Author: ajeanneinthekitchen

After BINGO, Fort Hays, The Sternberg Museum and dinner out, the time FINALLY came to go get Dorrie.

Once everything was put into action, it seemed like an eternity, however, in the grand scheme of things, from start to finish, it really wasn’t that long at all. If you have ever tried to adopt a dog, patience is definitely a virtue. The whole process can take months. When we lost Lucie (Luzerne), and we were looking for another dog, we wanted to adopt through a rescue, but there were NO dogs to be found due to COVID. So we went to a breeder and a few weeks later came home with Juneau. This time however, rescue was our first choice once again, and the process only took a couple of weeks. And now, we have beautiful Andorra, whom we call Dorrie. Her name that she had before was Quinn, but as soon as we knew she was going to be ours, we changed her name and her foster parents started calling her Dorrie to get her used to her new name.

We name our fur babies according to their place of origins (the breed usually). Lucie/Luzerne, for example, was named after Luzerne, Switzerland, since that is the area where St. Bernards originated, and they became famous for helping people pass through the Bernard pass in the mountains/alps between France and Switzerland. Lucie was by no means our first fur baby we named this way though. This has been a tradition since before Larry and I got together, when I named one of my chows Taipei, since chows were originally from China. And the tradition has continued ever since. Dorrie, or Andorra, is named after the tiny little country Andorra, located in the Pyrenees Mountains between Spain and France, where the Great Pyrenees breed originated as guard dogs for the sheep. Dorrie is an 8 month old Great Pyrenees. Currently, she is 65 lbs. When she is fully grown, she will be between 100-130 lbs.

After our fun times in Hays, we had to drive about another 100 miles east to Salina, KS to meet up with Dorrie’s foster parents. They were coming in from Oklahoma City, OK. Needless to say, we were VERY excited to get our new baby girl. We met up with her foster parents around 9:30 PM, and from the very first moment, she knew she was ours and we were hers. We bonded immediately.

This picture was taken just minutes after the adoption became official.

Dorrie’s foster parents had mixed emotions, understandably so too. They took excellent care of her, and almost kept her, for months before she became ours. When her leash was turned over to us, it was a bittersweet moment for them. They were very happy to see her go to a good, loving home, but were sad to see her go too. I know I wouldn’t have been able to give her up. She is such a sweet girl.

Within minutes, Dorrie was begging for tummy rubs from each of us, which is a great sign. Dogs usually only expose their tummies when they are comfortable with someone. It is a sign of total trust and comfort.

Dorrie slept in between us all night, and has been doing that every night since too. The next morning, after a morning walk, we left Salina, for another stop in Hays to have her meet some of Larry’s family, then we were homeward bound. She did great in the car and slept most of the way home.

Once we got home, it was time for the real challenge. We had to introduce her to Juneau. We were a little nervous at first since Juneau can be a pill, but it only took a few minutes of sniffing each other out, and all was fine.

We got home from Hays around 5:00 PM on Sunday, and today is only Thursday, but the girls have already bonded and are having fun playing together and running all around the backyard, and the house. They are not inseparable yet, but close. It won’t be too much longer and they will be completely joined together at the hip. This is exactly what we were hoping for too.

Dogs are pack animals, and when Vinnie passed away, Juneau lost her best friend. She was very lonely, hence the decision to get another dog, another buddy and playmate for Juneau. I think we made a very good decision indeed. The girls seem very happy and comfortable with each other already.

Life is always better when shared with friends. Friends help put the smiles on our face and love in our hearts.

Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

After we had a little lunch break, and we were ready to go out for more adventures, we went back in time again, though this time we went further back; much further back. We went to the Sternberg Museum in Hays. As many times as I’ve been to Hays, I had never been there until now. I was very pleasantly surprised. For a small town museum, it was a great museum and learning center.

Gentry was our tour guide around the museum, since he has been there many, many times. He proudly took us from exhibit to exhibit. We saw dinosaurs, real dinosaurs according to Gentry. There were a lot of dinosaur exhibits. I know Colorado has been home to many different dinosaurs, and their remains are still being found all over Colorado. I guess the same is true for Kansas too. After all, they are very close neighbors.

