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BEFORE:

*Note the large cojones and the bent end of the tail

AFTER:

*Note the bent tail is gone so he can’t get stuck on things anymore and he now holds his tail straight up frequently, which he rarely did before. And all that’s left of the cojones is a little fluff. Oh, he was shaved a lot, but his hair is growing back in.

He is feeling well and happy to have the lamp shade removed from his head. I was going to try to get pictures of that and I was going to decorate it like a turkey, but he was really not feeling well and then Chini got sick, too…I may still decorate it for Christmas just for fun. Hehe.

I went to a Chinese Medicine doctor today.  I took a long list of ailments with me and apparently they can cure them all.

I went to a woman CM doctor that was recommended by my physiotherapist.  She was recommended because she specializes in treating endometriosis and TMJ disorder, both of which I have.  Today, I also received acupuncture for anxiety (from which I also suffer) while I was there.  Bonus!

I felt like a hypochondriac going in with a list, but what the hell.  I may as well get all the value for the money.

Let’s hope that the treatment works, I am very open-minded about the experience and hope to have successful results.

Oh, but no needles in my butt today.  I had them in my head, arms, hands, legs, and feet.  It feels weird, but good after the initial stick.  I never thought I would say that about a needle sticking me!

By the way, Chini’s eye is looking much better in case you were wondering.

Last week Burrito had his nuts and his tail snipped.

This week it is Chini having surgery. It was minor surgery, they put her under anesthesia and lanced an abscessed eye lid. It looks bad. They drained it and it is filled back up. So it looks really bad. She is still not acting herself. I have been with her all afternoon, lying beside her and comforting her. She wags her tail just enough that I can see she is responding to me.

Being a mom is tough sometimes. I love her so much it hurts me to see her hurt.

I would like to have no more babies get sick for a long time…

and being caught under pineapples.

What? That isn’t how the song goes? Hmm…when I think pineapple, I think piña colada. Or sometimes pineapple juice mixed with rum. Mmm…good for breakfast (but only when I’m on the beach vacationing).

This is Burrito’s new digs. He loves the Pineapple. I saw it at Temple Street market and couldn’t resist even though cybrhub thought it was pretty stupid. It’s not so stupid now that Burrito enjoys it and (bonus!) it makes me laugh when I look at it.

Okay, really it is the Silk Chocolate Pie recipe. If you didn’t read the previous post, then the hair pie joke isn’t funny.

Anyway, here is the recipe at the request of Tubeless in St. Louis:

1 baked pie shell or any kind of prepared pie shell, including the option for graham cracker crust
1 (1 oz.) square chocolate, melted & cooled (if it is too hot it melts the butter and makes the pie runny, if it is too cold then it looks like chocolate shavings in your pie…either way it still tastes good)
1/2 c. butter
3/4 c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs

Cream butter and sugar together; blend in chocolate and vanilla. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating 5 minutes after each egg. Turn into pie shell and chill 1 to 2 hours. Top with whipped cream, chocolate shavings and/or nuts, if desired. It doesn’t require any add ons to be delicious.

Enjoy!!

When I was a kid we had a family tradition on Thanksgiving that while we prepared our meal we would listen to Alice’s Restaurant, since that is sort of a Thanksgiving song…and it seems that there are many others out there who have the same tradition. I hope to continue this tradition with our own children. Thanks to TGW for the MP3 and thanks to Arlo Guthrie for such an awesome song.

Thanksgiving in Hong Kong came and went this year with not much ado. Cybr and I spent the holiday in the immigration office, then he went to work and I came home to find Chini’s eye swollen the size of a golf ball. I took her to the vet and then had a massive headache for the rest of the evening.

Today I made pie crusts (yes, with flour and stuff), rolled it out into pie shapes using a glass (I don’t have a rolling pin), cut up bread to make stuffing, baked a pumpkin pie, made a silk chocolate pie (or hair pie as it has been called once, but not for the reason you may expect), and peeled the bandage off Burrito’s new tail.

Our official Thanksgiving dinner is going to be tomorrow with some friends of ours, which I am very much looking forward to. It isn’t the same as being with family, but it will certainly feel more like Thanksgiving than it would if it were just us hanging out at home..

I think we may go to the Multi-Cultural Festival in Discovery Bay tomorrow. I expect it won’t be a big thrill, it will likely be like every other festival here in DB but we are going anyway.

Other than that, I am not sure what we are doing the rest of the weekend and I am not so sure I care to do anything else. I didn’t sleep much this week and my back and neck are hurting extra bad this week.

