I Hate Toast Visit

The Zen Master asks. What is the sound of 16 dogs rooing? Parker and Beth are on the deck, so they are not in the shot. Looks trashy, but we have sheets down over the areas where there is excess dirt from building the ramp. Needless to say, with so many paws, the steam cleaner will be making an appearance very soon.16 lb whole pork shoulder prepping for Katy’s arrival.Preparing to smoke for 20 hours.Katy is immediately surround by dogs. Imagine that. She pets on Parker while being surround by Stanley, Cali and Dana.
Mark and Andrew get a good view of the action from the couch.Still sandwiched by Stanley and Cali, Katy give 13 year old Beth some lovin’.Group shot with the Park kids. I have Stanley, Mark has Beth, Kris has Jaime, and Katy has Stella. More pics of Katy's visit are at Trina's blog.Also, I made my first homebrew beer. Just a bit late for the Aussie’s to have had a taste. Nothing like a 5 gallon beer keg in the fridge. On with the second batch. Thanks to my friend Shawn at Tap It Homebrew for setting me up and answering all my newbie questions.

Sixteen Dogs for Christmas

I got frozen pigs ears and whole pork leg bones for the kids to knaw on while I was on vacation for a couple of weeks. I vacuum-sealed the leg bones for later.Beth says fresh unsmoked pigs ears are yummy.Stanley and Stella are holding on to their’s, but not really sure what to do with it.We haven’t had a Christmas tree in years. Something to do with the kids/fosters/boarders pulling down the tree, gnawing on the ornaments, then marking the conquest as their’s. Kris got a 2 foot tree that we could put on the island.After watching Beth use the stairs, we decided that it would be best to build a ramp for her. The kids would just jump off. At least Beth used the entire ramp as designed.Kris reading feeding instructions. With 16 dogs for a week. It took a little effort during feeding time.We finally decided on two shifts. Fast and slow eaters.Potty time caused a bottleneck at the door. I followed them daily after breakfast with a pooper scooper.Alle tried to gum her pig’s ear to death.I could not get all 16 dogs in one shot. Clockwise from bottom left is Abby, Jaime, Beverly, Stanley, Stella, Alle, Billie, Sallie, Sugar in the corner, Chloe in the center surrounded by Beth, Roadie, and Bergie, and Parker is under the burgundy blanket next to the table. Not pictured are Blue and Max. Whew! 16 dogs is not for the faint of heart.Dogs, dogs, everywhere.Bev had slight sleep aggression / space issues. Stanley changed her mind.Sugar and Billie resign themselves to the small beds.The kids are finally getting the hang of it.