Maddie, the Amazing Barking Dog, we believe, is losing her mind, and we are not kidding. Remember I told you in the last post that she was limping around last weekend. Well, she has done that in the past, and quickly recovered, like maybe she just pulled something out of place, or whatever. Anyway, she did not recover quickly. In fact, she went into a real tailspin. Bob and Rob were home with her last Monday and just after they let her in from outside, she had a major diarrhea explosion upstairs and downstairs. I was not home to take care of that, so thanks, Bob. He took her to the vet who, after two hundred dollars worth of x-rays decided it was probably just arthritis. (which was what Dr. Bob had already diagnosed) We got some anti-inflammatory pills to give to her and brought her home, and after that she refused to go outside. If we took her out, she acted like the grass was on fire and she refused to do any business out there at all!! She would just stand there, pressed against us, with her nose stuck between our legs, shaking all over. We shut her up in the kitchen, and for two and one half days, to my knowledge, she did not expel anything from her body. Finally, we started taking her out on a leash and she did resume her usual routine, but now,every time we walk back toward the house, she bares her teeth and growls and snaps at something behind her, I don't know what she thinks is after her- some phantom attacker, I guess. We're going to start calling her Mad Maddie.

What's this I hear? The Swine Flu has once again raised its ugly snout???? Wash your hands, peeps.

Well, the mini-marathon is next weekend, and I sure haven't done any training for it. I'm in Corral X, which, you might guess, is pretty far back there. The kids will all be running it. I told them I would come down, and bring a large Casa salad to contribute to the young people's Friday night supper at Lindsey and Brent's. And, then I'll spend the night, and I guess I'll do the mini, unless it's raining, and then I'll just drive back home because I'm not walking thirteen miles in the rain.

TET Recipe

I made these salmon patties with horseradish sauce for supper Saturday night. Stormy, I swear to you, they were almost as good as crab cakes and for only a fraction of the cost!! Here's the recipe:

Salmon Cakes with Horseradish Sauce

1 - 14 ounce can salmon

2 eggs

1 cup Italian bread crumbs

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

1 onion diced

Take the skin off the salmon and remove the bones. Mix the salmon, eggs, onion, salt and pepper and form into two-inch patties. Cover the bottom of the skillet with olive oil and fry patties about ten minutes.

Horseradish Sauce

3/4 cup mayo

1/4 cup sour cream

2 tablespoons horseradish

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

"To me, it's always a good idea to carry two sacks of something when you walk around. That way, if anybody says, "Hey, can you give me hand?" you can say, "Sorry, got these sacks."

Jack Handey