Pip Sees a Pug – in the Kitchen

Posted on by Teagan Riordain Geneviene

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Some of you have already seen this post at Suzanne’s blog, A Pug in the Kitchen.  However,  I wanted to share it here too.  I have done a few collaborative blog posts with her, and we have a ton of fun.  Thanks for doing another joint post with me, Suzanne! 

When Suzanne said she could do a dog treat recipe, I thought of my character, Wriggles. What serendipity that the pug character was inspired by Suzanne’s blog!

However, first I want to share the wonderful recipe Suzanne provided, and her ever so kind introduction.  Homemade dog treats — Percy is one lucky pug!  I’m going to hand this over to Suzanne (and Percy) at A Pug in the Kitchen.  Take it away Suzanne!

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I LOVE collaborating with Teagan on a blog post, it’s fun and I truly love her work.  The recipe for dog treats is a copy cat version of Sherman’s Barkery’s Cheesy Num Nums. Percy gives these two paws up.  That says a lot since he is Mr. Picky!  There are only a few simple ingredients.  They are super easy to make and are a great treat for our fur kids.

Blogging should be fun otherwise it becomes work, and integrating Teagan’s whimsical and delicious writing with my food is exactly that. Thank you Teagan for the story, giving me a creative boost and making blogging fun!!

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Percy, Director of Quality Assurance

Copy Cat Cheesy Num Nums

Makes approximately 2 dozen depending on size

1 cup oat flour

1 cup barley flour

1/2 cup whole oats

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/2 cup cheddar cheese

1/3 cup melted coconut oil

1/3 cup +1 tbs spring water

Mix all the ingredients together until it is a cohesive dough. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment. Roll or press the dough to about 1/2 inch thick and cut into the shape desired. Sprinkle some grated Parmesan on top of each cookie and bake 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.

Thank you, thank you Suzanne!  You know… those dog treats look awfully good.  I wonder if I could talk Percy out of a few…  Probably not!

Wriggles was introduced in the third of my blog serials, A Ghost in the Kitchen, Three Ingredients-II.  In that story he was a new dog for the character, Arabella Wong.  However, this vignette takes place prior to that story.  So I made Wriggles a puppy and gave him a different owner.

Only the first serial is available as a novella right now, The Three Things Serial, a Little 1920s Story.  I’m still on track for springtime “book-ization” of  Murder at the Bijou, Three Ingredients I.

Anyhow, once again here’s a story from the Three Things “universe” with Pip as narrator.  Did you ever get the feeling you’d have to be “hit over the head” with something before you finally got the message?  Well, that was true of Pip.  I hope everyone enjoys this tidbit.

Pip Sees a Pug… or Four

“Floyd?  Hey, Floyd!”

That was definitely him.  The last time I saw Floyd — which was also basically the first time I saw him, the police were putting him into the paddy wagon when they arrested some bootleggers.  Yet there he was on a side street in Savannah.

Maybe it had all been a mistake, I thought hopefully. 

After all, Floyd was as sexy as the Sheik of Araby.  Then I remembered how rude he had been to me and Alastair Wong.  He didn’t seem sexy at all before that thought even got halfway across my noodle.  However, he heard me and looked over his shoulder.Sheik of Araby

“Well now, aren’t you a choice bit of calico,” Floyd said as he turned to walk toward me.  “Oh, it’s you!  You’re a real bearcat, but you’re bad luck,” he said.  “Go chase yourself,” he told me and spat on the sidewalk.

I know.  I should have ran the other way and not even called out to him.  However, in the small Florida town where I grew up, if you saw somebody you recognized, then you said hello to them.  I don’t remember what I meant to say to Floyd when he started to continue on his way, but I opened my mouth to speak, taking a step toward him.

Floyd shoved me and kept going.  Unfortunately I also kept going — backward.  I slipped, fell, and cracked my head.

