When we're watching TV at night this sort of thing is very distracting, even when there isn't any snoring. The reason it is so distracting is because I can't stop looking at it. Which is why similar photos appear on this blog. I just hope nobody else gets bored with it.
Yesterday, while the corned beef and cabbage was cooking on the stove and the Irish Soda Bread was baking in the oven, my wife Jackie and her ever present protector were waiting in the living room for dinner. I enjoy watching how well her protector takes care of her when I am busy doing other things. Even when he is fast asleep. Here is the proof.
Hey, this isn't the Cooking Channel but speaking of Irish Soda Bread, if you are interested in an authentic recipe that is around 100 years old here it is. It was passed down to my wife from her Grandmother. I have made this every year and it is delicious.
Authentic Irish Soda Bread ( Landen-Osborne Family)Recipe Makes 2 LoavesBake: 35 - 40 minutesPre Heat Oven to 375Ingredients:4 cups. Flour3 teaspoons Baking powder1 teaspoons Baking soda1 teaspoon Salt1/4 cup Sugar1/4 cup Butter (1/2 stick)1/2 cup Caraway Seeds1 1/2 cups of Raisins1 large Egg1 3/4 cups. ButtermilkSIFT OR WISK ALL DRY INGREDIENTS TOGETHER IN A LARGE BOWL AND SET ASIDE.1/4 cup Butter (1/2 stick)CUT IN BUTTER WITH 2 KNIVES OR A PASTRY BLENDER. Also works with the bread hook on the mixer.Add large handful of Caraway Seeds and 1 to 1 1/2 cups of Raisins to mix.LIGHTLY BEAT THE EGG AND ADD TO BUTTERMILK.1 large Egg1 3/4 cups. ButtermilkMIX INTO DRY INGREDIENTS WITH A FORK UNTIL BLENDED.TURNOUT ONTO A FLOURED SURFACE AND KNEAD UNTIL SMOOTH FOR APPROXIMATELY 2 - 3 MINUTES.(A MIXER WITH A BREAD HOOK IS HELPFUL)DOUGH WILL BE STICKY. COAT HANDS WITH FLOUR.FORM INTO A LARGE BALL AND CUT IN HALF WITH A SHARP KNIFE.RESHAPE EACH HALF INTO A ROUNDED MOUND CUT AN X ON TOP OF EACH MOUND.PLACE ON GREASED BAKING SHEET. Bake for 35 to 40 Minutes.REMOVE AND COOL ON WIRE RACK.THEN TOP WITH GLAZE WHILE IT IS STILL WARM.SUGAR GLAZE - FOR EACH LOAF.1 cup 10x (powdered) sugar1/2 teaspoon. Vanilla5 tablespoons Milk
March 17th, and Spring is supposed to be only four days away. Woke up to this and the weatherman says more is coming tonight.
My baby Rottweiler Ruffin could hardly keep his eyes open when I walked into the bedroom tonight. He goes to bed after everyone comes in from their late night potty on the front lawn. I usually follow him an hour or so later. After I get my wife into bed I usually check my email and surf the Internet for awhile until I know she is asleep then I go to bed myself. Ruffin seldom stays awake until I get to bed.
What a dreamy look he has. Can't hardly keep his eyes open.
What is that gives our Rottweilers their personalities? The way they look or the way they act? They are all quite beautiful and we feed them with loads of love and affection every day. Does the love shine through their eyes and make them look so happy? I went back through my huge collection of photos, I have almost 15,000 that I've taken since 1995, and found three I'd like to share again.
This was taken July 4, 2003 and it shows Mocha, my first Rottweiler, on the left. Nikko Bear, Mo's father, in the middle. And young Sassy, who was 6 months old on the right.
This photo was taken a month after we brought baby Ruffin home from the breeder in February 2007. Mocha never had any puppies but she was a very wiling foster mother to little Sassy and then baby Ruffin.
And this is my favorite photo and watercolor of Mo and Nikko that I had made into flags back in 2003.
It isn't difficult to see why I called this "Thief of Hearts". That's what they do.
Hey, I couldn't leave out one more photo of Ruffin, all grown up.
Or maybe two.
