Naps with Sam

Remember when I tried to start a series of posts called 'Walks with Sam', except it didn’t work out because my star was not enthused about sitting still and looking cute? Well, I decided instead to do a post called ‘Naps with Sam’ and he has been much more cooperative with my efforts. Especially since he’s been getting lengthy power walks every day which lead to equally lengthy and powerful cat naps afterwards.

Now, you would think that it might be offensive to call a dog-nap a 'cat-nap', but in Samson’s case, his sleeping habits are purely feline in nature. For example, Sam's most frequent napping spot is usually the highest point in the room, which is often the top of the couch. 

But sometimes the highest point in a room happens to be a pillow on the bed.

Or if things get really desperate, a pillow on the floor will suffice.

He's also partial to taking a snooze in a sunny spot.

The boy does love his momma though and has been known to curl up on her dirty gym clothes while she takes a shower.

And if there are no dirty gym clothes available, a folded over bath mat will do just fine.

Of course, he's not picky and will fall asleep in a traditional dog bed every now and then.

Especially if that dog bed is located inside his sister's giant sized kennel.

He's quite a lovebug and can be found  from time to time getting some beauty sleep with Bailey by his side.

But I'd have to say that this momma's boy's all time favorite napping spot is spooning with his Momma on the couch.

Which works out just fine, because that's my favorite way to nap as well.

Sheep go to Heaven

Hiking is one of Jonathan and I’s favorite things to do together and lately we have been hiking fools. We especially love when we get to take the pups along and my Mom clued me in to a Forest Walk which might be ideal for letting Bailey run off leash. So on Saturday we loaded the dogs into the car and made our way over to Countesswells Woods.

The forest has several different walking trails ranging from 2 mile to 5 mile loops. We chose one of the longer circuits and enjoyed breathtaking scenery of forests, countryside, and mountains as we made our way around.

The next day we joined some friends of ours and their 10 month old Chocolate Lab puppy for a look around the Loch of Skene.

Bailey and Angus hit it off right away and have been mutually wearing each other out. We thought it would be a good idea to get them together for the Jubilee holiday so we headed to Glen Tanar for a gorgeous 6 mile hike.

Unfortunately, the dogs had to be kept on a lead for most of the hike since its Grouse nesting season and Scotland understandably doesn’t want bird dogs such as mine disturbing the birds’ reproductive cycle.

This meant that Bailey drug me most of the way until Jonathan accidentally discovered that putting the leash under her front leg causes her to stop pulling. It was a miracle. We’ve had this baby girl for 6 years and have tried everything to discourage her from pulling on a lead, and all along the secret was so simple.

The trick worked on Angus as well so I think Jon’s going to patent this million dollar idea and we can just retire and go hiking everyday with our non-leash-pulling dogs.

Bailey and Angus did get to spend some off-leash time in the river and Bailey even almost fetched a stick. Being friends with a Lab might be a good influence on her retrieving skills. First we’ll teach her to get sticks and then it’s only a matter of time before she will learn to fetch my slippers.

The highlight of the Glen Tanar trip for me was doing a photo-shoot with a field of sheep.

Since I’m still new in Scotland, I want to stop and take pictures of every sheep and cow that I see and our new friends were kind enough to oblige me.And now, I’ll be kind enough to share the pictures of these cutie patooties with you.

You’re welcome.

Long Live the Queen

Today marks the 60^th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's coronation as the Queen of Great Britain. It also marks the one month anniversary of our migration from the United States to the United Kingdom. I thought I’d mark the occasion by reflecting on just a few of the ways that my life has changed over the course of the past 4 weeks.

1. I drive on the left side of the road.
2. I’ve learned that a few minutes of sunshine is cause to drop everything that you’re doing, grab your pups, and head outside.
3. 2 miles is walking distance and much easier than finding a parking spot.
4. Dog-walking gloves are a normal part of my wardrobe.
5. It’s totally normal for random men to let themselves into my house and garden, so I should always be fully dressed, even when in the shower.
6. ‘There’s no bad weather; only bad gear’ and ‘it’s all about layering’.
7. I am a woman of leisure.
8. 65 degrees in May is considered 'unseasonably warm'.

9. The scenery on our walks and jogs looks like something out of a Harry Potter film.
10. I take Jonathan’s “trousers” to be dry-cleaned, and pay a steep price for that.
11. A pack of sour patch kids costs 7 dollars and is totally worth it.
12. I’ve gone up 4 dress sizes and down 2 shoe sizes.
13. I have to have a license to own a TV.
14. Doing laundry takes all day.

