We have a dog!

0843

1155

The coolest dog. :) He’s friendly, pretty mellow even for a young dog, and has adjusted to his new, loving home very quickly. I am happy. :)

1948

Hanging out in the bedroom at the moment. Hans is feverishly working on a Madden franchise (very cool moving the Chicago Bears to Mexico City to become the Toros). Denyse is snoozing after a long day’s work, and Pharaoh is chilling out between us on the bed, half-napping, half-listening for any startling sounds to look around for. He’s totally jammed up against my side, spine along my leg and hip, like Max used to do when I was on the family room floor watching TV back when I was a kid. It’s truly astounding how quickly he has inserted himself into the family and home.

On a less positive note, our cat Squishy is feeling poorly (which started before we brought Pharaoh home, so it’s not him). Her tail is drooping and she seems lethargic, though happy and purring to get love. She couldn’t get through the cat door earlier from D.’s studio to the storage area. We might have to take her to the vet soon if she doesn’t improve. It’s very sad — I hope she’s okay.

Sunday is the Super Bowl and our annual get-together of Hans’s buddies for playing video games, watching football, and having good snacks and food. I make Howie’s Game Day Mix every year — basically a Chex Mix type thing usually made with Crispix — except they were out of Crispix this year at Vons, so I’ll be making it with — you guessed it — Chex. Ha! I’m also going to be making a few new things this year, like mozzarella sticks, buffalo wings, and potato skins, re-creating the Three-For-All appetizer from TGI Friday’s, one of our all-time favorites. I’ve been working on all three items separately over the past few months and will be putting them together for the first time this weekend. Starting tomorrow, in fact, getting a few things prepped for the next day’s cooking.

It’ll be interesting to see how Pharaoh does with the raucous boy-world on Sunday, but I’ll bet he does great.

2121

Keep meaning to make some ‘planning planning’ notes on the new novel. Keep not doing it. Many fine distractions, I’m thinking.