Dogs and Cats Living Together

We have two dogs and three cats. When Jason was born five years ago-ish we had four dogs and two cats. I used to call us the Sad Couple Who Replaced Children With Animals to the people who asked why we had so many pets.  It generally stymied any further conversation which was the idea.
And then God laughed and got us knocked up. The dogs assumed the naked, squalling thing was just another addition and with a little finessing he was assimilated into the pack with no trouble.

Sammy Dog passed on and then Lucy Dog but we gained CiCi the Fat Cat from my mom after she was bittten once too often. I originally found her in a dumpster when we lived downtown and mom fell in love-temporarily. CiCi sleeps with us, Zeke the ancient dog, sleeps with us, and more often than not Jason comes in during the night so we're a big puppy, kitty, people pile until morning. I'm allowed about ten inches on the edge of the bed so I've become really good at sleeping on my side. Ethan the dog comes in and finds space on the floor, Rio the cat wanders in and out and Fearless the last cat will snuggle with Zeke as long as we pretend we don't see her. Kenny is occasionally banished to another room if his snoring becomes unbearable so there is more room for the rest of us from time to time.

Some people might think this a bit much, some may say it's ridiculous but my life is generally ruled by the ridiculous so I stopped fighting long ago. We've never gotten a dog or cat from an animal shelter. They've always just wandered up, found a good fit, and stayed on for the continental breakfast and belly rubs.  As the pet population at our house wanes I don't think we'll replace as many but it's not always up to us. We swore Ethan was only a temporary dog until we could find a home for him but he's not the most attractive dog and no one wanted him. Oh, and my friend who said Ethan was too ugly for him to adopt-ever wonder why I don't call you anymore? So Ethan stayed and we love him. You can't always pick who you love, right? Which explains that asshole in 1990.

Thank Goodness it's Spring-Oh Sh%t.

It's looking like I may have spent most of my time since Thanksgiving eating my way through winter. Eating five Christmas cookies while drinking coffee with half and half results in Lisa getting larger. But since everyone looks like a bear during Jan/Feb with the fleece and the Kevlar or whatever they make those puffy coats out of I really hadn't noticed that my "fat jeans" felt like the skinny jeans and the skinny jeans felt like what those divers wear to go underwater for whatever reason.
And now it's spring here in KC. Spring with stupid 85 degree weather so we rejoice and put on...shorts?? Tank tops? Filmy blouses with little cap sleeves?
Well, dammit. No more indulging in cookies, french fries, cheese on everything including cheese, pasta servings like Marines might eat or pizza for breakfast.
Now before you call for the Lifetime intervention I do eat sensibly, I can still touch my toes and make minimal noise when I get up from the sofa. But I do love me some scones and butter.
So I'm back to not eating everything that walks by, portion control helps a ton, and I'm excited to go back to eating what I manage to grow in my garden (pots this year, read the earlier post on my 2010 garden disaster) or buy at the farmer's markets. And I've decided to include the odd recipe here and there that I like so here's the couscous salad I make about every week in the summer:

Couscous Salad-so nice they named it twice.

Instant plain couscous-about a cup. Follow box directions but add a few shakes curry powder and cumin to the water before it boils.
Chopped parsley-roughly a half cup.
Feta cheese-again just eyeball it, maybe another half cup
Kalamata olives chopped-you guessed it-half cup
One chopped red, yellow or orange pepper (make sure your credit is good they cost about $1000 these days)
Another half cup or so of toasted pine nuts or toasted walnuts.
Fresh lemon juice from 1/4 lemon

After couscous has cooked fluff with a fork and put in a bowl to chill in the fridge for a couple of hours.
Add remaining ingredients after it cools. Salt/pepper to taste-I use the grinders for both, can't beat the taste. Might need a bit more curry/cumin. I just keep adding stuff until I like it.

As my herb garden progresses I might add mint or basil in lieu of parsley or garbanzo beans or once in a while some red onion. Just go with what moves you. I had some saffron this time and threw that in for a little sparkle.

Hope you like it.