Filling In and Shopping!

Another Double Day!   Today is Friendly Fill-Ins

AND Shopping Around the World!

We have a double blog again today – first we’ll do our Friday Filling In Fun then we’ll move on to Shopping Around The World.    Filling In is co-hosted by our friends 15andmeowing AND McGuffy’s Reader and you can visit McGuffy’s Reader by clicking the badge above.  Once you arrive THERE you can use the Linky Tool and put your blog address in so we can Blog Hop on over and see your sentences!    Here are this week’s challenges and this week I, Teddy Kimmell, am doing the filling in!!!!!    My fill-ins are RED.

1. My next vet visit will be in two months from now – blood re-check because one of my values was a little wonky this time!.

2. Fireworks are something I have no experience with but I think I’m gonna HATE them!   KABOOM!

3. Freedom is important and precious to all humans but for me – I like being “held captive” by my Mom and Dad – life is SWEET for me now that I’m adopted!

4. This week, I am thankful that Angel Sammy sent me to the shelter just in time for Mom and Dad to meet me!.

That was fun……………..usually my Mom answers these but I thought I’d dive right in and give it a whirl!    Thank you Miss Annie at McGuffy’s Reader and Miss Ellen at 15andMeowing for this totally FUN Blog Hop every Friday!

 

Now ONWARD to Shopping Around the World with our friend Bacon at PigLove!    This month’s food shopping challenge was to post a recipe with ingredients and prices of the ingredients for something that our Mom or Dad makes that is TOTALLY YUMMY!     Well, I have to brag on my Mom because her biscotti is known far and wide and she makes it ALL THE TIME……so I’m going to ask her to re-post it for you and suggest STRONGLY that you make some to have with your morning coffee/tea/milk/hot chocolate OR just as a snack!

Cranberry Biscotti

TAKE IT AWAY MOM!

First of all you can add ANY fruit or nuts or chocolate chips to this instead of cranberry – I often make cherry, or raisin (and I add cinnamon to that one), or chocolate chip, or almond (and I add almond extract instead of vanilla)………..so it’s a versatile recipe.   We love them all!    Also the amount of fruits or whatever is “to taste” – the recipe I used years ago said one cup of “cranberries” but I use more than that because we like “stuff” in our biscotti!

INGREDIENTS:

3 cups flour (Price this week at our grocery 5 lbs. bag of flour was $1.47)

3/4-1 cup sugar (Price this week at our grocery 4 lb. bag of sugar was $2.79)  Note:  if you like your biscotti on the SWEET side, use 1 cup……otherwise 3/4 cup

1 tablespoon baking powder (Price this week at our grocery for 10 oz. container was $1.27)

1 teasp. vanilla extract (Price this week at our grocery for 2 oz. bottle was $3.79)

5 oz. package dried fruit (can be more or less as you like) – (Price this week for 5 oz. package of dried cranberries was $3.39)

3 large eggs (Price this week for one doz. large eggs was $1.59)

1 stick butter – melted (Price this week for butter 16 oz. package $3.45)

DIRECTIONS:

PREHEAT oven to 350 degrees……….use large cookie sheet (ungreased).   Mom lines her cookie sheet with parchment but that’s not necessary.

In large mixing bowl, combine sugar and melted butter……..then with hand mixer add one egg at a time and beat well.   Add the vanilla extract to that mix and set aside.    In second mixing bowl, combine three cups flour and one tablespoon baking powder.  Mix well.    Put the butter mixture into the flour/baking powder and mix well.    Batter will be STIFF.    Add fruit or nuts (you can add more or less than I’ve shown in the recipe – it’s totally to your taste…..sometimes I add a LOT more fruit or nuts than one 5 oz. package!).     Mix well.

On floured surface, divide the dough into three equal portions.    Shape each portion into round “loaf” about 9-10 inches long.   Transfer each loaf onto cookie sheet and flatten with your hand until each loaf is about three inches wide and about 3/4 inch thick.    Separate each flattened loaf by at least an inch on the cookie sheet – more if your cookie sheet is large enough!

Bake in oven for 18-20 minutes until light golden color………remove and cool for ten minutes on cookie sheet.    After cooling, transfer loaves to large cutting board and using very sharp knife, cut the loaves on a diagonal into pieces about an inch wide.   Cutting on the diagonal will give you “longer” biscotti.   Note:  Try to make one, swift cut for each piece because the cookies are pretty delicate at this point – don’t use a “sawing” motion or they will break up.    Put cut pieces back on the cookie sheet cut side down.  They can be crowded on the cookie sheet – no need to leave space between.    There will be room for all three loaves of cut biscotti on one cookie sheet!     Put back in hot oven for 10 minutes, remove from oven and carefully turn pieces over to expose other side – then back in the oven they go for another 10 minutes.   Keep an eye on them –  you don’t want them to burn but you want them to be browned up a bit.    Almost every time I make these I either have to add a minute or less (don’t ask me why – maybe my oven?!).

