Joe's Early Christmas Present

All Joe wanted for Christmas this year was a little wiener dog. I resisted quite a bit, as I am more of a big dog person (hence 100 lb Bronco), but he convinced me and I have to admit the new pup is a cute little bugger.

We planned on getting one in December, but found a good deal on a pup that was close to us so we went for it. He's doing really well. We are crate training him and he only cried for about 30 minutes the first night and now he goes in it on his own. He also knows to use the newpaper if he needs to potty. I'm so glad he's good... so far. On the drive home with him I was thinking "What have we done?" remembering training Bronco 9 years ago. He's 9 weeks old and will get to a max of 13 lbs. Haha.

We decided to name him Salchi, which is short for Salchicha. Salchicha means "hot dog" in Spanish, so it is fitting.

He and Bronco are learning to like each other. The first night little Salchi was really scared of Bronco. Bronco, in turn, liked to look at him like he was something to eat for dinner. If Bronco even looked his way he would turn and bury his little head. At one point, Salchi walked by Bronc and Bronc gave a mild, and I mean mild, snarl. I thought he might die. He cried and cried.

The kids love him, and as soon as he can be outside without getting too cold (see his sweater?) I'll work on introducing him to the chickens.

Playing in the Leaves

Time to Clean out the Garden!

I just came across this recipe for Green Tomato Salsa on the Grist Newsletter (Environmental News and Commentary) and thought I would pass it along to all you garden growers.

Green Tomato Salsa Verde, Now and Later

This is a salsa verde recipe adapted to make use of the loads of green tomatoes left hanging on the vines, refusing to ripen this time of year. Of course, you can also use the traditional tomatillo. I like to can at least a dozen jars of this delicious green tomato salsa to last the whole year. To do the same, just multiply the recipe. (Makes 2 pints)

2 pounds green tomatoes
1 medium white onion
4-6 cloves raw garlic
10-14 fresh jalapeños or your favorite green chiles (if you prefer milder salsa, try poblanos or Anaheim chiles), stems removed
1 bunch cilantro
Juice of 2 limes
Salt to taste or about 2 teaspoons
Water, if thinner consistency is desired

In a cast iron skillet or under the broiler, cook the tomatoes, onion, garlic, and chiles, turning frequently, until they begin to blacken all over and are soft. The garlic will likely be ready before everything else. Alternatively, you can boil the first four ingredients in salted water for 10-15 minutes until the tomatoes are soft and squishy. Next, transfer all to a food processor or blender and allow to cool for 10 minutes. Add the cilantro, salt, and lime and process into a coarse purée.

Thin with several tablespoons of water if a thinner salsa is desired.

Use immediately, refrigerate for up to two weeks, or freeze for up to six months. To can, ladle salsa into sterilized pint jars leaving 1/4 inch of head space; top with clean and sterilized two-piece lids. Process in a boiling water bath for 20 minutes. Store in a cool, dark place.

Dora and the Ninja (aka, Swiper)

Joe is working on Halloween, so we took the kids to an event downtown this Saturday where they could dress up and do the normal candy, pumpkins thing. Gracie is Dora (striking resemblance), and Johnny is a Ninja. Not sure if he wanted to be a Ninja or just liked the idea of being able to play "swiper no swiping" with Gracie. A good time was had by all.

By the way, we don't know who this guy was, but he posed with the Ninja.

TARANTULA!

This afternoon Annie, Bronco and I took a quick hike in the foothills around Salt Lake. As we were walking, we saw something ahead in the trail. We being Annie and I, Bronco had somehow found a tennis ball and was oblivious. ANYWAYS, coming down the center of the trail was a Tarantula! I've had never seen one in the wild and how fitting is it that I see one to kick off the Halloween week. I used this topic to post on my work blog, so in case you are interested in learning some environmental info that is also suitable for kids, here are some cool facts about Tarantulas from kidszone....

• Tarantulas are part of the family of spiders called Hairy Mygalomorphs.
  
• These are the spiders that, scientists believe, have been around for millions of years and have not changed much in that time!
  
• There are around 700 kinds, or species, of Tarantulas.
• Tarantulas are nighttime hunters who will pounce on their prey. They eat insects, beetles and grasshoppers.
• Many Tarantulas live in burrows underground. They will either use their fangs to dig them or else take someone else’s burrow-home.
• All Tarantulas have an interesting way of defending themselves. They have hairs on their abdomen (stomachs) that have sharp little barbs, or pokey things, on them. When threatened, the spider will rub these hairs with their legs and shoot them at their predator.
• Not only are they caught as pets; in some countries they are eaten, as well. They are said to have a nutty taste kind of like peanut butter!

In addition to the Tarantula, the hike was great. Bronco is currently passed out on his bed (he's 9 yrs old now...), and Annie and I had a nice time. The view up there is amazing as well, when it isn't hazy. Here are some more pics.

I like boxing, but I LOVE my nose.

I got rocked in the nose tonight at boxing. I really need to learn to keep my gloves up better.

It was the first time I did "open sparring", which means that we were actually hitting hard and not controlling our punches to practice technique. I let my guard down and took one right in the face.

In my defense, I got some good shots in after my eyes quit watering and I checked, and checked again, for blood. But the worst part is that it was a 40-something year old woman that kicked my a**.

I'll keep practicing.

Backyard Barnyard

Since I can't let John and Katrina beat me at something, I'm going to start posting on this blog again too.

Here are some recent pics of our backyard barnyard. The birds were harassing the chickens and trying to eat their food, so Joe and I bought them some feeders of their own. The result was an aviary in the back yard. Somehow they all managed to get along - bronco, the chickies, and the LBB's (little brown birds).