From The Kitchen: Baked Virginia Ham and Banana Cream Pie

A trip to the grocery store yielded ingredients for dinner as well as some pretty posies for Pug.



I made a simple salad.



And simple potatoes.



And the Barefoot Contessa's Virginia Baked Ham. I love this recipe. It's simple and delicious. The recipe is for a 14-16 pound ham, but if you're only feeding two people, as I was, you can buy a much smaller ham and make a much smaller portion of the glaze. Ta-da!



Dessert was a banana cream pie. I've made these from scratch before, but I decided to save some time by using a pre-made crust and Dr. Oetker's banana pudding mix.



Pug helped to ensure the pudding was up to standards.



Can't have pie without milk!



The finished pie.



A piece of pie is a nice way to end the day.



Pug likes to help in the kitchen. He licked the plates clean.

Idaho Pugtatoes

Recently we took a little trip to Idaho. First stop on the trip was J+E's cabin north of Boise.



We had a nice time relaxing, visiting with family, and going to the hot springs. Pug hiked up to the hot springs with us and had a little rest on the rocks while we enjoyed the water.



Wild flowers growing on the hillside.



We spent the rest of the trip visiting with my in-laws and their goats. The baby goats were born about six weeks ago.



Husband's dad is proud of his goats. He owns Nubian, LaMancha and Pygmy goats.
One of the pygmies tried to head butt Pug. Other than that, Pug and the goats got along peacefully. Here's a baby LaMancha looking at Pug.



We went for some nice walks and Pug enjoyed sprinting in the grass.



The weather was better in Idaho than in Portland.



We went for a hike. The dogs all came with. Here's Honey standing in a field of camas.



Abbey and Pug taking a rest at the end of the hike.



Pug loves Idaho. He feels like a real mountain pug there.

Sew We Meet Again

The other day I finished the napkins I started in my class at Modern Domestic. In fact, the day was nearly identical in all respects to last Saturday: it was rainy, I went to Townshend's Alberta Street Teahouse, and then I spent some time sewing. What was different was that Pug tried to eat my waffles for breakfast.



This time at Townshend's, I tried the pumpkin spice chai and a vegan savory pie (with corn, tomatoes, black eyed peas, and quinoa).



Over at Modern Domestic, I reacquainted myself with the Janome. Even though only a few days had passed since my sewing class, I couldn't remember how to correctly wind the bobbin or thread the needle. Fortunately, the folks there are very helpful and got it set up for me. I took close-up pictures of the steps this time to help me remember.



The sewing went without a hitch.



And here are the finished napkins. I have a set of four now!

Pug Crawl Part III

Pug made lots of friends at the Pug Crawl.



This little clown was very fond of Pug.



What an adorable face! And that jacket!



Hot dog costume: too cute.



Where, oh where, can I find this pug purse?



This cutie has such a long tongue!



And these guys look like they're in heaven.



More costumed pugs:















Pugs, of course, were not the only dogs in attendance. There was a handful of other breeds present too.



It's a little sad we have to wait a whole year for the next Pug Crawl, but in the meantime, we'll be thinking up The Best Ever Costume for Pug to wear.

Pug Crawl Part II

We took a lot of pictures of pugs. How could we not when there were so many adorable faces and costumes? I loved these two dressed up as the Mad Hatter and the Red Queen from Alice in Wonderland. I haven't seen the movie yet, but that pug might be cuter than Johnny Depp.



Here's Pug saying hello to a new raincoat-wearing friend.



Pug puppies!



oh. my. goodness.



Some pugs were very pretty,





while others were very glamorous.





And others were just plain funny. I love the cave pugs!















Coming tomorrow: even more pictures of pugs!