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I think I was actually unconscious for a minute or two.  Then I felt something wet wiped across my face.  When I opened my eyes, the world was a spinning blur.  I saw a little pug dog.  It licked my face.  It was wearing a top hat and bow-tie, and smoking a cigar.  As I gazed at it uncomprehendingly I realized there were four of them.  However, when I held my hand out toward the dog, I seemed to have an uncountable number of fingers.  So I figured there was only one dog.  I wasn’t sure what to think about the hat and cigar.

The sound of a police whistle prompted me to try and sit up.  There hadn’t been any “mistake” about the coppers hauling in Floyd.  He had probably escaped and they were after him again.  A voice intruded on my thoughts.  I realized it had been trying to get my attention for a while, but it was hard to hear it over the bells ringing inside my head.

“Huh?” I mumbled, looking for the source of the voice.

“Young lady are you hurt?” asked what must have been the world’s oldest woman.

Her face was so covered in creases and crow’s feet that it was impossible to imagine what she must have looked like in youth or even in middle age.  Even so, bright eyes shown sharply from between the wrinkles.pugs-2-vintage

Despite her fragile appearance she took my arm in a vice like grip.  She put her walking-stick in my hand.

“Wriggles, get off the poor thing!  That’s a good boy.  I’m sorry, he’s still a puppy.  Here dear.  Use my cane to help yourself up,” she said but proceeded to help me up with unexpected strength.

Once I was on my feet, if shakily so, I looked at the pug.  There was only one of him.  The hat and cigar were gone.  That much was a relief, but he still wore the bowtie.  It bothered me that I wasn’t sure whether or not the tie was really there.

Moments later I sat at the kitchen table in her tiny home.  It was a good thing she lived right around the corner.  I was dizzy and my head felt like it had gotten in the way of a sledgehammer.

A young boy “helped” us get inside her backdoor on the pretext of getting a cookie.  However, she gave him an errand.

“What’s your name, dear?” she asked me as she handed me a cup of tea. 1916-good-housekeeping-woman-tea-cup

I noticed the cup had been cracked and repaired.  The one she used for herself had a chip in the rim.

“Pi… Paisley Peabody,” I stammered, still shaken.

“Peabody?  Would you be kin to Phanny Peabody?”

“Yes ma’am.  That’s my granny.”

“Billy,” she addressed the little boy.  “Take another cookie and run down to Miss Phanny’s house.  Let her know her granddaughter is here.”

Billy’s eyes lit up at the prospect of helping.  Although the extra cookie didn’t hurt.  He took off like a rocket before I could protest.

“Yes ma’am, Miss Olive,” Billy exclaimed as he disappeared.

The pug, Wriggles barked as if he picked up and shared the boy’s excitement.  I reached down to pet him and the little dog wagged his tail so hard that his entire back half wagged along with it.  The woman handed him a treat which was gone before I got a good look at it.

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“Paisley, I know you’re from a small town,” Miss Olive began.  “You come from honest, trusting folk.  But in this day and age, a young lady alone has to be careful.  Now, you tell Miss Olive if that man did anything he shouldn’t, you hear?”

I shook my head and immediately wished I hadn’t.  “No.  I recognized him and just meant to say hello.  It would have been rude not to,” I replied and was rewarded with a smile.

The elderly woman patted my hand.  I put my nearly empty teacup on the table and thanked her.  Miss Olive took my cup and swirled the dregs looking at the contents curiously.

“You haven’t gotten off to the best start here in Savannah, have you Paisley?” she commented consolingly.  “But you will make good friends here,” she swirled the tea again and a smirk, a smile she seemed to try and suppress came to her lips.  “And you will have grand adventures.”

I heard the sound of Granny Phanny’s Model-T outside.  Wriggles lived up to his name as he yapped to make sure his lady knew she had company.  Miss Olive put the tea kettle back on the stove.  I felt comforted by the entire scene.  Safe.

The End

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Thanks for visiting — from Suzanne and Percy, and from me too.  Mega hugs!

