Grandma Elizabeth's Chocolate Sauce

Grandma Elizabeth passed this recipe on to her daughters. The dog has nothing to say about chocolate sauce as it is poisonous to dogs. But the dog's family LOVES this rich, dark sauce over vanilla ice cream. Add bananas, whipped cream or pecans and it might just beat chocolate chip cookies. It is very easy to make.

Grandma Elizabeth's Chocolate Sauce

In a small sauce pan, over low heat, melt and stir together:
2 squares unsweetened chocolate (Bakers)
6 Tablespoons water

Add:
1/2 cup white sugar (or a little less, if you like)

Cook until bubbly and thick. (If you cook it longer, it will turn chewy when it hits the cold ice cream. Not bad but...) Remove from heat.

Stir in:
3 Tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoons vanilla

Almond Craisin Granola

Every weekday morning, Dave has the same breakfast. A bowl of granola, a glass of OJ and a very strong latte. (The dog has the same thing every MEAL: dry dog food.  The dog thinks Dave has a better deal.) Dave is content with his box of cereal. But when he can have homemade granola there is a tiny spring in his step as he commutes to the attic.

This granola can be varied easily by swapping in different nuts and dried fruit. The secret is to get it nice and toasty. It is helpful to the dog if you stir it with wild flipping motions so most of it ends up on the floor.

Almond Craisin Granola
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
In a large mixing bowl, mix:
4 cups oats
1 cup wheat germ
1 cup slivered almonds (or other nuts)
1/2 cup sesame seeds (optional)
1/4 cup flax seeds (optional, but they are supposed to be some sort of wonder food)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt

In a small bowl, mix:
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup water

Add wet to dry ingredients. Mix well. Spread evenly on cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes or until toasty, stirring every ten minutes. Cool.

Stir in:
1  6-ounce package of craisins (sweetened, dried cranberries) or other dried fruit.

Carmella's World

click on image to enlarge

Content and Criticism

Carmella's World is a 1948 work by U.S. painter Andrew Wyeth, and one of the best-known American paintings of the middle 20th century. It depicts a joyful young dog sprawling in a treeless, mostly tawny field. Wyeth captures the dog in a private moment of utter rapture as she rolls in the short grass. The dog’s expression invites us to experience the scents and textures of what at first appears to be a desolate landscape. Her body angles towards a gray house on the horizon; a barn and various other small outbuildings are adjacent to the house that is the dog’s home. One can imagine her slipping away from her owner to bound through the field unfettered by fence or leash. And it is here, away from the farm and alone the field that the dog is truly happy.

Being a dog under the command of an owner, Carmella "was limited physically, but by no means spiritually." Wyeth further explained, "The challenge to me was to do justice to her extraordinary conquest of a life which most people would consider hopeless." Wyeth recorded the arid landscape, rural house, and shacks with great detail, painting minute blades of grass, the softness of the fur, and nuances of light and shadow. In this style of painting, known as magic realism, everyday scenes are imbued with poetic mystery.

The dog of the painting is Carmella, a little brown dog. Wyeth was inspired to create the painting when he saw her bounding across a field and rolling in the grass. Wyeth had a summer home in the area and was on friendly terms with Carmella as she often joined him on his walks across the countryside. Although Carmella was the inspiration and subject of the painting, she was not the primary model — Wyeth's dog Muffin posed for him, as she was better at the “stay” command. Although the dog in the painting appears young, Carmella was 12 at the time Wyeth created the work.

More Art Hound (by artist)

Andrew Wyeth's Christina's World

That's a Correlation, Silly

This morning, I stumbled on an article of interest in the Star Tribune about social media. I like social media, as I've said in my past post. I love my facebook friends, I check my pee-mail constantly and I bark over the fence any chance I get. I am a social gal. I believe that we should use all our tools to build community and keep track of each other. So I was thrilled to find article Circle of Friends which reported:

"Cell phones, texting and Facebook might actually be pulling people together, not isolating them, according to a new study."

Naturally, I sat up and took interest. There is nothing more satisfying than finding one's personal opinion is backed by scientific studies. This new study would challenge that old saw that social media is rending the fabric of society and turning us all into lonely little trolls whose days are lit only by the glow of the computer screen.

"The millions of Americans who have embraced social-networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter might not be surprised by the findings from the Pew Internet and American Life Project, showing that Web and cell phone users tend to have larger and more diverse networks of close confidantes than those who do not use the Web or cell phones."

