Here's a Little Good News

Radio, TV and newspapers have been full of bad news lately, but now it's time for something a little lighter.

Recently I wrote about having to euthanize my cat, Burnie, of about 16 years.  He was one half of the team of Crash and Burn. My friends, some of whom took care of them whenever I travelled, have asked how Crash was doing.

I'm happy to report that she is doing well, maybe a bit too well.  I swear, if she could dance, she would be doing a "happy dance".  I have made a few changes to make her feel a little better.  I discovered that she does not like to eat alone, so I bring her dish into the living room so she has some company while she eats.  While I'm preparing her food, she runs laps around the island until I produce her food dish.

After she eats, she has me trained to refill her water dish.  She meows and I get up and give her fresh water.  She doesn't like to drink water that has been in her dish for more than one hour.

A few months ago, I discovered that she was not ignoring me, she couldn't hear me.  I could whisper that it was snack time, Burnie, as sick as he was, would pick up his ears and wander into the kitchen while she would just sit there until she saw the food.  Because she's deaf, if she can't find me, she will howl.  After she woke me up two nights, I now keep her in the bedroom with me, with the door closed so she will see me during the night and won't disturb my sleep.  That is something I can't tolerate.

When Burnie was alive, she would meow so I would let her into the spare bedroom and close the door.  She would stay there, sleeping, until she got hungry or had to use her litter box.  Now, she is spending more time with me, sleeping and resting her head on my leg.

So, yes, Crash is doing well.  About as well as a 17 year old, hyper-thyroid, deaf  cat can do.  And I'm glad.  She is a good companion and very good at training her (dare I say) owner.

Not Again

It's been a week since the horrible shooting in Florida.  There have been many suggestions on how to prevent another.  Yes, we should look ahead and look into ways to prevent another. 

But, we need to look back, what signs were missed and many factors are to blame.  First, part of the problem is the design of the school.  Many, many years ago when I went to school, schools did not sprawl out, they were built up.  We had heavy brass doors, there were no students on the first floor, an intruder would have trouble entering the school, if he did get in, he would have been stopped  before going any further.

We've all heard how the FBI and police failed to follow up on calls.  I hadn't realized that the weapon used could be purchased by an 18 year old, but that same child couldn't buy a handgun.  The right to purchase  a gun should not be on a sliding scale - one age for one type, another for another type and that age should be 21 for all.

There have been many suggestions made to ensure our children are safe - arm teachers, armed security guards, better background checks, etc.  Very few people have suggested metal detectors.  Of the suggestions, I think metal detectors are the best solution.  I know, it is sad to think that our children have to go through them just to get to class, I did too at one time.  Several years ago I was doing some volunteer work through my church in Queens with teenagers.  The topic of metal detectors came up and I said that I thought it was so sad.  All four of the boys in the group said that they were glad they were there, it made them feel safer.

Right now, everyone is angry.  No decision should be made in anger.  Maybe in the meantime, we should cool down and look at all the alternatives before any decisions are made.  Maybe we should emphasize and encourage more respect for life.

Lost and Found

Shortly  before Burn died, I ordered tons of cat food from Amazon.  I thought I'd give the cats a treat and ordered some new flavors.  Well it turns out that Crash doesn't like the new food and I'm wasting a lot of food by using the 6 oz cans.

Today, I went to Petco to buy some smaller cans and a lid for the larger can.  While I was there, I decided to see if Crash was willing to play.  I bought a laser light on a spider on a string attached to a stick.

I paid for everything and carried the bag of food and the toy to the car in the parking lot.  When I got home, the toy was nowhere to be found.  I checked the bag several times, checked the car.  It simply wasn't anywhere.  Reluctantly, I got back in the car and drove about four miles to Petco.  When I got out of the car, I even looked all over the parking lot.  I took a chance and went back into the store.  A young man was at the register and I explained my problem.  I barely got the words out before he picked it up and handed to me.  There was a note attached - "Customer paid for this, it was found in the parking lot."

Evidently someone found it and brought it into the store and they held it for me.  There really are some good people there.  I wish I knew who found it so that I could thank them.  All I can say is - Thank you to all those people who find something and try to return it to the owner.

Cooking

A few weeks ago when I was going through the recipes that I had cut from my magazines, I came across one for beer braised short ribs.  It sounded good so I bought a small package when I went to the supermarket.

Today I decided to make them.  I checked and rechecked the recipe and found that I didn't have all the necessary ingredients on hand.  Thanks to my experiences at Cooking By the Book, I have the confidence to make substitutions.

I only had 1 1/4 lbs of short ribs instead of the 3 lbs called for, but that's not unusual, I often halve a recipe.  If I didn't, I'd be eating the same meal for days and days.  Then I discovered that I didn't have any potatoes on hand.  Oh well, I'm not fond of potatoes anyway.  I started browning the short ribs and peeling the carrots.  Instead of the two carrots called for, I used five, after all I didn't have any potatoes.  I always have onions in the refrigerator, but since I was halving the recipe, I used one onion instead of the two called for.  Of course, I didn't have any stout beer on hand, so I used a can of light beer.

I put the browned meat and the carrots, onions, beer and 14 oz. of beef stock into the slow cooker on high for five hours.  After an hour, I decided that it looked a lot like soup, so I added 1/4 cup of barley.

