waiting patiently

Then not so much...
Murray loves chasing after things. This neon frisbee is a particular favorite. He'll even sit & stay for it when I tell him to. For a minute, anyway. I'm hoping to expand that minute to 5 when we finish taking the obedience class I just signed us up for..."Bachelor of Arfs." What a name...lol.

haircut #2

There hasn't been too many exciting things happening in Murray's or my life recently, so this post is just to chronicle his latest haircut. Timing and money just haven't been good, and it was getting almost to the point of his previous haircut, which, if you recall, was that he was so matted, they were forced to shave all his hair off.

Well, the other night, a group of us from work had gone out to dinner, and while we were talking, it came up that one of the guys' daughters had started up her own dog grooming business. One thing led to another, and Murray & I found ourselves at her place yesterday. I came prepared with pictures. I'm sure they were thinking I was like one of those woman who goes into a beauty shop with a picture they cut out of a magazine and expects the stylist to make them look just like it...ain't gonna happen. It's just that I didn't want to go through the same debacle as last time. So, I showed them before and after pictures, as well as one that approximated how I liked his hair to look, trimmed around his face, but still scruffy looking the rest of his body.

Two hours later, I got a call that he was done. I was leery of walking in, not sure what to expect. Overall, he looked pretty good. Though, she trimmed too much around his eyes, and took way too much off his best features...his eyelashes and his ears. They'll grow back, soon, I hope. Here's what he looks like today:

If you click on the picture to enlarge it, you may be able to make out the side-part she gave him, where his hair used to stand up. Gives him almost a debonair look that reminds me of the dog in the recent movie who plays a movie actor that has all these different wigs that he wears (can't remember the name of it).

At first, I was thinking the cut around his face was like the typical schnauzer cut, but I changed my mind. I think it's more like the typical westy look (west highland terrier), which I prefer over the schnauzer, but not over his shaggy look. Oh well, at least it's not matted anymore, and it'll grow back.

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On a side note, this morning Murray did something on command, which I had tried teaching him a long time ago and gave up on it months ago. I said, "go get your leash," not really expecting him to, but trying to keep him occupied while I was putting on my sneakers. Darn if he didn't go over to it. And so, I kept encouraging him - "get it, Murray, get it," and he put it in his mouth. "WOW," I thought. "Ok, bring it here, Muray, bring it here." The next thing I know, he's pulling it off the chair, somehow wrapping it around his neck, and he came prancing over to me with it.

Hmmmmm...maybe that was all just a dream. After all, I really was only half-awake. That's the only thing that could explain it.

not as bad as it looks

Sweet, little, adorable Murray:

The same sweet, little, adorable doggie playing with his cousin:

Murray doesn't let the fact that his cousin is four times his size deter him from having some "fun." In fact, it is that much more fun because his cousin is so much bigger, as evidenced by the following video:

murray gets his first bath

...at least, the first one at the hands of his mommy, and he did surprisingly well.

Why I chose tonight to do it, I don't know. I'm not even feeling all that well. Maybe the fact that his grandmother said he stunk yesterday had something to do with it. lol...she's gonna kill me for putting that in print, but it's true nonetheless. I should add that she also said that she was surprised, because she doesn't ever remember him smelling anything but pleasant (am I forgiven, mom??)

Murray wasn't overjoyed when his paws touched the water in the tub, but I purposely didn't put it that high, since it was his first time, and I wanted to ease him into it. I even figured it might just be a water bath, as I wasn't sure he would stand for being soaped up, let alone rinsed off. When things seemed to be going halfway decent, I decided to give the shampoo a go. Although his chin area really needed it, I decided to avoid his face on this first go-round.

Trying to rinse the soap out of his hair was probably the worst part of the whole thing, as by that time, he'd just about had enough and was trying to escape. He enjoyed the toweling off, though, which he always does, even after coming in from a rainstorm. He thinks it's a game and starts attacking the towel.

Using a towel only does so much, though. So, I decided to try blow-drying him. After all, he's made it a habit to come into the bathroom while I'm drying my own hair, almost asking me to turn it towards him, which I do even if I am running late. I think he likes it, because it reminds him of car rides with the window down. Anyway, he loved the blow-drying and kept circling to help me out. Well, really, to try and nip at my fingers that were running through his hair, but I pretended like I didn't notice that :)

So, one successful bath down, many more to follow. Oh, and a bonus...when I went under the kitchen sink to get his shampoo, I discovered a whole box of dog cookies that his grandmom and cousin Oscar gave him for Christmas. I completely forgot I put them down there. Murray is one happy boy!

the best thing since sliced bread

...that's how Murray views a trip down to the basement. As soon as he sees me bundling up my laundry, his tail gets to waggin', and he races me to the door, not wanting me to leave him behind. Acting as if it is a real treat to go down there.

The funny thing is, when I first moved into this old house, I had a fear of going down into the basement. But it was either go down there or have to take my clothes to the laundromat and pay to clean them, so I begrudgingly went down those steps week after week, the fear never really going away.

Then one day, while traipsing up and down, I saw this:



It inspired me to write the following:

The day was dreary...rainy, cold and windy. I had just come up from the basement with my laundry in my hand, doing my best to duck the raindrops. As I entered my apartment, I turned to close my back door and spotted this beautiful rainbow. It reminded me how often wonderful things have followed bleak times in my life, and that if we persevere, we'll get to see the rainbow at the end.

It also gave me a different perspective of the basement.

That's what looking at the world through Murray's eyes has done for me too. Seeing it so fresh...so new. I can't imagine my life without him now.

when something becomes a habit

I think Murray's been talking to Oscar (his doggie cousin). You see, Oscar has Mom trained now to take him for a walk around the neighborhood at the crack of dawn, every morning, even in the coldest of weather. Oh sure, it's good for her, I'll admit, but you know, there are days you just want to veg. He won't let her do that. And he's one persistent fellow when he wants something, so just to shut him up, you'll do it (I know...he's got me trained to do stuff too).

