"Life isn't long enough to do all you could accomplish. And what a privilege even to be alive. In spite of all the pollutions and horrors, how beautiful this world is.
Supposing you only saw the stars once every year. Think what you would think. The wonder of it!"--Tasha Tudor



Wednesday, December 28, 2011

The week between Christmas and New Year

There is something very calm about the day after a holiday. I find the week between Christmas and New Year's Day especially calm and peaceful. Maybe it is because everything still looks so pretty, all decorated. Messes from wrapping paper and cooking and baking have all been put away, but the lovely goodies and gifts remain. The sense of urgency is replaced by a little bit of tranquility. Warm feelings of seeing or speaking with loved ones and friends cling to your heart. Knowing a few days more will bring another holiday along with a fresh new year, I don't know, just seems really nice to me.

Speaking of new fresh starts, I've been watching my Corgi puppy Harley grow these past weeks. He is a funny little guy. He makes me smile every day. He has big paw prints to fill that the lovely dogs in his line have left behind. Last night when I bathed him, I think he finally dropped the last of his puppy fur. His big boy teeth are in now too. He is growing up! I love having a boy in the house again. The girls are great, but there is just something about a boy. They are sometimes a little more 'mushy' and 'lovey' to me.

Do take a peek over in my Etsy shop for a little something new as well! Two new prints plus a fresh new supply of some favorites are in stock. I've also listed a few on eBay as well. The Hedgie Hullabaloo in my previous post is now available in a signed fine art print as well as this new one which I call "Curiouser and Curiouser" It is Corgis set in Alice in Wonderland!

I've listed some on eBay and in the Christmas Corgi Etsy Shop as well. Prices and shipping are identical in both Etsy and
My items on eBay
(click ebay icon for my listings there)

Take a peek! Enjoy this week! xo xo

Warmly,
Cathy

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

New Original Corgi Painting on eBay!



Come and take a peek into the new Original painting "A Christmas Corgi Hedgehog Hullabaloo." Listed on eBay. Three day auction ending this Thursday. Hedgies and Corgis. Super cute prickly fun. Here are just a couple of the greatly enlarged images from this 8" x 10" painting which I think will bring many smiles. Click on over.
My items on eBay


Lots of changes have been going on here at The Christmas Corgi. The biggest one was a move which I'll tell you about soon. I'm still trying to find everything! Pictures soon. I promise. My new puppy, Harley, has been a little ray of sunshine here. More about him in the days to come as well.

I've missed everyone during this little hiatus. But, I'm back. And I hope you will still have me! Love you all. xo xo Cathy

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Joy Comes To Reinwood

After a year filled with loss and heartache, I am pleased to announce that Reinwood Corgis has been blessed with a beautiful litter of Pembroke Welsh Corgi puppies. Almost a year to the day that we lost our beautiful Bridget, her grand babies were born to her lovely daughter "Cash," Reinwood One For The Money.

These photos were taken this week. They are 4 weeks old here. In the mail that day Mary Elizabeth and I received a notice from the AKC that Bridget had qualified and was invited to enter the Eukanuba Championship show in Orlando, Fl. A bittersweet day. Bridget had won Best of Breed at that show with our friend Joan Scott a few years back. I know that our gorgeous girl is looking down on her grand babies and hopefully has sprinkled them with some of her magic.

Our lovely Cash is out of Bridget (BISS CH. Heronsway Two For The Show) x Gabe (BISS CH. Tallyrand No Greater Love, ROMX).

The stunning sire of these gorgeous babies is "Isaboo" who is CH. Pembury House Be Still My Heart. I just adore Isaboo. He is as loveable as he is beautiful.

Without further ado, here they are, 3 girls and 3 boys, fresh from heaven:

Harley



Trouble



Little Jack



Picassa



Rev




Rebel



The wee babies are all doing well. They are fat and happy little wiggle butts. Cash, like her mother Bridget before her, is a fantastic mom and loves all of her babies.

