Stained Glass Project - putting the pieces together

 The stained glass project has gotten serious. 

Here's where the tools live. Brushes, cutters, nippers and hammers. 

Where magic happens. After the glass is roughly cut, it must be ground to fit precisely into the design. That happens here. It's really messy. Glass and water everywhere. 

The piece being put together. The ground glass pieces are laid on the board, then bordered by lead strips. 

Total time spent so far (not counting cutting): 4 hours

Dog Days of Summer

Summer in Texas is HOT, so not much goes around here except watching TV and going to movies.

Here's 2 movies mom and dad watched last week:

Pacific Rim - lots of great effects. Cool story. 

One of mom and dad's favorite directors (Guillermo del Toro) and actors (Ron Perlman).

The Good, The Bad, The Weird - on the "need to watch" list for awhile, and it finally happened. Great story, VERY funny, and one of mom and dad's favorite Korean actors (Jung Woo-Sung)

Lots of Korean shows being watched right now. 

This one (Cyrano Dating Agency) just wrapped up. Cute, light and a happy ending.

This one (Heartless City) is coming to an end, and is far from light and happy.  Drugs, murder, crooked cops and politicians, and betrayal. What's not to love about all that?

Another K-Drama (I Hear Your Voice) that is fun and sucks you in with its great characters.  And another of mom and dad's favorite Korean actors (Yoon Sang-Hyun). They'll miss this one when it ends.

And last but not least, "Longmire". 

Watching for him (Bailey Chase)

A little for him (Robert Taylor)

But mostly for her (Katee Sackhoff)

Stained Glass Project

Let the games begin. Mom's making a stained glass piece as a fundraiser for Pug Agility at the Pug Dog Club of America's Annual Specialty.

Here is day one: start cutting the glass. This is where the piece starts to take shape, going from a flat design on paper to a textured, colorful window. We'll keep you posted on our progress.

Measuring and cutting and breaking

Glass starting to go onto the pattern

Beach Combing

Sharing some photos from last summer at South Padre Island

Cool and Tranquil

Sharing some Botanical Garden photos

Animal Instincts

Sharing some zoo photos

Mangia - Homemade Meatball Recipe

Most folks have a memory of a good roast as their main meal on Sunday.

Not mom. Her Sunday memory is full of meatballs, sauce, bread and pasta. So yesterday, she decided to make dinner from scratch, and share the meatball recipe with you. Well, it's not really "her" recipe - it's her mom's, who we call Meme. When she visited here a few months ago, mom made Meme measure out all the ingredients (instead of doing it by "feel").

Presenting, Homemade Meatballs by Meme

Ingredients:
2 pounds Ground Beef (80/20)
1 pound Ground Pork
1/2 Large Onion - Diced, Cooked and Cooled
3 Large Eggs
1 Cup Italian Bread Crumbs
1 Cup Grated Cheese
Salt and Pepper to Taste (about 4 pinches each)
Parsley for Color

Heat oven to 400 degrees

Put all of your ingredients into a large bowl

Mix the ingredients together. Be careful to not compress or overmix the meat. Put your hand into a "claw" and mix lightly with your hands. Compressing the meat or overmixing it will result in your meatballs not being light and moist.

Once everything is mixed together, roll them into balls. The size depends on your own preference. Mom likes large meatballs, so she makes them kind of huge. But any size you like is OK. Again, don't compress the meat when making the meatballs. Take a handful into your hands and lightly roll them into balls. 

Pop them into your heated oven, and cook for 15-30 minutes. Mom's usually take about 27-28 minutes. Meme's usually take 15-20. It all depends on your oven. 

The meatballs are done when the outside is slightly browned. 

Add the meatballs to your sauce. Don't forget to add the drippings - it adds flavor to your sauce. The meatballs will taste better after cooking for an hour or so in the sauce. 

Now, it's time to eat and enjoy! Mangia!

Hot, with some relief in sight

We've been pretty lazy around here lately. I only go to class if it's cool enough, which means I've skipped a lot of classes lately. No walks. Quick trips outside to do our business. Back to the cool house, and just nap.

It's supposed to cool off today, so I'm hoping I go to class tonight. Keep your paws crossed.