8 years ago my brother was in a car accident.  I got so pissed at my dad for using the tragedy as fodder for his emotional bullshitting of people "Feel sorry for me, my son is dead " that I decided to celebrate his life on the 23rd and the 25th instead of mourning it.

Ian didn't like death.
He didn't like funerals and I'm sure, had we given him the chance, he'd have happily skipped his own funeral.
He wanted his ashes sprinkled on whomever it would annoy the most.  And I wish we'd done it.
 
I miss him. I always will.
Funny. He'd be 27.  That means I'll be 29 here in a couple of months.
Wow.
Don't worry, Ian, I'm mentally sprinkling ashes on a couple of people right now…Those bastards will be sorry. 

So to perpetually MOURN someone who was so good at LIVING seems wrong to me.  September 23rd comes around and I give blood. So someone can be helped, can live a little longer, can have a "Maybe". He got several pints of "maybe" and I'm grateful for that.
And on the 25th- the day he was declared dead,  I buy him flowers that I don't give to him- he didn't like how they smelled,  they gave him headaches.  I keep them for myself. And he's cool with that.

I posted the above on GITU but didn't add all of this below. I needed an angry rant. This is my safe spot.

THIS is the link to my dad's website.  Where he has pictures of my brother and my brother's son.  My sister in law doesn't WANT pictures of Little Ian there but my dad is an Asshat.  Go to the website. Click on 3 Davids.
You'll notice that in the picture of my brother that says "12 years old" was actually taken in 96- Um, which would make Ian 15.
"HE NEVER GOT TO MEET HIS SON"
Such tragedy.
Really.
It is.
And having such tragedy in your life means you get to treat the rest of the world like SHIT and its okay.

–
-Ariel

Don't say I didn't warn you!
From http://ihasahotdog.com/

Wiener Schnitzel (from German Wiener Schnitzel, meaning Viennese cutlet) is a traditional Austrian dish and popular part of Viennese and Austrian cuisine, consisting of a thin slice of veal coated in breadcrumbs and fried. In Austria the dish is traditionally served with a lemon slice, lingonberry jam and either potato salad or potatoes with parsley and butter. While traditional Wiener Schnitzel is made out of veal, it is now sometimes made out of pork, though in that case it is often called Schnitzel Wiener Art (Germany) or Wiener Schnitzel vom Schwein (Austria) to differentiate it from the original. The dish may have originated in Milan, northern Italy, as cotoletta alla milanese, and may have appeared in Vienna during the 15th or 16th century. According to another theory, it was introduced by Field Marshal Radetzky, who spent much of his life in Milan, in 1857. The term "Wiener Schnitzel" itself dates to at least 1862.

This naturally led me to wondering about Blood sausage..No, I don't know why.  Because perhaps I had assumed that wiener schnitzel would be something so YUCKY and it turns out it looks rather temping…..
Black pudding or (less often) blood pudding is a British English term for sausage made by cooking blood with a filler until it is thick enough to congeal when cooled. It is also called blood sausage (first attested in 1868, perhaps influenced by German Blutwurst). Although "blood sausage" is often labeled as a North American term, it is also found in British English (e.g., in the story "The Name-Day" by Saki). "Blood sausage" is also a useful term for similar blood-based solid foods around the world.

Pig or cattle blood is most often used; sheep and goat blood are used to a lesser extent. Blood from poultry, horses and other animals are used more rarely. Typical fillers include meat, fat, suet, bread, sweet potato, barley and oatmeal.

And then White pudding- surely it must be better than black pudding, right?  Not so much.

White pudding or oatmeal pudding is a meat dish popular in Scotland, Ireland, Northumberland, Iceland (Lifrarpylsa), Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland. It is also quite popular in Devon and Cornwall, where it is known as Hog's pudding. It is very similar to black pudding, but does not include blood. Consequently, it consists of pork meat and fat, suet, bread, and oatmeal formed into the shape of a large sausage. Earlier versions (pre-1990) often had brain matter (sheep) added as a binding agent.

