Something Wicked This Way Comes

"Look into my eyes....deeper....deeper...."

"When I say 'Woof' you will put all of your Halloween treats into my little pumpkin...."

Happy Halloween my dear reader! xo xo -CS

America's Next Top Model?

Wow! One of our Reinwood Corgis is a model in this month's Oprah Magazine! Mary Elizabeth and I are just thrilled to see our "Kaizey" (they spelled her name wrong) in print!

We heard she was a very good girl during the photo shoot.

Doesn't she look smashing in her jacket with faux fur trim? She knows she does.

Here's the cover of the November 2009 Oprah Magazine where you can spot Kaizey.

Oh...and the human model's boots aren't too shabby either :)

Happy Thursday, my lovelies! xo xo -CS ^..^

The Watching

Would you like to help Corgis AND get a lovely Christmas book?

Then please read on, my dear Corgettes! Read on!

The Watching, A Corgi Christmas Tale

By Millie J. Williams

With original art by

Evie Anderson, Kay Folk, Robert Holst, Kim Hundley,

Chris Landers, Ginnie Mickelson, Diane Puntenney, Cindy Read,

Cathy Santarsiero, John Scarinici, Christian Slade, and Barbie Sonnett

The annual version of “The Watching,” usually released for Christmas Eve, has become a tradition in corgidom. Millie Williams wrote the original story in 2002 for the Corgese list on Yahoo Groups, and since then it has been enjoyed each year by thousands of readers on Corgese, Corgi-L, WheelCorgis, and other e-mail lists. Each year, people have looked forward to the new story, and in 2008, “The Watching: Misty” was published, with photos, on the Web. Now the 2009 story―The Watching: A Corgi Christmas Tale―is being immortalized in a more permanent form, published as a beautiful full color paperback book with dazzling artwork.

All net proceeds for these books (after printing and shipping) benefit CorgiAid. The books will be shipped beginning December 1, so pre-order now to guarantee you’ll have your copy before Christmas. Books ordered by November 15 will include a special bookplate, signed by the author herself. The books are only $20 each, which includes shipping, so order extras as gifts for all your animal-loving friends, young and old. International orders are $27 each.

Click HERE to order online or by mail.

Coming December 1st: A special two-week only eBay auction of the original artwork, created for The Watching: A Corgi Christmas Tale, by Evie Anderson, Kay Folk, Robert Holst, Kim Hundley, Chris Landers, Ginnie Mickelson, Diane Puntenney, Cindy Read, Cathy Santarsiero, John Scarinici, Christian Slade, and Barbie Sonnett.

Coming Soon: A limited edition series of holiday ornaments featuring original art created for The Watching: A Corgi Christmas Tale.

My Little House On The Prairie Birthday Surprise Weekend

A very excited phone call came on my birthday over the Summer from my friend Tracy who lives on the Jersey shore. She said not to make any plans over a certain weekend in September because I was 'hers.' By chance, she had just seen a postcard advertisement for the upcoming musical and that she and Kathy were taking me there for my birthday. Knowing how much I have always loved Little House on the Prairie, and that Melissa Gilbert would be playing "Ma" in the show, she knew I would love it. If you are a regular reader of this blog you may recall this post about my Little House envy. So John and Laura held down the fort (a.k.a. took care of the dogs and the house) so I could drive down on that Friday.

Kathy and Tracy

Tracy is the best cook I know.

One of my favorite things she makes is her blackened tuna with her

fresh pesto. Doesn't the breaded asparagus look just fantastic? They were.

She always makes everything look as good as it tastes. She

made the most of the last of the basil in the garden. Fresh mozzarella

salad with a touch more pesto. Mmmm.....

We also had some very delicious 20 year old port after dinner.

Our tickets were for the Saturday matinee. Kathy's friend, Dana, also came with us. She met us at the theater. She is really nice. It was so exciting to see Melissa Gilbert take the stage. The audience cheered. In our hearts she will always be Laura Ingalls, but after a few moments in character on the stage, she transformed into 'Ma.' At the curtain call when the young girl who played Laura came out with Melissa Gilbert side by side, we all got a little teary eyed.

