Wise food review

Recently, a friend of mine asked me my opinion of the buckets of shelf-stable food one of those big membership stores used to sell on their website.  I told him I had no idea of the quality, and I urged him to consider keeping stores of extra canned goods instead.

And then I perused the company's website...and I found this link for free samples.  Well, I can't resist a free sample, so I submitted a request.  A few weeks later, I got a call from a representative at the company.  She asked my reasons for wanting a sample, my mailing information, and a few other basic survey questions for their records.  She sent out a package of food and encouraged me to write a review.  She also let me know I would be hearing from another representative who would be in touch with me before and after receiving my sample.

About a week and a half later, I got my sample:  Creamy pasta and Vegetable Rotini.

I neglected to take any pictures, but we made it for dinner one night that week.

The sample arrives in a mylar/foil pouch and made me think of one of those Lipton or Knorr noodle sides.  Upon cooking, the initial appearance is very soupy.  I figured since it had similiar characteristics to those other pouch foods, that it would set up after cooling a bit.  It became VERY thick - ideal for hikers/campers and the like.  Definitely rib-sticking thick.

The smell was just like those noodles-in-a-bag sides.  Lots of oniony goodness came from that pot.  I have to admit, I was drooling.  I'm no food snob, and I consider those sides a form of comfort food, as I grew up eating that stuff.  As you can imagine, I was a bit excited about this.


The flavor was very mild, and I liked it.  Chris's opinion was that it was not unpleasant, and it needed chicken.  I felt it could use a dash of pepper.  It already has TVP in as a protein source, so I can't imagine how filling it would be with extra protein.  It's a bit heavy but it definitely sticks to the ribs.  I could see carrying this on a backpacking trip.  I had enough left over for a small lunch the next day, and I found that upon reheating the garlic/onion flavor really comes through.  This may be a turnoff for some people but I liked it, and enjoyed it to the last bite.

I'm seriously considering trying other options from them.  They could come in handy when we're out camping.  Thanks, Wise!

Goodbye my sweet, sweet boy.

I never posted an update on Deckard's condition...I didn't want our bad news to crowd their way in on people's holiday plans and celebrations. By the time I had the energy to talk about it, it would have been a big wet blanket on everyone else's good mood.

Friday a week ago, we took him up to U Penn in Philly for a last ditch effort, but there was nothing they could do. The news went from bad - acute renal failure - to worse - renal displaysia of both kidneys. Basically, this means his kidneys were both underdeveloped. One was just large enough to function until he got dehydrated. Once that happened, he went into kidney failure. This was just crappy luck, really. There's no history of it in his pedigree (our breeder has been in touch with HER breeder to confirm), and this was a risk we took in bringing home the runt of the litter.

We brought him home last Sunday with a bag of drugs, fluids, some renal-specific food, and prayers and well wishes from everyone who worked with him in Philly. When we got home he was perky and happy to be home. He ran around the house, chasing the cats like a goober, and generally being himself. He got a visit from his "auntie" across the street and Chris's mom that evening, and from my parents on Monday evening. He was mostly himself until Tuesday. By Tuesday evening, we knew he was ready to go. We spent the night with him in the living room, and Wednesday we took him to the vet for the last time. He was surrounded by Chris, Chris's mom, me, and Deckard's favorite vet and vet tech...he knew he was loved to the last breath.

Today we had snow, and I can't help but wish he were still here to see it. Last winter was so mild I'm 99% sure he never got the chance to romp in it like a puppy should.  Right now I'm getting through and healing by thinking the kids from Connecticut needed a puppy to help them feel better, so they took the best one they could.

I miss you, my sweet baby.

To all you crazy people...

Here's hoping you have/have had a merry holiday.

God, 2012 sucks.

Today I read that Garand Gal lost her puppy, Hag. My heart just broke a second time in two days.

You see, Deckard's been at the vet since Wednesday. And I'm not sure how much longer we're going to have him with us.

He's clumsy and awkward on his feet (just like me) and had managed to injure himself twice in the span of 3 days...the first injury was from trying to take out a tree with his shoulder, and the second was a strained ligament in the rear leg on the opposite side of the sore shoulder, probably from chasing the cats. I took him to the vet Tuesday a week ago, and she did the usual: check all joints for proper movement, X-rays, the whole nine yards. The vet prescribed Rimadyl (an NSAID) and Tramadol (a narcotic) and sent us home. For the first couple of days he was hippity-hopping on his back leg, as his front shoulder had mostly healed up. When I saw he was putting weight down without the narcotic, I stopped the Tramadol immediately...and the following day (this past Saturday, 12/8) we stopped the Rimadyl.

