Inverness, 1945

That's how "Outlander" begins, launching a love story that spans 200 years, multiple continents, political intrigue, murder, mayhem, farming, war, sex, thugs, bizarre characters, do-it-yourself penicillin, settling the American colonies and what to do with an 18" sausage in a whorehouse (not what you might think).

If you've read this blog very long, you know I'm a huge fan of Diana Gabaldon's "Outlander" series. My Jamie is named after James "Jamie" Alexander Malcom Mackenzie Fraser, one of the two main characters in the saga.


The books are huge and incredibly detailed but if you love Celtic lore, Scottish and American history and the concept of time travel, they are worth every single word. The amount of research Gabaldon puts into each one is staggering. I've learned about contraception in the 18th century, how to properly (and improperly) hang someone, how to use maggots to treat an infected wound and how to make whiskey. Apparently these were very useful skill sets to have in the 1700s.

It takes Gabaldon about 2-3 years to write a "Jamie and Claire book" and the next installment is rumored to be released in 2012. I've decided to re-read the whole series to be ready. These are definitely the sort of books you can read and re-read and pick up something new every time.

"Outlander" came out in 1991 and as I worked my way through the early editions of the series, I was content to wait for them to come out in paperback. By the time the last two books were released, I was past the point of waiting patiently and pre-ordered the hardbacks with as much anticipation as I had for the final segments of Harry Potter.

While each book works well enough as a stand alone story, to appreciate the full impact of the saga it's probably best to read them in order. Going back for the re-read has been fun, since I already know where it's going (I admit I've forgotten some parts) and it's fascinating to see Gabaldon's skillful foreshadowing. This woman's mind is amazing, I mean really, to have all this in her head and keep it organized and put it down on paper.

Enjoy!

A very important question

Do you like your Peeps fresh or stale?

By stale, I mean do you open the package and let them sit in the cupboard for a couple of days until the marshmallow starts to get a little dry and chewy? Or do you like them all fresh and soft right out of the package?

I suppose another very important question might be do you even like Peeps to start with?

I'm an addict. And I like them stale. I have a package "processessing" in my kitchen cupboard as we speak.

I love this time of year.

Peeps.

Cadbury eggs.

Jelly beans.

Black jelly beans.

Brach's Chicks and Rabbits.

Chocolate covered marshmallow eggs.

What's not to like?

Introducing . . .

R2D2!
Will explain the name in just a minute.

He kinda looks like a baby Acadia.

No more solid black interior!
And it's leather!
With heated seats!
The Farmer and I went a little crazy.

Yes, that's the grungy floor mat/rug out of C3P0. I threw it in there because I needed a floor mat fast. There is mud as far as the eye can see around our place these days.

Okay, about the name/gender issue.

I never named my vehicles until we got the first mini van. We got the van because of Jamie. Jamie was named after the character in Diana Gabaldon's "Outlander" series. (Highly recommend reading them. Highly recommend reading them in order or you won't know WTF is going on. You might not anyway.)

So, it was Tammy's idea to name my van Claire, after Jamie's wife. After all, I got Claire because of Jamie.

It was all good.

When we got the next van, she was Claire II or C2.

When we got the Acadia, which was Claire III or C3, I couldn't help myself and started calling her C3PO. 3PO was a girl because technically, she was Claire III.

Now, in keeping with tradition, the Equinox should be C4 — but I absolutely refuse to drive something named after plastic explosive! So he is R2D2. And he's a he because the Claire theme has ended.

Will try to take some interior pics soon. Yes, I can fit two big-dog crates in the back but the Farmer is going to have to build a platform/shelf/crate-holder-upper thing first. I'm hoping he'll do that tonight.

And I am NOT putting all the crap I hauled out of 3PO back in. Seriously. Downsizing is my theme for the year.

Dog-mobiles

Is there such a thing as the perfect vehicle for dog people?

Wait, let me amend that. Is there such a thing as the perfect vehicle for dog people who don't want to spend the big bucks having a Canine Traveler custom built? I suppose it all depends on how many dogs you have and how big they are.