We are such a sappy bunch. No, really, we are.

I adore little buttons so I had to buy these tiny pins after the show. And a hooded LHOP sweatshirt for my daughter. She loves it.

After the show we went to a really good Martini bar restaurant near the Paper Mill Playhouse.

These were our Martinis. Mine was a Flirtini (yum) and I had to taste Kathy's just because it was blue (I liked mine better) but I don't recall what the others were. But they must have been good because we had a few. The Martini menu was huge.

This is Tracy on the phone with my Mom at the restaurant, telling her all about the show.

Best friends do that.

Our very nice waiter took this photo of us. Toasting before dessert

with glasses of 30 year old port. I honestly don't recall ever having

port before but after all the port over that weekend,

I can tell you that I like it.

A lot.

Dana, Me, Tracy and Kathy

Everything we ordered was beautifully presented, fresh and delicious.

Like this shrimp with pea risotto....

and this delightful creme brulee....

After the perfect afternoon, we went back home and played Mexican Train Dominos (so fun) until the wee hours of the morning. And we laughed. And laughed. And laughed.

Thank you to my Tracy & Kathy for the most wonderful made-for-me weekend.

I love you both. xo xo xo -CS ^..^

P.S. The Little House On the Prairie Musical has a nice web page with a free downloadable PDF study guide if you click on 'learning center.' Great for homeschoolers, teachers or anyone who just loves pioneer days and Little House. Enjoy!

Special Birthday Girls

Here are a couple of photos from our Bailey's 13th birthday this month.

Can you find the corgi in this photo?

I can't believe she is 13 years old. Where does the time go? Her softly greying fur reminds me of how precious each day is with my sweet angel corgi girl. But when I look into her eyes I still see the same little puppy that stole my heart those many years ago.

Sometimes you just have to help yourself to more birthday cake.

"Betony" belongs to our friends Cindy Read and Nancy Boyd. Betony has a special place in the Santarsiero hearts as she has stayed with us many times. She is a snuggler and never forgets where the toys are. I had to put her in this 'glamour girl' frame because she looks like she is saying, "You KNOW I'm cute...!" Plus, even though she is spayed, for some reason all of the boys always buzz around her and find her irresistible. Betony is an amazing corgi. She has overcome many health challenges this year including losing an eye. (We think she should wear a sparkly eye patch and be a sexy pirate for Halloween.) Her spirit is amazing. Here are a couple of her 11th Barkday photos from this Spring.

Birthday dessert....yum....

Bailey and Betony....we love you with all of our hearts. xo xo -CS ^..^

Billy Ray Cyrus and The Charlie Daniels Band. Woot! Woot!

I just realized that I've got a few pics in my camera from the Summer that I can share with you. If you are a regular reader of this blog then you know how much I love Billy Ray Cyrus. Not only is he a wonderful musician and talent, but he is a genuinely nice person who 'gives back' which I love. He has always supported our troops and I was so excited when our kids gave us tickets to the Freedom Concert in Jackson, NJ because he was on that tour along with The Charlie Daniels Band, who we also love. The Mister and I have seen the CDB a few times before and they never disappoint. Always fun. I've never seen Michael W. Smith before and he was wonderful as well. Lots of talented musicians and interesting people at this show. The best part of it is that all of the money raised goes to the Freedom Alliance which provides scholarships for children of our troops who have been killed or seriously wounded in their service to our country. The show we went to at Six Flags had about an hour delay due to some equipment failure or something, so when it was Billy Ray's time to perform, the fireworks in the park had just begun and were incredibly loud and close. Inspired by the 'rockets red glare,' Billy Ray handled the situation with grace and started to sing The Star Spangled Banner which of course had the entire crowd on their feet. It was lovely. John and I stayed at the Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza overnight (the upside of earning all those points when going to dog shows...) and we had a really nice time. -CS ^..^

