*o, pish posh!* - olde tymey blogging since twenty aught six

7.20.02 – 2.26.10

He came into our lives to fill a hole. When Max died I thought I could never love another dog. But then came a poodle named Seriously Alejandro. Our sweet, funny, ridiculous Alex.

Alex never had any idea that he was a big dog. He sat in laps. He jumped up to greet guests. If you’ve ever been to Casa Pish Posh, you may have only known him as a deep bark from the master bedroom. It’s not that he was bad — he was just big. We didn’t want him to knock you over. But seriously, he was a sweetheart.

When Zoe came along life changed a bit. And when Pea came along, he was confused and perturbed. Their love / hate relationship tilted more toward the love side. Maybe because of all the crumbs she dropped on the ground.

Though he was named for his serious face as a pup, Alex grew up silly. We called him Alex, or Alex Pudl, or The Pudl, or occasionally Sweet Buddy Buddy.

Alex left us yesterday. He wasn’t quite eight years old, but we enjoyed every year he spent with us. I loved having a dog who was big enough to hug.

Good boy, Alex. We love you.

¶ Posted 27 February 2010 † Shauna R. § photographs § poodles ‡ Comments (8) °

words for 2010

Last year I chose two words to define my year.

GROW

RESIST.

While these words certainly applied to my life and experiences in 2009, it wasn’t in the way I expected them to. I’m going with verbs again for 2010. This year I want to learn to

LISTEN

WAIT.

As if I really have any choice.

¶ Posted 31 December 2009 † Shauna R. § just me ‡ Comments (1) °

our christmas wish to you

I am sad to say that we didn’t mail out Christmas cards this year. If we had, it might have looked like this.

I hope that your Christmas is full of peace and magic.

¶ Posted 24 December 2009 † Shauna R. § celebrations § photographs ‡ Comments (3) °

baking day

She ate more Hershey’s Kisses than we put in the cookies.
She tried to slice open a lemon with a Very Sharp Knife when I stepped out of the kitchen.
She got sugar on the table, sugar on the floor, sugar on the dogs.

But we were together, mother and daughter. We laughed, we sang, and we baked. We used a stick of butter for a microphone. Sang “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” by bokking like chickens. Multiple verses.

Totally worth the mess.

¶ Posted 18 December 2009 † Shauna R. § Pea § celebrations § photographs § yum! ‡ Comments (3) °

costumes through the years

Because you fine people seem to enjoy a good retrospective…

6 months:

1.5 years:

2.5 years:

3.5 years:

4.5 years:

¶ Posted 01 November 2009 † Shauna R. § Pea § celebrations § photographs ‡ Comments (5) °

through the years at walden farm

2006

2007

2008

2009

¶ Posted 26 October 2009 † Shauna R. § Pea § photographs ‡ Comments (6) °

cheesus loves you

It started when my friend FuR mentioned a Portland, Oregon restaurant called The Grilled Cheese Grill on Facebook. I’m a fan of most things that involve melted cheese, so I clicked over to read the menu. That’s where I found the Cheesus Burger. A big fat burger sandwiched between two delicious grilled cheese sandwiches. (The pickles and grilled onions are on the sandwiches, so they can’t slip off. Brilliant!) With no plans to visit Portland anytime soon, we decided to tackle it at home.

I Googled around a bit and found that the GCG isn’t the only place in the country serving such a sandwich — not even the only place in Portland. Everyone has their own name for the concoction, but my favorite is the Fatty Melt. My Fatty Melt used plain old Arnold Oatnut bread. I couldn’t justify a loaf of bakery sourdough when we had plenty of bread in the house. If we ever have such a thing for supper again, I think I’ll go for sourdough. I’ll also switch out the colby jack cheese for a pair of cheeses with a bolder flavor. Other than that, the Fatty Melt was everything I hoped and dreamed.

I wish I had the mad burger photography skills of Scott over at Hamburger Calculus, but this will have to do.

Served with chips because what were you expecting? A side salad?

Project Cheesus was successful and left me beyond satiated. Despite not feeling good about myself after eating it, I’d probably do it again. Thanks for David for grilling the burgers and not burning the grilled cheese. Now excuse me while I go lie down on the couch for a while.

¶ Posted 28 September 2009 † Shauna R. § photographs § yum! ‡ Comments (12) °

thirsty

¶ Posted 01 September 2009 † Shauna R. § Pea § photographs ‡ Comments (1) °

mid-august musings

~I haven’t blogged in almost three months.

~My sidebar is broken.

~I’m still not pregnant.

~It’s time for school to start, which means that beginning tomorrow I’ll have the gift of several hours a week to do whatever I please (within reason.) What I ought to do is housekeeping, but I don’t enjoy that. Maybe I’ll do a little writing. Maybe you’ll find me here.

~Pea is growing, growing, growing, and scary smart. She reads books that I wouldn’t have touched at her age (and I was a Super Evil Preschool Genius when it came to reading.) She comes to her own intelligent conclusions about various matters in life. She’s also funny, sensitive, and creative. It’s hard to keep up. And did I mention that she’s growing?

~I spent a long weekend with friends in Chicago earlier this month. One of those friends is leaving Chicago soon, which is a bittersweet end-of-an-era sort of thing, but I’m excited to have two beautiful cities to visit now.

~The weather here in Nashville this weekend was ridiculously mild. Think early April or late September. We took advantage of this by coloring the street in front of our house with sidewalk chalk. I drew a rainbow. Sooo predictable.

~Tonight’s menu is garlic bread and BLT salad. A minor variation from the BLT sandwiches we had last Sunday night. I thought some red onion and avocado would be a nice addition, but never followed through. Maybe next Sunday?

~I haven’t done much in the way of sewing, as fabric costs money. I’m going to dig through my stash and scraps and find something to make, though.

~Pea started dance classes last week. We are both quite excited about this development. Here she is in front of a picturesque vending machine.

~My hair is short now, and I don’t think I like it. I’m not showing you a picture, either. You’ll have to come over to see it.

~Those punk dogs have disappeared downstairs. Time to wrap this up and see what they’re destroying this time.

¶ Posted 23 August 2009 † Shauna R. § just me § photographs ‡ Comments (5) °

one more project

Twice in 24 hours! I know! Hope this makes up for the inevitable seven month break before I post again.

oliver + s is a company that makes lovely sewing patterns for children’s garments. My next big project is going to be their Tea Party Sundress. In the meantime, I think I’ll be making a few of these Lazy Days skirts.

I made the first yesterday.