Well......

Bongo 5/95 - 1/09

The German Shepherd I shared the past fourteen years with has passed away. Bongo. The poor old guy suffered from arthritis and hadn't been able to walk on his own since last Summer, but his eyes were still bright and he still wanted to play an adapted game of "fetch" with his favorite chew toy up until last week. I knew his time was coming when he no longer made an attempt to savor a Milkbone. And then he just stopped even trying to move. I left work early on Friday to take him to the vet for that lethal injection but he died in the hallway a full 90 minutes before the appointment. His eyes were open.

The tasks of wrapping him in blankets and carrying him out to the car fell on me because my better half was too distraught to deal with the reality of death. SIGH. I expected that. I always have to be the 'grown-up' in these situations. It was so difficult to take the body of my old companion out of the house he'd spent his whole life. Death is ugly and unwieldy and unpleasant.

The veteranarian who'd been Bongo's doctor for fourteen years met us at the front door and instructed two of his flunkies to bring out a stretcher to take my old friend's body into the clinic. And that was it. I forgot to remove Bongo's collar. Dammit. I think I'd kinda like to have that now. We decided we didn't want the ashes. Why? I don't know. I'd rather remember him by looking at old photos and his favorite toys. A box of dust wouldn't have the same effect, I guess.

I'm okay....a little numb maybe. I grew up on a farm and am basically shock-proof when it comes to the realities of pets, animals and their mortality. My husband is having a hard time, though. He even called the ASPCA hotline for people who are grieving over lost pet companions (877-474-3310) and got some loving support while I just moped and kept my thoughts quiet and private.

Goodbye, Bongo. The house feels so empty without you. Please visit me in my dreams.

leftover demons

I am a messy, sloppy man drowning in a sea of paper and notebooks I have cluttered about. My house is a real fire hazard, but I sometimes try to clean up a little...or at least make a big show of my efforts to organize. Here's a page of doodles I popped in the scanner before sending it out to the trash. I'm guessing it was scribbled during a staff meeting at work sometime in December.

Recession Snacking

In the original Demons journal (AOL version), I used to review new snack foods...chips and such. You'd think I enjoyed writing the bad reviews more than the good ones, but the opposite is true. I liked finding a new flavor of chips that I could rave about and recommend to blog-readers unconcerned with their sodium intake. Things have changed, though. Gone are those careless snacking days. Times are tough and most people are scrambling just to put the basics on the table... mindless junkfood is a luxury now.

I know.

We've had to cut back around here. It's been a single income household for many months now, and an identity thief (fucking bastard bought golf clubs) cleaned out my checking account back in September. Add a few emergency visits to the vet and we found ourselves really strapped for cash.

Luckily, my better half knows a thing or two about grocery shopping on the cheap. I used to mock his scrimping and saving and buying generic stuff, but no more. I dare anyone to fill up a grocry cart for less money than Lumpy. He goes to a run-down bargain grocery store called 'Aldi's' to do alot of the food shopping. It's a depressing, soul-killing dump right across from a creepy daycare with an asphault playground (imagine all the skinned knees!) For the most part, I can deal with the cheap versions of namebrand stuff. What I want to do here is seperate out what is worth the quality sacrifice and what isn't. Hence "Recession Snacking".

CLANCY'S SNACKFOODS

Clancy's is the generic equivalent of Guy's or Lay's. The basic potato chips are acceptable as are the corn chips and the popcorn. DO NOT pick up the Clancy's version of Cheeto's or Dorito's unless all of your tastebuds are dead and you don't mind acid reflux. I give the company credit for producing a party mix that is positively identical to the much more expensive 'Chex Mix'. Get that.

GT COLA

Ugh. No matter how bad this recession Bush left us with gets, I will NOT give up Diet Coke. I won't. Aldi's cheap version of my soft drink of choice falls extremely short. I made Lump drink the remaining 23 cans of the case we mistakenly bought. Steer clear! It's like a bad copy of Diet Pepsi -- if you can imagine such a thing. BARF!

Be well and snack cheaply, Blog Buddies!

Best Wishes, President Obama!!

(good luck)