Roast beef tonight.
2006-08-09
12:19 p.m.
After fixing myself a lunch of leftover fried rice, I discovered the eye of round roast my husband bought a couple days ago had started leaking blood on my refrigerator shelf. Ugh. I always put a paper towel beneath meat I won't use for a day or two, but I can't seem to get him trained that way.
Since I had to clean up the mess, I decided to go ahead and cook it tonight. When I'm in a court term, we always have red beans and rice one week and roast beef one week, because those are easy crockpot meals that we all like. Out of a court term, I usually hold off on those dishes so I don't burn them out. But ces' la vie, we'll be eating roast tonight.
Oldest Son will be mighty disappointed, as tonight's dinner menu item was spaghetti, his all-time favorite. We'll have to have that tomorrow, instead.
Every time I cook roast, I wonder about something my sister-in-law once commented. She said that though she and my brother both loved roast beef, she rarely cooked it for their family of four because roast was so expensive. Personally, I don't find it all that expensive, because we always all eat two meals out of it, and Hubby and I often eat three meals out of it.
But the household member who loves roast beef the best is Gretel, our geriatric daschund. The smell of it cooking just makes her crazy, and I always top her dog food with gravy when I make it. She also gets more than her fair share of it begging at the table, too. She's a very old lady, but she can so turn on the charm when we're having that for dinner.
Speaking of Gretel, last night she yelped and stumbled out of her bed, and then she just sat very still for the longest time. I couldn't figure out what had happened to her, as nothing appeared visibly wrong and she didn't yelp or react any when I sat down to pet her and check her out, other than to lick my hand. There was no one in the room with her. (I would have suspected the cat scratched her, had she been present, by the yelp Gretel made.)
I was making her dinner when this happened, and she did finally wander in to eat, but only ate half of it, then laid halfway in and halfway out of her bed in my office for a while.
She did eventually get up and eat the rest of her food, and today appears her normal self, albeit slow-moving as usual. The only thing I can see different about her is one of her eyes is watering a little bit, and the white of that eye is a little red. She has some pretty bad cataracts, and I don't know if that would contribute to that or not.
Believe it or not, my neice once had a blood vessel spontaneously burst in her eye when she was about 18 months old. The pediatrician said sometimes that happens, he didn't know why, and not to do anything about it. She's ten now, and has never had it happen again. Weird, huh?
Hubby and I have wrestled with the decision a lot in the last six months or so about when or if we should have Gretel put to sleep. She is going blind and is also extremely hard of hearing now. She's had arthritis in her back for years, which we give her a canine version of Flexeril for. I've recently started giving her more of that at a time, but the downside of that is that it gives her diarrhea. Muscle relaxer for her back relaxes the digestive tract muscles as well, I guess. Recently I've had to start occasionally helping her up and down the step out the back door.
She goes everywhere with us. We only stay in hotels where pets are allowed, and she really likes to go visit my mom. My brother enjoyed her when we stayed with him, because she's so calm and laid back. All she needs is some love and some food and someone to let her in and out, and she's good to go.
Okay, I'm tearing myself up. Extra serving of roast beef for Gretel tonight. And the rest of y'all are invited, too.
5 comments so far Carol - 2006-08-09 14:14:40
Mel, She will let you know when it is time to let her go. you just have to listen.
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Heather - 2006-08-09 17:15:38
I agree with what Carol said, everyone knows when the time has really come. Usually it's when the point comes where they won't eat, barely move and usually losing weight. It sounds like she still has her spark in her. :)
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skibigsky - 2006-08-09 21:51:37
I agree with all of the above. Gretel sounds like she's probably doing okay, although you might want to have a blood test done on her, just to see if she's got some sort of infection. I've got a 14 year old poodle, and I'm always worried about any change in behavior, so I totally sympathize. Keep an eye on her, and if need be, take her into the vet for a checkup. She will let you know when it's time, as hard as that is. In the meantime, feed her all the roast she wants! Big hugs to you.
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Fi - 2006-08-09 22:23:41
We are going through exactly the same decision making with our Brandy. It rips your guts out.
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wannagowest - 2006-08-10 10:00:49
Hey! Thanks for the note you left me yesterday. Ironically, I think I was reading your diary at the same time you were reading mine. (I clicked on the link in Heather's comments, too!) To answer your question, I do transcription for an insurance company, so I transcribe interviews between claims investigators and the claimants, usually regarding auto accidents. It can be very entertaining. I'll be checking out your archives so I can catch up with your current entries. :)
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