Hope you have a minute...

This could take a while.
I've been offline since Thursday or Friday with a nasty virus on my laptop. Right now I've hijacked my brother-in-law's back-up laptop. It's one of his several computers and I have to type on a USB keyboard because the laptop keyboard doesn't work. I've been using it occasionally to log in and check for messages, but using an on screen keyboard application with a touchpad is only a task for the criminally insane. Luckily Mike dug up this USB keyboard and now I am type-happy!
...Hang on, I have to upload photos to this computer and I only have one USB port.

There we go. I caught this little guy mid-flight as he was eating. I almost kicked him as I was coming around the corner as he was hovering at shin level. Thankfully I had my camera on me. (Please don't mind the wad of Spinner hair on the right side of the photo. It's impossible to pick it all up when you brush him on a windy day, and I don't have access to the photo editing software on my laptop to crop it out.)

I'll start filling you in on what's been going on since my computer went down on Thursday. Friday night was Michael's father's 70th birthday party. We started smoking a brisket on Thursday for the 2 day process. It's a long smoke cycle over low heat. We kept a pan filled with wet hickory chunks and checked it every hour. At night you remove the meat to chill and then start over again in the morning. I like to think the dogs' thought processes during the photo are from left to right: "Mmmm, meat", "Mmmm, meat", "Mmmm, meat", and "Hey, a camera". Spinner is not nearly as food motivated as the other three.
Thursday I made this batch of bread. It's a wheat hearth bread. It was very good, if not a smidge bit dense. I just love the slash pattern and the flour sprinkled on top. It looks much more inviting than an egg wash.

I also made 2 apple pies and thawed out the extra apple pie left over from the family reunion for a total of three apple pies for the party.

Friday morning started out normal. I got up, let the dogs out of the bedroom, went to the bathroom and when I came out, this is what I found:

All three pies had been broken into and partially consumed. Miranda was cowering in her kennel and the other dogs had scattered. All four dogs spent the rest of the morning in their kennels. I only let them out one by one for a potty break. I had to run to Target for more apples and lard. Notice how one pie was dragged off the cooling rack to one side of the table and the entire center was consumed? That was either Patch or a pair who work in unison. There are three distinct points of pie consumption, so all dogs were accused. I got the three new pies made and the brisket cooked and off we went.

Saturday we went to the Marine on St. Croix Artsfest. There were over a hundred vendors and exhibitors. The one that impressed me the most was http://www.tjkwoodwright.com/ . After the artsfest we stopped at a garage sale and picked up a cut glass vase for 3 bucks and souffle dish. I also grabbed a pair of dollar hardcover books. One was "A Cook's Tour" by Anthony Bourdain. The book itself isn't so important but when we stopped at the barber shop for Mike to get a haircut and I grabbed a chair to start reading my book I had to giddily inform Mike and the barber that my new book was a signed copy! Score! It makes me wish I had checked some of the other books there.

Sunday we went to see the Minnesota Orchestra perform at the bandshell on Lake Harriet. (Sean, this was the weekend you should have been there) It was such a beautiful day with clear skies and a light breeze pushing the sailboats along in the water behind the bandshell. It was a free concert and the attendance was abundant. The people watching was so much fun and lots of folks brought their dogs. We were not so brave. We brought a picnic lunch of apples and cheese and a small loaf of multigrain artisan bread from the Target Bakery. (I didn't have time to whip up a loaf of my own) The folks on the lawn in front of us brought hummus. Good idea, maybe next picnic in the park...

Monday I went to visit my Mother-in-law so we could tour a few neighborhood gardens. We stopped at a neighbor's about a block away and had a cup of coffee with probably the most strikingly gorgeous woman over 65 I had ever seen. Her hair and her house both looked perfect. She was a spry widow who poured herself into home decorating and gardening. I hope to have half her energy when I'm her age. Then the three of us walked over to another widow's garden. She was more artsy and spunky, with her short reddish spiky hair and gardens filled with exotic plants, statues and a full suit of armor. Conversation amongst this group was lively and entertaining and I didn't have to contribute much to take a lot away from the experience. I hope they see me as a shy newbie to this group of funky strong women.