The Summer switch was finally turned on today. Please note that it is July 6th. There is an old adage that Summer starts on July 7th in the Northwest. This year that is most certainly true. Last year we had a wonky summer where it was smoking hot in early June and then cooled off and then we got blasted with 100+ degree heat in July. This year we’ve barely gotten above 70 degrees. It was one of the coldest Mays and Junes on record.
This week will change all of that.
The current forecast is for it to be in the upper 80s in Seattle. That means over 90 here. Remember, we don’t have air conditioning. To prepare myself I have set up the pool and while I was at Target yesterday (looking for pool stuff) I picked up a new box fan.
Every year the trusty husband waits until it is 400 degrees in our house to go out looking for more fans. We already have 5. I grew me some smarts this year and bought a new box fan to replace the one that sounds like a jet engine. I’ve also purchased a 6 pack of filters for our pool. Stores run out of those early too.
I think I’m set for the weather… of course in 8 days I’ll say see ya and let the boys deal with it while I sweat it out in hot AND humidity.
This really isn’t a new recipe. Almost everyone knows how to make super ultra processed Queso. It is the note at the bottom that gets me. I should note that most Lutherans are of Scandinavian descent and a comment often heard around the table is, “oh, looks like a Scandinavian dinner,” when all of the food on the plate is white. Needless to say, Lutherans don’t like the spicy. If you would like to purchase world’s blandest cookbook let me know.
Chile Con Queso
1 Ib. Velveeta, cut in cubes
1 can (1 4 oz. ) Ortega diced green chiles
1 can (1 Ib.) whole tomatoes. drained then chopped fine
1 T. dried minced onionsHeat all ingredients together in chafing dish over a boiler pan until cheese is melted and it is hot. Serve with corn chips. This is a popular appetizer with people who enjoy HOT foods!
Watch out! With one 4 oz. can of green chilies it might add flavor.
Today I did one of the hardest things I’ve ever done in my life. Pretty much second only to losing Alexander. I had to make the choice to put my sweet kitty to sleep.
By myself.
You see… Derek is out of town. He won’t be home until tomorrow night and odds were kitty wouldn’t make it that long. When I woke up this morning she wasn’t walking, force feeding her wasn’t helping and her face and head started swelling. I took her to the vet before work and they said they would look after her. Later in the afternoon I spoke with the vet and she said that at this point no amount of diagnostics and treatment were going to help her. She was done.
I was able to take time from work to drive back to the vet’s office to say goodbye. She was miserable. I held her and told her it was going to be ok and then the vet allowed me to hold her until she fell asleep. They took her away to euthanize her. I didn’t want to be there for that. I opted for a communal cremation and they dispose of the ashes in Puget Sound, one of my favorite places on Earth.
I left the vet’s office feeling like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. I ran some errands for the store and it just so happened that there was a liquor store in the same strip mall as the two other stores I had to go to. I stopped in for a bottle of gin.
My boss is so awesome that he had a drink with me this afternoon.
So here’s to you Kitty, Keeska, Kiki, Titi, Fat Kitty, Jelly Belly, Smelly Belly, Isi girl, Kitty Girl, Baby Girl…Isis.
In the classic Lutheran tradition the women who worked the luncheons and receptions were called “Church Basement Ladies.” You were either considered a Mary or a Martha (I would qualify as a Martha) and you had a wide array of aprons for every occasion. To get a better sense of Lutheran culture I suggest a little light historically accurate reading in the form of “Growing Up Lutheran.” Even if you didn’t grow up in a Lutheran church (which I did not) or become one “accidentally” you will find this read hilarious. As previously suggested I am going to start a “weekly” feature (we all know how my weekly features turn out… weakly) and bring you the best of the best in Basement Lady recipes.
This week’s feature is from the Widow Stensruud herself.
Easy Tomato Aspic
2 C. canned tomato juice, heated with bay leaf. Remo leaf after heating. Add 1 pkg. lemo jello. Pour over hopped onion and celery. (Add a can of crab meat, if desired). Pour into mold.
This is most certainly true.
Warning: as of this writing I am on my 3rd shot of gin.
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If you come to my house you will be greeted with a few things. The first is my crazy dog. Once you get past her (if this is your first time visiting) you will be offered a drink and then shown how to get your own from then on. The third thing that will greet you are my cats. Julius will be the first to greet and then maybe, if her royal highness deems you worthy, Isis will show her presence. Your first reaction at the sight of this cat is, “damn, what are you feeding her?” Kitty (what we normally call her) is fat. We all know she is fat. She always has been. She’s a tiny little cat, but is so blubber you can’t help but squish her.
Lately, Kitty has gotten slightly more blubbery. She started to get fat rolls over her elbows. Then she started laying down in random places. Then, last week, as I was trimming her nails I noticed that her skin was red. That last one caused me to call the vet. In 14 years this cat has only been to the vet a handful of times. She never gets sick.
The doctor asked us if she was always blubbery like that. She is fat and rather squishy rather than thick and fat. We said, yes. Well come to find out, the blubber (that we thought was just fat) is fluid. There may be fat in there somewhere, but what she’s put on in the past few weeks is fluid. They kept the cats (we took both for senior wellness checks) for the day on Friday and when we picked them up the Vet filled us in on her condition. It’s pretty serious.
There is no clear diagnosis, but the office sent out for labs. That is what we knew at the end of the day yesterday. Fluid, not good, blah blah blah. This morning we woke up and Derek noticed that Kitty’s whole neck and chest were all wet. Her front legs were also wet. What is happening is that everywhere they poked her to try to get a blood sample is like popping a hole in a water balloon. She is leaking. It is pretty constant and 24 hours later it is still happening.
I called the vet’s office this morning and the vet called back. The leaking is fine. It won’t hurt her. However, what the vet told Derek is that it is possible that she might have cancer. She isn’t to that diagnosis yet, but she wants to run more tests and do an ultrasound. All to the tune of much more money than we have.
I found all of this out about 10 minutes before I was supposed to walk out the door to go to work. So I pretty much moped around the store while the boys did everything they could to cheer me up. They are good boys (boys at the store, not my boys, but my boys are good too).
I’m very worried about my baby girl. Imagine your most treasured pet. That is Kitty. I love both of my cats very much, but Kitty is my little sidekick. The thought of something being wrong with her is slowly killing me. So much so that I just sent Derek out to purchase frozen dinners.