Copyright © 2017 by Teagan Ríordáin Geneviene

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94 thoughts on “Pip Sees a Pug – in the Kitchen”

  2. Fantastic collaboration! Pugs are always welcome in my kitchen, and now I know how to bake a batch of cookies for them.
    Have a wonderful day, Teagan. Sorry for being late with my visit – I have been off line these days. Many hugs. xx

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  3. Oh Teagan, I loved reading this. A pug was a fantastic choice for the story (love, love, love pugs). Your story is rich with description and Miss Olive is a fabulous character. Hugs, Teagan.

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  4. What a lovely combination of descriptive writing and a recipe that Toby will want me to try out so that he can try out the treats. I hope those tea leaves were telling the truth for Paisley and that bow-tie was for real.
    Hugs to you, Teagan.
    xx

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  5. This is a great story that reminds us that things could evolve well, despite a bad beginning… I formly believe that Hegel´s dialectics In its phases of thesis, antithesis, synthesis applies to many processes in our lives.
    Peabody seems to be the case. At least according to the elderly woman and her words by the end of the post-.
    The descriptions are vivid and I liked how you described Miss Olive: and old woman who “Despite her fragile appearance she took Peabody´s arm in a vice like grip”. And how her ,”bright eyes shown sharply from between the wrinkles”.
    The pug was another favorite here!. I like the ironic twists too… And above all, as I have already anticipated, hopeful message by the end.
    Thank you for sharing dear Teagan ⭐ wishing you an excellent week ahead. Many hugs across the miles!

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    1. Hi Aquileana. I always enjoy your visits. Thanks very much for taking time to leave this mindful comment. I’m especially glad you enjoyed Miss Olive. She is a brand new character and it was fun to envision her.
      As for the week, a big snowstorm is on the way here, so I will hope for either a stroke of good fortune that it as not as bad as predicted, or for a miracle of kindness — that someone will shovel the snow (which I am not able to do). Maybe that has me relating to Miss Olive. LOL. Huge hugs right back. 🙂

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  6. Good morning dear Teagan, As a Pug lover I thoroughly enjoyed this post….and the recipe sounds fantastic….maybe good for humans? 🙂 You write such enchanting stories – they always get my creative juices flowing….you fill me with new ideas. I hope the computer gets sorted out. They are wonderful when they work, but oh such a bother when they play up. Wishing you a beautiful day and week ahead. janet 🙂 xxx

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    1. Dear Janet, thank you for this Monday morning visit. You always bring sunshine and magic along with you. 🙂 And there is a blizzard on the way, so I need all the sunshine I can get!
      I’m delighted you enjoyed this collaborative effort. If I give a boost to your creativity, then I’m absolutely thrilled!
      Right now the computer seems fine. But I fix the darned thing every weekend, and then with in a few days (or just hours) the problem comes back. I had a similar connectivity issue with a computer several years ago, and it was never resolved, despite three different repairmen. So I refuse to further raise my overblown stress level — I’ve ordered a new one.
      Have a beautiful week. Mega hugs!

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      1. I have heard about the nor’easter which is about to hit the East Coast….batten down the hatches time…winter is not over yet! Maybe you will be marooned at home and unable to go to the office….now there’s a thought. Well done for biting the bullet and getting a new computer….and here’s wishing you a lovely and creative week. There’s something lovely about being snowed in with all necessary provisions and art supplies 🙂 janet. xxx

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    1. Indeed it is fun, Christy! I’m delighted you enjoyed this joint post. We have something up our collaborative sleeves for Women’s History Month (USA; March) at the end of the month. So stay tuned! Mega hugs.

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    1. Teri, I can see *me* liking those! LOL. Crystal likes cheese too. (Although I can only give her a tiny bit. With her inflammatory bowel disease, she can’t have much in the way of treats.) Thanks very much for taking time to read and comment. Mega hugs!

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    1. I’m so happy to hear that, Kirt. Thanks for the feedback about the tea cups. I”m glad to know what drew you into the story. That’s very helpful.
      Your “Pavilion by the River” post is just gorgeous. Mega hugs!

