Friday, 11 February 2011

Unbaked Yeast Rolls

Unbaked Yeast Rolls

Those of you who have animals will probably appreciate this the most. It is a story that is hilarious in itself and the person who wrote it is a good writer and made the story even better. Enjoy...

We have a fox terrier by the name of Jasper.  He came to us in the summer of 2001 from the fox terrier rescue program.  For those of you who are unfamiliar with this type of adoption, imagine taking in a 10 year old child about whom you know nothing and committing to doing your best to be a good parent.

Like a child, the dog came with his own idiosyncrasies.  He will only sleep on the bed, on top of the covers, nuzzled as close to my face as he can get without actually performing a French kiss on me.

Lest you think this is a bad case of 'no discipline,' I should tell you that Perry and I tried every means to break him of this habit, including locking him in a separate bedroom for several nights.  The new door cost over $200
But I digress.

Five weeks ago we began remodelling our house.  Although the cost of the project is downright obnoxious, it was 20 years overdue AND it got me out of cooking Thanksgiving for family, extended family, and a lot of friends that I like more than family most of the time.

I was assigned the task of preparing 124 of my famous yeast dinner rolls for the two Thanksgiving feasts we did attend.

I am still cursing the electrician for getting the new oven hooked up so quickly.  It was the only appliance in the whole darn house that worked, thus the assignment.


I made the decision to cook the rolls on Wed evening to reheat Thurs am. Since the kitchen was freshly painted, you can imagine the odor.  Not wanting the rolls to smell like Sherwin Williams #586, I put the rolls on baking sheets and set them in the living room to rise for a few hours.  Perry and I decided to go out to eat, returning in about an hour.  The rolls were ready to go in the oven.

It was 8:30 PM.  When I went to the living room to retrieve the pans, much to my shock, one whole pan of 12 rolls was empty.  I called out to Jasper and my worst nightmare became a reality.  He literally wobbled over to me. He looked like a combination of the Pillsbury dough boy and the Michelin Tire man wrapped up in fur.  He groaned when he walked.  I swear even his cheeks were bloated.

I ran to the phone and called our vet.  After a few seconds of uproarious laughter, he told me the dog would probably be okay; however, I needed to give him Pepto Bismol every 2 hours for the rest of the night.  God only knows why I thought a dog would like Pepto Bismol any more than my kids did when they were sick.  Suffice it to say that by the time we went to bed the dog was black, white and pink.  He was so bloated we had to lift him onto the bed for the night.

We arose at 7:30 and as we always do first thing, put the dog out to relieve himself.  Well, the dog was as drunk as a sailor on his first leave.  He was running into walls, falling flat on his butt and most of the time when he was walking, his front half was going one direction and the other half was either dragging the grass or headed 90 degrees in another direction.

He couldn't lift his leg to pee, so he would just walk and pee at the same time.  When he ran down the small incline in our back yard he couldn't stop himself and nearly ended up running into the fence.

His pupils were dilated and he was as dizzy as a loon.  I endured another few seconds of laughter from the vet (second call within 12 hours) before he explained that the yeast had fermented in his belly and that he was indeed drunk.

He assured me that, not unlike most binges we humans go through, it would wear off after about 4 or 5 hours, and to keep giving him Pepto Bismol.

Afraid to leave him by himself in the house, Perry and I loaded him up and took him with us to my sister's house for the first Thanksgiving meal of the day.

My sister lives outside of Muskogee on a ranch, (10 to 15 minute drive). Rolls firmly secured in the trunk (124 less 12) and drunk dog leaning from the back seat onto the console of the car between Perry and I, we took off.

Now I know you probably don't believe that dogs burp, but believe me when I say that after eating a tray of risen unbaked yeast rolls, DOGS WILL BURP. These burps were pure Old Charter.  They would have matched or beat any smell in a drunk tank at the police station.  But that's not the worst of it.

Now he was beginning to fart and they smelled like baked rolls.  God strike me dead if I am not telling the truth!  We endured this for the entire trip to Karen's, thankful she didn't live any further away than she did.

Once Jasper was firmly placed in my sister's garage with the door locked, we finally sat down to enjoy our first Thanksgiving meal of the day.  The dog was the topic of conversation all morning long and everyone made trips to the garage to witness my drunken dog, each returning with a tale of Jasper's latest endeavor to walk without running into something.  Of course, as the old adage goes, 'what goes in must come out' and Jasper was no exception.

Granted if it had been me that had eaten 12 risen, unbaked yeast rolls, you might as well have put a concrete block up my behind, but alas a dog's digestive system is quite different from yours or mine.  I discovered this was a mixed blessing when we prepared to leave Karen's house.  Having discovered his 'packages' on the garage floor, we loaded him up in the car so we could hose down the floor.

This was another naive decision on our part.  The blast of water from the hose hit the poop on the floor and the poop on the floor withstood the blast from the hose.  It was like Portland cement beginning to set up and cure.

