Yes, I've been gone a while...

I've spent the past two weeks at our cabin with the remaining parvo pups that lived. We had to be quarantined to ensure that the pups at our house did not get contaminated. Phew! It's been crazy, but the things we do for our babies.

I can't say that it was a difficult time or that I did not enjoy it. The Fall colors, the morning fog, and the breathtaking views everyday definitely made life on the mountain a pleasure that I already miss. I think the puppies miss it too.









Kent and I celebrated our wedding anniversary on Oct. 7, and since I was quarantined to our cabin, we invited my daughter and her boyfriend up for fillets on the grill (compliments of my wonderful in-laws) and a good glass of merlot.


Quarantine or not... it was a very happy and peaceful anniversary.

Trey and Miranda hiked down in the woods to retrieve photos from their deer cam and found quite a surprise! Apparently a pretty large black bear decided to play field hockey with the camera. But they managed to get some really nice photos from the battered camera before taking it to be fixed.

I'll be sure to post a lot of the photos from that trip for all of you wildlife enthusiasts very soon.

After a long day running errands, picking up around the yard, taking care of pups, weeding the garden, watering plants and the garden, etc. You get the picture. Our usual stuff. We got a little hungry. After a show of hands, grilled chicken won the vote.

As much as I love to eat, sometimes the preparation and cook times can be a little long on Southern foods, so I opted for a quick and easy method for grilling this evening. This is my quick and easy recipe for:







Italian Chicken and Veggie Kabobs

* 2 lbs. chicken tenders or breasts cut into strips
* 2 -8 oz. packages of portobello mushrooms
* 2 medium sized yellow squash
* 1 large zucchini
* 2 bell peppers (We chose orange and yellow to add color)
* 1 bottle of Zesty Italian dressing
* 1 dozen wooden skewers soaked in water (or metal if you have them)
* Basting brush

Pre-heat grill to medium heat.

Rinse the chicken and place in shallow dish. Add half bottle Italian dressing and let marinate in fridge for 15 minutes while cutting the veggies.

Rinse all veggies. Slice squash and zucchini into round, bite-sized pieces. Core and discard seeds of bell peppers and slice into nice sized pieces. Mushrooms remain whole with stems. Place veggies in any order on skewers for a beautiful colorful display or how you like. Baste each veggie skewer with the Italian dressing.

Place skewers and chicken on the pre-heated grill. You may also place the basted zucchini directly on grill as we did. Cook time about 8 minutes on each side of chicken while continuing to roll the skewers. Continue to baste the veggies and the chicken while it is on the grill for a perfect juicy taste.



After dinner, the evening air temp was around 65 degrees. Not too warm or too cool, so we decided to use our fire pit. I enjoyed the fire with a nice glass of wine. My husband, of course, with his cold brew. And my daughter played with her camera....... nothing new there.


The ghost is coming to get Kent.

Waiting for the fire to calm down a bit before getting comfy.

We love Friday Night "fire pit" night!

I snuggled pups, worked in the garden, and cleaned the pool this afternoon. And after a short nap this evening, I crept into my office to work.

I am up in the wee hours of the morn struggling with some character flaws in a novel I have been working on for some time. It's not a common practice to share my writing with others, but for the first time, I thought I would.

I enjoy so much making new friends on the the internet through MySpace and my new blog site. I often get asked, "what do I do, exactly." And I giggle a little bit because my life is somewhat that of a chameleon. I have written so much about the farm and how it benefits my family and that I also teach dance in the Arctic, but I am also a writer. I am especially inclined to write in the political and espionage genres.

Below you will find an excerpt from my current novel.

Chapter Twelve

Al, Big Mike, and Hugh go to play blackjack, but I spy Johnny heading to the men's room. This is when I make my move. I am wearing a figure hugging black silk dress. I didn't realize it at the time, but I was being watched closely.

I rush for the ladies room stall and sit delicately on the toilet. I can hear someone enter the room and I slip open my purse to make sure the gun is inside.

I hear the distinct sound of a knife leaving its sheath. I know this sound well. When I used to go hunting with my Grandfather, the other hunters always wore them on their belts. I knew then that Johnny was inside.

A single gunshot. No screams, no struggle, no lingering stares. I gingerly tiptoe over the body and emerge from the restroom with not a hair out of place. I comb my shoulder length hair back into one hand and calmly walk around the corner and straight into Agent Beard.

"Nice job Mrs. Silva.”

"Please... call me Allie."

