Time to say 'thanks', I'm back, Tagged, and WDB13

Wow...I have to thank you, all of you, for all your kinds words and support since we lost Macroom. So many friends have stopped by or emailed, and better still; total strangers have taken the time to say goodbye to our little kitty, and wish us all well.

No, it's never easy to bury a pet. It didn't matter that we'd only had him a few months...Macroom had become family.

He was suffering, and now that's gone. Our friend Elizabeth, and Alex's godmother, suggested we tell him Macroom's gone to heaven. Perhaps if Alex can imagine the kitten going to a place, he can better grasp the idea of him being gone.

Alex still asks about Macroom, but I do think he's beginning to 'get' that the kitty is no longer with us.

The day after Macroom died, Alex asked where he was. I reminded him Macroom had been sick, and that he died. I told Alex that meant Macroom was gone; we no longer had a kitty.

Of course, I get all teary-eyed. Again. Alex then said 'that's sad, isn't it?'. Yes, it is.

Next thing out of his mouth: 'can I give you a hug and a kiss?'. I love my little boy! And I think he's going to be ok.

So, once again I thank you all for taking time out of your day to help us mourn our sweet Macroom; it really means a lot to us.


I know I haven't posted since then; the days following were kind of crazy and sad. We blew off anything resembling dinner plans Friday night. I decided I was suffering from Brain Drain, and because of it, needed really bad-for-me food.

Matt, who is a very good man, made a quick trip to the store to supply me with exactly that:



Tater tots, Onion Rings, Mozzarella Sticks, and (fake) Chicken Nuggets. There are times when the soul cries out for fatty and fried (albeit re-baked) foods. This was one of them!

I'm sure I'll suffer for my indulgences later, but it sure hit the spot.


Let's see...what else? Oh, yes. Both Heather and Sweetnicks have tagged me for the Top Ten Favorite Foods meme. Sure...why not?

Top 10 Favorite Foods:

1. Sushi. Oh, how I love sushi. Matt is in the kitchen making tomago as I type this! We went out for sushi at least once a week when we lived in Oakland, and try to make it ourselves every couple of weeks now. And since discovering Knoxville has a (new) good sushi place? That serves tomago? Life is good.

2. Pizza. I know that's not very exciting, but I adore pizza. It's my go-to, stand-by, food. I don't care if it's delivered, made by my own hands, or even from the freezer section at Kroger. I just love pizza. I love it right out of the oven, or eaten straight from the fridge the next day. I doubt I'll ever stop feeling this way about pizza, which is alright with me.

3. CoCo Wheats. Most kids grow up eating oatmeal for a hot breakfast. My mom gave me CoCo Wheats, a thick, chocolatey, hot cereal. It's hard to explain it, and even harder to find West of Pennsylvania, but I still love it. I've had relatives send boxes to me, and the wonderful Hometown Favorites sells it, as well. Alex likes it, too, so I must be doing something right.

4. Korean Onion Rings. Composed mostly of wheat and potato, and 'flavoured' with onion...they're crunchy and addictive. We only occasionally pick up a bag from one of the Asian grocers, because oh, my; do I love these things!

5. Swedish Fish. I've always loved gummi candies, but since I've not consciously consumed anything containing gelatin for the past (almost) ten years, most of it's off limits.
One exception is Swedish Fish. That chewy texture I love, but no ground up hooves! (flashing to Homer Simpson..."mmmm; ground hooves...")

6. Pooris. I love Indian food. I love that when dining at an Indian restaurant, I have more than one or two options on the menu. But what I really love? Pooris. Big, fried, puffy bread. Yum.

7. Turkey Dinner. I no longer eat fowl, but back when I did? Turkey dinner was my absolute favorite meal of all. Slices of turkey, with mashed potatoes, stuffing, rolls and gravy...sublime.
I do my best to recreate that dish using Now & Zen's Complete Unturkey Feast. It's not quite the same, but for me, it's close enough.

8. Avocado. It's hard to believe that just six years ago, I'd never tasted an avocado. I thank Matt for introducing me to this amazing food...buttery and delicious, it's so incredible that a cheese-aholic like me will forgo the Swiss or Gruyere on a sandwich in favor of avocado slices. And avocado maki? To die for!

9. Gardner's Candies Peanut butter Meltaways. Gardner's is a candy maker near my hometown. I grew up with their products, particularly their meltaways; sweet, creamy peanut butter coated with milk chocolate. Often, schools would sell their candy for fundraisers (most often around Easter). And while they make good candy all around, the meltaways will always be my weakness.

10. Raspberries. I enjoy most fruits, although I'm very particular as to how and in what I'll eat them. Throw some berries in a smoothie? Sounds great. Put them in a cake or cookie? No thanks, I'll pass.
But one fruit I can eat in almost any form is the raspberry. I like blackberries, and devoted large chunks of my childhood to picking them (later turned into jelly by my Grammy). Strawberries are great. Apples are so versatile. Grapefruit? Basically lived off them in college. But it's the raspberry that evokes 'ooh's' from me. Sweet, yet tart, I will gladly devour an entire container of them.

As for tagging others, you know by now I'm not into competitive blogging! If you'd like to join in, just let me know.

And the last bit for the day...WDB 13.

Matt and I decided we were going to get a new kitty. Not a replacement for Macroom, mind you, but we both felt we needed to have a kitty around the house.

We picked today to visit the Humane Society's shelter. We walked in, and looked at the kitty/cat section. There were some beautiful animals there, including a 5-year old long hair female, slate grey fur, named Buffy. We later learned that this shelter still houses a lot of Katrina pets, which is what we assumed brought Buffy there. She was friendly and affectionate. But we knew we needed a kitten. To subject an adult cat to two large dogs? Just not fair to either party.

Unfortunately, they just didn't have any kittens at the time. I was pretty sad about this, because I really wanted a new kitty.

What they did have was puppies.

Lots, and lots, and lots of puppies. Including a litter of five, all Border Collie mixes. Or, as we call them, Irish Greeter Dogs (just about every B&B we stayed in during our honeymoon had a doggie of this kind run up and bark 'hello').

We looked at all the pups (again, we'd have loved to adopt a full-grown dog, but didn't think it fair to our dogs or the new one to force that living situation on them), and finally selected a rolly-polly, seven-week old male.



This is our new pup. His name is Doolin.

Wicklow and Donegal appeared saddened by Macroom's death. I could tell, because Friday all they'd do is curl up together and sleep...they really were missing him.



But now that they have a new puppy? Wicklow is beside himself, sniffing and following Doolin around. Donegal? Well, she seems a bit put out. Like she's mad at me. This will be interesting, especially as Doolin is no bigger than Matt's shoe...a small and fluffy ball, with a curly-cue tail.

Wish us well...


Don't forget to mark your calendar for this month's Blog Party, Vegas, Baby!. We're all about giving in and indulging this time around, so start planning those entries. And remember...it's never too early to submit...entries are due this Thursday!


Tagged with
Food and Drink, Memes, Cats, WDB, Dogs,