions. Drain. In a large skillet, cook ginger and garlic in sesame oil for a few minutes, until softened. Remove from heat and toss the noodles in the pan.

In some vegetable oil, stir fry the beef strips until cooked through. Remove from pan. Stir fry onion and pepper until they start to soften. Add a little soy sauce and cover the pan for 2-3 minutes. Add steamed broccoli and beef to the pan. Add about 4 tablespoons of hoisin sauce and 1-2 tablespoons of red curry paste along with soy sauce to taste. Stir together until everything is heated through and serve over noodles.

The young 'un

The young 'un got a mite riled when she heard about the old dog's blog post. She told me all about it.



So this is Portia, all of two years old.





She doesn't look ill, does she? But she is. Last summer, we learned that Portia has congenital malformed kidneys. They filter very poorly so toxins end up in her system. Plus she has to drink a lot. Which means she has to visit the doggy w.c. a lot. Last summer, the vet thought she may have about a year to live. Portia doesn't know this.

She loves to run. And bark. And snuggle. And give big doggy smooches. Full of doggy breath because we're bad pup parents and don't brush her teeth. She once stole an entire tray of Trader Joe's croissants left to thaw on the counter. She felt very, very bad that day. It doesn't stop her from trying that again.



Her best frend is our postman. He slides her a doggy treat every day through our mail slot. When she sees him coming, she races to the front door and bounces as high as she can so he can see her.

I hope your weekend is filled with treats (though maybe not the doggy kind).

An old dog

A perfect afternoon for a nap.



Breezes and birdsong flow through my open windows. Such a beautiful spring day. It invites you to lie on the soft, springy grass and pick out fantastical cloud-shapes floating above. Inside, the wind stirs my hair, and I can hear the susurration of the breeze in the leaves. A kind of rhythmic ocean sound.

As I sit writing, this is what I see out my window.





And at my feet sleeps Siren. She turned fourteen last month. Her eyes are clouded, and her fur has returned to the cottony state of puppyhood. She is sometimes confused, but she is as loving and brave as ever.

Siren is indomitable. As a puppy, she had a severe heart murmur. She almost died on the operating table. Soon afterwards, she damaged a growth plate on her leg leaping joyfully off a table. One bone stopped growing, contorting her front leg. A specialist recommended surgically breaking that bone to straighten the leg. Another painful surgery. The leg never did straighten. Now on many days, her leg hurts too much to bear weight. You'll never hear her complain. My stoic, sleepy old girl.