Foster dogs before and after

Over the holidays we received several emails and Christmas cards from the families of some of our former foster dogs. Thank you, thank you, thank you for thinking of us! Now, this is the BEST part of this whole business! When they come here the dogs are homeless discards that nobody wants. When they leave they have a new life and home. Here are three puppies that lived with us for awhile:























Franklin was born in animal control in Isanti county. He arrived at our house with his mother, Salem, and 7 brothers and sisters when he was just an hour old. He was still wet from birthing. We called these puppies "Salem's lot" . Franklin and his littermates were all black puppies and it was relatively easy to place them in new homes. But, Franklin was a challenge. He was dominant, aggressive, loud and "ENERGETIC" but very lovable! The name Marley comes to mind, if you've read the book "Marley and Me". Franklin was with us long after his littermates were adopted and we wondered if he would grow to adulthood before he was adopted. But then a young couple, looking for their first dog, came along and fell in love with Franklin. Now, they inform me, Franklin has been to obedience school and "more or less" passed his tests. He is still a bundle of energy with lots of entertaining antics: below, chasing a ball through the snow.
In late summer we took in Tara (the Coon Hound that is still with us) and her 6 puppies. One of those puppies was Prissy, whose personality did not fit her name. She was a spitfire with big personality! This is the dog that I considered keeping for myself (only for a minute, though). In the description that I provided for Petfinder.com I wrote that she was fearless with our Great Dane, and it turned out that her new home would also have a Dane. Fortunately, the young couple that adopted her would also change her name from Prissy to Izzy. They inform me that the two dogs are best friends and at play constantly.























We also received photos from a former foster puppy named Jordi, who was only with us for a couple weeks. This puppy was a German Shepherd, Rottweiller mix and he created some problems because there were too many people that wanted to adopt him at once! We had to go through the somewhat painful process of choosing the right home and we're glad to find out that we made the right decision. He is well loved and thriving!

Christmas Eve at Home

Selena and Grandma shared a moment talking about "Christmas past" at home in Kenyon, MN. On the farm "they used to clean the whole house and wash all of the floors before Christmas Eve". Also, they set up the Christmas tree and decorated it on Christmas Eve. My grandmother Rodde was so tired that she used to fall asleep at dinnertime! My cousin Sarah wrote to say: "Mom [my aunt, Rosella] tells the same stories. She also tells how they would take down the curtains beforehand and wash everything, and then on Christmas Eve they would put everything up again, so the whole house was clean and fresh. And their mother would put on a clean tablecloth, too, I think."Xavier shares his ipod with his cousin Jeffrey.
Kyle, my nephew



Grandpa Bishop and Kyle.

Making lefse with Grandma

Grandma and Granddaughter, aren't they beautiful!!With Christmas every year comes our tradition of lefse making with Grandma (my mother, Alice). Fortunately Selena has become very skilled at it and I don't have to worry about doing it myself; I've never been very patient for it.
Working together we made about 100 lefse. Oh, in case you didn't know, lefse is a norwegian flat bread. René used to say that it was kind of like sweet tortillas (not really!)
Selena mixes the lefse dough. This is the part where I usually get impatient and I'm glad that Selena volunteered to do it.

"Lefse dog", Skippy Lu
My Dad and Xavier were goofing around while we were working!

Skippy Lu LOVES grandpa! Do you wonder why?

Grandpa also really enjoys Xavi's music (as do the rest of us.)

Preparing for X-mas at home: Selena gets a kiss from our foster dog, Tara.
Merry dog, Merry Christmas!

Our Christmas story on "The Story"

Xavier and I were featured in a radio program, "The Story" (North Carolina Public Radio)! And it aired on my birthday, no less! Of course I have sent out this news to every living person that I ever knew because it was really a moment of fame for the two of us. However, if you haven't heard the Santa Story and would like to hear it, click below for the audio. It aired last Monday, but then there were some listener responses to the story so they talked a bit more about it on Wednesday (which I added to the end of the audio, below).

In order to do the interview we had to go to the MPR (Minnesota Public Radio) studio in St. Paul where they could send the audio signal back and forth between North Carolina and Minnesota. We were asked to go to one of the music studios so that they could record Xavier playing the guitar. The sound engineer set us up in head phones, each in front of a giant microphone the size of your head. We were all alone in the room with the engineer on the other side of a glass window, but we could hear Dick Gordon (of "The Story") as if he were sitting right there. Well, the interview went really well and we had a fabulous experience. After we were finished the sound guy recorded Xavier playing 2 of his guitar pieces and burned it onto a CD (I'm sure I'll get around to putting it on this blog pretty darn soon). Then, he took us a tour of the MPR building. Hey! I got to sit in Keri Miller's chair!

René, Ahna and Xavier 1998

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Selena learns to iron... and it snowed, por fin!