Thank you to all of my followers for being patient with me during this hiatus. Your support means more to me than words can express. I love you all. xo xo ♥ Cathy

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Farewell Hannah Banana

Windcrest Zip'N Rave Review, CD, AX, AXJ, NAC, NJC, CGC, RN
12/30/97 - 6/1/11



It is with a heavy heart that I must tell you that we had to say goodbye to Hannah Banana this morning. Hannah,or "Hannah Banana" or "HB" as those who knew and loved her would call her, had to leave us behind to find all of her friends at the Rainbow Bridge. She was truly Mary Elizabeth's side kick. If Mary Elizabeth was going out, HB just assumed she was going too. In fact, one of the funniest things about Hannah was that she would literally get her nose out of joint if you didn't do something she thought should be done. She would twitch her nose to one side and give you 'that look.'


Hannah Banana was not only an official bed warmer, had her own seat in the car, but was a fantastic athlete. Her obedience and agility prowess was amazing. She loved Mary Elizabeth and wanted to please her. Being with her was her bliss.





Such a big presence in the house for such a little dog. You stole Mary Elizabeth's heart
on the day you were born, and continued to steal hearts of everyone who met you.





We love you HB. We cherish the little paw prints you leave on our hearts, forever. Sleep well little angel. Run free. xo xo

Friday, April 29, 2011

Pass me a tissue....

I know I'm not the only sappy girly girl who tears up at weddings. Could there be a more stunning couple on the planet today than Prince William and Kate Middleton? I think not. Wow, Britain you certainly know how to put on a royal wedding!


A kiss on the balcony...Prince William and his princess bride, the new Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. Has a nice ring, eh? Well I guess we'll all get used to it.

I love that Prince William gave Kate his mother's ring. I'm sure Princess Diana was right there with them today. And so very proud. I have a sneaking suspicion that she just may have had something to do with getting them together in the first place, working her magic from heaven.



I feel the need to wear a tiara today. For the rest of the day I will be Princess Catherine of Reinwood. You may address us as Your Royal Corginess. (tee hee...)

Have a happy weekend, my lovelies! ♥ CS

Friday, April 1, 2011

New product causes strange reaction in Corgis.

I don't know what happened. We bought a new conditioning spray that was supposed to give them the most beautiful show coats EVER. We tried it last night for the first time. This morning, instead of the usual barking we heard shuffling around the kitchen and something that sounded like 'brains....brains.....' The Corgis seem to be having a bad reaction to this spray. I must say though, their coats do look fab.


April Fool! (insert evil laugh here) ♥ xo xo ♥ Cat

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Here is a photo from St. Patty's day past. I think that is Amy on the far left, and Stella is second from the right. (I know, too much cuteness in one little fleecy bed!)



Here is Stella all grown up.


She still can't hold her licker.


Happy St. Patty's, my lovelies!

Kiss a Corgi for luck and be sure to wear something green so ya don't get pinched! xo xo Cat

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Eggplant Parmigiana, Corgi style.

Here I am in the kitchen. Can you find five hopeful Corgis? They are just waiting for something delicious to drop. I've mentioned before that most of my friends and family are what I call 'kitchen people.' That is, we all love to hang out in the kitchen. Even if there is a party set up in another room, somehow we always end up in the kitchen. I think it is probably because the kitchen tends to be the heart of the home. I enjoy having people around when I'm cooking. Especially if I can recruit a few helpers. There is something so relaxing about preparing a meal. It is kind of like painting for me. Your mind becomes focused on creating something from your heart and it is fun to share that with someone. Even if no one is home, there are always wee beasties here who are willing to supervise the cuisine du jour.


Vice President in charge of Quality Control.



Let's make an easy eggplant parmigiana, shall we?


I see I have your attention.

First, you will want to get your sauce started. If you are from an Italian house, you may call this gravy. Don't be confused. It's just the way it is. In a heavy saucepan, lightly saute a few cloves of minced fresh garlic in a good drizzle of olive oil, just until soft. Add two large cans of tomato puree, (love the San Marzano tomatoes) and a small can of tomato paste. Swirl the puree cans with a smidgeon of water to get all of the tomato out. Add a few pinches of sea salt, a crank or two of black pepper, a few good pinches of dried oregano that you rub between your palms before you add them to the pot, a pinch of onion powder and a small pinch of dried basil. You may omit the onion powder if you mince one tiny onion and cook it with the garlic, but Mary Elizabeth has no love for onions so I left them out.