Munchkins

I have a thing for the Wicked Witch of the West from the Wizard of Oz. She used to scare the bejeezus out of me when I was a little girl. She, along with the giant glowing wizard head in the Emerald City would cause me to watch with one eye peeping out from under a blanket. Now I have a little Wicked Witch collection. It started out as just the Wicked Witch of the West but now I seem to pick up any Witch here or there that strikes my fancy. My favorite is one that is a porcelain likeness of Margaret Hamilton in full makeup and in the most exquisite black layered dress and pointy hat. I love her. You can see her if you scroll down to my Halloween decorations from this post. I came across this recent interview of 5 of the remaining Munchkins from the Original movie. I love this clip. I love how they love the movie and how they loved Judy Garland. I hope you will enjoy it too. Scroll down on the left to my music playlist to pause it before playing the clip. Do watch it...or (insert wicked laugh) I'll get you my pretty....and your little dog, too! xo xo -CS ^..^

No More Corgis at Buckingham Palace? Say It Isn't So, Your Majesty!

Can it be so? Is it possible that it is the end of the Royal Line for the Queen's Corgis? Here's an article (including photo above) by Jane Dryer from the UK's Daily Mail Online today from a May article. Thanks to my friend Cyndi Rusakovitch for finding it! What do you think? The resident Corgis here are having a discussion as to why they do not get daily scones and their own Royal Footman. I smell mutiny. -CS ^..^

Furry Friends

Such little sleepyheads!

Have a lovely weekend, everyone! xo xo -CS ^..^

New York Lottery Sweet Million "Sleepy Time"

Is this the cutest commercial ever made or what? Just look at those little Corgi puppies in their pj's. And those little pigs! Be still my heart! xo xo -CS ^..^

Remember

The lesser known of New York's canine heroes, comfort dogs, such as this golden retriever, help soothe those affected by the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Similar to search-and-rescue dogs, comfort dogs travel to disaster scenes to aid relief efforts. Studies show that people experience physiological changes—such as a drop in heart rate and blood pressure—when they pet animals.
(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Zip USA: 10013—After the Fall," September 2002, National Geographic magazine)
Photograph by Ira Block

Farmers Market Booty

The weather has been completely lovely here the past few days. Today was a perfect day to poke around the Farmers Market in Ridgefield, Connecticut. What a beautiful bounty of fresh, local fruits, veggies, baked goods, fish, honey, eggs, flowers, maple syrup and jams were to be found today! I love buying things from our local farmers. There is nothing like biting into a piece of sweet, crisp corn that was picked just a few hours earlier or freshly picked giant blackberries and peaches. I don't usually buy many baked goods in the stores, because I like to bake, but the things at the Farmer's Market are really yummy and too good to pass up. I did resist buying a sinfully delicious chocolate walnut pie that I did have a little taste of though. My daughter wanted a peach pie but they sold out so she got an apple pie instead. What did we buy? Let's see....corn, some basil, a couple of different eggplants, tomatoes, peppers, bee pollen and a little beeswax votive candle (I adore the smell of real beeswax candles!) molasses cookies, apple pie, a frosted scone (cranberry or citrus...I can't remember) a crumb bun, challah bread and another organic sweet delicious bread...hmmm.....I think that's it. Do you have a Farmers Market near you? I encourage you to stop in and buy some fresh delicious things from them. It is nice to get a smile from the person who actually grew the produce you are buying. You can see how proud they are of what they present. And well they should be! -CS ^..^

New Original Christmas Corgi Art Doll Ornament

A little belated treasure from Christmas In July, my lovelies. Now on Ebay! xo CS ^..^




*Sold!* More original ornaments and other goodies in the works! xo xo -CS ^..^

Happy Tasha Tudor Day!

Today, on her birthday, we remember and honor the life of our beloved Tasha Tudor. This image is from her book "A Time To Keep" for August. The quote at the top of the first page by Christine Rossetti reads, "My heart is like a singing bird." The page continues: "August brought your mother's birthday which we celebrated at night by the river. The table was set with birch bark plates and gourd drinking cups. There wee favors made from walnut shells and families of wooden animals in little baskets and meringues made in the shape of toadstools. But best of all-the birthday cake came floating down the river."

