Wine club

As much as I love blogging about Jack and Jill it is also important to talk about the other loves in my life.
Such as my interest in wine, Ive mentioned my wine club that I am a member in and we finished off the year at a Divine wine Bar called 'Wine Sense' in Melrose Arch, Johannesburg.

It is a concept restaurant that offers patrons the opportunity to taste a wine without buying an entire bottle or a full glass. Let me explain.

You get a credit card with an amount of credit that you will load onto the card eg R500.

There are cabinets with sections of white, red, rose wine and even a brandy and whiskey section.

You insert your credit card in the slot and select either taste, half glass or full glass, place your glass in the correct nozzle and BINGO! You get the right amount you selected. Very easy and very entertaining!

I tasted a couple of wines that I have never bought as they are quite pricey and took the opportunity to just have a taste.The one that I purchased a full glass is one that I know well and love sipping on, Diemersfontien Pinotage,  2011 simply delicious! The girls and I cant go without our cheese with our wine and selected an assortment of yummy cheeses to nibble on, whilst we sampled the wine..Lovely evening with great company and good wine :)

Heres to 2013 wine club...CHEERS

A Picture says 1000 words

Cool pictures

Our favorite time with mom and dad

For those of you who don't know the characteristics of Jack Russells, they have high energy levels and are extremely intelligent.That is why it is so important that they get regular exercise and are stimulated.

Even at Jack and Jill's age they still need to get out and explore.Jack is now ten and Jill is twelve.Not bad looking for seniors hey?!.....

So most mornings at around 6am or 7am Wayne and I get ready for our walks.

The minute Jack sees me putting on my gym pants and Takkies ( sneakers) he starts barking in this high pitched excited tone and runs to where we keep their dog packs.

These packs sit like little back packs on their backs and was recommended by James Lech, South Africa's own Dog Whisperer.

The packs have cans in the side pockets and weigh ten percent of their weight.

Jacks pack has about 1.5kg and Jill's about 1kg in weight.

These packs help give the dogs a feeling of purpose like doing a job for us and it also exerts alot of energy so it helps tire them out.

Once their packs are on and have calmed down we start our walk.

We live in a area where the roads are long and quite flat not to hilly so its a pleasant walk.

Its a great time to soak in the morning sun and sounds and enjoy the fresh air.

Its also a good time for Wayne and I to spend quality time together either chatting or just walking together with our children in content silence.

Our walks are usually about 30-45minutes and by the time we get home the dogs are pooped.

We have a strict ritual we use when we get back home.

Wayne will tell them to sit and we take off their packs, we then leave them to sit and wait for the command to come drink water.Its a pack leader thing and is important for them to know who is boss( Wayne is the boss, I'm the sucker who caves in) ha ha ha.

Today I wanted to take them for a nice long walk but its raining here, as beautiful as the rain is, its messed my plans!

Oh well, I don't here complaints from Jack or Jill they having a snooze on the couch, I may just join them!

Jack goes to the vet

We took Jack and Jill to the vet for their annual check up and Peter (our vet) advised that Jacks teeth needed cleaning and possibly remove his two big canine teeth.So finally on Friday I made the appointment for the following Monday.

Sunday night I was so anxious about Jackies op that I tossed and turned all night!

Monday morning. We got up at 6am and took them for a walk and prepared the car for Jack.
We have special doggie seat belts for the car so they can sit safely.

Now I had decided that Jill should stay at home while we take Jack to the vet, she wasn't having any of it!
She scratched at the door and was crying for Jack, so Wayne A.K.A daddy, put her in his car and followed us to the vet.

Poor Jackie, he was barking the entire way there. almost like he knew car=vet=never a nice time.

Once we got there and had seen Peter I started feeling a little better.
He told us he would let us know how it goes and to fetch Jack after 3pm.

So I drove home with Jilly and waited for the vets call.