This morning Selena requested that she learn to iron clothes. My jaw dropped down to the floor and flew up again! I love how my kids continue to surprise me and alter whatever it was that I knew about them. This is the child who used to throw clothes all over the floor of her bedroom and wear them in whatever condition. She used to wear different colored socks to school and refused to wear jeans until she was 14. Now she is becoming neat like her father and "doesn't like wrinkles" in her clothes. Well, no better time like a Sunday to start ironing clothes. I haven't really done it in years but I'm still pretty good at it. I have a repertoire of pitfalls to avoid; like not using starch on dark colored pants, or leaving the iron to cool on the ironing table so that a dog would go by and knock it over right onto the wood floor. So, we set out to iron some shirts and pants. All went very well. We

We have been wondering if we will get a white Christmas this year. Wonder no more, it has come! I still love it! December is the honeymoon period and by February you want a divorce from it, but snow is uplifting after the drabness of November. Incidentally, the photo above is of the chicken house. Our flock has dwindled since the invasion of the weasel. We lost half of the ducks and about 3 chickens in one night (their necks were eaten!) Anyway, winter is hard for them, no doubt about it.

As soon as Xavier saw the snow he was out the door with the dogs. Below: Xavier and Jota.
Xavier made some angels in the snow. Skippy Lu was certainly curious about what he was up to.
On another note, we still have our foster dog, Tara (Mom of the coon house puppies). She has come a long way since we got her; not as timid and afraid. She loves my bed and sleeps with me and Skippy Lu at night. We need to find someone that will allow her to cuddle; she's good at that!

Xavier's guitar quartet- as yet unnamed

This summer Xavier started taking lessons with Alan Johnston and is going to McPhail Center for Music . Alan invited him to join their quartet (or what was then a trio) and they have been working together since September. This Sunday we had everyone out to Ham Lake for breakfast and a practice session. What handsome boys! Henry, Luke, Xavier and Austin (and Alan's knee).

Have you tried KOMBUCHA?

Kombucha tea is a fermented drink that is easily produced and may have many health benefits. Selena and I have been drinking it for a couple years now. The #1 health benefit for us is that we don't drink Diet Coke anymore. I could also say that it has eliminated former cravings for "soft drinks", candy and other high fructose corn syrup products, but that may also be due to other dietary changes we've made (switching to a whole foods diet). For me it's been a great aid for digestion and a great thirst quencher when I've been working outside in the garden. Some claim the following health benefits:

Relief of "arthritis pains, intestinal problems, digestive disorders, kidney stones, high cholesterol, chronic fatigue, asthma, bronchitis, migraine, eczema, headaches, constipation, diabetes, rheumatism, anxiety, dizziness and insomnia. Problems associated with advancing years, such as high blood pressure, poor eye sight, arteriosclerosis and gout may also be helped by Kombucha's anti-aging properties." (http://www.gokombucha.com/health_benefits.html)

I've noticed that the tea is sold in many Food Coops but it is expensive, especially when you can make it at home for the cost of tea bags and sugar. If you don't appreciate the fizzy taste of kombucha you can add fruit juice. A kombucha/juice combination makes it taste something like High-C, or one of the other "fructosed" drinks that is successfully marketed to children. But usually we just add raw ginger to the finished kombucha and let it sit in the refrigerator for a couple days. That's quite a punch!

If you'd like to try making it the process is incredibly simple. However, you need a kombucha mushroom (a mother culture) and preferably some starter tea to get you going. (Contact me and I'll get you some!)
Below: A group of mushrooms; lovely little creatures! With every batch of kombucha they grow and reproduce themselves.

KOMBUCHA RECIPE:


The simple version first:

1.Boil the water.
2. Remove from stove. Dissolve organic sugar in water. Add tea bags and cover. Let the tea steep for half an hour.
3. Remove tea bags and pour into one gallon glass jar (pickle jar). Let cool until water 90 degrees or cooler. I usually do this in the evening so that I can let it cool overnight.
4. Add one mushroom and about 1/2 cup starter .
5. Cover the jar with a coffee filter and rubber band. Basically you want ample air for the fermentation but don't want dust and bugs in the drink.
6. Let it ferment for a week or two. In the summer it will only take a week, in the winter (in Minnesota!) about 2 weeks. **Keep the jar in a dark place. The cupboard is a good place.
7. How do you know it's done? Take a taste test. If it still tastes like black tea then it's not done. If it's fizzy and vinegary, it's done.
8. If it's ready, take out the mushroom and store it in a glass jar in the refrigerator. Make sure and save a cup of starter for the next batch.


Below: A gallon jar of tea. The kombucha mushroom is floating on top.
This is one of my jars of kombucha mushrooms that I keep in the refrigerator. My friends and relatives have generously accepted these mushrooms, or "scobys" in their homes.

A view from the top!
My collection of fermenting kombucha.

This batch is ready for consumption. For a real ZIP add raw ginger. I've also added strawberry pieces or other fruit which ends up tasting a little like sangria. (kinda...)

Concert of Sharon Isbin with Minnesota Orchestra

In September Xavier and I went to a concert of Sharon Isbin (classical guitarist) and the Minnesota Orchestra. My personal favorite is Rodrigo's "Concierto de Aranjuez" (which you are no doubt hearing right now.) We had 3rd row seats and could see the expressions on the faces of the performers. Occasionally Xavier plays the guitar part of this piece and I chime in as the part of the violins (not a very good sound but I love it!) I could listen to this over and over again, so I figured out how to put in on the blog, I hope it doesn't annoy anyone!