The guys that had been with Johnny knew what just went down. No one was going to wait for Johnny or the police to see what went on in the ladies room. The three men dashed out of the hotel.

Johnny lies mortally wounded on the floor. Blood covers his dark Pendleton-type long sleeve shirt. His once spit-shined Italian loafers are splattered red. His dying hand clasps the gold cross hanging from his neck. Two cops enter the bathroom along with two more security guards.

Once I am alone, outside of the building, the adrenaline and assuredness wear off and my hands start to shake uncontrollably. I cannot believe what has just taken place. It won't be long 'til it gets back to Nicky that his 'boy Johnny' has been hit. And not long after that 'til he figures out my involvement. I know now that I have to get the hell away from Nicky Shaff.

But I am thankful that I carried the gun. And even more grateful that my Grandfather taught me how to use it.

Keep in mind it is only temporary. Not exactly a grand engineering feat, but please don't tell my husband I said that. (Hi, honey. I love you!)

I have waited for several days to write blog...... and I am lost. I have no photos and no story.

Well, that is not entirely true. There is a lot to write about here on this farm, and there a lot of photos that have been taken. I just haven't been privy to them.


I have been hoping to add the puppy pen blog for a few days now, but since Mira has her own agenda, I guess I have to wait. I understand that she doesn't wait around for me and that is ok. She has a lot to do on her own. But since I don't have a camera, I was hoping for some help, I guess.

She is totally enveloped in another huge adventure at the moment and I will wait for that to subside, so I can get a photo for my blog. My little girl, altho' 24, is a very talented photographer. She does family photo sessions, kids, adults, and is also involved in a CD cover for a band at the moment. I am very proud of her accomplishments. So, please, don't take me wrong. I joke when I say I wait on her photos...... I'm proud that she does them for me.

Until then..........

Miranda is now selling her own line of greeting cards on CafePress that she has designed herself. You can find them by going to her CafePress store here.

Some examples of cards she is selling:

Since there have been thunderstorms for the past couple of days, I realize I have neglected my blog. There is always plenty to write about on the farm with the puppies, kittens, cattle, and regular house chores, but I was waiting for photos before I made any posts. And all good photographers know that the weather is always a deterrent for good photos.

I picked up piles of loose limbs, sticks, twigs, etc. for most of the day into a big pile.

At one point the puppies felt they should help. Ha Ha! We all know they were more underfoot than help, but I enjoyed the company.

I also had to clean out the garden since we have Chestnut Trees that hover above. The storm winds wrecked havoc all over the garden and the yard.

Post for: July 4, 2008

Mira (a.k.a Miranda) took this immediately after a rain shower this morning. She has such an eye for beautiful things.

The beans had soaked overnight and were ready for the fat bacon and to be slow cooked to their tender taste. Time to soak the corn as well, and baste the 7 pound pork tenderloin. Wow! It was a doozy!

I realize there a million ways to baste and grill a tenderloin; even one this size, but I took my grandmother's tips along with a short cut and it worked really well for us today.


Orange Marmalade Pork Tenderloin

• 5-7 lbs. pork tenderloin


• McCormick's Grill Mates® Pork Rub - it basically has all the ingredients that my grandmother used and as I now have access to these wonderful items at the grocery, I figured I should make use of them. ;)


• 1 Jar Orange Marmalade - we really like Smucker's, but not necessary


• Basting Brush


• Meat Thermometer - very important when cooking pork!


• Heavy Duty Aluminum Foil - juices will run heavy and you don't want to burn the pork.

Pre-heat grill to a very low heat: around 250 degrees if possible. Slow cooking insures juiciness.

After taking the tenderloin out of the plastic wrapper, you will want to rinse it off and pat it dry. Start adding the Grill Mates rub. If it doesn't want to stick, add just a small portion of olive oil to the loin first, then rub away. Once the loin is covered, wrap in heavy duty aluminum foil and place on the top wrack of your grill. Watch and turn for about an hour.

Take the loin off, open up the foil and baste the loin with 1 entire jar of orange marmalade. I know. It sounds like a lot, but it is soooo good. And it soaks into the meat for a nice, tender, taste.



You can now raise the temperature of the grill to 400 degrees.

Re-wrap in the foil and place on the grill for about 15 minutes, flipping the loin halfway.

You also have the option of placing the loin straight on the grill. The sugar in the marmalade will crystallize and form a brown glaze over the outside of the loin. I have found I lose the taste of the marmalade this way and so we opt to keep it wrapped. Choice is yours.

