Spanky's Wall of Shame

Dog shaming is all the rage now after a Tumblr page started where people could contribute a picture of their dog along with a sign that indicated his crime. I'd been thinking about doing this for Spanky, but honestly, he has so many shameful behaviors that I didn't know which one to pick. So I decided to do his own "Wall of Shame." Now, Spanky wasn't too eager to pose in front of it. I think quite honestly he'd prefer his picture if it were like this:

Too ashamed to show his face

Truly, my little doggy is no worse than any other dog, but some of his bad habits are soooo embarrassing. Like jumping on women and sticking his head right in their crotch. Really!!!  There are some others I didn't even include on here. But despite all his badness, he's a sweet little dog. Thank goodness he has a cute face.

Hang your head in shame, little man!

Pugs: a hairy situation

When I fell in love with the pug breed, I did a lot of research and found out right away that pugs are shedders. No big deal, I thought. I had dealt with cat hair for many years, so I was used to it. Well, to the uninitiated, let me tell you, living with a pug is a little bit like living with Pig-Pen from the Peanuts cartoon. When pugs shake, hair flies. Wherever they sit, a pile of hair is left behind. If you have a fawn pug like Spanky, forget the black clothes. Now, someone once told that black pugs weren't as bad as fawn pugs, but not having had a black pug, I can say whether or not it is true.

My one observation is that the shedding is worse at certain times of the years. This summer has been exceptionally hot here in Colorado. June was our hottest June on record, with five days of 100 plus temps (38 C.) My dark hardwood floors have been accumulating pug hair faster than I can clean it up. I've got a Roomba and that does help, but my experience is  that Roombas don't get everything. So having a Swiffer or other electrostatic type mop is a big help.

But it's not just the floors. Check out this picture of the bottom of my kitchen chairs:

So what's the best way of dealing with pug hair? Probably daily brushing. I'll admit I'm not too good at doing this since pugs are actually quite low maintenance compared to some of the shaggier haired breeds. But one little tool can make a huge difference. When Spanky was a puppy we got a Kong Zoom Groom Brush and it's wonderful for pugs. I  highly recommend it. It can be used on either wet or dry fur. We also give him a monthly shower. That's right. He gets in the shower with my husband and when he's done, we have several handfuls of dog hair on the shower floor. We've been doing this since he was a puppy so he's used to the procedure.

Spanky checks out a pile of hair

Good Bye, sweet Bella

I know Spanky and I have been MIA for much of the last two months but I'm trying to get back in the grove again. As my regular readers know, Spanky's feline brother Bubba passed away two months ago. Spanky and Bubba were good buddies and got along well, so I think Spanky feels a bit of loneliness since Bub's passing. But then more sadness came Spanky's way when our neighbor's pug Bella passed away on June 6 at the age of 13. She was the epitome of a good pug -- friendly, snorty, non-aggressive, and just a sweet gal all around. She was our inspiration in getting a pug, as we fell in love with her when we moved to our current home five years ago. I wish and dream of having a pug as good-natured as she was. Don't get me wrong. We love Spanky dearly but Bella's personality was second to none. Spanky's a little psycho at times and tends to be skittish around strangers, a total opposite of Bella who greeted everyone like they were lifelong friends. She will be missed!

Sniff, sniff, sniff went the pug

Today I just wanted to celebrate the end of the school year and the beginning of my favorite time of year here in Colorado -- late spring, early summer. I hesitate to call it a season because seasons here aren't really distinct, other than winter. Most people associate Colorado with snow due to the Rocky Mountains. But after living here five years, I can tell you than the actual number of days we have snow on the ground is very little, as we get abundant sunshine and the snow in the Front Range (east of the Rockies) melts very quickly. For me, winter here is more of a "dead season." Everything is brown and since we have relatively few evergreen trees, unlike my native Oregon, it's pretty dismal looking. My husband loves the sun, but I love the green. But I guess you can't have a lot of green without a lot of rain and otherwise gloomy days.

Despite the sun, it is pretty cold for most of the winter and I have few annual flowers that come back every year. As a result, every year in late May I spend a bundle of money on planting new flowers in my flower pots. I only have one tiny section in the yard to plant flowers, as our soil is basically clay and the previous owners mostly landscaped with rocks (which, not surprisingly, are very popular in Colorado.)  I wish I could start planting sooner, but the golden rule here is to not plant before Mother's Day. Although we dodged the bullet this year, it's not at all unusual to get snow in late April or early May. Bulb flowers such as daffodils hold up well in the snow, but others may not fare so well.

