The lettuce is coming up.... A home grown salad is just around the corner....
Hawaii is the land of the lonely dog. For some reason, people think nothing of getting a puppy, playing with it while it's cute and little, then once it's bigger, tying it to a chain outside in the yard for the rest of its life. With the exception of food and water, the dog has no direct contact with people or other dogs. These miserable excuses for human beings take a social, active pack animal and isolate it for life. Tragic. Of course, not everyone in Hawaii does this. And Hawaii is not the only place I've seen this. But it is a more common practice here than other places I've lived. I see these poor dogs, tied out, alone, day in and day out. They bark when they see passers by. That's their only connection with the world beyond the chain. It breaks my heart. I really don't get it. Why have a pet if you don't plan to love and care for it like a member of the family? What's the friggin' point? One dog down the road that had been tied out has disappeared. My neighbor thinks the dog may have died. Again, tragic.
While my house may be located in the land of the lonely dog, there are no lonely dogs here. Only happy dogs (and cats) that get lots of premium food, treats, petties, playtime, love and affection every day. They are full-fledged members of the Todd-Niederpruem pack.
A man came into the winery the other day with a profound message on his shirt. I've also seen it on bumper stickers. It read: "I aspire to become the person my dog thinks I am." Now that's an lofty aspiration. Then there's my favorite bumper sticker of all time. I saw it again just other day. It says, "What would Scooby do?"
If you loath bureaucracy, you'll love this story. As you may remember from an earlier blog entry, Ron and I purchased a new water heater. It was rated energy efficient, which qualified us for a rebate from HECO - Hawaii Electric Company. We filled out the form provided to us by Sears and included our original receipt, which had all pertinent details of our purchase. In completing the form, we accidentally missed a small line asking for the date of purchase. Now, the date of purchase was printed on the receipt, so you'd think that the clerk processing the form might have simply written it the space required. Nope. Instead, he/she highlighted the space, then mailed the form back to us as incomplete. They did this six weeks after we hand delivered it to the HECO office, along with our receipt. True story.
Today, Crawford and I made our semi-annual trip to the vet. She was, as always, a very good girl. The clinic finally hired another veterinarian. Still, the place was packed and patients backed up because one of the vets had an emergency c-section to perform on a mommy dog. I think it was a dog. It might have been a cat. Anyway, Crawford's in excellent shape for an old girl with no spleen. Plus she loves to ride in the car, so we had a lovely afternoon together.
Here she is, waiting for peas from the garden. She loves sugar snap peas. Veggies are good for dogs.
We have cabbage coming out our ears, so we're sharing with neighbors. I've been making coleslaw and fish tacos, both of which utilize the lowly cabbage to its full sweet, tangy, crunch effect. I have created a delicious coleslaw dressing. Here it is:
Mix equal parts apple cider vinegar and mayo. I used light mayo. If you want it slightly less tangy, use a little more mayo and/or a little less vinegar. Add in about a tablespoon of honey, a pinch of cracked black pepper and a pinch of celery seed. Whisk it all together, making sure the honey dissolves completely. If you don't like honey, you can substitute sugar. Shred a bunch of cabbage and a carrot. I like to throw in about half a cup of raisins and maybe some diced apples or dried pineapple bits. Pour the dressing over the slaw and toss. Yummy (if I don't say so myself)!
A hui hou. Aloha!