Blue-ribbon day before the Ventura County Fair.

Right now I'm totally psyched. I always love the day I've got my Ventura County Fair entries in and I can garner all the blue ribbons in my head. Tomorrow, when the fair opens and I actually learn the results, I may be crushed, so today -- well, today is the blue-ribbon day.

These are my leftovers from all the baking I did for this year's entries. Last year the best I got was a second place ribbon and a bunch of honorable mentions. I HATE honorable mentions. What? This-didn't-poison-me-but-it-wasn't-very-good-mention? Forget it, just tell me I suck.

But rather than tucking my tail between my legs, I came back, bigger and better than ever this year. I've been doing some researching and did some major tweaking of my recipes. I was able to make a real woven lattice crust for my peach pie and I was able to use my own peaches from my own tree this year -- they've been too late in ripening the past two years. Actually, I was only able to get enough peaches for one pie and a couple of those had to be force-ripened. (BTW you know that to force-ripen fruit, you put it in a sealed paper bag with a ripe banana and the banana will release that fruit-ripening gas that will ripen all the fruit.)

I made sure to use the best ingredients: Plugra European-style butter, which has a higher butterfat content, and King Arthur flour -- widely belived to be the best around. I used fancy Vietnamese cinnamon from Penzey's spices and I had a couple of types of sugar -- extra fine and organic, crunchy sugar. I couldn't find extra fine grain salt, which is better for baking, so I ground the salt by hand in a mortar and pestle. I put actual vanilla bean in the sugar cookies. So we'll see if any of this is noticed by the judges.

There is one kind of amusing aside: When I went to enter my stuff, there was the usual contingent of older women processing the entries. It takes a while, so we got to chatting and before you know it, we were all swapping notes on our surgeries -- my knee replacement, the other woman's hip replacement. I was able to counter -- and trump -- the eye problem story with Rob's eye surgeries.

As I left, I realized: These are my peeps these days. Me and all the other old ladies, sitting around talking about our surgeries. If I'd stayed longer, I'm sure we could have moved on to grandchildren and pets.

Sigh. When did I get so old and why did it happen when I'm still so -- relatively -- young?

Doggie palace

We're still knee-deep in pets because Patty is feeling too porrly to have her girls come home just yet. It's great for us, though because the two nbew dogs are really sweet and have adjusted to living with us. We've switched their diet from the nasty generic dog food to dry Evo food, which we prefer because it's manufactured locally and uses all-natural products better suited for dogs.

I'm gearing up for the Ventura County Fair where I will, once again, be entering some baked goods. I'm thinking of adding a couple of entries -- zucchini bread because my zucchini has put out a really cool looking cojoined zucchini that's just dying to be put in a bread, and peanut butter cookies. I've narrowed down the sugar cookie recipe from five, so we'll see how the judges are going this year. My peaches are on track to give me at least one good pie's worth, which will be the first time in three years they ripened in time.

I don't know why I get all psyched for the stupid baked goods contest each year but I do. Even the fact that I got lousy -- for me -- marks last year (stupid honorable mentions), doesn't deter me. I totally get that these food contests are really arbitrary. I know because I've judged them. Like everybody, I rank foods on personal preferances, which are different from the next person's.
Nonetheless, I have a few tricks up my sleeve this year and hope I do well.

I've never figured out why I totally love the Ventura County Fair. I think it's the combination of things. I love that it's right on the ocean at Seaside Park. I love that there are all the local crafts, hobbies and foods. Rob and I love looking at all the different displays. We tend to avoid the animals because they're being sold to slaughter, which makes us sad, but we take Kaia there and don't tell her about the butchering part.

We also just love taking Kaia with us each year and get such joy out of watching her ride whatever she wants to ride and play whatever games she wants to play. When I was a kid, going to fairs and amusement parks was always a study in misery. My mom never gave us any money and she'd never let us ride on most of the rides. I always made sure my kids had enough money and unlimited opportunity to do whatever their little hearts desired. But I really get to relive my childhood with Kaia, probably because she's not my kid, so I don't have to play the mom role, I can just be a much older, doddering friend.

So next week it's time for the fair. There will be fireworks each night, which we can hear and kind of see from our house. It's my favorite part of the summer.

A fur menagerie

It was Rob's birthday yesterday and unlike last year, I was able to spend it here with him. We had a good day: breakfast at Pete's, shopping, I baked a cherry pie and Lindsay and Ryan came over for a great steak dinner. Colin dropped by later with Dexter.