In between my last post on March 8th and today we have had a little more snow followed by a few days of rain and some cool sunshine. The Rotties continue their protests because they don't understand how much trouble is to clean up the mud they track in the house.
Last night when I was ready to retire I walked into my bedroom and saw this waiting for me on the bed.
What an innocent expression Ruffin has on his face. I just had to take one more picture of him. If only he would stay after I go to bed. Ruff feels he must take up the advance guard position in the hallway in case we are invaded. I still can't convince him that its my job to protect the family.
Sun and snow don't mix. The Sun makes the weather warm and when it melts the snow it makes mud. Mud makes messes in the house. Rottweilers don't understand this but the human who cleans the house does. For that reason alone, when the Sun melts the snow and makes mud, the Rottweilers stay in the house. So everyone takes a nap with the warm afternoon Sun streaming in through the windows.
Click to view larger image.
Nobody seemed to care about the promise of Spring. The sun never came out today but the snow was still fun to play in. I do stand corrected on how much we got. While the front of the house had only an inch the backyard had about three inches. The boys didn't seem to care. Ruff and Axl enjoyed every bit of it.
Ruff was determined to get Axl to play.
Just when we started getting used to some warmer weather, we get some more snow. The storm that dropped down here from Chicago last night left a very mixed amount over the tri-state area. 30 miles North in Loveland, Ohio they had almost a foot of snow, 5 miles North of us in Taylor Mill, Kentucky they had 3 inches of snow, and in our area we got about 1 inch of snow. Well, from my experience with Rottweilers, I know they don't care about size or amounts. They're just as happy getting a piece of a biscuit as they are getting the whole biscuit. Same goes with snow. Here is Ruff getting his first look this morning.
And a little while later, Axl comes in for breakfast from the backyard.
After lunch we'll take a walk down back where they can all run around.
Winter has been trying hard to hang around with some unseasonably cold weather but Spring is fighting a battle to uphold the prediction made by Punxsutawney Phil that said it would arrive early. So the Sun came out today and I was given a request that I could not refuse. Who could say no to a face like this, anyway.
So I grabbed the trusty camera and we all went for a walk in the back yard. And the first thing that Ruff and Axl did was to stick their noses into the ground. I guess that we must have had a few visitors in the days and nights since their last walk. Anyone watching these two would think they were Rootweilers instead of Rottweilers.
Once in awhile someone asks me "Where is Sassy?" since most of the pictures are of Ruff and Axl. Well, Sassy did come with us but she sat down by a tree and watched over us while the boys were exploring. Sassy is doing fine with her new diet and the Levothyroxin pills are starting to keep her thyroid and weight under control, too. I'm hoping by Summer Sassy will be able to keep up with us.
I just had to add this post as a footnote to yesterday's activities. While we were watching the Daytona 500 and I was taking pictures of Ruff watching the television, old man Axl was sound asleep on the couch next to me. So after dinner last night we retired to the living room to watch the Academy Awards and Axl resumed his position on the couch where he left off. And he took another nap. The poor old Rottweiler can't live on just 12 hours sleep next to my wife at bedtime, he has to take more naps during our waking hours. But did you ever see a dog sleep like this?
Ruff loves excitement. And girls and horses. But anything that moves fast gets his attention. Girls just make him act like a silly clown. We all watched the Daytona 500 on TV this afternoon and I must say that Ruff really enjoyed watching the Budweiser Clydesdale horses in one of the commercials. And he did turn his attention to the TV when Danica Patrick was on the screen but I still think he likes Vanna White better on the Wheel of Fortune.
Sorry for the poor angle.
We'll have to chalk up NASCAR racing along with The Kentucky Derby and the Belmont Stakes.
Last night my wife Jackie sat down in the living room with three biscuits wrapped in a paper towel. Ruff immediately spotted this when she unwrapped the biscuits in her lap.
One is never enough.
Two is good but I did see you had one more.
By the look on her face I don't think my wife appreciated Ruff climbing over her to get the last biscuit. Meanwhile, Axl slept through the whole thing, on the couch laying next to me.
Well the snow did look pretty while it lasted and the Rottweilers enjoyed the two weeks of cold air. But when it started to warm up above freezing and the snow began to melt, it was just to mushy and muddy to go for a run down the back. So we stayed indoors. Watched TV. And took pictures. This night it was Ruff's job to keep Mom company. The two boys seem to take turns.
