For every season...

As many of you know, we were saddened to learn that we lost our pup, Kona- very unexpectedly- while we were in Italy.  Our dogs are like our children and are a very large part of our life.  We do include them in many of our activities, from afternoon walks to snuggling in bed to gifts under the Christmas tree.  Our little Kona was always a bit quirky and different to say the least, but we embraced her originality.  She was my baby girl, and I had a particular fondness for her. She was only six when she passed, and unfortunately we will never know exactly what happened and why her time with us was so short.  

After she passed, Sam and I literally cried for about three days, both mourning her death and dealing with the many feelings surrounding the situation- mostly guilt.  We were also very uneasy about the fact that we did not get to say goodbye or ease her pain. As part of the process, we both wrote goodbyes to Kona since we did not get to say goodbye in person.  I was going to simply copy those letters here, but I struggled with that knowing that these letters were so personal. 

Due to this, I have been struggling for some time on how and what to write for the post.  I knew it had to be addressed, as she was such a huge part of our life.  It has almost been a month now since her passing, and it is time. Instead I have chosen to copy the words of a song that we all know.  It popped in my head, and I started singing it randomly a few days after Kona's death.  I think there must be a reason for that. 

Turn! Turn! Turn! 

To everything- Turn, turn, turn

There is a season - turn, turn, turn

And a time for every purpose under heaven

A time to be born, a time to die

A time to plant, a time to reap

A time to kill, a time to heal

A time to laugh, a time to weep

To everything - turn, turn, turn

There is a season - turn, turn, turn

And a time for every purpose under heaven

A time to build up, a time to break down

A time to dance, a time to mourn

A time to cast away stones

A time to gather stones together

To everything - turn, turn, turn

There is a season - turn, turn, turn

And a time for every purpose under heaven

A time of war, a time of peace

A time of love, a time of hate

A time you may embrace

A time to refrain from embracing

To everything - turn, turn, turn

There is a season - turn, turn, turn

And a time for every purpose under heaven

A time to gain, a time to lose

A time to rend, a time to sew

A time to love, a time to hate

A time of peace, I swear it's not too late!

Thanks to everyone for your love and support. 

To Endings and New Beginnings...

So... my original plan was to write about the awesome weather we have been having.  I have been planning this for several days now, but just hadn't gotten that far.  However, when I finally sat down to blog last night about something so blatantly cheery as sunshine and rainbows, I learned some sad news.

An Ending:
My 12 year-old companion and friend, Porter, had to be put to sleep this morning.  There were many tears last night, as well as today. Some were tears of sadness and some of regret. Porter came into my life 12 years ago when living with an ex.  Although the relationship did not work out, Porter eventually ended up coming to live with me at my parents' house. I bopped around from place to place, as young adults do, finishing a year of college and then off to my first teaching job in southern Ohio. I then ultimately ended up heading into the unknown of Colorado. None of these places or circumstances were exactly conducive for a dog, so she "stayed" with my mom and dad.  By the time I was settled in Colorado and could even think of having a dog, I could not bare to take her from the home she knew and was now comfortable with.  Her and my parents had grown attached and well- it was home.  Although I did not see her on a daily basis or even as much as I would have liked to, I am happy that she lived a fine-and very spoiled- life.

I somehow knew that when I was in Ohio last month, that this would be the last time I would see her.  She knew it too. She kept me from leaving by following me to the door, and I spent some precious snuggle time with her before I departed.  (She was always a little camera-shy.) The picture above was taken just after our snuggles, and as I was leaving. She will be greatly missed.

And New Beginnings:
Spring is in the air! As many of you know, the weather has been phenomenal! I will take two-weeks of 80 degrees in March any year!   I spent some great time in Colorado soaking up the sun for a week (Read about it here at my previous post.) And now the glorious weather has followed me back to Iowa.  The grass is a vibrant green.  Trees are blossoming. Daffodils blooming. And I was sitting on my back porch reading The Hunger Games all weekend while drinking a cold home-brewed beer.  Life is good.

On Sunday, I thought it was high-time for some summery goodness.  I wanted a light meal to make me believe it was actually June, rather than March.  Instead of a typical heavy meal, I opted for a fresh fruit salad made with sliced strawberries, cantaloupe (aka "Muskmelon"- thanks to Muscatine!), and grapes.  I bought more than enough.  We ate it for dinner, and then I portioned it out into individual containers so I could easily take it to work this week for either breakfast or lunch.

I also had a hankering for some deviled eggs. Yum!  I found a recipe for some classic deviled eggs on Pinterest, but added some horseradish mustard instead of yellow mustard for a little extra kick.  They were awesome.  Along with the fruit and deviled eggs, we had some sliced cheese and crackers and we had ourselves quite a little picnic! 

Strawberries.  Strawberries. Turns out that I bought way more strawberries than I needed.  I was trying to find something fun I could do with them before they went bad.  Pinterest saved the day again!  I found this spectacular recipe for Strawberries and Cream Muffins.  Check these out:

The recipe is a bit more complicated than my usual attempt.  I have to admit that although I cook a lot, I am not the best baker.  (Just ask my husband.)  So I have to say I am rather impressed with myself!  Definitely check out this recipe HERE- it is SO worth it!  The only change I made was instead of  adding 1 cup of whole milk, I used 2/3 cup of 1% milk and 1/3 cup of sour cream.  

Seriously. Need. To. Make. These. Sam and I have discovered they make a great breakfast. (I froze several in individual portions to take to work for a quick breakfast.) They also make a killer strawberry shortcake dessert warmed up with a little vanilla ice cream.  

Enjoy!