He looked like he was on the mend on Monday...Chris even took him for a walk, and he seemed to enjoy it. Tuesday he appeared to be depressed, so we took him for a walk in the evening, and again, he seemed fine.

Wednesday, though...

Wednesday morning he wobbled on his feet. And we took him in. Turns out my baby boy is in ARF (acute renal failure) and his prognosis is...not good. They've run test after test after test, and have managed to rule out a lot of stuff. They also took a look inside with an ultrasound, and didn't like what they saw. Apparently one of his kidneys isn't fully formed, and so it was not functioning well, if at all. So his other kidney was doing all the work. This would be fine, if we hadn't put him on something that assaulted his kidneys. NSAIDs are really bad for the kidneys.

So now, we wait. The vet is going to have a consult with Pennsylvania University today regarding what, if anything, they can do for him. Our vet is not optimistic, though, and gave a prognosis of 6-12 months.

I'm heartbroken. He's only 10 months old. Why must the good pups go so early? It's really, really not fair.

Anyway...he's fighting, so we're going to fight with him until he tells us he's ready to leave. We will do everything we can to make his remaining time good for him as well as us. There's a chance we'll be selling some of our firearms and other items, should things get exceedingly expensive. If that happens, I'll start posting things for sale locally.

Baltimore's going to have a gun buyback.

Bring in your gun, get a grocery store gift certificate.

It's a shame they picked the holiday season to do this...I'd be tempted to camp out and attempt to acquire another rifle/shotgun, or hell, a pistol if the individual's willing to go to the state police with me to transfer it. As it is, I'm broke as hell so this is a no-go for me. Figured other folks in the area might be interested. For $100 you could get a crazy find!

Somebody's a dum-dum...

STOP. TOUCHING. IT.

That's good news...

It looks like a FORMER TSA agent - one who was arrested for having child porn on his computer a year ago was just sentenced. There's one down...how many more still work for TSA?

Just 18 Hours.

Just 18 hours until the polls open in Baltimore (and, I assume, elsewhere on the East Coast). Just 18 hours until we should all do our civic duty and vote.

I won't tell you who to vote for, and I won't tell you who I intend to vote for, but please...PLEASE...get out there and vote. There are a lot of very important things on the ballot this year, and they all need your decision.

And if you don't vote? I don't want to hear you crying about the choice you COULD have made. I don't want to hear the whining about how you hate where the country is going, because you have no right to say a word if you haven't put out the effort to give your opinion/choice at the polls. Don't throw away your right.

So, we survived.

We lost power at noon-thirty Monday, hours before the real storm actually hit us. It wasn't even all that windy when it hit. Still not sure WHY we lost power when we did, but whatever. We were ready(ish) for it.

Chris had gotten home early that afternoon, and we took a midday nap shortly after the power died. Two hours later, he got up and checked the basement...and promptly freaked out. Apparently we had at least an inch or two in the basement coming in from both the sump pump and the back wall...and with the power out, this meant the basement took on water fast. So he cranked up the generator and hooked up the sump, and we pretty much dealt with the power loss for the following 2 days. We were home yesterday and took advantage of the generator with a few lights and the TV.

We had only minor damage to the house - a piece of trim fell off one of the dormers. Chris will investigate to see whether it will be easy to replace and/or worth it. We had no losses - not even food, because we were smart and filled the freezer with water on Saturday - and were mostly inconvenienced. While the power loss itself was a pain in the bum, and the house got VERY cold by Wednesday afternoon, it could have been far worse. Cold is easier to manage than excessive heat.

So. Things weren't that bad, and we learned a few things for the next time this happens...because there most certainly will be a next time. And chances are it'll be far worse than this one.

THAT was fun.

Chris and I are playing hooky today, so last night I went with him to shoot plates.

And, well, this was enlightening.

See, the guy he shoots plates with are all like...retirees. Older men who are stuck in the "girls can't shoot" mentality. And apparently I showed'em all.

One of them, Mr. P, asked me not to do "the dance" - he wanted me to pivot, instead. I didn't realize the women they've shot with actually walked down the line to shoot the plates...i figured they all pivoted. He was trying to help, but I think he learned this was unnecessary.

So. Last night was cold...cold enough that I should have been wearing a long sleeve shirt under my fleece. My hands were pretty much frozen. Yet I managed to get maybe 60% of the plates down, with both my 1911 and my CZ. Smirks from the old men turned to smiles and nods, according to Chris, after my first round with the 1911.

I went into this expecting to take down maybe one plate per round. I hadn't been to the range in MONTHS, so anything more than that was a bit optimistic. I certainly didn't expect to get as many as I did. And now I want to go back. That was a lot of fun. So was getting drinks bought by the old men afterward...and the compliments from them to me, to Chris, and to others in the bar. I guess I surprised'em... Woo. :D