We're also watching Dena's mom's dogs while Patty (Dena's mom) is in the hospital. The dogs are really cute; a small white poodle named Titan and a shi-tzu name Stache or Stash, for moustache. The poodle Titan spent the first day on the stairs, waiting for Patty to come back. Stash, the little one, worried about Titan, but really started having a good time with the other dogs. Brindle saw Patty with her new dogs -- Brindle had lived with Patty for years -- and has been angry with the latest interlopers, but Fuser and Rascal seem OK with the new guys.

I think if anyone had told me when I was 20 that I would turn into one of those little-dog-loving old ladies, I would have balked, gagged and denied it vehemently. I had always liked the idea of animals, but my family was never really an animal family. Even though we had family dogs, they were treated like animals.

It wasn't until Rob came along that I really started to appreciate pets. Jersey was our first pet together. I had promised the kids I'd get them a dog. We went to the local Humane Society-type place, but they wouldn't let us have a dog unless we had a note from our apartment complex. I didn't want to get one because we would have to pay extra for our rent. So I decided to hell with them and went to a store and bought a cocker spaniel, Jersey.

The idea was to let the dog sleep with the kids, but Rob took his turn sleeping with Jersey and wouldn't let her leave our bed. Jersey was a really pretty dog, although she had an underbite that made her less than ideal for breeding, even though she was AKC registered. We wouldn't have bred her anyway, but it was kind of a ripoff. She was also the cutest little dog, along with being imperious and temperamental. She absolutely detested other dogs. She kind of liked little white fluffy ones, but Rob says she thought they were kitties.

Sadly, Jersey died when she was about 15 1/2. It broke our hearts. I lasted a few months, but I really needed my doggy loving, so I started looking for another dog. Dena had given us the idea of getting a small dog -- maybe a King Charles Spaniel or something. We really didn't want another cocker spaniel because we could never replace Jersey. We found a group online -- Four Small Paws -- and I contacted them saying we would like to adopt a dog. About a week later, I got a call from a lady saying they had a small dog who needed a home. We arranged to have her come out. She said he was a chihuahua mix, and I'd always thought chihuahuas were kind of ratty dogs.

The lady showed up with the little guy she called Chewy. He immediately proceeded to walk to the fireplace and started peeing on the fireplace irons. At least he got that out of the way. He then sat next to the Four Small Paws lady and shook. He looked so scared. I showed her around the house and she must have liked what she saw because she left the dog with us.

We immediately decided we didn't like the name Chewy and because he was a rescue and had only had the name a short while, we changed it to Fuser -- after Motorcycle Diaries, where Che Guevara was called Fuser. Rob came up with the name after I ruled out all the stupid names, like Pepe or Paco, although we did struggle with calling him Lord Peepee because the little guy does like to mark. He bonded with me because I took him in my lap the first day and just held him and talked gently to him because he was so scared. He started to calm down.

Fuser hated Rob at first, so we took him to obedience classes so we could get him over his dislike. It really didn't work. What worked was me going to Ohio for Cody's birth. One of the problems with trying to train Fuser is that he's the most non-food driven dog I've ever met. He'd starve before letting Rob feed him at first. Fuser gets really nervous around food and can be a flighty eater. But there is one thing Fuser can't live without -- one thing that's more important to him than almost anything else and it's cuddling. After I left, he was stuck hanging out in the bedroom and growling at Rob when he came in the room. After a couple of days, though Fuser couldn't take it and came out into the living room. He then crawled up next to Rob to cuddle, but if Rob looked at him, he growled. He's come a long way since then and really loves Rob now.

Brindle came to live with us shortly after. We'd watched her for Patty from time to time and then Patty went to Oregon and asked us to watch Brindle and she never asked for her back. Since Brindle is actually Dena's dog, I think Dena decided to have us keep Brindle so she would be close to her. Fuser and Brindle formed a really close bond. Brindle has taught Fuser how to behave out in the world. Where Fuser was afraid of his own shadow, Brindle has taught him how to handle bigger dogs -- she goes submissive -- and how to run around and smell things.

Finally, we got Rascal. Lindsay's roommate Coral found him wandering around filthy and half-starved in Oxnard. She thought he was a brown dog because he was so dirty, but when they washed him, they found out he was white. Lindsay brought him over here and we got one more dog. Poor Rascal is our "special" dog. He was badly affected by the neglect of his early time and he has a real hard time learning new things. He's the biggest of the dogs and the most timid.

These guys are in addition to our two cats, Mythos and Lily, both joined our home by coming to our door and crying to be let in. Mythos is about 17 pounds and is the second biggest pet. He thinks he's a dog. He has to run outside with them and wants to have his belly rubbed. Lily is pure cat. She comes around when she wants to and she'd as soon look at you as scratch you. In fact, she got me up today by sitting at the side of my bed and hitting me with her claw.