Is that a flower I smell??

But getting back on the topic of pugs -- Spanky does love to sniff flowers. In fact he'll sniff and smell just about anything. It's particularly funny to hear a pug sniff. Because of their short snout, you can really hear them sniffing, more so than most other dogs. It really sounds like they're enjoying it.  Today he was particularly enraptured with my flower pots. And as the first day of summer break for my kids was a cloudy one (once again, reminding me of Oregon, where summer vacation always seemed to start on a rainy day) it made for some great pictures. Enjoy!

Life after Bubba . . . the new and improved Larry

Whenever any of my pets have died, I feel like I have been kicked in the stomach. It doesn’t get any easier, and whether they die at home or are euthanized, the feeling of not having done enough for them is still there. Last time we had a cat die (euthanized) I went out and adopted 2 cats within a week of his passing. My boys were about 10 and 7 at the time and were heartbroken, and the house felt so empty without a cat. One of those cats was Bubba, who just passed away 3 weeks ago, and the other was Larry.

Now after Bubba’s death we have our pug Spanky and Larry to keep us company. That’s not to say we don’t miss Bub. We do. Terribly. We  still share stories about his unique behavior (He didn’t make a sound when we first got him and we thought he might be deaf. Later on he turned out to be quite the “talker!”)  and how he loved to have massages where we stretched him out on his back. We could feel him vibrate and stretch while we did this.

Needless to say, we wondered how Bubba’s absence would affect Spanky and Larry. When my cat Pilar died, her companion cat Fay Fay (a Chinese name that roughly translates into Fat Cat) seemed depressed and out of it. Our kids were very young and most of our attention was focused on them. Fay Fay never seemed to be quite as happy after her death and become more of a loner. Would the same happen to Larry? He was very attached to Bubba and had little use for the rest of us, especially Spanky.

The first few days after Bubba’s death I hardly saw Larry. But he gradually started to come out. Although he had sat on the couch with Bubba and Spanky, he had been a bit nervous about doing so with  just Spanky. Part of that has to do with Spanky. He clearly was the king of the couch. But after a few attempts (careful not to sit too close to Spanky) Larry found his “spot” on the couch. Spanky seemed fine with it.

A brave Larry climbed onto my lap

 But then something very strange happened. Larry tried to sit on my lap. In the 6 years we had had Larry, he had NEVER approached me to do this. Never. But without his Bubba, Larry was clearly reaching out to us. The first time he tried this, Spanky chased him off. But he tried another time, this time when Spanky was sleepy and too tired to deal with him.

Now every few days he ventures onto my lap. This is not to say Larry has had a complete personality change. He still is much more tense and skittish than Bubba (no full body massages for him.) But he is starting to seek limited human companionship. And with no Bubba to chase and play with at night, he actually is sleeping on our bed again.

It’s a pleasant change and we’re enjoying it. Will we get him a companion kitty? The jury is still out on that. The new Larry is much more pleasant and we sort of like it like that.

Good bye, Bubba

Today Bubba passed away at approximately 3:20 pm Mountain Daylight Time. I was by his side, as was my oldest son who had just got home from school. While it was difficult to witness, I'm glad he did not pass away all alone by himself as my first cat Pilar did.

It has been a difficult week and everyday I woke up shocked to see Bubba still alive.  Two days ago, after a day of barely walking a few steps, he shocked me by walking up a long flight of stairs to our bedroom. It was his last burst of energy before sliding into respiratory failure.


Here are some of my favorite pics of him from the 6.5 years he was with us (he was an adopted cat so we don't know his exact age.)

Bubba Big Eyes

Sitting on top of my car

 

Larry, left, and Bubba on the right

Professor Bub

Hanging out with Spanky when he was a puppy

Bub in a basket

Getting ready to say good-bye

When I started my blog back in January, it was my intention to post at least once a week. Unfortunately sometimes life throws you a curve ball and the best laid plans often go astray. Such was this case for me during April. After a lovely relaxing cruise to the Caribbean, things started to fall apart. We knew our sweet cat Bubba had glaucoma and blood tests also pointed to cancer or possibly kidney disease, but he seemed to be okay, as he continued to eat well, use the litter box, and maintained his weight.  However, within two weeks of returning from vacation, his health took a drastic downward turn.

