(no subject)

Mum called me just now; they took Dog in to be put down earlier this morning, and she wanted to call and let me know. She was openly weeping on the phone, which I think is the harder part for me than my own unhappiness about losing a pet -- it's difficult to know how to comfort her, especially since I was sealed off from the whole process up here in Chicago, and she and Lucky were the ones who had to actually do it. She says he was lively and happy until he died, which is important, and that they were there for the injection. He'll be cremated and his ashes put in an urn, which they'll bury out at the property Lucky owns outside of town.

I'm unhappy, of course, but I'm doing okay. Sixteen years is a good long time to survive, and I never wanted him to be hurting or miserable.

(no subject)

In order to treat patients who had lost the ability to focus their attention, German physician Johann Christian Reil (1759-1813) proposed a "Katzenklavier" whose keys would drive nails into the tails of cats, who would yowl on key. This, he reasoned, would capture anyone's attention. -- The Futility Closet

I'm pretty sure that was a "three am after a twelve-pack" answer to Dr. Reil's problem.

I've been trying to keep myself distracted today, which is a little difficult since I'm still not fully mobile. I've spent quite a lot of time sitting on the couch, propped up by pillows and aimlessly surfing the web. I did apply to a job with the same place that just rejected me, but in a slightly more theatrical area; I also washed a few dishes and ran the dishwasher.

I've been craving light food the last few days and thus experimenting with sandwich variations. I'm not a huge fan of deli meat, so I'm trying spreads and soft foods. My biggest success so far is the light curry sandwich:

Thinly butter two slices of bread. Spread a very thin layer of cream cheese, preferably whipped, over the butter. Sprinkle sweet curry powder and a dash of pepper on one slice of bread. Combine the two slices and eat up.

I got myself off the sofa long enough to boil two chicken breasts I had in the fridge, with a little creole seasoning and two bay leaves. I put in four cups of water to boil them and kept boiling after removing the cooked chicken until it reduced to about two cups, which I strained and reserved for peanut butter soup later.

I diced the chicken; it's supposed to be cut fine but I was tired and hurting after a while so I did the best I could. The chicken was going into a chicken curry spread:

Finely dice two cooked chicken breasts and add 1/4 cup roasted and finely-chopped nuts. I used pecans, because I had a bag of pre-roasted, pre-chopped pecans in the freezer. Add enough mayonnaise or salad cream to moisten; about a quarter of a cup for a very dry mix. Add curry powder to taste (I used about a teaspoon) and a pinch of salt and pepper. The recipe called for four ribs of celery finely chopped as well, but I left those out. Serve on a sandwich or over rice or however you want. You can add peppers or onions, anything you think might taste good with curried chicken.

I was considering cooking the soup tonight, but I was so tired, and then R's Girlfriend came over. She's making us shepherd's pie for dinner. I hope he marries her.