Food Glorious Food

I like to cook, Mike and I both like to eat. These are good things. I love to go through magazines and food sites to find new recipes to try, and I do that regularly. I keep them in file folders sorted by type (Beef/Pork, Chicken, Pasta, Soup, Salad etc) so that when they have a sale on, say, ground beef I can find recipes that might possibly include ground beef. Aren't I the organized one? Some of the things we try are a hit, some a dismal failure, some are just so-so. I only keep the recipes that we really liked, and these go into a 3-ring binder so I can find them again. That binder is a great thing - when I need to find something that I know we like I look in there.

Why is it that some recipes SOUND so good.... but don't TASTE so good? I made one last week that I really thought was going to be spectacular. Chicken, sun dried tomato pesto, and fettuccine. The first bite was amazing, but by the fourth bite it was far less successful. It would probably be a great appetizer, but as far as a main course? Not so good.

Last night's was a keeper. A crust of Bisquick and sharp chedder rolled out and then formed around a filling of ground beef, corn, hot salsa and more cheddar. YUM. A keeper. Tonight I'm trying out pasta with asparagus, parmesan, and pine nuts. We'll see.

The More Things Change.....

Things never stay the same do they? I guess that's a good thing. Nobody wants to go through life without different experiences do they? Our 21 year old son is in the process of moving home. His financial situation was just not making it feasible for him to live on his own. DH and I are thrilled, we love Rob, Rob is a lot of fun to be around, and we've missed him. Rob is depressed. He feels like moving home is a failure, and besides.... Mom and Dad? Oh ugh. I expect that all of us will have to make some accommodations. I'll be finding dirty plates and large shoes lying about, Rob will have to let us know when he isn't going to be returning home at night. I'll have to remember exactly which two things Rob will deign to eat for dinner. Rob will have to refrain from bitching when I make something he doesn't like. We'll manage, although I know it won't be without some snags.

We are going to be adding a puppy to our family. A Golden Retriever. It's been a long time since I've had to potty train anything, and I know that there's a lot of work involved in a puppy, but it is going to be SOOOOO worth it. I've always wanted a Golden, and this breeder has SUCH amazing dogs. It's all very exciting. But still, more change.

Static would be bad. New experiences are a good thing, but sometimes they are scary. It's hard not to fret about all the bad things that COULD happen, instead of looking forward to the wonderful things that WILL happen. Stay tuned. The next few months should be interesting.

Losing Harley

I'm finally starting to get to the point where I feel less like "I Killed My Dog", and more like" I Did The Right Thing". It's been a hard road, and it's been aided in large part by Flinders, the Golden Retriever next door. Flinders' family has been in Australia since 4 days after we let Harley go, and we are dog sitting for him. It is so very different. I don't have to live in terror that the maid and the yard guy will show up at the same time. I take Flinders for a walk and don't have to worry about seeing another dog, or a kid on a bike. Sometimes I think to myself, "oh! This is what it's supposed to be like with a dog." *light bulb goes on over head* Of course, then I feel guilty and disloyal to Harley. But...... I'm coming to realize that I shouldn't feel so guilty. We truly did explore every avenue open to us. We tried diet, medication, training and re-training, counseling...... if its out there, we tried it. While I still miss Harley and her funny, ear-flapping ways terribly, I'm at peace with what had to happen. She wasn't a happy dog, and in turn nobody else was happy either. But .... did I mention that I miss her?