Puppy School

Sh, so Monty doesn't know that boys aren't supposed to wear ribbons! He is desperately in need of a haircut and I couldn't get a Saturday appointment with the dog's hairdresser until mid July. The hair ribbon was supposed to help him to see, but he got it off about 10 minutes after I took this photo. He is snug as a bug in a rug.....it is winter here.

Our dogs have social problems. They are really aggresive to other dogs when they are out walking - and as you can see they are not really the size to pick a fight! We don't know how to solve the problem so we have called in the experts from "Bark Busters". Ken, the trainer for our area of Sydney, came in for two hours on Saturday. My gosh, the dogs are reformed characters. Apparently I have been contributing to the problem (kind of already guessed that). For instance, I pick them up to try to get them to stop their behaviour - this actually raises their status in the pack because they gain height, making them even more aggresive. Whoops!

Also, Ken says that our dogs our hyperactive. This might be a result of their diet. He has told me they have to be on a raw food diet - a mixture of human mince, vegetable and eggs. I spent half an hour on Saturday afternoon blending the ingredients together in a food processer. Fun! I have made enough for two weeks. I can tell you, given the additional effort - it better be effective.

They are real darlings though, so I think it is worth the cost and effort to improve their behavior. Soon, they should be well behaved enough to take on outings to cafes etc. I can't wait.

Gorgeously Green - Part 1

So, I was watching Oprah the other day and they had Sophie Uliano on for Earth Day. She was talking about her new book Gorgeously Green. She talked all about organic produce. And gosh, she gave a scare about all the chemicals sprayed on fruit and vegetables, aswell as the antibiotics you find in meat. It has made me seriously think about going organic. But for me, when the obstacles is the lack of availability. Just where do you get organic produce from?

Without going organic, one option Sophie suggested was creating your own vegetable spray. Apparently just washing fruit and vegetables doesn't get the chemical residue off. This is her recipe:
1 cup of water
1 cup distilled white vinegar
1 tbsp of baking soda
20 drops of grapefruit seed oil (Where do you get this from???)
Spray on produce and leave for 5-10 minute before rinsing off.

Sophie also talked about chemicals in beauty products....but I'll post more on that later..

What's Cooking: Hummus

My Mum has requested my recipe for Hummus, and since I have to type it up to send to her, I thought I might as well post it here as well.

I am a huge hummus fan...ever since my husband and I travelled to Egypt and had it for basically every lunch. It is just so yummy and, as a bonus, good for you.

Hummus

1. Drain a 420g can of chickpeas over a bowl, reserving liquid.
2. Place chickpeas, 1 tablespoon of tahini, 1 crushed garlic clove, 1/2 a teaspoon of ground cumin and 1/3 cup of chickpea liquid in a food processer.
3. Process until smooth. Transfer into a bowl and stir in 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. Season to taste.
4. Drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil and ground cumin, if you like. Serve with triangles of pita bread or pita crisps.

I love taking any leftovers to work for morning tea with crackers. Yummo!

Some Pretty Preppy Furniture

So long time no post (story of my blogistence!)....I have been lurking though and reading everyone else's posts....only I do this at work so I don't think posting or leaving comments is a good idea there...

So anyway, about two months ago my husband and I put in some furniture to have it reupholstered. We did it through a design shop in Bowral which is about an hour and a half from Sydney...so long drive to pick it up....the dogs and I had a road trip. Anyway the lady at the shop was really lovely the day we ordered....chatted to Ben about being in the army (apparently her son-in-law is ex special forces)... gave us lots of time to choose our fabrics. Anyhow, the toile fabric we picked was not cheap and she told us we needed two metres...which was duly ordered at considerable expense....but when I pick up my reupholstered chair only 1 metre has been used....a rather vast overestimate me thinks....for someone who does this kind of thing everyday...but anyway I do now have pretty furniture (and I can get something else reupholstered in the future....I just have to find a suitable piece).

Both chair and piano stool are currently residing in the living room as they are to pretty to cast away to their respective homes in bedroom and music room/study....here they are.....