Spanky

Meet Spanky, our parti-colored cocker spaniel.

Spanky was a rescue dog that we adopted when he was a teenager. He was abused and distrustful of humans in general, but has gradually mellowed out over time. We've had him for about 8 years now.

Spanky is our trash-dog, cat-dog, and general troublemaker. We kept his name when we took him in, and little did we know how appropriate the name was.

Spanky is a jumper. A very talented jumper. A very aggravating jumper, at times. This guy has been known to jump onto kitchen counters to steal food, dining room tables to steal food, over fences to steal food. Well, I guess there's a theme here.

He's very crafty and too smart. He's smart enough to wait until we're not around before he gets into things. One day, we were busy upstairs doing bills and accounting for the apartments. Nothing was happening downstairs. After about half an hour, I suddenly remembered that Spanky was down there without any supervision. Had I left food on the counter? No, I didn't think so. Was the trash can left out? No. Okay, all's probably fine. Suddenly, we heard something drop in the kitchen. Uh oh.

Bob went running downstairs.

B - Spanky! How did you get up there??? Get down from there!

S - Snarl / whimper (which in Spanky talk means "Help me, I'm stuck!")

N - (calling downstairs) Bob! What's going on??

B - You'll never believe this. Come down and see for yourself.

So, down I go.

N - Where is he?

Bob points to the top of the refrigerator, next to the kitchen counter.

I guess nothing's safe.

Memories

Linz and I were talking with Dan, his mom, and sister, sharing stories.

L - Mom, remember when all you would make was Chinese food? I don't like Chinese food to this day.

N - What, because of that time?

(Bob gave me a fantastic gift, a series of cooking lessons at the home of cookbook author Lily Loh. We would watch, help prep, and then sit down to a beautiful meal in her dining room. Typical of me, I became totally obsessed with Chinese cooking. It was so fast and simple, perfect for after a long day at work. Unfortunately, I would cook Chinese food 4-5 times a week, and naturally, after a couple or three weeks, the kids revolted.)

N - Hey, I only cooked that way for about a month, and then it was a couple of years before I could even try to serve a Chinese meal to the family. Don't you remember? Anyway, that was maybe 15 years ago!

L - What I remember is having Chinese food all the time.

N - Bob, is this how you remember it?

(Bob looks puzzled, shrugs his shoulders, and clearly doesn't want to get involved. He looks at Linz.)

N - Linz, remember, I would plot out my menu for the week - Mexican one day, then Italian, Chinese, American, left-overs, etc?

L - Yeah, I do remember that. But..... it would be Mexican-Chinese, Italian-Chinese, Chinese-Chinese......

Fluff

Happy Thanksgiving!

Many years ago, Bob and I decided it wasn't working to split time between the families at holiday time. So, we "joined forces" and my mom started to come to the Feller family gatherings. My brother Greg would join us every now and then, depending on his work schedule. He has a route with Mission Foods, delivering tortillas and chips to grocery stores.

Like every family, each member has it's requisite dish to bring to a meal. For my mom, it was her Orange Ambrosia Salad. Not really a salad, it's made of whipped topping, cottage cheese, gelatin powder, pineapple and mandarin oranges. She would use orange Jell-o, and it's a bright orange, like orange sherbet. It's very light and a nice way to end the meal before clean up and then dessert.

When she passed away, Greg wanted to join in the family meals more regularly. It was a natural thing to have him bring Mom's salad. Now, you have to understand that Greg is a single guy, used to eating out or having someone cook for him. He cooks rice in a rice cooker and grills a mean steak, but he is not a cook. He found Mom's recipe in her papers. Unfortunately, she had changed the recipe from the way it was written. Each time, I tell him to use orange Jell-o, not a mixture, since that's the way she used to do it.

So. We brought the fluff from the fridge in the middle of the meal so it would still be chilled. A definite quiet settled on the table when the first spoonful was lifted out of the bowl. The fluff was not orange at all, but rather a distrinctive - ummm - gray. Heads turned toward Greg, and then over to me.

N - Uh, Greg, what happened to the dish?

G - What do you mean?

N - Well, it's supposed to be orange, isn't it? You know, as in Orange Jell-o Salad?

G - Oh. Well, it has orange Jell-o in it. The recipe says to use lime and orange Jell-o. I don't eat the stuff, myself.

N - Really? Hmmm. I think it probably meant to use either one but not both. It tastes great, but you have to eat it with your eyes closed.

Dottie (my mother-in-law, a gracious hostess and born displomat) - You know, Greg, people eat with their eyes.

Linz (our eldest child, now 23 and brutally honest) - Anyone for gray fluff?

Bob (he and Greg vie for one-ups-manship, constantly ribbing each other until tears are practically streaming down their faces) - Greg, Greg, Greg.... what did you DO, man??

Brian (Bob's brother - a funny guy with an emotional undertone) - What ever happened to that dish your mom used to make, Greg?

Em (another diplomat and self-proclaimed negotiator/arbiter of the family) - This is awesome, Greg.

Dan and family (Linz' boyfriend and his family) - eyes wide, but no words.

G - Fine. You guys are SOOOOOOO mean. That's it. I'm not bring this stuff again. Next time, it's stale tortilla chips instead..

Nancy - Don't take it that way, Greg! We love you, or else we wouldn't feel like we could joke around (seriously) with you. (turning to the table) - Now, can I pay anyone to take some of this stuff off my hands?