My first dog vehicle as an adult was a Mustang hatchback. It was an awesome little car for one gal and one sheltie. I could fold the back seats down and put Jess's crate in. A set of 4-foot J&J Practijumps just fit. That Mustang got excellent mileage before I ever cared about mileage.

When the Farmer and I got married, we traded my Mustang for a GMC Jimmy. That was about the time I got Connor. The Jimmy was a great car for two shelties. Back then, I faintly remember actually having back seats that people could sit in.

Our next vehicle was a Chevy Blazer. It was my all-time absolute most favoritest vehicle ever. It was a powerhouse and would go through anything - snow, mud, sand, standing water, you name it. It was the car I had when the straight-line windstorm of 1998 hit the town where I worked and I had to drive on sidewalks and partially through people's lawns (sorry about that, really, I am) to get out of town that day because there were so many power poles, power lines, tree limbs and debris blocking the streets.

I would have driven it forever if it hadn't been for the arrival of Jamie. Yes, you CAN get crates for two shelties and a terv in a Blazer . . . but you can't get anything else in one. I began campaigning for a mini van.

The Farmer would rather have died than been seen driving a mini van so this was a slow and painful process. He was very good at avoiding the whole subject and found many different things that needed to be done immediately - usually at a distance from me - whenever I brought it up.

Finally, when we were headed to the 2001 National Obedience Invitational in St. Louis with Connor, I said to him, "We're going to be in the same car for the next 5 hours. We're going to talk about getting a mini van." Later that summer, we got a Chevy Venture, which was my second most favoritest vehicle ever. The back seats came out and didn't go back in until it was time to trade. It was the first of several seven- or eight-passenger vehicles that had room for two people.

Another Venture followed a number of years later. By then, the Farmer was resigned to being seen in a van. But he still had his Chevy Silverado pickup for a testosterone boost so I don't think he was suffering too much.

I loved my vans. They had tons of room and I used every inch of it. Forget packing light - I took everything I might ever need for trial weekends and more. The dogs and I camped in the vans, friends traveled with us and life was good. I lost Jess and gained Phoenix. Still had more room than I knew what to do with. I knew every possible crate configuration to accommodate crates, jumps, luggage, ring gates, coolers and camping gear.

Then the mini van era began to wane. Both GM and Ford discontinued their van lines. Cross-over utility vehicles began to grow in popularity. We got our GMC Acadia. I think the Farmer breathed a sigh of relief that he no longer went places with the wife in her mini van. The Acadia at least looked a little tougher, even though it wasn't.

Within 24 hours, when we pick up the Equinox, I'll be driving an SUV again. Can't wait!

Good-bye, C3PO

After two years, nine months, 71,000 miles, one rebuilt engine, two recalls (one for airbags, one for an engine thingy) and one suicidal deer, the Farmer and I are trading in our GMC Acadia, C3PO. We pick up our new Chevy Equinox on Tuesday.

I've had a love/hate relationship with 3PO. She was marketed as CUV, a cross-over utility vehicle, a blend of van and SUV as GM faded their mini van line. For me, she replaced C2, a Chevy Venture that I adored. On the surface, 3PO was a great vehicle: spacious, sharp to look at, smooth ride. She had room for both Belgians and Connor. She started every time, all the time, in the worst below zero weather.

But below that, she was high maintenance. It seemed like something was always wrong. Even when nothing was mechanically wrong, which it frequently was, she had a number of odd little quirks. And if anything needed to be replaced, it was never cheap. She was, as the body shop guy said after my deer accident, "spendy."

It was mostly the small stuff that left me wanted to switch to a different type of vehicle, even one with less room (but with lots of fun new options).

Sometimes I wonder if vehicle designers ever actually DRIVE the cars they create. 3PO has a lot of chrome trim on the dashboard. This sounds pretty and it is. But on bright sunny days, sunshine on that chrome was totally blinding to the driver. There were times in the summer when I would have happily thrown a blanket over the dash to cover it up. Unfortunately, that would have also covered the A/C vents, so I wore sunglasses and squinted a lot. Yeah, it was a cosmetic problem but one that made me crazy.