We finally tried to remove it with a shovel.  I (obviously no one else was going to offer their services) had to get on my hands and knees with a coarse brush to get the remnants off of the floor.  And as if this wasn't degrading enough, the darn dog in his drunken state had walked through the poop and left paw prints all over the garage floor that had to be brushed too.

Well, by this time the dog was sobering up nicely so we took him home and dropped him off before we left for our second Thanksgiving dinner at Perry's sister's house.

I am happy to report that as of today (Monday) the dog is back to normal both in size and temperament.  He has had a bath and is no longer tricolor. None the worse for wear I presume.  I am also happy to report that just this evening I found 2 risen unbaked yeast rolls hidden inside my closet door.

It appears he must have come to his senses after eating 10 of them but decided hiding 2 of them for later would not be a bad idea.  Now, I'm doing research on the computer as to:  'How to clean unbaked dough from the carpet.'


And how was your day?

Tuesday, 8 February 2011

Mad March Sale ... in February a great success!

Our Mad March Sale ... in February over the weekend was a great success. Thank you to everyone who dropped in.

Keep watching this space for news of other great events.

Friday, 4 February 2011

Craft Stamper March Issue now on sale at Kitty Krafts

The new Craft Stamper magazine is available now at Kitty Krafts.  It's full of great articles and features

FEATURES
Free Stamp Makes
This month’s free cover mount stamp is a fabulously versatile open flower design, created especially by The Artistic Stamper.


Stamping Contrasts
Four designers are challenged to work their magic on some delightful vintage sewing stamps this month.

Stamping for Scrapbookers, by Michelle Mogford-Jackson
In this regular feature, Michelle shows how to create fabulous painted background paper.

Idea Gallery: Women
This regular gallery is packed with projects inspired by images of women.

Stamping with…Alphabets, by Kate Bentley
Regular feature looks at using common stamp types creatively – this month, get more from those neglected alphabet stamps with Kate’s clever ideas.

Masterclass: Microscope Slides, by Anneliese Bates
Find out what a stunning and versatile addition to your artwork microscope slides can be, with Anneliese’s inspiring ideas.

Designer’s Palette, by Isabelle Norris
This regular feature looks at combining colours effectively in your stamped projects.


PROJECTS
Crinkled Chic, by Jean Franks-Beck
Make beautiful hand-dyed shabby chic trim with Jean’s fabulous tutorial.

Buzzing for Beeswax, by Hels Sheridan
Hels shows you how to incorporate fabulously tactile beeswax into your collage work.

Remember the Good Times, by Helen Chilton
Make stunning layered tags and a fabulous way to display them in Helen’s pretty project.

Salt Rocks, by Trish Latimer
Trish adds ordinary rock salt to her work to make amazingly textured surfaces and embellishments.


A Rose for Mum, by Lousette Ashton
Lousette shows different ways to use acetate, with these beautiful Mother’s Day card designs.

You’ve Been Framed, by Kate McNicholas
Make Kate’s stunning altered frame, packed with gorgeous details.

Paper Blending, by Liesbeth Fidder
Grab your background stamps and scraps and try out Liesbeth’s stunning technique.

Birds in the Trees, by Jean Hardy
Make the most of versatile chipboard shapes with Jean’s beautiful nature themed hanging.

Layer It Up, by Kate Crane
Take your journal pages to the next stage with Kate’s gorgeous painted background techniques.

Bless the Flowers, by Kim Costello
Make Kim’s pretty card and seed packet set for a keen gardener.

Back to Basics: Mounting Unmounted Stamps, by Rachel Jackson
Rachel guides you through the basics of mounting your unmounted stamps and gives you a ton of helpful tips along the way.

Scents of Spring, by Michelle Marshall
Make a delightful handmade candle – the perfect Mother’s Day gift.
Family Tray, by Audrey Tan
Take your scrapbooking off the page and onto the wall, with Audrey’s eyecatching printer’s tray.

Mixed Media Masterboard, by Rachel Jackson
Add rich texture to your masterboard backgrounds, with Rachel’s stunning mixed media version.

Wonderful Woodgrain, by Kim Costello
Kim shows you four fantastic ways to create woodgrain texture on your cards.

... and lots, lots more!

Tuesday, 1 February 2011

Getting closer

Our Mad March Sale starts Saturday 5th February. Don't be late!

We're so excited that we can't wait any longer to have our sale, so we're having our Mad March Sale in February!  In fact it's driven us so mad we are knocking 30% off everything* in the shop.  Yes, 30%!

If you want a 99p sheet of scrapbook paper, or a £200 die-cutting machine, it's 30% off.  I know it's mad, but we're just so glad to see the sun again that we've decided to cut all our prices.

Sale starts 10 a.m. Saturday, until 4 p.m. Sunday, so don't hang around as things will go quickly



 *Exclusions apply. Previously discounted items, magazines, classes and workshops are excluded

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