Kooky Cooking & Puppy Fever: An Assortment of Thoughts

I realize that I still haven’t written about my previous misadventure in cooking---and I’m sure you are tingling with anticipation for it---but I thought I’d mention my singular ability to muddle a grilled cheese sandwich. I made one for lunch, and I managed to undercook one side, burn the other, and drip cheese all over the pan because I’m too lame to flip a sandwich. Perhaps I should stick to cereal.

We finally got the rainy weekend that I’ve been craving for months. I wanted an excuse to light a fire, snuggle under a blanket, and not do much of anything for a couple days. Rowen, as you can imagine, was less than thrilled by the lack of activity, although she did seem to enjoy the fire. She repeatedly and intently examined the fireplace because she could see the smoke rising but she couldn’t figure out where it went. Such a curious and intelligent girl!

I so want to give her a baby brother. I have some serious puppy fever. I’ve always known that I would have more than one dog---I think three would be a nice number---and throughout Rowen’s puppy years, I’ve thought that it would be nice for her to have a playmate because she’s so social and so energetic. But I told myself that I needed to wait until she was at least 2 years old and I had a backyard. A one-bedroom apartment is just too small for two energetic dogs. Right? And dogs are expensive and I’m about to be a very indebted graduate student. Right? And I often don’t have time to give Rowen the attention she needs, let alone another dog. Right? And I’ve finally gotten Rowen past the worst behaviors; I don’t want to start all over again with another dog. Right?

Except, no matter how many arguments I use to talk myself out of another dog, I still want one. Badly. I’ve been visiting some of the Austin rescue Web sites. Fortunately, I have some specifics---male, less than 6 months, mid-size, energetic and affable breed---which keep my options limited. And, so far, I haven’t fallen in love at first sight with any---like I did with Rowen. So far.

Back to the weekend: I did pull myself out into the cold for a couple lunches---one with a former coworker, one with some Austin bloggers. The latter was at Z Tejas, which I thought was a very Austin location but it turns out that it’s a chain. It, however, did originate in Austin. We each had a different type of enchilada; the waiter put in a special request for me: a catfish enchilda. They have that on their usual lunch menu, but not on the Sunday brunch menu. Phooey. But I got it and it was delicious, although I think I prefer the mushroom enchiladas. That, a glass of wine, and a big slice of warm fudge pie a la mode---plus the wonderful company---I could have stayed there all afternoon.

I also made myself go to the gym on Sunday morning, even though it was about 20 degrees out and I almost fell on the icy sidewalk and I had to chip the ice off my car windows and I had to turn around and go back to my apartment and take another route because the road I wanted to take was closed for a marathon. So I really think I ought to get double calorie points or something for that.

The rest of the weekend was spent in front of the fire, watching DVDs---including Nobody Knows, which is perfect for a rainy afternoon because it’s long and in Japanese and there isn’t much action but it’s very sweet and captivating, and Walmart: The High Cost of Low Prices, which was very eye-opening. I knew some of the complaints about Walmart---that it doesn’t pay a living wage to its employees, that it discriminates against women, that it kills local business---but I had no idea how bad it really is. I will never go to Walmart again. And I may have to stop going to Target just because it’s a box store, too.

And I read The Penelopiad. Very fast read---I easily could have read it in a day, but I stretched it over two. Also very good. I’ll let you know when I get my review up.

Back to the grind. Perhaps I’ll see if I can prop Strapped on my editing desk and sneak a read.