Sunning himself a few weeks ago

Bubba enjoying the sun in early April

Since the weather has been so nice here, we’d let him get some outdoor time. He liked to venture out to the other side of the yard and sun himself on a rock. Because his vision was so poor, we didn’t really worry about him jumping the fence (he did try, but he realized that he couldn’t do it). But last week we saw that he was having difficulty walking and spending most of his time in our basement. We encouraged him to go outside, but he didn’t really want to.

Sadly, our pug Spanky and the other cat Larry seem to sense that Bubba’s health is failing. I’ve already talked to my kids, and even though they’re teenagers, I know they will be heartbroken. Bubba has a kind gentle soul and was the perfect match for Spanky, as he tolerated his exuberant puppy behavior quite well.

Larry with Bubba late last week

Last week Spanky wanted to play with Bubba

I’ve lost two other cats. One died at home  on April 20, 1999, and the other we euthanized. Neither was an easy experience. I’m hoping Bubba can die peacefully at home, but it’s hard to watch his health deteriorate on a daily basis. He barely eats now and doesn’t even love his canned food. He used to run the moment he heard me crack open the can. But now the food sits uneaten in his food bowl.

We all know his days are numbered. He continues to surprise us, though, with his tenacity. I feel a bit selfish since I know he must not feel well, but I hope he can hang in there a bit longer. My oldest son takes his first ACT test tomorrow, and although he can certainly take it again, I know it will be hard to focus if Bubba passes on before the test.

But if he does, we know he’ll be in a better place. It’s never fun to watch your precious fur baby suffer.

 By the back porch the other day. No more venturing to the other side of the yard

Tips for your pug's stay at the Dog Boarding Kennel

Spanky acts like a tough guy

Tomorrow we head off on vacation. Spanky, well, he gets to go what we lovingly call "Doggy Overnight Camp." But he knows better. While sending Spanky off to the dog boarding kennel is never a fun experience, I’ve learned that a little preparation makes it easier.

--Send your dog’s own food

Even if the dog boarding kennels provides food, it’s better to send Fido’s own food. Kennel stays are often stressful for dogs and it’s no time to fool around with what he eats. Spanky is on a grain free diet and I always send his own food, along with measuring cup.

--Consider putting your dog on a probiotic

Spanky got giardia frequently as a puppy so I was already in the habit of giving him a probiotic pill. I continued this at his kennel stays as probiotics may help stave off diarrhea that sometimes afflicts stressed animals. One time I didn’t include his probiotic and I noticed his poop was a little loose when we picked him. So from then on I have always included it. I send a bag of pill pockets along with the bottle. At home I just smear peanut butter on, but it’s easier at the dog boarding kennel to use a pill pocket. It’s like a treat for Spanky, too. I’d recommend starting your dog about a week before you go on vacation so their system starts to build up resistence.

--Send along doggy’s favorite bed or blanket

If your dog has a doggy bed, by all means, send it along. If they don’t have one, consider sending a favorite blanket.  I don’t recommend, however, sending a plush toy. As dog owners know, dogs are great at destroying their toys and there’s a good chance it will get destroyed at the kennel. At home I can snatch it out of Spanky’s mouth if I see that he’s got into the filling. At a dog boarding kennel they may not be able to do so. One stay Spanky actually chewed a hole in his bed (it was a cheaper one and not his better one) but fortunately they took it away as he was digging out the filling. So make sure your bed is in good condition and not one of the cheapo ones.

Which brings me to the next point . . .

Spanky's fave: rawhide rings

--Send plenty of rawhide or Nyla bones (whatever you may use). 

 Spanky doesn’t chew on rawhide much anymore, but in the kennel, he does tend to chew more, so having something sturdy to chew on is a good idea. It’s good stress relief.

--Lastly, make sure you pooch is up to date on his shots --

 Especially bordatella (kennel cough.) Most dog boarding facilities require it, so if they don’t request it, then I’d question them why they don’t.

Finding the perfect dog boarding kennel for your pug

The first time I dropped off our pug Spanky in a dog boarding kennel was quite traumatic for me. It was a bit like when I dropped off my oldest son at daycare for the first time when he was a baby. Spanky was still a puppy (about 10 months old) and gave me this confused sad look, before being taking back to his kennel. As I drove away, I saw what him standing against the fence in his dog run wondering what the hell mommy had just done to him. Yeah, it was not a happy feeling. But despite this, I knew he was in good hands. And three years later, we still take him there every time we go on vacation.

