Jesse

Jesse from Ellen Frasheski on Vimeo.


       For most of my life there has been at least one dog in our home except for a few short years while I was in college.  Growing up we had at one time a boxer named Humprey, two Miniature Poodles named Pepe and Charlie and then an Akita German Shepard mix named Nikki.

             When my Love and I had been married for a year and finally bought our first home I begged for a dog.  I had fallen in love with Shetland Sheepdogs after going to the Golden Gate Dog Show in San Francisco.  After that day I read up on Shelties to find out all I could about them.   My constant talk finally got the green light to get one.  I called the Northern California Sheltland Sheepdog Association for help on finding a breeder.  After a few calls from that connection I found one nearby.  Our first Sheltie we named Heidi.   She was 10 weeks old and I was in love.  I took her to dog school were she was smart as could be.  Shelties are truly an intelligent breed and learn quickly.   Heidi lived till the age of 12.


         When Heidi was around 7 we bought another Sheltie we named Tess.   I loved those two very much.  Two little dogs who followed me everywhere whether at play with our girls, cleaning house or doing yard work.  I would walk them tandom with the stroller around the neighborhood when the girls were young.  I was stopped often by children thinking they were "baby Lassie's".   When Heidi died I was blessed to still have Tess.  Sheltie's are extremely loyal to their owners but primarily to the one who trains them which was me.   Tess just picked up the slack without Heidi and became closer to me.    She was always alert keeping her eyes on me.   Tess was quite devoted to me and I to her.   When I was 7 months pregnant with R. Tess  suddenly developed  serious anemia and passed away at the age of 7.  I was shocked and distraught.   My "Little Shadow" as I had called her was gone.


          Months went by and though we had another dog who we all loved, our merry Golden Retriever Dixie, I felt lost without my shadow.   So when R. was three months old we found another Sheltie and brought him home.  We named him Jesse.   I have a thing for the runts of the litter.  Like Heidi and Tess, Jesse was the runt as well.   I was told I was crazy to get a puppy while I had a three month old baby.  I would pick R. up and pick Jesse up with the other arm to take him outside to housetrain him.  It really was easy to me.  Evey two to three hours I was breastfeeding R. and when I was done I would take Jesse outside.   As I said, Shelties are smart!  Dog school was a breeze where he was the smartest in the class.  R. and Jesse grew up together and though Dixie and R. bonded the most, Jesse was always nearby or in the mix.   


         Jesse's puffy tail with the white tip whipping around and around as he would "attempt" to herd R.  Well we know you can't herd a child but try telling that to Jesse!  


         When you own a dog you try not think of how long they will be a part of your life.   It is never long enough.  That true companionship where they come with you on vacations, go on hikes or walks, having them in family photos, simply being a part of the family.  

         Yet time marches on and that friend begins to age and slow down.  Walks become harder till they can't keep up.  One of the last trips Jesse was with us to Lake Tahoe and part way through our hike we had to carry him.  He just was too tired.  He began sleeping more and not always getting up with ease.  His breathing became labored with panting more.  The night he passed away I had made plans to take him to the vet the next morning.  He ate his dinner like normal though he was not steady on his feet and really just wanted to lay down.  His look on his sweet face was sad and I felt awful seeing him this way.  We went into watch some TV with R. and my Love on the couch along with our other dog a Chihuahua mix named Stewie and our Golden Annie on her dog bed.  Jesse came in with us and lay by the door.  He watched us for awhile and then we thought he was asleep.   When we got up later I called the dogs to go outside.  My sweet Jesse did not move.  I felt his little body and knew then he was gone.   Gone, gone from us.


          The peace I felt was that he died with his family near him where he was watching us.   He didn't have to be put to sleep which I had dreaded to have to do.   He was with his doggie friends and people family.  We all said our goodbyes to him that night.  


         I miss having a Sheltie.  It has been two years since Jesse died.  We have our Annie and Stewie who we love very much.  We play, walk and hike together and those two are just the best buddies to each other.  While I would love to have another Sheltie we just can't right now.   And you may ask why I need or want another dog let alone a Sheltie.  Until you have had one it is hard to explain that would make much sense.   Their sweet almond shaped eyes that melt when you look at them.   Their happy little gait and the way they run.  Yes they do bark but they bark for good reason!  When someone comes to the house, when they are playing but I never minded.   Yes they need to be brushed and often but what a glorious coat they have.   Yes they have teeth that seem to get dirty real easy even when they have bones to gnaw upon.  But my heart will always love them.   That loyal relationship of trust and friendship is like no other.


         Missing you Jesse...and all my doggie family....Heidi, Dixie, Tess....


       

Vacation Time.....

Hawaii 2008....my Love and son boogie boarding


     Vacation time for this family.....at last.   We had plenty of air miles on the card so our airfare is free....we found a condo that looks great and booked it months ago....and now tomorrow morning bright and early we are gone to Hawaii!  We need this vacation more than I can say, oh boy do we.  
     I won't be writing for awhile...9 days to be exact...hope I can read some blogs every once in awhile between my watching the ocean and reading a good book.  I will miss you all  that is for sure.
      Aloha!