Open a nice bottle of red wine. Pour a bit into the sauce. I like this nice Beaujolais Nouveau for this. Pour some for yourself too while you're at it. When I make sauce for eggplant parm, I like to make it a little bit sweeter than the sauce I normally would for other dishes, like pasta. I do this because sometimes eggplant can be slightly bitter and I just like the balance it gives. I add a spoonful of sugar after the wine. Chiffonade a nice bunch of fresh basil. Stack together a few leaves at a time, roll the stack lightly and then slice across the rolled leaves to create thin ribbons. Stir the basil into the sauce. Cover and simmer on low.

Peel the skin off of your eggplants. Some people leave the skin on, I personally prefer it without. I used two nice sized ones for this 13 x 9 inch pan. Use a vegetable peeler rather than a knife and you will lose less of the eggplant as you peel. Cut the eggplant into slices approximately 1/4" thick. Dip the slices into a mixture of beaten eggs (start with 3, you can always add more) and a little milk. Immediately dredge the wet slices into a mixture of seasoned breadcrumbs and flour, a 3 to 1 ratio. Let the breaded eggplant slices rest on a plate while you get them all ready to fry. Having two large frying pans makes this go faster. Add a few tablespoons of olive oil to the skillets and warm them up on a medium flame. Do not burn the oil and be careful not to burn yourself. You want the oil hot enough to brown the eggplant nicely. Too hot and it will burn, too low and the eggplant will absorb too much oil. Cook them until they look like this.

Drain them on a dish with paper towels until they are all done. Keep a fork handy
to poke people who want to eat them all just the way they are. They will just have to wait until you have assembled your pan for the oven.

Recruit loved ones to help. Promise them fried eggplant for their service.


Do the Corgis need to go out to *twinkle?*
Recruit handsome husband for the job.


Reward him with fried eggplant. And smooches.


While everyone is helping, go outside and get yourself
some fresh air since it is so hot in the kitchen.


Everyone can amuse themselves for a minute or two.



Ignore Corgi who knows there is a plateful of delicious fried eggplant on the counter.


Do not stare into her eyes or she will put a spell on you.
Sometimes they use their powers for evil.



I'm just sayin'.

I know some people like to bake their eggplant rather than fry it. I happen to like it fried and well drained on paper towels better. Turn on your oven to 350 degrees. Cut up about a pound of fresh mozzarella cheese into small thin pieces. Try to use the fresh and not the packaged if you can. It really makes a difference here. Something about the fresh mozzarella and the fresh basil are important to this dish. Sometimes you can get away with using the packaged one or just the dried basil in certain dishes, but trust me on this one.

Start to assemble your eggplant parmigiana into the baking pan. Ladle some sauce to coat the bottom of the pan and then add a layer of your fried eggplant. On top of the eggplant, sprinkle some good grated Parmesan cheese and about a third of the mozzarella. Ladle some of your sauce to cover the eggplant but not so much that it is swimming in it. Add another layer of eggplant, Parmesan cheese and more sauce, followed by a final layer of eggplant, sauce, and the cheeses last. Don't try and stack up your eggplant slices perfectly. Remember they are round and vary in size, so just space them on each layer the best you can so you can cover the pan. Cover pan tightly with aluminum foil and bake for approximately 35 minutes and then remove the foil and bake for approximately 10 more minutes until the cheese is nice and bubbly and starts to brown. Remove from oven and let rest for about 10 minutes before you eat it to let it settle.


Tell everyone to be patient. Give them more wine. And more fried eggplant.


Don't fuss over anything that may fall to the floor.

There's an app for that.


This is the last thing a delectable morsel sees before its demise.


That's it. An easy eggplant parm. The Mister's grandma used to add extremely thin slices of potato in between her eggplant layers. That is very delicious also. You can also shake things up a bit and make an eggplant rollatini by slicing the eggplant lengthwise rather than in circles before the frying process. Roll each slice around a spoonful or two of a mixture of ricotta cheese, mozzarella, Parmesan, a pinch of parsley and a beaten egg. Add the sauce and a bit more mozzarella to the top and bake till hot and bubbly.

But for now, this will do.


Yes, I think this will do nicely. :)

Have a happy day, my lovelies! xo xo Cat ♥

Thursday, February 24, 2011

A Corgi's Haiku


Snow is all around.
Where is the toy I buried?
Spring, please hurry back!


xo xo -CS ♥

Monday, January 24, 2011

Snow Day




























































Have a wonderful week, dear reader. xo xo -CS ♥