Bye Pepper

On Sunday it was dinner at my parents. The hubby had work to do and refused.
I was 5 days post op for my surgery.

i had to go. i had to go say bye to Pepper.

19(?) year old Pepper. Lovely, sweet Pepper, that chewed and chewed and destroyed and ate our kitchen furniture (all three chairs and the table legs and corners...), my trainers, my brand new Oasis hat, till she was, oh, 7? 8?
We thought she would never 'calm down' and stop being a puppy.

And today, my parents took her to the vet to be put to sleep.
For 2 years we've watched her decline, drop weight, eat less, ignore us through deafness.

I'm sure in the past year she's had no clue who i am, she's run away and hid from me on my frequent visits, shook when she saw me.
Mum was hoping she'd go on her own, just fall asleep and never wake up...

But she didnt. She's too stubborn for that -but she could hardly stand, barely walk, she could barely even see, yet she just kept going.

This past 6 or 8 weeks its just gotten too much, doing her business inside the house, instead of out, falling over more, i think she's fallen into her food 2 or 3 times, so i've been told by mum.

It isn't fair.

It isn't fair to keep her going, and it isn't fair we had to put her down, either way, it isn't fair.

I'm crying now and its hard to see the keys, but i know. I know it's for the best. She can't suffer any more, and that's okay. It's not okay, but it's okay.

RIP Sgt. Pepperoni Pepsi Max, love you, go play with Lady and Floss x x

cacti chicken paprika rice

so tonight i made an awesome meal.
if i do say so myself.

im not one for measurements so i will put down what went in and you can go from there!

firstly i used a big flat bottomed with medium sides pan thing with a lid. its usually good for cooking soups in, its really heavy.

in went RAPESEED OIL, not much. then some AGAVE SYRUP, to replace honey i would have used, but the hubster is diabetic. then then went in some SKINLESS AND BONELESS CHOPPED UP CHICKEN THIGHS, and i put the heat on low under it. some more AGAVE on top and a pinch of sea salt flakes and then some SMOKED PAPRIKA called la chinata i think and then some Schwartz regular PAPRIKA. gave it a stir and on went the lid. alot of water comes off chicken so this is good for almost steaming it cooked. i threw in some SESAME SEEDS and about a heaped teaspoon of GARLIC PUREE and left it on low and went to watch tv for a few. i was nipping in and out a bit while i was making this as hubby put Castle on tv. i microwaved a peeled SWEET POTATO till it was softened and cubed it and threw it in the mix with a little added heat. the agave and chicken water was still quite plentiful and the chicken cooking, i turned the heat up a little and prepped the salad on our plates (bistro mix from M&S and sweet pickled gherkins, avocado and those cute mini oval tomatoes for me, and tomatoes and pickled beets for the hubster) and put some UNCLE BENS 2 min WHOLEGRAIN RICE in the microwave for... 2 mins!!! Lid off the chicken mix, starting to loose its liquid now and the sesame and agave mix are starting to go sticky, pour in the rice and stir till its all covered and lovely and mixed and NOM!!!

next time i make this im going to have to make a little more because we could have eaten this twice we loved it so much!!
i basically just threw it together, knowing i wanted paprika and honey chicken, but wanting to do it a little different as i had thighs to use and not breasts, that i would have usually coated and then fried or roasted. but this ones going in the recipe book!
gluten and dairy free!