Happy Tasha Tudor Day to everyone who is celebrating the life of this American treasure today and keeping her memory and magic alive! xo xo -CS ^..^ p.s. visit Clarice's Storybook Woods blog for more Tasha Tudor day fun.

Breakin The Law

Scroll down and pause my music playlist to the left of the blog and turn up your speakers before playing this video! It is a riot. -CS ^..^

Another Star In The Sky Tonight

"Kelsey"

3/6/95-8/18/09

This morning, Mary Elizabeth had to say goodbye to Kelsey. Kelsey was the sweetest Corgi ever. Mother to our Indy and Hannah Banana and Grant, she was loved by all and brought little bits of sunshine wherever she went. Click here on our Reinwood Corgis pages, then to 'the girls' to see her in her younger days. Run wild and free, sweet Kelsey. We love you with all of our hearts. xo xo xo

Caught in the act.

Happy Saturday morning, my lovelies! Lest you think that the Reinwood Corgis and other critters (whether the ones who live here with me or with Mary Elizabeth) are always so well behaved, I submit to you evidence which is quite to the contrary.

Here is Mary Elizabeth's tale of woe last evening:

"Apparently during the night Shady the cat must have been playing with my pen that I left on the computer table. While playing it must have fallen onto the floor where Brazen got a hold of it and chewed it and then shared it with Hannah Banana; as the two were seen with the most obvious evidence...blue stains on paws and cheek! I am sure Shady the cat was laughing in the background as I scolded the dogs and cleaned up the awful mess!"

Such wicked, wicked little monkeys!

Enjoy your weekend, everyone! xo xo -C ^..^

White House Puff Balls

I love cookbooks. I especially enjoy reading old cookbooks. My friend Steph stopped in the other night and brought me a fun book for my birthday. It is "The Original White House Cookbook 1887 Edition" Inside it says Cooking, Toilet and Household Recipes, Menus, Dinner-Giving, Table Etiquette, Care of the Sick, Health Suggestions, Facts Worth Knowing, etc. etc. A Comprehensive Cyclopedia of Information For The Home by Mrs. F.L. Gillette and Hugo Ziemann, Steward of the White House.

I'm having great fun with this book. Some of the recipes are a real doozy. Some of the recipes are so intense and things I would never eat in a million years. But some look very interesting, if you can translate them to today's cooking ingredients and measurements. My Mom was here a couple of days ago and as soon as I showed her the book she found this simple recipe for Puff-Ball Doughnuts and decided that we would make them. We didn't know what they meant by 'sweet milk' (we thought of all the sweet milks like condensed, etc) but then my daughter googled it and found that in the 19th century it simply meant whole milk. Perhaps there are other types of sweet milk that were intended but this is what we used for our doughnuts.

Here is the entire recipe.

It is actually written as a paragraph as most of the recipes in the book are:

Puff-Ball Doughnuts

"These doughnuts, eaten fresh and warm, are a delicious breakfast dish, and are quickly made. Three eggs, one cupful of sugar, a pint of sweet milk, salt, nutmeg, and flour enough to permit the spoon to stand upright in the mixture: add two heaping teaspoonfuls of baking-powder to the flour; beat all until very light. Drop by the dessertspoonful into boiling lard. These will not absorb a bit of fat, and are not at all rich, and consequently are the least injurious of this kind of cakes."

So rather than use lard we used canola oil to fry them up. I didn't have any fresh nutmegs on hand so we used a pinch of cinnamon and a capful of pure vanilla. We used a pinch of salt also, since the recipe didn't specify. We decided that the next time we make them, we will drop them a bit smaller into the oil as they do puff up as they say. I think the size of a Dunkin Munchkin would be perfect with these. You want the oil to be very hot, that is why they do not absorb the oil. We thought that next time we might use a bit of cream with the milk and add more cinnamon or do the nutmeg instead. Rolling them in the sugars was a good idea. The only thing, we did not agree that they are not at all 'rich.' These are not light donuts. Your kids will want a tall cold glass of milk with these for sure.