In Scotland, white pudding can also be known as Mealy Pudding. It consists of suet, oatmeal, onions and spices. Some versions of Scottish white pudding are suitable for vegans, in that they contain no animal fat, vegetable fat being used instead.

The pudding may be cooked whole, or cut into slices and fried. It is an important feature of the traditional Irish breakfast. White pudding (as well as its black and red relatives) is also served battered at chip shops in Scotland as an alternative to fish (see fish and chips). When served this way, accompanied by chips, it is known as a White Pudding Supper. In Scotland, it is also a traditional companion to mince and tatties

And then there is haggis….

Haggis is a traditional Scottish dish.

There are many recipes, most of which have in common the following ingredients: sheep's 'pluck' (heart, liver and lungs), minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, and traditionally boiled in the animal's stomach for approximately three hours.

Haggis somewhat resembles stuffed intestines (pig intestines otherwise known as chitterlings or the kokoretsi of traditional Polish cuisine), sausages and savoury puddings of which it is among the largest types. As the 2001 English edition of the Larousse Gastronomique puts it, "Although its description is not immediately appealing, haggis has an excellent nutty texture and delicious savoury flavour."^[1]

Most modern commercial haggis is prepared in a casing rather than an actual stomach. There are also meat-free recipes for vegetarians.

It is often asserted (e.g., on the packaging of MacSween's haggis) that the dish is traditionally served with "neeps and tatties" (Scots: swede, yellow turnip or rutabaga and potatoes; these are boiled and mashed separately) and a "dram" (i.e. a glass of Scotch whisky). However, it might perhaps be more accurate to describe this as the traditional main course of a Burns supper, since on other occasions haggis may be eaten with other accompaniments. Whisky sauce (made from thickened stock and Scotch whisky) has recently been developed as an elegant addition.

I copied and pasted directly from Wikipedia.  And I'm lazy today.

You might end up looking like this.

This Etsy Artist makes CARDS.  I'm just warning anyone who clicks on the link.  Its not rated G.
I'm buying this for my siblings as soon as I have any money to spare, cause guess what? Its so true.
xo and lots of love!
Me

My boss/MIL(sorta) I.E. Brian's Mom Martha and her husband Mike (Padre) are on vacation for a week and we are dog and house sitting.  I doubt that we'd be house sitting if they didn't have Buddy. Buddy is about 3 years old, and he's a lovely sweet golden retriever.
Apparently they are not very smart dogs to begin with but Buddy is special in that he has seizures…he is on drugs for it- which means he has them about ever 8 days.  If he doesn't take them he has a couple a day. I know some people would have had him put down… But he is the SWEETEST dog- and so very happy- he isn't suffering although his lifespan will be shortened because of the seizures and because of the medication.  His poor brain just doesn't work quite right but his life is GOOD.
Mike and Martha are the best pet owners anyone could want- and if he was suffering they wouldn't let him be miserable.
So last night was our first night at their house and Buddy was his usual sweet self, but you could tell he was stressed that his people were NOT home.
We went to bed and said to each other- he is going to have a seizure tonight…And sure enough about 12:15 he started… Poor baby. Brian and I took care of him and then stayed up until he'd calmed down- after he paced around the back yard for a while..
He doesn't seem to remember he's had them- about 45 minutes later he started blinking like he was clearing something from his eyes and then wagging his tail in recognition. 
But of course every little peep he made after that woke me up.

- A funny side note- At M&M's house they have their bed and a hide-a-bed. Hide-a-beds are miserable to sleep on.  But Brian was TERRIFIED to sleep in his parents bed. 
So last night he finally agreed we could sleep on top of the bed, with our own blankets, as long as we didn't 'do anything'

"Well honey, the are starting to say the D word in stead of the R word" Says he in tones of great seriousness.

"Democrat and Republican? Divorce and Remarry?" (I was completely clueless, as I'd just been talking about a sandwich.

"Depression and Recession!" Says Brian (because clearly that is related to sandwiches somehow?)