I've been admiring the Tamiflu ads, as they capture exactly how the flu was as I remembered it. Sore throat began at the wee hours of Christmas day. Christmas day felt as if a cold were coming on. Friday felt that it was a very bad cold. Saturday the piano fell on my head. My teeth...
December 31, 2014
December 27, 2014
A Beautiful December Day
We have another beautiful December day. Clear skies. 61F. Hard to believe we are just into winter.
Our Virginia winters are mild. Last year we had a very cold spell. Some snow. The cold killed a few exquisite rosemary bushes. Not mine. I've never been...
December 25, 2014
Leisa's Baking Affliction
Happy Holidays!
Lemon Cheesecake with Gingersnap Crust
My title refers to my travails in making what should have been (and is) a pretty straightforward recipe for cinnamon coffee cake. Now,...
December 22, 2014
Hound Dog Bound Homeward
Saturday evening my sister, visiting from Bedford, and I met up with my cousins and had dinner at Hanover Tavern. Our reservations were at 6:30, so we were done with our dinner relatively early. I took my sister to my parents' house, and being a little tired, did not linger. I'm careful...
December 21, 2014
Scoring at the Salvage Store
My sister is in town, and I was headed over to my parent's house (about 30 minutes away). My spidey senses whispered intensely, "Stop at the salvage store." It is not on the way, but I trust my spidey senses. Plus, I wanted to get some more pumpkin. They have the big pumpkin...
December 18, 2014
Tonight's Canine Cuisine
Last evening., our crew of 4 had beef heart as our lean meat selection (from that 60lb frozen rectangle that I wrangled with). I mixed it with macaroni and red lentils (both cooked; meat raw). I added necessary accoutrements such as bone meal and sardines;however, in retrospect, I did not...
December 16, 2014
Cat Nutrition, again | Taking a Spill
Cat Nutrition: I am happy to report that my two cats are robustly eating their new cat food. In just a short amount of time, I can tell that Wyatt is putting on much-needed weight. Of course, they still may turn their noses up at it. I'm not sure where the fine line of demarcation...
December 14, 2014
Cat Nutrition Time
With our dogs settled into their eating routine (and it is nice of it to now feel routine), it is time to turn attention to cats. I have made a stab at feeding them a homemade diet, but there is a reason why Morris the cat became an American icon for the 'finicky eater.'
While a dog can survive...
December 13, 2014
139 Days with Dexter
Grass makes me gag!
Here's Dexter after 139 days in our care. He has gained 10 13 lbs and lost his num-nums, since coming to us as a young dog, below. He has muscles and his body are hard...
December 11, 2014
The Hazards of Homemade Dog Food
My freezer is rated for 700lbs of food. There is no way that I have even a half that much in the freezer (upright). Nevertheless when I opened the door, the @%#$^#!$^ some of the occupants...
December 11, 2014
My Veterinarian
I don't even know who my veterinarian is anymore. I have been going to the same vet practice for many years. I will not name them here. About 10 years ago, the owner scaled back her time and hired a bunch of what I would call "traveling vets". That means that each time I took one of my animals...
December 9, 2014
The Proof is in the Pudding, or rather in not having Pudding as an Output
I see some pockets of homemade diet critics (from people I respect) opining on overuse of carbohydrates in homemade diets as well the use of supplements . Both Dr. Pitcairn and Dr. Strombeck rely...
December 2, 2014
Donald R. Strombeck, DVM, PhD
I ran across Dr. Strombeck's website. I believe his website to be one of the most thorough and informative websites on canine and feline nutrition--both the science of it and recipes. I'm surprised that it took me so long to find it. As I was doing my searches on RAW food, as his is 'homemade',...
November 29, 2014
November 28, 2014
Thanksgiving Post Mortem
The multi-day prep for Thanksgiving is so worth the enjoyment of having family surrounding the table. I managed to slightly nick my thumb (still unsure how, but squeezing the lemons for the oyster cocktail sauce made it very evident), burn my right hand on a cast iron skillet (through the mitt--and...
November 24, 2014
Words Matter
I've never thought to much about food terminology as I get most of my food from the grocery store. Now that I'm trying to find cost effective sources of meat for my RAW diet for my dogs, and I'm...
November 21, 2014
Leonid Meteor Shower
Yesterday morning, I was walking my entourage around 5 a.m. and I spied not one but two meteors. such a wonderful way to start the day. The night sky was bright and clear, and the waning moon did not interfere.
Some years ago, when the Leonids were particularly favorable for viewing...
November 18, 2014
What was I thinking?
"What was I thinking?" was the question that I asked myself about 1/2 way into my processing of the 60lbs of frozen beef hearts that I bought at the restaurant supply company. It would have been...
November 16, 2014
November 10, 2014
Weight Loss
I have two friends who are running the Richmond Marathon. While running in an organized race has not been something I've ever aspired to, I'm proud of my friends for their commitment to train and to race. It is inspiring.
Our bodies were born to work. The work of living--acquiring...
November 9, 2014
November 7, 2014
Full Moon - 1
Yesterday was the full moon. I finally got my moon phase working on my sidebar. I also added a RAW feeding count up timer. I really do look at these things. I say to Mark, do you know that we have had Dexter XX days. I'm up early, and this a.m. the moon was splendiferous! ...
