Sharing with Lulu

OK, still no pics but I have a Lulu story to share anyway. 

A while ago I was sitting on the couch and eating a piece of homemade apricot pie.  Lulu was sitting on her blanket on the couch beside me.  Of course, the rule with Lulu is "If you are eating anything and I can see you, you need to share." 

I don't mind sharing with Lulu so I was breaking off bits of the crust for her to nibble on.  She ate them but watched me forking much bigger pieces into my mouth than I was giving her.  I think she felt that I was getting more than my share.

So while handing her some crumbs with one hand and holding the plate in the other, I see Lulu quickly stretch her neck and bite off a huge piece of crust from the pie.  The piece was WAAAY too big for her but she quickly dropped it and broke it into bite sized pieces.

I was so surprised and laughing so hard, I almost dropped the rest of the pie.  What a goofy girl she is!

I can just see her saying, "Finally got my fair share instead of those piddly crumbs while mom sat there and ate the whole thing."

I now know not to sit too close to Lulu when we are sharing because she won't hesitate to take her share.  LOL!  ;)

Groundhog Day

Hello and Happy Groundhog Day!

My computer is still not working properly and I still cannot post pictures.  It still is being contrary and bumps my out and off the web whenever it feels like.  I decided to do a quick update to let you know that Lulu and I are still around.

Our winter weather has been quite varied.  We have had some snow and some very cold weather for here, down to -20°C to -25°C.  We've had lots of wind and wind warnings. On the other hand, we've had some very mild days as well - yesterday hit +15°C.  We've even had a rain storm that pounded on the windows hard enough to wake me up one night.  I don't know what to expect from day to day.

I've been keeping a low profile - reading, crosswords, computer, etc. since I broke a bone in my foot in early December.  It wasn't in a cast and I re-injured it by walking in the yard on uneven ground too soon.  I had it re-xrayed in January and was told to take it easy until early February.  So I've been lazing about relaxing and thinking how glad I am that this happened now instead of during gardening season.  I have been doing some baking and also crocheting some dish clothes as my supply had dwindled.

Lulu has been good company and content to stay indoors during the bad weather.  One day when it seemed the wind had died down, I had her outside.  She was contentedly pecking and scratching in the flower bed when a big wind came up and blew her about four or five feet out into the driveway.  I brought her in after that and she complained about the windy weather interfering with her chickeny duties..  On nicer days, she has been out digging in the flower beds and under the grape arbours.  If it is too cold or windy to go out she is content to lay on the end table and look out the front room window. 

Lulu refuses to step in the snow.  I had to shovel the driveway one day and took her out for some fresh air.  She stood exactly where I set her down and refused to move a step.  What a princess! 

Lulu isn't laying and hasn't been since early December. She is molting a fair bit and always seems to be grooming and pulling out feathers.  I pick up handfuls of feathers at a time off the floor around her.  She doesn't have any bare spots but seems to be quite thin.  She doesn't seem to eat much but drinks a great deal.  Lulu even seems to have lost her love of peanuts and sunflower seeds! 

My plans are to get a new computer soon.  Take care and remember spring in around the corner!  ;)

Still Waiting

Well we still don't know what's wrong with the computer.  It keeps bumping me out of things and doing mini-freezes. 

The computer guy removed a couple of viruses and thought it was working fine after that.  We brought it home and it was still doing the same tricks.  We called the repair guy and he came over to check it out.  Of course the whole time he was here the computer acted normally!!  When he left it went back to being persnickety.  He said he can't fix it if he can't see it acting up so we're back to square one. 

We had planned on buying a laptop this year but may have to bite the bullet and do it sooner than later. 

I can't download pics properly from the camera and the computer freezes when trying to upload pics to the blog that are already on the computer.  I've had trouble enough just entering this note because I have gotten bounced out several times.  (Thank goodness I am saving often so as not to have to retype the whole entry each time.) 

So I will be away until this problem gets dealt with or we get our laptop. 

