Sunday, November 28, 2010
Mine!
I had the laptop on the floor. Tolly came over to see what I was doing, so I played his fetching video for him. He had no idea it was him on the screen (of course; cats have no idea what they look like) but he absolutely recognized that toy: he pawed the screen every time he saw the mousie go by in the mouth of that "other" cat.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
A gift from Eisa
When little Eisa was suffering from kidney failure, our vet shared Eisa's kidney panel numbers with us over email, and we were able to update her over email as well. We learned a lot that way.
Because I was (somewhat) familiar with some of the names of things, I took notice when I saw that one of these values was elevated on Tolly's allergies blood test.
The vet who ran these tests wasn't too worried. But because of Eisa, I asked Tolly's new vet to run a kidney panel and urinalysis on him, just to see.
From there, we progressed to an ultrasound today. Where we got the diagnosis of kidney disease: chronic renal failure, just like Eisa's.
Because we have the diagnosis now, we can start him on the kidney diet now, and keep him in peak shape for longer. And from personal experience, we know what symptoms to look for, what to do, and what measures we'll probably end up taking.
Because of what Eisa taught us, I am more sure than ever that we are the right parents for Tolly, and that here absolutely is the best place for him to be.
Because I was (somewhat) familiar with some of the names of things, I took notice when I saw that one of these values was elevated on Tolly's allergies blood test.
The vet who ran these tests wasn't too worried. But because of Eisa, I asked Tolly's new vet to run a kidney panel and urinalysis on him, just to see.
From there, we progressed to an ultrasound today. Where we got the diagnosis of kidney disease: chronic renal failure, just like Eisa's.
Because we have the diagnosis now, we can start him on the kidney diet now, and keep him in peak shape for longer. And from personal experience, we know what symptoms to look for, what to do, and what measures we'll probably end up taking.
Because of what Eisa taught us, I am more sure than ever that we are the right parents for Tolly, and that here absolutely is the best place for him to be.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Eating joyfully without gluten
DH is gluten sensitive. It's not enough of an issue to show up on tests (so, not full blown celiac disease, lucky for him), but it does make a difference to his health when he cuts out gluten.
For his birthday gift this year, I signed us up for something neat: a gluten free cooking demo/class at Stir. It took place last week, and it was really yummy and fun!
10 of us sat around a table while a professional chef and assistant cooked a beautiful gluten free meal for us, and led us in discussion of issues, resources, etc. Everyone was really nice, and the food was absolutely delicious, definitely worth having in the repertoire. It didn't taste like 'dietary restriction food,' just like good, hearty, satisfying fare, so even gluten eaters are likely to enjoy it!
It turns out most of the recipes are variations on ones that appear online. Click through for delicious photos, recipes, and discussion!
* Gluten-Free Gougeres (Pão de Queijo) are little cheese puffs made with tapioca starch that really fulfilled the bread yearning. If you need the recipe (which, fair warning, the chef said was finicky), let me know.
* Pumpkin Polenta with Tomatillo-Avocado Salsa Fresca was comforting and warm with a nice fresh brightness in the salsa
* Along with our entree protein we had Red Quinoa with Roasted Butternut Squash, Cranberries and Pecans. If you have not had red quinoa before, it has a lovely nutty taste! I think we'll definitely go red instead of white next time.
* Maple Frosted Pumpkin Cake. This frosting was so good that I would happily have eaten it by the spoonful, and I generally find icings to be too sweet.
Apparently every time they teach this class they offer a different seasonal menu, so if one wanted to splurge one could take it again and again for a new experience each time. Yum!
P.S. Speaking of dietary restrictions, Tolly has now tried the duck and green pea and venison and green pea cat food, and likes them even less than he does the rabbit and green pea food (so Daffy and Bambi are safe from Mr Tolly). He is now sampling the "hydrolyzed protein" food. I was heartened to note when I opened the bag that it smells more like beef bouillon than like dehydrated peas. We'll see how it goes...
For his birthday gift this year, I signed us up for something neat: a gluten free cooking demo/class at Stir. It took place last week, and it was really yummy and fun!
10 of us sat around a table while a professional chef and assistant cooked a beautiful gluten free meal for us, and led us in discussion of issues, resources, etc. Everyone was really nice, and the food was absolutely delicious, definitely worth having in the repertoire. It didn't taste like 'dietary restriction food,' just like good, hearty, satisfying fare, so even gluten eaters are likely to enjoy it!
It turns out most of the recipes are variations on ones that appear online. Click through for delicious photos, recipes, and discussion!
* Gluten-Free Gougeres (Pão de Queijo) are little cheese puffs made with tapioca starch that really fulfilled the bread yearning. If you need the recipe (which, fair warning, the chef said was finicky), let me know.
* Pumpkin Polenta with Tomatillo-Avocado Salsa Fresca was comforting and warm with a nice fresh brightness in the salsa
* Along with our entree protein we had Red Quinoa with Roasted Butternut Squash, Cranberries and Pecans. If you have not had red quinoa before, it has a lovely nutty taste! I think we'll definitely go red instead of white next time.
* Maple Frosted Pumpkin Cake. This frosting was so good that I would happily have eaten it by the spoonful, and I generally find icings to be too sweet.
Apparently every time they teach this class they offer a different seasonal menu, so if one wanted to splurge one could take it again and again for a new experience each time. Yum!
P.S. Speaking of dietary restrictions, Tolly has now tried the duck and green pea and venison and green pea cat food, and likes them even less than he does the rabbit and green pea food (so Daffy and Bambi are safe from Mr Tolly). He is now sampling the "hydrolyzed protein" food. I was heartened to note when I opened the bag that it smells more like beef bouillon than like dehydrated peas. We'll see how it goes...
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Scavenger hunt
A few weeks ago we went on a scavenger hunt with some friends. It was a little different than your traditional scavenger hunt:
So this last weekend we headed up to Salem to take advantage of those passes. As befits the time of the year, this haunted hunt took us through a cemetery, to several memorials, and to other locales that were significant in the witch trials. We did most of the searching with flashlights in hands, which made it even more deliciously spooky! If anything, I think we had even more fun this time.
Astonishingly, we actually won again, though just by a single point. The second place team won 'best team name,'
and hearing the double entendres they crammed in, we couldn't help but bow to their outrageous naming prowess. The fact that they managed to get the hunt coordinators to recite that naughty name aloud, three times... well, it was almost worth turning over our free hunt cards to them in gratitude ;)
You’re not hunting for things (put back that Ming vase!) but for answers to tricky and humorous questions about the intriguing places and objects you discover. The team that answers the most questions correctly WINS.The hunt we tried had us traipsing about the Harvard Square area, examining everything from statues to historic plaques to modern day eateries. And in fact, food was the overarching theme here: it was a snack themed hunt, and our list of clues also included recommended munchies to sample along the way. We didn't know how long the hunt might take, though, so we opted to hunt first and chow later. (Turns out there was plenty of time!) It was a lot of fun, and in fact, our group actually ended up winning, which meant that we got passes to do another hunt for free!
So this last weekend we headed up to Salem to take advantage of those passes. As befits the time of the year, this haunted hunt took us through a cemetery, to several memorials, and to other locales that were significant in the witch trials. We did most of the searching with flashlights in hands, which made it even more deliciously spooky! If anything, I think we had even more fun this time.
Astonishingly, we actually won again, though just by a single point. The second place team won 'best team name,'
and hearing the double entendres they crammed in, we couldn't help but bow to their outrageous naming prowess. The fact that they managed to get the hunt coordinators to recite that naughty name aloud, three times... well, it was almost worth turning over our free hunt cards to them in gratitude ;)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)