My cat has been at the animal hospital for almost four days now for Renal failure. She gets to come home tonight. The vet says that if we give her 150ccs of saline every four days for the rest of her life, she’ll live a full and happy life. (read: full and happy so quality of life really isn’t an issue) Of course, we’re going to do it, but I’ve had so many people look at me funny when I tell them these things. “It’s just a damn cat…why would you go to all that trouble?” I say, it’s because she’s my cat and my responsibility and I love her. People have a right to their opinions but I’m amazed at the people who wouldn’t do it for their pet. Sooooo, my question is, would you or wouldn’t you and if you wouldn’t, why not? (No judgment, I promise!)
I’d say it’s a pretty safe bet that we’d do it, as long as the cat’s quality of life was high. I do hope we never have to find out, though!
* * *
I was wondering how you and Fred met and how long you dated before you got married.
I actually wrote a
long, detailed entry answering this very question, but for those of you who don’t want to go back and read it (can’t blame you!), the short answer is: we met online in a chat room – IRC Undernet !Fredsplace – in March of 1996, we met in person on Memorial Day weekend ’96, I moved to Alabama and in with Fred in August of ’96, and we got married on Halloween 1998. We never really “dated”, I guess, but so far it’s worked out pretty well!
* * *
Burning question; My friends and I have wondered for years now, HOW DO YOU MANAGE TO READ SO MANY BOOKS?
Funny thing, I feel like I’m not getting nearly as much reading done these days, what with all the damn canning and chopping and slicing and vacuuming I’m doing, but a glance at my reading page tells me that it hasn’t dropped off that much. The answer is that I read whenever I get the chance. Some evenings (depending on how tired I am), I read for an hour or so after Fred’s gone to bed. Some mornings (depending on what I’ve got to get done that day) I lay in bed and read for a while. During the day I’ll take occasional 10 or 15 minute reading breaks. Also (sorry), I read on the toilet. A page or two every time you have to pee really adds up! (I actually keep a book in the bathroom for just that reason).
* * *
Whatever happened to the quarry? You must look hottt in a bikini now.
Last I heard, those bastards shut the quarry down and now it’s pretty much unused. DAMNIT. There have been times this summer when a dip in the quarry would have been the very thing I needed. As for looking hottt in a bikini? I respectfully disagree, but I’m NOT sharing pictures to prove my point. The last time I wore a bikini, I was around five, and I expect that unless I lose my mind, that’s the last time a bikini will come anywhere near my body.
* * *
Question: What the the last 5 books you’ve read that you totally loved and could barely put down, and what were they about (romance, mystery, etc.)? FYI: I highly recommend The Thirteenth Tale, if you haven’t read it.
I had to go back and looking at my reading page, but here’s the list:
1.
Magic Hour, by Kristin Hannah; I finished that the other morning, and tears were absolutely dripping down my face at the end. I don’t know that that’s ever happened before – I often tear up when reading a book, but tears rolling down my face is unusual. I don’t know how to classify it – there’s romance, but I wouldn’t call it a romance novel. There’s a mystery, but it’s not a mystery. It’s just a damn fine book that broke my heart.
2.
Undead and Uneasy, by Maryjanice Davidson. I love this series about a woman who wakes to find that she’s a vampire, and not only a vampire, but the QUEEN of the vampires. It’s always funny and I have the hardest time putting these books down. Lighthearted and amusing. I’d classify this in the romantic humorous supernatural section of the book store.
3.
Blaze, by Richard Bachman/ Stephen King. Apparently I like novels that break my heart, because this one did, a little. It’s not a mystery, not a suspense, just… fiction. Very reminiscent of Of Mice and Men, another book I loved.
4.
The Gift of Fear, by Gavin de Becker. If you haven’t read this, you really ought to. It’s about learning to understand and obey your instincts, really; how many times have you brushed away a fear at the back of your mind, thinking you were overreacting, only to find out later that your instincts were dead-on? Read it, learn it, know it. (I’d call it a self-help book; one every woman should read.)
5.
Back Luck and Trouble, by Lee Child. He doesn’t know it, but Jack Reacher is my secret fictional character boyfriend (he and
Burke fight it out for my affections on a regular basis). Jack Reacher unfailingly kicks ASS and you must love him. YOU MUST. I’d classify this (and all Reacher novels) as a mystery, I guess.
I do own
The Thirteenth Tale, by the way, but haven’t read it yet.
