Category Archives: Family

Watching My Doggie Die

Aji Keshi passed away today. He had lymphoma, which often gets Golden Doodles, but it was tragic he died so young, at six and a half. He was loving and gentle, the perfect big beast of a dog.

It was hard to watch him get sicker, and then choose exactly the moment to let go. As I sit writing this, it’s not that hard though – watching him pass was endless tears, and knowing he’s gone is a touch of melancholy.

So many thoughts pass your head as your dog dies – guilty thoughts, sad thoughts, reflective thoughts. You think about how this is hard, but it would be unbearable with real, human family. You think maybe you should have walked the dog more, maybe you should have gotten a mutt. Mostly you think what a great dog he is though, and how sad it is, and it’s a lot of tears across weeks or months to watch your dog die of cancer.

So Aji Keshi is gone today, but his sister-in-spirit Tenuki lives on with us. I think Adlai will ask about Aji in a day or two, but he won’t really feel his passing, and that’s for the best – Adlai can learn of this pain some other time.

The vet cried with us as Aji passed, she’s a trooper. Such a hard job.

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Soy Honey Chicken Thighs

This recipe has a high flavor-for-effort ratio.

I’ve cooked it several times for my family, and soy honey chicken thighs please both my wife and kids.

Soy Honey Chicken Ingredients and Supplies

Tool-wise, you will need:

  • a shallow bowl or dish to mix ingredients (microwavable)
  • a frying pan with a lid
  • a pair of tongs

Spices:

  • Pepper
  • Garlic Powder
  • Olive Oil

Main ingredients:

  • 4-12 chicken thighs
  • honey
  • soy sauce

Preparation Method 

  • Squeeze out some honey into the mixing bowl.
  • Microwave it for thirty seconds to make the honey runny.
  • Put the chicken in the bowl and mix with honey.
  • Pour in some soy sauce, sprinkle some garlic power, and mix.
  • Put the bowl in the fridge for 10-20 minutes while you do whatever else for dinner.

Cooking Method

  • Put a couple tablespoons of olive oil in a pan, and crank it up to high heat.
  • Grab the bowl of chicken out of the fridge, and sprinkle pepper across the top surface.
  • When oil barely starts to smoke, add chicken.
  • Cook until brown with black hints, and then flip (i.e. caramelize both sides). This should take 2 minutes per side with a strong flame.
  • Pour some of the remaining marinade on top of the chicken ( 1/4 cup or less). 
  • Cover, reduce heat to medium-low (2-3), and wait 5 minutes.

Pro-Tips

  • Start your rice cooker before you do any of this.
  • Steam a a vegetable when the rice has 10 minutes to go. That gives you a few minutes to prep the vegetable for steaming, and 7-8 minutes for steaming.
  • You can prepare this meal for your family, and still chit chat, hang out, and basically be lazy.

Adlai and Daddy Home Alone

Anna headed off to Iowa to be with her dad after his recent back surgery. So tonight, It was Adlai, me, and my terrible cold – luckily Dan stopped by to keep us company too!

Today’s daddying included cashews and corn chips for a snack, watching YouTube and Thomas the Train, some lego construction, and then we had a frozen lasagna for dinner. At first, Adlai didn’t much like the lasagna, but after he had a bowl of ice cream and strawberries, he then wanted to go back to the lasagna course.

Dan took off around bath-time. As usual, we had to fetch Adlai’s stool so he could wash his hands and brush his teeth before the bath. Since Anna has been taking him to swimming class, he does all sorts of interesting stuff in the bath, like blowing bubbles, dipping his head in the water, chucking water at me, and jumping up and down with great cries of triumph.

For bed, we read a manual on how to construct a lego train 5-6 times – he wanted to keep reading it over and over, and I had to make up stuff to say about the diagrams. Then we did 10 Apples on Top, Up Up, another run through the lego manual, and closed with Andy and Sam. I told Adlai to turn the lamp off so we could see the turtle stars together, and then we lay down for a few minutes, and then I left.

Adlai loves this star turtle lamp.

Adlai loves this star turtle lamp.

Tomorrow, I am supposed to take him to swim lessons, but I feel too sick, so I’ll probably go let him run around kindergym while I play with my phone. Then, I’ll take him to ChildWatch for a couple of hours, then Farmer’s Market, then home for lunch and nap.