Basil is a Young Sportsman

mazel dog

by spabettie on January 29, 2012

in Basil is a Young Sportsman,dachshund

Basil got a new tee shirt yesterday.

My recent schedule has me staying up late nights, where Basil and I have been enjoying Andy Cohen and Watch What Happens Live. I love this show, I love Andy – and a good amount of levity is brought to my day. Laughing feels good.

The other night while watching, I now admit to some impulse shopping.

Basil was the lucky recipient of my impulse shopping this time.

Basil now understands black outfits show every little thing. Darn dog hair.

Today’s word of the day?

Mazel Dog!

 

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life

by spabettie on January 20, 2012

in Basil is a Young Sportsman,Portland,yard & garden

I have had plenty of perspective – giving moments this week.

I don’t want to get into many details, but I want to explain my absence this week and what will most likely follow for a while.

Dad went into the hospital a week ago today.

Before we left for Mexico over the holidays, he was to have his third and final surgery – the most important one. This did not happen, due to complications.

Last Friday we found out those complications are cancer.

He was admitted to prepare for chemo – instead there are more complications – he has spent most of the week in ICU with pneumonia.

Needless to say, everything else in life just stops – my main focus right now is my dad, and getting him better.

I am also watching our yard fill with water.

The rain, and the lessons in perspective, can stop now. We have had enough.

I miss you all – I miss the daily interaction here and out there – I bring my laptop to the hospital and check in when I can.

Go hug your loved ones for me, okay?

 

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Basil is a smart pup.

He has a touch of separation anxiety, and hates to be left alone. We have this retro style couch that sits on tall legs, and when he sees us put shoes and coats on, he slinks under the couch. We crate him when we are out, thus the couch slinking.

Sometimes I can grab his leash to take him on a short walk before I leave, and he will come running.

Yesterday he was onto me – he wouldn’t budge. Not for a walk, not even for a peanut butter spoon.

Yes, sometimes a spoon into his peanut butter jar is an effective bribe.

Yes, Basil has his own peanut butter jar. It has his name on it. He eats peanut butter out of a Kong, and sometimes double dipping happens.

He needs his own jar.

I made a great sauce for these salad rolls, using the other peanut butter jar. The one for the humans.

tempeh edamame salad rolls

vegan, gluten free

makes 6 rolls

1 block tempeh
3 tablespoons ginger sesame peanut dressing (recipe below)
1 tablespoon black sesame seeds
6 rice paper wrappers

2 cups edamame
2 cups cabbage slaw

Spread ginger sesame peanut dressing over tempeh, sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely. Cut into six strips, one for each roll.

Meanwhile, prep ingredients for easy assembly – have one large round plate to roll on, one large plate with water to dip wrappers in.

To make spring roll: dip rice paper in warm water for 5 seconds*. Place on plate, crumble one tempeh strip down middle, leaving one inch on each end and 2-3 inches on each side. Layer 1/6 edamame and slaw over tempeh. Fold the one inch ends over and press down, so the rice paper sticks to itself. Turn to one long end and begin rolling tightly, folding over and rolling completely closed.

*After 5 seconds the rice paper will still feel firm – this is normal, do not soak longer. It continues to soften and is easy to work with if only soaked 5 seconds. Longer soaking may result in holes or tears in the rice paper.

Serve with ginger sesame peanut dressing as a dipping sauce. You could also drizzle it over the roll filling before rolling.

ginger sesame peanut dressing

dairy and gluten free, vegan

1/3 cup peanut butter
2 tablespoons soy sauce (organic tamari gluten free)
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 inch fresh ginger, grated
1 tablespoon black sesame seeds 

Combine all ingredients in blender at high speed. Store in refrigerator if there are leftovers.

Basil eventually came out from under the couch yesterday. After I moved it.

 

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yeeeeoooow!

January 8, 2012

HAPPY SUNDAY! Basil says. Bookmark on Delicious Digg this post Recommend on Facebook share via Reddit Share with Stumblers Tweet about it Subscribe to the comments on this post

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Basil greetings

December 24, 2011

Basil’s favorite perch, watching me bake holiday goodies in the kitchen. Wishing a wonderful holiday weekend to you and yours. Cheers!   Bookmark on Delicious Digg this post Recommend on Facebook share via Reddit Share with Stumblers Tweet about it Subscribe to the comments on this post

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Thundershirt

November 10, 2011

Isn’t Basil sweet? In this photo, he was watching the side door for Jason to come walking through it. Basil is a rescue pup, we adopted him a few years ago, when he was 5. He has a few nervous quirks left over from a life not so happy. One is a heart-wrenching separation anxiety. [...]

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mini vacation

October 30, 2011

Happy Halloween! We are currently enjoying a mini vacation – we drove up to Seattle on Friday. On Saturday, Jason spent the day at a music conference. Basil and I spent the day walking around Seattle. Well, Basil walked some, was carried a lot. Basil is not a city dog – he is not used [...]

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daily deals

October 23, 2011

How cute is that table? I know someone who would agree with me. I already have a dachshund on my couch, but I love this. After my Joss and Main giveaway, I had conversations with a couple different readers, sharing our favorite daily deals sites. Some are better than others, and I definitely have my [...]

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happy anniversary, Basil

September 20, 2011

Yesterday was our third anniversary of bringing Basil home. September 19, 2008 we adopted this sweetie through Oregon Dachshund Rescue. He had been living with a foster family, and after a long week of application process, he was ours! As Basil is known for his fun Halloween costumes, we celebrated with a new one. This [...]

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Joss & Main giveaway

September 7, 2011

I don’t know who to award it to, but isn’t a pink trophy fun? If you have been reading spabettie for a while, you probably know I like to shop, and can make a consumer experience out of most events (a recent example would be the Street of Dreams, where I found several items I [...]

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