Poisoned

My first contribution as a househusband was to go grocery shopping. I bought a few nice Tilapia fillets and Pride of the West breading mix, and a Waldorf salad. Dix fried them up but after the first delicious bite it turned to a metallic taste. We came to realize we both have both been experiencing this odd taste. I thought I ate a bad cracker a couple days ago. But now with both of our tasters acting up, we were looking for a common cause. A terrible tasting cookie I ate had been on a plate under a bouquet of flowers Dix bought a couple days ago. We quarantined the flowers, to no avail. This morning's oatmeal was inedible and I suspected the water - perhaps metals from the old pipes. Dix began an Internet search. There are a variety of causes for metallic taste - uranium poisoning on my first day of retirement came to mind. And then BINGO - a couple days ago we had both eaten pine nuts. A recent phenomenon known as pine mouth has been identified by eating "pine nuts" imported from China, where in their industrious new capitalism they have substituted Red Pine and White Pine nuts for the real thing. Dix recalled the nuts were a little smaller than the Pine Nuts. According to the science the malady lasts for a few days to a couple weeks, self-resolving. I had just a small handful and Dix ate the rest of the bag, but so far it has affected me just as much as her. Today I am going to Albertsons to request the manager try a sample of her own produce after showing her the article.

Buddy had just made his peace with Mama Squirrel. The picture does not show Buddy's trembling.

Dix went to the Metro Animal Shelter and came home with inmate No. 33, Milo the cat. This one-year-old yellow tabby immediately took control of the dog situation by boldly walking underneath Buddy and freaking him out. Buddy is intensely interested but defensive. Milo toys with him. At one point he charged across the room at Buddy where he froze like a deer in the headlights. We now have Buddy the saint and Milo the devil. We expect that will be moderated next week when Milo donates his jewels.