Still Life...in a boy's room.....

  I was in my son's room changing sheets on his bed when I noticed he has such an interesting room.  It has distinct places in it that stood out as Still Life portraits.  

    This is what I saw......

 

His guitars and baseball bats.....

 

A laptop on the floor.....

The windowsill...of odds and ends.....

Trophies and childhood knick-knacks in the closet..... 

                  

       On the floor of his closet toys from years gone by.....

 Yep...the amp...and all the wires, headphone, guitar strap...

     His space, his cave....

     Tomorrow it could be different.  The guitar could be on the bed amongst a jumble of sheets and comforter.  I am use to finding guitar pics in the bed, on the floor and in the laundry.  IPod headphones find a home under the bed, in the sheets, or next to the amp.  Oddly today his clothes were not in sight...that is odd as they are usually on the floor, a trail of them discarded around his bed. He must have found the clothes hamper in the closet was still there. 

     Wires...so many wires!  I wonder if all this electricity between the guitars, the amp and the laptop will be bad on his growing 14 year old body...I think of the days when we played with blocks, trucks and cars....they were fun but nothing can beat the sound of him playing the guitar....nothing.

    

4th of July in my little town.....

I love my little town of Danville....

    Every year they do a 4th of July Parade and I do believe this year's was the best that I can remember in a long time.   There was way less political or real estate garbage which is just silly to have in ANY parade.  So here is a snippet of photos that I took....

 We had a Color Guard Group....

We had folks in silly outfits....

W

We had a Chinese Dragon Group....

W

 
We had WWII vets...

We had the Methodist Church who turned BBQing into a flying event with music and great team maneuvers....

Oh yes, we had more horses...these little ones I especially love....


We had old trucks....

We had old cars....

We had a Civil War Reenactment Group....

We had Scotsmen in kilts....

Yep...we had a Military Marching Band...

 And see that old house in the background?  I always thought that would have made a great Bed and Breakfast in the heart of our little town...but it became office space.  At least it was restored and not torn down.

  Yes, it was a lovely day with warm sunshine and a bit of a breeze to cool oneself off just when you thought it was getting too warm.  The kids were enjoying the tossing of candy from the parade folks.  There were small American flags passed out which of course I had to collect for decoration on my table for our BBQ that day.  It was the biggest crowd I have seen in a number of years.  

   Did I say I love my town?  It's a day like this that I am happy they do control the type of buildings on our main street.  Vintage style and nothing over two stories.  Trees lined streets all the way down...dog friendly, and plenty of quaint shops that amazingly are still in business even with the downturn of the economy...

   Hope you all had a great 4th of July!

Granola Recipe you will keep!

     A very dear person shared this absolutely yummy granola recipe with me.  It is so very easy to make and yes it is healthy!   While many granola recipes have either lots of oil, sugar or butter this one does not.  


                   Everyday Granola


3 cups old-fashioned organic oats
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
3 T. packed brown sugar
3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1/3 cup honey
2 T. vegetable oil


Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.  Line rimmed large baking sheet with parchment.  Mix first 7 ingredients in large bowl.  

Stir honey and oil in saucepan over medium-low heat until smooth.  Pour honey mixture over oat mixture; toss.

Spread on prepared sheet.  Bake until golden, stirring every 10 minutes, about 40 minutes.


Stir granola; cool.  

     I mean...how easy is that?  The fun creative part is deciding what else you might want to add after it has baked.  Dried fruits such as cherries, cranberries come to mind.  I also thought of adding Bob's Red Mill flaked coconut which reminds me of another favorite item I find unbelievably divine though it is a bit pricey.  I only buy it when I find it on sale.  It is from a company called Dorset Cereals.  My favorite one is called Fantastically Fruity Roasted & Toasted Muesli.  I think using some of the items used in that brand would be perfect in this granola.

I like to use either Trader Joe's Organic oats or Bob's Red Mill Extra Thick Oats.

  

The possibilities are unlimited so enjoy!  Oh, and of course this goes wonderfully on top of homemade yogurt with fresh summer fruit on top.

This little light of mine

I have a new addiction....not what you think!  My dear friend K. and I have gone to many an Antique Fair where we walk for hours searching for what snatches our interest (or heart!).  She being way more experienced than I,  is quite the haggler...which I do enjoy overhearing from time to time.  Your secret is kept K. on your special technique!  K. has found some incredible deals of silver, tarnished where I thought it was okay but thinking could it ever polish up all pretty...only to have her shine it up and Voila! it becomes a unique and beautiful find.  And then I remember the steal of a price she paid for it... smart woman that K.