So let me tell you how we came about this decision and what we looked for in a dog boardering kennel . . .

I had considered leaving Spanky at a neighbor’s house. Our neighbors down the street have a pug but at the time Spanky was still a high energy puppy and I think he annoyed this older pug a bit from time to time. Plus, Spanky had had a few accidents there on our visits, so I wasn’t sure it was the best idea.  Our neighbors on the other side were new puppy owners themselves. The problem here was that their puppy was a free-feeder. Spanky was not. Every time Spanky went to visit them he literally finished off their puppy’s food. Plus the two of them thought it great fun to chase through each other through the house. No, this was not a good idea either.

So I decided to look into dog boarding kennels. Here again, it was much like looking for daycare. The first place was conveniently located, near our home, but the conditions inside horrified me. The small dog kennels were stacked on top of each other and the big dog kennels were just a few feet away. They did have an indoor and outdoor play area that seemed okay, but I just couldn’t get over the kennel room.  Even though Spanky is used to sleeping in a small kennel, it just seem overcrowded. They also did daycare, and just didn’t seem focused on the boarders. I left that place quickly and crossed them off my list.

I found another dog boarding kennel in a nearby town. Like the first place, it had a lot of dogs there in daycare. But they did have nice large kennels for the dogs. The indoor play area was not too inviting, however. Large dogs were in one “corral” and smaller, timid dogs in another. I noticed a lot of urine puddles on the floor. Uh, not good. While they did have an outdoor play area, it was not being used on that early summer day. Too hot, they said. Well, it gets even hotter as the summer progresses so that told me that Spanky wouldn’t be getting much outdoor time. Plus the hygiene of the facility left something to be desired. Time to move on!

(note: if you live in the Boulder/Broomfield area and are interested in which facilities I looked at, please drop me a note. I do not want to publish their name directly on my blog.)

From Grateful Dog website: inside view

From Grateful Dog website: outside dog runs

Getting a little desperate, I decided to expand my search for a dog boarding kennel to the countryside. Living in Colorado, we are blessed with lots of land and I thought perhaps a facility further away might be better anyhow. I came across the Grateful Dog outside the town of Brighton, about 45 minutes away from where I live.  After setting up an appointment, I made the long drive there. But I finally hit gold! What first caught my eye were the large kennels.  A standard kennel, four feet by five feet, good for small dogs like Spanky, were as large as “large” kennels, in some of the other facilities. These standard kennels each had their own four foot by 12 foot dog run. Medium and large kennels were also available. In addition they had several play areas, but only allowed dogs from the same family to play. Spanky’s good at playing with other dogs now, but at the time, he was still quite timid, so this gave me peace of mind.  I also liked that the owners lived right there on site, in a house adjacent to the kennel, and were directly involved the care of the dogs. They seemed to keep the place smelling clean and tidy, so that made me happy too. In addition, they also have a cat and small pet room, but fortunately our cats do fine at home, with the visit every other day of a cat sitter.

One note about kennel facilities: our kennel used to be a part of the PCSA (Pet Care Services Association.) I noticed on their web page that they no longer mentioned that. Well, the reason is the PCSA filed for bankruptcy in November of 2011. So if any boarding facility mentions that they’re a member, I would immediately question the integrity of that facility.

Tomorrow: tips to make your pug's or doggy’s boarding experience more tolerable.

The pug harness dilemna

When I watch dog shows and see pugs trot alongside their handlers, I’ll admit I feel a little envy. As much as I love my pug Spanky, I’ll be the first to confess that we probably didn’t train him well and as a result, taking him on a walk is more like him taking us on a walk.  Sure, we did puppy training and he will sit on command, but getting him to heel or stay is a much different story. He’s basically happiest either a) off leash, or b) being 10 feet ahead of us. If a bicyclist or runner comes by, watch out! Off he charges! Now, I did discover one day at the dog park where a runner was running inside the park, that Spanky actually just wanted to run alongside him. Of course, the runner didn’t seem too happy about Spanky joining him, but then again, it was the dog park and the one place where dogs rule.

About the only thing I guess I’m grateful for is that Spanky doesn’t chase cars. Ginger, the little female pug down the street, has a thing for cars. I see her owner tightening her leash every time I drive by when they’re walking. But Ginger is only about half Spanky’s weight (he’s about 24 lbs. these days) so she’s a little less dog to handle.