15. I’ve got about 100 amazing hikes within a 60 mile radius of my house.
16. I wear Uggs every single day.
17. It never takes me more than 15 minutes to drive in or out of town.
18. I walk a block to the grocery store when I need a loaf of bread.
19. I eat porridge instead of oatmeal.
20. I usually have to visit at least 2 grocery stores in order to find all of the ingredients I need for a meal.
21. I've got the beach, countryside, and city center all within 3 miles of my house and it's only a 45 minute drive to go snow skiing.

I could easily list a hundred more ways that my life has changed, but I need to go start getting ready for one of those amazing hikes I told you about. Jonathan has the day off for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee so we are taking the dogs hiking with some new friends.

May in Review and Taco Soup Recipe

May 2012 was quite a strange month. So much has happened and life has changed so much, that it’s hard to believe that it’s only been one measly month. While April flew by, May drug on and on, but in a totally awesome way. I think that the long summer days in Scotland have helped me to feel more energetic and productive, especially when the sun is shining.

The weather lately has been sunshine interspersed with days of non-stop drizzle and a sky blanketed in gray clouds. It’s some powerful stuff that has the ability to sap the energy right out of your body. It’s a constant fight, but what’s been working for me is to exercise in the mornings, fight the temptation of putting on my pajamas after my shower, and making a scheduled list of tasks to complete for the day. Also, caffeine helps. Thank you Lord, for Green Tea and Dr. Pepper Zero. Honestly, I’m not sure I could function without it.

It’s also been a great help that I’ve met a few ex-pats in the area who have been welcoming and gracious enough to invite me to several upcoming events which also motivates me to get out of my pajamas and out of the house. Currently on my calendar I have Bachelorette viewings, Book Club, hikes, and Italian dinner reservations. Apparently, Aberdeen is very similar to how I imagine pure heaven. Thank you Lord, for a kind and generous ex-pat community who have welcomed us with open arms.

So looking back and taking stock of May, I’ve not only been productive around the house, but with my personal goals as well.

Reading: I read 4.5 books last month, which more than doubled my usual ‘2 books a month’ goal. I think it might be time to step it up a notch and read one book a week. We shall see. Once I finish Pat Conroy’s Beach Music, I will move on to the first two Game of Thrones books (George R. R. Martin) and also On Black Sister’s Street by Chika Unigwe for June’s Book Club. My first ever book club book! Eek! I am so excited and feel so adult.
Writing: I didn’t quite reach my goal of 20,000 words this month, but I came much closer than I ever have before by writing a little over 17,000. I guess when I’m cut off from phone dates with friends and family, my wordiness gets displaced into my writing. Now I’ll admit, it hasn’t been my best work, but quantity over quality, right?

Cooking: Though I haven’t technically attempted any new recipes this month, I give myself credit in this arena for having to adapt my regular dishes to Scottish ingredient availability. This month I have attempted four of my back pocket recipes: Lasagna, Quinoa Stuffed Bellpeppers, Chicken Parmesan, and Taco Soup.

I have to say that the most disappointing one was the Quinoa, which I never would have expected since the recipe calls mainly for fresh veggies, all of which are readily available here. It turns out that the problem was in substituting mozzarella cheese for pepper jack. Much to my dismay, pepper jack cheese doesn’t exist in Aberdeen, so my choices were limited to mozzarella or cheddar. The mozzarella was too light and delicate and made the dish taste watered down. I think that Cheddar might actually be the better substitution since it’s got a punch of flavor.

The most pleasant surprise was Taco Soup. Now, we technically “cheated” and brought Rotel Tomatoes, Pinto beans, and Ranch mix with us, but we still couldn’t find any cream style corn or golden hominy at the store. We used regular sweet corn in place of cream style and it gave a nice surprising flavor to the soup. Chickpeas actually made a wonderful substitution for hominy, so all in all, Taco Soup was a success, much to Jonathan’s relief. I’m not sure the boy could survive without Taco Soup once a month.

Below you’ll find the recipe, and I promise you it will change your life. Everyone seems to have their own variations of a Taco Soup recipe, but this one was handed down from my mother-in-law and I find it the most delicious and also the easiest version that I’ve tried. Again, you'll find the necessary UK substitutions in orange. The stars indicate which items I have yet to find in Scotland, though I have heard that they're available sporadically.

It's more appetizing than it looks, I promise!

Taco Soup

INGREDIENTS:

1 LB lean ground beef

1 envelope taco seasoning mix

1 onion, chopped

1 16 oz can pinto beans (undrained)**

1 “ “ “ “ “ kidney beans

1 “         “   golden hominy(Chick peas make good substitution)

1 19 oz  “ cream style corn (regular sweet corn works in UK)

1 14 oz diced stewed tomatoes (Chopped Tomatoes in Tomato Juice)

1 10 oz can rotel ** can be found at skyco

1 envelope ranch style dressing mix **

1 cup shredded Mexican cheese Cheddar???