Gentry and Uncle Larry are petting the dinosaurs.

I am so glad I will NOT see any of these scary creatures while out diving, that’s for sure.

I love how there were all kinds of live animals too. We saw all kinds of live animals ranging from bearded lizards, to tortoises, to salamanders and frogs, to tarantulas. I put a HUGE nix on going to see all the snakes though, and rattlesnakes at that. NO WAY!!!!!!

This snake necked turtle is the closest I want to get to the snakes. Sorry, for the poor quality. These were all taken through the glass of the tanks.

Aunt Jeanne and Gentry pretending to be big scary tarantulas.

We had a very fun, full day. After Fort Hays and the Sternberg Museum, we went out to dinner with Larry’s sister Jean, her husband James, their son Jared (our nephew) and Lexi, Gentry and Callan. And then ….. it was DORRIE DAY!!!!!!

There is always something new to discover. Be open to whatever comes your way. Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next itme.

Saturday in Hays was a very busy day for us. We got up early and visited with Ollie, then we met our niece Lexi and her two sons, Gentry and Callan, for a day full of fun adventures before driving to Salina, KS, about 100 miles east of Hays, to pick up Dorrie.

Hays, KS has a wild, illustrious and colorful past. When you hear about the wild, wild west, it really happened, and Hays was the hub for much of all that wild activity.

The first thing we did with Lexi and the boys was to go to Fort Hays. Fort Hays was an US Army post established in 1865 where troops protected the crews who were building the Union Pacific Railway. It has long since been retired as a military posting, but the military does still use it for ceremonial events. Little did we know that the day we just happened to be there, there was a ceremony taking pace that we got to witness. They were doing a change of command ceremony for the Armed Guards. Bonus for us. We knew our visit would be historic, but we had no idea we would get to witness some living history too.

The changing of the Guards.

After we witnessed the ceremony, we strolled around the sites, going back in time to the days of the wild, wild west. We started off in the visitors center, and learned about when the United States Army came face to face with the Tribal Nations of the Plains and the culture clashes that ensued.

Then we strolled the historic grounds. Most of the buildings are no longer standing, but the ones that were there are open to everyone, and are full of history of life on the Plains. If you ever saw the movie Dances With Wolves with Kevin Costner, the opening scene takes place at Fort Hays.

The general store was also the brig for storing wayward prisoners and military alike. These were rough times and only the strong survived.

Gentry and Lexi got locked up too. 🙂

These were the cells. Can you imagine spending time here? No thanks. Not for me.

We also got to take a peak inside the officers’ homes. Life was sure a lot different back then. None of the “luxuries” we now consider necessities today.

So we got to be apart of living history, as well as learn about the past, but we also managed to just have a good time enjoying each others’ company too.

Lexi with Gentry and Callan.

The buffalo farm was just across the way from Fort Hays, so of course we had to go see the buffalo/bison too. We always stop by to see them when in Hays. They even have an albino buffalo/bison right now too.

We headed back to Ollie’s for lunch and a little respite, more for the boys than for us, before we headed out for more fun adventures, but more on those later. 🙂

Life is always an adventure. Make life interesting. Take in as many adventures as you can. Just stay safe and stay well while doing so. ‘Til next time.

We are home now, and Dorrie is now in her furever home. She made herself at home right away, and she and Juneau are getting along just fine, which is exactly what we were hoping for.

I am a bit anal at times, and I like to do things in chronological order, so before I get to Dorrie, and you KNOW I WILL, I am going to share some of our other Hays adventures first. Dorrie Day wasn’t until late Saturday evening, so we had all kinds of adventures before picking her up.

We pulled into to Hays about 5:15 PM, just in time for a quick dinner, that Larry’s mom Ollie had already made for us, and then it was off to BINGO. Ollie plays BINGO all the time, and despite being 94 years young, she is still the BINGO Queen. She plays about 2-3 times per week, and Friday nights are ALWAYS BINGO nights. It was Ollie, Larry, our nephew Philip and myself at the BINGO hall this time.