Glad to report the mid-winter thaw didn't last very long. After several days of cold weather we had some snow last night. It was only about 3-inches but that is a lot when you think that it is the biggest snowfall in two years. I took the boys, Ruff and his old buddy Axl out back for some fun. And Axl really surprised me by running around playing with Ruff. He hasn't been too interested in play lately and I was beginning to think it was because he was getting too old. At 11 1/2 years he has been really acting his age and spending a lot of time napping around the house. Today was a different story and it convinced me that the snow does make a difference.
Click the pictures for a larger view.
Judging by the look in Axl's eyes, I think he saw Ruff coming.
And then they were off.
The sound of the dinner dishes rattling when the table is being set is a clear sign that the humans are getting ready for dinner. And every night the boys come out to join us. I think they were all born with famished appetites and the first thing they learn are the sounds associated with food. Every package of food comes in its own distinctive wrapper and they seem to know that crinkly cellophane means food is being prepared. And that may be their weakness as a recent news story explained how a burglar took a bowl of soup from the refrigerator and fed the family dog before he went about burgling the home.
Some may recall that I mentioned my wife Jackie has had Alzheimer's for several years and one of the side affects is unusual sleep habits. Jackie's Doctor suggested an herbal treatment with Melatonin before bedtime and it has allowed her to get many a good night sleep since I started giving it to her. Well, her constant companion Rottweiler Axl, who never leaves her side - day or night - sleeps on her bed right on his own pillow next to her's. The joke around here is that he gets to sleep while he is at work and during the night protecting my wife is his job. Well, I woke up this morning around 9:30 AM and noticed both my wife and Axl were still sound asleep so I decided to leave them alone. I took out Sassy and Ruffin and then gave them breakfast and sat down and had my own breakfast and read the newspaper. Around 11 AM I decided to wake up the rest of the crew before it was time for lunch. I got my wife out of bed and got her dressed and Axl was still sound asleep. I literally had to shake him (gently, of course) to get him awake. He had slept for 12 hours straight and so had my wife. Needless to say, Axl promptly took an after breakfast nap on the couch with my wife sitting next to him. Axl was 11 years old last September. Every night he trots into Jackie's bedroom and jumps up on her bed with the greatest of ease and I am amazed he is still able to do this.
Not that Ruff ever went away but sometimes he takes a nap in the most adorable ways. Like tonight while we were watching television.
And as quietly as I could, I sneaked out of the living room to fetch my trusty camera and after taking 19 pictures from every conceivable angle my little baby Rottweiler never once woke up.
Last night we were watching a movie and I paused the Blu-Ray player to go get a snack. I wasn't gone for two minutes and when I came back my seat was taken on the couch. Now I wouldn't mind because this often happens when the Rottweiler laying next to me gets up and moves over to my side but last night both sides of the couch were now occupied. And everyone was sound asleep.
The snow seems to have taken a vacation and all we've been getting lately has been some chilly temperatures and miserable rain. We are thankful for our wood burning fireplace as it does a great job to warm us up on the days we are cooped up in the house. But now the daytime temperatures are climbing into the high 40s and 50s so a mid-Winter thaw must be coming. This is not a good thing if the harsher Winter temps come back in February because the trees and shrubs will be popping out with buds which will freeze and die off.
So we bundle up and hang out in the house with our best friends.
Yesterday I took Sassy to the Vet's to have her toenails trimmed and dremeled. All of our Rottweilers have strongly resisted having their nails clipped so we have had to have the Vet give them anesthesia which requires a few hours stay in the office. Lately I wasn't able to get there early enough to have them do this since they only do it in the morning so I had to drop Sassy off in the afternoon to be boarded overnight.When I came home yesterday without Sassy the two boys were very concerned. In fact they seemed to suspect me of doing some bad thing with their little girl. But today I went to the Vet with Ruffiin and we picked Sassy up and brought her home and everything is back to normal.
Just a brief update 1/27/2013: We've just had a week's worth of sub freezing temps and a 1/4 inch of snow following this post. And next week we'll have two days in the mid-50's. I am glad that the trees and shrubs didn't start to get any buds.