1 bag of chips of your choosing. Fritos are our personal favorites. Tortilla chips can be found at Costco; Doritos are available at other stores.

PREPARATION:

Brown ground beef and chopped onion; drain.

Add taco seasoning, mix thoroughly.

Add cans of beans, hominy, corn, and tomatoes.

Stir in ranch seasoning mix.

Simmer over low heat until bubbly.

Add cheese and serve with chips.

Exploring, Humiliation, and Phone Photos

Last week’s spell of perfect weather made for a perfect weekend, but sadly by Monday afternoon the clouds had rolled in and we haven’t seen much of the sun since. We still felt blessed to spend the long weekend exploring Aberdeenshire. Here are some more pictures of our hike to Slain’s Castle.

On the drive home, I had to stop and take this picture for my dad.

Even though the spelling of my name is all wrong, it reminded me that I'm still a daddy's girl at heart. Now I just need to find "Jonathan's Lane" and I'll have a perfect set.

On Saturday we focused more on our bonnie city and stumbled upon Duthie Park and it’s tropical winter gardens.

Can't escape the desert, even in Scotland.

The sign saying "Please do not touch the Venus fly traps" made it really hard to keep our hands off.

We loved perusing the arid and tropical green houses, but it was also entertaining to see hoards of locals sunbathing in the park. No one here has swimming pools, so on this particularly sunny weekend, the public spaces were full of sun worshippers. Now, Scots are not known for their olive skin tones so I saw several lobster colored ‘sun tans’ while at the park. I guess a 3^rd degree sun burn is a small price to pay for some good ole vitamin D.

Luckily, I have a private back garden in which to lay out in, and luckily somewhere along the way a Native American mixed in with my Irish bloodline so, no sunburn for me. Of course, while I was privately laying out in my bikini in my private backyard, Bailey started barking like mad at a very tall man peering over the fence. Now in Houston, this would have sent me into fight or flight mode, but in Aberdeen this is not too strange. I asked if I could assist him and he informed me that he was here to mow the grass. We were both more than slightly embarrassed.

Jon thinks I have an agenda to flash every man that our landlord sends over to the house. The second day that we lived here, our landlord sent a painter over to repair some damages. I was not informed that the painter was coming to the house and he was under the impression that no one had moved in yet. So he used a key to just let himself right on in while I was showering…in a glass shower…with the bathroom door open…of course. Again, both of us were slightly embarrassed. Okay, mortified is probably a better word. Especially since he spent the next two days painting our house.

Now that I have scarred you for life with those mental images, here are some more pleasant pictures to take your mind off of my humiliation.

Bailey and Sam got their fair share of Vitamin D as well, but after a while, it got so hot that Bailey had to seek a spot in the shade.

The rain came in on Thursday which made for a pretty muddy jog for Bailey and I. Here’s a picture of the dog park that I take her to after our usual 6 mile loop.

This weather is more typical of Aberdeen.

Trust me, she still has energy to chase birds for another 15 minutes before she’s ready to go home. If you can see that white polka dot looking thing in the left hand corner of this picture, you’ll spot her in mid-chase.

There is a certain seabird who loves teasing her every time we come here.  I swear it’s always the same bird too. He’ll swoop in and caw at her, luring her into a game of tag around the perimeter of the park. It’s fine by me and much easier than hiring a dog walker.

Now, Bailey is a pretty smart dog and has figured out that muddy runs in the rain = bathtime afterward. As soon as we got home, she hid in her kennel refusing to come out for her bath.

That is, until I started rubbing Sam’s belly right in front of her kennel and that was just too much for her jealous heart to take. She conceded defeat and sulked into the bathroom for what she considers equivalent to a torture chamber (but still favorable to watching Samson get a belly rub).

Last night, out of nowhere, the sky turned blue and the sun came out, so I rushed Samson out the door for a long walk…at 8:30 at night. I’ve only been here 3 weeks and I’ve already learned that you don’t waste a moment of sunlight.

I took Sam down to Walker Dam and to a little brook which I’ve already deemed my favorite spot in all of Aberdeen.

It’s just so picturesque and a peaceful place for me to rest my legs and let the dogs romp in the stream. Absolute heaven. Of course that was until Samson decided to burrow himself into the bank and cover himself with mud. And since yesterday was also the day that I gave him his Frontline flea meds, I'm not supposed to give him a bath for another 24 hours. Whoops. I guess he won’t be allowed in the bed.

Whoops…

On our walk, I spotted this flier which is a testament to how dog friendly Aberdeen is.

We have been looking for a church. One that holds special services for animal blessings might be a good fit for us.

Well that's all for today. The sun is out for the moment so I really must be going. Have a great weekend!