Not your Olive Garden's tiramisu

[dirtbunnies]

So listen.  I don't even really know what tiramisu is exactly.  I have boycotted restaurant tiramisu because of the ubiquitousness.  Dirtbunnies hate hype.  But I saw a recipe for pannetone tiramisu and I thought it might be an interesting way to make use of at least some of the gigantic chocolate pannetone I got at Christmas time, and I actually

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[dirtbunnies]

We adopted Kirby from Lost Dog Rescue in March 2006. I had a friend with an awesome dog and I started thinking about getting one in the fall 2005. I first saw his mugshot in October, accompanied by a sappy little blurb along the lines of "this little guy must not have gotten much love because he doesn't seem to know what to do with it." That was all I needed, but Mr. D wasn't convinced that a dog would be a value-added member of the household. I worked on him for MONTHS.

On weekends, they bring a bunch of the dogs to the Petsmart and you go and meet them. We were at the Target next door (OMG, so suburban of me) and I nagged Mr. D into going over to the Petsmart to see who was there. Purely by coincidence, Kirby (then known as Niles) was there. He was every bit as shy and pathetic as I imagined and we took him home that day. He was my friend for life in about a week (once he got some regular love, he decided he liked it). He's still super-wary, but when he is around us and feels safe, he is full of personality. We are damn lucky that he didn't show anyone else how great he is during the five months he waited to get adopted.

He's got a beautiful smile, he enjoys the sunshine, he keeps me company when I knit, and he hates it when he can't be right up next to me. (In that last one, I was keeping him off a freshly-cleaned rug until it was dry. Him no likey.

We don't know anything about his history except that he was picked up as a stray by animal control in a nearby mostly-rural county, and then saved from the county shelter. After all the zillions of medical procedures, we know that he has some old healed broken bones and the neurological stuff likely came from some sort of head trauma. *sob!* But he also has some old surgical scars, so someone took him to the vet at some point.

From th Department of More Than You Probably Wanted to Know, there are hundreds of rescue beagles in the Mid-Atlantic every year. A number of hunting clubs (why such a thing even needs to exist I do not know) and individual hunters (ditto) keep packs of beagles for hunting. Some dogs end up separated from the pack and are just abandoned out there, and some are released into the woods if they are poor hunters or injured or no longer valuable breeding females. What a wonderful world we live in. I hate thinking about this, but on the other hand, we are so lucky to have him after all the unthinkable things he's probably been through. He could have ended up God knows where.

George! We happened to stumble across an early episode yesterday that I think was the first appearance of Architect Art Vandelay.

[bustedflush]

Wow, so your first dog was a serious project, huh? It's really great that he's been so wonderful you ended up with a Tiki, as well. (Where did HE come from? Same place, I assume?) How is Kirby with other dogs, do they freak him out or is it mostly humans that are the problem? Poor little guy, with SUCH A PRECIOUS LITTLE FACE! (My family had a pekingese that turned up at our house and adopted us. Apart from never stopping peeing in the house, he was a wonderful little dog -- smart and ballsy and totally, utterly fearless except with strange men. Horrible to think about where those fears come from.)

Oh man, really? I can't decide if I wish I lived there or am glad I don't -- my half-beagle moved in with my dad when I moved to NYC, and I refuse to get another dog while she's still around, but all those beagles could really do a number on my loyalty.

Heeeee. When he stumbles out of the bathroom, yelling "SAY VANDELAY"? Man do I love me some George.