I have slipped the surly bonds of earth

The crew prepares before the flight

After the balloon is partially inflated, the pilot turns on the flame

The balloon expands

Now inflated, the balloon is ready for lift-off; we climb in the basket and marvel at what we see

Up, up, and away!

We look out over a misty forest to a newly frozen lake

Drifting down over the lake, our balloon's reflection is visible in the ice

We gently tap the surface, breaking the thin shell of ice that has formed

Rippling water and cracked panes of ice are visible in our wake

We drift on through new, grassier terrain now

All too soon it is time to land.  Hovering ever lower in a clearing, we throw a rope down to the crew member on the ground, and he hauls us in

Back on the ground, we pause for a few moments to bid goodbye to our balloon before enjoying celebratory mimosas

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.

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.

Tolly fetches!

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...