Lefty, I miss you

Sometimes the whole is LESS THAN the sum of it's parts

So, I've been trying to eat a little bit healthier. Sometimes. A little bit. Anyway, I saw this recipe for a cold soup that was made with a bunch of stuff I love. It's still kinda hot here in Austin, so I thought this would be a great meal for a summer lunch or dinner. Chilled Cucumber, Avocado and Shrimp Soup. Check it out:

• 1 avocado
• 1 cucumber, peeled and diced
• 1.5 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup plain low-fat yogurt
• 2 tbsp lime juice
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup shrimp, peeled, cooked and diced
• 2 green onions, finely chopped
• 4 medium shrimp, peeled and cooked

Put half of the avocado (peeled), the diced cucumber, chicken broth, yogurt, lime juice and salt into a blender. Blend until smooth and creamy. Chill for at least an hour. Pour soup into 4 bowls. Peel and dice other half of avocado. Top each bowl with some diced avocado, green onion and 1 whole shrimp.

This is a bad pic - my counter tops are NOT that green!

I gotta say, it smelled fresh and green. It looked fresh and green.

I was really looking forward to it... First bite - yum! Next bite - less yum. Next - even less yum. I didn't last much longer, and neither did the rest of the soup. How can this be? I love every ingredient. OK, ok, maybe love is a bit strong for plain low-fat yogurt, but that's not the main ingredient or the point.

An aphorism in action

That saying that "no good deed goes unpunished" is truth. Last week a muddy, skinny Rottweiler was wandering our street. After much coaxing and many milk bones, she agreed to go to our backyard. She had no tags, and there was a major cold front approaching. We couldn't just let her go. We made her a warm and comfy bed on the back porch, and constructed some shelter from the wind. We gave her fresh water and some food, and lots of attention. She had a good night.

In the morning, it was very, very cold and windy, so we let her in the house. We got some blankets for her to lay on, and gave her more food and water and attention and toys. We named her Stubs. We tried to find her home. We took pictures and posted signs in the hood. We contacted Rotty rescue groups and other resources. No dice.

Saturday we thought, hey! Maybe she has a microchip! So off to the vet we went. Again, no dice. BUT, we met a nice lady named Cindy whose son loves Rottys. They talked and he said he'd take her. But not until Friday. Seven days later. Cindy bought us lots of food to give Stubs. Yay!

Fast forward to MONDAY. Andy has gone to Indy, and I have to go to work. I made a huge tactical error when I decided to let Stubs stay in the house. Stubs has separation anxiety. She made a huge mess.

• Pulled all the blankets and throws to the floor.
• Put the toy basket on the bed and chewed it up.
• Tore up a tapestry.
• Pooped on the floor.

Lefty surveys the damage.


TUESDAY dawns. I can't have a repeat of yesterday, so I decide to leave her in the back yard. Sandra - the best neighbor in the world, and a good friend - checked on Stubs and took her for walks. But Stubs doesn't like it when she's alone. She broke part of the gate and dug a big hole under it. She was completely covered in mud. I felt just awful giving her a bath with the hose. But it had to be done if she was going to come in. Lots of food and attention later, she forgave me.

WEDNESDAY. The oldest kid agrees to come hang with Stubs at the house all day. But he doesn't show up until almost noon ("my alarm didn't go off"). By then, Stubs has peed on the floor and removed all of our dirty laundry from the basket.

Now, it is THURSDAY, her last day with us. The oldest kid showed up on time, and he's been there all day. Still, I wonder what things will be like tonight?

Regardless, I'm going to miss her, the big Stubs.