Bits Of Dust

Archive for March, 2008

Nothing to exciting around here the last few days. I finally got back “in the mood” to cook so last night I made some breaded pork chops, some paprika potatoes that I saw on Mom’s Best Recipes, and baby sweet peas.

For the pork chop breading I just through together some freshly grated parmesan reggiano, garlic powder and homemade breadcrumbs (which are out of this world on their own) and fried them up. Like I said, nothing to fancy, but getting back into the swing of things.

Tonight I made some grilled chicken quesadilla’s. I cheated though. I used store bought flour tortillas instead of the homemade ones I found on My Wooden Spoon last month.

I really need to take a day and make all the stuff I like to have on hand. You know, homemade pasta, homemade flour tortillas, etc.

So, what’s for dinner tomorrow night? Any ideas?

Just over a month ago we were saddened to learn that our devoted friend and family member, Flash, had bone cancer.

There is no more sobering word in the English language than the word cancer.

I still remember the day he picked our son out of the bunch of us. We had been looking for the “perfect” family dog for months and had decided to spare no expense in finding the perfect companion to grow up with our children. We contacted a local breeder and went to meet with her and the puppies.

When we arrived we were introduced to Flash’s mother, Pele, and his father, Banner. We got to see their temperaments in action, and we were amazed at them both.

Pele

Banner

We also learned that Banner was the son of Faera’s Future Classic, call name “Thunder”. Thunder is a champion Golden Retriever whose bloodline is well known and whose offspring have produced numerous “assistance” dogs around the country.

Thunder

Magic happened when we got to meet the puppies. Let me just say now, that if we had a bit more money at the time we would have come home with two, or maybe even three, of them. We sat on the front lawn watching the puppies play and one of them walked up to our oldest son and laid down in his lap.

The puppy was making it clear that he picked our son. We played with him a bit and moved him over to the side so we could all play with one of the other puppies, but within moments he was pushing his way back through the crowd and into our son’s lap.

The choice had been made. We paid a deposit and we waited three more weeks to bring him home. That was the day our lives changed forever.

When we arrived to pick him up, the breeder brought him out to us and he immediately ran up to our son. He remembered him, that was very clear. Because he had picked our son we decided to let him name the new addition to our family.

His name was Flash. There were two reasons for this name. One, was the lightning bolt shaped mark on his forehead, and the other was for the superhero. Hey, when you are four years old, it’s important to pay homage to your superheros.

From the moment we walked in the door, I knew this dog was hard headed. Once he got something in his mind, he wasn’t going to change it, and you knew it. He made it clear early on that he wanted to be in charge, so I spent the next few years letting him believe he was.

For nearly six years he has been a devoted friend, an energetic playmate, a trusting guard, and most of all a loving family member. He was always cheerful, he was always happy.

Flash Dance

Our vet recommended seeing a specialist who could confirm the cancer diagnosis, and let us know what the options were. As we walked out of that specialist’s office, my wife and I knew what was coming, but neither one of us wanted to face it. We drove home and reviewed our options. No matter what we decided we knew we had to do the right thing for Flash.

It turns out, he made the choice for us. Three nights ago, when I went downstairs to let the dogs in, he was nowhere to be found. It was getting dark and I had to grab my shoes and a flashlight. It took me 15 minutes to find him in the backyard. He was laying in the wooded area behind our home. It took most of his energy to get up, and he slowly limped into the house.

For the next two days he did nothing but lay in his bed by the front door. He could barely walk to go outside to do his business, and once he did he came right back in and laid on his bed.

Two weeks ago, I told Flash that he needed to let me know when it was time. I begged him to tell me when he had had enough. Yesterday, he told me. There was something in his eyes and the way he cuddled into me. There was a message there. He was telling me that he wanted to go. He made it clear that he was done.

I didn’t want him to be done. I still don’t want him to be done. I want to play ball with him. I want to take him for walks through the neighborhood. I want to feel his warmth at my feet. I promised him I would do the right thing when the time came, and I did. But right now, all I want is my friend back.

My mother-in-law had surgery last week so my wife has been staying at her house to help out and such. Each of the kids are taking turns staying with mom over at grandma’s and tonight two of them are over there.

Our youngest decided he wanted to stay home with dad, so we made a night of it. We went out to dinner then we came home and made some Rice Krispies Treats.

It’s amazing that you can take 6 cups of Rice Krispies, a10 oz bag of marshmallows and end up with such a yummy treat. We sure enjoyed them.

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This past Sunday, Lori, over at My Wooden Spoon posted a recipe for Kentucky Biscuits.

They were absolutely delicious.

Ingredients:

2 c. flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
dash of salt
2 Tbl. sugar
1/2 c. butter
3/4 c. buttermilk (Don’t have buttermilk? No prob, just add 1 or 2 Tbls of vinegar to milk.)

Preparation:

Mix dry ingredients. Add butter, milk and form into soft dough. Do not over knead! Pat into a ungreased 6×6 pan. I use a pie pan myself so you can use whatever. Cut into serving size portions before you cook. Bake at 400′ for 15 to 20 minutes or until done and golden brown.

Head on over to her site and check out the pictures of hers. I didn’t get a chance to take a photo of mine because I was a bit too eager to start eating them. I know, I am a glutton.

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