He Finally Posed!

after much begging on my part and following him around with the camera, Biscuit decided to give in and let me catch a few of his personality traits.

I am so in love with this guy!

Mr. Serious

Mr. I'm Perfect, You Gotta Love Me!

Mr. I Love My Boy and He Loves Me

and Mr. I Look Like A Bobble Head Doll - Is That A Treat In Your Hand?

He's such a smart guy and he's a tattle tale! If I'm in my office working and he starts barking then I know Bessie is doing something she's not supposed to. He will bark until I come and take whatever she's chewing on or dragging around. Yesterday, he even barked like crazy until I came and found a little pile of poop in the corner LOL. We're still working on the "no pooping in the house" part!

Please Welcome

Biscuit and Bessie, full-blooded, adorable, sweet, loving Bassets! We have had Biscuit aka "Big Boy" and Bessie aka "Sweet Girl" for 10 days now and they have stolen all our hearts.

Biscuit is the red and white, Bessie is the blue/gray (close to tri-colored but her black has a gray sheen to it). I can already tell you all that you're going to be seeing a lot of these guys and hearing plenty of hound dog stories!

They've got Daddy wrapped around their big fat paws already!



Oh and me too, of course! Please excuse my lovely twisted-up-in-a-knot, I'm-a-farm-girl hair style.

and the boys are in Heaven




Bessie is the camera hog. She knows she's beautiful!





and then there's Biscuit, I usually get something like this from him.

or this, the "get that camera outta my face" look!

Unless he's asleep..

but sometimes he wants attention too!

They are such sweethearts and already a huge part of our family! Just look at them faces! How could you not love something so precious??

Snow Birds!

Took a few shots of the birds today. I love watching the bright splash of red against the snow that the cardinals make. I am proud to call this guy our state bird!

We also have goldfinches. They lose that bright yellow color during the winter months.

And the dark-eyed junco. These are the ones that my grandmother always called "Snow Birds".

and then there is the ever entertaining NutHatch!
He's always upside down!

He loves the rustic suet feeder I made.

There's also the cute little titmouse, the chickadees, the finches and the doves that I didn't get pics of because these guys showed up.

I know they have to eat too, but I don't like them very much!

But even more than the brown-headed cowbirds and the boat-tailed grackles, I dislike the European Starlings!

Anyone know how to keep the guys from emptying all your feeders and running the little guys off? If you do, please tell me!!!

Hope you enjoyed the pics!

Mandarin Orange Cake

Christmas was great here with the kids! Santa was very generous this year. I even got another cast iron skillet but it's still going on! My mom had to have surgery on the 23rd and was in the hospital until the 26th so Christmas with my side of the family was postponed until last night and Joe's family will be coming in from Tennessee tomorrow so we still have 1 more gift opening to do!

Mom is recovering well and is feeling better than she has in a long time. I was thumbing through the cookbook looking for something to take to the dinner for dessert last night and saw the recipe for a Mandarin Orange Cake (better known as the "Pig-Lickin' Cake" to most people in this area). Thought I would share it with everyone.

Here's the one and only pic I got of it, and as you can see, the hounds got at it before I had a chance to take this one! Hounds meaning my brothers and brother-in-law!


Mandarin Orange Cake
1 box yellow butter cake mix
1 c. vegetable oil
4 eggs
1 (11 oz.) can manadarin oranges with juice
1 (9 oz.) container Cool-Whip
1 lg. box vanilla pie filling
1 can crushed pineapple (drained)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine cake mix, mandarin oranges, eggs and oil. Beat 2 minutes on highest speed the reduce speed to lowest setting and and beat for 1 minute. Pour batter into 3 greased and floured 9-inch round cake pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Cool in pans for 10 minutes, remove layers and cool completely. Combine Cool Whip, dry pie filling and pineapple. Beat for 2 minutes at medium speed. Let stand 5 minutes or until mixture is to spreading consistency. Spread pineapple mixture between layers and on top and side of cake. Chill for at least 2 hours before serving. Store in refrigerator.

This cake is easy to make and delicious!!