Lab in an Elevator

 

Lorelei - our latest Lab Rescue (released from a breeder to a rescue group when she quit producing enough puppies) has been a joy these last two years.  She was six when we got her, had no idea what "grass" was or playtime or couches.  She's now spoiled rotten and Abby Lab treats her well, no jealousy between our "girls".

But this summer she suddenly stopped going up the back steps. X rays revealed severe arthritis in her back hips, probably from years of inbreeding in her lineage.What to do? Our house is on a walk-out basement so there is no way into the home except going up steps. We had to use a harness and lift her up, not easy even with two of us as she's the biggest Lab I've ever owned, weighing in at well over 100 pounds.  When Partner in Grime is on the road there is no way I can get her in and out of the house.  The stairs are too steep for a ramp up to the top but there was no way I was going to rehome her to a place with no steps.  Quick. . . a winch, some wood, and an engineer with a sandwich-making sidekick - we have a doggie elevator!

It plugs into an existing outlet and the whole setup can be removed from the steps if need be for major snow removal (so no required building permit).

I present. . Lab in an Elevator

Weekly Range Readings - "The Blue Man" by John L. Moore

 

And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.

 - Daniel 12:3

From the book blurb:  “Ezra Riley is a hardened Montana cowboy who prefers the hills, cattle, and horses to cities, but his unique gift for dream interpretation has him secretly taken to the White House where the President is suffering from recurring nightmares. Riley's encounter with the President launches a series of attacks by the man behind the nightmares, William Anderson Hall, an elderly master spy and a pioneer in the CIA's experiments with psychic powers and hallucinogens. In his remote Virginia compound, Hall has invested 30 years and millions of dollars in creating Blue Man, the ultimate psychic warrior”.

I’ve read the story of Ezra Riley in Mr. Moore’s superlative earlier books in the Ezra Riley series.  Although they are not integral to understanding the character and storyline in this, his latest work, they helped me better see the Montana landscape, rough and hewn, that shaped Ezra in every way.  I’ve watched the land as it challenged him, tried him, and occasionally attempted to kill him and in this book, we see him at his finest, poet, cowboy, a soul like forged steel housed in an aging body

This work defies an average description.  It’s a taut thriller, it’s a eulogy to a way of life that some say is dying out, it’s a halleluiah to God and the nation founded under Him, it’s a Christian view of a spiritual war fought not by flesh and blood but by dominions and ideologies.  In a great thriller, evil is disarmed, and in this, a thriller with a Christian theme, evil, as well, is defeated with the help of a solid man and a really good horse.

But Ezra is not the only one with a gift, that of prophecy, much like Daniel of the Bible.  The Blue Man is also gifted, but not by one that guides and guards but those that seek only to control and destroy. When circumstances put Ezra in the crosshairs of a President’s dream, and an adversary’s dark purpose the reader just needs to hold on for the ride.  Add into the mix an ex-champion bronco-rider buddy on a Clydesdale, and your CIA level skullduggery you’ve got non-pause action, allowing you only to take in that breath as you comprehend just how deep conspiracies lie.

I won’t put any spoilers here.  But for those of us who view Ezra as almost supernatural in his abilities, the climax where Ezra fights for his life as the Blue Man goes to claim the world as he now knows it had me catch my breath.  When Ezra’s interoperation of the President’s dream was made known I had to just sit and think how true that interpretation can be in today’s world - a world that still holds its promises as it has men like Ezra Riley in it.  - Brigid

https://www.amazon.com/Blue-Man-John-L-Moore/dp/1647193508/

 

John L. Moore, an award-winning novelist and journalist has published seven novels, several non-fiction books, and over 2000 articles, poems, short stories, columns, and reviews in scores of literary, Western, Christian, livestock, and equine publications. A third-generation Montana rancher, his work is noted for authenticity and vivid descriptions. He is best known for his western classic, "The Breaking of Ezra Riley," the winner of several awards. His sixth novel, "Looking for Lynne" won the silver medal in the 2015 Will Rogers Medallion Award for Western Fiction. His seventh novel is "Blue Man."

Moore and his wife, Debra, live on the family ranch north of Miles City, Montana. Active in ministry for over 25 years, Moore has appeared in four documentaries because of his knowledge of the history of horses on the Northern Great Plains. He is a member of the Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame and the Montana ProRodeo Hall of Fame.

Leveling the Playing Field

Last night was Mexican Train night.  Partner in Grime has been on the road a lot the last month so when he got home a few days ago, it was to a home-cooked meal as his traveling food lately has been limited to canned soup, and sandwiches but at least with no international travel due to COVID he missed out on the pub in Northern England I refer to as "The Grease and Weasel".

Let's play Mexican Train!

The object of the game is for a player to play all the dominoes from his or her hand onto one or more tracks emanating from a central hub or "station", matching the number on one end of the domino with the number on the last piece played on a track. If you can't play, you draw from the remaining train yard of dominoes on each turn, until you can play, making getting rid of all your dominoes (the goal) a challenge. If you can't play on your "track" (which is private until you can't play on it) you put your train out at the end of it, showing it's no longer a private train and other players can play on your now public track.  When you can play on it, your track and train go private again. There are a few other rules, but that's the basics of it. Two can play or more.  I have a set that plays four easily with "double twelves" making for a lot of numbers to keep track of in your head.

