look at this dog. this is a good dog. :-)

( cut for more pictures )

My parents' dog, Dottie! As you can see, she is mostly Jack Russell terrier, but not entirely -- her face is not quite typical for the breed, and her build is a bit more slim and long-legged. We're not sure what the rest of her heritage is, though the most common suggestion is Dalmatian (probably on account of her spots). She definitely has a terrier's high energy levels and the complete obsession with squirrels and other small rodents, though she's been slowing down just a bit as she gets older.

My parents adopted her in late 2006, when she was, at the shelter's best guess, about four years old. She had come to the shelter pregnant and had a litter of puppies while waiting for adoption, but she was not a particularly enthusiastic mother and seemed quite happy when the puppies were weaned and offered for adoption separately. The shelter named her Mama Dot, for obvious reasons, which my parents adapted to Dottie.

The first three pictures are Dottie snoozing on the porch sofa in our cabin. The fourth is her investigating the front yard sunbeam for the perfect napping spot, which she flopped down into shortly thereafter. Dogs. How so adorable? :-)

the peppers meet their maker :-)

Today I picked my remaining two bell peppers and made stir fry for dinner. This involved both peppers (as you can see, they were pretty small. very cute! but small), half an onion, half the squash, one third of the chicken (aka, two boneless thighs -- dark meat all the way, baby!), and a handful of spinach leaves. I think on Friday I will buy a red bell pepper at the grocery store and do it all over again, since I will be eating the rest of the current stir fry Wednesday and Thursday... and maybe Friday lunch, too, depending. Stir fry makes a lot of leftovers.











I think next time I should add some black pepper to the mix, or maybe cook with soy sauce instead of the salad dressing -- the end product is just a little sweeter than I prefer. Possibly this is because of the onion; a red onion might produce a sharper flavor. *ponders options*

I have no recipe as such, but my method is to add the ingredients in the following order: first onions, then peppers, then squash, then chicken, and finally spinach at the very end so it cooks just enough to wilt. The mushiness of the vegetables is intentional. I like my onions and peppers very thoroughly cooked, thanks ever so.

For those who may be curious, the bread is sourdough bought from Collegetown Bagels, because why the hell not. :-)