* * *
My question for your extravaganza: this far out from your surgery, do you have to adjust your eating habits at all? I know before, you couldn’t eat certain things, and you could only eat tiny amounts. Has your body adjusted?
My body has adjusted very well, and I can eat most anything these days. I can’t have too much in the way of simple carbs or sugar – they make me very very VERY sleepy – but the stuff that was going right through me this time last year (vegetables, for one) don’t give me any trouble anymore, thank god. My one gripe is that I am for some reason suddenly addicted to rice – I was never a big fan of rice before – especially rice combined with corn or peas, but it makes me horrendously, painfully gassy. DAMN IT.
* * *
Here is a question for the extravaganza! Are you planning on going to Maine this summer for your annual pilgrimage? I love stories about Maine!
and
Hi Robyn – How come you didn’t go to Maine this summer? My apologies in advance if you covered this in an earlier post.
The summer’s not over! In the past, I’ve always gone to Maine in the middle or end of July because the spud and I needed to be back at the beginning of August because the schools down here are FUCKING NUTS and start at the beginning of August rather than the end of August/ beginning of September. This year, I don’t need to be back for anything, so I’ll be going to Maine at the middle of August instead. I haven’t been to Maine that late in the summer for years and years, so I’m rather looking forward to it.
* * *
I really do think that you need to sell your canned beans, and label them “Gramma Robyn’s Mother-Fuckin’ Country-Made Beans.” The image on the label could be you, giving the finger. I’d buy them!
My only issue with selling stuff that I’ve canned is that this is the first year I’ve ever canned anything in my entire life, so how do I know that come December the jars won’t all spontaneously develop botulism and kill everyone in the house in our sleep? I don’t. Also, it’s been suggested that I sell jars of beans online, but my issue with that is that I’m sure there are some sort of health department guidelines when you make food in your house to sell, and I don’t particularly want an inspector stopping by to, uh, inspect with Sugarbutt lounging about on the counters licking his ass.
Also, there’s the issue of trying to ship glass containers, the very idea of which gives me nightmares.
It’s a good idea, though!
* * *
That bucket of green beans looks like an entire year supply in itself. Do you plan on giving any of this stuff away? I’m thinking Christmas presents!
That bucket of green beans gave me 15 pints yesterday. Fred and I just had a discussion on how much I should can of the green beans before we start giving them away, and it’s his opinion that we should can everything this year – it being our canning year – and see how many we end up eating. I think he’s stark raving nuts, but I’ll do it because I’m a sweet and obedient wife. In a couple of months when he opens his dresser drawer to find pints of green beans instead of clothes because there’s nowhere else to put them, I don’t want to hear any bitching.
* * *
Dear Robyn: I’m confused–do you actually eat the devil’s herb? Sincerely, Jane
Cilantro – or, as we call it around here, “Jane”, given her love for the herb – is something I generally avoid. I can stand a little bit of it, but too much of it makes me gag. Fred, however, LURVES it, which is the only reason I put it in the salsa. Well that and the fact that I don’t eat the salsa anyway, I guess.
* * *
What recipe do you use for zucchini bread? I have been looking and can’t find it.
Here it is! I make it without the frosting (though I do want to give the frosting a try at some point), and I like to add a cup of chocolate chips to it. It’s really good without the chocolate chips too.
* * *
I guess you aren’t interested in the Yankee Flipper? Check out the videos!
I had never heard of the Yankee Flipper, but I can state that after checking out the site and the videos, I am DEFINITELY interested!
* * *
Could you point me in the direction of the link to the pressure cooker you guys bought? I’m sure I saw it, but can’t find it now. My MIL came to town this past weekend with hers (kind of like this one) to show us how to can stuff (it wasn’t that scary – we just kept it at around 10 lbs while doing the green beans), so we need to get one of our own. Like you, I’m being sucked into this canning crap.
It’s the
All American Pressure Canner 10.5 quart 910. I should point out that I haven’t used the pressure canner nearly as often as I’ve used the
water bath canners; in fact, I haven’t used the pressure canner since I discovered
this recipe, which is how I’m processing all my green beans now. I highly recommend it.
Also, if you don’t already have it, the
Ball Blue Book is a must-have. It takes something that can be confusing and scary and makes it easy as pie.
* * *
It sure looks like every stink bug (other than the two legged, talking kind) I’ve ever seen. The heat, the humidity, the bugs, the rednecks – how does Alabama keep any population at all???