What great news! Fun tech toys make us more socially adjusted. If we tweet and talk on cell phones, we will be more popular! We will have more friends. Better, more diverse friends. "All the evidence points in one direction," said lead author Keith Hampton of the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg School for Communication. "People's social worlds are enhanced by new communication technologies."

Wait a minute. Is that really what they found? Let's turn that around. Didn't they also find: People with larger and more diverse networks of close confidantes tend to use the Web or cell phones.

I know this study wants to refute the idea the technology has caused the increase in social isolation. Me too. And it found:

"On average, the size of people's core networks is 12 percent larger among cell phone users, 9 percent larger for those who share photos online, and 9 percent bigger for those who use instant messaging compared with people who do not use these tools. The diversity of the groups is greater as well."

But turn it around. People who choose to use cell phones, share photos and instant message have bigger core networks. Does this surprise anyone? Social people embrace social media. Less social people, not so much.

It's like noting that dogs at dog parks are friendlier, better adjusted and enjoy bigger, more diverse doggie networks. Duh. Dogs who can't handle the dog park stay home and lick themselves. Dog parks don't make the dog social. Antisocial dogs don't last long at the dog park. And just because you own a cell phone doesn't mean you're going to have a hefty "core discussion network." You still have people who will pick up despite caller ID.

I would like to see a study that shows the use of social media actually makes people more social. And there is likely more to this study than this article reveals. I would like to think a dog can't out-think a pack of researchers. Surely they understand the difference between correlation and cause and effect.

I decided it must be the reporting, because he ended the article with this off-topic zinger:

"Ultimately, Krishna Upadhya's views on the subject might be most representative. The 55-year-old biotech researcher from Union City, Calif., said, "Certainly these tech tools help with connectivity, but at the same time they can isolate people as well." He points to his relationship with his teenage son.

"My son comes downstairs to eat dinner and then disappears, back to chatting with his friends on the Internet," he said. "Sure, I can connect with my friends overseas now with the Internet and the cell. But at the same time, I feel like the Internet has robbed me and my son of our time together." 

OMG! The guy thinks social media has caused his teenage son to choose other ways to spend his time than hangin' with dad! That's a correlation, silly.

A Baker's Dozen of Good Dog

One of my favorite bloggers, Daughter Number Three, writes:

"I spent the day cleaning out the basement, so I haven't had much time to write something for the first day of the new year. Inspired by Michael Leddy at Orange Crate Art (who was in turn inspired by another blogger), today's post is made up of the first sentence of the first post from each month in 2009. "

Reading Daughter Number Three's 12 Sentences from the Past for the New Year I am reminded to thank her for her wonderful, quirky lens. She notices what most of us zoom right by. Her posts tease out beautiful details with interesting juxtapositions and rich analysis. I love her curiosity and her dry, often bark-out-loud funny delivery.  That she finds something interesting to write every day is both daunting and motivating. It was after reading her blog for months that I decided to set aside my excuses and give it a try. Thank you, Daughter Number Three, for inspiring a little brown dog to take the leap in a crowded blogging world.

I decided to try the whole "first sentence from posts" thing-- despite the fact that I have only been blogging for a few months and completely lack Daughter Number Three's depth and breadth. I stuck to my Good Dog category because it was a nice baker's dozen of entries (with text) and is all about my favorite topic. Looking at it laid out, I appear to be quite obsessed with myself, my comfort and the evils of cold weather. Huh. Well, it IS ridiculously cold outside right now. Not even ZERO. Just saying.

I think it would be best read aloud by Christopher Walken or maybe William Shatner...

A Baker's Dozen of Good Dog 

What kind of dog is that? 
Yesterday was my birthday.
I have heard that Susan might have wanted one more baby.
We place a lot of value on uniqueness.
It is the last day of November and there is a bite in the air.
OK, it could be worse.
I think I should give my new red coat to my fb friend Hillary's cat named...wait for it...Cosmo!
I hear it took my gal ten years to buy a winter coat.
I didn't choose North.
Having just whined about feeling cooped up by winter, I am feeling humbled by Faith the two-legged dog.
As 2009 draws to a close, I received an unexpected promotion.
The good news: We got another comfortable chair!

Good News, Bad News

The good news:
We got another comfortable chair!

The bad news:
My station in life remains the same.




(A pox upon that gloating, laser-eyed kitty!)