Well, I thought I'd outsmart Murray...train him not to expect anything on a regular basis, other than to go outside to do his business. But something must've gone wrong with my plan, or Oscar gave him a pep talk, because the past two mornings, Murray has shown definite signs that he was waiting to go for a walk. He stood his ground where IF we go for a walk, we usually take off from, and he just stared at me. And when I asked him what he wanted, he just smiled at me and wagged his tail. How could I say no to that?

So, why is it so easy for them to train us, but when we want them to do something simple, like roll over, it's like pulling teeth???

christmas happenings

Last Monday, I arranged my first event at my new job...a holiday party for 24 at a local restaurant. It was important to me to have it come out perfect, because ummmmmm...well, because I really want to impress them so that they want to keep me. There was one hiccup, but otherwise it was a big success...Woo Hoo!

Last Monday was also Murray's first sleepover without me. Mom was kind enough to offer to watch him so that I could have a good time at the party and not worry about him. From what Mom said, he was a good little boy. Though, she could've done without his bony feet digging into her when he decided to wake her up by walking on her chest.

Another highlight so far this Christmas season was going over to Mom's house on Sunday to learn how to make her pierogies, which are a Christmas Eve tradition in our family. I asked my 12-year-old niece Christine to join us, and we had a great time. Murray was getting a bit underfoot, literally and figuratively, so I put him and his cousin Oscar out in the backyard. I got so involved in the cooking and writing down the recipe that I didn't even hear their barking. Mom finally went down to let them in and discovered it had been pouring and that they were soaked. Oops. Oh well, at least the temperature wasn't too bad.

That's all so far. Murray and I will be sleeping over Mom's for Christmas Eve. I'll fill you in on what Santa brings him. In the meanwhile, here's Mom's recipe for pierogies, which is very detailed because, what can I say, I'm anal...lol. I've added pictures of the different steps at the very end, which you can click on to enlarge.

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PIEROGIES

Pierogies are a semi-circular stuffed dumpling, which have strong ties to the Slavic culture.

Pierogies have become a Christmas Eve tradition in our family. Though, Mom makes them periodically throughout the year too. They can be made with other fillings, but we usually eat them with a mashed potato filling.

This is the recipe that was handed down to my mother from her mother-in-law (my grandmother), who was born of Ukrainian decent. Mom usually makes it by touch and sight, so the measurements are just estimates.

The following is a recipe suited for large gatherings, such as Christmas time. For a smaller meal, you'll want to half the quantities. Please note: you probably could make the mashed potatoes beforehand, but what's written below is how Mom does it, all intermixed.

• Peel and cut up potatoes and boil them in a small pot until they are soft when pierced with a fork
• At the same time, put a large pot of water to boil for the pierogies
• For dough, whisk 4 eggs in a large mixing bowl, add 3 teaspoons of salt and fill bowl half full of water. Continue to whisk and start adding all-purpose flour until consistency is too hard to keep stirring
• Put big handfuls of flour onto your work surface and add part of the dough. Gather in flour and knead dough until it is tacky not sticky
• When you think dough is ready, prepare it for rolling out by pressing down once, flip it, and press down once more
• Remember to check potatoes for doneness
• Roll out dough until the right thickness, flipping it periodically and rolling it in multiple directions, aiming for it to be round and about 1/16" to 1/8" thick (Note: If dough forms holes as you're rolling it out, it wasn't kneaded enough. So, just roll it all back together, add some flour, and knead some more before trying to roll it out again)
• Using a hamburger maker or a glass that's about 3" in circumference, cut as many circles out of the rolled-out dough as you can
• While waiting for the potatoes to finish cooking, put the circles aside, flipping them over so that the side covered in flour is against the table. Also put the spare dough aside to be re-used later
• You'll keep repeating rolling out the dough and then cutting the circles, but in the meanwhile, the potatoes should be done cooking, and you have to stop and make the mashed potatoes
• For mashed potatoes, drain the water out of the potato pot, add salt, pepper, 8 slices of american cheese, 2 sticks of butter, cover & let melt. Beat until smooth, not lumpy. (Note: Don't add milk like you might usually do for mashed potatoes, as they won't be the right consistency for the pierogi filling)
• Put about a tablespoon of potatoes into each circle of dough you cut out, fold over, and really pinch the ends together so that no openings can be seen, use some flour if you need to
• To cook pierogies, gently place 10-15 pierogies at a time into the boiling water, stir gently to make sure they are not sticking to bottom of pot or each other. They will float to the top when done, in approximately 8 minutes. Use slotted spoon to remove, put in strainer and rinse with cold water, cool, then rinse a 2nd time. (Note: The 2nd rinsing is really important, otherwise you'll wind up with just one big lump of dough) Keep repeating this until all the pierogies are done cooking.
• To serve, some people like to eat them at this point, either plain or with butter. We'll sometimes sample them, but usually when they'll totally cool, we'll place them in a plastic tub and then later on fry them up in some oil and serve them plain with butter or with fried onions. Other serving options include mushrooms and sour cream.

Some additional notes:

• You can re-use the leftover dough from cutting out the circles by combining it all together, add a small amount more of flour, roll out and cut circles. But anything leftover after that should be thrown out, as it will contain too much flour to be good.
• You can make the pierogies a day or two ahead of time if you're going to eventually fry them.
• While Mom was teaching my niece Christine and I how to make these, it took us about 1 to 1 1/2 hours to make them. We didn't count them, but we probably made between 50-60 pierogies from this batch.