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  11. Lmao! Those cookies look scrumptious. I hope Pug shares… But I guess if there really is four of them I don’t have much chance of any being left over. I could always opt for buying a top hat and cigar though! 😁

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  14. Thanks Madelyn. This computer has been more and more problematic for the past eight months. The manufacturers don’t intend for them to last more than two years. (That was a disgusting shock I learned, being involved with a couple of projects with tech “experts” and multi million dollar computer purchases.) Fortunately (or not) prices have come down to the extent that the increasing cost of repairs… Well — I went ahead and ordered a new one last night. Hopefully next weekend I’ll be up and running on something more dependable.

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    1. How fortunate that you had the cash reserves to make that choice. Right now I have to cross my fingers and pray. 🙂 I’m on the Mac platform, so I’m hoping that theirs are a bit longer lasting. Has been true in the past.

      I hate planned obsolescence!! Nasty. I hope upgrading goes painlessly for you.
      xx, mgh

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  15. Pip sounds like she is in store for another interesting adventure! Nice collaboration with Suzanne. 🙂

    Have a wonderful day where you are, Teagan! The weather here is still quite wet, but is at least warming up a bit.

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    1. Hi Lavinia, it’s so lovely to see you. I’m happy you enjoyed this joint effort.
      I’m glad the weather at Salmon Brook Farm is improving a little. We’ve had a bit of the reverse here. Suddenly back to January weather, including snow in the forecast — but of course we had April through January. Crazy winter.
      Mega hugs to you and Rick. Chin rubs to all the kitties. 🐱

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        1. We have actually gotten a light snow in early April almost every year that I’ve lived here. Funny, but people here always forget that. I mark such things in my calendar or they’d have me thinking I had lost my mind. 😀 But I imagine you mean more than an inch. Stay warm and dry. More hugs.

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  17. Mom’s had a rough week so I’m picking the blogs to read while she’s barely able to nod quietly in the corner – I need to lead her to bed before she falls over.

    This one is the best – and if Mom can figure out how to adapt the recipe, I want those treats!!! She’s gluten free, so doesn’t allow those flours in our pantry, but I know she has the rest. I loved the story about the Pug who rescued the lady, btw.
    Woof! TINK

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    1. Hi Tink, thanks for looking out for Madelyn. 😉 If you click over to Suzanne’s blog and leave a comment, I expect she’ll be able to make a gluten free suggestion.
      Madelyn, heartfelt thanks for your encouragement. Mega hugs!

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      1. I have several GF flour substitutes in the pantry, and adapting several of my former favs has been relatively successful. Surely one will work for Tink treats, tho’ I may need to add an extra egg. I do plan to give them a try since he absolutely adores cheese – goes nuts anytime he smells it. I will ask Suzanne what she suggests.
        xx,
        mgh

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    1. Hi Christoph, it’s wonderful to see you.
      Ha! Well, a tiny pug is a long way from a big Labradoodle at that! Add your love of history and it does make perfect sense. I enjoy those vintage images of women driving old cars too. They speak to me of freedom (where as a modern version is just ordinary or even representative of a chore).
      Thank you for your encouraging words. Mega hugs!

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    1. As does yours, Suzanne! It’s me thanking you. Your blog is fabulous, and you are a sterling example of success for National Women’s History Month. (I’m so proud of you for the honor you received at your “9 to 5” job too.) I’m looking forward to our next post. Mega hugs,

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  25. Those dog cookies sound good enough for human consumption. Aren’t they? o_O
    Delightful continuation. Hmm. So, the old lady reads tea leaves. How handy and now I wonder what’s in store for Pip. 😀 Fascinating reading, Teagan. Loving every minute.

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    2. Tess, if there’s bread and cheese, I’d definitely have one! 😀
      I’m delighted that you enjoyed both parts of this collaboration, my friend. Since Suzanne and I have planned to keep doing these joint posts (approximately monthly) I debated with myself on whether to serialize them… and never really answered my own question — except that I’ll probably keep them in Pip’s “universe.” Then ole Floyd popped into this one so it turned out to be in sequence with the last one.
      Next time the tale will be from Granny Phanny’s point of view. It’s Women’s History Month in the USA, and she lived through the suffragette era.
      Thanks for taking time to read and comment. Mega hugs!

