Even though I claimed to have nothing to post last week, I really felt in the end that I had produced a mildly amusing post. However, dear friends, the bottom fell right out of our readership last week, the counters showing only one third the number of frequent peekers that we normally get. So, I guess I just don't know what to tell you. Well, here's a picture of a brave little doe who visited our backyard on Saturday afternoon. What do you think of that??? Or maybe.........

....you might find this picture appealing. It's Bob demonstrating for Julia, the neck stretcher he got from the chiropractor. (remember that episode of Andy Griffith when Barney used one of these in order to meet the height requirements for deputies in North Carolina?) Bob practically insisted that I take this, in an effort to boost our numbers. I swear to you that he did. I bet if you listen really carefully, you can almost hear Julia laughing

in the dining room.

Maybe a yummy recipe will help. I have a new cookbook put out by Marian Getz, a pastry chef for Wolfgang Puck for many years. She's very high on this Vienna crust. It is good, and I will use it again, but I think most of the time I'll stick with my tried and true Opie's No Fail Pie Crust recipe. I like that little bit of vinegar in the dough. The Buttermilk pie was delicious. Very caramely and rich. Hope you like it. And I'm glad you stopped by to read the blog.

Vienna Pastry Pie Crust

1 cup unsalted butter, cold and cubed

1 package ( 8 oz) cream cheese

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

2 cups flour

In a food processor or mixer, combine all ingredient; process until a dough ball form. Shape the dough into 2 flat 8 inch round disks and refrigerate for one hour.

Buttermilk Pie

1 & 1/4 cup sugar

2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

1 teaspoon vanilla 1/4 cup buttermilk

2/3 cup heavy whipping cream

8 large egg yolks

Vienna Pastry Pie Crust, unbaked

Combine all ingredients and pour into prepared but unbaked pie shell. Bake for 15 minutes at 325 degrees. Lower temperature to 300 degrees and bake an additional 40 minutes or until set. Allow to cool. Dust with powdered sugar and serve at room temperature.