I suspect the short, mild winters are the ONLY reason anyone would look at some of these goddamn bugs and stay here. I, myself, stay here because this is where my husband is, and he stays here because this is where his high-paying job is. Also, he’s afraid that if he crosses the Mason-Dixon line he’ll turn into a block of ice.
* * *
It may be a squash bug. They look similar to stink bugs but they are longer. Check out your cukes/squash and zucchini real good. Under the leaves may be small red or brown eggs, depending on where they are in development. If it is those fuckers, sevin dust them to hell and hope for the best. Once I get them, I can never get rid of the bastards.
It absolutely was a squash bug (I had no idea they got so damn big – the one we saw on the fence was at least three inches long), and by the time we realized that we had problems with bugs in the squash and zucchini, they’d done too much damage to come back from. Fred ripped up the squash and zucchini plants a couple of days ago, but not to worry – he’s planted another row of them over where the corn used to be. He sprayed preventatively against the damn things, so hopefully we won’t have a problem with the second planting.
* * *
Can someone explain to me if a cat that just has kittens is supposed to act like a total and complete asshole all the time? The kittens are a month old and this witch just runs around the house trying to literally kill people by tripping them to obtain the food they are carrying. I am feeding her like six times a day and she is not satisfied, and still skinny. I tried to be understanding because she has five babies hanging off her tits…. but there is a limit to the amount of meowing I can deal with… brink of insanity here! Robyn, oh mighty cat guru… help?
I’d say that instead of feeding her several times a day, you should just make food available to her constantly so she can eat whenever she wants. Momma kitties are hungry ’cause they’re feeding a bunch of little parasites who need roughly 63 billion calories every ten minutes to grow. If it’s possible to put a food dish in a place where only Momma Kitty can get to it, and keep it filled to the top, I bet that’d help. She might still try to get the food you’re carrying, but it’s certainly worth a try! Also, Carol – WE NEED MORE KITTEN PICS. You’re slacking, woman!
* * *
Have you thought about dehydrating some of the tomato slices? Does that work? this company sells them – maybe something else, less labor intensive to do w/ some of the tomatoes?
I’ve been dehydrating a large number of the cherry tomatoes Fred’s bringing to me, and I do intend to do the same with regular tomatoes in the future.
* * *
(Not to poke the ire, but how many fucking tomato/tomato by-products can you two eat in one year? Christ almighty, I love tomatoes and still can’t see consuming that many. Donate to local food bank or women’s shelter. It’ll do the ‘tomato-loving motherfucker’s karma good.)
We’re not even close to the point where we need to get rid of the tomatoes yet, woman! We only have ten quarts of canned tomatoes and one quart of frozen tomato sauce. I still need to make a bunch of salsa to can, Fred wants more canned tomatoes, I want to give making ketchup a try, and I want to make a bunch more tomato sauce, too. Then I’m going to dehydrate a ton of tomatoes and freeze them, and then – MAYBE – I’ll start thinking about donating them. By that point, no doubt, everyone else with a garden will be donating and the shelters will be saying “Tomatoes? Um, NO THANKS. All full up!”
* * *
Robyn, I bought okra the other day (for the first time ever) and put them in a stir fry. It wasn’t bad, but if I were to cut them like you did, and set them out to dry, would the … slimey-ness go away? I can’t say I enjoyed the mucous factor of my dinner.
It seems to be the cooking that really brings out the slime – that mucous factor is my favorite thing! You can eat okra raw without slime, but otherwise you’re going to get slime. You could try oven-frying them (I use my favorite
oven-frying recipe with whole okra, and it’s been working well); you can just pop the whole thing in your mouth, and the slime factor is low.
Anyone got non-slimy okra recipes? Share them in the comments!
* * *
Damn – you wasted no time clearing out Spud’s room! Where’s she supposed to sleep when she comes to visit?
In the guest bedroom, of course! That’s where guests sleep, after all. Of course I wasted no time clearing out her room – everything she wanted, she either took with her or carted out to the garage to store. The stuff left behind is stuff she doesn’t want anymore. Was I supposed to keep her room the way it was so I could go up there and stare at all the crap she didn’t want, fool?
* * *
Did you guys eat this many vegetables in your city life? Do you think you’ll ever get sick of eating them? You two must be loaded (or unloaded) with fibery goodness!