So what’s my take on the best harnesses for pugs? While some pug owners can successfully use collars, it seems like most opt for harnesses. If you've got a pug that pulls, and most seem to, then a collar is not a good choice, as it can cause damage to your Pug’s throat, trachea, and eyes. However, others state that the problem is that harnesses encourages pulling.  As Spanky is my first pug, I can't say for sure. It's sort of like the chicken and the egg dilemma.  Is it in the pug's nature to pull or is it the harness that encourages it? Whatever the case, Spanky is now set in his ways.

Spanky as a puppy with a traditional harness

Spanky playing with his friend Bella

Traditional harnesses like the one Spanky had as a puppy didn’t fit him quite right. Pugs have weird body shapes - heavy in the front end with wide chests. Traditional harnesses cut him under his front legs and caused irritation.

As you'll notice in the pictures, both Spanky and his friend Bella both sort of get rubbed by a traditional harness under their front legs. Bella is a good pug though and usually walks off leash.

Spanky with a "non-pulling" harness

 







We then tried one of the “non-pulling” harness where the leash is attached to the front. The idea is the lack of resistance eliminates pulling. But it didn't seem to work for us. They also didn't fit too well either. This time the irritation would be primarily on his right side as that was the direction he pulled to.


Finally, I decided to try a Puppia soft harness.These harnesses are made out of a cushy polyester air mesh that encircles your dog's neck and then comes down over his chest and under his front legs. A ¾ inch wide adjustable strap is attached to the mesh material under the chest behind the front legs and encircles the trunk, looping through another strap which extends from the mesh behind the neck (this is where the leash D-ring is located.)

Spanky proudly models his Puppia harness

We first got one in a medium. Like all pugs, he's got rolls of skin around his neck and with a medium, the loose skin spilled over the harness and he looked very uncomfortable. So I bumped him up to a large. This worked much better. His neck measures about 13 inches ( I say "about" as getting a precise neck measurement on a pug is impossible.) His chest is 22 inches. The medium actually did fit his chest, but since the large is adjustable and fits his neck better, I'm glad we stuck with it. Most importantly, the large does not cut him under his front legs.

I saw on one Puppia size chart that XL is recommended for pugs! I think, based on most pugs I have seen, that large is perfect, if your pug is about 18-24 lbs. Some really rotund pugs might have to get an XL. One thing I noticed is that the mesh stretches out a bit with time. It's also a hair magnet! But on the plus side, it fits him well and causes no irritation. It's my recommendation for pugs!

Bubba -- coping with glaucoma

Back in January I wrote a post about Bubba, our big mellow cat. We don't know how old he is exactly since we adopted him, but we noticed recently that he was having health problems. Well, after several vet visits and several hundred dollars later, we do have a confirmation on a few issues. The vet ophthalmologist we saw this week said he now has glaucoma. Originally in January when we visited our regular vet, his eye pressure was around 8, which was considered normal. This last week it was over 30 -- not good. The vet prescribed us Prednisolone Acetate - a sort of milky-white eye drop. I give it to him twice a day and it's a two-person job - one person has to double scruff him and put a blanket or towel over him to protect me from being clawed, while I try to get the drops in.  Not easy!

His blood panels also came back showing elevated globulin levels. While this could indicate a number of things (which can only be confirmed by more tests, which we opted out on) the vets feel that it's most likely cancer. He has lost weight -- down to about 12.5 pounds from about the 14-15 lb. range, but he doesn't seem to be in pain at this time. He's adjusted to his blind eye it seems and gets around fairly well.

Here's a picture of Bub's beautiful eyes before glaucoma set in:

 

And now . . . (it's not pretty - sorry)

Pug Gummies

Just a quick posting today. Easter is right around the corner and it's time to start looking for stuff for the Easter Basket.  Now pug lovers can include some extra special for their kids in their baskets.Of course, there is no shortage of pug paraphernalia. I run across stuff all the time, but this is the first time I've seen anything like this - Pug Gummies! (click on this link to take you to shopping link)


Check them out! If I come across more interesting pug stuff in the coming  weeks, I'll be sure to post it.

 

 from Germany!

 

Spanky the Snow Pug

Having fun in the snow!