My music blog will be back next week because there is no downloading involved there.

So until I return, keep healthy, happy and safe. 

PS.  Lulu says Hi.  ;)

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

I've been having computer problems lately so won't be posting until the New Year when I can get them fixed.  Living in a small town sometimes has its disadvantages (my computer guy is gone until after the New Year so I'll just limp along until then).  I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas, safe and healthy holidays and a very happy New Year!  See you in 2012.  Best wishes from Joan and Lulu  ;)

Indoor Grass

Since Lulu is mostly an indoor chicken during the winter, someone suggested I bring in some grass for her.  I think they may have been joking but I decided to give it a try.   

I got a plastic basin and went out into the yard and cut out a piece of sod large enough to fill the container.

I have it up on a shelf near a large south facing window.  I keep an old sheet there for Lulu to stand on so she doesn't slip.

Since she has been able to go out on days when it isn't so cold or snowy, the grass has had time to grow.

When I put Lulu up on the shelf, she really enjoys eating the grass.  She usually eats the longer blades near the edge, so when she is finished, I just turn the container around.  That way she keeps the grass from getting too long.

Usually she stands on her blanket eating the grass.  One day, however, she decided to jump up into the grass to take a closer look at it.

I think she was looking for some dirt to scratch, but the sod is in the container right to the edges so there is no loose soil.

There was not a great deal of room for her to move around.  She seemed to enjoy herself - on the lawn, in the sun and indoors out of the weather.

She managed a few nibbles and poked around for dirt with no success.

I haven't had to let her at the grass every day because we have had quite a nice winter so far and Lulu is able to go outside.

I noticed very tiny bugs crawling on many of the blades of grass and on the edges of the container.  Since this window is in the kitchen, I didn't want indoor bugs.  I made a spray of dish soap, oil and water and sprayed the grass and container.  I didn't let Lulu at the grass for awhile because I did not want her to get sick.  The bugs all died so I sprayed the grass with straight water to get rid of any residue before letting Lulu have another feast.

I don't know if the sod will last the winter or if it will go dormant like it does outdoors.  It isn't growing as fast as it did at the start so we will see what happens.

Doreen's Rice Pudding

I love rice pudding.  I usually make the regular rice pudding with raisins and cinnamon because it is quick and easy.  I don't make this recipe as often but it is extra delicious.  This is my mother-in-laws recipe.

Ingredients
cooked rice
milk
500 ml whipping cream
sugar
vanilla
banana
can of mandarin oranges


I use leftover rice for my pudding so the amounts varies.  This time I used 3 to 4 cups cooked rice.  I added approx. 2 cups of milk and 1/4  to 1/2 cup sugar.

Cooked until all milk is absorbed.  Cool rice.

Beat until stiff peaks 500 ml whipped cream with 1/4 cup of sugar and 1/2 to 1 tsp vanilla.

Drain can of oranges and add to cooled rice.

Slice banana and add to rice.  (I usually cut the banana in half lengthwise and then slice it so the pieces aren't as large.

Mix well.

Fold in whipped cream.

Chill before serving.

Dish out, dig in and enjoy!  ;)

This pudding will last for several days.  By the third day the whipping cream is starting to droop.  But it will seldom last that long.  It did this time because I used 3 to 4 cups of rice and there were only two of us eating the pudding.  (But it is SOO good, we eat large bowls of it)

12 Foot Davis

When we were in Peace River, Alberta, Lulu and I visited the statue of 12 Foot Davis.

He got the nickname from filing a claim on a 12 foot piece of land between two other claims in the Caribou region of east central BC during the 1860s.

 "This park has a nice view, said Lulu.  "Grass, trees and the river."



"Boy, he sure is a tall one", said Lulu.  "And look at the size of his feet!" 

"Well, what are you standing around gawking for?  We've got places to see and grass to eat.  Come on, Mom, hurry up!" exclaimed Lulu. 

So that was our quick look at 12 Foot Davis.  Lulu doesn't always have a lot of patience.  ;)