"There are starving kids in West Virginia."

Friday night I got home from work only to discover that my neighbor upstairs was throwing a Halloween party. Since she had told me that if I ever heard a party that I should feel free to come on up, I did. I arrived to discover an array of rums on display but not too many mixers. I returned with fresh mint, lime juice, and baker’s sugar. You know where this is going. Yep. Mojitos.

My head did not like me much on Saturday morning. And I had a hair appointment, or so I thought. It helps to check voicemail before leaving home. I was a few minutes from home when I heard my stylist's message. She was at the hospital because her son has an infection, possibly the new super-virus. (I know some of y’all are germophobes and do not need to hear this but for the rest of y’all, if you notice a suspicious looking cut or bump, get to the doctor’s quickly.) Normally I would have headed back home. But I needed food of certain type. But more about that later.

I was also in need of more dry cat food. So I chose to go to Pet Food Express because they were next to the restaurant from where I planned to get lunch. And now the explanation of the post title. I was talking to Marcia on the phone when I entered Pet Food Express. I began reading the names of the various flavors of canned food available. Her response? “You know there are starving children in West Virginia.” Uh huh.


New cat food flavors.

So I began “experimenting” on Boris and Natasha on Saturday night. Boris liked what Marcia dubbed as the “surf and turf” – chicken and lobster. Natasha took two or three bites and then walked away. On Sunday, I broke out the venison. Natasha sniffed and then left the kitchen. Boris sniffed and then gave me a questioning look. This happened several times. Finally I decided to change out the food on the plate. If Boris, who will normally eat just about anything that hits the plate, will not start eating something within a couple of minutes, it’s just not going to happen. I quickly replaced the venison with Tiki Cat’s ahi tuna on on rice with prawns. (The brand features wild-caught, human quality seafood. The prawns were little bay shrimp. Yes, they were recognizable in the food. And it indeed was all on a bed of rice.) Boris tore into it immediately. Natasha once more turned up her nose and walked off. Somehow she seems to prefer Friskies. I just don’t get it. Tonight tried out the organic turkey. Better response than the venison but not as enthusiastic as the other two. Duck tomorrow. The cool thing about Pet Food Express is that for every three cans you purchase, you get the fourth for free. And if I had bought more than one night's serving of these various flavors, I could return the ones that were not a hit. At least the new toys have been a hit; they haven't played with anything else since receiving the "mice."


Boris and Natasha checking out the new toys I picked up on Saturday.


Notice the white fluff around Boris. Yes, it is all over the carpet now. Silly me.

Enough about cats though. After the fun of shopping for cat food and , I headed across the parking lot to Everett and Jones -- except the location I go to is, of course, in Berkeley.


Two-way combo with links and ribs.


And Le Village beverages were on sale at Andronico's so I just had to try this one out.

While it was tasty, it was not quite satisfying. I realized on Sunday that what I had really wanted was a burger. I was trying to avoid the usual fast food spots so I headed over to Smokehouse. I haven’t been there since my aunt had her first surgery four years ago. (The hospital is nearby.) The main reason for choosing them over some of my other local burger choices is that they make a variety of shakes. I went with pineapple. I think that the next time I go there, I will try out the boysenberry.


Cheeseburger and fries.

My stomach and taste buds were quite happy. And I must remember to go back to Everett and Jones again soon. When my body really does want barbecue.