January 2, 2011 - SNAP and BANG!

The SNAP!


The weather has turned cold this week. We've had lows of 24F and 27F the past two nights, so I decided to help the heat pump keep up this morning and do some baking to warm the house. One of our favorite winter cookies are gingersnaps, and this is my favorite recipe for them:

Gingersnaps

2 cups sugar
1-1/2 cups vegetable oil (I use Canola oil)
2 eggs
1/2 cup molasses
4 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking soda
1 tablespoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
Additional sugar

In a mixing bowl, combine the sugar and oil; mix well. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in molasses. Combine dry in­gredients; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Shape into 3/4-in. balls and roll in sugar. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350F for 8-10 minutes (cookie will be soft and collapse slightly when touched). Remove to wire racks to cool. Yield: about 14-1/2 dozen

Notes: Very heavy dough, too heavy for the hand mixer. I used a wooden spoon for the final 2 cups of flour, then chilled the dough before forming into balls (I made them larger). Ten minutes was long enough baking time for the larger cookies, 8 minutes for smaller ones. These cookies have excellent flavor and crisp/chewy texture.


The BANG!



Annie usually sleeps like this in her bed.


But sometimes she likes to let it all hang out as she watches the goings on around her.

Right after I snapped this photo, I went into the kitchen to access my email (I found I can get a signal when the laptop is placed on top of the microwave oven). No sooner was I out of the room, when I heard a loud BANG! I rushed back to the living room to find Annie on the floor, between the sofa and the coffee table, with her bed and her blankie on top of her. Her head had hit the coffee table as she fell, and she acted a little dazed. I checked her over, and when she got up she seemed to be fine. So it was a nasty fall, but everything is OK. And yes, she went right back to hanging over the edge the next time she got into her bed.

It gives a whole new meaning to "New Year's hangover", doesn't it?


Otto will have none of that hang over business.


He'll do all his viewing from a safe perch on the sofa.


A New Garden Blogger!

Wendy, who has been following many of us for a couple of years, has decided to start a new garden and join us in the blogging world! Welcome, Wendy. I'm looking forward to reading The Sassy Butterfly's Chaotic Musings, and have added it to my blog roll!

21 comments:

  1. Hey at least it wasn't Annie trying to get to your gingersnaps. I love gingersnaps. I make whole wheat ones though as I love the flavor of whole wheat with all the ginger and molasses.

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  2. Thanks for the cookie recipe! They look so good that I may just have to make some today.

    I'm glad that Annie is okay. I must confess that her story made me laugh a little. My cocker, Marci, does the same thing. She also snores loudly while she's hanging over the edge of the sofa.

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  3. Daphne, I also like whole wheat flour in my cookies,bread and muffins. However....Mr. Granny will not let whole wheat touch his lips, so you know who wins this war :-(

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  4. KatieLovesDogs (love your name...GrannyLovesDogs too!), Annie snores too. Really loud. Otto never snores, but he gets up in the middle of the night and cries like a baby until I either admonish him to go back to bed or put him in bed with me. Usually the latter. I'm a pushover.

    It's funny that Mr. Granny's snoring annoys me to no end, but Annie's snoring just makes me smile.

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  5. Glad Annie wasn't hurt. I read the funniest account the other day of a miniature dachshund chasing deer and groundhogs away from her owner's garden, and meant to share it with you, but of course now I can't find it. Ugh. Glad your internet has sorted itself out as it is good to have you back!

    Ali

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  6. Ali, Annie and Otto are salivating, just thinking about all those squirrels they'll be able to chase when we get back home! Don't hold your breath on my internet connection....but I will be visiting Best Buy in Yuma tomorrow, hoping to find a signal boosting antenna.

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  7. That crazy Annie. I'm glad she's okay, but honestly-what a goof!
    You'd think all the blood would rush to her head, hanging upside down like that!

    Glad you found someplace for internet. Don't know how convenient it is on the microwave, but always good to hear you're still hanging in there!

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  8. Sue, the blood might not be rushing to Annie's head, but I think it's flowing out of my legs as I stand in front of the microwave, blogging and reading and browsing. I just moved over to the table, and I'm getting a weak, but usable, signal here. I'm thinking Hughes Net might have throttled down on the park's connection toward the end of the month. It has been much better since yesterday.

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  9. Glad Annie is ok. We worry when something happens to our babies. I thought it was funny how you reacted differently to different people snoring! When my dogs snore, it makes me smile, too.
    Thanks for the info on the new blog. I'll be checking it out.
    ~~Lori

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  10. Lori, it seems like a lot of things the dogs do make me smile, more than what the people do ;-)

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  11. My one cat "Miss Banana" (her name is a long story) does the same thing!! She never hit her head though. I'm glad Annie is OK.

    That recipe sounds yummy....thanks for posting it. Now, I won't fit in to any of my jeans :)

    I'm going to check out Wendy's blog

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  12. Robin, what's with these animals, hanging upside down? LOL

    I had to do a wiggle dance to get into my jeans this morning. I need to go on a diet....after the gingersnaps are gone ;-)

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  13. Oooh, gingersnaps. I love those cookies, I've never tried baking those before. I'll have to try this recipe. Yum. Poor Annie! Hope she did not hurt her little head.

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  14. Your dogs are just adorable, and poor Annie, hitting her nogin like that. She must just really enjoy the view of her world from upside-down. Enjoy those cookies and stay warm!! (Welcome to gardening Wendy!)

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  15. Another upside down critter house here too. My cat Sid likes to lay right on the edge of the lazy boy foot rest when propped up - and invariably he ends up draped over the edge and if really zonked out he often just falls right off! LOL! Not a very graceful cat sometimes. :D

    Annie is just too cute for words.

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  16. Meems, just be sure to chill that dough! If you don't, the cookies spread out a lot, but they still taste nummy.

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    Kelly, Annie is just fine, but she did give me a scare.

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    Kitsap, I used to have a Pomeranian that would sleep up on the back of the sofa, fall off the back, then trot around and jump up to do it all over again. Annie is very heavy, so I worry about her injuring her back in a fall.

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  17. Those are some funny pictures! That little doggie sure is a stinker, and that's the best kind of hangover to have.lol

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  18. EG, you've got that right! Glad to see you posting that you're feeling better.

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  19. aww poor Annie! We used to own dachshunds years ago and I sure do miss having them! We've got 2 big labs now and they are more than a handful. The man isn't allowing any more pets right now. I barely got the bunny in under his radar as a non-pet but a fully functional garden fertilizer 'tool'. heh

    Thanks for introducing me! I'm working on a new post but my camera has decided to pfft out on me. Arghh! Might have to use older pics til I can get a new one!

    Hugs to ya,
    ~Wendy / sassyb.

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  20. Oh, those cookies look so good. Wish I could have some. Annie is just adorable.

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  21. Wendy, we had a Lab before we got the dachshunds, and he was just awesome. I really wanted another one, but the little guys are much easier to travel with. I've not regretted getting them...not ever.

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    Lorie, they were good!

    Annie is as sweet as she is "pretty". Well, we think she's pretty :-)

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