Action figures, southwestern tuna, and mutt makeovers

Elizabeth and Weldon came for supper tonight and mostly spent the evening taking pictures of action figures with Jacob--they were all enchanted and so was I. She emailed earlier in the week to ask if I'd be making southwestern tuna and I said I would if they'd come eat it with me, so they did tonight--and Jacob was highly entertained. Apparently he woke up from his nap asking if he'd see Weldon today. Jordan had no idea he would and was astounded to find them here. Maybe Jacob is psychic, but they all had a delightful time. We had fruit salad and marinated tomatoes with our tuna. Weldon and Elizabeth are my friends who are gluten free, and she has a blog (http://www.cowstoquinoa.blogspot.com/) about their diet. She wants to post the recipe (and pictures of making it) later this week on her blog, but since we have different readers, I'll put the recipe here:

Two 7 oz. cans tuna (we of course used that special tuna I ordered from Oregon, which they now are eating too), Add 1/4 c. mayonnaise, 3 Tbsp. chopped red onion, 3 Tblsp. chopped cilantro, 2 Tbsp. green chilis, 1 tsp. lime peel, 1 tsp. lime juice (I used almost 1 Tbsp.), and 1/8 tsp each cumin and chili powder, At first we were going to make only one can of tuna, but, never good at following recipes, I put in 1 tsp. each cumin and chili powder, so I decided we needed two cans of tuna. Good thing we did, because we ate most of it.Jordan can eat the leftovers tomorrow for lunch.

Today's newspaper had a great article about a program called Mutt Makeover, an outgrowth of the national
Mustang Makeover program that tames wild mustangs for adoption. In the Mutt program, trainers take dogs from the Humane Society, train them for ten weeks, and offer tham for adoption. I rescued my dog Scooby from the Humane Society (where someone said considering his age--3.5 years at the time--and his size--55 lbs.--it was a wonder he hadn't been euthanized, a thought that troubles me to this day). He is a beautiful specimen of an Australian shepherd, and the most loveable, sweet dog in the universe, but he had cage fever when I got him and there are some aspects of civilization he'll never get--trustworthy house manners (he's okay if I'm around or if he's in his bed), calm behavior around company, begging for food. He also will never get over his herding instinct. I love him dearly, but I couldn't help thinking what a wonderful dog he'd be if a professional trainer had taken him on. Yes, I had a trainer, but it was mostly left up to me, and while I corrected some bad habits--chewing on stuffed animals, jumping on people and furniture--I never have gotten him fully civilized. Now he's eleven, and I figure it's too late for eaither of us to change.

Oops, the same picture appears twice. Sorrhy about my incompetence.

What I Meant to Post Yesterday

Jacob spent the night last night, and I had a cheerful earful until almost midnight, when finally, amid dire threats, he went to sleep. He had a bunch of new action figures, and we spent a lot of time getting them to stand upright. When I'd get one he couldn't, he'd say, "Good job, Juju!" That child, who had been whiney and complaining the night before, was absolute sunshine, told me he was going to be a good boy and he was--well, there was that issue of going to bed.

When I got the call that Charles had died, I was in my office juggling Jacob and Scooby--Jacob always wants to see the dog, but then Scooby gets excited, tries to lick him and Jacob gets scared. Commotion ensued, and that's when the phone rang. Took a while to sort it all out.

This morning he slept late and woke up cheerful, playing with his figures again and never asking for the TV--yeah!His mom came about 10:30, and we went to brunch. I ate the kind of breakfast I love but rarely allow mysself--an egg, toast, bacon (Jacob actually snatched a piece off my plate!), hash browns with ketchup. Way too much! They were all going to a barbecue tonight and then walking to the country club for fireworks. I was invited but opted out for a quiet night at home.

I spent some time this afternoon trying to write an obituary--the one helpful thing I thought I could do, and the offer was welcomed. But it's harder than you think. You can't ask a dying man where he went to high school, etc., but I wished I had. I'm hoping the family will be able to help. The osteopathic college might have some records but of course they're closed till Tuesday. The difficulty made such an impression on me that I added some more to my own obituary, which I'd started some time ago. If you asked my children who my parents were, I'm afraid they'd say, "Grandmother and Grandfather." But in writing a draft of Charles' obituary I tried to capture his approach to health care, with its emphasis on wellness and prevention, his devotion to cycling and marathoning, his love of the ranch and his determination to provide a sanctuary for wildlife, and finally his energy, wit and joy in life.

Some bad moments from yesterday have paled in comparison, but once again I left my debit card--this time at Central Market--and once again I was fortunate to get it back, though I had to make a trip back to the store. It was worth it. Cancelling a debit card, waiting for a new one, and then changing your information on sites like amazon.

A snafu that is almost funny: my recumbent exercise bicycle has decided to reset itself without my help. It set a goal for me to ride 99 minutes and 84 miles. Then it would shoot the level of difficulty up to the highest--13--while I ride at one and two for 24 minutes doing close to five miles. I could subtract and figure the time, but the mileage kept decreasing instead of, as usual, increasing. That wasn't a problem--I could still do the math. But when the resistance shot up for no reason, I gave up. My brother thinks it probably needs a new mother board, and I have emailed Schwinn. Yes, I did unplug it--didn't work.