R.I.P. Little Crusty

Today, we said goodbye to our little cat, Crusty. She was the last of our Idaho animal menagerie that we received as a kitten from our neighbor who found her in her office building's parking lot. Our neighbor knew we had kitten formula and bottles, so she brought her over for us to take care of. She ended up being with us for sixteen years. Lately, she had been suffering from kidney disease but yesterday she took a turn for the worse and we knew it was time to say goodbye. In fact, last week I got "the talk" from our vet about when to decide to end her suffering but I just didn't think she was that bad yet. The photo above was just two days ago when she was still acting very normal, hanging around with us and doing the four critical activities of eating, drinking, pooping and peeing. She was even eyeing the birds and going into that hunting mode. But yesterday, she quit the four critical activities, just over night. We had elected not to give IV fluids like the vet suggested (like we did with our previous cat, Ichi) so I think her kidneys just stopped working. So, it's been a sad day. It also happens to be my birthday - not a good way to start it off! But we ended the day at one of our favorite places, Salty's at Alki, with Lauren who joined us for dinner. We sat outside, of course, social distancing from other tables in this age of coronavirus. They had their outside seating area with less than half the tables set up so it was easy to do so.

After not going out for so long, it really felt special to be there eating such wonderful food, including my all-time favorite cake, their White Chocolate Mousse Cake with Raspberry Coulis. I got my own complimentary piece for my birthday. That alone is reason to go to Salty's on your birthday!

Next week Nick and family are returning to the U.S. after seven years in Japan so it will be a new beginning of sorts. We have been busy going over to his house setting things set up for them since it will take about a month for all their stuff to arrive and we have a lot we can give them. Yesterday, I set up the "toy room" for the kids; all Nick and Lauren's old toys that I've saved for 30+ years! Remember Beanie Babies? LOL

We had enough extra furniture to give them that they will be quite comfortable in their new home.

The living room is a little bare but their furniture from Japan will help fill it up when it arrives.

This house is a little larger than their house in Japan so our extra stuff will help fill it up. Yesterday, we took the ferry home from his house and it was a gorgeous day to be out on the water.

There is a lot to look forward to but today we are still thinking about Crusty. We know she had a good life and that's all you can do as a pet owner. Next week, our hearts will be filled with our grandchildren being in town and that will be so exciting, we can still hardly imagine it! That will be my greatest birthday present of all.

Meatloaf by Mark Bittman

Once again, I turned on the television yesterday and saw that Mark Bittman was on the Today show and was making his version of meatloaf . This must be meatloaf season. It was surprisingly similar to the Pioneer Woman's version who was also recently on. I was a little surprised of his version because Mark Bittman is into healthy eating and has lost a lot of weight and improved his health by changing his diet which he writes about in his book, Food Matters . His meatloaf recipe also included bacon and cheese! I must be doing something wrong. The thing to remember, which he writes about in his book, is that you can eat healthy without going extreme or changing your whole life. If you don't know who Mark Bittman is, he is a food writer and a four star chef with multiple cookbooks who loves to eat but changed his food philosophy to improve his health. He tells his story in Food Matters and provides ...

Trader Joe's Gluten-Free Oatmeal, Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Cookies

I don't have very many gluten-free cookies on my blog because quite frankly, I usually don't like gluten-free. But occasionally, I do find a good recipe and this is one that is from the back of the Trader Joe's oatmeal and it's a good one. My friend brought some over to our house last weekend when Nick and family were here for our birthday celebrations and we all loved them. My friend lives a few blocks away and we walk the neighborhood together on weekends. We can easily go 5 miles in no time, talking non-stop. She loves exploring our neighborhood as much as I do and we discover so many favorite little spots. We even found a property with a horse (or more like a pony, I should say.) The views are always quite lovely, too. Bruce and I had our thirty-ninth wedding anniversary on July 18th and I made a point of walking past the house where we had our wedding reception. I told my friend, "Thirty-nine years ago today, t...

Waking Up in Vegas

and just like that...we were Waking Up in Vegas. Just like the Katy Perry song. We went to her 78th performance which was her second-to-last Las Vegas residency show entitled "Play". That was perfect for us because we went to Vegas simply to play. Her concert was a great finale for us because it was high energy and full of silliness, just the way Katy Perry is. And we were feeling it after three nights in Las Vegas. "Get up, and shake the gutter off your clothes now, That's what you get for waking up in Vegas". Here's what she said about her show: "I created this show after the birth of my daughter, Daisy Dove. When I met her, it was like all the love I was ever searching for finally showed up. This show is for everyone’s inner child and for the hope that maybe if we could all see life through the eyes of a child, we would be free. Because never forget, love is and will always be the key,” she said. We went to Vegas spur of the moment because Br...

Sylvia's Scenario

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