Too Much Tongue Tuesday

"Yes indeed that was delicious!" commented Nala as she finished her dinner on the deck! Wow Nala, I didn't think you had that much of a tongue in your little head! 

Hot Dog...Summer in the City Monday!

August is going out like a lion with a the last blast of summer heat! Too hot for Nala to go out for a walk so I whipped up some of her favorite treats...Yogurt Cubes! Some how I did not think of making these all summer long ...but better late then never!

Easy pizy to make here is the recipe:


32 ounce container of plain low fat yogurt ( organic preferably )

Fresh blueberries, strawberries what ever is in season but no grapes! ( rinsed well, again organic if doable)

Alternatively you can use frozen fruit 

Mix well in blender, pour into ice cube trays

cover with plastic wrap and freeze


Here is the result:

Thoughts for Thursday

Unfortunately I have been home sick for the last 4 days with some kind of virus that initially left me speechless then settled into some kind of upper respiratory infection! After getting the flu shot and taking multiple supplements, eating well blah blah I get this! I am sure when I went to the doctors the other week for some routine blood work that I picked up someones cooties in the waiting room...which they should call it the "catch a cootie room"!


Nala is the only one truly benefiting from my illness since she has me all to herself! What a shock it will be when I go back to work!

Pictures below are of Nala and her newest companion. I know she wants a baby brother but this isn't what she had in mind. You can tell by the lack of excitement on her face that she is not digging this fake brother dog!

Finally Friday and Balding Bullie

Whoa, yippee it's Friday! The weekend forecast calls for on and off thunderstorms but you gotta take the good with the bad I suppose! Nala doesn't seem to mind bad weather at all. It's always lovely in Nala-land!

This afternoon I noticed a patch of sticky fur on top of Nala's head, I started to pull hairs aside and noticed some black debris fall out. Yikes! What is that mess? A colony of fleas or flea dirt? I took her outside and started to pull away some more fur. Now it was coming out in clumps. I examined it closely in the sun and couldn't make it out to be anything in particular. I got some hand soap and a a wet towel and tried to wash the area up. What ever it was it wasn't living so ....I surmise it was some unidentified gunk she got into. Now she has a little bald spot on top of her head. Sorry there Nala, but I had to clean it up. You know what they say about hair and fur... it grows back!

Have a great weekend everyone!

"Ouch! Easy on my head will ya?!"

Simply Sunday and Meeting Nala

A house without a dog is not a home. I think that Snoopy said that but if he didn't he should! Though Ozzie's passing is recent we were already considering adopting another bulldog. It seems to me that there are constantly dogs out there in need of a forever home. The rescue through which we adopted Ozzie, The MidAtlantic Bulldog Rescue, was on the look out for us. Then we got a call to see a male who was 3 years old and recently surrendered, a couple weeks ago. With a knee jerk reaction perhaps we jumped to see him and took the 2 hour ride to his foster mother's home. My husband still had in mind a big male like Ozzie. This little guy was far from that at maybe 40 pounds and all white. Sweet and mild tempered and called Elvis, we spent the day with him and the foster family ( let me say at this point thank you to her and all of the folks in the rescue for the work they do!). We left and thought about it on the ride home. He had some skin issues etc. nothing that was not workable with the vet. My husband didn't really connect with him and I was emotional. Maybe this was too soon? Maybe we weren't ready. I called Alicia the foster mom, the next day and said we pass though I apologized profusely and felt awful for the little guy, like I had let him down. She assured me that he would end up in a good home and she understood my emotional state.
Another week or so and we got a call from the rescue about a female that just entered into the rescue and was nearby with another foster mom. She was reported to be sweet and sociable and she just turned 2 years old. A female? We never even considered a little girl dog. So we made an appointment for that Friday after work to go and see Nala. She was with foster mom Janis and her two female bullies who she seemed to have bonded with no problems. Wow was she small. At 48 pounds she was almost half Ozzie's size. She was surrendered by her owner who had taken superb care of her in every way! She just didn't have the right amount of time at home for her between work and school. Her decision to surrender her was a selfless and difficult one. I commend her for it and thank her too. My husband was immediately smitten by Nala. When foster mom Janis left the room so we could discuss her, my husband Mark looked at me and said "lets take her!" "You think?  I responded. When Janis came back he told her we would pick up Nala that Sunday if it was okay with her. Then he took her for a little walk on the leash. Imagine a dog who liked to walk? No disresepect to my Oz, but walking to him was like having a double root canal! That Sunday morning was filled with all sort of anticipation. Would she like her new home, would we compare her to Ozzie constantly, would we all live happily ever after? A petite little thing and so puppy like, she is a totally different dog, though she shares his beautiful red and white coloring.  Ozzie will always own a piece of real estate in our hearts, but we welcome and love our new bullie girl Nala!

