A Little of This, A Little of That

Here's another little slideshow I made with some pictures of the pets. The first few pictures are older, with some from a trip or two to the dog park. Mac has a great time there, and would much rather run up and say hi to the people than play with the other dogs, though he will wrestle if there's someone of a matched size to him. Ayla likes to chase a ball and try to entice us to get it from her and could really care less about the other dogs or people.

The next set of pictures is from today. Chris took a half day off from work to use up some vacation time before the new job starts since he doesn't foresee being able to take any vacation for quite a while after that, and its use it or lose it. He took the dogs to Shadow Cliffs and tells me Mac was a trooper, despite the half-mile or so hike in and back. He followed Ayla right in to the water, and he might even have swam!

Following that are a couple pictures of the two on the couch. We don't have snuggling dogs yet, but Ayla's really starting to tolerate Mac when she's lying down and feels more vulnerable. She still doesn't like him jumping into bed with her in the mornings though. (Hover your mouse over the slideshow and you can pause it to have a better look at a picture if you'd like)

Tonight we had one of our favorite dinners: Burgers and Fries. I love that Costco sells Gardenburgers by the huge boxful. I made regular and sweet potato fries, using the classic double-fry recipe (from Bittman). Basically, slice your potatoes and fry them in oil (I used vegetable oil, about 1.5" in a wide pan) for 8-10 minutes until they start getting a little golden. Remove and drain on paper towels. Heat the oil again, hotter this time, and fry the potatoes in small batches for a minute or two each batch, until golden. Then I seasoned them with a dash of sea salt and some chopped cilantro. The sweet potato fries ended up looking a bit charred, but they tasted great. This is definitely not a healthy recipe, but all things in moderation!