New Dog Breeds

New Dog Breeds

The following breeds are now recognized by the AKC:

Collie + Lhasa Apso = Collapso, a dog that folds up easy for transporting

Spitz + Chow Chow = Spitz-Chow, a dog that throws up a lot

Pointer + Setter = Poinsetter, a traditional Christmas pet

Great Pyrenees + Dachshund = Pyradachs, a puzzling breed

Pekingnese + Lhasa Apso = Peekasso, an abstract dog

Irish Water Spaniel + English Springer Spaniel = Irish Springer, a dog fresh and clean as a whistle

Newfoundland + Basset Hound = Newfound Asset Hound, a dog for financial advisers

Terrier + Bulldog = Terribull, a dog that makes awful mistakes

Bloodhound + Labrador = Blabador, not a popular dog with CIA agents

Malamute + Pointer = Moot Point, owned by… oh, well, it doesn't matter anyway

Collie + Malamute = Commute, a dog that travels to work

Deerhound + Terrier = Derriere, a dog that's true to the end

Meal Planning

I find myself cooking a lot more lately. Ok...that's a bit misleading. What I meant to say is I find myself trying out new recipes a lot lately. I bought a copy of Eat, Shrink and Be Merry about a month or so ago, and the book and I have quickly become friends.

I have never done meal planning until recently. One night after dinner, I was sipping a glass of wine, sitting comfortably on the couch, waiting for my favourite TV show to start. The copy of Eat, Shrink and Be Merry was lying idly on the coffee table. I picked it up and started flipping through it.

The more I read, the more interested and excited I got. By the time my favourite TV show started (Private Practice), I had scribbled down at least 10 recipes that I was going to try out.

Last week was the first week I started meal planning and here was the menu:
Monday -- Thai Beau (Joe rated 9/10)
Tuesday -- The Soprawnos (Joe did not like it so much)
Wednesday -- Chop Soooo-ey
Thursday -- 8hr Turkey Stew (I could not find turkey breast so I substituted it with beef sirloin roast)
Friday -- Joe had the Venture's Meeting, so I was lazy and did not cook. I had a glass of wine and a slice of toast with tuma cheese.... :-)
Saturday -- Joe was out all day in Merrickville with the ventures, so I had Butternut Squash soup for dinner (I made the soup a week ago from scratch and I made a big batch that I froze most of it in ziploc bags)
Sunday -- Artic Char with baby mix greens

I found this recipe this month's Reder's Digest and I am going to try it today...

Thai Sweet Potato and Coconut Soup
Ingredients:
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tbsp chopped ginger root
1 tbsp thai red curry paste (I have green curry paste at home so I am going use that instead)
2 lbs sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
4 cups vegetable stock or water
salt and pepper to taste
1/3 cup canned coconut milk

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan. Add onions, garlic and ginger and cook gently until fragrant and tender about 5-7 mins
2. Add curry paste and cook 30-60 seconds until fragrant. Add sweet potatoes and stir to coat well. Add stock or water and bring to boil. Add 1 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper if stock is unseasoned or if using water.
3. cook approx. 20 - 25 mins until sweet potatoes are very tender. Puree. If mixture is too thick, add additional stock or water.
4. Add coconut milk and cook 5 mins longer. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.
5. Serve soup in wide soup bowls. Drizzle decoratively with remaining coconut milk.

Makes 6-8 servings

Why Men Don't Write Advice Columns

Why Men Don't Write Advice Columns

Dear Walter:
I hope you can help me here. The other day, I set off for work leaving my husband in
the house watching the TV as usual. I hadn't gone more than a mile down the road when my engine conked out and the car shuddered to a halt. I walked back home to get my husband's help. When I got home I couldn't believe my eyes. He was in our bedroom with the neighbor lady. I am 32, my husband is 34, and we have been married for twelve years.

When I confronted him, he broke down and admitted that they had been having an affair for the
past six months. I told him to stop or I would leave him. He was let go from his job six months ago and he says he has been feeling increasingly depressed and worthless. I love him very much, but ever since I gave him the ultimatum he has become increasingly distant. He won't go to counseling and I'm afraid I can't get through to him anymore.

Can you please help?

Sincerely, Sheila


Dear Sheila:
A car stalling after being driven a short distance can be caused by a variety of
faults with the engine. Start by checking that there is no debris in the fuel line. If it is clear, check the vacuum pipes and hoses on the intake manifold and also check all grounding wires. If none of these approaches solves the problem, it could be that the fuel pump itself is faulty, causing low delivery
pressure to the carburetor float chamber.

I hope this helps.
Walter

How to plant tomatoes...

An old Ukrainian about 80 years old lived alone in Winnipeg. He wanted to plant
his annual tomato garden, but it was very difficult work, as the ground was hard.

His only son, Walter, who used to help him, was in prison in Prince Albert,Saskatchewan.

The old man wrote a letter to his son and described his predicament:

Dear Walter,
I am feeling pretty sad, because it looks like I won't be able
to plant my tomato garden this year. I'm just getting too old to be
digging up a garden plot. I know if you were here my
troubles would be over.
I know you would be happy to dig the plot for me, like in the old
days.
Love,
Papa


A few days later he received a letter from his son.


Dear Papa,
Don't dig up that garden. That's where the bodies are buried.
Love,
Walter

At 4 a.m. the next morning, RCMP and local Winnipeg police arrived
and dug up the entire area without finding any bodies. They
apologized to the old man and left.

That same day the old man received another letter from his son.

Dear Papa,
Go ahead and plant the tomatoes now. That's the best I could do
under the circumstances.

Love you,
Walter

Babies' names...

In an effort to lift my spirits, Joe took me out for dinner last friday night. Instead of going to downtown, we decided to venture out to Kanata. We live in Barrhaven, so Kanata is only 15 mins away from our home. We avoided Hwy 417 and drove along the backroad.

We drove along Eagleson and Hazelden aimlessly for about 15 mins and finally decided to go to Jack Astor's for dinner.

The food was amazing. We tried out the summer dinner menu. I had a blue cheese burger and Joe had the asian wraps. After two lemon icebergs (cold draft beer topped with lemon zest ice mixture... and it is really yummy! I am more a wine person than a beer person, but I must admit that this lemon iceberg is good!), I began to feel relaxed and I started to forget about my broken toe and the sad news about my grandmother for a moment there...

Dinner conversation was light and funny and one thing lead to the other, Joe and I were discussing about babies' names. There has always been a long discussion about what to name our kid, when (not if) we have a kid one day. Perhaps it was the effect of the lemon iceberg... we, as a couple, have decided the following names for our kids:

If we have a boy -- Baden Noah Joseph Vautour

If we have a girl -- Bethany Priscilla Pang-Vautour

Last night, out of curiosity, I goggled the origin of "Bethany" and here is what I found:
"The girl's name Bethany \b(e)-tha-ny\ is pronounced BETH-a-nee. It is of Hebrew origin. Possibly means "house of figs". Biblical: the name of the village near Jerusalem where Jesus stayed during Holy Week, before going on to Jerusalem and crucifixion. From the New Testament description of life in the house, the name has rather domestic, cozy connotations. The name is popular with Roman Catholics, being bestowed in honor of Mary of Bethany, sister of Martha and Lazarus"

As for the origin of "Baden"... Joe was very involved with Scouts when he was a kid, and he decided to name our kid (if it is and only if it is a boy) after the Founder of the World Scout Movement, Chief Scout of the World, Robert Baden-Powell!