We love our animals and they give us so much joy. They have such distinct personalities and they show unconditional love and affection.

So there we were on Rob's birthday with six dogs running around while we had steaks with baby potatoes and scallions I got at the farmers market. I made up a big salad with frisee and bibb lettuce, also from the Ojai farmer's market. I served the pie up on some beautiful plates Jennifer got me. All in all it was a lovely birthday celebration.

Ain't no time for the summertime blues

So here we are, sitting around on a beautiful sunny summer day in Ventura. Our major surgeries appear to be behind us and we're both working on healing and regaining at least some of our former strength and endurance.

Rob has been declared officially disabled because he is legally blind in his bad eye and can't drive or operate heavy machinery. We're not sure how much better his sight is going to be. We have to wait until he's fitted with glasses to know exactly where he'll end up.

I'm walking almost cane-free for the first time in a year. My knee feels almost completely healed. It swells sometimes if I'm on it too much and is a little stiff going up and down stairs. But mostly it's pretty strong and flexible and there's no pain when I walk on it.

My bad right ankle is proving a bit more dicey than I had realized. The foot wants to collapse inward, despite the metal rod stuck through it. It's also screwed on at a weird angle. My heel hits normally when I put on shoes, but my toes are riveted to the side -- a 10-degree angle my doctor said, proudly. Only thing is, my feet really don't WANT to be at a 10-degree angle and are perfectly happy just being straight up and down like everyone else's.

I'm not sure if there's much I can do about it. I bought some running shoes with lots of support to force the foot into an upright position. My physical therapist, Ryan, said if I didn't get into the support shoes the ankle was sure to collapse. It kind of looks as though I have two left feet right now. But I am able to walk and I can stand in lines a bit better than I used to. I'm hoping the tendon will continue to heal and the situation will improve.

I'm also stuck with a big old lump on my right hip. I need to see my doctor about it, but it doesn't hurt or anything. It's just gross-looking -- like a small baby's head just sticking out of my hip, with skin all puckered up under it. And I'm so sick of going to the doctor that I've been avoiding it. I suppose I should get it out of the way, but it will require some surgery to debride it, which will hurt, at least for a little while.

All in all, though, we're starting to be able to see some light at the end of the proverbial tunnel. I'm able to get around and I'm doing more stories for the Ventura County Star, which is fun. I really should never have gone to the copy desk. It's not where my heart lies. I really enjoy writing and gathering news much more. And I really, really love freelancing. I don't enjoy working with people; they get on my nerves for the most part. I can sit at home in my office/dining room, with the big, glass window that overlooks our thriving garden and plant-filled patio, and listen to birds as I type my stories. Sweet.

Fair time is looming and I want to at least enter a couple of things. So this is one of my favorite times of the year as I start making some trial recipes to decide what to enter. Gen, of Sean and Gen, was saying she wanted to maybe enter and encouraged her. It's so much fun. Even if you do end up with the dreaded "honorable mentions" that I got last year.

One of the things that happens in the summer for me is I get a small sweet tooth, mainly because of ice cream. Like about everyone, I love ice cream. I've discovered those teenie little Ben & Jerry's and Haagen Daas containers. They give you just one small serving, which is usually 260 calories. They come with small spoons so you can eat them really slowly. I love them because you keep your portions under control and you can get a nice taste of yummy ice cream.

Unfortunately, I also made another, potentially lethal discovery last summer when I was visiting Courtney and Dave in Ohio. I discovered you can make an absolutely wonderful, tasty hot fudge sauce just using the microwave. It's also possible to make this in a low-carb version if you use unsweetened chocolate and Splenda, which I did for Courtney, who is on a low-carb plan.

This is so easy to make and one thing I love is that the sugar doesn't have a chance to melt, so it gives it a nice crunch, along with the deep fudge flavor. And it hardens on the ice cream the way good fudge should -- not quite as hard as Magic Shell, it's more fudgy.

Microwave hot fudge sauce

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (use the best quality available -- I use Gharadelli's -- it makes all the difference)
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon almond flavoring
heavy cream to desired consistency

Heat the chips in a microwave-safe mug by heating them on high for 20 seconds. Stirring, then heating for 20 seconds, then stirring, repeating until the chips have melted. Add butter and stir in. Add sugar, vanilla and almond flavoring and stir. You can heat it for another 20 seconds if it starts to thicken too much. Add heavy cream and stir until you have the consistency of hot fudge sauce. Heat for 20 seconds and serve over ice cream. It's unbelievable over coffee ice cream, BTW.