We did eat a lot of vegetables in our city (suburban, really) life, but nothing nearing what we’re eating now. One day last week Fred had green tomato chili for lunch with a side of ratatouille, and said “I hope I don’t ever get tired of our vegetables!” I looked at the mantel covered with canned green beans, corn, and tomatoes, and said “I hope you don’t, either.” Tonight for dinner, we’re having eggplant parmigiana, tomato and mozzarella salad, and oven-fried squash and zucchini. There’s no protein there, but it’ll certainly clear out our digestive systems!
* * *
If you liked the juice box comment, you’ll love this…I was talking on the phone this morning and my friend said to “put that in your juice box and suck it!”…I laughed so hard I dropped the phone!
HEE!
* * *
For some reason, every recipe I see that requires zucchini, I think of you! I don’t know if you eat a lot of pasta but I made a pasta dish last night that was so easy. All you have to do is fry some chopped garlic (about 2 cloves) in some butter & oil for a minute or so and then add 2 or 3 grated/shredded zucchinis. Cook for about 2 mins and toss with hot pasta and sprinkle with parmesan cheese – that’s it. SO, SO GOOD. I guess it would work with patty pan squash too…
I can’t even imagine why zucchini would make you think of me. It’s not like I’ve been talking about how much zucchini… oh. Well, never mind.
Actually, we have no zucchini at the moment, but I’m printing out this recipe for when we’ve got them again. It sounds really good! I don’t eat a lot of pasta, but I do like it from time to time.
* * *
Christineq, if Robyn allows it, would you be willing to publish your grandma’s recipe for watermelon rind pickle? Sounds great. Thanks to both of you.
I second that – Christineq, if you’re willing to share, I’d LOVE to see your grandma’s watermelon rind pickle recipe!
For the record, if anyone ever wants to share a recipe in the comments, feel absolutely free to do so. God knows I’m always on the lookout for an interesting and easy recipe!
* * *
Do you know of any rescue groups in the Birmingham area? I’ve had several people try to dump leave cats with me and wanted to give them an alternative to the local kill shelters, but didn’t have any luck finding a group. When we lived in MA there were cat rescue groups on every corner. (Catpack.org) Not so in the south it seems.
Save Our Strays is a non-profit no-kill organization in Birmingham. It couldn’t hurt to start with them!
* * *
I have a really easy recipe for a short term fridge bread and butter pickle. The cucumbers stay crunchy and taste very good. They’re also very good out of the freezer 6 months later.
I’m definitely going to give this a try – we just got our first cucumber yesterday!
* * *
I’m so jealous of your garden. Although I am not jealous of the amount of time required to maintain it! I was wondering if you have or are going to try growing any fruit.
We’ve got peach, apple, and plum trees planted, but due to the late frost we had this spring, they won’t be bearing fruit this year – hopefully next year! We did have a couple of blueberry bushes planted, but they dried up and died, which is a bummer. I love the hell out of blueberries!
* * *
Re: the cicada – HOLY CRAP – is that thing as big as it appears?
They’re about three inches long. Cicadas are gentle peace-loving creatures who only LOOK like they want to chew your face off. Why, just yesterday Mister Boogers was romping about chasing a cicada, and I could swear the cicada was enjoying it… Hmm. I don’t think I’ve seen Mister Boogers since then, though I seem to recall hearing a cry of pain right around the same time…
(I kid. Mister Boogers is sleeping hatefully on my desk as I type, waking occasionally to give me hate-filled glances.)
* * *
Since you have lost so much weight, have you had to adjust your thyroid meds?
Actually, no. I have my thyroid levels checked every six months and they’re staying where they need to be, with no medication adjustment at all.
* * *
Whatever happened to Moira? I remember you always talked about her way back in the day and now, nothing.
She just kind of disappeared, the way online friends sometimes do. We emailed pretty regularly, and then, nothing. Moira if you’re out there, let me know how you’re doing!
* * *
My question, did you plant cabbage, potatoes or sweet potatoes? I notice in your recipes that you like them.
No cabbage or potatoes this year – we’re (I should say, I’m) talking about putting a small potato field out behind the chicken yard (where the pond used to be) next year, but we’ll see. I’d like a head or two of cabbage next year, too, if I can talk Fred into it. We have one sweet potato vine growing and it seems very, very happy, but as to whether or not we’ll actually get sweet potatoes from it, I don’t know yet.
* * *
Well, MY grandmother used to make tomato preserves. It might sound awful, but they were actually pretty tasty!
If I run out of things to do with the tomatoes, I’ll definitely give preserves a try!