So here is my Mom whipping up the puff balls. I made her wear one of Natalie's Tasha Tudor aprons while she was making these.

It just seemed like the required couture of the moment.

When they came out of the oil, we put them quickly on paper towel lined plates for a second or two and then rolled them immediately in either powdered sugar, granulated sugar or a combo of cinnamon and sugar.

Then my brother Gary and niece Hayley stopped by for a bit.
They were visiting for the week. My lovely Sister-In-Law Katy was shopping for a dress for a wedding. They live Los Angeles so I miss them.
A lot.

Here's our mom (Grandma Annie to our kids) giving Hayley some cheese.

Isn't she just the cutest princess ever?

Hayley loves her Daddy.

She thinks he is number one.

He's a fantastic Daddy, but he's still a nerd. (I'm supposed to say that,

he is my brother after all...)

xo xo

-Cathy ^..^

Shameless Sleepers and Weekend Adventures

My friend Stephanie came over last weekend and no sooner did she put down her bag then Skittles and Weebles decided it was the place to take a cat nap. Steph and I are actually related by catness. Our sons had rescued two kittens whose mother was hit by a car. She took one (Punky) and I took the other. Goku is ours, the big black cat (not in this photo) who looks like an eggplant from the back when he is sitting.

What a week it has been! My great aunt passed away. It is sad to see all of the old ones in the family say goodbye. The funeral was on Saturday which happened to be my birthday. It was good to see my cousins. Why is it that we don't realize how much you miss someone until you see them?

Later in the day, we did come home to have a little party complete with ice cream cake. My parents gave me the absolute coolest chandelier (it is wildly colorful) for my little studio. I promise I'll show it to you as soon as it is hung up.

Sunday, Mary Elizabeth and I left the house at the crack of dawn to bring a Corgi to Maryland who will be headed to Indiana by way of North Carolina. The weather was wicked. I expected to see Miss Gulch on her bike fly by. There was flooding on the roads and we arrived just in time to have a tornado warning on the radio telling us to get into a basement or under something. Yikes. When that passed, we headed home.I had my muck boots on, but Mary had to take off her socks and shoes to get through the water back into the van. We felt like we were on a log flume ride most of the time because of the way the van went through the water on the road. Then we hit the traffic from people coming home from the Jersey shore. Lots of cars pulled over on the sides of the road, lots of families and kids at the rest stops. At one of the rest stops, Mary Elizabeth opened up her cooler in the back of the van. She brought us a veritable feast! We had a picnic in the car with the rain pounding down. I think she practically brought the entire contents of her fridge with her. We made really good wraps in the car. Mine was fresh mozzarella, tomato, fresh basil, avocado and a spritz of vinaigrette. She even made fruit salad for us in two giant covered Pyrex bowls which we munched on in traffic.

My Brother, Sister-In-Law and niece flew in from Los Angeles too. I even got to spend some time with them on Sunday after the wild ride. My niece is getting so big, she is such a cutie pie, crawling all over the place.

So that was my weekend, my lovelies. How did you spend yours? xo xo ^..^

Here Kitty Kitty

Bridget thinks my new Hello Kitty toaster must be hers just because it is pink. She is such an imp. Doesn't she look like she's popping out of the toaster? Actually, the toaster makes a Hello Kitty face on the toast, if you toast it dark enough. And who couldn't use a little Hello Kitty on their toast? Well, maybe the Mister who just rolled his eyes when he saw it. But Laura and I love it anyway. And apparently, so does Miss Fancypants here. You know you want one.
xo xo -C ^..^

Corgi Art Ornaments!

The tiniest of Cardigan Welsh Corgis....

The tiniest of Pembroke Welsh Corgis!
2" x 2" painted on canvas original Christmas ornaments in the Etsy shop now.

Sleep well my Corgette friends. May visions of sugarplums dance in your heads. xo xo -Cat ^..^

*Sold! More ornaments on the work table. Stay tuned. xo -C ^..^

Ornaments tonight!

