The Story of Stella

It has been over a year now since Lucy is no longer with us. I've missed that little canine presence in our home. Geo thought it was too soon for another dog. We did look at a few, but none of them seemed "right" for us. I really wanted a dog, so...

I prayed for a dog for Christmas. I began watching and waiting to see if God wanted to bring another dog into our lives. It was on the last Day of Christmas, the feast of The Epiphany, that I met the little beagle. She seemed "right" for us, but was this really the right time to be bringing her into our family?

The dog rescue offered to let us foster her for awhile before we would adopt her. In the meantime, they would not advertise her to the public. So Addie and I picked up the chubby little beagle and brought her home. I thought that with the right diet and good exercise, we could get her into shape. Because she was from the South, and because she had a skin irritation, and because there was a question about whether or not she had been spayed, the dog rescue asked if I could take her to the vet. We thought that was a great idea.

The vet examined her and said, "This dog is going to have puppies." !!!

I told the dog rescue that we were in no position to adopt a dog and manage a litter of pups. The dog rescue found a wonderful family with little kids who volunteered to foster the little beagle until she delivered and the pups were weaned.

On the morning after Superbowl Sunday, I received an email that the little beagle had six puppies. Despite my calls and leaving messages, I heard little, if anything, for the next week. Then I learned that the little beagle could only nurse two pups at a time, and to keep them all alive, the foster family was bottle-feeding them formula every two hours around the clock. Now that's true dedication.

So the little beagle mix pups should be available for adoption sometime in March. And the little beagle will be ready to come home to us sometime before my birthday. What a wonderful gift. Spring seems to be the "right time" for a new dog.

I named her Stella. The meaning of the name is "star." Her story in our lives began on the Epiphany, the feast of the manifestation of Jesus to the Magi by the sign of the star. I am eager to see how her story unfolds with us.

                                                    Stella

                                Stella's Puppies

Blueberry Pie

Yesterday was Super Bowl Sunday, and I wanted to make a special dessert for Geo to enjoy while watching the game. With lots of blueberries in the freezer, I decided to make a blueberry pie. I would make the filling on the stovetop, instead of baking it in the crust.

My favorite crust to make is one using all butter. To keep it from melting into the pie pan in the oven (yes, I've had that happen), I roll it out quickly, place it in a cold pie pan, then put it into a 450 degree F. oven so that it sets quickly. When it's in the oven, I set the heat to 425 degrees F. and bake it for 10 minutes, or until done.

From the scraps of dough, I made a few cutouts that I also baked in the oven.

While the crust was baking, I made the filling. I used about 5 cups of frozen berries, added a sprinkle of cinnamon, a squirt of lemon juice, sugar, a dusting of cocoa powder (totally optional), and two tablespoons of cornstarch that was mixed with 1/4 cup water. I stirred and cooked this mixture until it thickened. 

By this time the crust was done. I let it cool completely while I put the filling in the refrigerator so that it also could cool.

Then it was time to spoon the filling into the prebaked crust.

I added the baked cutouts. 

This was the first time I made a fruit pie in this way. It was a fun way to make a pie.

There was a request for whipped cream to go with the pie. A perfect topping!

(Don't tell Geo, but I plan to make a cherry pie like this for Valentine's Day.)