At dinner time, I opened some wine.  My philosophy is that I must have a glass of a favorite wine whenever I'm trying a new recipe.  That way, if the recipe turns out badly (as some have in the past), I'll still have something enjoyable.

It turned out to be a good soup.  Since there wasn't much meat on the bones, I ate the whole thing for dinner and I really didn't need the wine, but I did drink it.  It was good too.

Burnie - 2002-2018

It’s almost 16 years since a frisky yet cute black and white kitten saw the open door of my home when my son was going out.  This kitten wanted a good home, so he simply walked in.  And stayed.  He stayed until my son died and I sold the house and took him and Crash to live with me.

We had some interesting times Crash and Burn and I.  Crash is a princess and Burn or Burnie was just Burnie.  If there was mischief to be found,  Burnie found it.  There were some things he could never seem to learn.  It is much easier to jump onto the seat of a chair than it is to claw your way up the back of the chair and jump into the seat from the top.  Ladders are for people, not cats.

One day shortly after I moved into this house., I expected a furniture delivery.  I made sure both cats were locked up before I opened the door.  I knew they were safe, but after the delivery, Burnie was nowhere to be found.  I looked all over for him, even walked around the block searching for him.  Hours later, I heard several faint “meows”.  I followed the sound and discovered that he had opened the door under the sink and probably went to sleep.  When he woke up, he couldn’t open the door and was calling for help.

His last few years were filled with doctor and hospital visits.  He was diagnosed with diabetes and a year or two later cured.  It seems that cats have an ability to reverse diabetes.  Then, a growth was discovered in his bladder.  It didn’t pose a problem for a while except that he stopped using the litter box, an annoying habit that I tried unsuccessfully to break.  The last few months he grew weaker as the cancer grew stronger.  This past month, he began having several bouts of bleeding.

Even though I knew that he would never get better, I kept postponing this day.  I am pro-life, I didn’t want to “pull the plug” on him.  This weekend I accepted the fact that his illness was taking over.  He moped around the house and yesterday didn’t eat.  After much back and forth with myself, I made the decision I kept putting off.

This morning I took him to the vet to be euthanized.  In true Burnie spirit, he went out kicking and screaming.  This cat who didn’t seem to mind twice a day shots of insulin objected loudly when the doctor tried to administer the medication.  He also protested when she gave him a sedative.  As the sedative was taking effect, he did his “about to throw up” howl and proceeded to return the little bit of food he had eaten today.  At that point, I decided to leave.  I’d rather remember his fighting spirit.

I’m so glad he walked into the house that day and I’m doubly glad that I decided to take him a few years after that.  We had some wonderful times, lots of laughs, especially when we would bury him in wrapping paper on Christmas morning, or when he would chase the sound of the geese when they flew over the house, or when he would be looking out the window waiting for me to return from an errand or trip.  He also liked to “help” me with the Christmas lights.  I rewarded his help by dressing him for Christmas.  

He gave me as much love as I gave him.  He had a better life than any stray cat could hope for.  He was a character.   He was a lovable cat.  I have had several cats over the last 50 years, but I never had such a lovable and curious cat. 

He will be missed. 

Snow Day

We had a little snow today, about 12 inches.  It really is very pretty and I think it will be around for a while.

The snow and the idea of being housebound for a few days brought out the cook in me.  The first thing I did was get a box of bread mix for my bread machine.  I always use a mix, yeast and I don't get along.  It never rises for me.

Then I got a pork chop out of the freezer.  I  bought a package of them from Costco about three months ago.  They are wonderful, so thick and juicy.  While there I saw a package of cubed butternut squash which I have been wanting to roast.

Then I got out my cookbook and found a recipe for a squash bake.  It looked easy enough and surprisingly I had all the necessary ingredients on hand.  I decided it would make a good side dish.

Whenever I try a new recipe, I have to have a glass of wine with my dinner.  This way, if the new dish is a disaster, at least I have something good with my dinner.  Tonight though, I didn't have my wine.  Leading up to Christmas I had lost 25 pounds and found one since Christmas.  I found that when I drink wine, my weight is up the next day and I'm trying to lose that one pound and several more.  Fortunately, my squash bake was delicious and I didn't need my wine.

It was a wonderful dinner.  Everything worked out well and I didn't even miss my wine.  The water was just fine.

I enjoyed my day.  I even sorted through the recipes I took from magazines in hopes of making them someday.  I made a list of planned dishes and a shopping list for the ingredients I don't have on hand.

I just love snowy days.

Merry Christmas

I'm a little slow and unorganized this Christmas season.  My excuse?  There really is no good excuse except that I took a short trip to the Christmas Markets in Germany earlier this month (more about that in the new year).  I put off most of my decorating until I returned so I was about a week and a half behind.

I tried to fit decorating the trees, baking cookies and writing cards into 2 1/2 weeks.  It didn't work.  I only managed to bake two batches of cookies.  I plan to do more later this week.  Instead of my usual four trees, I only did three trees.  I know, it's a bit much, but I love, love, love Christmas and seeing a tree when I come in the front door is, I think, very welcoming.  I have the regular tree in my sunroom and trees in each of my bedrooms.  It's so nice when I go to be and the tree is all lit up.

Unfortunately, I never got around to sending my good wishes to all my friends.  To anyone reading this, I hope you have a very Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah and Happy Kwanza and to all a Happy New Year.  I promise to do a better job next year.