By The Fireside: SIT! SPEAK! STAY!

By The Fireside

Who hasn’t sat around a campfire and watched how firelight changes the faces that surround the glowing embers? There is something so mysterious and lovely about the dancing flames and the charcoaled smoke as it rises into the evening sky. The flames - the light - transform ordinary logs of wood into a picturesque bonfire. As indigo ash whispers through the night air, we breathe in a new aroma, resigning ourselves to the blaze.

When we think about community, we often reflect upon the wonderful times we've shared by a fireside...a warm hearth in a friend's home, Christmas morning with precious family, or sweet sharing and song around a bonfire. Perhaps this vision most reminds us of our great cloud of witnesses; the inspiration behind this page. As we share our stories & photographs here, our hope is that we may renew, refresh, and rekindle our friendships by this fireside...

Kenny & Jenn Sinclair

"...if my fire is not large, it is yet real, and there may be those who can light their candle at its flame." — A. W. Tozer, foreword to The Pursuit of God

Saturday, August 28, 2010

SIT! SPEAK! STAY!

Nothing promotes obedience quite like the promise of a TREAT! Kenny and I were in Complete Petsmart when Emma was a puppy and the nice cashier offered her a bacon treat which she took, and then promptly spit out right at his feet!! [insert embarrassment here] Can you believe that?! I guess you really can form a dogs taste-buds by being choosy about what you feed them! We typically offer them a Buddy Biscuit or a variety of Eagle Pack's holistic treats - and we've discovered that both our girls prefer the healthier, organic treats to the Milkbone or Beggin' Strips by far! So....I decided to try to kill two birds with one stone: feed them what they like, and save some money! For the last month, I've been making my own organic dog biscuits! Yes, I am fully aware that they are DOGS...but I reserve the right to nurture my fur-babies until the real things come along ;-) Plus....ugh...they are so cute when they lay on my feet while I cut them out with my bone-shaped cookie cutter!

Here's a recipe I found to use as a fulcrum - I had fun getting creative. First, I made this general recipe, but since then I've tried one with fish stock, apple & apricot! They LOVE them :)