Happy Mooseday!

Er...remember how I said about two months ago that I was going to be more regular about updating the MooseBlog? Right, sorry about that. What I meant, apparently, was that I was going to drop off the face of the planet, stop updating, ignore emails, and generally fail to exist as any kind of normal correspondent or friend. But look, people, I'm planning a wedding. I'm working full time. I herniated a disc in my back. My sister came to visit. I...

Oh, forget it. I'm a bad blogger.

But look what I was doing instead of blogging! I was busy baking Moosecakes! Yes, that's right. The darling puppy had his first birthday on August 17. I cannot believe that our fuzzy ball of evil is a year old already. And is every bit, I should add, as mischievous as he was the day we brought him home. Nonetheless, I decided to celebrate his birthday with a special doggy birthday cake.

OK, I want it to be known that, despite my general skill in the kitchen, the doggy birthday cake did require a recipe. Which I was going to follow, of course (ahem). But Waitrose (er, so what if I bought the ingredients from an upscale store like Waitrose?) didn't have plain chicken baby food. Chicken with parsnips and apples, yes. Chicken with butternut squash, yep. Of course, they had chicken with rosemary (what baby would eat chicken without rosemary, is my question). But no plain chicken. So I bought ground beef. I forgot to put shredded carrots in. I refused to top it with bacon.

Yeah, so I didn't follow the recipe exactly. Or at all. But it turned out fine! Well, it turned out OK. Well, it turned out like a rubbery, beefy frisbee. With yogurt as icing. And a carrot stick candle. Perhaps not my single best effort.

Needless to say, Moose loved it. He dived right in, got yogurt all over himself, and assumed a down to business, legs-sprawled-out, face buried right in the cake, eating position, the envy of competitive eaters world-wide.

A happy birthday indeed.

In tribute to Moose and his year on this planet, I would like to say a few words. Our house never smells right. We have some things that could have gone forever without having been peed on (but haven't). One day we would like to be able to leave things on the counter without them getting stolen. We could be £12 richer a day, if the dog walker didn't charge so much. We would have a more active social life if we didn't have to come home to rescue you. But you are sweet (SO sweet). You are silly (you make us laugh all the time). You are soft, cuddly, and warm. You eat the carrots that come in our veg box every week, but that we never manage to eat. You take us for regular walks. You make us very, very happy. So thanks for giving us the first year of your life! We're sure it's going to get better and better. And we don't regret a moment.

Happy Mooseday!