The Mighty Fish Slayer

This Saturday morning began as any other with a plan to do something fun and today it was surf fishing with some great friends. This usually entails alot of chatter and preparation to get to the beach. How many fish will we bring home and what will we have for dinner are always in my mind. Which is however the complete opposite of my boyfriends ideas. His mind wonders what will the "Fish Slayer" get today. That is what he proclaims himself right before we get ready to head out.

So everyone gears up and heads out with the hope to catch "the big one" and be the hero. The setting of the beach today was overcast,misty and windy enough for Dorthy to make it back to Kansas but that didn't stop us. We started by setting up our base camp for the fishing to begin with chairs here and there,buckets ready and bait for everyone.Lines were set out even though the wind was a challenge and the games began.

Who is going to catch the first fish?? To our surprise two of the lines were in business at the same time. One caught a salt water catfish the other a whiting. Either way it allowed the fish slayer to declare that his drought was over. For our viewing pleasure I have caught the action on video.

Once the day starts out like this it just keeps getting better. So thanks to friends that came with us to witness the daily joy we have with the fish slayer in our lives. Hope you are the lucky one next time to experience this live in person.

Food Is Art

Cooking and cleaning may not sound like your greatest cup of tea but realizing its an art gives cooking a whole new light. Once a house hold chore for stay at home mom's has now exploded into an empire for people to express themselves. Personally once a great bottle of vino is open and a recipe is chosen there is no stopping the creativity. Learning to cook from mom was pretty tough seeing how she was never taught from a recipe we only had our memory. Tough Job!

We have taken on adventures of stuffing squid,home made ravioli's and much more as a family. Most of you that know me can attest that its pretty darn good. No one ever leaves hungry. Now the art of photography comes into play and creates another avenue with our greatest creations.

Most of the preparation that goes into making a dish goes to the presentation and what will it look like to others? Ive dedicated this blog to some of the food photos taken at the final moment. Hope you enjoy them and make sure you have a snack in case you get hungry. Manja!

Vegetable Fritata,seasoned roasted potatoes and honey drizzled bananas

Crab claws sauteed in butter and garlic,sauteed white beans and red onion,mushroom crochets and sauteed spinach with garlic

Good ole home made cheese pizza on the pizza stone

Snakes Alive

How many of you are petrified of snakes? Im sure its alot of you and thats why I have to share this story with you. This story takes place at a beautiful little lake just outside of pensacola florida called Bear Lake. We go there quite often to relax,fish and get some camping in before it gets too hot here. Once there we set up camp get settled in and enjoy the lake for all its beauty. We can only admire it from the shore line due to the friendly aligators in the water. Its all the same to me though it reminds me of home minus the alligators.

We usually make sure to fit some hiking in before it gets dark or early in the morning before it gets too hot. So off we go on the lake trail which is 3.5 miles of a winding trail of nature. Not too long if you like that sort of thing. The path is as quite as can be and the only sign of another presence is the calling of the birds and an occasional jumping fish taunting us that he has not been caught yet. Continuing on and taking in all the beauty puts such a deep peacefulness into your soul and removes all the stress of the week. What could be better than this I think to myself.

As we continued along the trail there was a quick movment to our right but not what you think. Before a reaction could be processed the strong lad with me jumped almost on my back in fear of what nature presented. Looking down on the trail what looked as one very long snake appeared to me. It was unclear if it were alive or dead but one thing was for sure the lad was nervous. Using a stick to jostle the snake only caused him to jump higher when the snake reacted. This was a sight to see and very humerous to observe.

To our surprise what was actually witnessed was two different types of snakes and one was eating the other. Nature lovers will find this facinating and others horrified and not so excited. Either way its an adventure to experience and welcomed by us both on our hike. You may not be up for snakes but the outdoors is where its at if you need to unwind.

Oh My Gosh Im a Dog Whisperer!!!

You would think in all my years of being around dogs I would just absolutely be in LOVE with them. We have had many different breeds in our home from when I was a little kid all the way up to the present.










poodles

mutts

huskies

golden retrievers

Australian blue healer

chocolate lab to just name a few......

My history with dogs up until now hasn't been that great. I have been chased, growled at and pinned up against a guard rail to where I had to jump over it and dangle over the river to be safe. Of course the owner says " I have never seen him do that before" Ive heard that a hundred times and I still do not believe it.


Then there is the common jump on me when I walk into the house and follow me around when there are plenty of people in the room waiting to shower them with hugs kisses and even lick their face. YUK!!!

Don't get me wrong I'm a great dog sitter. Just ask my friend Laynie and her dog Bella. I take her when her parents go out of town. I plan play dates,beach walks and even gave her a flea bath when she needed it. At Christmas time my dog loving friends are mailed home made dog biscuits for their friend for life to enjoy over the holidays. So its not that I'm against them they just need to have some structure.

Which brings me to my blog for today on dog whispering. That's right I believe I have obtained the skills to master most dogs that are just a little on the wild side. They need just a simple structure from the owner just like a child.I do not advise people to try this at home unless they have had proper training as advised on the hit show The Dog Whisperer. Cesar Milan's brilliant with these dogs and I have proof that is does work.



Now to remind you I'm a nurse working in home care presently so that means I'm in the home. I visit one patient three days a week for 11 hrs a day. Therefore I'm like one of the family so guess what I get to help out with. You guessed it their furry friends. At first I thought I must be on reality TV with a really bad punk. I arrived early in the morning to a big dog barking at me and she had to be held back at that point. Still smiling and realizing I have to spend a whole day with this I began my morning. Once I sat down to do some charting and eat breakfast my realization came into play. The big dog had placed her self nose distance away from me while I tried to eat. I quietly shewed her away but she came right back. I thought how am I going to deal with this and keep my job. Finally after multiple desperate attempts to free me of her invading my personal space she went to lay down in the other room.

Whew I thought until to my surprise another door opened and out popped two little dachshunds that were like a circus on wheels. I'm not sure if you are familiar with them but they are high energy and unable to sit for one second. They race around like they are greyhounds but like two squirrels rolling around on the ground. Its quite a site to see.

This is where Cesar Milan comes in and thank god for him. My patient likes to watch the show most of the days so I make sure to tune in with him. Its been a few months now since I started working here so I have brushed up on my dogie day care training 101.

Now we as a team are able to get a little control over the dogs. When I come in I get a quick bark from the big one and I give her a shhh and she stops and walks away just like on the show. The little ones are not that easy but for me they have shown some improvement.

The adopted name for the little ones has become varmints. They scurry around with their nose to the ground looking for any food they can get their mouth on. They will get on the back of the couch and fly like a squirrel onto the table to get any scraps. Don't think of taking your eyes off of your plate. They hop up on your legs snatch your food and run out before you can figure out what happen. They are a challenge but so far if you shhh them you can stop them for a little while or at least for one act. Cesar may have to come to this rescue but until then from Monday-Wednesday it is my job to be the dog whisperer.

Now I leave you with this particularly humerus image in your mind of me with three dogs like a circus master. Good luck to you and your furry friends. If you ever need a whisperer you know where to find me.