Check the temp. of the loin with your meat thermometer quite often at this point. You want to take it off at around 140-145 degrees. The loin will continue to cook after you take it off the grill and there is nothing worse than dry pork. Ugh! I guess maybe dry chicken. Ha!

Voila! There you have it. Simple and yet so yummy!

I also cut and added baby red potatoes and peaches and cream corn cobs to my bean pot while all of this was going on. I have poured the buttermilk into the cornmeal mix and pre-heated my cast iron skillet. Cornbread will be out in 25 minutes. Let's eat!

Bellies are full and the time is about right for fireworks. Miss Winnie and the puppies were not fond of the booms and bangs, but they lived through it. And, Lil Sasha seemed to enjoy her ear of corn. So cute!



Afterward we rode out on the 4-wheelers to the field that overlooks the lights in the valley below. We watched other firework displays for a few minutes before the rains came. Ack! We were soaked by the time we made it back to the cabin. But it was a fun day! Lots of laughs!

Hello from Miranda :)

My mom is running around like a chicken with its head cut off trying to get things packed up and ready to go to the cabin. Sooo, here I am guest-blogging.

I was told to write about "puppies and things... You know, just say I'm at the cabin partying and happy 4th and whatever". There you go. Puppies. Partying. And whatever.

Now that I've got that out of the way, here are some pictures to make you squeal.

You can view the pictures larger by clicking on them. :)

Please ignore our nasty brown grass. The heat has been miserable this summer and we've had very little rain. It's mighty crunchy and dead.



Have a wonderful (and safe) 4th of July! Try to not burn anything down.... I can't promise that we won't.

I took a walk down memory lane this morning. There were four baby kittens whining terribly for their mother right outside my bedroom window. My daughter, Miranda was already up doing a 'photo walk' with her camera by the time I came walking through the field down to the barn in search for Mama Cat. She had already taken over one hundred photos of the field, flowers, clouds, etc. by the time I got to the barn and then she snapped this photo.

Yes, I'm still in my nightgown. But when kittens cry, there are some things you don't think about.

I can't count the times I've climbed this old ladder up into the hayloft. I've spent many a day looking out onto the fields and watching my family bale hay or feed cattle. I also used to swing from a rope from the rafters for hours on end. And on occasion, I had an accident or two. I fell through the loft into a huge pile of cow manure one day. I came running to the house crying. And of course, after my granddaddy hosed me off, they all had a good laugh.

Mama Cat followed us back to the house and took care of her babies and all was well. I had to take a shower and pull the straw out of my hair, but it was worth it.

I love this old farm.

Good night all!

I promised to share my beautiful puppies with you this evening, so my daughter, Miranda, and I took them outside for their Birthday Portraits. Some were happier than others in this new adventure. This post seems appropriate since today they turned five weeks old.

Happy Birthday Puppies!

Of course their momma wanted her portrait done as well. She's a big camera ham!

This is Miss Winnie. Her actual name is Miss Winchester, but that just seemed too masculine for such a girly girl. She has been with us for a year now and she's absolutely spoiled rotten. She actually had 14 pups on Tuesday, May 27. And with it being such a large litter, we were very
grateful that nine healthy puppies made it.

Miss Winnie almost died on us last week. We had to rush her to the emergency vet hospital with a temperature of 103. The doc said she had the worst case of mastitis he had ever seen. A large dose of antibiotics and a weeks worth of pills later, she is back to running and playing again. Although she can no longer nurse the puppies, she likes to lick and play with them.

They were not quite 4 weeks old and already being fed puppy food. They mostly laid in it and licked it off of each other's faces for the first couple of days. Now they are eating the hard stuff and chowing like there's no tomorrow. As you can tell in their photos, they are chubby little bundles.

We're going to wait until they are 8 weeks until we start giving them up for adoption. It's going to be very difficult to watch them go. We want to keep a couple for ourselves, but that choice seems to change like the weather. Right now, I want to keep "Buddy". He's the long haired, black looking lab. He's the biggest of the bunch and Miranda calls him "Calf Head". She swears he looks just like one of our baby calves. Bless it's heart! I think he's adorable. Miranda is leaning towards keeping "Coco". She is the second biggest and the ring leader of the pack. She's very bossy and has lots of personality. My husband, Kent, has a new favorite everyday.
But who knows which ones will be staying in three more weeks.

We wish we could afford to keep them all.

Puppies have been fed, bathed, and are sleeping. Guess that's my cue to turn out the lights.

Good night!