Snoqualmie has turned into a winter wonderland! I have heard

about how excited and wound up the kids are at school. Oh to be young

again! As adults when we look at snow we think about having to drive in it

and hope we get to work and back without someone smashing our cars.

Snow reminds me of Friday nights. Remember when we were teenagers or

barely 21 and we lived for the weekend? Now all I think of Friday night as

being good for is getting to bed early.

PPP

Sparky has turned into a total couch potato type of cat. He no

longer desires to leave the comfort of the house. To him windows are the

best of both worlds – he can spy on the birds and neighborhood cats but in the

comfort of a heated house. He does not like the concept of being alone

so much, so when I’m home he turns to complete mush. It melts my

heart everytime when he lays on my lap and leans against me and looks up at

me adoringly, purring up a song for me.

PPP

We are about to conquer our 16-mile walk for our weekend

training. After several blisters from the 14-mile walk, I have to kind of dread the

longer walks. The fund raising has gone really well and the marathon is

approaching quite fast. March 19 is the big day! One of the fun things

about training as a group is it encourages us to speed up our walk, and we also

exchange training and fund-raising tips. I have been lucky so far and

haven’t been sore after the long walks, and my leg cramps have subsided since I

began taking magnesium and calcium supplements.

Now I need to tackle my weight agenda again. It’s easy to not

worry about what you eat when you are swamped under and you think you

will still lose after walking so far, but it’s not true! So I have got myself back

on track, and Brian is a big help with this because he is such a light eater and

is very supportive of my endeavors. Getting a Victoria’s Secret catalog in

the mail is also a very good inspiration!

PPP

In my effort to up my carbohydrates (and reduce the fat intake)

as part of training, I have looked into some new pasta recipes. Here is a

very good one: Spinach Stuffed Shells (or you can use broccoli if you hate

spinach). Just cook about 24 jumbo pasta shells and rinse in cold water. Mix

1 egg with 1 lb. ricotta cheese, a can of spinach (or 2 cups chopped

cooked broccoli). Stuff the shells with this mixture, pour 1 cup of tomato

sauce on the bottom of a large baking pan, place the shells upright and pour

more tomato sauce on the top and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake at 350

for 30 minutes (cover the pan in foil). Remove the foil and bake another

15 minutes. Top at the last minute with mozzarella cheese if desired.

PPP

I was reading some tips for animals with hearing problems and

somehow do not see this working for cats, especially Skittles and Sparky.

The article suggests using hand signals to teach commands for the

important messages such as food, sit, out, no,

etc. It suggests using exaggerated facial expressions such as a big smile for

yes, and a scowl for no. You are to give food treats as rewards. There is also

a collar with a built in vibrator for signaling your deaf pet. These collars

are sold in pet stores. Sparky would certainly like the food rewards but

would never lower himself enough to obey commands. You don’t tell him no!

PPP

“Every action of our lives touches on some chord that will vibrate in

eternity.”

PPP

Do you hate the messy way plastic wrap sometimes tears off the

roll? Place the roll in the freezer for a few minutes before using.

Please submit items for the Snoqualmie News Notes to

Donna, P.O. Box 604,

Snoqualmie, WA 98065

or e-mail Ballou1@earthlink. net.