Jilly was loving having all the attention at home I think she would have loved to be an only 'child' :)

3pm and I drive to the vet to collect Jackie.
Peter said the op had gone well and was very quick in extracting the teeth.
What a sight, Jackie was still little woozy from the anaesthetics and he was walking like he had too much to drink,he was quiet all the way home.
I felt so bad! I kept thinking he was mad at me for doing this to him, so I kept talking to him in the car saying what a good boy he is and Jilly was waiting at home for him! I'm such a sucker for guilt trips!

He was still little out of it for the rest of the afternoon and even this morning he is not himself but I'm sure by the end of today he will be the Jackie we know and love.

mommy will just give him lots of love and attention ;)

What’s cooking good looking?

I love cooking Jack and Jill their weekly meals and this morning I got busy in the kitchen.

I boiled chicken pieces with some carrots until tender then used the same boiling water to cook brown rice. Added peas once the rice was cooked and began to shred the chicken into smaller scrumptious pieces.

Combined everything together and voila’-A nutritious meal for my babies!

Now I know there are two sides to everyone’s views on cooked food versus the vet’s brands ie Royal canine, I have done research into the benefits of cooked food and there is so much information out there, it’s unbelievable!

The dog food industry is amazing in the States and United Kingdom and South Africa will eventually catch up, I am inspired not only by my babies and their health but the health of all dogs out there!

So watch this space friends “JACK AND JILLS GOURMET FOOD” will be available soon!!!

I am super excited about my business and will keep you all posted on developments.

Thank you for following me on my blog and for the comments, I love reading them :)

My Boobas famous cheese cake

Boobas famous cheesecake recipe

My booba Lily (Jewish grandmother) was a legendary cook and baker, not to mention the sweetest and most generous granny any grandkid could ask for. Always offering me chocolate or a boiled egg she kept aside from breakfast because she knew I was visiting her on my day off work.
 

She passed away recently at the grand age of 96! Good innings for sure, I’m not convinced I’d like to live to that ripe old age thanks! It’s not the wrinkles that worry me it’s the mind and body wearing down that freaks me out!

I was inspired to bake her famous cheesecake literally the same week she passed away, I guess I thought that if I baked something that she could make so beautifully and skilfully that it would bring me closer to her in some weird or spiritual way? I have never baked a cheesecake in my life! Just so you know…..

So I get the recipe from my mom and go buy all the ingredients.

I’m amped to do this, I get the dough mixture ready and try with some trepidation to knead this sticky dough moosh, and it’s not looking very doughy if that’s even the right wording? Anyway I’m getting abit flustered and call out aloud ‘Boobs help me out here!’ so I add some more flour and slowly but surely it’s starting to look like real cake dough! Yay! WE HAVE SUCCESS! The drop offs are much appreciated by my two assistants Jack and Jill, they are loving this raw dough treat ha ha ha

Next is the cheese filling which is much easier to do I might add. In to the oven and now we wait 40 minutes or until golden brown. The smells permeating from the oven are mouth-watering!

Here is the recipe that I treasure and will always think of my Booba Lily when I bake it,

Enjoy…..

DOUGH INGREDIENTS

2 cups flour

Quarter pound butter

3 eggs

Quarter cup cream

3 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla essence.

CHEESE INGREDIENTS

2 or 3 tubs smooth cream cheese (full cream or low fat)

2 eggs

Quarter cup cream

1 cup milk

1 cup sugar

2 desert spoons mazeena (corn flour)

DOUGH INSTRUCTIONS

Cream butter and sugar together

Add eggs one at a time

Add cream and vanilla essence

Add flour and baking powder

Knead mixture into ball. (Add flour if too sticky)

Let rest while preparing cheese.

When ready use rolling pin to evenly roll.

CREAM CHEESE INSTRUCTIONS

Add cheese and eggs together

Add cream and milk

Add mazeena and sugar

Mix well, pour over dough in greased tin.

Bake on 160 degrees until golden brown.

Aunty Lee sends mommy a sketch!

