Everything is greening up. We are only 12 days into May but this week saw such a difference. At the beginning of the week we didn’t have an leaves on the trees and I tried to get a picture of the sunset through the trees. End of the week it is now green as can be. I tried to see the Northern Lights but without any luck. However, some amazing photos were posted on Social Media of what they looked like from around here and in North Hatley.

Big Week of Walking

You can see how green everything is getting out on the Rail Trail in Andover. We had been walking for about an hour with me using the Chuck-It to throw a tennis ball for Percy non-stop the whole time and he finally lay down and didn’t bring the ball back to me. It is very hard to wear out this dog. He is way too smart and way too energetic and he is only 11 months old. Certainly keeps me on my toes.

How to Exercise Your Dog’s Brain

The house is now overrun with toys that are supposed to tire this pup out. We started at the lowest level when Katie ordered a bunch of puzzle toys for him at the beginning of the week. It took him absolutely no time to figure them out so she went back and ordered the hardest one she could find. Maybe 15 minutes to figure it out. It does give us a few moments of peace and we were running up the peanut butter budget filling three bones a night.

Visitor

Our very dear family friend, Brooke, came for the weekend. He is Jack’s godfather and he came to check on him and his progress through the fire academy and to talk about his future plans. I think he wanted to see the house as he had followed along with the renovations the last four years. It was wonderful to see him, it was the shot of energy we all needed and we were sad to see him go. We were greeted Saturday morning with a lot of barking from the dogs and it turned out our two bears were back. They ran down Jenny Lane and into our neighbors yard. Not sure what Brooke thought of that being a city boy from Baltimore but I’m sure it was a bit of a surprise. I was lazy and didn’t take any pictures except this one as they were backing out of the driveway to go to the airport Sunday morning. Katie prepared a wonderful meal and invited some more friends for dinner Saturday night. We sat outside around the firepit and talked non-stop. It was a fun evening with good friends and delicious food.

Cooking This Week

John made a delicious seafood risotto for us this past week so I am sharing his recipe. I did not take a picture (I’m failing here badly) but there is a good one of the website.

The recipe is from Food & Wine and so is the photo.

Creamy Seafood Risotto

Ingredients
3 cups bottled clam juice
2 1/2 cups water
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups (10 ounces) arborio rice
Pinch of saffron threads
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 shallot, minced
1/2 pound cooked shrimp, cut into thirds
1/2 pound lump crabmeat, picked over
1/2 cup mascarpone cheese
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley

Directions
In a medium saucepan, combine the clam broth and water and bring to a simmer. Keep warm.

In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil. Add the onion, season with salt and pepper, and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the rice and cook for 1 minute, stirring to thoroughly coat. Crumble the saffron into the wine and add it to the rice. Cook, stirring until the wine is absorbed. Add 1 cup of the warm clam juice and cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly, until nearly absorbed. Continue adding the juice 1/2 cup at a time and stirring constantly until it is nearly absorbed between additions. The risotto is done when the rice is al dente and suspended in a thick, creamy sauce, about 20 minutes total. Season with salt and pepper.

Melt the butter in a large skillet. Add the shallot and cook over moderate heat until softened, about 2 minutes. Add the shrimp and crab and cook until just heated through. Scrape the seafood into the risotto and stir in the mascarpone. Serve immediately topped with parsley.