Like Kitten Mittens, Only Funnier

We fitted Bailey and Hank with booties to wear while hunting or hiking in rocky or rough terrain. It takes some getting used to on the dog's part, so as you can imagine the first time wearing them was a quite an experience. After getting the shoes on, we asked each dog to walk across the kitchen floor, hilarity ensued. See video below:

Thank You, Vets!

I have never been to a Veteran's Day parade, let alone in one. Well, today was my lucky day. Albany's family owned restaurant Brewsters had a float in the parade and I got to ride while Bobby drove the tractor. We tossed plastic Easter eggs (as Brewsters' "mascot" is a rooster) filled with candy and a coupon to the restaurant. Kids of course went bananas for anything being thrown their way. There were even some adults pushing and jostling to get an egg. Who knew they would be such a big deal?!? We even duped a high school kid into dressing up as a rooster for the parade. He made a pretty comical rooster, but the children loved him!

We rode all the way through the main street of downtown where the street was PACKED with people. I learned this morning that Albany's Veteran's Day Parade is the largest west of the Mississippi. Pretty impressive! Maybe one day it will grow as big as the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. :)

Dwayne, Stacey (Brewsters' proprietor and Bobby's cousin), Alex, Brian, & Emily on board our float!

Farmer Bob drives the tractor

The tractor all decked out and ready for the parade!

In all the hustle and bustle of getting organized and being in the parade it was easy to forget why we were celebrating. I just want to take the opportunity to thank all of our veterans and those who are currently serving our country. We would not be the amazing nation we are today without you. All our thoughts and prayers are with our military today. God bless our troops and Happy Veteran's Day!

In a Jam

One of my first activities at my new home in Oregon was to make jam. I was a little hesitant to take on this project, as I feared the amount of work would be overwhelming. Turns out, it was was super easy!

Using fresh picked blackberries (my personal favourite), we mixed the berries into almost a puree. After the berries were smooth, we added sugar, lots of sugar. Letting the blend stand for 10 minutes, we heated up the pectin and water to make a gel. The final step was to stir in the pectin to the berry mix and pour into containers! Et voila, blackberry jam!

Toast and biscuits taste so much better with a little homemade jam- especially since it came from my own two hands!

Don't mind the terrible hair, but you can see my stack of blackberry jam and the blackberries before they get mixed in with the pectin. Lip smackin' good!