* * *
Here’s a good thing to do with all the zuke: Slice it really thin, salt with a seasoned salt and dry it in the dehydrator until crisp. You can use them like chips – they’re great with dips, especially hummus. This works w/ eggplant, too.
When the zucchini starts coming in again, I’m definitely going to give this a try! I actually tried a few non-seasoned zucchini slices when I was dehydrating them, and they were pretty good. Kind of sweet.
* * *
Since you’re asking for questions, and since it’s gone now, what the hell was Fred driving before, or are you still not allowed to tell us? 😛
I’m still not allowed to say, because Fred’s a hateful, secret-keeping bastard. It was SUV-like, if that helps any.
* * *
Question for the question-answering extravaganza: I was reading some oooold Bitchypoo entries the other night. (I’m talking from the first week that you had your journal online.) You mentioned that a checkout lady at Wal-Mart was nice to the person in front of you and then suddenly was bitchy and wouldn’t look at you when you checked out. You wondered if it was because of your weight. Do you notice that people treat you totally different now that you’re thin? Are people nicer? Do you think that the Wal-Mart incident from way back when was because of your weight?
I can’t say that I really notice people treating me any differently now that I’ve lost weight; I wonder in retrospect whether the woman treated me differently because of my weight, or just because she knew the woman ahead of me, or I reminded her of someone she didn’t like, or she thought my purse was ugly, or she thought my t-shirt was obnoxious, or she didn’t think I needed to be buying that.. whatever I was buying. Who the hell knows? I’ve always been very polite and smiley and always thank cashiers – I did it then, I do it know. Sometimes they respond by being polite and smiley in return; sometimes they look at me like they wish I’d fall off the face of the earth. I’ve stopped believing it has anything on earth to do with me and rather it has everything to do with them and what their day has been like and whatever’s going on in their life.
* * *
I recall before you had surgery that you wrote that you would never get to drink your favorite “Diet Coke” again. Is this still true? I’ve seen people who have had WLS drink soda’s–I think….so this just made me wonder.
I have the occasional Diet Coke.
Don’t look at me like that, y’all. I tried one last year, it was horrible, and then I tried it again (see:
addict, behaviors of) and it was less horrible and then with each successive try, it was less horrible than the time before. I don’t like tea or any other noncarbonated beverage and sometimes a gal just needs to drink something with some taste.
Shaddup.
* * *
Was the Spud sad to leave her job, friend and boyfriend? How’s she enjoying her new place so far?
Not so much sad, I don’t think, as nervous and scared and excited. (She didn’t have a boyfriend when she left, by the way – she and her last boyfriend broke up sometime in April or May. He’s the boy who told the spud that Fred would never “make it” in the country. Also, he had flat, dead serial killer eyes. But he was nice!) She misses her friends, but not as much – according to her blog (no, I’m not linking it, stalkers) – as she thought she would. She’s adjusting well – applying for jobs and such and getting to know the area where she’s living now.
Hopefully I’ll be able to see her in August and will report back on how she’s doing.
* * *
What do you like/dislike most about Fred, and what does he like/dislike most about you? Has this changed since you met?
I like about Fred: He’s a smart motherfucker, he has a good sense of humor, and he has a great ass. I dislike about Fred: He’s too smart for his own good sometimes, he doesn’t always get when I’m kidding, and the farting.
If I ask Fred to tell me what he likes/ dislikes about me, he’ll roll his eyes, so I’ll answer for him.
Fred likes about me: My sense of humor, my occasional flashes of brilliance, and the way I’m so easily suckered into sharing his interests (aka: I am wishy-washy). Fred dislikes about me: My cluelessness about politics, my flightiness, and the farting. Good lord, the farting.
* * *
Where did you get the green/yellowish cat cube?? All I can find are red/blue ones and they clash horribly with my decor, but my little cat loves it so much I tolerate the ugly.
I got it at Target!
* * *
What do Leprechauns bring you?
They bring ME joy. I feel very joyful when I see them,
you brat. (Heh)
* * *
How nice it is to do nothing and then rest afterwards.
* * *
Previously
2006: No entry.
2005: No entry.
2004: No entry.
2003: No entry.
2002: No entry.
2001: And then he looked at ME, like I was the instigator or something!
2000: “Where’s my food?! Where’s my FOOD, bitch?! I need fat, I need salt, I need sugar, and GIVE IT TO ME NOW, or I’ll drive you completely insane!”]]>