Shhh.....don't want to waken the mouser but had to pop in to let you know that more Christmas Corgi Ornaments will be in the shop tonight. 9:30 PM EST. Happy Sunday my lovelies! xo xo -Cat ^..^

We have a winner!

#12, Tanya! You win the "Hairy Pawter" framed tile! Email me christmascorgi@gmail.com

Thanks for your comments, everyone. Must go to bed. (yawn) xo xo Cat ^..^

Oh Harry, We Just Love Ya...

My daughter Laura and I are going to the 12:01 AM midnight/early morning showing of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince tomorrow night. We are very excited. We are big Harry Potter fans in our house. It is always fun to go to this first midnight showing of the film. People, mostly college kids, usually dress up in one form or other. Some wear Harry Potter glasses, or lightening bolt scars on their foreheads. Some dress in full Hogwarts robes and scarves (my daughter has an awesome one.) Some dress as specific characters from the series. Just hope you're not sitting behind the guy wearing the Sorting Hat. A few years ago I painted this denim jacket for my daughter. She informed me that she is wearing it tomorrow night. I thought I'd let Cinderella model it for you and show you a few photos. Cinderella is my affectionate name for the wire dress form in my studio that usually holds dog leashes and ribbons and any number of things around her neck.



The jacket is very glitzy, which is hard to see in the photo, sorry. Here's Hedwig on the back. Her name is in gold glitter at the top and she's wearing a rhinestone collar. Her wings and feathers have been accented with an icy sparkly glittery outliner. Her eyes have metallic gold accents.

This is the front of the jacket. There is a wand painted as if coming out of the pocket. The Phoenix Fawkes is painted in all his glorious color. He even has a puffy clear little tear running down his cheek. Glitter paint throughout his feathers. He's quite spiffy. The Marauder's Map is on the other side. Below it (hard to see in the photo) it says, "Mischief Managed" in a black/chrome/greenish glitter paint.

The top of the sleeve says, "Sirius was here" with pawprints and rhinestones around. Below it is a visitor's pass to Azkaban. Under that is a wicked Dementor (I wish the photo were better!) and it says "Expecto Patronum!" in glitzy letters.

And finally, the other sleeve has Harry's glasses with a golden snitch, all ready for quidditch.

Since it is Christmas in July, we need another giveaway around here while I'm finishing up the Christmas ornaments and goodies. In honor of Harry, I'll buy this "Hairy Pawter" framed tile from my shop and have it sent to the winner. To enter the giveaway, simply leave a comment at this post telling me one of your favorite characters from the books or films. Wednesday evening (July 15) I'll let the random number generator choose the winner.

Mischief managed. xo xo CS ^..^

Corgi Ornaments

As promised, here is the first of my Christmas ornaments for this year. Art for your tree! This ornament is 2" x 2" and is painted on a miniature canvas which has been wrapped on tiny wooded bars. The edges have been painted black which gives the same look as many of my gallery wrapped original paintings. This is an actual micro mini original painting for your Christmas tree! It has been signed and finished with a glossy varnish. In the shop now! xo -CS ^..^ **Sold! More on the work table. Stay tuned! xo xo Cat**

Hand painted Wooden Corgi Eggs...They're back!

Today in the shop I have listed my very popular solid wood 2" chicken sized eggs! Each one is lovingly hand painted to order. You can choose from the Corgis in the listing or send me a photo and I can paint your own wee beastie as one of my signature characters. They make really nice gifts and travel well as they are solid wood and won't break. They will bring joy for years to come!

Long time readers of this blog may recall this post from Christmas past when I was painting eggs by candlelight!

The eggs I paint are hand made in the USA and I really love their quality. I hope you will love them too!

So how did you celebrate the 4th of July? We went to a fantastic party with good friends. Mary Elizabeth came too. We had a really nice day. I made this cake (complete with a little picture decoration of Elvis.) My daughter and husband really liked it and it called for seven fresh eggs which I was happy to use up!

Tomorrow in the shop: original Christmas ornaments! xo -CS ^..^