"I don't need anymore silver...." I say this often as she does find some dandy items.  I do have an ongoing search for silver baby cups.  But it does have to be a special one.  With engraving, or it must be simple adorable that my heart sighs when I see it.  I have a dear friend who found one at a antique shop in her home town that had "Beloved" engraved on it.  What a find...I too would like to find one like that.  I mean really...what a dear family or friend to have put "Beloved" on a baby cup.  Of course that wee baby was going to be beloved!   Still, how did it wind up in an antique shop?  Why would anyone give up a cup with that one sweet and loving word?  Yes, I do have that search on but I haven't found one baby cup to date that cries out for me.  K. keeps helping me though.

I also have the search on for Blue Willow dishes.  Once again I am looking for special pieces.  I don't want anymore teacups.  I look for bowls or serving pieces.  Dinner dishes too but I haven't found any great deals on those.  K. discovered a lovely vegetable dish with a lid that I was so happy to buy.  I have found some deals from time to time and bring them home as though I have been on a treasure hunt.

My new search is an odd one....I don't know what made me decide to search these out but now I think I am a bit over the moon for oil lamps.  Yes, oil lamps.   I hadn't thought about these until I noticed how cute some of them were.   So now K. is helping me find these and of course it has to be a deal and it has to call my name.  It has to be pretty and unusual.  I think this could be dangerous as all this oil in my house in these cute little lamps is flammable!   Still I am very careful and they are only on my hutch to be used inside or outside over dinner.  

   
So this is what I have now.  The ceramic one is a lamp we bought 14 years ago while on a trip to Drakesbad.   Every night when we ate dinner they had these little oil lamps on the table.  There was minimal electricity at this Guest Ranch and the glow from this lamp with my family all around brings many happy memories of that family vacation.  The three glass ones are my finds from the past three Antique Fair trips.

  

This is the largest one I have.  It has a lovely glow that spreads more light than the others.  I love the beading work around the base and it has some raised designs above the beading as well.  Plus it came with the wick which was nice.  It was going for $19 and I got it for $16. 

  This little cutie K. spotted for me.  The design it has is called a Thumbprint design because of the little dimples it has all around it.  Plus it is blue and blue is my favorite color!







The little frosted chimney I thought
was real pretty too.  This one I paid $14 for.  It 
might be small but it is quite unique.   

 My last one is real tiny.  It has been through a life of being knocked around as it isn't in the best of shape.

   The detail on the base is full of design work and it has an itty bitty handle that only little hands could hold.  I small chip on it but thankfully not broken. It's base design reminds me of a zipper look.   It's chimney has a fluted rim that goes well with the base.  I do need to replace the brass neck area as the turn knob for the wick doesn't go up or down as it should.  Bit of a problem for when you need to raise the wick.  This small size of neck and the wicks it uses are called "pixie" size.  I can find wicks but the neck I will have to look for at another Antique Fair or on ebay.  Oh well....it was just begging to have me bring it home.  I think I paid $12 for this one.







I can't wait to see what treasures K. and I find on our next antique hunting trip....and I can work on my haggling too.  

Unicorns...evil ads

When my girls were teens we rented this wonderful movie called "Legend".    A very young Tom Cruise was in the movie though that is not why I loved it.  My daughters and I were captivated by the fairy tale story of a lovely young girl, the damsel in distress and the magical story that unfolded. Of the Dark Lord who wants the lovely Mia Sara, our damsel in distress, for his own and wants to destroy the last unicorns which would make a world of darkness all over.  Evil....yes....

For me, seeing those two beautiful white unicorns that appeared running downstream, playfully tossing their lustrous long white manes and tail that made me melt.  I could watch that scene over and over wishing to ride them.  Such are dreams!  The filming was simple lovely to watch, so many magical scenes.  Even the evil parts filled the part of the story you had to endure though painful as it was.  We knew our damsel would be saved, we knew the happy ending would come!

Then what did I see in on the internet the other day?  This awful joke of  Unicorn Meat!!!!   I mean really who would come up with this sick idea?  Joke or not I was disgusted.   This is how they describe it (gag!)......

Unicorns, as we all know, frolic all over the world, pooping rainbows and marshmallows wherever they go. What you don't know is that when unicorns reach the end of their lifespan, they are drawn to County Meath, Ireland. The Sisters at Radiant Farms have dedicated their lives to nursing these elegant creatures through their final days. Taking a cue from the Kobe beef industry, they massage each unicorn's coat with Guinness daily and fatten them on a diet comprised entirely of candy corn.

As the unicorn ages, its meat becomes fatty and marbled and the living bone in the horn loses density in a process much like osteoporosis. The horn's outer layer of keratin begins to develop a flavor very similar to candied almonds. Blending the crushed unicorn horn into the meat adds delightful, crispy flavor notes in each bite. We are confident you will find a world of bewilderment in every mouthful of scrumptious unicorn meat.

So gag again....funny...not so with me the unicorn lover!  Seriously they say it sparkles!  So I will try not to think of that but set my eyes and heart on this instead...... I may just have to watch this movie real soon to get my fantasy dreams fulfilled and have sweet dreams....