Then there were the blind spots. They might not have bothered me as much if I was 6 foot tall. But at 5 foot, 5 (on a good day) it seemed like no matter where I looked, I couldn't see where I was going. Why did I not notice this when I test drove an Acadia? Maybe because I never backed up. Whatever. Lesson learned.

In spite of her big tires, high clearance and front wheel drive, she did not handle snowy roads well. After slipping, spinning and swearing through three winters, I was on a mission to buy an AWD vehicle. I seriously think my mini vans handled the snow better than 3PO.

I won't even go into mileage. We spent a lot of time at the pump. A good average was 18-20 mpg, which takes a big chomp out a budget when you drive as much as I do.

We get attached to our cars on a very personal level. I think dog people have an even deeper attachment since our cars are more than just transportation. Sometimes we literally LIVE in them.

I've started "moving out" of 3PO and getting her cleaned out. Holy cow, how did I get so much stuff in there? It's like a clown car, the more stuff I pull out, the more stuff I find. It's time for me to seriously re-evaluate how much stuff I need to take with me all the time. Downsizing is a good thing! 

Furlough finished

My week off is over. Sigh. What a beautiful thing it was. Except for not getting paid, furloughs rock. 

I thought I'd have tons of time but I was busy every stinkin' minute. Caught up on lots of household chores (including replacing the telephone cord Phoenix ripped out of the wall while chasing a ball — long story — did I mention it was behind the headboard of our bed?), had some great training sessions, spent a day with my mom, tried some new recipes and went car shopping (stay tuned for more details).

Today, I capped off this lovely week with a three hour nap. Yes. A nap. I'm usually not a nap person. I talk about it a lot but I never do it. A nap is one of those elusive things that always seems to be just out of reach. But today it was cold, windy, raining and I was definitely a quart low after not sleeping well the previous night (no idea why, since I can usually sleep anywhere, anytime.) So after lunch I crashed and woke up three hours later. It was awesome. The dogs crashed with me. They thought the whole nap thing was an excellent idea.

This weekend, I'd originally planned to go to an agility trial at either St. Louis or near Chicago but when it came down to crunch time on making entries and committing to travel plans and motels with a friend, Jamie was still really sick and I wasn't sure where things were headed with him, so decided it might be wiser to stay home instead.

Tomorrow I'm going to the Nancy Reyes attention seminar at 4RK9s. Can't beat a day spent with dog friends and that club always serves the BEST food!

Beer bread

I  love trying new recipes. Our circulation manager brought beer bread to an office snack day recently. It was awesome. 

What's even more awesome is that it only has three ingredients.

Yep. Self-rising flour, beer and sugar. If you're inclined to drink one of the ingredients, you'll need more than one can of beer. 

Dump everything into a 

mixing bowl and stir it up. 

It looks seriously weird.

Then plop it in a greased loaf pan. None of this waiting around for it to rise and then having to smack it around and let it rise again. Nosiree. Just slap it in the plan and stick it in a 350 degree oven for an hour. I baked mine 1:05 cuz I didn't think the top had gotten brown enough. And next time I'll bake it in a smaller loaf pan so it rises more and has a little better shape.

And this is what you get. Not sure if that crack is supposed to be there or not. I know quick breads traditionally have a crack in the top and believe me, this is VERY quick bread.

After it cools a little, rub some butter all over it or else the crust is very, um, crusty. Like in, really hard. But if you give it a butter massage, well, you can imagine what YOU would feel like if someone gave you a butter massage.

Make no mistake, this is not light and fluffy bread. This is heavy duty he-man bread. The Farmer liked it. He even said so. Usually, if he likes something, he doesn't say so, he just eats 10 servings of it. But this time he SAID he liked it. And ate 10 servings.

BEER BREAD

3 C. self-rising flour

1 can warm beer (don't think it matters what kind)

4 T. sugar

dash of salt

Mix all together and pour into greased loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour or until nicely browned. 

Turn out of pan and cool slightly. Rub with a stick of butter while still warm.