Saturday, April 3, 2021

Pinata

Two swans command Sophie's attention this morning.  Our walk by the river comes to a complete halt while she watches them swim by. For a moment I wonder if she's going to charge into the water but she accepts their presence with equanimity. Her attention is diverted by  the arrival of a friendly mutt with a red collar. 

On our way home we stop off at the frozen food store. That early rising dog owners 'first customer in' thing . Angus picks up four large bags of garden peas to last through lockdown. He also makes one of two spur of the moment purchases . Whoever knew that Pinata Cakes were a thing ? Or, to be more precise, an American thing ?

The Old Farmers lady friend has brought a touch of glamour to his garden. Four tulips appear in his concrete trough that fronts the lane ( and The Rickety Old Farmhouse ).

Sophie spends a part of the morning perfecting her ' stare at the door and it will open ' routine. It always works .


Today there will be a full on muzzle trimming. Those whiskers contain half of France profonde. Her coat was done last week but excessive 'squirming' accompanied by loud complaints meant that the face was left until later. 


Israel seems to be in a good place with the pandemic. Perhaps in the autumn we shall aim for a long weekend here : https://slh.com/hotels/the-american-colony-hotel

12 comments:

WFT Nobby said...

Such a beautiful photo of the swans on the tranquil river this morning. And the wisteria is coming along nicely.
Bertie is all to familiar with the concept of the multi-stage fur trim.

Kittypup said...

The Pinata cake looks lush - perhaps an accompanying smidgen of vanilla ice-cream would be appropriate too?

Angus said...

Definitely !

Emily and Laura said...

The building move photos were terrific! So glad you're getting your first dose of vaccine! My husband, who volunteers at the local veterans hospital, got his first jab on Christmas Eve day! I was able to get on a list here in Florida in March and got both my jabs then, 2 weeks apart. Where my daughter lives, in a small mountain town in Idaho, they're no longer restricting to age groups; anyone over 18 can get vaccinated within a few days, while it's still over-60s here -- but it's available at nearly every pharmacy on a walk-in basis as of a couple weeks ago. It really varies!

But the CDC says if we're fully vaccinated, we can travel now -- with masks and social distancing still necessary. It's a great feeling! We actually cheated and took a short trip to Mississippi a couple months ago, but it was so nice to see other scenery! So things progress, slowly. What Dr. Fauci says is what we follow.

Coppa's girl said...

I'm not familiar with the meaning of the word Pinata (unless it's a brand name), like similar new inventions in words, it's passed me by! However the photo on the box would lead me to believe that it's just a chocolate layer cake covered in what we Brits would call "Smarties" - small chocolate filled sugar coated sweets, beloved toddlers!
This morning we drove to the supermarket for our usual time of 9 a.m. - nothing opens before that here. Surprised how busy it already was when we joined a queue to get into the car park. When nothing moved for a few minutes it was obvious there was a hitch somewhere - the ticket machine had gone into meltdown and the barrier wouldn't rise! It was actually being selective, and only worked when it felt like it. I'm not used to shopping in a busy store so rushed round and out as quickly as possible, to find an even longer queue of cars waiting to enter because all the parking bays were full. A sign of things to come if the holiday season goes ahead, as everyone hopes.

Marty said...

Those goopy whiskers look very familiar. Our coton de tulear, Mamie, finally went to the groomer this week so she's trimmed and CLEAN! for which I'm grateful.
Sophie's still adorable, goopy whiskers and all.

Yamini MacLean said...

Hari Om
...or maybe, being 'American', those are another chocolate coated candy... mmm???
Pinata is a container often made of papier-mâché, pottery, or cloth; it is decorated, and filled with candy and then broken as part of a celebration. Piñatas I think originated in Mexico. The cake, I am guessing, is a more recent addition to the concept! YAM xx

Stephanie said...

What wonderful news that you'll be shortly receiving the vaccines! Oh my, pinata cake . . . like so many things, I saw it first on your blog, Angus. And catching up, the picture of Sophie in the clover earlier in this week is one of my favorites. Her enjoyment of all the life about her cheers me.

The Life of Riley said...

I hope the muzzle trim goes well!

Here is another link (published on one of NZ's main news sites today) with behind the scences video of the stealth flight which I mentioned to you previously. Great use of an aeroplane in Covid-19 times.
https://i.stuff.co.nz/travel/experiences/adventure-holidays/300267788/behind-the-scenes-on-air-new-zealands-aurora-hunter

Coppa's girl said...

Thank you YAM. I have heard of the tradition of the candy filled one, but didn't associate it with the chocolate cake!

Taste of France said...

When my kid was little, I made a pinata cake. I made it in two parts, each in a round glass bowl that could go in the oven. Then I scooped out the insides, filled it with M&Ms, and frosted it together into a ball--more like a pinata. It looked amazing until it was cut. The first piece brings oohs and ahhs--candy inside the cake!--but then it sort of collapses. The cake in the photo has a suspicious abundance of candies, considering the size of the interior.
I also made a Dora the Explorer pinata, which turned out uncannily accurate. My kid was so proud, until it was time to break open the pinata, which horrified all the children. Eventually they got over it to batter Dora to smithereens.

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