The other night Kaitlin was cooking dinner, including some green beans, and had to step into another room. Tempi and Torben were in the kitchen, so she asked Torben to watch Tempi, make sure she didn’t get into the food. Zoe was outside, so no problem there.
Tempi went into the living room to sit down—with Torben dutifully following—and they waited until Kaitlin returned. Then they all went back to the kitchen.
Zoe was there.
The green beans were not.
December 30, 2025
Kaitlin said she was curious to see what Google’s AI would say about Zoe and Chateaubriand:
How cool is that?
Also Sandra K. Czosek pointed out chocolate is toxic for dogs. Yes, Zoe has been rushed to the vet for that. Another time, it wasn’t even chocolate—-she ended up there after eating a whole pan of cinnamon buns. Nothing in them was especially toxic on its own, but the sheer amount of rich, sugary food was enough to upset her stomach and raise concerns about pancreatitis.
The vet tech said, “she is a pro at throwing up!”
December 29, 2025
When I was writing yesterday’s post I wondered if Chateaubriand should be capitalized, so I typed “Zoe was looking at a piece of Chateaubriand” into Perplexity AI. It promptly came back with (click on picture for higher resolution):
It’s a line from a Cheerful Monk blog post; the author captioned a photo “Zoe was looking at a piece of chateaubriand,” referring to their dog Zoe eyeing a fancy beef tenderloin steak.
I did not expect that. I still wasn’t sure about the capitalization, so I typed,
is chateaubriand capitalized
It said,
“Chateaubriand” is usually capitalized when it clearly refers to the classic French dish or the cut named after François-René de Chateaubriand, because it originates from a proper name.
Many modern dictionaries note that it is “often capitalized,” which means you will also see it in lowercase, especially in general food writing or menus.
Apparently I was correct to capitalize it in yesterday’s post, but it was also acceptable not to capitalize it in the November 2020 post.
I’m amazed that Perplexity went into my Monthly Archives and found the reference. And I’m glad I phrased my first prompt the way I did.
December 28, 2025
This was Zoe looking at a piece of Chateaubriand:
She’s a sweet pup, but she is definitely food oriented. Kaitlin’s comment on the Christmas post was:
Merry Christmas!! Our pups are more interested in what is on the counter. Before giving our dinner guests a tour of our construction last night, I hid all the leftover food (in the microwave, ovens, on top of the upper cabinets). The pups were passed out on the floor so Peter kept looking at me as if I were crazy. The only thing left out were the brownies for our upcoming dessert, but I built a metal barricade around them – and pushed them far back on the counter. We started the tour and the pups came with us but Peter lagged behind to see. Sure enough he said, as soon as we were out of sight Zoe whipped back and ran her nose along the entire counter to see if there was anything. He caught up to me and said “she is so intelligent!” And explained what she did. Uh huh. As soon as HE was out of sight guess who started working on the barricade? Of course I got there before she got anything, but it cracked me up.
December 27, 2025
Angus in Scotland wrote,
And so a Merry Christmas to one and all. May you find comfort in the company of those you love, warmth in the memory of those who’ve gone before and confidence in the capacity of human beings to see the world as it should be.
This sentiment was echoed in an article by one of the Substack authors I follow:
We can live in a world of hope and love and moral clarity someday.
I spend a lot of time reading about what is going on in the world, and like most of us I’m saddened by the cruelty and destruction going on. I try not to get angry or depressed by it — instead I do what I can to support people and organizations that share my values. It’s back to the old,
It’s better to light one candle than curse the darkness.
The other message, from a friend, warmed my heart and made me laugh.
I wish for you and Andy, a Happy New Year that is wonderful, safe, healthy, still standing and still living in your apartment. Love you.
She nailed that one! Thank you, friend. I love you too!
Happy post-Christmas, everyone.
December 26, 2025
And if you are interested, here is last year’s video from the North Yuki Husky.
The pups seem to be more interested in the treats than the toys or the idea of Christmas.
I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas day.
December 25, 2025
For higher resolution, please click on the comics.
Christmas is getting closer!
December 23, 2025
Update: Again, not a good picture, but my bean plants haven’t died yet.
That was a big surprise.
December 22, 2025
Yesterday Pixie asked,
How did a balloon become the go to for your birthday present?
I said it was traditional, but in fact it may be the start of a tradition. Andy used to buy me a box of high-quality chocolates, but they stopped being available. My birthday isn’t that important to me, so I wanted something easy for Andy to buy. When we were talking about it he mentioned a balloon, and a couple of years ago he had spontaneously bought me one, along with a bouquet of flowers, for Mothers Day. He had never done that before. He said he just saw them and wanted to do it.
(I didn’t have a vase big enough for the bouquet,so I put the flowers in two jars.)
So the balloon isn’t just for its own sake, it’s because of that memory.
December 21, 2025
