We adopted a new dog into our lives. Her name is Zoey, and she’s a small Chihuahua. If a picture tells a thousand words, then eighteen photos of Zoey tells a nice story. And if a picture tells a thousand words, then a movie tells a million. Here’s a million reasons why we love our new girl:
To follow up on Daniel’s post about Lady. It is we great sadness that we had to ended her life due to a serious battle with liver cancer. We will miss her.
Our dog Lady has been weak lately. We’re working with the vet to try to figure out what’s wrong with her and help her.
My husband Andy found these two baby pigeons in our planter by the front door yesterday. This was not a cause for rejoicing. We have already been conducting a long egg disposal campaign in the backyard palm tree for the past two years (the dogs love to lap up the raw eggs). Just when we thought the egg laying was easing up in the backyard, we see these two ratlets with useless wings in the front. We wondered why they hadn’t been eaten by cats yet. We thought about taking them and putting them in the cat food bowl our neighbor puts out twice a day. That would give the kitties a real feast. But we laughed that off to sick humor and left them alone, hoping the neighborhood cats would finally notice them and eat them. Maybe the cats were waiting for them to fatten up a bit first? We should see…
Well, it doesn’t distress me to tell you that the little vermin were gone in the morning. I guess the cats decided they were finally plump enough. The cats probably already knew they were there, right? I mean, two birds in the bush…
Andy went looking around the yard and found the signs of carnage accounting for one bird. The other, I guess, was hauled away to another cache in the sharp-toothed mouth of a feline filcher.
I guess it just goes to show: here today, gone tomorrow. As much as I may morbidly gloat over Nature’s predation over these creatures, the truth is “you could be hit by a bus” any time so you might as well live, love, and laugh– even if it is sick laughter about poor little baby birds!
Some people make fun of me for posting photos of my food (my husband included). No, wait– people make fun of me for taking photos of my food. The posting part is beyond belief. Other people say, “I love your food pictures!” Or, “Thanks a lot, Daniel. Now I’m hungry!”
I like taking photos of food because food is beautiful, food is delicious, food is comforting and nourishing. Eating is not being hungry. Eating healthy food is being healthy. A good plate of food is supposed to delight your eye and make your mouth water. A good plate of food is an accomplishment– it means you earned your food, you planned your meal (or improvised it), you prepared (and/or cooked) your food, and you plated it with love and gusto.
This meal was a collaboration between me and my husband. He marinated the chicken while I was at work. After I came home, he grilled the chicken while I soaked some croutons in Caesar dressing, tossed in some bagged romaine lettuce, and shredded some parmegiano reggiano cheese. While I was slicing the rind off part of the cheese, I nicked my thumb and drew a bit of blood (it didn’t get on the food). Andy put a bandage on my thumb and I put it up to his lips so he could “kiss it and make it better.” I smiled and said, “That was almost worth getting a boo-boo for.” And then we ate our meal together.
So I take this photo to celebrate the glory of food, to express thanks for the food I receive, and to remember the love, humor, and partnership that went into making this simple meal. It is a blessing.
Daniel Greene 