Let finished biscotti cool on the cookie sheet.    They are delicious warm AND if you want to, you can easily make a chocolate sauce (melted chocolate) to dip one end of each piece into and allow them to dry if you like your biscotti like that.

IT IS DELICIOUS!!!!   I promise – and so easy to make.

Thanks Mom!!!!    I don’t suppose you could try making your biscotti with cat treats as the added ingredient instead of dried fruit could you???????????????    PRETTY PLEASE??????

Love, Teddy

 

Thankful and Thoroughly Poetic Thursday

Double Post Thursday is Here! 

FIRST we are THANKFUL with Brian………

I am thankful this week because Mom and Dad took me to the Vet on Tuesday to get me checked out!   Why on earth would I be THANKFUL for having to go to the stabby place?   Well, because it was only my third time in the car EVER – once coming home from the shelter when I was adopted, once for an initial vet check, and this past Tuesday for a BIG checkup.   Why did I need a BIG checkup?   Mom thought it was a big problem that I won’t eat wet food – I’m OK with dry but my favorite “dry” is TREATS!   Not a good thing – treats should be treats and not a main meal.   She also wasn’t sure if it was good that the only water I drink is out of the faucet.   That’s right – I go to the nearest bathroom and squeak (I don’t meow – I squeak) for someone to put me on the counter and turn on the water so I can get a BIG FAT drink.   Mom wants to get me a fountain – Dad says it’s gonna be just recycled water and I won’t use the fountain……..DUH…………. She also thought that MAYBE I was getting a little – well – how do I say this diplomatically – well CHUBBY is the word!     When I went to the vet initially after I was adopted, I was 11 months old and weighed 8 lbs.   Now I’m 15 months old and I weigh (gulp) 14 lbs!     Probably the treats I love says my doc.   So,  now I’m eating Fancy Feast regular REAL non-treat dry food which I find “ACCEPTABLE” !    So what about ALL OF THAT makes me thankful?     Because I’m thankful I have a Mom and Dad who love me so much they want me to get GOOD habits and to be HEALTHY always – that’s why!

Wanna tell the world why you’re thankful or read what everyone ELSE is thankful for?   Then click the badge above for Brian’s blog, go there and enter your blog address with the LINKY TOOL and join in the BLOG HOP he hosts every Thursday!

Now I’ll turn it over to Angel Sammy for HIS Poetry Challenge Post!  

Hello friends from the Rainbow Bridge!    Today we are working on the letter “C” in our third go-round on the alphabet……………remember, the poems have to be about something starting with the letter “C” – OR you can use one of my prompt words that I provided LAST Thursday on the Poetic Thursday post!     Those words were:

(1)  CAR  (2) CAMERA  (3) COOKIE  (4) CARPET

What did I write and transmit to my baby brother for today’s post????   Stay tuned.

My poem is using the prompt last week with the word “CAR” !

“C”

“Car”

By Angel Sammy Kimmell, 6/29/17

 

It was 17 years ago

When from the shelter I would go

Home with two people I would learn to love

People who were sent by angels above

I was such a lucky guy with a lucky star

UNTIL I GOT IN THAT AWFUL CAR!

For 16 years I’d have to travel

My patience and happiness would always unravel

I hated to be in that terrible thing

Because I knew what the trip would bring!

The vet was always my destination

THAT’s what would cause my consternation!

When I GOT there I was perfectly fine

It was the trip in the CAR that blew my mind!

I miss my parents more than I can say

But I don’t miss that CAR in any way!

---

So that’s it from the Rainbow Bridge this week……………hope you wrote a poem for the challenge – and if you did, you can post it in our comments HERE, or post your blog URL in my comments so we can come visit you and read your poetry!    Remember, it doesn’t matter if your poem rhymes – what’s important is that you give it a try…………everyone can write a poem………..honest!