Aunty Lee sends mommy a sketch of us x

CHILL TIME

JILL MAP READING

Jack leaves mommy a present

So i'm a member in a fabulous wine club called W.O.W- Womens Only Wine
And once a month the gals and I get together at one of their houses, we rotate hosting.
Now whats Divine about our club is that we have themed wine club nights, so the person hosting wine club cooks generally a three course meal and we each bring a bottle of wine that is also themed ie: organic wine or merlot night etc...

The food is good the wine is great and subjects always tend to head south...(YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN,WINK, WINK)

After a partically giggly and naughty drunk fuelled night at wine club,we did start off been studious and adult like promise :) I went to bed and had a night of broken sleep and toilet trips (red wine does that).

7AM!!! TIME FOR WORK...uggghhh my heads foggy, mouth dry, eyes sore..great!

I Shuffle to the sliding doors to open for Jack and Jill for their morning pee and stumble upon (not literally)
a mountain of warm, porridge like consistency, caramel coloured poo! (to gag at this point is appropriate)
uggghhhh JACK! I  know its Jack because Jills poo is delicately designed like alittle bucks kind of pellet like,I sigh, turn around and head for my bathroom to grab large amounts of loo paper to clean up.
Wayne is snoozing and I dont have the heart to wake him to make him clean it up, although the thought did cross my hung over brain!

In walks Jack, shame he actually looks embarrassed! I say "its ok my boy" and mop  it up..whilst holding back the mounting nausea that is overcoming me..

Lesson learnt!! No exotic pets mince for Jacky at night too risky!
And you thought I was going to say no more drinking right?.....

Jill and the giant moth!

Jills a natural at hunting, we know that jack russells were bred to hunt and kill rodents back in the day, but she takes this to a new level! I call it a form of Obsessive compulsive disorder ha ha she can stare for hours at one spot waiting for a lizard or beetle to come out from hiding and then ZAP! she pounces! It must be very satisfying getting her well deserved reward for all that patience....except for one night....

Wayne and I were having a quiet night at home vegging infront of the tv, Jack was snoozing on his bed like a good boy and madam Jill was next to me on the couch.( I have to vacuum daily to remove copious amounts of hair, the sacrifice I make to have them snuggle next to us.) Anyway...

In flies the biggest moth I have seen in Joberg (there are bigger in the bush) and gently lands on the wall opposite the couch where Jill is laying.One eye opens,the ears perk up and here comes the OCD behaviour! She launches herself at the wall, crying in frustration that she miscalculated the fact that she cant fly up a wall to eat her prey. she jumps, scratches and whines at this poor little moth that is oblivious to her tormented killer!

After awhile I get irritated with the whining and crying and decide to be an accomplice in this unnecessary 'Murder'.So I gently navigate the moth alittle closer to where Jill can reach it, she takes this unexpected opportunity to her full advantage and in one quick as lightning swoop she gobbles up the moth, wings and all YUK!

I did feel guilty for helping her kill it, I really did but what mommy would watch and let their four legged child stare and whine at a wall without helping out :)

Lets get to know each other!

Thanks for making time to read my blog, I'm pretty new to this so i'll learn as i go along ( i'm not that technologically gifted) lol!

I adore my doggies and couldnt imagine my life without them! I want to tell you how they came into my life so you get to know us alittle better and we can have fun with this.

I have known Jack and Jill since they were pups as they belonged to my dad, sadly in June 2010 my Dad passed away.Now let me just say Wayne and I (my other half) had known that one day we would want dogs but hadnt expected or could ever had imagined adopting these two, I never thought about what would happen to them in the event of my dad passing away, I mean, who thinks of these things! so anyway.....

So after the shock of loosing a parent (which sucks!) I had to decide the fate and/or future of two senior doggies.Not many people are keen on adopting old dogs.After afew months of countless emails and calls to shelters and family members, we decided to adopt them!I can honestly say that it was the best decision I made that year!

So enjoy some cute and entertaining blogging from all of us at no9 :)

JACK AND JILL

JACK

JILL