Happy birthday to Christopher (yesterday, actually)

Yesterday was Chris's birthday!   We shall now reminisce with an adorable photo of him as a child (and then, suddenly, a grown-up!).  In the picture below, I believe he is using a precursor to the iPhone--way ahead of his time!

We celebrated the occasion with KEY LIME PIE, baked by Bob, of course. It was so divine, we ate it all before I even had a chance to photograph it.  It was beautiful, though....trust me.

Hey, in case you haven't heard, Chris passed his second CFA exam.  This is a very big deal because the second exam has a 40% pass rate.  Go Christopher!

Happy birthday Christopher!

Comfort things: Rice pudding and sleeping cats

There is no better comfort food than rice pudding.  I made some on Thursday to welcome Bob home because I knew it would make him happy, and it did.  And, I had rice pudding for breakfast this morning because it is not only comforting, but also deliciously healthy, especially if you pretend it contains no sugar.   

Rice pudding is easy to make, and it always turns out perfectly!  Betsy explained to me that recipes can't be copyrighted (possibly because by law, good food is meant to be shared), so here is the recipe:

Grandma Rose's Rice Pudding

2 quarts whole milk
1/4 tsp. lemon zest
1 cup converted long grain rice
3/4 cup sugar
1 tblsp. butter
pinch of salt
3 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract

In a large saucepan, bring the milk, lemon zest, rice, sugar, butter and salt to a simmer.  Cook for 30 minutes on low heat, stirring occasionally, making sure the rice does not stick to the bottom of the pan.  Taste the rice after 30 minutes.  It should be tender.  In a large bowl, beat the eggs and vanilla extract until frothy.  Slowly stir 2/3 of the hot rice mixture into the egg mixture.  Return the rice and egg misture to the saucepan with remaining rice and on low heat, stir the rice constantly for 5-8 minutes until creamy.  Pour into a 2 quart shallow dish, sprinkle with cinnamon, and refrigerate until ready to serve.  Serves 8-10.

Important note:  I found the recipe on KSL-TV's Web site seven years ago, and it was submitted by Marguerite Henderson.  I have no idea who Grandma Rose  is, or if she approved of her recipe being published, but I sure do appreciate being able to make the recipe.  Thanks, Grandma Rose!

This recipe will last in the refrigerator for approximately two days, depending on how much comforting you need.  (Once or twice Bob and I ate the WHOLE THING in one day, but we probably were under considerable stress at the time.)

For comfort animals, nothing beats a cat lounging on your desk whilst you work. 

Gus is a most excellent office campanion.  He also does that thing with his throat (ah-ah-ah-ah-ah) when he sees birds outside.

Visit to New Jersey, visitors to Utah, and my courage paper is still alive!

Lots of news!  First, our super-fun family visits.  I'll work backwards.  We had a great time in New Jersey, where we got to spend time with GM, GP, and my cute nephew Joshua.  Joshua kindly let us use his room, which has a Spiderman motif and is filled with millions of action figures and Matchbox cars.  We felt totally safe at night, with all those guys (and cars) guarding us. 

Joshua has two adorable guinea pigs named Princess and Sandy.  They talked guinea pig language nonstop during our visit.  I'd forgotten about how sweet (and vocal) guinea pigs are.

The backyard flora and fauna provided hours of entertainment, and we were especially impressed by the squirrels who raided the bird feeders by hanging upside down.  Seriously, those squirrels have amazing abs.

Syndey baked me a fabulous butterscotch birthday cake--crispy on the outside, moist on the inside, tons of icing.  Yum!

Several new frogs are living in the backyard pond, and for some reason this one allowed us to admire him before he croaked and jumped back into the pond.

Logan and Jody drove up to New Jersey on Sunday so we got to spend another few hours with them--special bonus visit!

Before that, Duncan, Betsy, Oly, Logan and Jody were in Utah for a few days.  Oly was a fantastic house guest, and although we didn't introduce him to Janie, I'm pretty sure he and Gus would have become best friends if he'd stayed a few days longer.  Oly is the sweetest dog ever.   

The highlight of our visit with D&B was a hike to Dog Lake, at the top of Millcreek Canyon, via the Little Water and Big Water trails.  When we got to the top, Oly swam and retrieved sticks (since he is a retreiver, after all).  Good dog.

I neglected to take many photos, which I now regret, so I hope L&J and D&B took hundreds (and are willing to share them with me)!

Last bit of news:  My courage paper is still alive!  My editor and reviewers felt my last set of revisions were strong and that the paper is headed in the right direction, and I was invited to revise it again!  So....I'll be spending the next four months on revision #4.  Woo hoo!

Gus has become part of our family now, and even though he and Janie aren't exactly coexisting yet, he seems to be enjoying it here.  He is alert!  I took a picture of him looking out the window while he was lounging on the table in my office.

This is what Gus-Gus was looking at.

As my funnest-summer-ever (as they say in Utah) comes to an end, I am once again convinced that I am the luckiest person in the world.  Spending lots of quality time with my family always does this for me.

My Little Kibbie Girl

Kibbie died today.  She stopped eating last weekend, and then she stopped walking and even moving around, and by Wednesday I thought we were going to lose her overnight.  Somehow she managed to stay alive for another couple of days, and this morning we decided it was time to euthanize.  She purred right up to the minute we said our final good-bye.  A kind-hearted vet came to our house.

In addition to being a fantastic office companion for the 16 years, Kibbie got sweeter as she got older.  One of the things I'll remember best about her is the way she followed the sun around the floor in my office when choosing sleeping spots, and how she always headed out to the livingroom in the afternoon to sleep in the sun from the front windows.  I've spent many an evening reading with her on the couch in my office, and she snuggled and purred and appreciated every minute I was with her, especially toward the end.

For me, it doesn't get easier over time to lose cat family members; it gets harder.

Rest in peace, Kibbie girl.

Our big new cat

Our new cat has had a difficult time fitting into our house, as you can see.

Doesn't everyone adore relaxing on a freshly-cleaned, cool granite counter?

Actually, from the day he arrived, it was pretty obvious that this big cat was meant to be with us.  He's been splayed out on the floor, taking up a lot of room on the sofas, and  and lounging on the dining room table like he owns the place.  He follows us around like a dog.  And--special bonus--he's a lap cat!  I'd forgotten how much fun it is to have a younger, active cat around the house. 

He hasn't warmed up to Janie yet.  Even though he's about twice the size of Jane, he squealed like a little kitty and ran to hide in his room when he first saw her.  We're hoping that eventually they will learn to tolerate each other.  Kibbie is sleeping most of the time now, and she doesn't seem to be bothered by our new cat at all.

But enough of that, you say.  What is his name?

(Drum roll, please)

Gus 

Thanks to Laura (David's wife) for the suggestion, and for all the ideas!  The runners-up were Xedo (Jody), Oreo (Olivia), Teddy (Jordan) and Winston (Lindy).  We liked the idea of using an old fashioned man's name (I kinda like Charles or Harold), but in the end, we decided that our big, new cat looks like a Gus.

Update:  I forgot to mention that Gus reminds us (tremendously) of the world's most gregarious cat, Zeddie.  So, let's hear it for adult male cats rescued from the Humane Society!