They all take BINGO very seriously in these parts, especially Ollie and the Billinger Family.

Tonight, I actually won for a change.

Philip won as well.

Between us, we won $93. Ollie has a rule, which is a very good one, that whoever plays together with the family shares all the winnings. So we each walked out with about $23 more than what we came in with. WHOOOO HOOOOOO!!!!!

I think we played about 12 rounds of different kinds of BINGO, so it was an all night event. After BINGO, we sat and visited with Ollie for a while before bedtime.

I do my best to make everyday fun, which also makes everyday great. Stay tuned, I have lots more fun and adventures to share, and then ….. Dorrie Day!!!!! Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

The Columbines are in bloom, and they are blooming in so many beautiful colors this year. They are our state flower. They are so pretty, no matter what color they come in.

Color your world beautiful today, tomorrow and everyday.

We lost our big boy Vinnie in March, which left a huge hole in our hearts. Juneau hasn’t been the same since her big brother passed away either. She is so lonely. We always knew we would be getting another dog, though we can never replace Vinnie. We just had to wait until it was the right dog and the right time. We had hoped for another male, and another Saint, but God had other plans. We are getting another big girl instead, and she is a 9 month old Great Pyrenees. We have always said rescue is our favorite breed, and we have been very lucky in getting quite a few purebreds from rescue. That’s how we got both Vinnie and Lucie, as well as our first Malamute, Kodiak – all purebreds.

We have named our new fur baby Andorra, or Dorrie for short. The way we name our fur babies is to name them after a place of their origins. Great Pyrenees come from the Pyrenees Mountains between Spain and France, and there is a little tiny county in between called Andorra. We will be there in September, so when we found out about our new baby, Larry and I both called out the name Andorra in sync. It’s destiny, and just meant to be. 🙂

Dorrie is coming to us as a rescue from Big Dogs Huge Paws. She is in OK right now, and we are leaving to pick her up today. The half way point between Oklahoma City and us is, believe it or not, Hays, KS, where Larry is from. So we will be visiting with his family today and tomorrow. We pick Dorrie up Saturday evening. We will bring her home with us on Sunday.

Here are some pictures I have that her foster mom sent us. She will melt your heart. She is a big, beautiful fluff ball that loves to cuddle. I hope Juneau loves her and is nice to her too.

And just in case you’ve forgotten what Juneau looks like, here are a couple recent photos of her too.

Dorrie is going to fit into our family very well. We are so excited. 🙂 🙂 🙂

So I will be out of touch for a few days. But have no fear. I’ll be back soon. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

We have had the strangest, wackiest weather this summer. We really haven’t had much of a summer at all yet. It is more fall like, with cool weather, which I absolutely LOVE, and LOTS and LOTS of rain. It is July 6, and our weather today will only be in the mid 70’s at best. Yesterday, it was in the low 60’s. Everything is so green. This is the greenest I’ve ever seen it at this time of year. But NO complaints from me. As I said, I LOVE it!!!!!

That being said, with all this rain, and thunder and lightening, I have not been out walking as much as usual, which means not a lot of new pictures. Fortunately, I have a ton of pictures from previous walks that I can share. Today, I am sharing a juvenile European Starling, at least that’s what I think it is, on the reeds.

Have a great day and make everyday great. ‘Til next time.

The other day, it was a lamb night. I was thinking of all kinds of good ways to prepare it, but I finally decided on marinating in a my tomato vinaigrette Heirloom Tomato, Garlic & Herb Vinaigrette with Steak Salad I had made for a salad a couple of days earlier. It came out delicious. But I also needed an equally delicious side dish to go with the lamb. I came up with an orzo salad made with crab, artichoke hearts and other vegetables.

I went upstairs to my library and started looking for some Greek inspiration. I found a great sounding recipe, but of course, I did what I do best, and I made it even better, at least in our opinion. 🙂 I added more vegetables and more stuff, making it even more Greek.

