Baldur

gettinf - f + g = getting
use + d = used

'All Baldur, All the Time'

Baldur

I have removed all but the two hanging planters from the media room.
They should be safe where they are for at least a couple more days.

The kittens have also found the warmest place to sleep in the house, directly on top of the DVD player. It's not very large but they manage to curl up on top of it and take their naps.

lilalee

They love warm places, don't they??!! I still have one boy left, who is old, but don't know his exact age, as we adopted him 10 years ago. He is a in and out cat!! Also he only has two teeth left in his mouth!! He eats well though!! this cat loves to get in a basket of cloths, right when they come out of the dryer warm. Sometimes, I think it would be nice to curl up in that warm basket. Maybe a eletric blanket would help??

Baldur

I don't want them chewing on anything with electric current going through it. There are several towel-lined boxes for them to choose from, as well as the cat carrier, the beloved heated dvd player and the upholstered furniture.

Baldur

Happy Birthday to Princess Kritika of Nepal, Kordell Stewart, Wendy Wilson, Flea, Bob Weir, Suzanne Somers, Gunter Grass, Angela Lansbury, Eugene O'Neill, Rembrandt Bugatti, Oscar Wilde and Noah Webster.

Dragon

We still have 2 cats, both of which are around 6 years old so we're expecting quite a few more years out of both of them (fingers crossed). We will be getting them regular blood work done though just to be sure everything's good.
Lilalee, I always find it amazing how toothless pets still crunch away at their food with no trouble. We do a lot of dental work at our clinic and have seen quite a few pets go home with fewer teeth than they arrived with (dental problems are incredibly common in dogs and cats, if only they would brush thier teeth like we do ) We're constantly assuring people that no teeth is better than bad teeth.

With all this handling of Shakira's kittens does Baldur think they might be going to homes soon or is that a bit far off yet?

lilalee

Dragon, my boy does eat well, and I was surprised!! He has one fang on top left, and one bottom tooth!! His tongue kind of hangs out a wee bit, which I think makes him cuter!!

What's to happen to the kittens, Baldur?? Are you and Robert planning on keeping a few??

mdawrcn

Dragon, I have a mother and two of her babies, about seven and six years old, respectively. I have never brushed any of my cat's teeth. My vets have never talked to me about it. Do you think it is too late to try it? I assume I have to buy special brush and paste from a pet store. I can't imagine them allowing me to do it, as we have a hard enough time keeping the ears cleaned out.

mdawrcn

Oops, I just reread your post. I misunderstood it. I thought you said you brushed your cat's teeth. Do you?

Dragon

I should brush their teeth but like most folks I don't. Truly it's never too late to try starting though. You can use a special brush designed for pets or you can get a childrens soft toothbrush and use that. You do have to get special toothpaste though, human toothpaste has foaming agents in it which aren't terribly good for cats and also (and I speak from experience) because they can't swish and spit they end up foaming at the mouth and then they shake their heads and send toothpaste foam all over you living room. Not fun to clean up.
The suggestion for getting started is to start slow. Begin by simply playing with your cat's lips, then move on to gently putting your finger in his mouth. The next step is to put some toothpaste on you finger and let him lick it (they have flavours like poultry and such). Then try rubbing his teeth with the toothpaste on your finger. Eventually you introduce the toothbrush and start using it instead of your finger. The process is slow going and you want to make sure the cat is comfortable with every step before moving on to the next. Most people find the task daunting and I must admit that I don't think any of the people who work in our clinic brush our pets teeth despite the fact that we know we should.
Those are the same steps you would use to brush a dog's teeth too btw.

mdawrcn

Thanks so much for the directions.

Baldur

We are definitely keeping Shakira, the mother. Robert's viewpoint on the kittens is that we will try to find homes for all three. If not possible we will keep them.
The one that he favors is black with white paws and a white bib. I suspect the calico one, who is just too cute for her own good, will be the first one adopted by someone.

Baldur

Yesterday Baldur got to hold each of them several times, it is no longer such a struggle to catch one.
The favorite new toy is a smallish mailing carton (just big enough for one kitten to crouch in). One will get inside and the other two will do their best to force him out.
The other favorite toy is a one foot length of clothesline rope, knotted at each end. They will wrestle that for hours.

Baldur

Happy Birthday to Wyclef Jean, Eminem, Ziggy Marley, Alan Jackson, Howard Rollins, Robert Jordan, George Wendt, Margot Kidder, Gary Pucket, Jim Seals, Evel Knievel, Jimmy Breslin, Beverly Garland, Tom Poston, Montgomery Clift, Rita Hayworth, Arthur Miller, Pope John Paul I and Irene Ryan.

