Cardboard vs. Chocolate

We have four guinea pigs. We intended to have two females, but they were both pregnant, so now that the dust has settled between birth traumas, alpha-settling, etc., we have four.

One is male.

Male guinea pigs can't be neutered much before four months, and they are very social creatures who can actually starve themselves to death if they get depressed, and they need daily exercise, so we have all the piggies together for about an hour of "playtime" every day. In a big pen. With lots of cardboard. (And we have to chaperone them, because of said male piggy, but that's for another entry.) As I said, with lots of cardboard.

Piggies love cardboard.

It's a great teeth sharpener for them, they love to jump in and out of little cardboard boxes (baggie boxes, crates from Costco, shoe boxes, etc.) and it seems to give them a certain comfort.

Which brings me to the real purpose of this entry: chocolate.

Chocolate gives humans comfort. At least most female humans. I have a good friend who doesn't like chocolate. I will never understand her, but I love her anyway.

There is a large controversy that surrounds chocolate, however.

Dark vs. Milk vs. White.

Now, to me, chocolate isn't chocolate unless it's DARK.

Which brings us to Halloween.

Halloween strikes terror in the hearts of millions of women every year. Not because of the fake tombstones, latex heads or other trimmings of the holiday, but of that mere fact that entire bags of candy will likely be sitting in your home, and then your children will drag in still more.

And they'll forget their stash in a few days.

But you won't.

It will sit there, complete with the Jaws theme music, in a corner of your kitchen cabinet that's all too accessible.

But here's the saving grace. It's milk chocolate and it's junk. It's sticky-sweet, commercial goo. It may be good goo, but it's goo. Particularly as it ages.

So women unite! Buy yourself a really GOOD piece of chocolate - something that makes your toes curl. And give that leftover candy to a school, or the children's ward at the local hospital or a local community center or a local food bank or bring it into the office.

Indulge yourself in the dark side and indulge in health.

And step AWAY from that plastic pumpkin.

What's Cooking

I heard back from Andrew. I can't get my recipe entries to be behind this page. So... I'm going to set up a site for the recipes and link from here. Should take a couple of days. Then I'll go back and put in all the recipes. I promise. For today, though, what's cooking is tilapia scallopini and brown rice. This is an old family fave and a goody, so I'll definitely get this recipe up and running. Happy "day after", Everyone!