Greek Crab & Artichoke Salad

1 lb orzo, cooked according to the package directions

1 TBSP garlic

1/2 red onion, diced fine

1/2 red bell pepper, diced fine

1/2 cucumber, diced fine

1 can artichoke hearts, drained, rinsed and cut in 1/2

1/2 cup green olives, sliced

1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped

salt & pepper to taste

red pepper flakes to taste

1/3 cup white balsamic vinegar

2-3 TBSP lemon balsamic vinegar, optional

1/2 cup olive oil

4-6 basil leaves, chiffonade

4-6 sprigs fresh oregano, chopped

2- TBSP lemon verbena, chiffonade, optional

feta cheese, optional

Cook the orzo according to the package directions, then drain.

Combine all the herbs, seasonings, vinegar and olive oil together and set aside.

Add all the vegetables and crab into the orzo. Add the dressing and toss together well. Chill until ready to use.

I served this cool Mediterranean/Greek salad as a side dish to my lamb kebabs.

I marinated the lamb in my tomato vinaigrette for about 6 hours before cutting it into cubes and grilling them.

We enjoyed a delicious Greek dinner out on the deck, complete with hummus, pita bread and, of course wine. It was a perfect summer meal.

There was a lot of this delicious salad, so it has already been used a couple of other times since I made it. I served it on our 4th of July feast hat we shared with friends, and then last night I re-created it yet again, into something completely different once more. The Queen paid me yet another visit, but this time she was Greek. I didn’t take pictures of it for the latest remake, but it was yet another big hit. I used the last of my tomato vinaigrette and cooked some shrimp in it, adding more garlic and fresh black pepper, then served it all over the orzo salad, that I heated up this time. It was just as good the second time around as it was the first time, maybe even better. You’ll just have to take my word for it and trust me. 🙂

As I always say, play with your food. Be creative. Have fun. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

The Amish are known as great craftsman and bakers, among many other things. Last year, when we were in Pennsylvania and toured through Amish Country, I bought an Amish cookbook. This is the first recipe I tried from it, and believe me, the cookies were out of this world. If all the recipes are like this, I am really going to enjoy baking from this book. 🙂

I made honey sugar cookies. Usually, if anything, I have to double my recipes when baking for large amounts. This time though, I actually cut the recipe in half and still made 5 dozen. So be prepared for a lot of cookies. These are definitely meant for sharing. 🙂

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE cookies of all kinds, but I think these might just be the most perfect cookies I’ve ever experienced. They were soft and chewy and full of flavor and just melted in my mouth. Believe it or not, I actually had a few leftover from Sunday’s coffee cart. This is a rarity for sure. Everyone raved about them though.

Honey Sugar Cookies

I am giving you the 1/2 portion recipe for these delicious cookies.

1 1/2cups sugar, divided

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup softened butter

1/2 cup shortening

1/2 cup honey

2 eggs

3 tsp baking soda

4 1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350* F or 190*C.

Line your baking pans with parchment paper.

Combine all the dry ingredients together and set aside.

Mix 1/2 cup of sugar and the cinnamon together well in a separate bowl and set aside.

Cream the butter, 1 cup of the granulated sugar, the brown sugar, and shortening together. Add the honey and mix again. Add the eggs and mix in between each addition. Then add the flour mixture 1/2 at a time, mixing in between each addition.

Once the dough is made, roll the dough into balls about the size of 1 TBSP, then roll each one into the sugar and cinnamon mixture and coat them completely. Place them about 2 inches apart on the parchment paper. I like to flatten my cookies out a bit before baking them, but this is optional. I have to admit, I am not a fan of puffy cookies. I prefer my cookies a little crispier and crunchier.

Bake for about 10-15 minutes or until they are golden brown.

The cookies will be slightly puffy as soon as you take them out of the oven, but as they cool, they will flatten out.

Allow them to cool on a baking rack before sharing with friends and family and gobbling them up.

It’s always going to be a great day if cookies are involved. 🙂 Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

Today marks the 247th year of America. Home of the FREE because of the BRAVE. May her banner forever wave.