It's fun as there is always the "chance" element, the luck of the draw, but if you know how many of each domino are issued, what's on the board, and based on what they couldn't play on and had to draw, what your opponent does NOT have in their trainyard, you can block many a move. Adding the strategy worthy of a board war game with the element "what the mumble mumble did I just DRAW!" just makes it fun all around.

Usually, Partner and I are on level playing fields with games.  Not for last night's games,

A representation of my first game

 And my second.

Wow, look at the time!  I think I need to go make dinner!

click on food photos to enlarge

 Mexican Train Casserole (otherwise known as Southwest Lasagna Casserole ).

The recipe appears detailed but it's very easy and almost impossible to mess up.  Layered with tortillas instead of lasagna noodles, roasted corn (I got lazy and used Trader Joe's frozen roasted corn) and lots of pre-shredded cheese and beef in a sauce spiced with homemade enchilada sauce, it's easy. All you have to do really is whip up the sauce, cook the beef and assemble. You can even make it ahead of time, just heat it an extra 10 minutes.

Add some  Stone Ground Corn Muffins  and you'll be all set.

These are moist  inside with the heartiness of the stone-ground corn and a decided crunch to the outside that's like the crispy edge of cornbread baked in cast iron (and much cheaper to make than the box kind)

If you haven't played the Mexican Train Dominoes game, give it a try.  If you are looking for something for supper, this is a meal you can't derail.

Plus it's easy to make leaving you time to do something a little more successful than the Mexican train game after supper.

Happiness is a Warm Cookie

Look closely at the photo----------->

Someone was trying to quietly raid the homemade cookies.

This picture makes me smile. On the wall at Dad's was a platter that my Uncle the Boeing engineer brought back from a business trip to Iran back in the late '50s or '60s.   He had told my Dad that it was a serving plate, covered with olives and all sorts of tidbits and they gave him the platter as a gift.  I went to snap a photo and only after enlarging it, did I see someone in the kitchen pilfering a cookie.

As is often the case, when I went to visit,  Dad only had packaged cookies from the store, made out of special Keebler Kevlar, so I usually made a batch when I popped in for a visit, and cousin L. always brought a big bag up when she visited.

On the trip the photo was taken, Dad was a little low on chips, sugar, and real butter. so for this recipe I added in some sour cream for moistness, and a hint of cardamom and orange zest to accent the reduced dark chocolate.  It made a soft, almost cake-like cookie that Dad raved about.

2 cups flour
1 and 1/2  tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
pinch of sea salt
1/2 tsp cardamom
1 tsp. orange zest (the finely grated outer peel of an orange)
1/2 cup butter, gently melted so it's mostly liquid but not real hot
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup sour cream (not "lite")
1 cup dark chocolate chips.

Preheat oven to 375 F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (or grease it well, even if non stick).

In a large bowl, with a hand mixer, cream together the melted butter, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Beat in eggs and sour cream until well blended.

Sift together flour, baking soda, salt, and cardamom, stir into the butter mixture. Mix in the orange zest and dark chocolate chips.

Drop dough by heaping tablespoons 3 inches apart on cookie sheets. Bake 13 to 15 minutes, until lightly golden brown. These will be soft, lightly colored cookies so do NOT overbake. Let cool on wire rack

That trip, Dad didn't get a fancy platter, but after his late afternoon snack of cookies, he did get a small martini and both remotes so he was a happy man.

Good memories. 

Sunday Home on the Range Book Roundup

For my book-loving friends, I'm adding a weekly review of a book I've enjoyed.  I've been blessed to be friends both on and off social media with so many gifted writers, J.L. Curtis, Peter and Dorothy Grant (both brilliant writers), Katie Andraski, Lawdog, John L. Moore (his superlative new piece The Blue Man will be highlighted next week), and so many others.  

But I'd like to introduce authors you may not have read yet.  I love a good thriller and police procedural type book.  Some I just shake my head at, given my background (they did WHAT to the crime scene?) and others are so over the top implausible I might as well read science fiction.  

This is an author I met through a writer's group, a former police officer with a series involving law enforcement "across the pond" that is deeply engaging and his newest book is no exception.  I won't give anything away, but this is a haunting book, in that you almost wish the killer gets away with it until a line is crossed.  Whatever your personal opinion of their motivations the words will stay with you, creating an image etched upon your eyelids for you to see every time you blink. I'd recommend reading it with the lights on.  

Amazon book link

mybook.to/killingevillink

Book Blurb

You've done a bad thing. You will pay the price.

Alice Granger is no ordinary survivor. She has a tale to tell, a story of revenge.

Alice feels driven to protect the innocent from dangerous men. Men like her father. Men who hurt children. Predators who prey on the innocent. And there’s nothing Alice won’t do to make them pay.

Alice wants to make them suffer as their victims did. But the police are one step behind. And as the net closes, Alice’s life spirals out of control, the lines between good and evil becoming ever more blurred as she attempts to escape capture.

When the hunted becomes the hunter, is anyone innocent?

Author Bio

John Nicholl, an ex-police officer, social worker and lecturer, is the award-winning, Amazon bestselling author of 11 darkly psychological suspense thrillers. John’s books are set in the UK and have a Welsh flavour. He began writing after leaving his job heading up child protection services.

John's English language books are published by leading crime and thriller publisher - Bloodhound Books - part of American company - Open Road Integrated Media (OR/M).