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        1. Tess, I guess that depends on how one defines “serial.” What I’m going to call the first one of this set was Pip’s Lemon Christmas. She was still in Florida (but already had the Three Things adventure), so that would be first in this time-line. Then this one and the previous were connected in the same order (she’s brand new to Savannah)…
          But that’s not a constant for the collaboration.
          Plus one vignette is not dependent on the next (no cliffhangers).
          I want to keep all of them in the “Pip universe” though. And I’ll try not to be confusing with it.
          The next one will be from Granny Phanny’s point of view. So it is not sequential with the others. The only specific in the timeline for that is that Pip is soon to be living with Granny.
          After that one — I won’t know until Suzanne gives me an “ingredient.” 😀
          However, they all happen at various unspecified points during the time between the “Three Things Serial Story” (that I book-ized last November) and before the next serial began.
          Since they aren’t necessarily tied end-to-end, I think of them more as related vignettes…
          I hope that helps. More hugs.

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  27. Reblogged this on Smorgasbord – Variety is the spice of life and commented:
    Suzanne and her pug in a kitchen, Percy have been in cohoots with Teagan Geneviene. Suzanne and Percy provided the catering with mouth watering Copy Cat Cheese Num Nums (meant to be for dog treats but pleezzzze) and Teagan treated us to a story Pip, felons and pugs… and more cookies. Head over and help yourselves.

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  28. What a joy.I came back in to another 121 pieces of mail \and my despondency was lifted when I found this joint post between my two favourite ladies as the third one. What’s not to like apart from maybe Floyd’s ignorance as a man. The recipe and the story were treats both and I tender my thanks to you both for the entertainment.
    xxx Gigantic Hugs xxx

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    1. Hi Adele! It’s great to see you. I’m happy you enjoyed this combined effort. Suzanne and I have another collaborative post coming up some time later this month, for Women’s History Month.
      Have a wonderful weekend. Mega hugs right back!

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  31. I like Pugnax and Pugnatrix for Pug names. I know Pugs are not combative by nature, but they are playful. Fine little puppy dogs they are indeed.

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  33. I love the antics in your stories. You know you’ve taken a hard fall when you’re awakened by a pug in a top hat and bow-tie, smoking a cigar. Ha ha. Those dog treats look pretty good – in my house, the pooches would have to share with the humans. 🙂

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    1. Diana, I would be happy to do some quality testing for those doggie treats! LOL. Thanks so much for visiting. I’m delighted that you enjoyed yourself. Wishing you huge success with your upcoming series! Mega hugs.

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  34. You ladies are so creative. I totally loved this story! Shhh… I can’t let Sugar and Spice see the recipe. They are on low-fat diets and Sugar is a diabetic or else I would be slaving away in the kitchen making these for them. LOL! ❤

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  36. Yahoo! When this popped up in my mailbox I was Breakfast Club fist-pumping in the air for al I was worth! What a treat (heehee, doggie, that is). Wonderful collaboration! Thank you so much, Teagan and Suzanne, you sure know how to brighten up our days!!! Off to share, hope this weekend is wonder-filled! 🙂
    Mega num num Sheik of Araby hugs xoxo

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    1. LOL, have I said it too many times that you’re a delight, Donna? Well then I’ll say you’re divine. Thanks so very much for taking time to visit. Light and good thoughts to you and yours.
      It makes me very happy that you enjoyed this post. I sure had a grand time with my part of it, and working with Suzanne. Mega hugs!

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  37. Great vignette and love to see Wriggles as a puppy. I agree with you that the recipe sounds and looks delicious… As I’ll be looking after three dogs in a couple of weeks I’ll bookmark this page… 😉 Thanks, Teagan! Looking forward to the rest of the bookified serials…

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    1. Thank you so much, John. It makes me happy for you to say that. Better not let the Boxers see the photo of Suzanne’s dog treats — they might trap you in the kitchen until you make some. Have a fabulous Friday. Mega hugs.

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