"Get the leash, we are going for a walk!"

Looking very regal!

Simply Sunday and Picky Pooch

Here we are another weekend about to go by! This week was an abbreviated one with the New Year holiday and all but the 3 work days were very concentrated if you know what I mean! 

Ozzie had his first chemo pill with an injection of that Elspar drug. He was fine afterwards even thought the vet warned he may feel a little "punky" afterwards. His biggest side effect is from the steroids since we increased his dosage. It makes him huff and puff and pant more. For a dog with compromised breathing apparatus this is tough at times. Ozzie's new bothersome behavior though is his finicky appetite. I have perhaps hopelessly spoiled him by making special food for him and he expects it every time! This morning I refused to make scrambled eggs for his breakfast and I just served him up his kibble. He immediately turned his nose up at it and walked away. I guess if he gets hungry enough he will eat it?! 

We are gong away soon for a ski vacation and Grandpa and brother will be taking care of our boy and I am worried about his eating. I guess I am going to have make a big batch of the chicken meatballs and freeze them, so he will have something special to mangia on!

"Really? You expect me to eat dog food!?"

I am adding in Ozzie's meatball recipe in case you have missed it, or interested in making them for your own picky pooch!

Have a good week ahead all!

Ozzie's Chicken Meatballs

• Two 16 oz packages of ground chicken
• flat leaf parsley
• turmeric  ( healthy spice that dogs can consume safely)

Chop up parsley and add to meat along with a generous sprinkle of turmeric. 

Make small size balls, little bit smaller than a golf ball.

Get a big pot of water boiling on the stove and drop in meatballs. Should take no longer than 20 minutes to cook through. Remove meatballs to cool. Break up and mix with their favorite kibble.

Store batches in freezer bags for future meals!

Simply Sunday and Waiting for Sandy

Its now the calm before the Mega Storm or Frankenstorm as the local papers call it. Hurricane Sandy a thousand mile wide, category one hurricane is making its way to the east coast corridor of the US, slamming very unladylike into areas of New Jersey and New York City! Today is the last day to hunker down and get supplies for a possible 2 day stint of being stuck inside. Hopefully we will not have a power outage but with the severe winds that Sandy (up to 75 mph) is packing we may not be so lucky! 

The grocery stores are empty of any kind of bottled water so hopefully we have enough just in case. I noticed the liquor store was very crowded yesterday. Maybe a lot of folks rather be short of water but not of their booze to ride out the storm with?!

Part of our preparing for the hurricane includes making Ozzie his cinnamon pumpkin cookies. They are fairly easy to put together and I just pulled them out of the oven. Ozzie is patiently waiting for them to cool so he may sample one! (see recipe below)

Not to fail to mention the good news with Ozzie.His last chemo treatment was Friday and he went through it like a trooper. The vet wants to see him in one month to check him out and he will continue to take the steroids until then. Dr D  said that he responded well to the treatments and the lymphoma is in remission. Yea! We were very happy to hear this and hope that he continues to keep the cancer at bay!

For all those in the path of Sandy, stay safe have a plan and good luck!


Cinnamon Pumpkin Cookies

2 1/2 cup of organic flour ( you can use regular or whole wheat)
1 1/4 cup of pumpkin puree ( make sure its not the pie filling kind that is seasoned)
1/4 cup of crunchy peanut butter ( organic or all natural if you can )
3/4 tsp of cinnamon
1/4 cup of water (amount varies depending on the dough's consistency)

Preheat the oven to 275 F. Mix all the ingredients together. Once you get a nice dough ball going get your rolling pin and roll it out to about a 1/4 inch. Take your cookie cutter and cut out your cookies. Place them on parchment paper on a cookie sheet and bake them for 1 hour. The doggie treats should be lightly browned. Let them cool for an hour or so. Then give them to your favorite pup!

