Juno

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Today is the day this guy goes home. We had him for two weeks. Hard to imagine that for the first 3 days, he’d bark at me every time he saw me in the morning. Now he’s a giant cuddle bug. Besides from wanting to smell everything all the time and wanting to play with all the dogs, he’s actually a really good boy. He’s super improved on his leash-walking. Never underestimate the power of the treat bag. He still pulls, and if I’m not braced for it, he can drag me around, but the bungee-leash really helps for that.

Edit:

I never actually blogged about the fact that Juno accidentally broke Katy’s finger in a freak leash-pull accident, which subsequently required orthopedic surgery and months of physiotherapy afterwards.

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[recipe] homemade gochujang

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This sweet, spicy, and salty Korean chili sauce is the perfect condiment that gives a tasty kick to a variety of dishes.

3 tbs miso paste
2 tbs honey
2 tbs chili pepper powder (typically gochugaru but can substitute chipotle or chile de arbol for more heat)
1 tsp rice vinegar
3 tbs water

(traditionally you’d add a clove or three of garlic, but hey)

Combine all ingredients in a bow and mix well with a whisk. Store in a sealed jar in the refrigerator.

If the sauce is too thick, add more water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until you reach the desired consistency.

Adjust the amount of the ingredients according to taste.

If doubling or tripling the recipe, blend all the ingredients in a blender.

Drizzle on bibimbap, japchae, eggs, fried rice…on anything you might you use with ketchup.

Mix with mayo to make gochujang mayo and use it as a dip or spread it in sandwiches.

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Things I will remember about Pavel

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How he used to be bitey-bitey and nip at my elbows or toes when I wasn’t giving him the attention he wanted.

How he was a sound-powered cat and always had to made noise when he jumped in the bathroom sink to get a drink (usually while I was on the toilet).

The attack-cat chittering noises he made towards the birds who dared to come on the balcony.

Being woken up in the morning by him jumping in bed with us, walking over us and wedging himself between Katy and me.

The contented, smug face he’d make when getting a chin scratch at just the right place. Pavel gave good face!!

Generally just walking into a room, rolling your eyes and going “oh, Pavel!” at whatever convoluted and/or obscene position he was sleeping in (see above picture).

How, on a king-sized bed, he’d always sleep on any item of my clothing (usually pj bottoms), or nestled in my body pillow.

How he had a stupidly loud purr for a cat his size, and how Katy would always ask me to “turn down the volume on my cat”.

How he loved to chill on his cardboard scratching pad, in his cardboard box. Even after Tolstoy barfed on it.

How he’d sleep on the sofa arm, as though he was the only thing holding the sofa together.

How he loved to eat anything that was made of rubber or silicone, including a grooming brush, Ben’s wellie boots, Ben’s Ikea nightlights, Ben’s crocs, Ben’s stress popping toy…

How he was a soft, fluffy, furry ball of lovable dumb.

I’m going to miss the hell out of you, buddy…

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Pavel the cat has passed.

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We hoped to be able to delay the inevitable for a couple of days to try and spoil him rotten, but it wasn’t in the cards. His back legs were still paralysed. It wouldn’t get better. If by a 2nd miracle it did, it would most certainly happen again, god knows when. He wasn’t in pain, but he couldn’t stand to eat or drink. When we brought him home so Ben could say goodbye to him, he had a bit of fuss but then dragged himself into a cat cave.

In the end, Pavel fell asleep on my hand, with my forehead to his. It was painless for him, but heartbreaking for me. We did the right thing, for the right reasons. We’ll get through it. But right now, it sucks.

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This is not good

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Pavel just had another thromboembolism ? he’s at the emergency vet, with high dose heparin and morphine. Same thing as last May, but now worse prognosis because it happened again, while he was taking the meds to supposedly try and prevent new clots from forming.

He made it through the first day, first week, but it seems to have caught up with him. We had a month and a half we didn’t expect to have, but now we need to see what happens again and make some potentially heartbreaking decisions.

This sucks.

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