With Love, Angel Sammy

♥♥

Thanks big brother…………………I am happy you have good wi-fi at the Rainbow Bridge so you can get your poem to me every week!    I hope we have lots of friends who decide to write a poem for “C” this week.   Now I’ll let everyone know what you chose for prompts for NEXT week’s letter “D” poem!    Remember everyone you can write a poem about ANYTHING starting with “D” or use one of Angel Sammy’s prompts:

(1) Danger  (2) Dandelion  (3) Dark  (4) Dinner

Great words Sammy!  Can’t wait to see what poems are written next week !

Til next Thursday!

Love and Hugs, Angel Sam and Teddy too

 

Teaser Tell All

Let’s Have Teaser Talk!

Time to call class to order to tell the story of the Tease!

Hope everyone had a good night?   The night after the Teaser class usually is one where students are all excited for the next day when they will find out if THEY or someone else guessed the Teaser correctly……..I hope you are that way – we do love Tuesday in class and the next best day is Wednesday when we learn who gets what!

READY?

OK – let’s talk about FIRST COMMENTER first shall we?   Our post went “live” yesterday at 7:41AM Eastern Standard Time – and ONE minute later, we got the first comment……it was our good friend Miss Csilla!    YAY!!!   Csilla has a blog which she posts some stunning nature photography on from time to time…….I think her last post was magnolia blossoms – beautiful.    Anyway, she was first and her blog is HERE.

FOR YOU!

For Teaser of June 27, 2017

There were others RIGHT behind her – within the next few minutes we had a bunch of comments……………..it’s all about FIRST though right?

Now would you like to know details about the photos or details about WHO WAS FIRST RIGHT GUESSER?    Oh – let’s tell you about the Guest Teaser and show you the photo again THEN tell you who got it……….shall we????   I like to prolong the agony………hahaha

Our Guest Teaser was our super good friend Miss Jackie from Flynn and Eric’s blog HERE and the photo was one she snapped while on a recent cruise trip around the Islands across the pond – and a stop in the beautiful country of Ireland where they visited Glendalough in the Wicklow Mountains.   The photo is of the 10th century St. Kevin’s Cathedral and the surrounding gorgeous countryside.    My Mom and Dad visited this very spot some years ago on a tour of Ireland and said it was one of the most beautiful and peaceful places they have ever been.    Ancient graveyard monuments…..old structures from the 10th century……an amazing place with beauty as far as the eye can see.   In fact, Miss Csilla found a video done from a drone of the Wicklow Mountains and you can see for yourself what a beautiful spot on the planet it is:

Thank you Miss Csilla !!!!

This is for you Miss Jackie with our thanks for showing everyone yet another beautiful spot on planet Earth!

For Miss Jackie for Teaser of June 27, 2017

WHO WAS FIRST RIGHT GUESSER?????????????????????????

That was our good friend and fast becoming Teaser expert, Miss Carol from HERE !    Good for you – fast with the fingers on a Tuesday morning at an early hour for you Miss Carol!   BRAVO!

For being FIRST on Teaser of June 27,2017

BUT there were others of you who were SMARTY PANTS and got it right too!   All of you get this:

For Teaser of June 27,2017

AND you kiddos who were NOT right – but you tried anyway – all of you get the FAMOUS Greenie!

For Teaser of June 27,2017

Now, if you would like to have a little CHEER from Suzie – we won’t be disappointing you because she’s here for a cheer!!

Let’s do it
Movin’ to it
Get your groove on
Before we move on
Miss Csilla was early bird
First to comment with a word
Miss Carol was first RIGHT
The winner without a fight!
A big thanks to Miss Jackie
For a Teaser that drove us wacky!
Concatulations to you all
Gotta go and take a call….
Another blind date for me tonight
Hope it doesn’t end in a fight!!!!

Well class – that’s about it for this week.   Next week who knows where we will go and what we will see but we will be here to challenge your knowledge of the world!   It’s what we do around here on Tuesdays…………..I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!!

See you next week Students! 

Angel Prof Sam and Assistant Ted

 

Tuesday Teaser

DING

DING

DING

(that’s the school bell silly!)

It’s Teaser Time everyone and I hope you are rested and ready to go.    Please remember to take a second when you get here to COMMENT on this post because you might be the FIRST to do that and if you are FIRST you get this!

Now that you’ve commented (good luck!) you better have a seat and get serious about keeping an eye at the front of the classroom for when Mr. Silver Suitcase/Security/Park Ranger dood arrives with today’s TEASER photos.    Sit up straight – no yawning – keep those eyes on ME or Assistant Professor Teddy!

If you say so Professor Sammy

I think to help you along we should ask our Teaser Cheerleader Extraordinaire, SuzieQ to step right up and give us a cheer, don’t you?