I am going to go clean up my mess now…the kitchen is covered in flour and dirty dishes. So am I. I cleaned the whole flat today, even mopped the floors, just so I could get flour on everything. It’s like making the bed, it just gets messed up again. I would say there is no purpose to cleaning just to get it messed up again, but when I am cooking it makes for less cat hair in the food I prepare. Seriously, if I didn’t clean up before baking then it really would be hair pie.

Okay, the hair pie story goes like this:
I used to go to my (former) friend Andi’s house for Thanksgiving every year in my early twenties and bring silk chocolate pie. Her Grandma was funny, she used to plead with us to sneak her cigarettes and booze and she couldn’t hear very well. My friend and I were serving pie and asked her Grandma if she wanted pie. Her Grandma said, “What kind of pie?” and Andi answered with a short list of pies that were available. Her Grandma, being hard of hearing, said, “What kind?!?” and Andi responded sarcastically with “Hair pie” at a normal tone thinking that her Grandma would not hear her. That is when her Grandma said, “What the hell kind of pie is that?!?” and we broke into uncontrollable laughter. We didn’t explain. We just served her the pie.

Good times.

You can get anything you want, at Alice’s Restaurant
Excepting Alice
You can get anything you want, at Alice’s Restaurant
Walk right in it’s around the back
Just a half a mile from the railroad track
You can get anything you want, at Alice’s Restaurant

I have been feeling pretty damn ungrateful lately so it’s time to consider all the things I have been taking for granted. Since it’s the Thanksgiving time of year, it seems appropriate to pull my head out of my ass and thank (insert preferred higher power here) for all the good things in my life.

I would like to begin by being thankful for NOT being a turkey. This is a really bad time of year for all the turkeys out there.

I am thankful for Chini, Guinness, Francois, Burrito and Pixel for their goodness, warm fuzzy vibes, and unconditional love.

I am thankful for waking up next to all my fuzzy babies every morning and having morning loving time before everyone starts bucking around all crazy to let me know how bad they have to pee.

I am thankful for every time Francois touches me with his paw as if to say “hey, I am right here”.

I am thankful that cybrhubby and I argue less than ever, we have less cumulative stress living here and it shows.

I am thankful for the opportunity to explore the world by living abroad and experiencing a lifestyle completely different from anything I’ve ever known.

I am thankful for a really good nights sleep when I am so fortunate to have one.

I am thankful for having friends to spend Thanksgiving with this year and for going home for Christmas a few weeks later to spend the holidays with family.

I am thankful for having a Dad that loves me like no one can.

I am thankful that I still have two Grandmothers in my life.

I am thankful for the time I had with my Grandfather before he died earlier this year, without that time I would have the burden of a much heavier heart.

I am thankful for not having been a Pilgrim, it is hard to appreciate arriving somewhere new and being cold and hungry…

I am more thankful that I am not an Indian who greeted the Pilgrims with a warm welcome of food only to be shot down because my “primitive” appearance was different and therefore frightening. And then humbly and graciously taken up on my offer for a kickass meal only to have my home and land stolen out from under me, not to mention my family and friends killed in order to take my land. Yeah, that would definitely be a bite in the ass…especially on a holiday (hehe).

Oh, hell, I am just thankful to be alive and well.

Happy Turkey Day, everyone in internut land!!

I got a call over the weekend from my cousin, Dale. I haven’t spoken to him in a while, since living in Hong Kong makes for a huge time difference between here and home in St. Louis, Missouri, United States.

Anyway, he called to share some good news with me. He met a fellow bike/car enthusiast in St. Louis and his new friend, George, happens to be the George Gray that hosts the series “What’s With That House?” on HGTV.

Apparently, they hit it off and are friends now. Dale has visited George’s Hollywood home twice this year so far. Once with his wife, Carey, and most recently a solo visit to ride in the Love Ride, hosted by Jay Leno.

They have also hung out together in St. Louis and went boating on the Mississippi River near Alton, Illinois in George’s Amphibian Car. Check out the photo below, it is so cool! I want one! Cybrhubby has wanted one for a while, but realistically we couldn’t afford one.

So, I am on the other side of the planet when some one in my family meets a celeb…damn the luck!!

I wish Dale the best and will see him when I return to St. Louis for a visit this Christmastime…

**To the tune of “If You’re Happy and You Know It, Clap Your Hands”**

She has needles in her butt – she is nice!
She has needles in her butt – she is nice!
She has needles in her butt, and they make her butt feel good!
She has needles in her butt – she is nice!

TA DA!!

Burrito says, “Hey, you! You down there. Can you see my nuts? You better get a good look, ’cause they won’t be there after tomorrow morning…”