I go back to work tomorrow after a two-week break. Besides a lot of cooking, I read a couple of excellent books. One was Greg Mortenson's Stones into Schools. He was a mountain climber, who after failing to reach the top of K2, wandered into a back water Afghan village and left with the promise that he would build a school for the girls of the village. After recounting his experience in the book, Three Cups of Tea, he wrote Stones into Schools as a follow-up. In this book, he tells of his continuing saga of building schools in remote parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan. It's an amazing example of how one person can make a difference in thousands of lives.

I'm finishing The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, a Christmas gift from my mother. It's a novel about a boy who is born without the ability to talk. He and his family raise very special dogs in a small town in the northern midwest. Edgar is an extremely intelligent young man, who has a special connection with his dogs. The story is absolutely riveting, and it's hard to put down. I recommend this book, as well as Mortenson's fantastic story.

Today, I strayed away from Diabetic Living and roasted chicken for dinner. Of course, there are plenty of chicken recipes in the cookbook, but I decided to do a plain old roasted chicken. With it, I served butternut squash and broccoli with pecans. It hit the spot.

Because I'm returning to work tomorrow, Stella is returning to Doggie Day Care. She is not going to like it. She loves being at my side every second, and when I try to hand her over to a dog care worker, she's going to protest. She and I have had a great two weeks together. We've done many parks, went to the ocean a couple of times, and have shopped at Pet Smart and Pet Supply, her favorite stores.

Here's one more picture of Stella. If she could talk, she'd be telling me to not even think about taking her back to Doggie Day Care!