My one concern when I first got a pug was how he would manage in the snow and cold of Colorado. Well, the answer is fabulously. Despite some of the stories out there that pugs aren’t suited for extreme weather, either hot or cold, I do find that Spanky does do quite well in the winter months. In fact, if given the chance he’d probably go for snow over rain. If I ever move back to rainy Oregon, he probably won’t be too happy.  But once the first snow of the season arrives, he does seem to get adjusted to cold wet paws and gets along just fine.

So what about doggy shoes/boots? (you can order these particular ones here.)

We’ve never used them. I have seen dogs in the neighborhood with them and I also have a Flickr friend over in Europe who has a pug that wears them. Check our his picture right here – it’s pretty darn cute. I do notice that if it gets in the teens or lower (or -8 C), Spanky doesn’t particularly like it.  I may have to push him back out the door a few times to go do his business. The lowest the temp has been here was about -7 (-21 C) and he wasn’t pleased at all and literally hopped around the yard. In situations like that, doggy boots probably would come in handy, but fortunately we don’t have too many days like that.  If de-icer is heavily used in your community then doggy boots might be worthwhile. I have noticed that Spanky’s feet can get irritated sometimes, but for the most of the time his paws do okay, as we try to avoid those areas where de-icer is used.

The one thing we do do for him is dig a path for him in the back yard. Today we just got an inch of snow so there was no need. But a few weeks back we had over a foot. Spanky has no issue with going pee on snow, but when it comes to #2, he just prefers the feel of grass underneath his feet.

hunting for the grass

Perfectly Sinful Brownies . . . even at high altitude!

I’ve always considered myself a pretty decent baker, able to turn out some tasty cookies or cakes. But a move to Colorado some five years ago changed all that. Nothing was turning out quite the way it should. Cakes fell and cookies spread out too wide. It was depressing and so I relied more and more on premade cookie dough and cake mixes, which at least had high altitude instructions and came out more reliably than most scratch recipes. But I missed the satisfaction of making things from scratch.  However, I recently discovered a ridiculously simple brownie recipe that proved a huge success.
  

It all started one day when I was cleaning out my cabinets and came across a canister of Ghirardelli Natural Unsweetened Cocoa. I had no idea why I had bought this but I wasn’t about to throw it out, so off I went in search of a brownie recipe that used powder instead of solid chocolate like so many of them do.

  

I came across a recipe that I have made twice so far. It contains a sinful amount of butter but for a special occasion it’s worth it! However, because of that amount of butter, you do have to pay special attention to the baking time. I underbaked it a bit the first time and it was a bit hard to get out. The next time for Valentines I made it in my Wilton Valentine’s Brownie Pan that I got a number of years back and I sprayed it with baking spray with flour.

I baked it exactly 25 minutes and then let it cool. Because these brownies are a bit soft and gooey in the center (the way I like them) it’s critical to let them cool, otherwise they can be a mushy mess. Some bakers will line an 8 by 8 dish with two pieces of parchment, so that you can lift the brownies out, but with a brownie pan, everyone will have an easy-to-hold brownie, with crispier edges. It’s a personal preference, but I like the brownie pan method. I really like the convenience of every brownie coming out the same and not having to dig them out of the pan.  I'm ordering this one below from Pfaltzgraff:

My Wilton Valentine's Brownie Pan

Pfaltzgraff Brownie Pan

What you’ll need:

• 10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (natural or Dutch process)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon instant coffee crystals (optional)



The finished product!

• Powdered sugar for dusting (optional)

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and position rack in lower third of oven.

Put the butter, sugar, cocoa, and salt  in a medium heatproof bowl and place the bowl in a wide skillet of gently simmering water. (note: one with a handle is the best, because it’s hard to remove the bowl otherwise. If you don’t have one like this, just plan ahead and have good hot pads or oven mitts, because using a dish towel like I did is not a good idea.) Stir occasionally until the butter is melted and the mixture is smooth. Remove the bowl and set aside briefly until the mixture is only warm, not hot.  

If you want to add the coffee, do it in the previous step. I learned that trick from the Barefoot Contessa and now I always make brownies or anything chocolate with some instant coffee or espresso as it gives it more depth of flavor.

Stir in the vanilla and mix with a wooden spoon. Beat the eggs gently in a separate bowl and slowly add the eggs to the mixture. Then add the flour, blend in until you can no longer see it, and stir it for about 40 strokes.

Bake until a toothpick comes out slightly moist with batter, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool completely before trying to remove or invert your brownie pan. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.