Murphy's Newsletter, Christmas 2007

Murphy's Newsletter
August 2009

In the previous update you saw Murphy and me doing a little "baking", but in August we made something completely new - Oatmeal Bites! I was reading Dogs in Canada Magazine when I was shocked to find a recipe Murphy could actually eat! I immediately cut it out, and made it one lazy, cooler, summer day.

Banana Oat and Carob Bites:

3 large, very ripe bananas
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup canola oil
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups oats
2 tbsp ground flaxseed
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup carob chips (I left these out)

Preheat oven to 350F.
Mash together bananas, peanut butter, oil and vanilla.
Add oats, flaxseed, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.
Stir until just blended.
Drop spoonfuls of dough onto greased baking sheet.
Bake 12 - 14 minutes until just set.

Of course, Murphy had to supervise:

But they turned out very nicely, even with his limited "help", which I can attest to as he and I shared most of them:

Despite my reassurances, Murphy had to watch every batch baking:

And even once done, he wouldn't leave them alone...

...eventually just camping out in the kitchen:

At the end of August we had a couple of visitors - Allie and Owen. They stayed with us for 2 days, the first time Owen has ever slept over here at my condo. Owen followed Murphy around for the first few hours, going everywhere Murphy went:

We gave them my little office for a bedroom, the two of them sharing my old fold out couch:

Owen seemed to like my bedroom better, as that's where all of Murphy's toys were:

As well as Murphy's bed:

We spent one afternoon out at the beach with Russ and Carrie Ann:

But Murphy had to stay home as the city of Vancouver has designated dog beaches, none of which are too toddler friendly. We had a nice potluck picnic with veggies and fruit and popcorn. Allie offered to buy us ice cream treats for dessert, though I was the only one to take her up on her offer. Well, and Owen of course, who you can see enjoying his creamsicle to the right. Allie actually took a whole series of photos of him becoming progressively more creamsicle-covered as he made his way through the treat.

As much fun as Owen had with the creamsicle, I don't think it was the highlight of the day. He really had a great time digging in the sand. When we first got there I picked him up and hiked to the actual water (since it was low tide that actually took us a couple minutes from where you can see us camped out). Other than that, he spent the rest of the afternoon happily digging. Below you can see Russ joining in on the fun:

When we got home everyone had showers, a bath in Owen's case. Murphy, strangely, is generally getting grumpier with Owen as he ages, not wanting to play much. He's like a jealous kid. But bath time Murphy still seems to enjoy. Maybe it's because Owen is largely immobilized inside the tub. At any rate, Murphy was in the bathroom with us the whole time.

I'm not sure what they're discussing here, but they seem rapt in conversation:

I can't remember why, but Russ and I thought that Owen might like to listen with my stethoscope. It made for a pretty cute picture:

And we spent our evening unwinding in front of the tv. Murphy looks just as into Treehouse TV as Owen:

Of course Murphy always likes it when he gets the condo all to himself after visitors leave, you can see how beat he was:

What better way to relax?

So that's a glimpse at our August. Next up is a lovely walk around False Creek, where the Olympic Athletes Village is being built for the 2010 Winter Olympics. It's pretty spectacular, so check back here soon!

Email me!

Meghan

Here's the link to the next update: September 2009
Here's the link to the previous update: July 2009