Dragon

We used to have a black and white tuxedo cat (as we like to call them). He was one of the nicest cats I've ever known. My mom used to make "bones" for him to play with. She'd take one of those bags you use for produce and tie a knot in either end to make it seem like a bone. He'd play with these for hours and would carry them around in his mouth very much like a dog carrying a bone. I'm not sure if I'd do the same for a kitten though as they'd be just as likely to shred it and swallow the plastic. Also, I've tried it on my current cats and found them not nearly as interested.

Dragon

Dragon found a wonderful Turkey Pot Pie recipe last week and took advantage of the enormous amount of left over turkey my sweeties mom gave us from Thankgiving.

Turkey Pot Pie

Ingredients
1 (15 ounce) package pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie
2 cups cooked turkey, cut into bite-size pieces
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
1 teaspoon seasoned pepper blend
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1 (16 ounce) package frozen mixed vegetables, thawed and drained

Directions
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line an 8-inch pie dish with 1 pastry crust; set the other crust aside.
2.In a bowl, mix together the turkey, cream of chicken soup, seasoned salt and pepper, Cheddar cheese, and mixed vegetables. Pour the mixture into the prepared pie dish. Top the pie with the remaining pie crust, then pinch and fold the edges of the crusts together to seal. Cut a slit into the top of the pie crust with a sharp knife to vent the steam.
3.Bake in the preheated oven until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbling, about 40 minutes.


Instead of simply using a package of frozen veggies (which always contain green beans-yuck) I used some frozen peas and corn then filled in the rest with fresh carrots and potatoes which chopped up and boiled until they were just barely cooked. I also threw in some seasoned herb mix as well. It turned out wonderful and has now got a gold star in my recipe book. It was much less oozy than many pot pies I've had in the past though I will admit this was the first time I'd made one that didn't come out of a box.

Baldur

Dragon, Baldur is shuddering over the amount of sodium in that recipe. At the very least please don't add the teaspoon of seasoned salt. The amount of salt in the condensed soup is more than adequate for this particular dish (not even considering that the shredded Cheddar would add even more).
Use a combination of garlic powder, onion powder, ground sage and thyme instead.
Also you can add a shot of sherry to the condensed soup.

AuntieB

Dragon dear, don't listen to a thing that Baldur says, though adding the sherry would be nice.
Auntie B would brush the top crust with lightly beaten egg and scatter sea salt crystals over it before baking too

AuntieB

Here is a great Autumn recipe from my own files

Creamed Mushrooms with Toast points

In the top part of a double boiler heat (bain marie) heat 2 cups of whole milk. Add 2 vegetable bouillon cubes. As it is heating prepare a roux.

In a small saucepan create a simple roux by adding 3 tablespoons of flour to three tablespoons of melted butter. Stir it over medium heat until the mixture is fragrant (at least 5 minutes taking care that it doesn't scorch). Remove the roux from the heat.
Whisk the hot roux into the hot milk a tablespoon at a time. Until you have a thick creamy sauce, you may not need to add all of it.
Season the sauce with freshly ground pepper and an ounce of Sherry.

Meanwhile clean and thickly slice a pound of white or cremini mushrooms.
Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a big skillet and saute' the mushrooms in it until they are nicely browned and have lost all of their water.
Many people do not saute' mushrooms properly. Auntie B has spent her life championing the Champignon and wishes to explain this part of the recipe carefully.
Mushrooms should never be served as limp, grey, slimy bits of rubber wallowing in a pool of water.
Always use a large skillet (nonstick is good, cast iron is better) as to not crowd them, and keep the flame up on the high side of the register.
Using a wooden spoon, move the mushrooms around a bit but do not stir them too much, give the mushrooms a chance to turn a golden brown color.
As they approach the proper degree of doneness the mushrooms will 'sing'.
This will take upwards of ten minutes to do properly.
Auntie B has not been hitting the sherry, what I am saying is quite true.
You will hear them make a soft squeaky almost whistling noise as you move them about. This is the sign that you've cooked them properly and concentrated their essence. At this point there will be no more signs of seepage coming from the fungi, the pan will be quite dry and your kitchen will smell heavenly.
Transfer the mushrooms into the white sauce and stir gently.
You may season them at this point with a few scrapings of fresh nutmeg if you wish.
Serve this over freshly made hot buttered toast cut into points.
I suppose this could serve 4 with a salad but I make it for more intimate suppers. If there are leftovers add them to an omelet the next morning.

AuntieB

Your Auntie B used to prepare this dish with wild boleti mushrooms brought to me by a certain young ranger who spent hours hiking the lower ranges of the Dolomites.