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this beautiful sunny sunday seemed the perfect day to have another couple over for brunch in the garden. the day was perfect. we had fresh flowers, pate, cheese, fruit, pastries, champagne, and really good company. the four of us were hanging out around our patio table when all of a sudden from the next yard over flew a 40 oz beer bottle (with beer) and hit dallas smack on the head! it bounced off his head and shattered on the ground beside us. dallas spent a few hours in the emergency room. the police came by the house and we filed a report, but it didn’t seem like they were going to do anything at all. 8-( i guess if anything ever happens again, we have this incident on file.

it really was a bummer how the whole day got turned upside down by our stupid jerk-head neighbors.

dallas is home now. he seems mostly okay (though a bit nauseous) . earlier, at the ER, he was complaining of spotty vision and a headache. he had to get the laceration cleaned out and then stapled shut.

here is a photo of dallas staple! (he’s so hardcore!)

Our plum tree is in full bloom!

Last night Charlotte graduated from “Puppy Intermediate”. This past week she was to learn a new trick of our choice. We decided to go with the bow. She performed it with a lure to perfection! Some of the other tricks that were performed by other puppies were shake, roll over, and sit pretty.

Here are a couple pictures of Charlotte in class:

Sheep in the vineyards in Napa Valley. Joseph Phelps.

Click here for the movie

I’m trying to find a good recipe for thom kha gai – a coconut milk based thai soup. when browsing the interweb i found a funny ingredient i had never heard of before. Can you guess which one?

1) 1 cup sliced chicken breast.
2) 2 tablespoons sliced kha.
3) ½ teaspoon turmeric powder or fresh tumeric
4) 3-4 pieces som khaeng
5) 1-2 tablespoons fishsauce
6) 2 cups coconut milk.
7) 3 shallots, lightly crushed.
8) 3-5 mouse-shit chillies (phrik kee noo)
9) 1 red chili, shredded.
10) coriander leaves.
11) 1 cup thick coconut milk.

well, we just picked up charlotte from the doggie kennel. she was there 5 full days while we were out of town and had her share of drama and stress. A very nice person from puppy class offered to take her on a walk one day while we were away. this was a fabulous offer because the kennel doesn’t take her on walks – they just do free play (and in my opinion not enough). Anyway… our friend called us while we were away to let us know that charlotte’s eyes were blood shot and VERY red. after much back and forth with the kennel, the friend, and the vet, charlotte went to see an emergency vet on sunday afternoon.

No ulcers were present, no oozing. the vet wasn’t sure but he thinks the red eyes were caused from her hitting her head. 8-( the official diagnosis is: “Subconjunctival Hemorrhage probably traumatic in origin.”

she is presently on the couch chewing on a dried beef tendon – yum! her eyes are still red, but we think its fading. her behavior is not entirely normal – she is a little timid with me and overly submissive to other dogs.

we just returned from puppy class where she was very well behaved. next week is puppy intermediate graduation!! yay! she has to perform a trick. we have yet to choose a trick.

Often i find myself thinking that i may actually be a pastry chef at heart. I crave the pre-meditation, the organization, the precision. i also love the decoration part!

Perhaps i should do something about this…