Hello class I’m here!
In my outfit of good cheer!
Most of you look half asleep
Better wake up or soon you will weep!
Sarge will come in and give you a shake….
He can sometimes be mean as a snake!
So sit up and pay attention
Or you might just face suspension!
Give today’s photo you very best shot
Or graduate you may not!
Now that I’ve got you awake
I think I’ll take a shopping break!

Gosh thanks Suzie…………….shopping for new cheerleading uniforms with the rests of the cheerleading crew???

Now for the SERIOUS part of our morning’s class…………time to bring in the photos so you can start figuring out WHERE WERE THEY TAKEN?    That’s right – I will need you to tell me what town/city/village AND what state (if USA) or country (if not USA) you believe these TWO Teaser photos to have been snapped!    Tomorrow we will hold class to say WHO was the FIRST to guess correctly…………….there are badges to win for guessing correctly you know but everyone always wants to be FIRST…….

I’ve got the photos here Professor Sam!

Thanks – please put them on the bulletin board…………………!

OK GANG………………good luck!    Also, we know how EASY PEASY it is to use Google Search to find out WHERE this is but we also know you are all VERY CLEVER and can figure this out just using your brains and eyeballs so try that before you rely on Mr. Google – besides, it’s more fun that way!!!!!     Here’s what’s up for grabs in the badge department:

FIRST RIGHT GUESSER GETS:

EVERYONE ELSE WHO GUESSES CORRECTLY BUT ISN’T FIRST:

THOSE OF YOU WHO BUM OUT AND GUESS INCORRECTLY GET THIS:

Now, if there are no further questions………….

I’ve got a question – do we have any snacks today?????

Ahhh…………I see your mind is NOT on guessing the Teaser today but on your tummy which obviously must be the rumbling sound I could hear from the back of the classroom!!!!    Well, I was just about to tell you that our beloved (?!) Miss Dingleberry has brought a special surprise for you to have on your way out to Recess today………AN ICE CREAM SUNDAE BUFFET……that’s right – we don’t spoil you EVERY Tuesday but today we thought in honor of summer, we would.    Please be orderly on your way through the buffet – no shoving, tripping, pinching, butting in line and those who disobey will be escorted to “SARGE’S SPECIAL ROOM”…….trust me….you don’t wanna know!

Only one sundae per kid!

See you tomorrow for the Tell All class……!

Angel Prof Sam and Assistant Prof Ted

(at your service!)

Pre-Tease Monday

Good Morning Class!

Yes indeed – time to start thinking ahead and planning to be ALERT for tomorrow’s TEASER!    Professor Teddy and I are here to help you do that – to encourage you – to remind you that knowing your world is important!    Being able to look at a photo and FIGURE OUT where it was taken – it’s solving a mystery and life is FULL of mysteries!!!!!

Gosh Professor Sammy, this is “HEAVY” stuff for an early Monday morning!

Yes Roger but it’s important stuff…………..!     Now – shall we begin?

First of all let me say that again we have a GUEST TEASER for tomorrow.   A good friend sent us in a great photo or two and we think it might be a goodie for you to have for your weekly challenge.   Tomorrow morning we will have our post go up at a surprise time and then it’s a MAD SCRAMBLE to get to the comments section and leave a comment – WHY YOU ASK?   Because the FIRST COMMENTER gets a badge (or if there’s more than one during the first 60 seconds they will also get a badge).    This is the one they will get!

I understand that the ART DEPARTMENT here at School is working on some brand NEW badges for us which we MIGHT have next week but for now – it’s the oldies with a promise of next week having NEW badges you may covet for your badge collections!

Now I thought we’d see if our Suzie is in the mood for a bit of a cheer this morning…….something to get you in proper guessing mode……….

Bingo bango bongo
The Teaser photo is NOT the Congo
It’s gonna be a toughie
So make sure your eyes aren’t puffy
Be alert for the Teaser posting
Or your buns I might be toasting!
I’ll look for you tomorrow
Or there will be tears and so much sorrow!
Ricky Ticky Beezer
Tomorrow is the TEEEEZER!

Thank you Suzie………………I’m sure you’ve inspired everyone who reads today’s post or is in class here to try EXTRA HARD to guess the Teaser tomorrow.

Don’t forget now – post will pop up at a different time than usual………………………..be PURRRRPARED……………..and remember to clean your screens tonight before you got to bed!!!!

Assistant Prof Teddy and I will see you in the morning!!!!

Remember, the early bird gets the worm! See you tomorrow when we go LIVE!