"How long must I wait! Wake me when they're done!"

Wordless Wednesday

"Excuse me, I am sleeping here!"

Lunch Break

I am on the outside looking in. I see you making lunch, don't think you can shut me out from begging and drooling at your feet. Let me in, let me in! Arf!

Finally Friday...the 13th!

"Friggatriska...huh?"

A view of Macy's the world's largest store!

I usually post early Friday mornings but it seems the Blogger server was down most of the day. Hm, coincidence or did Friday the 13th rear its ugly self on Blogger?! Yeah that ole friggatriskaidekaphobia will get you every time if you feed into it! You won't find Ozzie worrying about superstitions like bad luck on the 13th! In matter of fact you won't find Ozzie worrying about anything much except what time is dinner!?
I went into the city to visit Mark (a.k.a Pop) at work the other day. His company is on the 21st and 22nd floors of the Empire State Building. Its always exciting to go into Manhattan with all its hustle and energy. The people watching is the best you will ever experience and to go into such an iconic building as the Empire State Building is always a thrill. Though security has gotten a little more tighter since the last time I was there. Visitors have to report to the front desk in the lobby and show ID and have their picture taken. Unfortunately it is a target for the crazy's out there! I took some pictures out of his office window which faces 34th St and Broadway. You have a birds-eye view of Macy's from his office. The office itself is pretty ordinary on the 22nd floor where the finance and IT people are located (par for the course, stuck in 1965) but their showroom and reception area on the 21st floor are very nice. Ozzie was a bit perturbed since we got home late, but Grandpa fed him and took him out.
We are looking forward to the next several days of overcast skies with on and off showers, but I shouldn't complain we had 7 days of wonderful weather. Here is hoping you all have sunny skies this weekend. Say goodnight Ozzie......Arf!

Wordless Wednesday

Did I hear someone say lunch was ready?

Finally Friday

Its been a tough week for the Oz! He is looking forward to relaxing over the weekend...well, maybe in a more relaxing way than during his weekly relaxing.

Wordless Wednesday

Well......... its almost Wednesday!

Back on Blog and Ozzie Visits the Vet

Sorry I have been absent from my blogging duties. Seems gmail decided to disable my account for ( unknown to me ) violation of terms of service?! It was several days of wringing my hands and trying different online options before I was enabled again. Apparently there is no live tech support for gmail/blogger. Any ways onto more important issues! Ozzie went in for his annual check up this week. It was time for a distemper shot, blood work, stool sample (pew!) the works! He was not into going to say the least. It took a piece of cheese and several pieces of leftover steak from last nights dinner to lure him into the car. ( and we have a weight issue because?) Once there he went into shut down mode! Poor Ozzie, not only did he have to endure the regular assaults of the veterinarian but also treatment of conjunctivitis in his right eye and a ear infection in his left ear! His vet Dr. Tracey is very nice. She adores Ozzie and so do all the vet technicians! They all fawn over him in the waiting room. He has quite the following there! We also got some different diet dog food to try out in hopes that this will produce better results than the last! Oh he did lose some weight however. He is now down to 79 pounds from 81! That is some progress. We have to go back next week for a recheck on his eye. I guess I better make sure I have some more steak on hand.

Ozzie with his Favorite Treat

Bully Sticks Revealed

I have bought Bully Sticks for Ozzie on occasions as a special treat. Once he gets a hold of one he goes to work chomping away going into a trance like state of nirvana. It is the only thing I ever saw him bury in the backyard, maybe for when times get rough and he needs a fix! Not until recently have I figured out the true identity of this coveted doggie delight! I thought that it was simply a tendon from a cow but I have come to the realization it is a quite different part of a cow's anatomy. I saw them referred to as Pizzels, which set me to wondering. As I looked up the meaning of the word I found that it is Old English for penis derived from the German word pesel. Yikes! That seems a bit repulsive, at least by a human stand point but dogs don't know any better. I guess that if they use every part of the cow there is no waste?! It's not like I am going to find it in the local grocery's meat counter or floating in my soup at a fine restaurant! It certainly has added a new level of gross to the item but what the heck! Ozzie loves them and they are better than rawhide since they are digestible and low in fat. I guess from now on I will always giggle a little when I go into a pet store and ask where are the bully sticks. ( though I am sure the cow is not laughing at all! )

Patiently Waiting for Spring