Saturday, July 24, 2010

Our Briards.

With all the mentioning of the briard beads & the briard earrings - I forgot to mention the actual briard dog - apologies to you my dear audience! A briard is a rare breed of dog, with first real records (read: tapestries) being kept of the breed in eighth century France: http://www.briard.com.au/briard%20history.htm


Iggy

Our briard litter sisters, Misses Iggy & Coco, came to us in 2005, from the last litter bred by our now very dear friend Irena (Trilby Briards) in NSW. They arrived together via plane, bundled up in a crate, two tiny little bear cubs, who were just so sweet & snuggly. Briards have a need to be with their humans at ALL times, preferably on top of you - I don't think they realise (nor do they care) how large they actually are.


Coco

The history of the breed in Australia is very interesting as it only commenced in 1974 - if you are interested have a look at: http://www.briard.com.au/briard%20in%20australia.htm for further information. Given this short space of time, the breed has quietly established itself, but thankfully not to the popularity levels of other breeds. Briard litters are never advertised - it's all word of mouth from people in the know, or by people who are interested in the breed tracking down a breeder (also not very common) & placing themselves on a very long waiting list.


Misses Coco & Iggy having a ponder at Moggs Creek Beach

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Briard Rescue Earrings

Thank you to all who contacted me about the Briard Rescue Beads! You are all very kind, & the Briard Rescue Team does so very much appreciate your positive feed back - again, thank you xx It is lovely to know that those who do not have our breed of dog still think that what we have made is pretty cool & worthwhile.

So, to brag again I thought I should post up a picture of our Briard Rescue Earrings. Do not look too closely at the photo as I do wear these earrings to death & they could do with a damn good polish (should have done that before we took the photo - *slaps forehead*)




The paw prints are pressed into the earrings themselves & the paw print model is a very handsome briard named Teddy who lives in N.S.W. Again, they are solid sterling silver & are quite heavy to be perfectly honest, but I became used to the weight quickly.

When I wear these I get so many comments - which thrills me no end as they are pretty damn gorgeous. I also love the fact that I know the paw print model, and that all of the pairs of earrings made are not quite the same, as they are not mass produced but rather thay are made to order.

For those of you who are interested in the briard dog, please go to: http://www.briard.com.au/


Monday, July 19, 2010

Our Lone Pine.

We have been able to purchase a descendant of the original Lone Pine (Aleppo Pine), left at Lone Pine Ridge, Turkey in 1915. This was the last Aleppo Pine left standing after the Turkish Army cut down the other ones to cover their trenches. In August 1915, during a 3 day battle the Australian Army lost 2000 men whilst the Turkish Army lost 7000 men.



Two Australian soldiers kept some of the pine cones. Many years later, luckily, their relatives were able to germinate 6 seedlings. These seedlings were then donated to various towns & war memorials. Since the 1980's many trees have been grown from the Aleppo Pine which was donated to the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.




Now we can all buy the descendants of that Lone Pine. We bought ours recently, but also purchased an plaque to clearly identify it as a very special addition to our garden.

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Briard Rescue Beads.


We have two female briard dogs, named Coco & Iggy, who are very gorgeous & very spoilt. They are now almost five & are still wonderfully silly girls. One day they may actually act all grown up (or not). Unfortunately not all dogs are so loved, so I help out with the "Briard Rescue" group, which was formed to rescue & re-home briards in need. This is a wonderful bunch of other briard owners who volunteer their time help out - a burden shared & all that. Funny how a shared belief makes for a "family".





We recently had a bunch of beads made up for ourselves & to also raise funds for the Rescue Group. This would have to be my most favourite necklace, I just love the work in the beads, with a paw on one side & a dogs head on the other. They are sterling silver too - no common muck metal for us.




When we bought our dogs all those years ago we had no idea about the friendships that we would form, initially over the internet (The Australian Briard Forum) & then in person as we got to know people enough to then organise briard parties, where we all just enjoy each other's company (& the dogs of course). We've attended briard parties in QLD & NSW & so many here in Victoria, & consider these people lifelong friends. Our boys still love to go to the parties - I so hope that continues when they are teenagers, because they are loved by these people whom we do consider to be family. We are lucky indeed. Oh, if you want some beads too, you can purchase them here: http://www.briard.com.au/calendar.htm

Saturday, July 3, 2010

Turkish Delight Cheesecake - thanks David xx

Firstly - I must acknowledge the people who shared this recipe with me, for I fear that if I don't my darling friends David & Liana may take vengeance on me (which may actually be great fun - love them to Turkish Delight bits!) Thanks guys for giving me your recipe, although I would have preferred for you (ie. David!) to make me the cheesecake for me, as is our usual custom x


Tah Dah! The Turkish Delight Cheesecake.

We have a very special day planned for tomorrow - a big briard party!! It will be held at Kate's home in Bunyip & we are expecting around 28 people & 11 briards. Everyone is bringing a dish or two to share - I am bringing a green salad, garlic vinaigrette dressing & of course, my copy of David & Liana's Turkish Delight Cheesecake.



Taken from "A Briard Celebration - Recipe Book" - note David & Liana's boy briard Oscar looking gorgeous!

The Recipe.

Ingredients:
250gm plain biscuits, crushed to resemble breadcrumbs
150gm butter, melted
3 tsps gelatine powder
1/4 cup boiling water
375gm packaged cream cheese, softened
1 tsp vanilla essence
1/2 cup caster sugar
300ml thickened cream
3 x Frys/Cadburys Turkish Delight bars finely chopped
1 x Frys/Cadburys Turkish Delight bars finely chopped (for decoration)

Method:
Line the base of a 24cm spring form cake pan with kitchen foil. Combine the crushed biscuits & melted butter & press this mixture evenly over the base & sides of the tin. Cover with food wrap & refrigerate for an hour. In a cup place the boiling water & sprinkle the gelatine over the top: stir until dissolved, then leave to cool. Using an electric mixer & a small bowl beat the cream cheese, vanilla essence & sugar together until smooth. In a separate bowl, beat the cream until it forms soft peaks. Stir the gelatine mixture into the cheese mixture, add the Turkish Delight & fold in the cream. Pour the mixture into the prepared biscuit base & refrigerate until set. Decorate with the extra Turkish Delight.